For the music director; a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David’s affair with Bathsheba. 2
51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of 3 your loyal love!
Because of 4 your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts! 5
For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song 7 by David. It was written when the Ziphites came and informed Saul: “David is hiding with us.” 8
54:1 O God, deliver me by your name! 9
Vindicate me 10 by your power!
1 sn Psalm 51. The psalmist confesses his sinfulness to God and begs for forgiveness and a transformation of his inner character. According to the psalm superscription, David offered this prayer when Nathan confronted him with his sin following the king’s affair with Bathsheba (see 2 Sam 11-12). However, the final two verses of the psalm hardly fit this situation, for they assume the walls of Jerusalem have been destroyed and that the sacrificial system has been temporarily suspended. These verses are probably an addition to the psalm made during the period of exile following the fall of Jerusalem in 586
2 tn Heb “a psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him when he had gone to Bathsheba.”
3 tn Or “according to.”
4 tn Or “according to.”
5 tn Traditionally “blot out my transgressions.” Because of the reference to washing and cleansing in the following verse, it is likely that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to wiping an object clean (note the use of the verb מָחָה (makhah) in the sense of “wipe clean; dry” in 2 Kgs 21:13; Prov 30:20; Isa 25:8). Another option is that the psalmist is comparing forgiveness to erasing or blotting out names from a register (see Exod 32:32-33). In this case one might translate, “erase all record of my rebellious acts.”
6 sn Psalm 54. The psalmist asks God for protection against his enemies, confidently affirms that God will vindicate him, and promises to give thanks to God for his saving intervention.
7 tn The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase “well-written song” in the superscription of Ps 52.
8 tn Heb “Is not David hiding with us?”
sn According to the superscription, David wrote this psalm during the period when Saul was seeking his life. On one occasion the Ziphites informed Saul that David was hiding in their territory (see 1 Sam 23:19-20).
9 tn God’s “name” refers here to his reputation and revealed character, which would instill fear in the psalmist’s enemies (see C. A. Briggs and E. G. Briggs, Psalms [ICC], 2:17).
10 tn The imperfect verbal form is used here to express the psalmist’s wish or request.