| 1 | Listen to my prayer, O God, and hide not Yourself from my supplication! |
| 2 | Attend to me and answer me; I am restless
and
distraught in my complaint and must moan |
| 3 | [And I am distracted] at the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression
and
threats of the wicked; for they would cast trouble upon me, and in wrath they persecute me. |
| 4 | My heart is grievously pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me. |
| 5 | Fear and trembling have come upon me; horror
and
fright have overwhelmed me. |
| 6 | And I say, Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. |
| 7 | Yes, I would wander far away, I would lodge in the wilderness.
Selah
[pause, and calmly think of that]! |
| 8 | I would hasten to escape
and
to find a shelter from the stormy wind and tempest. |
| 9 | Destroy [their schemes], O Lord, confuse their tongues, for I have seen violence and strife in the city. |
| 10 | Day and night they go about on its walls; iniquity and mischief are in its midst. |
| 11 | Violence
and
ruin are within it; fraud and guile do not depart from its streets
and
marketplaces. |
| 12 | For it is not an enemy who reproaches
and
taunts me—then I might bear it; nor is it one who has hated me who insolently vaunts himself against me—then I might hide from him. |
| 13 | But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my familiar friend. |
| 14 | We had sweet fellowship together and used to walk to the house of God in company. |
| 15 | Let desolations
and
death come suddenly upon them; let them go down alive to Sheol (the place of the dead), for evils are in their habitations, in their hearts,
and
their inmost part. |
| 16 | As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord will save me. |
| 17 | Evening and morning and at noon will I utter my complaint and moan
and
sigh, and He will hear my voice. |
| 18 | He has redeemed my life in peace from the battle that was against me [so that none came near me], for they were many who strove with me. |
| 19 | God will hear and humble them, even He Who abides of old—
Selah
[pause, and calmly think of that]!—because in them there has been no change [of heart], and they do not fear, revere,
and
worship God. |
| 20 | [My companion] has put forth his hands against those who were at peace with him; he has broken
and
profaned his agreement [of friendship and loyalty]. |
| 21 | The words of his mouth were smoother than cream
or
butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords. |
| 22 | Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail). |
| 23 | But You, O God, will bring down the wicked into the pit of destruction; men of blood and treachery shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in, lean on,
and
confidently rely on You. |
Cross references:
-
Psalm 55:22 : I Pet. 5:7.
|