Original PSA 57:1: Text critical issues=none Clarity of original=clear Importance to us=normal Speaker(s)=Narrator (All still tentative.)

57:0 In Hebrew, ‘miktam’ is perhaps the name of this class of song.

UHB 1 לַ⁠מְנַצֵּ֣חַ אַל־תַּ֭שְׁחֵת לְ⁠דָוִ֣ד מִכְתָּ֑ם בְּ⁠בָרְח֥⁠וֹ מִ⁠פְּנֵי־שָׁ֝א֗וּל בַּ⁠מְּעָרָֽה׃ ‡

BrLXX (PSA 56:1) Εἰς τὸ τέλος, μὴ διαφθείρῃς, τῷ Δαυὶδ εἰς στηλογραφίαν, ἐν τῷ αὐτὸν ἀποδιδράσκειν ἀπὸ προσώπου Σαοὺλ εἰς τὸ σπήλαιον.
(Eis to telos, maʸ diaftheiraʸs, tōi Dawid eis staʸlografian, en tōi auton apodidraskein apo prosōpou Saʼoul eis to spaʸlaion.)

BrTr (PSA 56:1) For the end. Destroy not: by David, for a memorial, when he fled from the presence of Saul to the cave.

ULT For the chief musician; “May You David; miktam. he fled the face of the cave.

UST This is a note for the worship leader: wrote song he fled a cave escape from tune is “Do

BSB & MSB For the choirmaster. [To the tune of] “Do Not Destroy.” A Miktam[fn] of David, when he fled from Saul into the cave.

57:1 Miktam is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 16 and 56–60.

OEB For the leader. Al tashheth. A michtam of David, when he fled from Saul into a cave.

WEBBE & WMBB For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

NET For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; a prayer of David, written when he fled from Saul into the cave.

FBV For the music director. According to “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm (miktam) of David concerning the time he fled from Saul and hid in the cave.

LEB For the music director, according to Do Not Destroy.

BBE To the chief music-maker; put to Al-tashheth. Michtam. Of David. When he went in flight from Saul, in the hole of the rock.

Moff From the Choirmaster’s collection. To the tune of “Destroy it not.” A golden ode sung by David in the cave, when he fled from Saul.

JPS (PSA 57:1) (57-1) For the Leader; Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David; Michtam; when he fled from Saul, in the cave. (57-2) Be gracious unto me, O God, be gracious unto me, for in Thee hath my soul taken refuge; yea, in the shadow of Thy wings will I take refuge, until calamities be overpast.

ASV For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

DRA (PSA 56:1) Unto the end, destroy not, for David, for an inscription of a title, when he fled from Saul into the cave. [1 Kings 24]

Drby To the chief Musician. 'Destroy not.' Of David. Michtam; when he fled from Saul in the cave.

RV For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David: Michtam: when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

KJB-1769 To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David, when he fled from Saul in the cave.

KJB-1611 ¶ To the chiefe musician [fn]Al-taschith, Michtam of Dauid, when hee fled from Saul in the caue.
(Modernised spelling is same as from KJB-1769 above, apart from capitalisation and punctuation and footnotes)

57:0 Or, destroy not.

Wycl (PSA 56:1) The title of the sixte and fiftithe salm. `In Ebreu thus, To the victorie, lese thou not the semeli song, `ether the `swete song of Dauid, `whanne he fledde fro the face of Saul in to the denne. `In Jeroms translacioun thus, For victorie, that thou lese not Dauid, meke and simple, whanne he fledde fro the face of Saul in to the denne.
(The title of the sixth and fiftieth psalm. In Hebrew thus, To the victory, lose thou/you not the seemly song, either the sweet song of David, when he fled from the face of Saul in to the den. In Yeroms translation thus, For victory, that thou/you lose not David, meek and simple, when he fled from the face of Saul in to the den.)

Luth (PSA 57:1) Ein gülden Kleinod Davids, vorzusingen, daß er nicht umkäme, da er vor Saul floh in die Höhle.
(A golden treasure/gem David’s, to_sing_to, that he not would_perish, there he before/in_front_of Saul fled in the cave.)

ClVg (PSA 56:1) In finem, ne disperdas. David in tituli inscriptionem, cum fugeret a facie Saul in speluncam.[fn]
(In the_end, not destroy. David in/into/on titles inscription, when/with to_fleet from face Saul in/into/on cave.)

