Psalm 55
Expanded Bible
A Prayer About a False Friend
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A ·maskil [skillful psalm; meditation] of David.
55 God, ·listen [L give ear] to my prayer
and do not ·ignore [hide from] my ·cry for help [supplication].
2 Pay attention to me and answer me.
·I am troubled and [My cares give me no peace and I am] upset
3 by ·what the enemy says [L the voice/sound of my enemy]
and ·how the wicked look at me [before the stares/or because of the afflictions of my enemy].
They bring troubles down on me,
and in anger they ·attack [persecute; or hate] me.
4 ·I am frightened inside [L My heart writhes inside me];
the terror of death has ·attacked [L fallen on] me.
5 ·I am scared and shaking [Fear and trembling come on me],
and ·terror [shuddering] ·grips [overwhelms] me.
6 I said, “·I wish [O that] I had wings like a dove.
Then I would fly away and rest.
7 I would ·wander [flee] far away
and stay in the ·desert [wilderness]. ·
8 I would hurry to my place of escape,
far away from the raging wind and ·storm [tempest].”
9 Lord, ·destroy [or frustrate; or check; or confuse; L swallow] and ·confuse [confound; L divide] their ·words [speech; or plans; L tongues; Gen. 11:1–9],
because I see violence and ·fighting [strife; contention; accusation] in the city.
10 Day and night they are all around its walls,
and evil and trouble are everywhere inside.
11 Destruction is ·everywhere in the city [L in its midst];
·trouble [oppression] and ·lying [deception] never leave its ·streets [public square].
12 It was not an enemy ·insulting [scorning; reproaching] me.
I could ·stand [bear] that.
It was not someone who hated me who insulted me.
I could hide from him.
13 But it is you, a person like me,
my companion and good friend.
14 We had ·a good friendship [sweet fellowship together]
and walked ·together [or noisily; or quietly; or with the crowd] to God’s ·Temple [L house].
15 Let death ·take away [L rise up on] ·my enemies [L them].
Let them ·die while they are still young [L go down to the grave/underworld/Sheol while they are living]
because evil ·lives with them [L is their home within them].
16 But I will call to God for help,
and the Lord will ·save me [give me victory].
17 Morning, noon, and ·night [L evening] I ·am troubled and upset [sigh and moan],
but he will listen to ·me [L my voice].
18 Many are against me,
but he ·keeps me safe [L redeems/ransoms me whole/in peace] in battle.
19 God who ·lives forever [or is enthroned from of old]
will hear me and ·punish [L humble] them. ·
But they will not change;
they do not fear God [Prov. 1:7].
20 ·The one who was my friend attacks his friends [L He sends his hand against his friend]
and ·breaks [violates; profanes] his ·promises [covenant; treaty].
21 His words are ·slippery like [L smoother than] butter,
but war is in his heart.
His words are ·smoother [softer] than oil,
but they cut like ·knives [unsheathed swords; Prov. 5:3–4].
22 ·Give [L Cast; Throw] your ·worries [burden; L that which he has given you] to the Lord,
and he will ·take care of [sustain] you.
He will never let ·good [righteous] people ·down [L be moved].
23 But, God, you will bring down
the wicked to the ·grave [deepest pit; L pit of corruption].
Murderers and ·liars [deceivers] will ·live
only half a lifetime [L not live half their days].
But I will ·trust [have confidence] in you.
Psalm 55
Amplified Bible
Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.
To the Chief Musician; with stringed instruments. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of David.
55 Listen to my prayer, O God,
And do not hide Yourself from my plea.
2
Listen to me and answer me;
I am restless and distraught in my complaint and distracted
3
Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the pressure of the wicked;
For they bring down trouble on me,
And in anger they persecute me.
4
My heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5
Fear and trembling have come upon me;
Horror has overwhelmed me.
6
And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.
7
“I would wander far away,
I would lodge in the [peace of the] wilderness. Selah.
8
“I would hurry to my refuge [my tranquil shelter far away]
From the stormy wind and from the tempest.”
9
[a]Confuse [my enemies], O Lord, divide their tongues [destroying their schemes],
For I have seen violence and strife in the city.
10
Day and night they go around her walls;
Wickedness and mischief are in her midst.
11
Destruction is within her;
Oppression and deceit do not depart from her streets and market places.
12
For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
Then I could bear it;
Nor is it one who has hated me who insolently exalts himself against me—
Then I could hide from him.
13
But it is you, a man my equal and my counsel,
My companion and my familiar friend;
14
We who had sweet [b]fellowship together,
Who walked to the house of God in company.
15
Let death come deceitfully upon them;
Let them go down alive to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
For evil [of every kind] is in their dwelling and in their hearts, in their midst.
16
As for me, I shall call upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
17
Evening and morning and at noon I will complain and murmur,
And He will hear my voice.
18
He has redeemed my life in peace from the battle that was against me,
For there were many against me.
19
God will hear and humble them,
Even He who [c]sits enthroned from old— Selah.
Because in them there has been no change [of heart],
And they do not fear God [at all].
20
He [my companion] has put out his hands against those who were at peace with him;
He has [d]broken his covenant [of friendship and loyalty].
21
The words of his mouth were smoother than butter,
But his heart was hostile;
His words were softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn swords.
22
Cast your burden on the Lord [release it] and He will sustain and uphold you;
He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (slip, fall, fail).(A)
23
But You, O God, will bring down the wicked to the pit of destruction;
Men of blood and treachery will not live out half their days.
But I will [boldly and unwaveringly] trust in You.
Footnotes
- Psalm 55:9 Lit swallow up.
- Psalm 55:14 Lit counsel; or intimacy.
- Psalm 55:19 Or abides.
- Psalm 55:20 Lit profaned.
The Expanded Bible, Copyright © 2011 Thomas Nelson Inc. All rights reserved.
Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA 90631. All rights reserved.
