Psalm 55
To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.
1
g Give ear to my prayer, O God,
and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2
Attend to me, and answer me;
I am restless h in my complaint and I i moan,
3
because of the noise of the enemy,
because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they j drop trouble upon me,
and in anger they bear a grudge against me.
4
My heart is in anguish within me;
k the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5
Fear and trembling come upon me,
and l horror m overwhelms me.
6
And I say, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7
n yes, I would wander far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8
I would hurry to find a shelter
from o the raging wind and tempest."
9
Destroy, O Lord, p divide their tongues;
for I see q violence and strife in the city.
10
Day and night they go around it
on its walls,
and r iniquity and trouble are within it;
11
ruin is in its midst;
s oppression and fraud
do not depart from its marketplace.
12
For it is not an enemy who taunts me -
then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who t deals insolently with me -
then I could hide from him.
13
u But it is you, a man, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend.
14
We used to take sweet counsel together;
within God's house we walked in v the throng.
15
Let death steal over them;
let them go down to Sheol w alive;
for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
16
But I call to God,
and the Lord will save me.
17
x Evening and y morning and at z noon
I a utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
18
He redeems my soul in safety
from the battle that I wage,
for b many are arrayed against me.
19
God will give ear and humble them,
he who is c enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not d change
and do not fear God.
20
My companion e stretched out his hand against his friends;
he violated his covenant.
21
His f speech was g smooth as butter,
yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
yet they were h drawn swords.
22
i Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
j he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.
23
But you, O God, k will cast them down
into l the pit of destruction;
men of m blood and treachery
shall not n live out half their days.
But I will o trust in you.
-
Cross References
Psalms 4:1
Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness! You have given me relief when I was in distress. Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!
-
Cross References
Psalms 54:2
O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.
Psalms 61:1
Hear my cry, O God, listen to my prayer.
Psalms 86:6
Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer; listen to my plea for grace.
-
Cross References
Psalms 55:17
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice.
Psalms 64:1
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
-
Cross References
Isaiah 38:14
Like a swallow or a crane I chirp; I moan like a dove. My eyes are weary with looking upward. O Lord, I am oppressed; be my pledge of safety!
Isaiah 59:11
We all growl like bears; we moan and moan like doves; we hope for justice, but there is none; for salvation, but it is far from us.
-
Cross References
2 Samuel 16:7 - 8
And Shimei said as he cursed, "Get out, get out, you man of blood, you worthless man!
-
Cross References
Psalms 116:3
The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.
-
Cross References
Job 21:6
When I remember, I am dismayed, and shuddering seizes my flesh.
Isaiah 21:4
My heart staggers; horror has appalled me; the twilight I longed for has been turned for me into trembling.
Ezekiel 7:18
They put on sackcloth, and horror covers them. Shame is on all faces, and baldness on all their heads.
-
Cross References
Psalms 78:53
He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
-
Cross References
Jeremiah 9:2
Oh that I had in the desert a travelers' lodging place, that I might leave my people and go away from them! For they are all adulterers, a company of treacherous men.
-
Cross References
Psalms 83:15
So may you pursue them with your tempest and terrify them with your hurricane!
-
Cross References
Genesis 11:9
Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
-
Cross References
Jeremiah 6:7
As a well keeps its water fresh, so she keeps fresh her evil; violence and destruction are heard within her; sickness and wounds are ever before me.
-
Cross References
Psalms 5:9
For there is no truth in their mouth; their inmost self is destruction; their throat is an open grave; they flatter with their tongue.
-
Cross References
Psalms 10:7
His mouth is filled with cursing and deceit and oppression; under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.
-
Cross References
Job 19:5
If indeed you magnify yourselves against me and make my disgrace an argument against me.
-
Cross References
2 Samuel 15:12
And while Absalom was offering the sacrifices, he sent for Ahithophel the Gilonite, David's counselor, from his city Giloh. And the conspiracy grew strong, and the people with Absalom kept increasing.
2 Samuel 16:23
Now in those days the counsel that Ahithophel gave was as if one consulted the word of God; so was all the counsel of Ahithophel esteemed, both by David and by Absalom.
Psalms 41:9
Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
-
Cross References
Psalms 42:4
These things I remember, as I pour out my soul: how I would go with the throng and lead them in procession to the house of God with glad shouts and songs of praise, a multitude keeping festival.
-
Cross References
Numbers 16:30
But if the Lord creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the Lord.
Numbers 16:33
So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly.
Proverbs 1:12
Like Sheol let us swallow them alive, and whole, like those who go down to the pit.
Psalms 124:3
Then they would have swallowed us up alive, when their anger was kindled against us.
-
Cross References
Psalms 141:2
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice!
Acts 3:1
Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
Acts 10:3
About the ninth hour of the day he saw clearly in a vision an angel of God come in and say to him, "Cornelius.
Acts 10:30
And Cornelius said, "Four days ago, about this hour, I was praying in my house at the ninth hour, and behold, a man stood before me in bright clothing
-
Cross References
Psalms 5:3
O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.
Psalms 88:13
But I, O Lord, cry to you; in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Psalms 92:2
To declare your steadfast love in the morning, and your faithfulness by night.
-
Cross References
Acts 10:9
The next day, as they were on their journey and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray.
Daniel 6:10
When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as he had done previously.
-
Cross References
Psalms 55:2
Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan.
-
Cross References
Psalms 56:2
My enemies trample on me all day long, for many attack me proudly.
-
Cross References
Deuteronomy 33:27
The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, Destroy.
-
Cross References
Job 10:17
You renew your witnesses against me and increase your vexation toward me; you bring fresh troops against me.
Job 21:7 - 15
Why do the wicked live, reach old age, and grow mighty in power?
-
Cross References
Acts 12:1
About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church.
-
Cross References
Psalms 28:3
Do not drag me off with the wicked, with the workers of evil, who speak peace with their neighbors while evil is in their hearts.
-
Cross References
Proverbs 5:3 - 4
For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey, and her speech is smoother than oil.
-
Cross References
Psalms 57:4
My soul is in the midst of lions; I lie down amid fiery beasts - the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongues are sharp swords.
-
Cross References
Psalms 37:5
Commit your way to the Lord ; trust in him, and he will act.
-
Cross References
Psalms 10:6
He says in his heart, "I shall not be moved; throughout all generations I shall not meet adversity.
-
Cross References
Psalms 55:15
Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.
Psalms 56:7
For their crime will they escape? In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
Psalms 59:11
Kill them not, lest my people forget; make them totter by your power and bring them down, O Lord, our shield!
-
Cross References
Psalms 69:15
Let not the flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.
Psalms 94:13
To give him rest from days of trouble, until a pit is dug for the wicked.
-
Cross References
Psalms 5:6
You destroy those who speak lies; the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.
-
Cross References
Proverbs 10:27
The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.
Job 15:32
It will be paid in full before his time, and his branch will not be green.
-
Cross References
Psalms 11:1
In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to my soul, "Flee like a bird to your mountain.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers.