Psalm 55[a] For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil[b] of David.

1 Listen to my prayer, O God,     do not ignore my plea; 2     hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught 3     because of what my enemy is saying,     because of the threats of the wicked; for they bring down suffering on me     and assail me in their anger.

4 My heart is in anguish within me;     the terrors of death have fallen on me. 5 Fear and trembling have beset me;     horror has overwhelmed me. 6 I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!     I would fly away and be at rest. 7 I would flee far away     and stay in the desert;[c] 8 I would hurry to my place of shelter,     far from the tempest and storm.”

9 Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,     for I see violence and strife in the city. 10 Day and night they prowl about on its walls;     malice and abuse are within it. 11 Destructive forces are at work in the city;     threats and lies never leave its streets.

12 If an enemy were insulting me,     I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me,     I could hide. 13 But it is you, a man like myself,     my companion, my close friend, 14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship     at the house of God, as we walked about     among the worshipers.