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 chief musician; on stringed instruments. A maschil of David. Give ear to my prayer, God; and do not hide yourself from my plea.
2 Be attentive to me, and heed me. I have been grieved in my training, and I have been disturbed
Pay attention to me and answer me; I have no rest in my troubles
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.
because of the voice of my enemies, because of the oppression of the wicked; for they bring trouble on me and persecute me in anger.
4 My heart has become disturbed within me, and the dread of death has fallen over me.
My heart trembles within me, and the terrors of death have fallen on me.
5 Fear and trembling have overwhelmed me, and darkness has buried me.
Fearfulness and trembling have come on 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, if only I had wings like a dove! Then would I fly away and be at rest.
7 Behold, I have fled far away, and I linger in solitude.
See, then I would wander far away; I would stay in the wilderness. (Selah)
8 I waited for him who saved me from a weak-minded spirit and from a tempest.
I would hurry to a shelter from the stormy wind and tempest.”
9 Cast them down, O Lord, and divide their tongues. For I have seen iniquity and contradiction in the city.
Devour them, Lord, confuse their language! For I have seen 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 go about on its walls; iniquity and mischief are in the middle of it.
11 with injustice. And usury and deceit have not fallen away from its streets.
Wickedness is in the middle of it; oppression and deceit do not leave its 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 was not an enemy who rebuked me, then I could have borne it; neither was it he who hated me who raised himself up against me, then I would have hidden myself from him.
13 Truly, you are a man of one mind: my leader and my acquaintance,
But it was you, a man equal to myself, my companion and my close friend.
14 who took sweet food together with me. In the house of God, we walked side-by-side.
We had sweet fellowship together; we walked in the house of God with the throng.
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 come suddenly on them; let them go down alive to Sheol, for wickedness is where they live, right among them. (Sheol h7585)
16 But I have cried out to God, and the Lord will save me.
As for me, I will call on God, and Yahweh will save me.
17 Evening and morning and midday, I will discourse and announce, and he will heed my voice.
In the evening, morning and at noonday I complain and moan; he will hear 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 will safely rescue my life from the battle that was against me, for those who fought against me were many.
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, the one who rules from eternity, will hear them and humiliate them. (Selah) They never change, and they do not fear God.
20 He has stretched forth his hand in retribution. They have contaminated his covenant.
My friend has raised his hands against those who were at peace with him; he has not respected the covenant that he had.
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 mouth was smooth as butter, but his heart was hostile; his words were softer than oil, yet they were actually drawn swords.
22 Cast your cares upon the Lord, and he will nurture you. He will not allow the just to be tossed about forever.
Place your burdens on Yahweh, and he will sustain you; he will never allow a righteous person to totter.
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, God, will bring the wicked down into the pit of destruction; bloodthirsty and deceitful men will not live even half as long as others, but I will trust in you.
