40 Heb “and to the friends for a snare.” The plural of שָׁלוֹם (shalom, “peace”) is used in Ps 55:20 of one’s “friends.” If the reading of the is retained here, the term depicts the psalmist’s enemies as a close-knit group of friends who are bound together by their hatred for the psalmist. Some prefer to revocalize the text as וּלְשִׁלּוּמִים (uléshillumim, “and for retribution”). In this case the noun stands parallel to פַּח (pakh, “trap”) and מוֹקֵשׁ (moqesh, “snare”), and one might translate, “may their dining table become a trap before them, [a means of] retribution and a snare” (cf. ).
41 Heb “may their eyes be darkened from seeing.”
42 Heb “make their hips shake continually.”
43 Heb “anger.” “Anger” here refers metonymically to divine judgment, which is the practical effect of God’s anger.
44 Heb “the rage of your anger.” The phrase “rage of your anger” employs an appositional genitive. Synonyms are joined in a construct relationship to emphasize the single idea. For a detailed discussion of the grammatical point with numerous examples, see Y. Avishur, “Pairs of Synonymous Words in the Construct State (and in Appositional Hendiadys) in Biblical Hebrew,” Semitics 2 (1971), 17–81.
45 Heb “in their tents may there not be one who dwells.” In Acts 1:20 Peter applies the language of this verse to Judas’ experience. By changing the pronouns from plural to singular, he is able to apply the ancient curse, pronounced against the psalmist’s enemies, to Judas in particular.
46 Or “persecute”; Heb “chase.”
47 Heb “for you, the one whom you strike, they chase.”
48 Heb “they announce the pain of your wounded ones” (i.e., “the ones whom you wounded,” as the parallel line makes clear). The psalmist is innocent of the false charges made by his enemies (v. 4), but he is also aware of his sinfulness (v. 5) and admits that he experiences divine discipline (v. 26) despite his devotion to God (v. 9). Here he laments that his enemies take advantage of such divine discipline by harassing and slandering him. They “kick him while he’s down,” as the expression goes.
49 Heb “place sin upon their sin.”
50 Heb “let them not come into your vindication.”
51 Heb “let them be wiped out of the scroll of the living.” The phrase the scroll of the living occurs only here in the OT. It pictures a scroll or census list containing the names of the citizens of a community. When an individual died, that person’s name was removed from the list. So this curse is a very vivid way of asking that the enemies die.
52 Heb “and with the godly let them not be written.” Do not let their names be listed with the godly. This curse pictures a scroll in which God records the names of his loyal followers. The psalmist makes the point that his enemies have no right to be included in this list of the godly.

In other versions

ESVEnglish Standard Version

Let their own table before them become a snare;

and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.

Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,

and make their loins tremble continually.

Pour out your indignation upon them,

and let your burning anger overtake them.

May their camp be a desolation;

let no one dwell in their tents.

For they persecute him whom you have struck down,

and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.

Add to them punishment upon punishment;

may they have no acquittal from you.

Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;

let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

NIVNew International Version (2011)

May the table set before them become a snare;

may it become retribution and a trap.

May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,

and their backs be bent forever.

Pour out your wrath on them;

let your fierce anger overtake them.

May their place be deserted;

let there be no one to dwell in their tents.

For they persecute those you wound

and talk about the pain of those you hurt.

Charge them with crime upon crime;

do not let them share in your salvation.

May they be blotted out of the book of life

and not be listed with the righteous.

CSBChristian Standard Bible

Let their table set before them be a snare,

and let it be a trap for their allies.

Let their eyes grow too dim to see,

and let their hips continually quake.

Pour out your rage on them,

and let your burning anger overtake them.

Make their fortification desolate;

may no one live in their tents.

For they persecute the one you struck

and talk about the pain of those you wounded.

Charge them with crime on top of crime;

do not let them share in your righteousness.

Let them be erased from the book of life

and not be recorded with the righteous.

NLTNew Living Translation

Let the bountiful table set before them become a snare

and their prosperity become a trap.

Let their eyes go blind so they cannot see,

and make their bodies shake continually.

Pour out your fury on them;

consume them with your burning anger.

Let their homes become desolate

and their tents be deserted.

To the one you have punished, they add insult to injury;

they add to the pain of those you have hurt.

Pile their sins up high,

and don’t let them go free.

Erase their names from the Book of Life;

don’t let them be counted among the righteous.

LEBThe Lexham English Bible

Let their table before them be a trap,

and their times of peace a snare.

Let their eyes be dark so they cannot see,

and make their loins continually tremble.

Pour out your indignation on them,

and let your burning anger overtake them.

Let their camp be desolate.

Let none dwell in their tents,

because they persecute those whom you, yourself, have struck,

and they tell of the pain of those you have wounded.

Add guilt on top of their guilt,

and do not let them be acquitted.

Let them be blotted out of the book of the living,

and let them not be recorded with the righteous.

KJV 1900King James Version

Let their table become a snare before them:

And that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.

Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not;

And make their loins continually to shake.

Pour out thine indignation upon them,

And let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.

Let their habitation be desolate;

And let none dwell in their tents.

For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten;

And they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.

Add iniquity unto their iniquity:

And let them not come into thy righteousness.

Let them be blotted out of the book of the living,

And not be written with the righteous.

Public Domain