Psalms / Chapter 57

Psalms 57

12 verses • Westminster Leningrad Codex

Translator's Introduction

What This Chapter Is About

A psalm of refuge and praise, attributed to David when he fled from Saul into a cave. David takes shelter under God's wings, declares his trust amid enemies whose teeth are spears and whose tongues are sharp swords, and erupts into praise that aims to wake the dawn. The psalm features the refrain 'Be exalted above the heavens, God; let your glory be over all the earth.'

What Makes This Chapter Remarkable

The psalm's most striking moment is verse 9 (Hebrew): 'Wake up, my glory! Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake the dawn.' David does not wait for the dawn to come and bring hope — he commands his instruments to rouse the dawn itself. This is the audacity of worship in darkness: the singer does not wait for conditions to improve before praising. The praise itself becomes the agent that summons the new day. The cave setting (whether Adullam, 1 Samuel 22:1, or En-gedi, 1 Samuel 24:3) adds physical texture — David is literally underground, in darkness, hiding, and from that place he declares that God's faithfulness reaches the skies (v. 11).

Translation Friction

The superscription says al tashchet ('do not destroy'), which may be a melody name or a liturgical instruction. Some connect it to David's refusal to destroy Saul in the cave at En-gedi (1 Samuel 24:4-7) or in the Wilderness of Ziph (1 Samuel 26:9). The second half of this psalm (vv. 8-12) reappears almost identically as Psalm 108:2-6, suggesting that psalm compositions could be modular — sections recombined for different liturgical purposes.

Connections

The cave setting connects to 1 Samuel 22:1 (cave of Adullam) or 24:1-7 (cave at En-gedi). The 'wings' refuge image (v. 2) echoes Ruth 2:12 and Psalm 36:7. The teeth-as-spears imagery (v. 5) parallels Psalm 52:4 and Proverbs 30:14. Psalm 108:2-6 reuses verses 8-12. The faithfulness-to-the-skies language (v. 11) appears also in Psalm 36:5 and 89:2.

Psalms 57:1

לַמְנַצֵּ֣חַ אַל־תַּ֭שְׁחֵת לְדָוִ֣ד מִכְתָּ֑ם בְּבׇרְח֖וֹ מִפְּנֵי־שָׁא֣וּל בַּמְּעָרָֽה׃

For the director of music. "Do Not Destroy." A miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave.

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

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. al tashchet ('do not destroy') appears in four psalm superscriptions (57, 58, 59, 75). Whether this is a melody title, a liturgical instruction, or a thematic label is uncertain. If connected to the cave narrative, it may recall David's command to his men not to destroy Saul when they had the chance (1 Samuel 24:6; 26:9). The miktam designation links this psalm to the cluster of Psalms 56-60.
Psalms 57:2

חׇנֵּ֤נִי אֱלֹהִ֨ים ׀ חׇנֵּ֗נִי כִּ֥י בְךָ֮ חָסָ֢יָה נַ֫פְשִׁ֥י וּבְצֵל־כְּנָפֶ֥יךָ אֶחְסֶ֑ה עַ֝֗ד יַעֲבֹ֥ר הַוּֽוֹת׃

Be gracious to me, God — be gracious to me, for in you my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of your wings I will take shelter until the storms of destruction pass.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The cave provides a physical analog for the theological image: David is literally hiding in a dark enclosed space while enemies search for him outside. The 'wings' transform the cave from a hole in the ground to the shelter of God's presence.
  2. havvot ('destructions') is the same word used in Psalm 52:4 for what the wicked tongue devises. David is sheltering from the same destructive forces that the previous psalms have been naming.
Psalms 57:3

אֶ֭קְרָא לֵאלֹהִ֣ים עֶלְי֑וֹן לָ֝אֵ֗ל גֹּמֵ֥ר עָלָֽי׃

I call out to God Most High, to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

KJV I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. gomer alai ('who completes/finishes concerning me') — God is not a partial actor but one who carries things to completion. The verb gamar means 'to finish, to complete, to bring to an end.' Whatever God has started in David's life, he will see it through. This anticipates Paul's confidence in Philippians 1:6.
Psalms 57:4

יִשְׁלַ֤ח מִשָּׁמַ֨יִם ׀ וְיוֹשִׁ֘יעֵ֤נִי חֵרֵ֣ף שֹׁאֲפִ֣י סֶ֑לָה יִשְׁלַ֥ח אֱ֝לֹהִ֗ים חַסְדּ֥וֹ וַאֲמִתּֽוֹ׃

He will send from heaven and save me; he rebukes the one who tramples me. Selah. God will send his faithful love and his truth.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת chesed ve-emet
"faithful love and truth" — loyal love and reliability, covenant faithfulness and trustworthiness

This word pair functions as a compound description of God's covenant character. When God sends chesed ve-emet, he sends his own nature into the situation. The pair appears at key moments of divine intervention throughout the Hebrew Bible.

