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UHB 1 לַ⁠מְנַצֵּ֥חַ בִּ⁠נְגִינֹ֗ת מַשְׂכִּ֥יל לְ⁠דָוִֽד׃ 2 בְּ⁠ב֣וֹא הַ֭⁠זִּיפִים וַ⁠יֹּאמְר֣וּ לְ⁠שָׁא֑וּל הֲ⁠לֹ֥א דָ֝וִ֗ד מִסְתַּתֵּ֥ר עִמָּֽ⁠נוּ׃ ‡

ULT For the chief musician; on stringed instruments. A maschil of David; when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Does David not hide himself with us?”

WEBBE For the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A contemplation by David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “Isn’t David hiding himself amongst us?”

WMBB (Same as above)

NET For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song by David. It was written when the Ziphites came and informed Saul: “David is hiding with us.”

FBV For the music director. With stringed instruments. A psalm (maskil) of David, concerning the time when the Ziphites came to Saul and told him, “David is hiding among us.”

BBE To the chief music-maker; on Neginoth. Maschil. Of David. When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Is not David keeping himself secret among us?

Moff From the Choirmaster’s collection. To a string accompaniment. An ode sung by David when the Ziphites went and told Saul that David was hiding among them.

ASV For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. Maschil of David; when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?

Drby To the chief Musician. On stringed instruments: an instruction. Of David; when the Ziphites came, and said to Saul, Is not David hiding himself with us?

RV For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. Maschil of David: when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?
(For the Chief Musician; on stringd instruments. Maschil of David: when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?)

KJB-1769 To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David, when the Ziphims came and said to Saul, Doth not David hide himself with us?

KJB-1611 ¶ To the chiefe musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalme of Dauid. When the Ziphims came and sayde to Saul: doeth not Dauid hide himselfe with vs?] Saue me, O God, by thy name, and iudge me by thy strength.
(¶ To the chief musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David. When the Ziphims came and said to Saul: doth/does not David hide himself with us?] Save me, Oh God, by thy/your name, and judge me by thy/your strength.)

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Psalm 54 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

Psalm 54 is a psalm of supplication or lament. It includes all the basic elements of that type of psalm. See the discussion of the types of psalms in the introduction to the book of Psalms. 1. Cry for help (1–2) 2. Description of troubles (3) 3. Statement of trust (4–5a) 4. Petition (5b) 5. Vow of praise (6) 6. Renewed statement of trust (7)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 23:19–23](../1sa/23/19.md) in which the people who lived in the wilderness of Ziph went and told Saul, who wanted to kill David, that he was hiding among them. It may be helpful to read that episode before translating this psalm.

Translation Issues in This Psalm

Variation between “you” and “he”

In verses 1, 2, 6, and the second part of verse 5, David addresses Yahweh directly as “you.” In verses 3, 4, 7, and the first part of verse 5, he speaks about Yahweh as “he.” This variation of pronouns reflects the flow of a psalm of supplication from a cry for help (“you”) to a description of troubles and statement of trust (“he”) to a petition and vow of praise (“you”) to a renewed statement of trust (“he”). However, if it would not be natural in your language to switch back and forth between second-person and third-person pronouns, you could use second-person pronouns throughout the psalm, as some versions do. For example, in verse 3, you might say, “They do not set you, God, before them”; in verse 4, you might say, “you, God, are a helper to me”; and in verse 7, you might say, “you deliver me from every trouble.”

Note 1 topic: translate-unknown

לַ⁠מְנַצֵּ֥חַ

(la⁠mənaʦʦēaḩ)

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 / rquestion

הֲ⁠לֹ֥א דָ֝וִ֗ד מִסְתַּתֵּ֥ר עִמָּֽ⁠נוּ

(hₐ⁠loʼ dāvid miştattēr ˊimmā⁠nū)

The Ziphites were using the question form to show that they were certain about what they were saying. If a speaker of your language would not use the question form for that purpose, you could translate this as a statement or as an exclamation. Alternate translation: [David is definitely hiding among us]

Parallel PSA 54:0

Psalm 54 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

Translation Issues in This Psalm

Variation between “you” and “he”