Psalm 54–56

Psalm 54

To the Chief Musician. With Contemplation of David When the Ziphites Went and Said to Saul, “Is David Not Hiding with Us?”

¹Save me, O God, by Your name,

And vindicate me by Your strength.

²Hear my prayer, O God;

Give ear to the words of my mouth.

³For strangers have risen up against me,

And oppressors have sought after my life;

They have not set God before them.

Selah

⁴Behold, God is my helper;

The Lord is with those who ³uphold my life.

⁵He will repay my enemies for their evil.

⁴Cut them off in Your ⁵truth.

⁶I will freely sacrifice to You;

I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good.

⁷For He has delivered me out of all trouble;

^bAnd my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies.

Psalm 55

To the Chief Musician. With Contemplation of David.

¹Give ear to my prayer, O God,

And do not hide Yourself from my supplication.

²Attend to me, and hear me;

I ^aam ³restless in my complaint, and moan noisily,

³Because of the voice of the enemy,

Because of the oppression of the wicked;

^bFor they bring down trouble upon me,

And in wrath they hate me.

^4cMy heart is severely pained within me,

And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

⁵Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me,

And horror has overwhelmed me.

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

I would fly away and be at rest.

⁷Indeed, I would wander far off,

And remain in the wilderness.

Selah

⁸I would hasten my escape

From the windy storm and tempest.”

⁹Destroy, O Lord, and divide their ⁴tongues,

For I have seen ^dviolence and strife in the city.

¹⁰Day and night they go around it on its walls;

^eIniquity and trouble are also in the midst of it.

¹¹Destruction is in its midst;

^fOppression and deceit do not depart from its streets.

^12gFor it is not an enemy who reproaches me;

Then I could bear it.

Nor is it one who hates me who has ^hexalted himself against me;

Then I could hide from him.

¹³But it was you, a man my equal,

ⁱMy companion and my acquaintance.

¹⁴We took sweet counsel together,

And ^jwalked to the house of God in the throng.

¹⁵Let death seize them;

Let them ^kgo down alive into ⁵hell,

For wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.

¹⁶As for me, I will call upon God,

And the Lord shall save me.

^17lEvening and morning and at noon

I will pray, and cry aloud,

And He shall hear my voice.

¹⁸He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,

For ^mthere were many against me.

¹⁹God will hear, and afflict them,

ⁿEven He who abides from of old.

Selah

Because they do not change,

Therefore they do not fear God.

²⁰He has ^oput forth his hands against those who ^pwere at peace with him;

He has broken his ⁶covenant.

^21qThe words of his mouth were smoother than butter,

But war was in his heart;

His words were softer than oil,

Yet they were drawn swords.

^22rCast your burden on the Lord,

And ^sHe shall sustain you;

He shall never permit the righteous to be ⁷moved.

²³But You, O God, shall bring them down to the pit of destruction;

^tBloodthirsty and deceitful men ^ushall not live out half their days;

But I will trust in You.

Psalm 56

To the Chief Musician. Set to “The Silent Dove in Distant Lands.” A Michtam of David When the Philistines Captured Him in Gath.

¹Be ^bmerciful to me, O God, for man would swallow me up;

Fighting all day he oppresses me.

²My enemies would ^chound me all day,

For there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

³Whenever I am afraid,

I will trust in You.

⁴In God (I will praise His word),

In God I have put my trust;

^dI will not fear.

What can flesh do to me?

⁵All day they twist my words;

All their thoughts are against me for evil.

⁶They gather together,

They hide, they mark my steps,

When they lie in wait for my life.

⁷Shall they escape by iniquity?

In anger cast down the peoples, O God!

⁸You number my wanderings;

Put my tears into Your bottle;

^eAre they not in Your book?

⁹When I cry out to You,

Then my enemies will turn back;

This I know, because ^fGod is for me.

¹⁰In God (I will praise His word),

In the Lord (I will praise His word),

¹¹In God I have put my trust;

I will not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

¹²Vows made to You are binding upon me, O God;

I will render praises to You,

^13gFor 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?