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Psalm chapter 55

English Standard Version

1To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy! 2Attend to me, and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and I moan, 3because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me. 4My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me. 6And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; 7yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah 8I would hurry to find a shelter from the raging wind and tempest.” 9Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues; for I see violence and strife in the city. 10Day and night they go around it on its walls, and iniquity and trouble are within it; 11ruin is in its midst; oppression and fraud do not depart from its marketplace. 12For it is not an enemy who taunts me— then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me— then I could hide from him. 13But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. 14We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng. 15Let death steal over them; let them go down to Sheol alive; for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart. 16But I call to God, and the LORD will save me. 17Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he hears my voice. 18He redeems my soul in safety from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me. 19God will give ear and humble them, he who is enthroned from of old, Selah because they do not change and do not fear God. 20My companion stretched out his hand against his friends; he violated his covenant. 21His speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords. 22Cast your burden on the LORD, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved. 23But you, O God, will cast them down into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
New International Version

1For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David. Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea; 2hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught
3because of what my enemy is saying, because of the threats of the wicked; for they bring down suffering on me and assail me in their anger. 4My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me. 5Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me. 6I said, 'Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. 7I would flee far away and stay in the desert;
8I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.' 9Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words, for I see violence and strife in the city. 10Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it.
11Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets. 12If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide. 13But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,
14with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers.
15Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the realm of the dead, for evil finds lodging among them. 16As for me, I call to God, and the LORD saves me. 17Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. 18He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.
19God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change-- he will hear them and humble them, because they have no fear of God. 20My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant.
21His talk is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords. 22Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
23But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay; the bloodthirsty and deceitful will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you.
New American Standard Bible

1 Listen to my prayer, God; And do not hide Yourself from my pleading. 2Give Your attention to me and answer me; I am restless in my complaint and severely distracted, 3Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the pressure of the wicked; For they bring down trouble upon me And in anger they hold a grudge against me. 4My heart is in anguish within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5Fear and trembling come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me. 6I said, 'Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. 7Behold, I would flee far away, I would spend my nights in the wilderness. Selah 8I would hurry to my place of refuge From the stormy wind and heavy gale.' 9Confuse them, Lord, divide their tongues, For I have seen violence and strife in the city. 10Day and night they go around her upon her walls, And evil and harm are in her midst. 11Destruction is in her midst; Oppression and deceit do not depart from her streets. 12For it is not an enemy who taunts me, Then I could endure it; Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me, Then I could hide myself from him. 13But it is you, a man my equal, My companion and my confidant; 14We who had sweet fellowship together, Walked in the house of God among the commotion. 15 May death come deceitfully upon them; May they go down alive to Sheol, For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst. 16As for me, I shall call upon God, And the Lord will save me. 17Evening and morning and at noon, I will complain and moan, And He will hear my voice. 18He will redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me, For they are many who are aggressive toward me. 19God will hear and humiliate them— Even the one who sits enthroned from ancient times— Selah With whom there is no change, And who do not fear God. 20He has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; He has violated his covenant. 21His speech was smoother than butter, But his heart was war; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords. 22Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken. 23But You, God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction; Men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.
Christian Standard Bible

1God, listen to my prayer and do not hide from my plea for help. 2Pay attention to me and answer me. I am restless and in turmoil with my complaint,
3because of the enemy's words, because of the pressure of the wicked. For they bring down disaster on me and harass me in anger. 4My heart shudders within me; terrors of death sweep over me. 5Fear and trembling grip me; horror has overwhelmed me. 6I said, "If only I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.
7How far away I would flee; I would stay in the wilderness. Selah
8I would hurry to my shelter from the raging wind and the storm." 9Lord, confuse and confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city; 10day and night they make the rounds on its walls. Crime and trouble are within it;
11destruction is inside it; oppression and deceit never leave its marketplace. 12Now it is not an enemy who insults me -- otherwise I could bear it; it is not a foe who rises up against me -- otherwise I could hide from him. 13But it is you, a man who is my peer, my companion and good friend!
14We used to have close fellowship; we walked with the crowd into the house of God. 15Let death take them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, because evil is in their homes and within them. 16But I call to God, and the Lord will save me. 17I complain and groan morning, noon, and night, and he hears my voice. 18Though many are against me, he will redeem me from my battle unharmed.
19God, the one enthroned from long ago, will hear and will humiliate them Selah because they do not change and do not fear God. 20My friend acts violently against those at peace with him; he violates his covenant.
21His buttery words are smooth, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.
22Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never allow the righteous to be shaken. 23God, you will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and treachery will not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.
New Living Translation

