Psalms 55
1 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.
God, listen to my prayer, and do not turn away from me while I am pleading with you.
2 Pay attention to me and answer me; I have no rest in my troubles
Listen to me, and answer me, because I am overwhelmed by [all] my troubles.
3 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.
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 trembles within me, and the terrors of death have fallen on me.
I am terrified, and I am very much afraid that I will die.
5 Fearfulness and trembling have come on me, and horror has overwhelmed me.
I am very fearful and I tremble/shake, and I am completely terrified.
6 I said, “Oh, if only I had wings like a dove! Then would I fly away and be at 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 See, then I would wander far away; I would stay in the wilderness. (Selah)
I would fly far away and live in the desert.
8 I would hurry to a shelter from the stormy wind and tempest.”
I would quickly find a shelter from [my enemies] [who are like] [MET] a strong wind and rainstorm.”
9 Devour them, Lord, confuse their language! For I have seen violence and strife in the 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 Day and night they go about on its walls; iniquity and mischief are in the middle of it.
During [each] day and night they march around on top of its walls, committing crimes and causing trouble.
11 Wickedness is in the middle of it; oppression and deceit do not leave its streets.
They destroy [things] everywhere. They oppress and defraud [people] in the (marketplaces/public squares).
12 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.
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 it was you, a man equal to myself, my companion and my close friend.
But it is someone who is just like me, my companion, someone who was my friend [who is doing this to me].
14 We had sweet fellowship together; we walked in the house of God with the throng.
We previously had many good talks together; we walked around together in God’s temple.
15 Let death come suddenly on them; let them go down alive to Sheol, for wickedness is where they live, right among them. (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 As for me, I will call on God, and Yahweh will save me.
But I [will] ask Yahweh, [my] God, to help me, and he will save me.
17 In the evening, morning and at noonday I complain and moan; he will hear 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 will safely rescue my life from the battle that was against me, for those who fought against me were many.
I have [very] many enemies, but he will rescue me and bring me back safely from the battles that I fight.
19 God, the one who rules from eternity, will hear them and humiliate them. (Selah) They never change, and they 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 My friend has raised his hands against those who were at peace with him; he has not respected the covenant that he had.
My companion, [whom I mentioned previously], betrayed his friends and broke the agreement that he made with them.
21 His mouth was smooth as butter, but his heart was hostile; his words were softer than oil, yet they were actually 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 Place your burdens on Yahweh, and he will sustain you; he will never allow a righteous person to totter.
Put your troubles in Yahweh’s hands, and he will take care of you; he will never allow righteous [people] to experience disasters.
23 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.
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.
