Psalm 56
Prayer for Relief from Tormentors
To the Chief Musician. Set to 1“The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David When the aPhilistines Captured Him in Gath.
1 Be bmerciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up;
Fighting all day he oppresses me.
2 My enemies would chound me all day,
For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
I will trust in You.
4 In God (I will praise His word),
In God I have put my trust;
dI will not fear.
What can flesh do to me?
5 All day they twist my words;
All their thoughts are against me for evil.
They hide, they mark my steps,
When they lie in wait for my life.
7 Shall they escape by iniquity?
In anger cast down the peoples, O God!
Put my tears into Your bottle;
eAre they not in Your book?
Then my enemies will turn back;
This I know, because fGod is for me.
10 In God (I will praise His word),
In the Lord (I will praise His word),
11 In God I have put my trust;
I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;
I will render praises to You,
13 gFor You have delivered my soul from death.
Have You not kept my feet from falling,
That I may walk before God
In the hlight of the living?
Psalm 120
Plea for Relief from Bitter Foes
A Song of Ascents.
1 In amy distress I cried to the Lord, And He heard me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips
And from a deceitful tongue.
Or what shall be done to you,
You false tongue?
4 Sharp arrows of the 1warrior,
With coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe is me, that I dwell in bMeshech,
cThat I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
With one who hates peace.
But when I speak, they are for war.
Psalm 120 — The New International Version (NIV)
Title A song of ascents.
1 I call on the Lord in my distress,
and he answers me.
2 Save me, Lord,
from lying lips
and from deceitful tongues.
3 What will he do to you,
and what more besides,
you deceitful tongue?
4 He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,
with burning coals of the broom bush.
5 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek,
that I live among the tents of Kedar!
6 Too long have I lived
among those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace;
but when I speak, they are for war.
Psalm 120 — English Standard Version (ESV)
Title A Song of Ascents.
1 In my distress I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 Deliver me, O Lord,
from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given to you,
and what more shall be done to you,
you deceitful tongue?
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows,
with glowing coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
that I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace,
but when I speak, they are for war!
Psalm 120 — King James Version (KJV 1900)
Title A Song of degrees.
1 In my distress I cried unto the Lord,
And he heard me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips,
And from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given unto thee? or what shall be done unto thee,
Thou false tongue?
4 Sharp arrows of the mighty,
With coals of juniper.
5 Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech,
That I dwell in the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul hath long dwelt
With him that hateth peace.
7 I am for peace: but when I speak, they are for war.
Psalm 120 — New Living Translation (NLT)
Title A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem.
1 I took my troubles to the Lord;
I cried out to him, and he answered my prayer.
2 Rescue me, O Lord, from liars
and from all deceitful people.
3 O deceptive tongue, what will God do to you?
How will he increase your punishment?
4 You will be pierced with sharp arrows
and burned with glowing coals.
5 How I suffer in far-off Meshech.
It pains me to live in distant Kedar.
6 I am tired of living
among people who hate peace.
7 I search for peace;
but when I speak of peace, they want war!
Psalm 120 — New Century Version (NCV)
Title A psalm for going up to worship.
1 When I was in trouble, I called to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 Lord, save me from liars
and from those who plan evil.
3 You who plan evil, what will God do to you?
How will he punish you?
4 He will punish you with the sharp arrows of a warrior
and with burning coals of wood.
5 How terrible it is for me to live in the land of Meshech,
to live among the people of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long
with people who hate peace.
7 When I talk peace,
they want war.
Psalm 120 — American Standard Version (ASV)
Title A Song of Ascents.
1 In my distress I cried unto Jehovah,
And he answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Jehovah, from lying lips,
And from a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given unto thee, and what shall be done more unto thee,
Thou deceitful tongue?
4 Sharp arrows of the mighty,
With coals of juniper.
5 Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
That I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 My soul hath long had her dwelling
With him that hateth peace.
7 I am for peace:
But when I speak, they are for war.
Psalm 120 — 1890 Darby Bible (DARBY)
Title A Song of degrees.
1 In my trouble I called unto Jehovah, and he answered me. 2 Jehovah, deliver my soul from the lying lip, from the deceitful tongue. 3 What shall be given unto thee, what shall be added unto thee, thou deceitful tongue? 4 Sharp arrows of a mighty one, with burning coals of broom-wood.
5 Woe is me, that I sojourn in Meshech, that I dwell among the tents of Kedar! 6 My soul hath long dwelt with them that hate peace. 7 I am for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.
Psalm 120 — GOD’S WORD Translation (GW)
Title A song for going up to worship.
1 When I was in trouble, I cried out to the Lord,
and he answered me.
2 O Lord, rescue me from lying lips
and from a deceitful tongue.
3 You deceitful tongue, what can the Lord give you?
What more can he do for you?
4 He will give you a warrior’s sharpened arrows and red-hot coals.
5 How horrible it is to live as a foreigner in Meshech
or to stay in the tents of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long with those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace, but when I talk about it,
they only talk about war.
Psalm 120 — The Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
Title A song of ascents.
1 In my distress I called to the Lord,
and He answered me.
2 “Lord, deliver me from lying lips
and a deceitful tongue.”
