Psalm 54 Psalm 54:1 22 David Trus God to Dlivr him from all his Fos Outlin of Chaptr 54: Inscription Psalm 54 Inscription vv. 1 3 David Asks God for Vindication, as Violnt Mn Hav Risn Again Him vv. 4 5 God Will Hlp David and Dispns with His Fos vv. 6 7 David Thanks God for His Dlivranc Charts and Maps: v. 3 Th Tn Million Dollar Analogy v. 5 What Dos it Man: Silnc [or, Droy] Thm in Your Faithfulnss? v. 7 A Dvotional Introduction to Psalm 54 by Charls Spurgon Doctrins Covrd Doctrins Alludd To Introduction: Th Ziphits wnt to Saul on two occasions. Th fir tim it had occurrd, David had ju dlivrd Kilah from th Philiins, and th Ziphits wnt to Saul and said, Is David not hiding himslf nar us in th rongholds at Horsh, on th hill of Hachilah, which is south of Jshimon? (1Sam. 23:19). Th scond tim that th Ziphits wnt to Saul, thy said, Isn t David hiding on th hill of Hachilah, facing Jshimon? (1Sam. 26:1). In th introduction to this psalm, w hav th sam vrb and prposition as w find in 1Sam. 23; thrfor, w will rasonably assum that David wrot this psalm about th sam tim that th Ziphits told Saul whr h was (obviously, David would hav found out about thir btrayal at a latr dat. I suspct that David wrot this whn Saul cam aftr him, and latr, whn h found out that it was th Ziphits who btrayd him, addd this information to th inscription. You may wondr why w spnd any amount of tim dtrmining whn a particular psalm was writtn. Many of ths psalms giv us clus as to David s spiritual progrss. W s whr h has bn, what ts h was facd, and what bnfits h has rapd. Whras th narrativ in 1Samul tlls us what happnd; th psalms tlls us what David was thinking at th tim; or, if you would rathr, what doctrin is circulating in his consciousnss, in his fram of rfrnc, in his mntality. Now lt m giv you som mor hiorical prspctiv on this psalm: Saul forcd David to lav his hom in th middl of night back in 1Sam. 19; had h not don so, Saul would hav sizd him and attmptd to kill him. Evn though David was abl to form a tru allianc with Saul s son, Jonathan, this only rsultd in Saul vrbally taring into Jonathan for dfnding David (1Sam. 20). In David s flight from Saul, David dos mak a fw misps. Fir of all, h gos to Nob, city of th pris, and gts conscratd brad loavs to at in doing so, h mislads on of th pris, Ahimlch. Th rsult of this is, Saul wips out all of th adult pris, and only on from this lin was abl to scap (1Sam. 21 22). Whil hiding out, David finds out that th Philiins hav invadd Kilah, and David and his mn rscu Kilah. Saul finds out from th Ziphits David s whrabouts through th Ziphits, and h and his army hav com aftr David. In fact, at th la minut, right bfor Saul is about to discovr David, h and his army ar calld back into combat again th Philiins, who hav mad anothr raid on Isral (1Sam. 23). David writs this psalm, aftr that narrow scap. In fact, if you would lik a mor prcis tim fram, David
Psalm 54 2 probably writs this aftr 1Sam. 25, aftr God has allowd David to s th dath of on nmy; howvr, David s thoughts ar mor activly dirctd toward Saul and th Ziphits hnc th inscription. In this psalm, David asks God for His dlivranc. Mn hav risn up again David; in fact, godlss mn of violnc sk his lif (v. 3). David asks for vindication and h asks for dlivranc (v. 1). H knows that God is his hlpr and th On Who suains him in a crisis (v. 4). David is furthr assurd that God will dal with his nmis (v. 5). At th nd, David ralizs that God has dlivrd him out of all troubl (v. 7). Clark also givs us a summary of this psalm: Th psalmi complains that rangrs wr risn up again him to tak away his lif (vv. 1 3); xprsss his confidnc in God that h will uphold him, and punish his nmis (vv. 4 5); thrfor, h promiss to sacrific to God (v. 6); and thn h spaks of 1 his dlivranc (v. 7). Rturn to Chaptr Outlin Rturn to th Chart Indx Psalm 54 Inscription Ju so you know, in th Hbrw, th inscription is vv. 1 2. In som placs, th fir thr vrss ar all gathrd up as on vrs. Howvr, in mo (if not all) English, w hav th inscription followd by v. 1 (which is v. 3 in th Hbrw). That bing said, also rcall that ths vrs divisions ar not a part of inspiration and apparntly occurrd somtim in th fir millnnium A.D. Slavishly litral: To a Prminnt [On]: (in a Ngiynah [or, a song arrangd for ringd inrumnt]), a maskil [or, an inructiv psalm] to David; in a going of th Ziphits and so thy say to Saul, Is not David hiding with us? Psalm 54 inscription Modratly litral: To th Prminnt On: a song [playd on a ringd inrumnt] an inructiv psalm for [or, blonging to] David whn th Ziphits wnt and said to Saul, Isn t David hiding nar us? To th on who is pr-minnt: a song playd on a ringd inrumnt, an inructiv psalm writtn by David whn th Ziphits wnt to Saul and said, Isn t David hiding nar us? Hr is how othrs hav translatd this vrs: Early translations: Th Dad Sa Scrolls. Th Pshitta [non] Th Sptuagint For th nd, among th hymns of inruction by David, whn th Ziphits cam and said to Saul, Lo, is not David hid with us? Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrass: CEV NLT (For th music ladr. Us with ringd inrumnts. A spcial psalm that David wrot whn th popl of Ziph wnt to Saul and said, "David is hiding hr with us.") For th choir dirctor: A mdiation of David, rgarding th tim th Ziphits cam and said to Saul, W know whr David is hiding. To b accompanid by ringd inrumnts. Moly litral rndrings (with som occasional paraphrasing): 1 Adam Clark, Commntary on th Bibl; from -Sword, Psalm 54.