56.1 In finem. AUG. Psalmus de resurrectione et passione breviter. Hoc agit psalmus ne, tu, Pilate, vel tu quicunque, corrumpas David, etc., negando regem, quia tectus carne fugit a cognitione Judæorum Ibid. Nullus titulus inscriptus est David, etc., usque ad ubi latuit Christus incognitus Judæis

56.1 In the_end. AUG. Psalm/Song from/about resurrection and passionately briefly/shortly. This acts psalm/song not, you(sg), Pilate, or you(sg) whoever, corrupt David, etc., to_be_denied the_king, because roof flesh/meat he_fled from knowledge Jews There. None title inscribed it_is David, etc., until to where remained_hidden Christ/Messiah unknown To_the_Jews

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Psalm 57 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

Psalm 57 begins as a psalm of supplication or lament. It presents several of the basic elements of that type of psalm. But after the statement of trust, instead of a petition and a vow of praise, it turns into a psalm of worship. David experiences such confidence in God that instead of asking him to do something specific for him and promising to thank him publicly, David calls himself to praise God and says why he should do that. See the discussion of the types of psalms in the introduction to the book of Psalms. 1. Cry for help (1–3) 2. Description of troubles (4) 3. Refrain (5) 4. Description of troubles (6) 5. Statement of trust (7) 6. Call to worship (8–9) 7. Reason to worship (10) 8. Refrain (11)The superscription to this psalm identifies it as a “miktam.” See the discussion of that term in the introduction to Psalms.As its superscription indicates, the background to this psalm is one of two episodes in which David fled from King Saul and hid in a cave. This could have been the cave of Adullam, as described in [1 Samuel 22:1–2](../1sa/22/01.md), or the cave of En Gedi, as described in [1 Samuel 24:1–22](../1sa/24/01.md). It may be helpful to read those episodes before translating this psalm.

Translation Issues in This Psalm

Variation between “you” and “he”

In verses 1, 5, 7, and 9–11, David addresses God directly as “you.” In verses 2–3, he speaks about him as “God.” This variation of pronouns reflects the flow of psalm of supplication from a cry for help to a description of troubles to a statement of trust. This psalm then becomes a psalm of worship in which David continues to address God directly. 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 2 you might say “I call to you, God Most High,” and in verse 9, you might say “May you send” and “May you reproach.”

Note 1 topic: translate-unknown

לַ⁠מְנַצֵּ֣חַ

(Some words not found in UHB: to,choirmaster not destroy of,David miktam when,fled,he from=face/in_front_of Shāʼūl/(Saul) in,cave )

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

מִכְתָּ֑ם

(Some words not found in UHB: to,choirmaster not destroy of,David miktam when,fled,he from=face/in_front_of Shāʼūl/(Saul) in,cave )

The superscription to this psalm identifies it as a miktam. 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

בְּ⁠בָרְח֥⁠וֹ מִ⁠פְּנֵי־שָׁ֝א֗וּל בַּ⁠מְּעָרָֽה

(Some words not found in UHB: to,choirmaster not destroy of,David miktam when,fled,he from=face/in_front_of Shāʼūl/(Saul) in,cave )

This superscription is referring to one of two episodes in which David fled from King Saul, who wanted to kill him, and hid in a cave. This could have been the cave of Adullam, as described in [1 Samuel 22:1–2](../1sa/22/01.md), or the cave of En Gedi, as described in [1 Samuel 24:1–22](../1sa/24/01.md). If it would be helpful to your readers, you could describe these events more fully, even though the identity of this cave is not certain. Alternate translation: [David wrote this song while he was hiding in a cave to which he had fled in order to be safe from King Saul]

Note 4 topic: figures-of-speech / synecdoche

מִ⁠פְּנֵי־שָׁ֝א֗וּל

(Some words not found in UHB: to,choirmaster not destroy of,David miktam when,fled,he from=face/in_front_of Shāʼūl/(Saul) in,cave )

The superscription is using one part of Saul, his face, to mean all of him in his determination to kill David. Alternate translation: [from Saul, who wanted to kill him]

Parallel PSA 57:0

Psalm 57 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

Translation Issues in This Psalm

Variation between “you” and “he”