Psalms 11:1

For the music director; by David. In the Lord I have taken shelter. ²  How can you say to me, ³  “Flee to a mountain like a bird! ⁴ 

1Sa 19:11; 1Sa 20:38; 1Sa 21:10-12; 1Sa 22:3; 1Sa 23:14; 1Sa 27:1; 2Ch 14:11; 2Ch 16:8; Ps 7:1; Ps 9:10; Ps 16:1; Ps 25:2; Ps 31:14; Ps 55:6,7; Ps 56:11; Pr 6:5; Isa 26:3,4; Lu 13:31

¹ sn Psalm 11. The psalmist rejects the advice to flee from his dangerous enemies. Instead he affirms his confidence in God’s just character and calls down judgment on evildoers.

² tn The Hebrew perfect verbal form probably refers here to a completed action with continuing results.

³ tn The pronominal suffix attached to נֶפֶשׁ (nefesh) is equivalent to a personal pronoun. See Ps 6:3.

⁴ tc The MT is corrupt here. The Kethib (consonantal text) reads: “flee [masculine plural!] to your [masculine plural!] mountain, bird.” The Qere (marginal reading) has “flee” in a feminine singular form, agreeing grammatically with the addressee, the feminine noun “bird.” Rather than being a second masculine plural pronominal suffix, the ending כֶם- (-khem) attached to “mountain” is better interpreted as a second feminine singular pronominal suffix followed by an enclitic mem (ם). “Bird” may be taken as vocative (“O bird”) or as an adverbial accusative of manner (“like a bird”). Either way, the psalmist’s advisers compare him to a helpless bird whose only option in the face of danger is to fly away to an inaccessible place.