• Psalm 55In Hebrew texts 55:1-23 is numbered 55:2-24.

  • 1 Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea;
  • 2 hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught
  • 3 because of what my enemy is saying, because of the threats of the wicked; for they bring down suffering on me and assail me in their anger.
  • 4 My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen on me.
  • 5 Fear and trembling have beset me; horror has overwhelmed me.
  • 6 I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.
  • 7 I would flee far away and stay in the desert;
  • 8 I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”
  • 9 Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words, for I see violence and strife in the city.
  • 10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it.
  • 11 Destructive forces are at work in the city; threats and lies never leave its streets.
  • 12 If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide.
  • 13 But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,
  • 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship at the house of God, as we walked about among the worshipers.
  • 15 Let death take my enemies by surprise; let them go down alive to the realm of the dead, for evil finds lodging among them.
  • 16 As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me.
  • 17 Evening, morning and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.
  • 18 He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.
  • 19 God, who is enthroned from of old, who does not change— he will hear them and humble them, because they have no fear of God.
  • 20 My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant.
  • 21 His talk is smooth as butter, yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil, yet they are drawn swords.
  • 22 Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.
  • 23 But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of decay; the bloodthirsty and deceitful will not live out half their days. But as for me, I trust in you.