Psalm 55

¹ Listen to my prayer, God. Don’t hide yourself from my supplication.

² Attend to me, and answer me. I am restless in my complaint, and moan

³ because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they bring suffering on me. In anger they hold a grudge against me.

⁴ My heart is severely pained within me. The terrors of death have fallen on me.

⁵ Fearfulness and trembling have come on me. Horror has overwhelmed me.

⁶ I said, “Oh that I had wings like a dove! Then I would fly away, and be at rest.

⁷ Behold, then I would wander far off. I would lodge in the wilderness.” Selah.

⁸ “I would hurry to a shelter from the stormy wind and storm.”

⁹ Confuse them, Lord, and confound their language, for I have seen violence and strife in the city.

¹⁰ Day and night they prowl around on its walls. Malice and abuse are also within her.

¹¹ Destructive forces are within her. Threats and lies don’t depart from her streets.

¹² For it was not an enemy who insulted me, then I could have endured it. Neither was it he who hated me who raised himself up against me, then I would have hidden myself from him.

¹³ But it was you, a man like me, my companion, and my familiar friend.

¹⁴ We took sweet fellowship together. We walked in God’s house with company.

¹⁵ Let death come suddenly on them. Let them go down alive into Sheol. For wickedness is among them, in their dwelling.

¹⁶ As for me, I will call on God. The LORD will save me.

¹⁷ Evening, morning, and at noon, I will cry out in distress. He will hear my voice.

¹⁸ He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, although there are many who oppose me.

¹⁹ God, who is enthroned forever, will hear and answer them. Selah. They never change and don’t fear God.

²⁰ He raises his hands against his friends. He has violated his covenant.

²¹ His mouth was smooth as butter, but his heart was war. His words were softer than oil, yet they were drawn swords.

²² Cast your burden on the LORD and he will sustain you. He will never allow the righteous to be moved.

²³ But you, God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction. Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days, but I will trust in you.

Around Psalm 55

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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