Psalms 55
1 Unto the end. In verses, the understanding of David. Listen to my prayer, O God, and despise not my supplication.
For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. Listen to my prayer, O God, and do not ignore my plea.
2 Be attentive to me, and heed me. I have been grieved in my training, and I have been disturbed
Attend to me and answer me. I am restless in my complaint, and distraught
3 at the voice of the adversary and at the tribulation of the sinner. For they have diverted iniquities toward me, and they have been harassing me with rage.
at the voice of the enemy, at the pressure of the wicked. For they release disaster upon me and revile me in their anger.
4 My heart has become disturbed within me, and the dread of death has fallen over me.
My heart murmurs within me, and the terrors of death assail me.
5 Fear and trembling have overwhelmed me, and darkness has buried me.
Fear and trembling grip me, and horror has overwhelmed me.
6 And I said, “Who will give me wings like the dove, so that I may fly away and take rest?”
I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.
7 Behold, I have fled far away, and I linger in solitude.
How far away I would flee! In the wilderness I would remain.
8 I waited for him who saved me from a weak-minded spirit and from a tempest.
I would hurry to my shelter, far from this raging tempest.”
9 Cast them down, O Lord, and divide their tongues. For I have seen iniquity and contradiction in the city.
O Lord, confuse and confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night, iniquity will surround it upon its walls, and hardship is in its midst,
Day and night they encircle the walls, while malice and trouble lie within.
11 with injustice. And usury and deceit have not fallen away from its streets.
Destruction is within; oppression and deceit never leave the streets.
12 For if my enemy had spoken evil about me, certainly, I would have sustained it. And if he who hated me had been speaking great things against me, I would perhaps have hidden myself from him.
For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide.
13 Truly, you are a man of one mind: my leader and my acquaintance,
But it is you, a man like myself, my companion and close friend.
14 who took sweet food together with me. In the house of God, we walked side-by-side.
We shared sweet fellowship together; we walked with the crowd into the house of God.
15 Let death come upon them, and let them descend alive into Hellfire. For there is wickedness in their dwellings, in their midst. (Sheol h7585)
Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes. (Sheol h7585)
16 But I have cried out to God, and the Lord will save me.
But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.
17 Evening and morning and midday, I will discourse and announce, and he will heed my voice.
Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.
18 He will redeem my soul in peace from those who draw near to me. For, among the many, they were with me.
He redeems my soul in peace from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.
19 God will hear, and He who is before time will humble them. For there is no change with them, and they have not feared God.
God will hear and humiliate them— the One enthroned for the ages— (Selah) because they do not change and they have no fear of God.
20 He has stretched forth his hand in retribution. They have contaminated his covenant.
My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant.
21 They were divided by the wrath of his countenance, and his heart has drawn near. His words are smoother than oil, and they are arrows.
His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
22 Cast your cares upon the Lord, and he will nurture you. He will not allow the just to be tossed about forever.
Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.
23 Truly, O God, you will lead them away into the well of death. Bloody and deceitful men will not divide their days in half. But I will hope in you, O Lord.
But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
