Psalms 59:1
in Psalms 59Deliver me from my enemies, O my God; protect me from those who rise against me.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: Set me on high from them that rise up against me.
KJV
Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me.
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This verse in Psalms 59
Commentary
9 notes on this verseDeliver me from mine enemies, O my God,.... David had his enemies in his youth, notwithstanding the amiableness of his person, the endowments of his mind, his martial achievements, his wise behaviour and conduct, and the presence of God with him; yea, it were some of these things that made Saul his enemy, who, by his power and authority, made others; see 1Sa 18:
This site's exposition
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God
on Psalms 59:1-3
The enemy is named four times and the names get worse each time, enemies, those who rise up, workers of iniquity, men of bloodshed. Verse 3 gives the ground of the prayer, no transgression or sin of his own. The innocence is what the plea rests on.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers2 voices
"Deliver me from mine enemies, my God, and from men rising up upon me, redeem Thou me" [Psalm 59:1]. There has been done this thing in the flesh of Christ, it is being done in us also. For our enemies, to wit the devil and his angels, cease not to rise up upon us every day, and to wish to make sport of our weakness and our frailness, by deceptions, by suggestions, by temptations, and by snares of whatsoever sort to entangle us, while on earth we are still living. But let our voice watch unto God, and cry out in the members of Christ, under the Head that is in heaven, "Deliver me from mine enemies, my God, and from men rising up upon me, redeem Thou me."
"Deliver me from mine enemies, my God, and from men rising up upon me, redeem Thou me" [Psalm 59:1]. There has been done this thing in the flesh of Christ, it is being done in us also. For our enemies, to wit the devil and his angels, cease not to rise up upon us every day, and to wish to make sport of our weakness and our frailness, by deceptions, by suggestions, by temptations, and by snares of whatsoever sort to entangle us, while on earth we are still living. But let our voice watch unto God, and cry out in the members of Christ, under the Head that is in heaven, "Deliver me from mine enemies, my God, and from men rising up upon me, redeem Thou me."
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
): " Deliver me from my enemies, O my God! thou art God, and cast deliver me, my God, under whose protection I have put myself; and thou hast promised me to be a God all-sufficient, and therefore, in honour and faithfulness, thou wilt deliver me.
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — leading-punctuation+unbalanced-parens+odd-straight-quotes
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God. They were all round the house with the warrant of authority, and a force equal to the carrying of it out. He was to be taken dead or alive, well or ill, and carried to the slaughter. No prowess could avail him to break the cordon of armed men, neither could any eloquence stay the hand of his bloody persecutor. He was taken like a bird in a net, and no friend was near to set him free.
Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God. They were all round the house with the warrant of authority, and a force equal to the carrying of it out. He was to be taken dead or alive, well or ill, and carried to the slaughter. No prowess could avail him to break the cordon of armed men, neither could any eloquence stay the hand of his bloody persecutor. He was taken like a bird in a net, and no friend was near to set him free. Unlike the famous starling, he did not cry, "I cannot get out, "but his faith uttered quite another note. Unbelief would have suggested that prayer was a waste of breath, but not so thought the good man, for he makes it his sole resort. He cries for deliverance and leaves ways and means with his God. Defend me from them that rise up against me. Saul was a king, and therefore sat in high places, and used all his authority to crush David; the persecuted one therefore beseeches the Lord to set him on high also, only in another sense. He asks to be lifted up, as into a lofty tower, beyond the reach of his adversary. Note how he sets the title, My God, over against the word, mine enemies. This is the right method of effectually catching and quenching the fiery darts of the enemy upon the shield of faith. God is our God, and therefore deliverance and defence are ours.
2 more voices on this verse
The Nineteenth Century2 voices
Deliver me from mine enernies, O my God - A very proper prayer in the mouth of Nehemiah, when resisted in his attempts to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem by Sanballat, Tobiah, and Geshem, who opposed the work, and endeavored to take away the life of the person whom God had raised up to restore and rebuild Jerusalem. I conceive the Psalm to have been made on this occasion; and on this hypothesis alone I think it capable of consistent explanation.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God - See the notes at Psa 18:48. This prayer was offered when the spies sent by Saul surrounded the house of David. They had come to apprehend him, and it is to be presumed that they had come in sufficient numbers, and with sufficient power, to effect their object. Their purpose was not to break in upon him in the night, but to watch their opportunity, when he went forth in the morning, to slay him 1Sa 19:11, and there seemed no way for him to escape. Of their coming, and of their design, Michal, the daughter of Saul, and the wife of David, seems to have been apprised - perhaps by someone of her father’s family. She informed David of the arrangement, and assured him that unless he should escape in the night, he would be put to death in the morning. She, therefore, let him down through a window, and he escaped, 1Sa 19:12. It was in this way that he was in fact delivered; in this way that his prayer was answered. A faithful wife saved him. Defend me from them that rise up against me - Margin, as in Hebrew, “Set me on high.” The idea is that of placing him, as it were, on a tower, or on an eminence which would be inaccessible. These were common places of refuge or defense. See the notes at Psa 18:2.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
al tashcheth He called the psalm by this name because he was close to dying and to being destroyed, and he begged for mercy in the matter.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 2 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
5 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| הַצִּילֵ֖נִי | hatzileni | deliver me | H5337 → | 212 times |
| מֵאֹיְבַ֥י׀ | meoyevai | from enemies my | H341 → | 282 times |
| אֱלֹהָ֑י | ʾelohai | O God my | H430 → | 2601 times |
| מִּמִתְקוֹמְמַ֥י | mimitkomai | from [those who] rise up against me | H6965 → | 628 times |
| תְּשַׂגְּבֵֽנִי׃ | tesageveni | may you set on high me | H7682 → | 20 times |
הַצִּילֵ֖נִיdeliver me
hatzileniH5337 →212 times
מֵאֹיְבַ֥י׀from enemies my
meoyevaiH341 →282 times
אֱלֹהָ֑יO God my
ʾelohaiH430 →2601 times
מִּמִתְקוֹמְמַ֥יfrom [those who] rise up against me
mimitkomaiH6965 →628 times
תְּשַׂגְּבֵֽנִי׃may you set on high me
tesageveniH7682 →20 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 57:1Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy, for in You my soul takes refuge. In the shadow of Your wings I will take shelter until the danger has passed.
it leads to
- Psalms 91:4
He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and rampart.
- Psalms 17:7–8
Show the wonders of Your loving devotion, You who save by Your right hand those who seek refuge from their foes.
- Psalms 36:7
How precious is Your loving devotion, O God, that the children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings!
- Psalms 63:7
For You are my help; I will sing for joy in the shadow of Your wings.
- Psalms 9:10
Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.
- Psalms 91:4
Through
Isaiah 33:16he will dwell on the heights; the mountain fortress will be his refuge; his food will be provided and his water assured.
it leads to
- Luke 12:29–31
And do not be concerned about what you will eat or drink. Do not worry about it.
- Isaiah 32:18
Then my people will dwell in a peaceful place, in safe and secure places of rest.
- Isaiah 49:10
They will not hunger or thirst, nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them. For He who has compassion on them will guide them and lead them beside springs of water.
- Luke 12:29–31
Where this verse is studied
On this page
About Psalms
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Augustine of Hippo, Exposition on Psalm 59; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763); John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.