Mazmur 54:3

54:3 For foreigners ¹  attack me; ² 

ruthless men, who do not respect God, seek my life. ³  (Selah)

Mazmur 54:1

Psalm 54 ⁴ 

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song ⁵  by David. It was written when the Ziphites came and informed Saul: “David is hiding with us.” ⁶ 

54:1 O God, deliver me by your name! ⁷ 

Vindicate me ⁸  by your power!

1 Samuel 21:7

21:7 (One of Saul’s servants was there that day, detained before the Lord. His name was Doeg the Edomite, who was in charge of Saul’s shepherds.)

1 Samuel 22:9-19

22:9 But Doeg the Edomite, who had stationed himself with the servants of Saul, replied, “I saw this son of Jesse come to Ahimelech son of Ahitub at Nob. 22:10 He inquired of the Lord for him and gave him provisions. He also gave him the sword of Goliath the Philistine.”

22:11 Then the king arranged for a meeting with the priest Ahimelech son of Ahitub and all the priests of his father’s house who were at Nob. They all came to the king. 22:12 Then Saul said, “Listen, son of Ahitub.” He replied, “Here I am, my lord.” 22:13 Saul said to him, “Why have you conspired against me, you and this son of Jesse? You gave ⁹  him bread and a sword and inquired of God on his behalf, so that he opposes ¹⁰  me and waits in ambush, as is the case today!”

22:14 Ahimelech replied to the king, “Who among all your servants is faithful like David? He is the king’s son-in-law, the leader of your bodyguard, and honored in your house! 22:15 Was it just today that I began to inquire of God on his behalf? Far be it from me! The king should not accuse ¹¹  his servant or any of my father’s house. For your servant is not aware of all this – not in whole or in part!” ¹² 

22:16 But the king said, “You will surely die, Ahimelech, you and all your father’s house! 22:17 Then the king said to the messengers ¹³  who were stationed beside him, “Turn and kill the priests of the Lord, for they too have sided ¹⁴  with David! They knew he was fleeing, but they did not inform me.” But the king’s servants refused to harm ¹⁵  the priests of the Lord.

22:18 Then the king said to Doeg, “You turn and strike down the priests!” So Doeg the Edomite turned and struck down the priests. He killed on that day eighty-five ¹⁶  men who wore the linen ephod. 22:19 As for Nob, the city of the priests, he struck down with the sword men and women, children and infants, oxen, donkeys, and sheep – all with the sword.

[54:3]  ¹ tc Many medieval Hebrew mss read זֵדִים (zedim, “proud ones”) rather than זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”). (No matter which reading one chooses as original, dalet-resh confusion accounts for the existence of the variant.) The term זֵדִים (“proud ones”) occurs in parallelism with עָרִיצִים (’aritsim, “violent ones”) in Ps 86:14 and Isa 13:11. However, זָרִים (zarim, “foreigners”) is parallel to עָרִיצִים (’aritsim, “violent ones”) in Isa 25:5; 29:5; Ezek 28:7; 31:12.

[54:3]  ² tn Heb “rise against me.”

[54:3]  ³ tn Heb “and ruthless ones seek my life, they do not set God in front of them.”

[54:1]  ⁴ sn Psalm 54. The psalmist asks God for protection against his enemies, confidently affirms that God will vindicate him, and promises to give thanks to God for his saving intervention.

[54:1]  ⁵ tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.

[54:1]  ⁶ tn Heb “Is not David hiding with us?”

[54:1]  sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm during the period when Saul was seeking his life. On one occasion the Ziphites informed Saul that David was hiding in their territory (see 1 Sam 23:19-20).

[54:1]  ⁷ tn God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character, which would instill fear in the psalmist’s enemies (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:17).

[54:1]  ⁸ tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.

[22:13]  ⁹ tn Heb “by giving.”

[22:13]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “rises up against.”

[22:15]  ¹¹ tn Heb “set a matter against.”

[22:15]  ¹² tn Heb “small or great.”

[22:17]  ¹³ tn Heb “runners.”

[22:17]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “their hand is.”

[22:17]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “to extend their hand to harm.”

[22:18]  ¹⁶ tc The number is confused in the Greek ms tradition. The LXX, with the exception of the Lucianic recension, has the number 305. The Lucianic recension, along with a couple of Old Latin mss, has the number 350.