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Psalm 56
New King James Version

### Prayer for Relief from Tormentors

#### To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]“The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David when the (A)Philistines captured him in Gath.

56 Be (B)merciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up;
Fighting all day he oppresses me.
2 My enemies would (C)hound me all day,
For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

3 Whenever I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
4 In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
(D)I will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?

5 All day they twist my words;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
6 They gather together,
They hide, they mark my steps,
When they lie in wait for my life.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God!

8 You number my wanderings;
Put my tears into Your bottle;
(E)Are they not in Your book?
9 When I cry out to You,
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because (F)God is for me.
10 In God (I will praise His word),
In the Lord (I will praise His word),
11 In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?

12 Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;
I will render praises to You,
13 (G)For You have delivered my soul from death.
Have You not kept my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God
In the (H)light of the living?

#### Footnotes

1. Psalm 56:1 Heb. Jonath Elem Rechokim

#### Cross references

1. Psalm 56:1 : 1 Sam. 21:11
2. Psalm 56:1 : Ps. 57:1
3. Psalm 56:2 : Ps. 57:3
4. Psalm 56:4 : Ps. 118:6; Is. 31:3; [Heb. 13:6]
5. Psalm 56:8 : [Mal. 3:16]
6. Psalm 56:9 : [Ps. 118:6; Rom. 8:31]
7. Psalm 56:13 : Ps. 116:8, 9
8. Psalm 56:13 : Job 33:30

New King James Version (NKJV)

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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