Psalm 56 is the 56th psalm of the

Book of Psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived f ...

, beginning in English in the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

: "Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up". In the slightly different numbering system of the Greek

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond th ...

version of the Bible and the Latin

Vulgate The Vulgate (; also called (Bible in common tongue), ) is a late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bible. The Vulgate is largely the work of Jerome who, in 382, had been commissioned by Pope Damasus I to revise the Gospels u ...

, this psalm is Psalm 55. In Latin, it is known as "Miserere mei Deus quoniam conculcavit me homo". The psalm is the first of a series of five psalms in this part of the book which are referred to as

Miktam ''Miktam'' or ''Michtam'' (Hebrew: מִכְתָּם) is a word of unknown meaning found in the headings of Psalms Psalm 16, 16 and Psalm 56, 56–Psalm 60, 60 in the Hebrew Bible. These six Psalms, and many others, are associated with King David, b ...

s. It is attributed to

King David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and may be considered representative of him or anyone else hiding from an enemy. The psalm forms a regular part of

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

and other Protestant liturgies. It has been set to music.

Text

Hebrew Bible version

Following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 56:

King James Version

The following is the full English text of the Psalm from the

King James Bible The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an Bible translations into English, English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and publis ...

. :To the chief Musician upon Jonath-elem-rechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath. # Be merciful unto me, O God: for man would swallow me up; he fighting daily oppresseth me. # Mine enemies would daily swallow me up: for they be many that fight against me, O thou most High. # What time I am afraid, I will trust in thee. # In God I will praise his word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me. # Every day they wrest my words: all their thoughts are against me for evil. # They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps, when they wait for my soul. # Shall they escape by iniquity? in thine anger cast down the people, O God. # Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into thy bottle: are they not in thy book? # When I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies turn back: this I know; for God is for me. # In God will I praise his word: in the LORD will I praise his word. # In God have I put my trust: I will not be afraid what man can do unto me. # Thy vows are upon me, O God: I will render praises unto thee. # For thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

Heading

In the

Hebrew Bible The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;"Tanach"
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...

, Psalm 56:1 comprises the designation :''To the chief Musician upon Jonath-elem-rechokim, Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath.'' (

KJV The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

) rendered in the

New King James Version The New King James Version (NKJV) is an English translation of the Bible. The complete NKJV Bible was published in 1982 by Thomas Nelson, now HarperCollins. The NKJV is described by Thomas Nelson as being "scrupulously faithful to the origin ...

as "Set to 'The Silent Dove in Distant Lands'." From then on verses 1–13 in English versions correspond to verses 2–14 in the Hebrew text. The heading in the Septuagint reads "for the people far off from the holy places (or holy people)", while the

Targum A targum ( arc, תרגום 'interpretation, translation, version') was an originally spoken translation of the Hebrew Bible (also called the ''Tanakh'') that a professional translator ( ''mǝturgǝmān'') would give in the common language of the ...

has "concerning the congregation of Israel, which is compared to a silent dove at the time when they were far from their cities, and turned again and praised the Lord of the world'".

Commentary

The historical setting of this Psalm, as given in its title, is David's flight to Gath, which is recorded in . It is a prayer for help against enemies, ascribed to royal rites, as indicated by the interpretation of the 'peoples' in verse 7 as foreign enemies, the references to national war in verses 1–2, 9, as well as the vows and thank-offerings (verse 12) which are particularly suitable for a king, and the references to 'death' and the 'light of life' (verse 13) are also linked to royal imagery.

Book of Common Prayer

In the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

's ''

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

'', this psalm is appointed to be read on the morning of the 11th day of the month.

Musical settings

Heinrich Schütz Heinrich Schütz (; 6 November 1672) was a German early Baroque composer and organist, generally regarded as the most important German composer before Johann Sebastian Bach, as well as one of the most important composers of the 17th century. He ...

wrote a setting of a paraphrase of Psalm 40 in German, "Herr Gott, erzeig mir Hülf und Gnad", SWV 153, for the ''

Becker Psalter The ''Becker Psalter'' is a German metrical psalter authored by the Leipzig theologian Cornelius Becker and first published by Jakob Apel in Leipzig in 1602 under the title ''Der Psalter Davids Gesangweis''. Several composers set the psalms contai ...

'', published first in 1628.

Mendelssohn Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy (3 February 18094 November 1847), born and widely known as Felix Mendelssohn, was a German composer, pianist, organist and conductor of the early Romantic music, Romantic period. Mendelssohn's compositi ...

used a verse in German for the text of the third

movement Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

from his ''

Lobgesang ''Lobgesang'' (''Hymn of Praise''), Op. 52 ( MWV A 18), is an 11-movement "Symphony-Cantata on Words of the Holy Bible for Soloists, Choir and Orchestra" by Felix Mendelssohn. After the composer's death it was published as his Symphony No. 2 in ...

''.

Alan Hovhaness Alan Hovhaness (; March 8, 1911 – June 21, 2000) was an American-Armenian composer. He was one of the most prolific 20th-century composers, with his official catalog comprising 67 numbered symphonies (surviving manuscripts indicate over 70) and ...

set text from this Psalm, as well as Psalms 54 and 55, in his 1966 work ''Make a Joyful Noise''.

References

External links

* * * in Hebrew and English - Mechon-mamre * Text of Psalm 56 according to th
1928 Psalter

For the director. According to Yonath elem rehoqim. A miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him at Gath. / Have mercy on me, God, for I am treated harshly
text and footnotes, usccb.org United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
Psalm 56 – Faith in the Midst of Fear
enduringword.com
Psalm 56 / Refrain: In God I trust, and will not fear.

Psalm 56
at biblegateway.com
Hymns for Psalm 56
hymnary.org {{Psalms

056 56 may refer to: * 56 (number) * one of the years 56 BC, AD 56, 1856 Events January–March * January 8 – Borax deposits are discovered in large quantities by John Veatch in California. * January 23 – American paddle steame ...

Works attributed to David