Psalm 63:1–8

Title For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;

protect my life from the threat of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,

from the plots of evildoers.

3 They sharpen their tongues like swords

and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.

4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent;

they shoot suddenly, without fear.

5 They encourage each other in evil plans,

they talk about hiding their snares;

they say, “Who will see it?”

6 They plot injustice and say,

“We have devised a perfect plan!”

Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.

7 But God will shoot them with his arrows;

they will suddenly be struck down.

Title To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;

preserve my life from dread of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,

from the throng of evildoers,

3 who whet their tongues like swords,

who aim bitter words like arrows,

4 shooting from ambush at the blameless,

shooting at him suddenly and without fear.

5 They hold fast to their evil purpose;

they talk of laying snares secretly,

thinking, “Who can see them?”

6 They search out injustice,

saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”

For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.

7 But God shoots his arrow at them;

they are wounded suddenly.

Title To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.

1 Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer:

Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked;

From the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:

3 Who whet their tongue like a sword,

And bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

4 That they may shoot in secret at the perfect:

Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.

5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter:

They commune of laying snares privily;

They say, Who shall see them?

6 They search out iniquities;

They accomplish a diligent search:

Both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.

7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;

Suddenly shall they be wounded.

Title For the choir director: A psalm of David.

1 O God, listen to my complaint.

Protect my life from my enemies’ threats.

2 Hide me from the plots of this evil mob,

from this gang of wrongdoers.

3 They sharpen their tongues like swords

and aim their bitter words like arrows.

4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent,

attacking suddenly and fearlessly.

5 They encourage each other to do evil

and plan how to set their traps in secret.

“Who will ever notice?” they ask.

6 As they plot their crimes, they say,

“We have devised the perfect plan!”

Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning.

7 But God himself will shoot them with his arrows,

suddenly striking them down.

Title To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation;

Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,

From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity,

3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,

And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words,

4 That they may shoot in secret at the blameless;

Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter;

They talk of laying snares secretly;

They say, “Who will see them?”

6 They devise iniquities:

“We have perfected a shrewd scheme.”

Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.

7 But God shall shoot at them with an arrow;

Suddenly they shall be wounded.

Title For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 God, listen to my complaint.

I am afraid of my enemies;

protect my life from them.

2 Hide me from those who plan wicked things,

from that gang who does evil.

3 They sharpen their tongues like swords

and shoot bitter words like arrows.

4 From their hiding places they shoot at innocent people;

they shoot suddenly and are not afraid.

5 They encourage each other to do wrong.

They talk about setting traps,

thinking no one will see them.

6 They plan wicked things and say,

“We have a perfect plan.”

The mind of human beings is hard to understand.

7 But God will shoot them with arrows;

they will suddenly be struck down.

Title For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint:

Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the secret counsel of evil-doers,

From the tumult of the workers of iniquity;

3 Who have whet their tongue like a sword,

And have aimed their arrows, even bitter words,

4 That they may shoot in secret places at the perfect:

Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.

5 They encourage themselves in an evil purpose;

They commune of laying snares privily;

They say, Who will see them?

6 They search out iniquities;

We have accomplished, say they, a diligent search:

And the inward thought and the heart of every one is deep.

7 But God will shoot at them;

With an arrow suddenly shall they be wounded.

Title To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 Hear, O God, my voice in my plaint; preserve my life from fear of the enemy: 2 Hide me from the secret counsel of evil-doers, from the tumultuous crowd of the workers of iniquity, 3 Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword, and have aimed their arrow, a bitter word; 4 That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. 5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter, they concert to hide snares; they say, Who will see them? 6 They devise iniquities: We have it ready, the plan is diligently sought out. And each one’s inward thought and heart is deep.

7 But God will shoot an arrow at them: suddenly are they wounded;

Title For the choir director; a psalm by David. 

1 Hear my voice, O God, when I complain. 

Protect my life from a terrifying enemy. 

2 Hide me from the secret plots of criminals, 

from the mob of troublemakers. 

3 They sharpen their tongues like swords. 

They aim bitter words like arrows 

4 to shoot at innocent people from their hiding places. 

They shoot at them suddenly, without any fear. 

5 They encourage one another in their evil plans. 

They talk about setting traps and say, 

“Who can see them?” 

6 They search for the perfect crime and say, 

“We have perfected a foolproof scheme!” 

Human nature and the human heart are a mystery! 

7 But God will shoot them with an arrow. 

Suddenly, they will be struck dead. 

Title For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.

1 God, hear my voice when I complain.

Protect my life from the terror of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the scheming of wicked people,

from the mob of evildoers,

3 who sharpen their tongues like swords

and aim bitter words like arrows,

4 shooting from concealed places at the innocent.

They shoot at him suddenly and are not afraid.

5 They encourage each other in an evil plan;

they talk about hiding traps and say,

“Who will see them?”

6 They devise crimes and say,

“We have perfected a secret plan.”

The inner man and the heart are mysterious.

7 But God will shoot them with arrows;

suddenly, they will be wounded.

Title To the leader. A Psalm of David.

1 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;

preserve my life from the dread enemy.

2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,

from the scheming of evildoers,

3 who whet their tongues like swords,

who aim bitter words like arrows,

4 shooting from ambush at the blameless;

they shoot suddenly and without fear.

5 They hold fast to their evil purpose;

they talk of laying snares secretly,

thinking, “Who can see us?

6 Who can search out our crimes?

We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.”

For the human heart and mind are deep.

7 But God will shoot his arrow at them;

they will be wounded suddenly.

Title For the music director. A psalm of David.

1 Hear my voice, O God, in my lamenting.

Preserve my life from the fear of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the secret plots of evildoers,

from the unrest of those who do iniquity,

3 who sharpen their tongue like a sword.

They bend their bow to shoot their arrows—bitter words,

4 to shoot from their hiding places at the blameless.

Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear.

5 They encourage themselves in the evil matter.

They talk of secretly laying snares.

They say, “Who will see them?”

6 They carefully plot injustices saying,

“We have perfected the perfect plot!”

Both the inner thought and heart of a man are deep.

7 But God will shoot them;

with an arrow they will suddenly be wounded.

Title For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 God, hear me as I tell you my problem.

Don’t let my enemies kill me.

2 Hide me from those who make evil plans against me.

Hide me from that crowd of people who are doing evil.

3 They make their tongues like sharp swords.

They aim their words like deadly arrows.

4 They shoot from their hiding places at people who aren’t guilty of doing anything wrong.

They shoot quickly. They aren’t afraid of being caught.

5 They help each other make evil plans.

They talk about hiding their traps.

They say, “Who can see what we are doing?”

6 They make plans to do what is evil.

They say, “We have thought up a perfect plan!”

The hearts and minds of people are so clever!

7 But God will shoot my enemies with his arrows.

He will suddenly strike them down.

Title For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

1 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;

Preserve my life from dread of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers,

From the tumult of those who do iniquity,

3 Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword.

They aimed bitter speech as their arrow,

4 To shoot from concealment at the blameless;

Suddenly they shoot at him, and do not fear.

5 They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose;

They talk of laying snares secretly;

They say, “Who can see them?”

6 They devise injustices, saying,

“We are ready with a well-conceived plot”;

For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep.

7 But God will shoot at them with an arrow;

Suddenly they will be wounded.