Psalm 57 is the 57th 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 ...

, 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 English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

: "Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me". 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 t ...

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 56. In Latin, it is known as " Miserere mei Deus". 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 is described as a '' Michtam'' of David, when he fled from the face of

Saul Saul (; he, , ; , ; ) was, according to the Hebrew Bible, the first monarch of the United Kingdom of Israel. His reign, traditionally placed in the late 11th century BCE, supposedly marked the transition of Israel and Judah from a scattered tri ...

, in the cave, recalling either the

cave of Adullam The Cave of Adullam was originally a stronghold referred to in the Old Testament, near the town of Adullam, where future King David sought refuge from King Saul. The word "cave" is usually used but "fortress", which has a similar appearance in w ...

(

1 Samuel 22 1 Samuel 22 is the twenty-second chapter of the First Book of Samuel in the Old Testament of the Christian Bible or the first part of the Books of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible. According to Jewish tradition the book was attributed to the prophet Sam ...

), or the cave in the wilderness of En-gedi, on the western shore of the

Dead Sea The Dead Sea ( he, יַם הַמֶּלַח, ''Yam hamMelaḥ''; ar, اَلْبَحْرُ الْمَيْتُ, ''Āl-Baḥrū l-Maytū''), also known by other names, is a salt lake bordered by Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Ban ...

(1 Samuel 24).Kirkpatrick, A. (1906)
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
on Psalm 57, accessed 27 November 2021 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 ...

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 t ...

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

Text

Hebrew Bible version

The following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 57:

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 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 ...

consists of two parts. In the first, verses 1–6, David gives expression to the anxiety which he felt, imploring Divine assistance against

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.

Melody

The psalm is addressed to a leader of worship; possibly this psalm was sung to a

melody A melody (from Greek μελῳδία, ''melōidía'', "singing, chanting"), also tune, voice or line, is a linear succession of musical tones that the listener perceives as a single entity. In its most literal sense, a melody is a combina ...

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). The same directive, "Do Not Destroy", can be found in the headings of

Psalm 58 Psalm 58 is the 58th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation?". In the slightly different numbering system of the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible and t ...

and Psalm 59.

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.''

Alexander Kirkpatrick Alexander Francis Kirkpatrick (25 June 1849 – 22 January 1940) was Regius Professor of Hebrew at Cambridge University (1882–1903) and the third Master of Selwyn College, Cambridge (1898–1907). Life Kirkpatrick was born at Lewes, East S ...

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 .

Uses

Judaism

*Verse 3 is found in the repetition of the

Amidah The ''Amidah Amuhduh'' ( he, תפילת העמידה, ''Tefilat HaAmidah'', 'The Standing Prayer'), also called the ''Shemoneh Esreh'' ( 'eighteen'), is the central prayer of the Jewish liturgy. Observant Jews recite the ''Amidah'' at each ...

Rosh Hashanah Rosh HaShanah ( he, רֹאשׁ הַשָּׁנָה, , literally "head of the year") is the Jewish New Year. The biblical name for this holiday is Yom Teruah (, , lit. "day of shouting/blasting") It is the first of the Jewish High Holy Days (, , ...

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 Brit ...

'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,Church of England
Book of Common Prayer: The Psalter
as printed by

John Baskerville John Baskerville (baptised 28 January 1707 – 8 January 1775) was an English businessman, in areas including japanning and papier-mâché, but he is best remembered as a printer and type designer. He was also responsible for inventing "w ...

in 1762, pp. 196ff and it is a Proper Psalm for

Easter Day Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the ''Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel P ...

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 ...

set Psalm 57 in a metred version in German, "Sei mir gnädig, o Gott, mein Herr", SWV 154, as part of 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 cont ...

'', first published in 1628.

References

External links

* * * in Hebrew and English - Mechon-mamre * Text of Psalm 57 according to th
1928 Psalter

For the director. Do not destroy.* A miktam of David, when he fled from Saul into a cave. / Have mercy on me, God, have mercy on me.
text and footnotes, usccb.org United States Conference of Catholic Bishops

introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
Psalm 57 – From the Cave to Above the Heavens
enduringword.com
Psalm 57 Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me

Psalm 57
at biblegateway.com
Hymns for Psalm 57
hymnary.org {{Psalms 057 Works attributed to David