Psalms 55

NEW JERUSALEM	CATHOLIC PUBLIC DOMAIN
1 [For the choirmaster For strings Poem Of David] God, hear my prayer, do not hide away from my plea,	1 Unto the end. For the people who have become far removed from the Sacred. Of David, with the inscription of a title, when the Philistines held him in Gath.
2 give me a hearing, answer me, my troubles give me no peace. I shudder	2 Have mercy on me, O God, because man has trampled over me. All day long, he has afflicted me by fighting against me.
3 at the enemy's shouts, at the outcry of the wicked; they heap up charges against me, in their angerbring hostile accusations against me.	3 My enemies have trampled over me all day long. For those who make war against me are many.
4 My heart writhes within me, the terrors of death come upon me,	4 From the height of the day, I will be afraid. But truly, I will hope in you.
5 fear and trembling overwhelm me, and shuddering grips me.	5 In God, I will praise my words. In God, I have put my trust. I will not fear what flesh can do to me.
6 And I say, 'Who will give me wings like a dove, to fly away and find rest?'	6 All day long, they curse my words. All their intentions are for evil against me.
7 How far I would escape, and make a nest in the desert!Pause	7 They will dwell and hide themselves. They will watch my heel, just as they waited for my soul;
8 I would soon find a refuge from the storm of abuse, from the	8 because of this, nothing will save them. In your anger, you will crush the people.
9 destructive tempest, Lord, from the flood of their tongues. For I see violence and strife in the city,	9 O God, I have announced my life to you. You have placed my tears in your sight, and even in your promise.
10 day and night they make their rounds along the city wal s, Inside live malice and mischief,	10 Then my enemies will be turned back. On whatever day that I call upon you, behold, I know that you are my God.
11 inside lives destruction, tyranny and treachery never absent from its central square.	11 In God, I will praise the word. In the Lord, I will praise his speech. In God, I have hoped. I will not fear what man can do to me.
12 Were it an enemy who insulted me, that I could bear; if an opponent pitted himself against me, I couldturn away from him.	12 My vows to you, O God, are in me. I will repay them. Praises be to you.
13 But you, a person of my own rank, a comrade and dear friend,	13 For you have rescued my soul from death and my feet from slipping, so that I may be pleasing in the sight of God, in the light of the living.
14 to whom I was bound by intimate friendship in the house of God! May they recoil in disorder,
15 may death descend on them, may they go down alive to Sheol, since evil shares their home withthem.
16 For my part, I appeal to God, and Yahweh saves me;
17 evening, morning, noon, I complain and I groan. He hears my cry,
18 he ransoms me and gives me peace from the feud against me, for they are taking me to law.
19 But God wil listen and wil humble them, he who has been enthroned from the beginning; no changeof heart for them, for they do not fear God.
20 They attack those at peace with them, going back on their oaths;
21 though their mouth is smoother than butter, enmity is in their hearts; their words more soothing thanoil, yet sharpened like swords.
22 Unload your burden onto Yahweh and he wil sustain you; never wil he allow the upright to stumble.
23 You, God, wil thrust them down to the abyss of destruction, men bloodthirsty and deceptive, beforehalf their days are spent. For my part, I put my trust in you.