3 Th Book of 1Samul (Th End of 1Sam. 23) God s Word For th choir dirctor; on ringd inrumnts; a maskil by David whn popl from th city of Ziph told Saul that David was hiding among thm. Litral, almo word-for-word, rndrings: Th Amplifid Bibl MKJV Young's Updatd LT To th Chif Musician with ringd inrumnts. A skillful song or a didactic or a rflctiv pom of David, whn th Ziphits wnt and told Saul, David is hiding among us. To th Chif Musician. On ringd inrumnts. A contmplation. A Psalm of David, whn th Ziphits cam and said to Saul, Dos not David hid himslf among us? To th Ovrsr with ringd inrumnts. An inruction, by David, in th coming in of th Ziphim, and thy say to Saul, Is not David hiding himslf with us? In th Hbrw, th inscription is th fir two vrss of this psalm. What is th gi of this vrs? David ddicats this psalm, prscribs th inrumnts to b usd, and tlls us that this is an inructiv psalm. Th tim coordinat of this psalm is whn th Ziphits told Saul whr David was. Psalm 54 inscription a lâmd (ì) (pronouncd l ) to, for, towards, in rgards to, with rfrnc to, as to, with rgards to, blonging to prposition BDB #510 nâtsach (çöç È ð) [pronouncd naw- TZAHKH] to ovrs, to suprvis; to b prminnt, to b nduring; th Prminnt On Pil participl with th dfinit articl Strong s #5329 BDB #663 Th Pil participl of nâtsach is givn a wid varity of rndrings: ovrsr (Young), th music ladr (CEV), choir dirctor (NASB, NLT), choirmar (Owns), ladr (NRSV, NEB, NAB) and chif musician (Rothrham). Translation: To th Prminnt On:... Fir of all, Psalm 54, vn though it is addrssd in many Bibls to th choirmar, took plac whn David was in th vicinity of th Ziphits, who wr willing to giv him up to Saul (1Sam. 23:19). This is containd furthr down in th inscription. Thrfor, w hav thr possibilitis: (1) this word dos not man choirmar (at la, not xclusivly); (2) this psalm was not writtn during this particular tim priod; or (3) David wrot this during this tim priod, and thn prsntd it to th choirmar many yars latr. Howvr, as w hav udid in prvious psalms, thr is no rason to giv a musical intrprtation to this ommon trm found at th bginning of many psalms. Furthrmor, w find this phras at th bginning of many psalms whn David was on th run from Saul, bfor h had a choir or a choir mar. Thr is no rason to assum that David appointd somon in his band of 600 mn a choirmar. Th fir noun in this inscription is an intring on, and givn many diffrnt rndrings: choir dirctor, choirmar, music ladr, ladr, chif musician. Howvr, as I hav mntiond bfor, thr was no official choir or palac orchra. In fact, to gt any sort of music at all in th palac, Saul snt for David, on lon guitari. Givn th music-thrapy which Saul s aff rcommndd (1Sam. 16:14 19), and givn that Saul prtty much actd lik a madman for th nxt dcad or so, w can rasonably assum that, whn ths vnts took plac that ar mntiond in th rmaindr of this inscription, that Saul nvr organizd any sort of in-hous music aftr David bcam a fugitiv. Thrfor, thr is no rason to intrprt th Pil participl of nâtsach as choirmar, choir 2 ladr, or choir-anything. Anothr, and bttr, intrprtation is that th Prminnt On could b a rfrnc to God, and David prays in th follow psalm to God (not th vocativ, Elohim, in vv. 1 2). 2 Of cours, David could hav writtn this psalm many, many yars latr in rtrospct. Howvr, I s that as unlikly.
Psalm 54 4 Psalm 54 inscription b h b ( ) [pronouncd b ] Ó in, into, at, by, nar, on, with, bfor, in th prsnc of, upon, again, by mans of, among, within a prposition of proximity BDB #88 n gîynâh (äðéâ È. ð) [pronouncd n g- NAW] music from ringd inrumnts; a ringd inrumnt; a song or psalm [spcially arrangd for ringd inrumnts]; a song of drision fminin singular noun Strong s #5058 BDB #618 Translation:...a song [playd on a ringd inrumnt]... At this point, w do not rally know for sur how to rndr this. N gîynâh is found in Job 30:9 in th titls of Psalms 4, 6, 54, 55, 61, 67, 76 Psalm 69:12 77:6 Isa. 38: 2 0 Lam. 3:14 5:14 Habak. 3:19. In vry cas, th word is associatd with a psalm or Hbrw potry. Th vrb that this word is basd upon nâgan (ï âð) - È [pronouncd naw-gahn] mans to touch th rings, to play a ringd inrumnt. This is a word w hav alrady com upon in 1Sam. 16:16 18:10 19:9 Strong s #5059 BDB #618. Sinc n gîynâh is basd upon nâgan, w can rasonably assum that it is rlatd to music, and mor spcifically to ringd inrumnts. In Job 30:8 9, n gîynâh appars to b a song of drision, as Job tlls his frinds how mbarrassd h is to hav bcom th taunt of fools as wll as a byword for thm. This appars to hav a similar usag in Psalm 69:12 Lam. 3:14. Howvr, thr sms to b no such connotation of drision in th inscriptions of th othr psalms or in Psalm 77:6 Isa. 38:20 Lam 5:14 Habak. 3:19 (thrfor, this connotation is mor of th xcption than th rul). 3 Our mo rasonabl guss is, this is a song playd on a ringd inrumnt or arrangd for a ringd inrumnt. Psalm 54 inscription c mas kîyl (ìéì. î) - [pronouncd mahs - KEEL] an inructiv psalm; a contmplativ pom; translitratd maskil masculin singular noun Strong s #4905 BDB #968 lâmd (ì) (pronouncd l ) to, for, towards, in rgards to, with rfrnc to, as to, with rgards to, blonging to prposition BDB #510 Dâvid (ã å È ò ); also Dâvîyd ( ãé å. È ) [pronouncd daw- VEED] blovd and is translitratd David masculin propr noun Strong s #1732 BDB #187 Translation:... an inructiv psalm for [or, blonging to] David... Although many good translations tnd to translitrat this as maskil, I think that w can safly rfr to this as an inructiv psalm, givn that thr is no quion about this words tis to th Hiphil (causal m) of sâkal, which 3 Also, thr is anothr similar word, basd upon th sam vrb, which is usd in a drisiv, mocking way. Strong s #4485 BDB #618.
