Psalm 55:1–23

The Prayer of a Man Betrayed by a Friend^q

55 Hear my prayer, O God;

don’t turn away from my plea!

²Listen to me and answer me;

I am worn out by my worries.

³I am terrified by the threats of my enemies,

crushed by the oppression of the wicked.

They bring trouble on me;

they are angry with me and hate me.

⁴I am terrified,

and the terrors of death crush me.

⁵I am gripped by fear and trembling;

I am overcome with horror.

⁶I wish I had wings, like a dove.

I would fly away and find rest.

⁷I would fly far away

and make my home in the desert.

⁸I would quickly find myself a shelter

from the raging wind and the storm.

⁹Confuse the speech of my enemies, O Lord!

I see violence and riots in the city,

¹⁰surrounding it day and night, filling it with crime and trouble.

¹¹There is destruction everywhere;

the streets are full of oppression and fraud.

¹²If it were an enemy that mocked me,

I could endure it;

if it were an opponent boasting over me,

I could hide myself from him.

¹³But it is you, my companion,

my colleague and close friend.

¹⁴We had intimate talks with each other

and worshipped together in the Temple.

¹⁵May my enemies die before their time;

may they go down alive into the world of the dead!

Evil is in their homes and in their hearts.

¹⁶But I call to the Lord God for help,

and he will save me.

¹⁷Morning, noon, and night

my complaints and groans go up to him,

and he will hear my voice.

¹⁸He will bring me safely back

from the battles that I fight

against so many enemies.

¹⁹God, who has ruled from eternity,

will hear me and defeat them;

for they refuse to change,

and they do not fear him.

²⁰My former companion attacked his friends;

he broke his promises.

²¹His words were smoother than cream,

but there was hatred in his heart;

his words were as soothing as oil,

but they cut like sharp swords.

²²Leave your troubles with the Lord,

and he will defend you;

he never lets honest people be defeated.

²³But you, O God, will bring those murderers and liars to their graves

before half their life is over.

As for me, I will trust in you.