Psalms 55 in plain modern English. New Ground English Translation.
Time Period
~1000 to 975 BC, most plausibly during the revolt of David's son Absalom near the end of David's reign
Location
Jerusalem, with the psalm imagining escape to the wilderness east and south of the city
Audience
Israelites in public worship, later read by anyone in the community facing betrayal from within
Situation
The writer is in terror, wishes he had wings like a dove to fly away and rest, and describes violence and quarreling inside the city. The sharpest pain is that the attacker is not an enemy but a close friend and companion he once walked with to the house of God.
Key Background
In a walled city, the gates and squares were where business, legal cases, and public argument happened, so saying violence patrols the walls day and night describes civic order collapsing rather than a private feud. Table fellowship and shared worship created a bond that carried near legal weight in that culture, which is why a friend turning is treated as a worse wound than an army. Many readers connect the betrayal to Ahithophel, David's own trusted counselor, who defected to Absalom during the coup.
Listen to my God. Don't turn away from my
Pay attention to me and answer me. I'm in my anguish — I can't stop pacing —
because of what the enemy is saying, because of the pressure the keep putting on me. They pile trouble on top of me and harass me with their fury.
My heart is inside me, and the terror of death has fallen over me.
Fear and trembling have come over me, and a has swallowed me whole.
And I said, "If only I had wings like a — I would fly away and find
I would fly far, far away. I would make my home in the
I would rush to find shelter from the raging wind and storm.
them up, Lord! their speech! Because I see violence and conflict in the city.
Day and night they circle the city on its walls. Trouble and misery fill it to the brim.
is at the center of it all. Cruelty and never leave its streets.
If it were an enemy taunting me, I could endure it. If someone who hated me were rising against me, I could hide from them.
But it's you — someone just like me, my my
We used to with such sweetness. We walked with the crowd into the of
Let death come on them without warning. Let them go down to the alive, because evil lives in their homes — right there inside them.
But I — I call out to God, and will me.
Evening and morning and noon, I out in anguish, and he hears my voice.
He me from the battle waged against me, even though so many were lined up against me.
God will hear and bring them low — the one from — because they to change and have no respect for God.
My companion turned against those at with him; he broke his
His mouth was smoother than butter, but war was in his heart. His words were softer than oil, yet they were
what on you onto Yahweh, and he will you through. He will never let the who does be
But you, God, will bring them down into the of destruction. The and the liars — they won't live out half their days. But I will in you.