5 Th Book of 1Samul (Th End of 1Sam. 23) mans to inruct, to mak prudnt, to tach. W find this usd in th titls of Psalms 32, 42, 44, 45, 52 55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142. I hav translatd and xgtd a numbr of Davidic psalms and it was not until this on whr I rally undrood th us of th lâmd prposition. You s, what I would xpct to find hr is th bêyth prposition. In fact, so would vry othr xgt. But that is not what w hav. Thrfor, w ar givn th additional manings of, blonging to, writtn by for th lâmd prposition, vn though w do not rally find that sort of connotation outsid of th psalm inscriptions. Hr is th dal: som artis who writ music spak of thir music is alrady bing out thr, and thy rach out and tak it; or thy discovr it. Whn David uss th lâmd prposition, h is saying roughly th sam thing. Ths psalms ar writtn ju as much for him as by him. Many of th Davidic psalms ar writtn whil David is undr trmndous prssur, and through th inspiration of God th Holy Spirit, David gts his mind wrappd around divin viwpoint, as opposd to human viwpoint. Now, if it was you or I who was unju prscutd by Saul, w might do somthing about it. I man, w might plot to kill Saul. Aftr all, w could rason, it is kill or b killd. David s mn will rason with him similarly in 1Sam. 24:4 and 26:8. And thr is th furthr rationalization that David was alrady namd to b Saul s succssor by God through Samul. So, mo of us, facd with th sam dilmma as David finds himslf, might b willing to rik back. Howvr, David, inad of rtaliating again Saul, thinks about it, and God th Holy Spirit guids David to writ songs which dal with God s approach, God s vantag point, God s plan. Ths psalms ar not dictatd to David, but thy ar crtainly inspird via God th Holy Spirit, and rlatd dirctly to th difficultis that David is facing. Thrfor, ths psalms ar for David. And, now that thy hav bn writtn down and rcognizd as bing a part of th canon of Scriptur, ths psalms ar now for us, to guid us to undrand divin viwpoint. Thrfor, not what David will say in this psalm; and not, mor importantly, how th words of this psalm guid his bhavior in 1Sam. 23 24. Th rmaindr of this inscription is v. 2 givs us th hiorical contxt of this psalm. Psalm 54 inscription d h b ( ) [pronouncd b ] Ó in, into, at, by, nar, on, with, bfor, in th prsnc of, upon, again, by mans of, among, within a prposition of proximity BDB #88 Whn th bêyth prposition is followd by an infinitiv, it forms a priphrasis for th grund and is commonly 4 xprssd by th conjunctions whil, whn, in that, aftr that, if, though, vn if. bôw (à ) [pronouncd boh] to com in, to com, to go in, to go, to ntr Qal infinitiv conruct Strong s #935 BDB #97 zîyphîym (íéộéæ). [pronouncd z-feem] translitratd Ziphits plural gntilic adjctiv with th dfinit articl Strong s #2130 BDB #268 wa or va ( åç) [pronouncd wah] and so, and thn, thn, and wâw conscutiv BDB #253 âmar (ø îç àè ) [pronouncd aw-marh] to say, to spak, to uttr; to say [to onslf], to think rd 3 prson masculin plural, Qal imprfct Strong s #559 BDB #55 4 Okay, a priphrasis is a round about way of spaking or saying somthing. A grund is a vrb which oftn functions as a noun (in English, our grunds oftn nd in ing).
Psalm 54 6 Psalm 54 inscription d lâmd (ì) (pronouncd l ) to, for, towards, in rgards to, with rfrnc to, as to, with rgards to, blonging to prposition BDB #510 Shâ ûwl (ì à È ) [pronouncd shaw-ool] which is translitratd Saul; it mans askd for masculin propr noun Strong s #7586 BDB #982 Translation:...whn th Ziphits wnt and said to Saul... Rcall that David, in th mid of worrying about himslf, was commissiond by God to go and dlivr th mn of Kilah from a Philiin attack. David did so, but was warnd that th popl of Kilah would btray him to Saul. Thrfor, David wnt and hit in th hill country in th wildrnss of Ziph. Howvr, vn in thos days of small populations, th Ziphits wr awar of David and his 600 mn taking rfug in that ara. Now, no doubt thy knw that David also dlivrd th popl of Kilah. Howvr, for whatvr rason, som of th Ziphits btrayd David to Saul. Thy actually wnt dirctly to Saul to mt up with him. Why, you may ask? Ju in cas thr was any rward which would b a part of providing Saul with this information. Thy may find a position in Saul s cabint; thy may rciv a montary rward. Th ida is, ths mn wr xpcting somthing in rturn. Psalm 54 inscription h ã ( äâ ) [pronouncd hh] intrrogativ particl which acts almo lik a pic of punctuation, lik th upsid-down quion mark which bgins a Spanish sntnc. Th vrb to b may b implid. Strong s #non BDB #209 lô (àéì or à ì) [pronouncd low] not, no ngats th word or action that follows; th absolut ngation Strong s #3808 BDB #518 Dâvid (ã å È ò ); also Dâvîyd ( ãé å. È ) [pronouncd daw- VEED] blovd and is translitratd David masculin propr noun Strong s #1732 BDB #187 çâthar (ø úç ñè ) [pronouncd saw-thar] to hid onslf Hithpal participl Strong's #5641 BDB #711 îm (í òò ) [pronouncd ìm] with, at, by, nar prposition of narnss and vicinity; with th 1 prson plural suffix Strong s #5973 BDB #767 Translation: Isn t David hiding nar us? As alrady mntiond, this portion of th inscription is vry closly alignd with th Hbrw of 1Sam. 23:19; much mor so, than whn thy run to Saul again with similar information in 1Sam. 26:1. Thrfor, w may rasonably plac this psalm around th tim of 1Sam. 23; furthrmor, this psalm hlps to bttr undrand David s actions in 1Sam. 24. David was in th mountains of th wildrnss of Ziph. Whn th Ziphits wnt to Saul, thy gav him vry spcific coordinats by which to find David (1Sam. 23:19). Again, this was not don with som purpos of sing juic
7 Th Book of 1Samul (Th End of 1Sam. 23) don ths mn wantd a rward of som sort from Saul. Ths wr godlss mn who actd purly in slfintr. Rturn to Chaptr Outlin Rturn to th Chart and Map Indx David Asks God for Vindication, as Violnt Mn Hav Risn Again Him Slavishly litral: Elohim, in Your nam, d liv r m ; in Your rngth, judg m. Psalm 54:1 Modratly litral: O Elohim, d liv r m by Your nam ; judg [or, vindicat or valuat] m by Your powr. Oh God, dlivr m by You nam and valuat m with Your powr. Hr is how othrs hav handld this vrs: Early translations: Th Pshitta Th Sptuagint Sav m, God, by Your nam and judg m by Your rngth. Sav m, God, by Your nam and judg m by Your might. Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrass: CEV NLT Sav m, God, by your powr and prov that I am right. Com with grat powr, O God, and rscu m! Dfnd m with your might. Moly litral rndrings (with som occasional paraphrasing): God s Word JPS (Tanakh) O God, sav m by your nam, and dfnd m with your might. O God, dlivr m by Your nam; by Your powr vindicat m. Litral, almo word-for-word, rndrings: Updatd Emphasizd Bibl MKJV Young's Updatd LT O God! <By Your own Nam> sav m, And <by Your own rngth> will You vindicat m? Sav m, O God, by Your nam, and judg m by Your rngth. O God, by Your nam sav m, and by Your might judg m. What is th gi of this vrs? David asks God to vindicat and dlivr him. Psalm 54:1a ì lôhîym (îé äò Éì àá ) [pronouncd l-o-heem] gods or God; translitratd Elohim masculin plural noun Strong's #430 BDB #43