Translator Notes

  1. The pairing of chesed ve-emet ('faithful love and truth') is one of the most common divine attribute pairs in the Hebrew Bible (Genesis 24:27, Psalm 25:10, 85:10, 89:14). The two qualities are inseparable: love without truth is sentimentality; truth without love is brutality. God's character holds both in perfect union.
Psalms 57:5

נַפְשִׁ֤י ׀ בְּת֥וֹךְ לְבָאִם֮ אֶשְׁכְּבָ֢ה לֹ֫הֲטִ֥ים בְּֽנֵי־אָדָ֗ם שִׁ֭נֵּיהֶם חֲנִ֣ית וְחִצִּ֑ים וּ֝לְשׁוֹנָ֗ם חֶ֣רֶב חַדָּֽה׃

My soul lies down among lions, among people who are ablaze — whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongue is a sharpened sword.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The lion image transforms David's cave setting: he is not merely hiding in a cave — he is lying down in a lions' den. The cave that should be refuge has become a trap with predators. The tongue-as-sword image continues the thread from Psalms 52 and 55: speech is the deadliest weapon in these psalms.
Psalms 57:6

ר֣וּמָה עַל־הַשָּׁמַ֣יִם אֱלֹהִ֑ים עַ֖ל כׇּל־הָאָ֣רֶץ כְּבוֹדֶֽךָ׃

Be exalted above the heavens, God! Let your glory be over all the earth!

KJV Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; let thy glory be above all the earth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. This refrain appears again at verse 12, framing the psalm's second half. It reappears in Psalm 108:6. The prayer for God's glory over 'all the earth' expands the psalm's scope from personal rescue to cosmic reality — David's situation is a small piece of a much larger story.
Psalms 57:7

רֶ֤שֶׁת ׀ הֵכִ֣ינוּ לִפְעָמַי֮ כָּפַ֢ף נַ֫פְשִׁ֥י כָּר֣וּ לְפָנַ֣י שִׁיחָ֑ה נָפְל֖וּ בְתוֹכָ֣הּ סֶֽלָה׃

They set a net for my steps; my soul was bowed low. They dug a pit before me — they fell into it themselves! Selah.

KJV 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.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The selah after the reversal creates a pause for the listener to absorb the justice: they dug a pit, and they fell into it. The simplicity of the reversal is its power. No elaborate mechanism is needed — evil defeats itself when God is at work.
Psalms 57:8

נָכ֣וֹן לִ֭בִּי אֱלֹהִ֣ים נָכ֣וֹן לִבִּ֑י אָשִׁ֖ירָה וַאֲזַמֵּֽרָה׃

My heart is steady, God; my heart is steady. I will sing — I will make music!

KJV My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed: I will sing and give praise.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. nakhon from kun ('to establish, to make firm') is the opposite of mot ('to totter, to shake'). David's heart has stopped shaking. This does not mean his circumstances have changed — he is still in the cave, still hunted. But his inner condition has been established by trust.
Psalms 57:9

ע֤וּרָה כְבוֹדִ֗י ע֭וּרָֽה הַנֵּ֥בֶל וְכִנּ֗וֹר אָעִ֥ירָה שָּֽׁחַר׃

Wake up, my glory! Wake up, harp and lyre! I will wake the dawn.

KJV Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The phrase a'irah shachar ('I will wake the dawn') has been one of the most beloved lines in the Psalter across traditions. It reverses the normal relationship between the singer and the morning: usually dawn wakes the sleeper. Here the worshiper wakes the dawn. Praise creates the conditions for a new day.
Psalms 57:10

א֖וֹדְךָ֥ בָעַמִּ֗ים ׀ אֲדֹנָ֥י אֲ֝זַמֶּרְךָ֗ בַּלְאֻמִּֽים׃

I will give thanks to you among the peoples, Lord; I will make music to you among the nations.

KJV I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The scope expands from David alone in a cave to thanksgiving ba-ammim ('among the peoples') and ba-le'ummim ('among the nations'). David's personal praise has universal ambition — what God has done for one fugitive in a cave deserves to be proclaimed to every nation. This verse is quoted in Romans 15:9 as evidence that God's salvation was always intended to reach the Gentiles.
Psalms 57:11

כִּי־גָדֹ֣ל עַד־שָׁמַ֣יִם חַסְדֶּ֑ךָ וְעַד־שְׁ֝חָקִ֗ים אֲמִתֶּֽךָ׃

For your faithful love is great — reaching to the heavens, and your truth to the skies.

KJV For thy mercy is great unto the heavens, and thy truth unto the clouds.

Notes & Key Terms 1 term

Key Terms

חֶסֶד chesed
"faithful love" — loyal love, covenant faithfulness, kindness, mercy, devotion

Here chesed is given spatial magnitude — it is gadol ('great') and reaches the heavens. The claim is not metaphorical but a statement about the scope of God's commitment: it extends to the farthest boundary imaginable.

Translator Notes

  1. The pairing of chesed and emet with heavens and clouds creates a visual image: God's faithful love fills the entire vertical space between earth and the top of the sky. There is nowhere you can be — even in a cave — that God's love has not already reached.
Psalms 57:12

ר֣וּמָה עַל־שָׁמַ֣יִם אֱלֹהִ֑ים עַ֖ל כׇּל־הָאָ֣רֶץ כְּבוֹדֶֽךָ׃

Be exalted above the heavens, God! Let your glory be over all the earth!

KJV Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens: let thy glory be above all the earth.

Notes & Key Terms

Translator Notes

  1. The refrain returns unchanged, closing the psalm with the same cosmic vision that punctuated its center. The repetition is liturgical — the congregation would have known this line and joined in. The cave is forgotten; the earth is covered in glory.
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