Deliver Me from My Enemies (1 Samuel 19:1–24)
1 UST My God, please rescue me from my enemies! Protect me from those who want to attack me! BSB BSB: For the choirmaster. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam of David, when Saul sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him. Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise against me.
2 UST Rescue me from wicked men who are trying to kill me! BSB BSB: Deliver me from workers of iniquity, and save me from men of bloodshed.
3 UST Look! They are hiding and waiting for a chance to kill me! Fierce men have gathered to harm me. Yahweh, they are doing that even though I have not done anything that is wrong! BSB BSB: See how they lie in wait for me. Fierce men conspire against me for no transgression or sin of my own, O LORD.
4 UST I have not committed any sin, but they are hurrying to get ready to attack me. Please consider my situation and come quickly to help me. BSB BSB: For no fault of my own, they move swiftly to attack me. Arise to help me, and take notice.
5 UST Yahweh, you are the God who commands the heavenly armies. You are the God whom we Israelites worship. So I ask you to take action and punish all the people who do not honor you. Do not act mercifully toward those wicked people who have acted treacherously toward me. Selah BSB BSB: O LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, rouse Yourself to punish all the nations; show no mercy to the wicked traitors. Selah
6 UST They are like wild dogs that come out in{ the cool of} the evening and growl as they roam around this city{ looking for scraps of food}. BSB BSB: They return in the evening, snarling like dogs and prowling around the city.
7 UST They make violent threats so loudly that it is as if they are belching. They think,“No one who hears us{ will stop us}!” BSB BSB: See what they spew from their mouths—sharp words from their lips: “For who can hear us?”
8 UST But you mock them, Yahweh. You scoff at people who do not honor you. BSB BSB: But You, O LORD, laugh at them; You scoff at all the nations.
9 UST Because you, God, are the one who protects me and makes me strong, I will depend on you. BSB BSB: I will keep watch for You, O my strength, because You, O God, are my fortress.
10 UST You, God, are faithfully loving to me, and you will come to help me. You will defeat my enemies so that I can look triumphantly at them. BSB BSB: My God of loving devotion will come to meet me; God will let me stare down my foes.
11 UST But do not kill them{ right away}. Otherwise, the Israelite people might forget how you punished them. Instead, use your power to make them wander around helplessly, and then destroy them. Lord, you are like a shield that protects us. BSB BSB: Do not kill them, or my people will forget. Scatter them by Your power, and bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
12 UST The things that they say are sinful. They curse people falsely. May their pride be like a trap that catches them{ and keeps them from doing what they are planning}. BSB BSB: By the sins of their mouths and the words of their lips, let them be trapped in their pride, in the curses and lies they utter.
13 UST Become angry with them and destroy them so that they do not exist anymore. That way people will know that you, God, rule over the Israelite people and the entire world. Selah BSB BSB: Consume them in wrath; consume them till they are no more, so it may be known to the ends of the earth that God rules over Jacob. Selah
14 UST They are like wild dogs that come out in{ the cool of} the evening and growl as they roam around this city{ looking for scraps of food}. BSB BSB: They return in the evening, snarling like dogs and prowling around the city.
15 UST They roam around searching for food. If they do not get enough to eat, they keep roaming around all night. BSB BSB: They scavenge for food, and growl if they are not satisfied.
16 UST But as for me, I will sing each morning about how powerful you are. I will sing joyfully about how faithfully loving you are to me. I will sing about how you protect me when I am in danger. BSB BSB: But I will sing of Your strength and proclaim Your loving devotion in the morning. For You are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.
17 UST I will praise you, who enables me to be strong, because you, God, protect me and faithfully love me as you promised. BSB BSB: To You, O my strength, I sing praises, for You, O God, are my fortress, my God of loving devotion.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.