Psalm 59:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Each evening they come back, howling like dogs and prowling about the city.

NIV: They return at evening, snarling like dogs, and prowl about the city.

NASB: They return at evening, they howl like a dog, And prowl around the city.

CSB: And they return at evening, snarling like dogs and prowling around the city.

NLT: My enemies come out at night, snarling like vicious dogs as they prowl the streets.

KJV: And at evening let them return; and let them make a noise like a dog, and go round about the city.

NKJV: And at evening they return, They growl like a dog, And go all around the city.

This duplicates the words used earlier in the psalm (Psalm 59:6). In the ancient world, dogs were considered unclean and disgusting animals. They were virtually never kept as pets, so the dogs of David's era were feral pack animals. Even in a city—and even in modern cities—roaming bands of dogs can be dangerous. They were mostly scavengers but also prone to attack the weak or isolated. The men conspiring to assassinate David (Psalm 59:1–3; 1 Samuel 19:11–16) take on this characteristic of a starving pack waiting in the alley for blood (Psalm 59:15). Their "howling" is not merely noise and threats, but also their lies and plotting (Psalm 59:12).

Despite this threat, David is confident and focuses his thoughts on God (Psalm 59:8–10). He praises the Lord as his source of courage and safety. David passionately believes he is the object of the Lord's unfailing love, and that God will ultimately make him victorious. David knew from personal experience that the Lord can silence loud-talking foes. First Samuel 17 records the battle between the giant Goliath and the youth David. Goliath loudly dared any Israelite soldier to fight him. When David drew close to Goliath to battle him, Goliath hurled arrogant insults at David, but David replied, "This day the Lᴏʀᴅ will deliver you into my hand" (1 Samuel 17:46), and he said, "The battle is the Lᴏʀᴅ" (1 Samuel 17:47). Within moments, a defeated, dead Goliath lay on the ground (1 Samuel 17:48–49).

Psalm 59:9–17 delivers an appropriate climax to David's cry for deliverance from his enemies. David puts his trust in God. He anticipates divine wrath being poured out on his unclean, beastly enemies. He also looks forward to more opportunities to offer praise for God's protection and love. As part of an "imprecatory" psalm, David calls on the Lord to make His retribution harsh and public, so the world will see it and acknowledge God.

David prays, asking the Lord to deliver him from a lurking band of bloodthirsty enemies. He calls on the God of Israel to make an example of these lying, evil men, and to destroy them entirely. Rather than despair, David firmly trusts in the Lord and looks forward to victory. David concludes his psalm with praise to the Lord, his Strength, whose love is loyal. David praises God for being his fortress and shelter.

This is one of many psalms where David prays for rescue from his enemies (Psalm 3:1–3; 7:1–2; 54:1–2). King Saul jealously sent men to wait outside David's home to assassinate him (1 Samuel 19:11–16), but David was able to escape with the help of his wife. Because David asks for the Lord to severely judge the wicked, this is considered one of the "imprecatory" psalms, along with Psalms 5, 10, 58, 69, 83, 109, 137, 140, and others.

The book of Psalms is composed of individual songs, hymns, or poems, each of which is a ''Psalm'' in and of itself. These works contain a wide variety of themes. Some Psalms focus on praising and worshipping God. Others cry out in anguish over the pain of life. Still other Psalms look forward to the coming of the Messiah. While some Psalms are related, each has its own historical and biblical context.