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UHB 1 לַ⁠מְנַצֵּ֗חַ מַשְׂכִּ֥יל לְ⁠דָוִֽד׃ 2 בְּ⁠ב֤וֹא ׀ דּוֹאֵ֣ג הָ⁠אֲדֹמִי֮ וַ⁠יַּגֵּ֪ד לְ⁠שָׁ֫א֥וּל וַ⁠יֹּ֥אמֶר ל֑⁠וֹ בָּ֥א דָ֝וִ֗ד אֶל־בֵּ֥ית אֲחִימֶֽלֶךְ׃ ‡

ULT For the chief musician. A maschil of David; when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

WEBBE For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, “David has come to Ahimelech’s house.”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET For the music director; a well-written song by David. It was written when Doeg the Edomite went and informed Saul: “David has arrived at the home of Ahimelech.”

FBV For the music director. A psalm (maskil) of David, concerning the time when Doeg the Edomite went to Saul and told him, “David has gone to the home of Ahimelech.”

BBE To the chief music-maker. Maschil. Of David. When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul saying, David has come to the house of Ahimelech.

Moff From the Choirmaster’s collection. An ode sung by David when Doeg the Edomite went away and told Saul that David had gone to the house of Ahimelek.

ASV For the Chief Musician. Maschil of David; when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.

Drby To the chief Musician: an instruction. Of David; when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David came to the house of Ahimelech.

RV For the Chief Musician. Maschil of David: when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.

KJB-1769 To the chief Musician, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.

KJB-1611 ¶ To the chiefe Musician, Maschil, A Psalme of Dauid: When Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said vnto him, Dauid is come to the house of Ahimelech.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from marking of added words (and possibly capitalisation and punctuation))

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Psalm 52 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

Psalm 52 is a specific kind of psalm of supplication, an “imprecatory psalm” in which the psalmist describes the actions of wicked people and asks God to judge and punish them. See the discussion of the types of psalms in the introduction to the book of Psalms. 1. Description of Doeg’s wickedness (1–4) 2. Declaration that God will punish Doeg (5–7) 3. David’s statement of his confidence in God (8–9)The superscription to this psalm identifies it as a “maskil.” See the discussion of that term in the introduction to Psalms.As its superscription indicates, the background to this psalm is an episode related in [1 Samuel 22:6–23](../1sa/22/06.md), in which Doeg the Edomite, one of King Saul’s officers, killed Yahweh’s priests and their families. It may be helpful to read that episode before translating this psalm.

Note 1 topic: translate-unknown

לַ⁠מְנַצֵּ֗חַ

(la⁠mənaʦʦēaḩ)

The word translated as chief musician likely refers to the person in charge of music for worship. Some languages may have a term for a music leader. See how you translated the term “chief musician” in the superscription to Psalm 4. Alternate translation: [For the leader of worship music] or [For the music director]

Note 2 topic: translate-transliterate

מַשְׂכִּ֥יל

(maskil)

The superscription to this psalm identifies it as a maskil. Since the meaning of this word is not certain, you may wish to represent it in its Hebrew form and spell it the way it sounds in your language. See the discussion of that term in the Introduction to Psalms.

Note 3 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

בְּ⁠ב֤וֹא ׀ דּוֹאֵ֣ג הָ⁠אֲדֹמִי֮ וַ⁠יַּגֵּ֪ד לְ⁠שָׁ֫א֥וּל וַ⁠יֹּ֥אמֶר ל֑⁠וֹ בָּ֥א דָ֝וִ֗ד אֶל־בֵּ֥ית אֲחִימֶֽלֶךְ

(bə⁠ⱱōʼ dōʼēg hā⁠ʼₐdomī va⁠yaּggēd lə⁠shāʼūl va⁠yoּʼmer l⁠ō bāʼ dāvid ʼel-bēyt ʼₐḩīmelek)

This superscription is referring to events related in [1 Samuel 22:6–23](../1sa/22/06.md). If it would be helpful to your readers, you could describe these events more fully. Alternate translation: [David wrote this song when Doeg the Edomite, an officer of King Saul, came and told Saul that David, whom Saul was trying to kill, had gone to the high priest Ahimelech and that he had received help from him]

Note 4 topic: writing-quotations

וַ⁠יֹּ֥אמֶר ל֑⁠וֹ

(va⁠yoּʼmer l⁠ō)

This phrase introduces a direct quotation. In your translation, use a natural way of introducing direct quotations in your language. It may not be necessary to represent this phrase explicitly.

Note 5 topic: figures-of-speech / explicit

מַשְׂכִּ֥יל לְ⁠דָוִֽד׃ בְּ⁠ב֤וֹא ׀ דּוֹאֵ֣ג הָ⁠אֲדֹמִי֮ וַ⁠יַּגֵּ֪ד לְ⁠שָׁ֫א֥וּל וַ⁠יֹּ֥אמֶר ל֑⁠וֹ בָּ֥א דָ֝וִ֗ד אֶל־בֵּ֥ית אֲחִימֶֽלֶךְ

(maskil lə⁠dāvid. bə⁠ⱱōʼ dōʼēg hā⁠ʼₐdomī va⁠yaּggēd lə⁠shāʼūl va⁠yoּʼmer l⁠ō bāʼ dāvid ʼel-bēyt ʼₐḩīmelek)

This superscription is referring to events related in [1 Samuel 23:19–23](../1sa/23/19.md). If it would be helpful to your readers, you could describe these events more fully. Alternate translation: [This is a maskil that David wrote when he was hiding in the wilderness of Ziph from King Saul, who wanted to kill him, and the people who lived there went and told Saul that he was hiding among them]

Parallel PSA 52:0

Psalm 52 Introduction

Structure and Formatting