Psalms 55
1 TO THE OVERSEER. WITH STRINGED INSTRUMENTS. AN INSTRUCTION OF DAVID. Give ear, O God, [to] my prayer, And do not hide from my supplication.
God, listen to my prayer, and do not turn away from me while I am pleading with you.
2 Attend to me, and answer me, I mourn in my (meditation) and make a noise,
Listen to me, and answer me, because I am overwhelmed by [all] my troubles.
3 Because of the voice of an enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked, For they cause sorrow to move against me, And in anger they hate me.
My enemies cause me to be terrified; wicked people oppress me. They cause me to have great troubles; they are angry with me, and they hate me.
4 My heart is pained within me, And terrors of death have fallen on me.
I am terrified, and I am very much afraid that I will die.
5 Fear and trembling come to me, And horror covers me.
I am very fearful and I tremble/shake, and I am completely terrified.
6 And I say, “Who gives to me a pinion as a dove?” I fly away and rest,
I said, “I wish that I had wings like a dove! If I had wings, I would fly away and find a place to rest.
7 Behold, I move far off, I lodge in a wilderness. (Selah)
I would fly far away and live in the desert.
8 I hurry escape for myself, From a rushing wind, from a whirlwind.
I would quickly find a shelter from [my enemies] [who are like] [MET] a strong wind and rainstorm.”
9 Swallow up, O Lord, divide their tongue, For I saw violence and strife in a city.
Lord, confuse my enemies, and cause their plans to fail, because I see them acting violently and causing strife in the city [of Jerusalem].
10 By day and by night they go around it, on its walls. Both iniquity and perverseness [are] in its midst,
During [each] day and night they march around on top of its walls, committing crimes and causing trouble.
11 Mischiefs [are] in its midst. Fraud and deceit do not depart from its street.
They destroy [things] everywhere. They oppress and defraud [people] in the (marketplaces/public squares).
12 For an enemy does not reproach me, or I bear [it], He who is hating me Has not magnified himself against me, Or I hide from him.
If it were an enemy who was making fun of me, I could endure it. If it were someone who hates me, who despises me, I could hide from him.
13 But you, a man—as my equal, My familiar friend, and my acquaintance.
But it is someone who is just like me, my companion, someone who was my friend [who is doing this to me].
14 When together we sweeten counsel, We walk into the house of God in company.
We previously had many good talks together; we walked around together in God’s temple.
15 Desolations [are] on them, They go down [to] Sheol—alive, For wickedness [is] in their dwelling, in their midst. (Sheol h7585)
I desire/hope that my enemies will die suddenly; while they are still young, cause them to go down to the place where the dead people are. They they think evil things. (Sheol h7585)
16 I call to God, and YHWH saves me.
But I [will] ask Yahweh, [my] God, to help me, and he will save me.
17 Evening, and morning, and noon, I meditate, and make a noise, and He hears my voice,
[Each] morning and [each] noontime and [each] evening I tell him what I am concerned about, and I moan, and he hears my voice.
18 He has ransomed my soul in peace From him who is near to me, For with the multitude they were with me.
I have [very] many enemies, but he will rescue me and bring me back safely from the battles that I fight.
19 God hears and afflicts them, And He sits of old. (Selah) Because they have no changes, and do not fear God,
God is the one who has ruled everything forever, and he will listen to me. He will cause my enemies to be [defeated and] disgraced, because they do not change their evil behavior and they do not revere God.
20 He has sent forth his hands against his well-wishers, He has defiled his covenant.
My companion, [whom I mentioned previously], betrayed his friends and broke the agreement that he made with them.
21 His mouth has been sweeter than honey, And his heart [is] war! His words have been softer than oil, And they [are] drawn [swords].
What he said was [easy to listen to, like] butter [is easy to swallow] [MET], but in his inner being he hated people; his words were [soothing] like [olive] oil, [but they hurt people like] sharp swords do [MET].
22 Cast on YHWH that which He has given you, And He sustains you, He does not permit the moving of the righteous forever.
Put your troubles in Yahweh’s hands, and he will take care of you; he will never allow righteous [people] to experience disasters.
23 And You, O God, bring them down To a pit of destruction, Men of blood and deceit do not reach to half their days, And I trust in You!
God, you will cause murderers [MTY] and liars to die before they have lived half as long as they expect to live; but [as for me], I will trust in you.