3 What will He give you,
and what will He do to you,
you deceitful tongue?
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows
with burning charcoal!
5 What misery that I have stayed in Meshech,
that I have lived among the tents of Kedar!
6 I have lived too long
with those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace; but when I speak,
they are for war.
Psalm 120 — The New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
Title A Song of Ascents.
1 In my distress I cry to the Lord,
that he may answer me:
2 “Deliver me, O Lord,
from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.”
3 What shall be given to you?
And what more shall be done to you,
you deceitful tongue?
4 A warrior’s sharp arrows,
with glowing coals of the broom tree!
5 Woe is me, that I am an alien in Meshech,
that I must live among the tents of Kedar.
6 Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace;
but when I speak,
they are for war.
Psalm 120 — The Lexham English Bible (LEB)
Title A song of ascents.
1 In my distress I called to Yahweh,
and he answered me.
2 “Deliver my life, O Yahweh, from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.”
3 What shall be given to you,
and what more shall be done to you,
deceitful tongue?
4 The sharpened arrows of a warrior,
with burning charcoals from broom trees.
5 Woe to me, that I sojourn in Meshech,
that I dwell among the tents of Kedar.
6 Too long my soul has had its dwelling
near one who hates peace.
7 I am for peace, but when I speak,
they are for war.
Psalm 120 — New International Reader’s Version (1998) (NIrV)
Title A song for those who go up to Jerusalem to worship the Lord.
1 I call out to the Lord when I’m in trouble,
and he answers me.
2 Lord, save me from people whose lips tell lies.
Save me from people whose tongues don’t tell the truth.
3 What will the Lord do to you, you lying tongue?
And what more will he do?
4 He will punish you with the sharp arrows of a soldier.
He will punish you with burning wood from a desert tree.
5 How terrible it is for me to live in the tents of the people of Meshech!
How terrible to live in the tents of the people of Kedar!
6 I have lived too long
among those who hate peace.
7 I want peace.
But when I speak, they want war.
Psalm 120 — New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (NASB95)
Title A Song of Ascents.
1 In my trouble I cried to the Lord,
And He answered me.
2 Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips,
From a deceitful tongue.
3 What shall be given to you, and what more shall be done to you,
You deceitful tongue?
4 Sharp arrows of the warrior,
With the burning coals of the broom tree.
5 Woe is me, for I sojourn in Meshech,
For I dwell among the tents of Kedar!
6 Too long has my soul had its dwelling
With those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace, but when I speak,
They are for war.
Psalm 140–142
Prayer for Deliverance from Evil Men
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
1 Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
Preserve me from violent men,
2 Who plan evil things in their hearts;
aThey continually gather together for war.
3 They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
The bpoison of asps is under their lips.
Selah
4 cKeep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
Preserve me from violent men,
Who have purposed to make my steps stumble.
5 The proud have hidden a dsnare for me, and cords;
They have spread a net by the wayside;
They have set traps for me.
Selah
6 I said to the Lord: “You are my God;
Hear the voice of my supplications, O Lord.
7 O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have 1covered my head in the day of battle.
8 Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
Do not further his wicked scheme,
eLest they be exalted.
Selah
9 “As for the head of those who surround me,
Let the evil of their lips cover them;
10 fLet burning coals fall upon them;
Let them be cast into the fire,
Into deep pits, that they rise not up again.
11 Let not a slanderer be established in the earth;
Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”
12 I know that the Lord will gmaintain
The cause of the afflicted,
And justice for the poor.
13 Surely the righteous shall give thanks to Your name;
The upright shall dwell in Your presence.
Prayer for Safekeeping from Wickedness
A Psalm of David.
Make haste to me!
Give ear to my voice when I cry out to You.
2 Let my prayer be set before You aas incense,
bThe lifting up of my hands as cthe evening sacrifice.
3 Set a guard, O Lord, over my dmouth;
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice wicked works
With men who work iniquity;
eAnd do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5 fLet the righteous strike me;
It shall be a kindness.
And let him rebuke me;
It shall be as excellent oil;
Let my head not refuse it.
For still my prayer is against the deeds of the wicked.
6 Their judges are overthrown by the sides of the 1cliff,
And they hear my words, for they are sweet.
7 Our bones are scattered at the mouth of the grave,
As when one plows and breaks up the earth.
8 But gmy eyes are upon You, O God the Lord;
In You I take refuge;
2Do not leave my soul destitute.
9 Keep me from hthe snares they have laid for me,
And from the traps of the workers of iniquity.
10 iLet the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I escape safely.
A Plea for Relief from Persecutors
A aContemplation 1Of David. A Prayer bWhen He Was in the Cave.
1 I cry out to the Lord with my voice;
With my voice to the Lord I make my supplication.
2 I pour out my complaint before Him;
I declare before Him my trouble.
3 When my spirit 2was coverwhelmed within me,
Then You knew my path.
In the way in which I walk
They have secretly dset a snare for me.
4 Look on my right hand and see,
For there is no one who acknowledges me;
Refuge has failed me;
No one cares for my soul.
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
6 3Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.
7 Bring my soul out of prison,
That I may epraise Your name;
The righteous shall surround me,
For You shall deal bountifully with me.”