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UHB 1 לַ⁠מְנַצֵּ֣חַ אַל־תַּשְׁחֵת֮ לְ⁠דָוִ֪ד מִ֫כְתָּ֥ם בִּ⁠שְׁלֹ֥חַ שָׁא֑וּל וַֽ⁠יִּשְׁמְר֥וּ אֶת־הַ֝⁠בַּ֗יִת לַ⁠הֲמִיתֽ⁠וֹ׃ ‡

ULT For the chief musician; set to Al Tashheth. A psalm of David. A michtam; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.

WEBBE For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David, when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.

WMBB (Same as above)

NET For the music director; according to the al-tashcheth style; a prayer of David, written when Saul sent men to surround his house and murder him.

FBV For the music director. According to “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm (miktam) of David, concerning the time Saul sent out soldiers to watch David's house in order to kill him.

BBE To the chief music-maker; put to At-tashheth. Michtam. Of David. When Saul sent, and they were watching the house, to put him to death.

Moff From the Choirmaster’s collection. To the tune of “Destroy it not.” A golden ode sung by David when Saul had the house watched, in order to murder him.

ASV For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David. Michtam; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.

Drby To the chief Musician. 'Destroy not.' Of David. Michtam; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.

RV For the Chief Musician; set to Al-tashheth. A Psalm of David: Michtam: when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.

KJB-1769 To the chief Musician, Al-taschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.

KJB-1611 ¶ [fn]To the chiefe musician Al-taschith, Michtam of Dauid: when Saul sent, and they watcht the house to kill him.
(¶ To the chief musician Al-taschith, Michtam of David: when Saul sent, and they watcht the house to kill him.)

59:1 Heb. set me on high.

UTN uW Translation Notes:

Psalm 59 Introduction

Structure and Formatting

Psalm 59 is a psalm of supplication or lament. It includes all the basic elements of that type of psalm. (Some elements are repeated.) 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 (3–4) 3. Petition (5) 4. Refrain (6) 5. Description of troubles (7) 6. Statement of trust (8–10) 7. Petition (11–13) 8. Refrain (14–15) 9. Vow of praise (16–17)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 an episode related in [1 Samuel 19:8–12](../1sa/19/08.md) in which King Saul sent men to watch David’s house so that they could kill him when he left it. It may be helpful to read that episode before translating this psalm.

Note 1 topic: translate-unknown

לַ⁠מְנַצֵּ֣חַ

(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

מִ֫כְתָּ֥ם

(miktām)

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

בִּ⁠שְׁלֹ֥חַ שָׁא֑וּל וַֽ⁠יִּשְׁמְר֥וּ אֶת־הַ֝⁠בַּ֗יִת לַ⁠הֲמִיתֽ⁠וֹ

(bi⁠shəloaḩ shāʼūl va⁠yyishmərū ʼet-ha⁠bayit la⁠hₐmīt⁠ō)

The implication is that Saul sent men to watch David’s house in order to kill him, as recorded in 1 Samuel 19:11. You could include this information if that would be helpful to your readers. Alternate translation: [When Saul sent men to watch David’s house to kill him]

Parallel PSA 59:0

Psalm 59 Introduction

Structure and Formatting