> [[psalm-54|← Previous]] | [[psalm-00|TOC]] | [[psalm-56|Next →]] --- # Psalm 55 ## A Lament over Betrayal 1 For the leader. On stringed instruments. A *maskil* of David. ^psalm-55-1 ### I 2 Listen, God, to my prayer; ^psalm-55-2 do not hide from my pleading; 3 hear me and give answer. ^psalm-55-3 I rock with grief; I groan 4 at the uproar of the enemy, ^psalm-55-4 the clamor of the wicked. They heap trouble upon me, savagely accuse me. 5 My heart pounds within me; ^psalm-55-5 death’s terrors fall upon me. 6 Fear and trembling overwhelm me; ^psalm-55-6 shuddering sweeps over me. 7 I say, “If only I had wings like a dove ^psalm-55-7 that I might fly away and find rest. 8 Far away I would flee; ^psalm-55-8 I would stay in the desert. *Selah* 9 “I would soon find a shelter ^psalm-55-9 from the raging wind and storm.” ### II 10 Lord, check and confuse their tongues. ^psalm-55-10 For I see violence and strife in the city 11 making rounds on its walls day and night. ^psalm-55-11 Within are mischief and trouble; 12 treachery is in its midst; ^psalm-55-12 oppression and fraud never leave its streets. 13 For it is not an enemy that reviled me— ^psalm-55-13 that I could bear— Not a foe who viewed me with contempt, from that I could hide. 14 But it was you, my other self, ^psalm-55-14 my comrade and friend, 15 You, whose company I enjoyed, ^psalm-55-15 at whose side I walked in the house of God. ### III 16 Let death take them; ^psalm-55-16 let them go down alive to Sheol, for evil is in their homes and bellies. 17 But I will call upon God, ^psalm-55-17 and the LORD will save me. 18 At dusk, dawn, and noon ^psalm-55-18 I will grieve and complain, and my prayer will be heard. 19 He will redeem my soul in peace ^psalm-55-19 from those who war against me, though there are many who oppose me. 20 God, who sits enthroned forever, ^psalm-55-20 will hear me and afflict them. *Selah* For they will not mend their ways; they have no fear of God. 21 He stretched out his hand at his friends ^psalm-55-21 and broke his covenant. 22 Softer than butter is his speech, ^psalm-55-22 but war is in his heart. Smoother than oil are his words, but they are unsheathed swords. 23 Cast your care upon the LORD, ^psalm-55-23 who will give you support. He will never allow the righteous to stumble. 24 But you, God, will bring them down ^psalm-55-24 to the pit of destruction. These bloodthirsty liars will not live half their days, but I put my trust in you. \* (Psalm 55) The psalmist, betrayed by intimate friends ([Ps 55:14] – [15], [20] – [21]), prays that God punish those oath breakers and thus be acknowledged as the protector of the wronged. The sufferings of the psalmist include both ostracism ([Ps 55:4]) and mental turmoil ([Ps 55:5] – [6]), culminating in the wish to flee society ([Ps 55:7] – [9]). The wish for a sudden death for one’s enemies ([Ps 55:16]) occurs elsewhere in the Psalms; an example of such a death is the earth opening under the wicked Dathan and Abiram ([Nm 16:31] – [32]). The psalmist, confident of vindication, exhorts others to a like trust in the God of justice ([Ps 55:23]). The Psalm is not so much for personal vengeance as for a public vindication of God’s righteousness now. There was no belief in an afterlife where such vindication could take place. a. (55:2] – [3) ([[psalm-05|Ps 5]]:2] – [3]; [86:6]; [130:1] – [2]; [Lam 3:56]; [Jon 2:3]. b. (55:7) ([[psalm-11|Ps 11]]:1]. c. (55:8) [Jer 9:1]; [Rv 12:6]. d. (55:12) [Jer 5:1]; [6:6]; [[ezekiel-22|Ez 22]]:2; [Heb 1:3]; [Zep 3:1]. e. (55:14) [Ps 41:10]; [Jer 9:3]; ([[matthew-26|Mt 26]]:21] – [24] par. f. (55:16) [Ps 49:15]; [Nm 16:33]; [Prv 1:2]; [Is 5:14]. g. (55:18) [Dn 6:11]. h. (55:20) ([[psalm-29|Ps 29]]:10]; [93:2]; ([[baruch-03|Bar 3]]:3]. i. (55:22) ([[psalm-12|Ps 12]]:3]; [28:3]; [57:5]; [62:5]; [64:4]; [Prv 26:24] – [28]; [Jer 9:7]. j. (55:23) [Ps 37:5]; [Prv 3:5]; [16:3]; [1 Pt 5:7]. k. (55:24) ([[psalm-28|Ps 28]]:1]; [30:4]; [40:3]; [88:5]; [143:7]; [Prv 1:12]; [Jon 2:7]. l. (55:24) ([[psalm-25|Ps 25]]:2]; [56:4]; [130:5]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[psalm-54|← Previous]] | [[psalm-00|TOC]] | [[psalm-56|Next →]]