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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 Rescue from Secret Enemies.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

64 Hear my voice, God, in (A)my [a]complaint;
(B)Protect my life from dread of the enemy.
Hide me from the (C)secret discussion of evildoers,
From the restlessness of (D)the workers of injustice,
Who (E)have sharpened their tongues like a sword.
They (F)aimed bitter speech as their arrows,
To (G)shoot [b]from concealment at the innocent;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and (H)do not fear.
They make firm for themselves an evil [c]purpose;
They [d]talk of (I)setting snares secretly;
They say, “(J)Who can see them?”
They [e]devise injustices, saying,
“We are [f]ready with a well-conceived plot”;
For the [g](K)inward thought and the heart of a person are [h]deep.

But (L)God [i]will shoot an arrow at them;
Suddenly [j]they will be wounded.
So [k]they [l]will (M)make him stumble;
(N)Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will (O)shake their heads.
Then all people [m]will (P)fear,
And they [n]will (Q)declare the work of God,
And [o]will consider [p]what He has done.
10 The righteous person will be (R)glad in the Lord and (S)take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will boast.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 64:1 Or concern
  2. Psalm 64:4 Lit in
  3. Psalm 64:5 Lit matter
  4. Psalm 64:5 Lit tell of
  5. Psalm 64:6 Or search out
  6. Psalm 64:6 Lit complete
  7. Psalm 64:6 Or inward part
  8. Psalm 64:6 Or unsearchable
  9. Psalm 64:7 Or shot
  10. Psalm 64:7 Or they were wounded; lit their wounds occurred
  11. Psalm 64:8 Or they make their tongue a stumbling for themselves
  12. Psalm 64:8 Or made
  13. Psalm 64:9 Or feared
  14. Psalm 64:9 Or declared
  15. Psalm 64:9 Or considered
  16. Psalm 64:9 Lit His work

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 Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:

Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.

They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?

They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.

But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.

So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.

And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.

10 The righteous shall be glad in the Lord, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.