Psalm 55:1–17

¹For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil^a of David.

Listen to my prayer, O God,

and do not ignore my plea.

²Attend to me and answer me.

I am restless in my complaint,

and distraught ³at the voice of the enemy,

at the pressure of the wicked.

For they bring down disaster upon me

and resent me in their anger.

⁴My heart pounds within me,

and the terrors of death assail me.

⁵Fear and trembling grip me,

and horror has overwhelmed me.

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

I would fly away and find rest.

⁷How far away I would flee!

In the wilderness I would remain.

Selah

⁸I would hurry to my shelter,

far from this raging tempest.”

⁹O Lord, confuse and confound their speech,

for I see violence and strife in the city.

¹⁰Day and night they encircle the walls,

while malice and trouble lie within.

¹¹Destruction is within;

oppression and deceit never leave the streets.

¹²For it is not an enemy who insults me;

that I could endure.

It is not a foe who rises against me;

from him I could hide.

¹³But it is you, a man like myself,

my companion and close friend.

¹⁴We shared sweet fellowship together;

we walked with the crowd into the house of God.

¹⁵Let death seize them by surprise;

let them go down to Sheol alive,

for evil is with them in their homes.

¹⁶But I call to God,

and the LORD saves me.

¹⁷Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress,

and He hears my voice.