Psalms 55:1-17
New American Standard Bible
Chapter 55
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.King James Version
Chapter 55
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.
Christian Standard Bible
Chapter 55
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.
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.
New Living Translation
Chapter 55
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.
English Standard Version
Chapter 55
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.New International Version
Chapter 55
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.
New King James Version
Chapter 55
1{To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Contemplation of David.} Give ear to my prayer, O God, And do not hide Yourself from my supplication. 2Attend to me, and hear me; I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily, 3Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked; For they bring down trouble upon me, And in wrath they hate me. 4 My heart is severely pained within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, And horror has overwhelmed me. 6So I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.
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 around it on its walls; Iniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it.
11Destruction is in its midst; Oppression and deceit do not depart from its streets.
12 For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; Then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; Then I could hide from him.
13But it was you, a man my equal, My companion and my acquaintance.
14We took sweet counsel together, And walked to the house of God in the throng.
15Let death seize them; Let them go down alive 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.
17 Evening and morning and at noon I will pray, and cry aloud, And He shall hear my voice.
