Psalms 55

Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.

For the music director; on stringed instruments. A
Possibly Contemplative; or Didactic; or Skillful Psalm
Maskil of David.

1 bListen to my prayer, God;
And cdo not hide Yourself from my pleading.
2 Give Your dattention to me and answer me;
I am restless in my ecomplaint and
Another reading is I must moan
,
gseverely distracted,
3 Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the hpressure of the wicked;
For they ibring down
Or wickedness
trouble upon me
And in anger they khold a grudge against me.

4 My lheart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of mdeath have fallen upon me.
5 Fear and ntrembling come upon me,
And
Lit shuddering
,
phorror has
Lit covered
overwhelmed me.
6 I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and
Lit settle down
,
sbe at rest.
7 “Behold, I would flee far away,
I would tspend my nights in the wilderness. Selah
8 “I would hurry to my place of refuge
From the ustormy wind and heavy gale.”

9 Confuse them, Lord, vdivide their tongues,
For I have seen wviolence and strife in the city.
10 Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And evil and harm are in her midst.
11 xDestruction is in her midst;
yOppression and deceit do not depart from her
Or plaza
streets.

12 For it is aanot an enemy who taunts me,
Then I could endure it;
Nor is it one who hates me who abhas exalted himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
13 But it is you, a man
Lit according to my valuation
my equal,
My adcompanion and my aeconfidant;
14 We who had sweet
Lit counsel; or intimacy
fellowship together,
agWalked in the house of God among the commotion.
15 May
Another reading is devastation be upon them
death come aideceitfully upon them;
May they ajgo down alive to
I.e., the netherworld
Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

16 As for me, I shall alcall upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
17 amEvening and anmorning and at aonoon, I will complain and moan,
And He will hear my voice.
18 He will apredeem my soul in peace
Or so that none may approach me
from the battle which is against me,
For they are armany who are aggressive toward me.
19 God will ashear and humiliate them--
Even the one atwho
Or remains from
sits enthroned from ancient times-- Selah
With whom there
Lit are no changes
is no change,
And who awdo not fear God.
20 He has put forth his hands against axthose who were at peace with him;
He has
Lit profaned
,
azviolated his covenant.
21 His
Lit mouth
speech was bbsmoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were bcsofter than oil,
Yet they were drawn bdswords.

22 beCast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you;
bfHe will never allow the righteous to
Or totter
,
bhbe shaken.
23 But You, God, will bring them down to the bipit of destruction;
bjMen of bloodshed and deceit will bknot live out half their days.
But I will bltrust in You.
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