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Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men.
Psalms 59:2 · King James Version
Parallel translations
  • WEB Deliver me from the workers of iniquity. Save me from the bloodthirsty men.
  • BSB Deliver me from workers of iniquity, and save me from men of bloodshed.
  • NKJV Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, And save me from bloodthirsty men.
  • NASB Rescue me from those who practice injustice, And save me from men of bloodshed.
  • NLT Rescue me from these criminals; save me from these murderers.

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

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

David asks for deliverance from evildoers and bloodthirsty men bent on his death. It is a prayer for rescue from those who intend real harm.

Overview

David specifies the danger: workers of iniquity who thirst for blood. He does not minimize the threat but lays it plainly before God. Such honest prayer in the face of violence shows that the believer may bring even the gravest fears to the Lord, who hears and saves.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 4

  • Ps 139:19Surely thou wilt slay the wicked, O God: depart from me therefore, ye bloody men.
  • Ps 26:9Gather not my soul with sinners, nor my life with bloody men:
  • Ps 55:23But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.
  • Ps 27:2When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (1)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Psalms videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Psalms 59:2YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on PsalmsMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.

How Psalms 59:2 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.