Psalm 54 8 Psalm 54:1a h b ( ) [pronouncd b ] Ó in, into, at, by, nar, on, with, bfor, in th prsnc of, upon, again, by mans of, among, within a prposition of proximity BDB #88 shêm (í Å ) [pronouncd sham] nam, rputation, charactr masculin singular noun nd with th 2 prson masculin singular suffix Strong s #8034 BDB #1027 yâsha (ò Ç Èé) [pronouncd yaw- SHAHÌ] to dlivr, to sav; to fr, to prsrv; to aid, to giv rlif nd 2 prson masculin singular, Hiphil imprativ with th 1 prson singular suffix Strong s #3467 BDB #446 Translation: O Elohim, dlivr m by Your nam;... David is bing conantly prscutd by Saul. Evry tim h tris to do anything, Saul hars about it and is thr. H knows that h cannot kill Saul; h knows that God has dclard him king; but, Saul is prscuting him all th sam. David wants God to dlivr him, as his own hands ar tid. David dos not simply ask for dlivranc, but h asks for dlivranc by God s Nam. God s Nam rfrs to God s ssnc. God has anointd David as th nxt king ovr Isral. Sinc God has takn that p, vn though it was bfor a small family gathring of probably skptical family mmbrs, God s rputation ands upon David bcoming king. If David dos not bcom king, thn God is not God. Thrfor, God mu dlivr David, bcaus His charactr dpnds upon it. God has promisd, thrfor God mu dlivr. So David can us th imprativ hr and gt away with it. David knows Who and What God is, and thrfor, David can call upon God to do that which His charactr forcs Him to do. As I hav mntiond, xamining ths psalms tlls us what David is thinking. Thy chronicl his spiritual growth. Mo popl, whn thy ar in troubl and thy pray to God, thy ithr pray, Plas, God, hlp! Or thy pray, If you gt m out of this jam, I will go to church vry wk (as though sitting thir tird butt down in a pw maks God s day). Or, in th scond cas, thy bargain with God in som way. David uss nithr of ths approachs. David ordrs God to dlivr him, and bass this upon God s charactr. God s charactr dmands that God rscu David. Do you s what an advanc that is ovr plading or bargaining? David rvals that h knows God mu sav him. Application: Evn though David has confidnc in God, this dos not man that h will act lik an idiot. As w will s throughout 1Samul, David will continu to kp his dianc from Saul (xcpt for whn Saul coms right to him, to his trritory). My point is, you don t ncssarily bhav lik an idiot if you hav confidnc in God. For inanc, you may hav confidnc that God will find you work so you can fd your family; but that dos not man that you sit on your butt in front of th tv for th nxt fw months, bcaus God will find you a job. That is not faith; that s ignoranc. David has confidnc in God, but that dos not rsult in him acting ignorant. Psalm 54:1b w (or v ) (å) [pronouncd wh] and, vn, thn; namly simpl wâw conjunction BDB #251
9 Th Book of 1Samul (Th End of 1Sam. 23) Psalm 54:1b h b ( ) [pronouncd b ] Ó in, into, at, by, nar, on, with, bfor, in th prsnc of, upon, again, by mans of, among, within a prposition of proximity BDB #88 g bûwrâh (äøè á ) [pronouncd g voo- RAW] rngth, might; fortitud, military virtu; powr; victory fminin singular noun nd with th 2 prson masculin singular suffix Strong s #1369 BDB #150 dîyn (ïé ò) [pronouncd dn] to judg, to corrctly valuat, to valuat, to condmn, to vindicat; to dfnd [th right of anyon]; to rul, to rgulat; to contnd with nd 2 prson masculin singular, Qal imprativ with th 1 prson singular suffix Strong s #1777 BDB #192 Translation:...judg [or, vindicat or valuat] m by Your powr. God not only will judg, but H has th powr and authority to judg. H can xamin all that has happnd and proprly valuat th situation. In particular, David tlls God to valuat him, to dtrmin that his actions hav bn rasonabl and rightous. David is also asking for vindication; h wants God to dclar him rightous; to dclar that what h has don has bn rightous. In fact, this may b vn mor of David s maning hr. In 1Sam. 24:15, David says to Saul, Jhovah thrfor will judg and dcid btwn you and m, and may H s and plad my caus, and dlivr m from your hand. This quotation, by th way, is mor closly associatd to Psalm 54 than anything in 1Sam. 26 (th scond tim th Ziphits gav David up to Saul). In 1Sam. 26, David is not as concrnd about bing sn as vindicatd bfor Saul, but Saul s dtrmination to kill him has bcom a mattr of curiosity to David ( What hav I don? What vil is in my hand? ). By th tim w gt to 1Sam. 26, David is not as concrnd about bing vindicatd bfor Saul as h is simply convying that h could hav killd Saul, but h chos not to. And David says this in a vry loud voic, so that all Saul s army could har him. As a sid not, whn daling with a psalm lik this on, th sort of mind that I hav rquirs m to inquir, which Ziphit btrayal is David rfrring to; th fir or th scond? Howvr, aftr spnding about a wk xgting this psalm, it is clar to m that David wrot this psalm aftr th fir tim th Ziphits btrayd his location to Saul. By th way, David asking to b vindicatd in th psalms actually occurs on svral occasions: Judg m, O Jhovah, according to my rightousnss, and according to my intgrity on m (Psalm 7:8b). Psalm 26:1 rads: Vindicat m, O Jhovah; for I hav walkd in my truthfulnss. I hav trud also in Jhovah; I shall not slid. In fact, bcaus David asks for God to vindicat him in this psalm, w can rasonably guss that this would b th propr tim to tach this psalm (along with th prvious two psalms, which sm to b tid to Psalm 26). Anothr psalm which blongs in this tim priod is Psalm 43, th fir vrs of which rads: Vindicat m, O God, and plad my caus again an ungodly nation. Oh dlivr m from th dcitful and unju man. Elohim, h ar my pray r; giv ar to words of my mouth. Psalm 54:2 O Elohim, har my prayr and lin to th words of my mouth. O God, har my pray and lin to th words I say. Hr is how othrs hav translatd this vrs:
Psalm 54 10 Early translations: Th Sptuagint O God, har my prayr; lin to th words of my mouth. Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrass: CEV NLT Lin to my prayr and har what I say. O God, lin to my prayr. Pay attntion to my pla. Moly litral rndrings (with som occasional paraphrasing): God s Word O God, har my prayr, and opn your ars to th words from my mouth. Litral, almo word-for-word, rndrings: MKJV Young's Updatd LT Har my prayr, O God; giv ar to th words of my mouth. O God, har my prayr, Giv ar to th sayings of my mouth,... What is th gi of this vrs? David tlls God to lin to him, and to pay attntion to what h has to say. Psalm 54:2a ì lôhîym (îé äò Éì àá ) [pronouncd l-o-heem] gods or God; translitratd Elohim masculin plural noun Strong's #430 BDB #43 shâma (ò îç È ) [pronouncd shaw- MAHÌ] to lin, to har, to lin intntly, to lin and oby, to lin and act upon, to lin and giv hd to, to harkn to, to b attntiv to, to lin and tak not of, to lin and b cognizant of nd 2 prson masculin singular, Qal imprativ Strong's #8085 BDB #1033 t phillâh (ä È ô ò úó ) [pronouncd t -phil- LAWH] prayr, intrcssion, supplication for any on; prayr or supplication in gnral; a hymn or inspird song fminin singular noun with th 1 prson singular suffix Strong s #8605 BDB #813 Translation: O Elohim, har my prayr... David calls out to God with two imprativs. David is a blivr in Jsus Chri, so not only can h pray to God, but h can dmand that God har him. Furthrmor, David is a growing blivr, so what h has to say has contnt. Rcall th illurations I ju gav: som blivrs plad with God and othrs bargain; David dmands to b dlivrd on th basis of God s charactr. As a blivr, h actually has somthing to say. In fact, h actually is writing th Word of God at this momnt, so h has a grat dal to say.
