Psalm 55

W. van der Kamp, 1972; rev.

1. Give ear and listen to my pleading;
   Hide not Thyself, O God, not heeding
   My fervent prayer, my supplications!
   Attend to me, and answer me;
   I am beset by infamy
   And overcome by tribulations.
   
2. The shoutings of my foes distress me,
   My wicked enemies oppress me;
   They bring me trouble and they cherish
   In angry hate their enmity.
   My heart is faint with misery;
   In dread of death and grave I perish.
   
3. Dismay and trembling come upon me,
   And fear and terror have undone me;
   I am alone, by all forsaken.
   Were I a dove, with pinions blest,
   I would fly off and be at rest,
   No more by threats and terrors shaken.
   
4. Yes, I would flee to distant places;
   I would escape, would leave no traces,
   And seek, far from my adversary,
   A shelter in the wilderness:
   Where raging winds cause no distress
   Nor storms can shake my sanctuary.
   
5. Destroy their plans; LORD, show no pity;
   Confuse their tongues, for in the city
   I notice violence and oppression.
   Both day and night their vice abounds
   When on the walls they make their rounds.
   The market place teems with transgression.
   
6. It is no foe who comes with taunting,
   For then I could endure his flaunting.
   It is not that an adversary
   Treats me with insolence and pride,
   For then from him I still could hide
   And I would be on guard and wary.
   
7. No, it is you who have betrayed me
   And who with ill for good repaid me,
   My friend in whom I once confided,
   With whom I kept sweet company
   And walked in God’s house pleasantly,
   But who no with my foes has sided.
   
8. Let death strike them till they have perished,
   Those whom I as my equals cherished;
   Let them be caught in their own error;
   Let them who no against me strive
   Go down into Sheol alive,
   Descend into their graves in terror.
   
9. I cry to God; the LORD will save me.
   I trust the promise which He gave me.
   At noon, at evening, in the morning
   I utter my complaint and moan,
   And He will hear me as I groan,
   When traitors strike me without warning.
   
10. He saves me, though my foes are raging,
    Out of the battle I am waging.
    God will give ear, them He will humble;
    He, high enthroned from days of old,
    Will break my haters’ strangling hold;
    Because they keep no law, they’ll stumble.
    
11. My friend appears now as a traitor,
    A sleek-tongued covenant violator.
    His speech was smoother still than butter,
    Yet war was in his heart and mind;
    His words were swords, though soft and kind;
    It was all feigned what he did utter.
    
12. Cast on the LORD the cares that grieve you;
    He takes your burden and relieves you.
    He will sustain you and will humble
    The liar and the hypocrite.
    Your downfall He will not permit;
    The righteous man will never stumble.
    
13. But Thou, O God, wilt vindicate us;
    Thou wilt cast down the ones who hate us.
    And in the lowest pit shall perish
    The men of blood and treacherous ways.
    They shall not live out half their days.
    I trust in Thee, Thy Word I cherish.