55:1 Listen, O God, to my prayer!
Do not ignore1 my appeal for mercy!
55:2 Pay attention to me and answer me!
I am so upset2 and distressed,3 I am beside myself,4
55:3 because of what the enemy says,5
and because of how the wicked6 pressure me,7
for they hurl trouble8 down upon me9
and angrily attack me.
55:4 My heart beats violently10 within me;
the horrors of death overcome me.11
55:5 Fear and panic overpower me;12
terror overwhelms13 me.
55:6 I say,14 “I wish I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and settle in a safe place!
55:7 Look, I will escape to a distant place;
I will stay in the wilderness. (Selah)
55:8 I will hurry off to a place that is safe
from the strong wind15 and the gale.”
55:9 Confuse them,16 O sovereign Master!
Frustrate their plans!17
For I see violence and conflict in the city.
55:10 Day and night they walk around on its walls,18
while wickedness and destruction19 are within it.
55:11 Disaster is within it;
violence20 and deceit do not depart from its public square.
55:12 Indeed,21 it is not an enemy who insults me,
or else I could bear it;
it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me,22
or else I could hide from him.
55:13 But it is you,23 a man like me,24
my close friend in whom I confided.25
55:14 We would share personal thoughts with each other;26
in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.
55:15 May death destroy them!27
May they go down alive into Sheol!28
For evil is in their dwelling place and in their midst.
55:16 As for me, I will call out to God,
and the Lord will deliver me.
55:17 During the evening, morning, and noontime
I will lament and moan,29
55:18 He will rescue32 me and protect me from those who attack me,33
even though34 they greatly outnumber me.35
55:19 God, the one who has reigned as king from long ago,
will hear and humiliate them.36 (Selah)
They refuse to change,
and do not fear God.37
55:20 He38 attacks39 his friends;40
he breaks his solemn promises to them.41
55:21 His words are as smooth as butter,42
but he harbors animosity in his heart.43
His words seem softer than oil,
but they are really like sharp swords.44
55:22 Throw your burden45 upon the Lord,
and he will sustain you.46
He will never allow the godly to be upended.47
55:23 But you, O God, will bring them48 down to the deep Pit.49
Violent and deceitful people50 will not live even half a normal lifespan.51
But as for me, I trust in you.
Psalm 5652
For the music director; according to the yonath-elem-rechovim style;53 a prayer54 of David, written when the Philistines captured him in Gath.55