Psalm 57

Psalm 57
Psalm 57
← Psalm 56 Psalm 58 →
Book	Book of Psalms
Hebrew Bible part	Ketuvim
Order in the Hebrew part	1
Category	Sifrei Emet
Christian Bible part	Old Testament
Order in the Christian part	19

Psalm 57
Psalm 57
"Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me"
	Psalm 57 (Psalm LVI in the Vulgate) in Les Très Riches Heures du duc de Berry, Folio 157v, Musée Condé, Chantilly.
Other name	Psalm 57; " Miserere mei Deus";
Language	Hebrew (original)

Psalm 57 is the 57th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me". In the slightly different numbering system of the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible and the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 56. In Latin, it is known as " Miserere mei Deus".^[1]^[2] It is attributed to King David, and is described as a Michtam of David,^[3]^[4] when he fled from the face of Saul,^[5]^[6] in the cave, recalling either the cave of Adullam (1 Samuel 22), or the cave in the wilderness of En-gedi, on the western shore of the Dead Sea (1 Samuel 24).^[7]

The psalm forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music.

Text

Hebrew

The following table shows the Hebrew text^[8]^[9] of the Psalm with vowels alongside an English translation based upon the JPS 1917 translation (now in the public domain).

Verse	Hebrew	English translation (JPS 1917)
1	לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ אַל־תַּ֭שְׁחֵת לְדָוִ֣ד מִכְתָּ֑ם בְּבׇרְח֥וֹ מִפְּנֵי־שָׁ֝א֗וּל בַּמְּעָרָֽה׃‎	For the Leader; Al-tashheth. [A Psalm] of David; Michtam; when he fled from Saul, in the cave.
2	חׇנֵּ֤נִי אֱלֹהִ֨ים ׀ חׇנֵּ֗נִי כִּ֥י בְךָ֮ חָסָ֢יָה נַ֫פְשִׁ֥י וּבְצֵֽל־כְּנָפֶ֥יךָ אֶחְסֶ֑ה עַ֝֗ד יַעֲבֹ֥ר הַוּֽוֹת׃‎	Be gracious unto me, O God, be gracious unto me, for in Thee hath my soul taken refuge; yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I take refuge, until calamities be overpast.
3	אֶ֭קְרָא לֵֽאלֹהִ֣ים עֶלְי֑וֹן לָ֝אֵ֗ל גֹּמֵ֥ר עָלָֽי׃‎	I will cry unto God Most high; unto God that accomplisheth it for me.
4	יִשְׁלַ֤ח מִשָּׁמַ֨יִם ׀ וְֽיוֹשִׁיעֵ֗נִי חֵרֵ֣ף שֹׁאֲפִ֣י סֶ֑לָה יִשְׁלַ֥ח אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים חַסְדּ֥וֹ וַאֲמִתּֽוֹ׃‎	He will send from heaven, and save me, when he that would swallow me up taunteth, Selah; God shall send forth His mercy and His truth.
5	נַפְשִׁ֤י ׀ בְּת֥וֹךְ לְבָאִם֮ אֶשְׁכְּבָ֢ה לֹ֫הֲטִ֥ים בְּֽנֵי־אָדָ֗ם שִׁ֭נֵּיהֶם חֲנִ֣ית וְחִצִּ֑ים וּ֝לְשׁוֹנָ֗ם חֶ֣רֶב חַדָּֽה׃‎	My soul is among lions, I do lie down among them that are aflame; Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, And their tongue a sharp sword.
6	ר֣וּמָה עַל־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם אֱלֹהִ֑ים עַ֖ל כׇּל־הָאָ֣רֶץ כְּבוֹדֶֽךָ׃‎	Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; Thy glory be above all the earth.
7	רֶ֤שֶׁת ׀ הֵכִ֣ינוּ לִפְעָמַי֮ כָּפַ֢ף נַ֫פְשִׁ֥י כָּר֣וּ לְפָנַ֣י שִׁיחָ֑ה נָפְל֖וּ בְתוֹכָ֣הּ סֶֽלָה׃‎	They have prepared a net for my steps, My soul is bowed down; They have digged a pit before me, They are fallen into the midst thereof themselves. Selah
8	נָ֘כ֤וֹן לִבִּ֣י אֱ֭לֹהִים נָכ֣וֹן לִבִּ֑י אָ֝שִׁ֗ירָה וַאֲזַמֵּֽרָה׃‎	My heart is stedfast, O God, my heart is stedfast; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises.
9	ע֤וּרָה כְבוֹדִ֗י ע֭וּרָֽה הַנֵּ֥בֶל וְכִנּ֗וֹר אָעִ֥ירָה שָּֽׁחַר׃‎	Awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp; I will awake the dawn.
10	אוֹדְךָ֖ בָעַמִּ֥ים ׀ אֲדֹנָ֑י אֲ֝זַמֶּרְךָ֗ בַּלְאֻמִּֽים׃‎	I will give thanks unto Thee, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing praises unto Thee among the nations.
11	כִּֽי־גָדֹ֣ל עַד־שָׁמַ֣יִם חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ וְֽעַד־שְׁחָקִ֥ים אֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃‎	For Thy mercy is great unto the heavens, And Thy truth unto the skies.
12	ר֣וּמָה עַל־שָׁמַ֣יִם אֱלֹהִ֑ים עַ֖ל כׇּל־הָאָ֣רֶץ כְּבוֹדֶֽךָ׃‎	Be Thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; Thy glory be above all the earth.

King James Version

To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.

Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.
I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.
He shall send from heaven, and save me from the reproach of him that would swallow me up. Selah. God shall send forth his mercy and his truth.
My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.
They have prepared a net for my steps; my soul is bowed down: they have digged a pit before me, into the midst whereof they are fallen themselves. Selah.
My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.
Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.
I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.
For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.
Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

Structure

The psalm consists of two parts. In the first, verses 1–6, David gives expression to the anxiety which he felt, imploring Divine assistance against Saul and his other enemies. In the second part, verses 7–11, he proceeds upon the confident expectation of deliverance, and stirs up his soul to the exercise of praise.^[10]

Melody

The psalm is addressed to a leader of worship; possibly this psalm was sung to a melody known as "Altaschith or "Do Not Destroy", although there is considerable uncertainty about this. A number of translations have chosen to transliterate the Hebrew expression as "al tashheth" (Tanakh) or "Al-tashheth" (Margolis).^[11] The same directive, "Do Not Destroy", can be found in the headings of Psalm 58^[12] and Psalm 59.^[13]

Verse 6

They have prepared a net for my steps;

My soul is bowed down;

They have dug a pit before me;

Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen.^[14]

Alexander Kirkpatrick suggests that the reference to David's enemies being caught in their own trap indicates an affinity with the cave of En-gedi mentioned in 1 Samuel 24:1–3.^[7]

Uses

Judaism

Verse 3 is found in the repetition of the Amidah on Rosh Hashanah.^[15]

Book of Common Prayer

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the 11th day of the month,^[16] and it is a Proper Psalm for Mattins on Easter Day.^[7]

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz set Psalm 57 in a metred version in German, "Sei mir gnädig, o Gott, mein Herr", SWV 154, as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628. Johann Vierdanck set verses 8–12 in German as a sacred concerto, Mein Herz ist bereit, Gott (My heart is ready, God) for two voices, two violins and continuo, c. 1640.^[17]