Psalm 55:1–57:3

1  *aGive ear to my bprayer, O God;

And hide not thyself from my bsupplication.

2  aAttend unto me, and chear me:

I mourn in my dcomplaint, and emake a noise;

3  Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked:

For fthey cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.

4  My heart is sore pained within me:

And gthe terrors of death are fallen upon me.

5  hFearfulness and htrembling are come upon me,

And ihorror hath †overwhelmed me.

6  And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove!

For then would I fly away, and be at rest.

7  Lo, then would I wander far off,

And remain in the wilderness. Selah.

8  I would hasten my escape

From the windy storm and jtempest.

9  jjDestroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues:

For I have seen kviolence and strife in the city.

10  Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof:

Mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.

11  lWickedness is in the midst thereof:

mDeceit and guile depart not from her streets.

12  For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it:

Neither was it he that hated me that did nmagnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:

13  But it was thou, †a man mine equal,

My oguide, and mine pacquaintance.

14  †We took sweet qcounsel together,

And rwalked unto the house of God in qcompany.

15  Let death seize upon them,

And let them sgo down squick into ||hell:

For wickedness is in their tdwellings, and among them.

16  As for me, I will call upon God;

And the Lord shall save me.

17  uEvening, and morning, and wat noon, will I xpray, and xcry aloud:

And he shall hear my voice.

18  He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me:

For there were ymany zwith me.

19  God shall hear, and afflict them,

Even he that abideth aof old. Selah.

||Because they have no bchanges,

Therefore they fear not God.

20  He hath put forth his hands against csuch as be at peace with him:

†He hath broken his covenant.

21  dThe words of his mouth ewere smoother than butter, but war was in his heart:

eHis words were softer than oil, efyet were they drawn swords.

22  gCast thy ||burden upon the Lord, and he shall hsustain thee:

He shall never suffer the righteous ito be moved.

23  But thou, O God, jshalt bring them down into kthe pit of destruction:

†Bloody and deceitful men †lshall not live out half their days;

But mI will trust in thee.

Psalm 56

To the chief Musician upon Jonath-elem-recho-kim, ||Michtam of David, when the *Philistines took him in Gath.

1  Be amerciful unto me, O God: for man would bswallow me up;

He fighting daily oppresseth me.

2  †Mine enemies would daily bswallow me up:

For they be many that fight against me, cO thou most High.

3  What time I am afraid,

dI will trust in thee.

4  eIn God I will praise his word,

deIn God I have put my trust; fI will not fear

What flesh can do unto me.

5  Every day they wrest my words:

All their gthoughts are against me for evil.

6  They hgather themselves together, they ihide themselves,

They jmark my steps,

When they jwait for my soul.

7  Shall they escape by iniquity?

In thine anger kcast down the people, O God.

8  Thou tellest my wanderings:

lPut thou my tears into thy bottle:

Are they not in mthy book?

9  nWhen I cry unto thee, then shall mine enemies oturn back:

This I know; for God is pfor me.

10  eIn God will I praise his word:

In the Lord will I praise his word.

11  eIn God have I put my trust: fI will not be afraid

What man can do unto me.

12  qThy vows are upon me, O God:

I will render rpraises unto thee.

13  sFor thou hast delivered my soul from death: wilt not thou deliver my feet from falling,

tThat I may walk before God in uthe light of the living?

Psalm 57

To the chief Musician, ||Al-taschith, †Michtam of David, *when he fled from Saul in the cave.

1  Be amerciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me:

For my soul btrusteth in thee:

Yea, cin the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge,

dUntil these ecalamities be overpast.

2  I will cry unto God most high;

Unto God that fperformeth all things for me.

3  gHe shall send from heaven, and save me

||From the reproach of him that would hswallow me up. Selah.

God shall send forth ihis mercy and his truth.