11 Th Book of 1Samul (Th End of 1Sam. 23) Psalm 54:2b âzan (ïæ ÇàÈ ) [pronouncd aw-zahn] to broadn out th ar with th hand in ordr to har; giv ar and answr; to lin and oby; to lin; to wigh nd 2 prson masculin singular, Hiphil imprativ with th voluntativ hê Strong s #238 BDB #24 lâmd (ì) (pronouncd l ) to, for, towards, in rgards to, with rfrnc to, as to, with rgards to, blonging to prposition BDB #510 ã mârîym (íé ø. îè à  ) [pronouncd uh-maw- REEM] words, commands, mandats; spch, that which procds from th mouth masculin plural conruct Strong s #561 (& #562) BDB #56 ph (ä ) [pronouncd ph] mouth, dg masculin singular noun with th 1 prson singular suffix Strong s #6310 BDB #804 Translation:...and lin to th words of my mouth. This is th scond imprativ of this vrs. David tlls God to lin to what h is saying. David s contnt is as important as his rqu. And again, this is an imprativ. David is abl to spak to God in th imprativ primarily bcaus it is in accordanc with God s promiss to David God snt Samul to anoint David king ovr all Isral. David can (1) xpct God to lin to his anointd on and (2) David may dmand that God prsrv him, as God mad him nxt in lin to rul ovr Isral. David maks a similar rqu at th bginning of Psalms 4 5 55. Application: What is your spiritual impact? How faithful hav you bn to your spiritual calling and your spiritual gift? Not on of us is indispnsabl; howvr, som blivrs function whil filld with th Holy Spirit and thy mak us of th spiritual gift that God has givn thm. Thr ar many othr blivrs who, aftr salvation, ar nvr filld with God th Holy Spirit, following thir fir sin, and nvr hav usd thir spiritual gift. If you hav no spiritual impact, thn God has no rason to kp you around (xcpt as a t to othr blivrs). For rangrs ros up again m and trrifying [mn] hav sought my soul. Thy hav not placd Elohim to thir front. Slah. Psalm 54:3 For nmis [or, rangrs] hav arisn again m; and trrifying [or, firc] mn sk my lif. Thy do not plac Elohim bfor thm. [Paus] For nmis hav risn up again m and vicious and trrifying mn sk to kill m. Thy ar not guidd by God. [Musical intrlud] Hr is how othrs hav translatd this vrs: Early translations: Th Pshitta Th Sptuagint For rangrs ris up again m and th mighty sk aftr my lif. Thy hav disrgardd you, O God. For rangrs hav risn up again m, and mighty mn hav sought my lif. Thy hav not God bfor thm. Paus.
Psalm 54 12 Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrass: CEV NAB NLT Crul rangrs hav attackd and want m dad. Not on of thm cars about you. Th arrogant hav risn again m; th ruthlss sk my lif; thy do not kp God bfor thm. Slah For rangrs ar attacking m; violnt mn ar trying to kill m. Thy car nothing for God. Intrlud Moly litral rndrings (with som occasional paraphrasing): God s Word JPS (Tanakh) Strangrs hav attackd m. Ruthlss popl sk my lif. Thy do not think about God. Slah For rangrs hav risn again m, and ruthlss mn sk my lif; thy ar unmindful of God. Litral, almo word-for-word, rndrings: Th Amplifid Bibl MKJV Young's Updatd LT For rangrs and insolnt mn ar risn up again m, and violnt mn and ruthlss ons sk and dmand my lif; thy do not God bfor thm. Slah [paus, and calmly think of that]!. For rangrs hav risn up again m, and crul mn sk aftr my soul; thy hav not God bfor thm. Slah. For rangrs hav risn up again m And trribl ons hav sought my soul, Thy hav not God bfor thm. Slah. What is th gi of this vrs? David tlls God that rangrs hav risn up again him and that violnt mn sk his lif. Ths ar mn who hav no intr in God. Psalm 54:3a kîy (é ò ) [pronouncd k] for, that, bcaus; whn, at that tim, which, what tim conjunction; prposition Strong's #3588 BDB #471 zûwr (ø æ) [pronouncd zoor] a rangr, an alin; an nmy; of anothr family; a rang woman, an adultrss; rang childrn [baards]; unlawful; anothr; nw, unhard of; unauthorizd prson masculin plural, Qal activ participl Strong's #2114 BDB #266 5 Two arly printd ditions and th Aramaic hav insolnt mn hr inad. 5 Josph Bryant Rothrham s Th Emphasizd Bibl; h1971 by Krgl Publications ; p. 556. Th English translation of th Aramaic which I own rads rangrs. Holy Bibl from th Ancint Earn Txt; Gorg Lamsa s translation from th Aramaic of th Pshitta; Harpr Collins; 1968 by A.J.Holman Co.; p. 613.
13 Th Book of 1Samul (Th End of 1Sam. 23) Psalm 54:3a qûwm (í ) [pronouncd koom] to and, to ris up, to ablish, to ablish a vow, to caus a vow to and, to confirm or to fulfill a vow rd 3 prson masculin plural, Qal prfct Strong s #6965 BDB #877 al (ì òç ) [pronouncd ìahl ] upon, byond, on, again, abov, ovr, by, bsid prposition of proximity with th 1 prson singular suffix Strong s #5921 BDB #752 Translation: For nmis [or, rangrs] hav arisn again m;... Evn though it is corrct that nmis hav arisn again David, th us of th word rangr is mor tlling. Ths ar his fllow countrymn; ths ar mn who ar his kin, so to spak; and thy ris up again him. Mn who should trat David as thir brothr; mn David has dlivrd; and thy ris up again him as if thy ar rangrs. In this particular cas, it is th Ziphits mn who do not know David prsonally. Thy ar willing to trad him in for whatvr favors thy will rciv from Saul. Application: Thr will b thos who ris up again you, who do not know you. This is part of th Chriian lif. You may b thinking, hll, I didn t sign up for this. Sorry to inform you, but with bcoming a blivr also coms som additional problms. Howvr, God givs us th rsourcs to dal with ths problms. Lt m offr you an analogy: vryon thinks that thir lif would b suddnly bttr if thy had $10,000,000. Thy sm to think that if thy suddnly got tn million dollars, that vrything would b th sam, xcpt thy could buy mor uff and not hav to worry about bills. If you had tn million dollars, thr would b a plthora of changs in your lif, and not all of thm good. Evn putting asid th actuality that with blssing coms rsponsibility, problms also com with crtain blssings (in fact, walth could vn b considrd a curs, in som cass). Ask th athlt or th clbrity who is sud for no ral rason and blackmaild into tling with thos who dsrv nothing bcaus this is th chap way to dal with bing sud. With mony coms high taxs, high lawyr bills, hundrds of additional dcisions, tc. And you ar thinking, no problm; I m up for that; I m sitting on nough mony to dal with th xtra hadachs. Bingo. Now you gt th analogy. So it is with th Chriian lif you hav ju had $10,000,000 put into your bank account. You ar richr than you could vr imagin. Howvr, with ths richs coms a fw hadachs. But, it is okay you hav nough by way of ass to dal with all of ths problms. In fact, lt s ju tak this in points: Th Tn Million Dollar Analogy 1. Bcoming a blivr in Jsus Chri is lik having $10,000,000 put into your bank account. 2. Whn you find yourslf with suddn walth, you also tak on a plthora of problms, many of which you nvr anticipatd. 3. Whn you bliv in Jsus Chri, you suddnly find yourslf with a plthora of problms, many of which you nvr anticipatd. 4. With $10,000,000 coms highr taxs, popl who want to al this from you, high lawyr fs, and a plthora of hadachs and popl that prior to this walth, wr not a part of your lif. 5. With Jsus Chri as your Savior coms th attack of Satan s dmon cadr, which may tak th form of problms with othr blivrs or unblivrs that you nvr had troubl with bfor. Furthrmor, from God, you fac divin disciplin whn you ar out of fllowship, as wll as ting and additional xprincs which you would not hav had as an unblivr. 6. If on day, you hav nothing, and th nxt day, you hav $10,000,000; guarantd, you will har from a lawyr. H may offr his srvics to you or h may contact you with intnt to su but you will har from a lawyr.
