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For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

64 Hear my voice, God, in my complaint.
    Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
    from the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil;
who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
    and aim their arrows, deadly words,
    to shoot innocent men from ambushes.
    They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly.
They encourage themselves in evil plans.
    They talk about laying snares secretly.
    They say, “Who will see them?”
They plot injustice, saying, “We have made a perfect plan!”
    Surely man’s mind and heart are cunning.
But God will shoot at them.
    They will be suddenly struck down with an arrow.
Their own tongues shall ruin them.
    All who see them will shake their heads.
All mankind shall be afraid.
    They shall declare the work of God,
    and shall wisely ponder what he has done.
10 The righteous shall be glad in Yahweh,
    and shall take refuge in him.
    All the upright in heart shall praise him!

To the Director: A Davidic Psalm.

A Prayer for Protection

64 Hear, God, as I express my concern;
    protect me[a] from fear of the enemy.
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
    from the mob of those who practice evil,
who sharpen their tongues like swords,
    and aim their bitter words like arrows,
shooting at the innocent from concealment.

Suddenly they shoot, fearing nothing.
They concoct an evil scheme for themselves;
they enumerate their hidden snares;
    they say, “Who will see them?”[b]
They devise wicked schemes, saying,
    “We have completed our plans,
        hiding them deep in our hearts.”

But God shot an arrow at them,
    and they were wounded immediately.
They tripped over their own tongues,
    and everyone who was watching ran away.
Everyone was gripped with fear
    and acknowledged God’s deeds,
        understanding what he had done.
10 The righteous rejoiced in the Lord,
    because they had fled to him for refuge.
        Let all the upright in heart exult.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 64:1 Lit. my life
  2. Psalm 64:5 Lit. see him; or see it