Oppressed by the Wicked but Rejoicing in the Lord

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

64 Hear my voice, O God, in my [a]meditation;
Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,
Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
(A)And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,
That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;
Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

They encourage themselves in an evil matter;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
(B)They say, “Who will see them?”
They devise iniquities:
“We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”
Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.

But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;
Suddenly they shall be wounded.
So He will make them stumble over their own tongue;
(C)All who see them shall flee away.
All men shall fear,
And shall (D)declare the work of God;
For they shall wisely consider His doing.

10 (E)The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and trust in Him.
And all the upright in heart shall glory.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 64:1 complaint

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.

Hide me from the secret counsel and conspiracy of the ungodly,
From the scheming of those who do wrong,

Who have sharpened their tongues like a sword.
They aim venomous words as arrows,

To shoot from ambush at the blameless [one];
Suddenly they shoot at him, without fear.

They encourage themselves in [their pursuit of] an evil agenda;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
They say, “Who will discover us?”

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).


But God will shoot them with an [unexpected] arrow;
Suddenly they will be wounded.

So they will be caused to stumble;
Their own tongue is against them;
All who gaze at them will shake the head [in scorn].

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

  1. Psalm 64:1 Or concern.

Psalm 64[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;(A)
    protect my life from the threat of the enemy.(B)

Hide me from the conspiracy(C) of the wicked,(D)
    from the plots of evildoers.
They sharpen their tongues like swords(E)
    and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.(F)
They shoot from ambush at the innocent;(G)
    they shoot suddenly, without fear.(H)

They encourage each other in evil plans,
    they talk about hiding their snares;(I)
    they say, “Who will see it[b]?”(J)
They plot injustice and say,
    “We have devised a perfect plan!”
    Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.

But God will shoot them with his arrows;
    they will suddenly be struck down.
He will turn their own tongues against them(K)
    and bring them to ruin;
    all who see them will shake their heads(L) in scorn.(M)
All people will fear;(N)
    they will proclaim the works of God
    and ponder what he has done.(O)

10 The righteous will rejoice in the Lord(P)
    and take refuge in him;(Q)
    all the upright in heart will glory in him!(R)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1-10 is numbered 64:2-11.
  2. Psalm 64:5 Or us

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.