Psalm 54 14 Th Tn Million Dollar Analogy 7. Onc you hav blivd in Jsus Chri, you will bcom a part of th anglic conflict. Satan s dmons will contact you in som way or anothr. Now, don t panic God dos not allow thm to manif thmslvs to you but thy will attack in on way or anothr. Thy will obsrv and look at your for your many failings. Onc you ar a blivr, dmon attacks will bcom a part of your lif. 8. With an additional $10,000,000 in your account, you might b abl to afford a lawyr to dal with attacks from othr lawyrs. With this mony, you hav th mans to dal with many of th problms that suddnly hav bcom a part of your lif. 9. Whn you bliv in Jsus Chri, you ar givn about 40 things at salvation* at la 39 irrvocabl oprating ass (and on rvokabl as th filling of God th Holy Spirit). God givs you th ability and th spiritual ass to dal with dmon attacks. 10. Whn you bliv in Jsus Chri, thn you fac divin disciplin that is, whn you sin and gt out of fllowship, thn God may disciplin you. Howvr, God has givn you th solution: th filling of God th Holy Spirit. All you nd to do is nam your sin or sins to God, and God forgivs you, basd upon th cross; and God th Holy Spirit fills you (s 1Cor. 11:31 1Jouhn 1:9). 11. Aftr you bliv in Jsus Chri, you will fac crtain ts; howvr, God will s that you ar nvr td byond what you can bar. This is a promis from God. 1Co 10:13: No tmptation has ovrtakn you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and h will not lt you b tmptd byond your ability, but with th tmptation h will also provid th way of scap, that you may b abl to ndur it. 12. In th analogy, th ida is, no mattr what changs and problms that you fac as a rsult of having a suddn $10,000,000 addd to your banks account, th amount of mony in your bank account should hlp you to dal with ths changs. 13. In th spiritual lif, whn you bliv in Jsus Chri, you nd up signing on for much mor than you initially anticipat you ar thrown into th middl of th anglic conflict and God th Fathr bcoms your prsonal fathr. Howvr, God also has sn to it that you hav nough ass in your lif to b abl to dal with th additional changs, problms and rsponsibilitis that you hav assumd whn you bcam a child of God. *Bob Thim Jr. and Bob Thim III both li 40 things which w rciv at salvation; a visiting paor said thr wr 47 (if mmory srvs m). Rgardlss of th xact numbr, th ida is w ar givn sufficint spiritual ass to dal with whatvr problms b us. Rturn to Chaptr Outlin Rturn to th Chart and Map Indx Psalm 54:3b w (or v ) (å) [pronouncd wh] and, vn, thn; namly simpl wâw conjunction BDB #251 ârîyts (öé ø òè ò ) [pronouncd ìaw- REETS] trrifying, horrifying, causing far; vry powrful; violnt, firc; aw-inspiring masculin plural adjctiv Strong s #6184 BDB #792 bâqash ( Ç È ) [pronouncd baw- KAHSH] to sk, to sarch, to dsir, to riv aftr, to attmpt to gt, to rquir, to dmand, to ask, to sk with dsir and dilignc rd 3 prson plural, Pil prfct Strong s #1245 BDB #134
15 Th Book of 1Samul (Th End of 1Sam. 23) Psalm 54:3b nphsh ( ôð) [pronouncd NEH-fsh] soul, lif, living bing, dsir fminin singular noun with th 1 prson singular suffix Strong s #5315 BDB #659 Translation:...and trrifying [or, firc] mn sk my lif... Rcall that Saul took his b soldirs out again David. Ths wr mn whos profssion was killing. Thy wr adpt and wll-traind, and thrfor trrifying. Rcall that David was not a larg man. H was muscular and wll-built, but h was smallr than mo soldirs. Furthrmor, thr wr 3000 wll-traind mn, mn with combat xprinc, who wr out to kill him. Th point is, David was in srious dangr; but h also had srious protction. Psalm 54:3c lô (àéì or à ì) [pronouncd low] not, no ngats th word or action that follows; th absolut ngation Strong s #3808 BDB #518 sîym (íé ò ) [pronouncd sm]; also splld sûwm (í ) [pronouncd soom] to put, to plac, to, to mak rd 3 prson plural, Qal prfct Strong's #7760 BDB #962 ì lôhîym (îé äò Éì àá ) [pronouncd l-o-heem] gods or God; translitratd Elohim masculin plural noun Strong's #430 BDB #43 lâmd (ì) [pronouncd l ] to, for, towards, in rgards to prposition BDB #510 ngd (ã âð) [pronouncd NEH-gd] what is conspicuous whn it is a subantiv and, as a prposition, in front of, in th sight of, opposit to, bfor (in th sns of bing in front of) prposition with th 3 rd prson masculin plural suffix Strong s #5048 BDB #617 Togthr, th lâmd prposition and ngd man in front of, bfor [somon], in th sight of, in th prsnc of; anding opposit, anding in front of. Translation:...Thy do not plac Elohim bfor thm... Hr is th problm as David ss it. Ths mn do not valu God. Thy do not rally worship God. Thrfor, thir valus ar all mssd up. Th ky in this lif is not gtting along with your fllow man, but having th right rlationship with God (compar Psalm 36:1 53:4). Ths mn ar th antithsis of David, who writs in Psalm 16:8: I hav th LORD always bfor m; bcaus h is at my right hand, I shall not b shakn. Th ida is, thos namd hr (th Ziphits as wll as Saul s army), act without any considration as to what is right or wrong by th andards of God. Without a clar sns of authority, ndangring David s lif or vn taking David s lif is not a concrn of thir conscinc. Thy ar concrnd about what is in it for thm; but thy ar not concrnd with th rightnss or wrongnss of thir actions. God is not bfor thm; thy do not look to God for guidanc.