1 Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help! 2Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles. 3My enemies shout at me, making loud and wicked threats. They bring trouble on me and angrily hunt me down.
4My heart pounds in my chest. The terror of death assaults me. 5Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can’t stop shaking. 6Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!
7I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. Interlude 8How quickly I would escape — far from this wild storm of hatred.
9Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and conflict in the city. 10Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness within the city. 11Everything is falling apart; threats and cheating are rampant in the streets.
12It is not an enemy who taunts me — I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me — I could have hidden from them. 13Instead, it is you — my equal, my companion and close friend. 14What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God.
15Let death stalk my enemies; let the grave swallow them alive, for evil makes its home within them.
16But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me. 17Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the Lord hears my voice. 18He ransoms me and keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, though many still oppose me.
19God, who has ruled forever, will hear me and humble them. Interlude For my enemies refuse to change their ways; they do not fear God.
20As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises. 21His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is war. His words are as soothing as lotion, but underneath are daggers!
22Give your burdens to the Lord, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
23But you, O God, will send the wicked down to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will die young, but I am trusting you to save me.
King James Version

1{To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David.} Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. 2Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise; 3Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me. 4My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me. 5Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me. 6And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest. 7Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah. 8I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.
9Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city. 10Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it. 11Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets. 12For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: 13But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. 14We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. 15Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.
16As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me. 17Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice. 18He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me. 19God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God. 20He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant. 21The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords. 22Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved. 23But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.

What does Psalm chapter 55 mean?

This psalm is not assigned to any specific event. However, clues throughout tie closely to the rebellion of Absalom and the betrayal of Ahithophel. When David's son tried to take over the kingdom (2 Samuel 15:1–12), one of David's closest advisors sided with the rebels (2 Samuel 15:31). This forced David to flee from Jerusalem and sparked a bloody civil conflict (2 Samuel 15:14; 18:6–8). The song is attached to instructions about the use of stringed instruments. The description of this as a maskiyl implies a contemplative, somber song (Psalm 32:1; 53:1; 89:1).

David begins with a prayer for rescue. His enemies inspire deep terror; David describes his fear using a Hebrew term which literally means "trembling" or "shaking." He imagines being able to fly, with actual wings, far from danger and away from trouble. Those who attack him are powerful and make a great "noise," much like a storm (Psalm 55:1–8).

While asking for deliverance, David also prays God would judge his enemies. He describes the chaos and evil they have brought to Jerusalem. He suggests that these opponents deal in lies and brutality. Worse, for David, this opposition also comes from a former ally. This person was once a trusted friend and valued advisor—likely a reference to Ahithophel, the royal counselor-turned-traitor. David asks God to bring swift, immediate justice on these enemies (Psalm 55:9–15).

Near the end of this psalm, David prays directly for God's judgment to come on those who attack him. He makes this request with utmost confidence, sure that the Lord will spare him from defeat. Some of the language in this section echoes a psalm David wrote specifically in response to the rebellion of Absalom (Psalm 3). David's enemies are sure to suffer destruction because they refuse to turn from their evil. Among these are the traitor whose deceptive words disguised ill intent (Psalm 55:16–21).

David ends this psalm with a call for all to rely entirely on the Lord God. David himself knew that faithful service to God does not mean immunity from hardship (John 16:33). Yet he recognized the Lord's eternal perspective (Romans 8:28). Those who love God and are born again are secure in their salvation. In contrast, those who refuse to trust in the Lord are doomed to "the pit of destruction" depicted in the end times (Revelation 20:15) (Psalm 55:22–23).
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