Psalm 64
Amplified Bible
Prayer for Protection from Secret Enemies.
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
64 Hear my voice, O God, in my [a]complaint;
Guard my life from the terror of the enemy.
2
Hide me from the secret counsel and conspiracy of the ungodly,
From the scheming of those who do wrong,
3
Who have sharpened their tongues like a sword.
They aim venomous words as arrows,
4
To shoot from ambush at the blameless [one];
Suddenly they shoot at him, without fear.
5
They encourage themselves in [their pursuit of] an evil agenda;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
They say, “Who will discover us?”
6
They devise acts of injustice, saying,
“We are ready with a well-conceived plan.”
For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep (mysterious, unsearchable).
7
But God will shoot them with an [unexpected] arrow;
Suddenly they will be wounded.
8
So they will be caused to stumble;
Their own tongue is against them;
All who gaze at them will shake the head [in scorn].
9
Then all men will fear [God’s judgment];
They will declare the work of God,
And they will consider and wisely acknowledge what He has done.
10
The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him;
All the upright in heart will glory and offer praise.
Footnotes
- Psalm 64:1 Or concern.
Psalm 64
New International Version
Psalm 64[a]
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
2 Hide me from the conspiracy(C) of the wicked,(D)
from the plots of evildoers.
3 They sharpen their tongues like swords(E)
and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.(F)
4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent;(G)
they shoot suddenly, without fear.(H)
5 They encourage each other in evil plans,
they talk about hiding their snares;(I)
they say, “Who will see it[b]?”(J)
6 They plot injustice and say,
“We have devised a perfect plan!”
Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.
Footnotes
- Psalm 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1-10 is numbered 64:2-11.
- Psalm 64:5 Or us
Psalm 64
The Message
64 Listen and help, O God.
I’m reduced to a whine
And a whimper, obsessed
with feelings of doomsday.
2-6 Don’t let them find me—
the conspirators out to get me,
Using their tongues as weapons,
flinging poison words,
poison-tipped arrow-words.
They shoot from ambush,
shoot without warning,
not caring who they hit.
They keep fit doing calisthenics
of evil purpose,
They keep lists of the traps
they’ve secretly set.
They say to each other,
“No one can catch us,
no one can detect our perfect crime.”
The Detective detects the mystery
in the dark of the cellar heart.
7-8 The God of the Arrow shoots!
They double up in pain,
Fall flat on their faces
in full view of the grinning crowd.
9-10 Everyone sees it. God’s
work is the talk of the town.
Be glad, good people! Fly to God!
Good-hearted people, make praise your habit.
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