Psalm 54 16 Psalm 54:3d çlâh (äì Èñ) [pronouncd sh-law] to lift up, to lvat, to xalt [with on s voic], to gathr, to ca up [into a hap]; it is translitratd Slah intrjction Strong s #5542 BDB #699 Th vrbal cognat is âlâh (ä ìè ñè ) [pronouncd saw-law], which mans to lift up and toss asid. In th Pil m, it mans to wigh, which involvs lifting up th objct and placing it upon th balanc. Gsnius givs th maning of çlâh as r, silnc, paus, as çlâh dos not ncssarily hav to match th maning of its cognats. My thinking, which is a combination of BDB and Gsnius, is that th voics build up to a crscndo hr, and, vry likly, thy ar thn followd by a vocal (but not ncssarily, musical) silnc. This would 6 rconcil th points mad by Gsnius and ill mak this compatibl with its cognats. Anothr vry rasonabl possibility is that th inrumnts ar liftd up for a musical intrlud. Th NLT translation of Intrlud is vry good. Translation:...[Paus] At this point, w ar to op and to pondr David s words, as h plays a musical bridg or intrlud. This can also indicat a chang of pac or a slight chang of focus in th psalm itslf. 7 Spurgon: Slah. As if h said, Enough of this, lt us paus. H is out of brath with indignation. Rturn to Chaptr Outlin Rturn to th Chart and Map Indx God Will Hlp David and Dispns with His Fos B hold, Elohim, a h lp r to m ; my Adonai upholding my soul. Psalm 54:4 Lin, Elohim [is] my hlpr and my Adonai suains my soul. Lin, God is my hlpr and my Lord will suain my soul. Hr is how othrs hav translatd this vrs: Early translations: Th Pshitta Th Sptuagint Bhold, God is my hlpr; th LORD suains my soul. For lo! God assis m; and th Lord is th hlpr of my soul. Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrass: CEV NAB NJB NLT You will hlp m, Lord God, and kp m from falling;... God is prsnt as my hlpr; th Lord suains my lif. But now God is coming to my hlp, th Lord, among thos who suain m. But God is my hlpr, Th Lord is th on who kps m aliv! 6 7 For mor discussion, s H.W.F. Gsnius, Hbrw-Chald Lxicon to th Old Tamnt; 1979 by Bakr Books; p. 588. Charls Haddon Spurgon, A Trasury of David; -Sword, Psalm 54:1 3.
17 Th Book of 1Samul (Th End of 1Sam. 23) Moly litral rndrings (with som occasional paraphrasing): God s Word God is my hlpr! Th Lord is th providr for my lif. Litral, almo word-for-word, rndrings: MKJV Young's Updatd LT Bhold, God is my hlpr; Jhovah is with thos who uphold my soul. Lo, God is a hlpr to m, Th Lord is with thos supporting my soul,... What is th gi of this vrs? God hlps David, and givs David innr rsourcs to dal with his problms. Psalm 54:4a hinnêh (ä Åäò ) [pronouncd hin-nay] lo, bhold, or mor frly, obsrv, look hr, look, lin, pay attntion, gt this, chck this out intrjction, dmonrativ particl Strong s #2009 (and #518, 2006) BDB #243 ì lôhîym (îé äò Éì àá ) [pronouncd l-o-heem] gods or God; translitratd Elohim masculin plural noun Strong's #430 BDB #43 âzar (øæ ÇòÈ ) [pronouncd ìaw-zahr] hlpr, on who aids; an ally Qal activ participl Strong s #5826 BDB #740 lâmd (ì) [pronouncd l ] to, for, towards, in rgards to prposition with th 1 prson singular suffix BDB #510 Translation: Lin, Elohim [is] my hlpr... In th prvious vrs, David has concntratd on his nmis. Th la thing that h said about thm was, thy did not plac God bfor thm. On th othr hand, David has a hlpr in God. This is mor than a man who placs God in th forfront and considrs his own actions in th light of trnity; David is a man who can look to God for hlp. His rlationship with God is th antithsis of th rlationship that his nmis hav with God. Rcall th analogy that I offrd: a rlationship with God is lik having tn million dollars dpositd into your bank account. You hav a fw mor problms, but thn you hav th ass with which to dal with thos problms. On of thos ass is God Himslf; God willingly hlps thos who blong to Him. Psalm 54:4b âdôwn (ï ã àè ) [pronouncd aw-dohn] lord, mar, ownr, suprior, sovrign; translitratd adonai masculin plural noun with th 1 prson plural suffix Strong s #113 BDB #10 h b ( ) [pronouncd b ] Ó in, into, at, by, nar, on, with, bfor, in th prsnc of, upon, again, by mans of, among, within a prposition of proximity BDB #88
Psalm 54 18 Psalm 54:4b çâmak ( î ñè ) - [pronouncd saw MAHK ] to lan, to r; to uphold, to support, to suain, to aid; to plac, to lay [somthing upon somthing ls]; to approach masculin plural conruct, Qal activ participl Strong s #5564 BDB #701 nphsh ( ôð) [pronouncd NEH-fsh] soul, lif, living bing, dsir fminin singular noun with th 1 prson singular suffix Strong s #5315 BDB #659 Translation:...and my Adonai suains my soul. Evn in his dark hours, David is supportd by th Lord. What is important hr is, God suains David s soul; God suains David s innr slf. Notic that what is important is David s soul. Whn w ar undr prssur, th fir thing that w call for is for God to rmov th prssur. If w hav a problm, w ask God to rmov that problm. David dos not do that; h rcognizs hr that God is his hlpr and that God suains him intrnally. Hr, in th cntr of this psalm, w hav David xprssing his confidnc in prfct God. I gav you an analogy about bing savd is lik rciving tn million dollars. On chif diffrnc is, if you do not hav th intrnal rsourcs to dal with tn million dollars, not only ar you incrasing th numbr of hadachs in your lif, but you lack th intrnal rsourcs to dal with ths hadachs. Furthrmor, vn though you hav mor problms, and mor mony in th analogous situation you ar also placd in a position whr you cannot back out. You cannot go back to having littl or no mony; but now, you ar actually lss happy with mor mony. Th Chriian way of lif is diffrnt. God givs us th innr rsourcs to dal with our nwfound trasurs. H givs us th innr rsourcs to dal with our nw problms. All it taks is som spiritual growth, and that coms via doctrin and th filling of th Holy Spirit. Howvr, th nd rsult is, whatvr changs that bcoming a blivr puts us through, God givs us th ability to dal with ths changs. H givs us th innr rsourcs. W find this thm of God as our hlpr throughout Scriptur: Psalm 118:6, 7, 13 1Chron. 12:18 Isa. 41:10 42:1 50:7-9 Rom. 8:31 Hb. 13:6. H causs to rturn th vil to my advrsaris H causs [thir] vil to rturn [or, th vil is causd to b rturnd]; in Your faithfulnss, mak thm silnt. Psalm 54:5 H causs [thir] vil to rturn [or, th vil is causd to b rturnd] to my advrsaris; silnc thm [or, droy thm] in Your faithfulnss [or, rliability]. H caus s th ir v il to r turn to my adv rsari s; droy thm in Your faithfulnss. Hr is how othrs hav translatd this vrs: Early translations: Th Pshitta Th Sptuagint Bring disar to my nmis; silnc thm in Your truth. H will rturn vil to my nmis; uttrly droy thm in Your truth. Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrass: CEV...you will punish my nmis for thir vil dds. B my faithful frind and droy thm.
19 Th Book of 1Samul (Th End of 1Sam. 23) NAB NLT REB Turn back th vil upon my fos; in your faithfulnss, droy thm. May my nmis plans for vil b turnd again thm. Do as you promisd and put an nd to thm. May thir own malic rcoil on th fos who b m! Show yourslf faithful and droy thm. Moly litral rndrings (with som occasional paraphrasing): God s Word JPS (Tanakh) My nmis spy on m. Pay thm back with vil. Droy thm with your truth! H will rpay th vil of my watchful fos; by Your faithfulnss, droy thm! Litral, almo word-for-word, rndrings: MKJV NRSV Young's Updatd LT H shall rward vil to my nmis; cut thm off in Your truth. H will rpay my nmis for thir vil, In your faithfulnss, put an nd to thm. Turn back dos th vil thing to min nmis, In Your truth cut thm off. What is th gi of this vrs? David asks for God to snd back vil to his nmis (th sam vil thy man for him); and h asks for God to put an nd to thm. Psalm 54:5a b shûw v (á ) b [pronouncd shoo v] to caus to rturn, to bring, to b causd to turn back mntally, rminisc, to rturn somthing, to ror, to bring back, to rgain, to rcovr, to mak ritution, rconsidr, think again, or to b causd to rturn rd 3 prson masculin singular, Hiphil imprfct Strong's #7725 BDB #996 ra (ò øç ) [pronouncd rahì] vil, bad, wickd; vil in apparanc, dformd; disagrabl, displasing; unhappy, unfortunat; sad masculin singular noun with th dfinit articl Strong s #7451 BDB #948 Writtn [Lt] vil [or, mischif] turn back; rad:: [Lt] him turn back vil [or, mischif]. In on arly printd dition, 8 in th Aramaic and in th Sptuagint, it also rads: [Lt] him turn back vil [or, mischif]. I cam up with my final translation apart from knowing this. lâmd (ì) [pronouncd l ] to, for, towards, in rgards to prposition with th 1 prson singular suffix BDB #510 8 Josph Bryant Rothrham s Th Emphasizd Bibl; h1971 by Krgl Publications ; p. 556. I mad som slight changs; this was not quotd xactly from Rothrham.
Psalm 54 20 Psalm 54:5a shârar (ø ø - È ) [pronouncd shaw- RAHR] to twi, to twin; to b firm, hard; to prss togthr; to opprss; in th plural participl, advrsaris, nmis; [vil] obsrvrs, [insidious] watchrs masculin plural, Qal activ participl (possibly a Pol participl); with th 1 prson singular suffix Strong s #8324 BDB #1004 Thr ar svral problms with this word. Own lis it simply as a masculin plural noun. BDB also lis it as a masculin plural noun, rndring it [insidious] watchr. Th Nw Englishman s Hbrw Concordanc of th Old Tamnt and Gsnius both considr this to b a masculin plural, Qal (or possibly Pol) activ participl which only occurs in this form in Scriptur (th Hbrw Concordanc lis th passags Psalm 5:8 54:5 56:2 59:10; BDB adds Psalm 27:10 (11) 92:11(12)). Th rlativ plthora and varity of manings ar du to disagring Hbrw scholars, rathr than bcaus thr ar many manings that w could attach to this word. Thr appars to b a disagrmnt as to how this word is splld, which would of cours affct how w rad it. Th vrb as lid by Gsnius and th Hbrw Concordanc is found nowhr ls. Th rndrings [insidious] watchr, [vil] obsrvr; opprssor, advrsary, nmy ar all apropos to th passags whr shârar occurs. Translation: H causs [thir] vil to rturn [or, th vil is causd to b rturnd] to my advrsaris;... David s advrsaris hav don nothing but snd vil his way. David says that this vil to b rturnd upon thm. I hav insrtd th word thir as this vrs spaks of th vil bing rturnd or turnd back. This implis that th vil cam from David s advrsaris. Application: I talkd to somon th othr day, and thy had bn hurt by anothr prson and thy wantd to tll him what h did was wrong and thy wantd to prvnt this prson from doing this again. Howvr, this was a prsonal mattr; what this woman would say would probably hav littl or no ffct on this guy. Howvr, sh could r assurd that God would dal with this guy. David promiss that to us right hr. You will not that, dspit th confusion of this portion of v. 5, this is not vr confusd with th 1 prson singular. That is, David dos not com to God in prayr and say, Lt m kick thir butts. Thy hav bn a ain in min for th pa svral yars; lt m gt my rvng on thm. That is not an issu. David nvr maks a rqu lik that. H asks for God to do this. I want you to not somthing ls. Sinc I hav placd this psalm whr it blongs, aftr 1Sam. 23, it has a much richr maning. David is not som kid who is bing bullid on th playground and h wants God to kid ths kids bcaus thy ar man to him. Ths ar mn who daily sk David s lif. This is thir focus, and it is without rason that thy chas aftr David. David is compltly innocnt of all th allgd chargs mad again him by Saul. My point is, vn undr ths lif and dath conditions, David ill is satisfid laving rvng in God s hands. God, you tak th vil thy man for m and turn it around again thm. It is lgitimat to mak this kind of prayr. Illuration: I was rmovd from a taching position, and on of th rasons citd was, I did not spnd nough tim prparing my udnts for a andardizd t. My udnts did not nd xtnsiv prparation for this t and thy did wll on this t. Howvr, I lft this school. Two yars latr, aftr vn mor tim was dvotd to doing wll on ths ts, math scors at my old school droppd 25 points (out of 100), th larg drop I bliv that thy vr xprincd. Th t was changd, and sinc thy spnt all thir tim prparing for on t, thy could not do wll on th nxt. Not only this, but thir scors wr consintly blow th Txas avrag, whn, in prvious yars, this suburb was known for its xcllnt schools. Th fact that I was rmovd was vil. Th machinations bhind it wr vil; God took this vil and turnd it upon thos fw who had a hand in my rmoval. I did not vn