To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David. 1Hear my prayer, O God; and please do not ignore my appeal.
2Attend unto me, and hear me; I groan in my grief as I make my complaint,
3Because of the threats of the enemy, as they seek to harm me out of hatred for me.
4My heart pounds in my chest as terror of death grips me.
5Fear, trembling, and horror overwhelm me.
6And I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!” For then I would fly away, and be at rest.
7Lo, then I would flee far away, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.
8I would hurry to escape from this windy storm and tempest.
9O LORD, confuse their words, and frustrate their evil schemes; for I see violence and strife in the city.
10Day and night they surround the city, with crime and violence rampant within it.
11Evil and deceit are ever in her streets.
12For it was not an enemy who harmed me; that I could have borne. Nor was it he that hated me that rose against me; then I would have defended myself from him;
13But it was you, a man like myself, my guide, and my close friend.
14With whom I once enjoyed a close relationship, who accompanied me as we walked unto the house of God.
15Let death suddenly seize them, and let them go down alive into sheol; for much evil abides with.
16But as for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.
17Morning, noon, and evening, when I pray and cry aloud; He shall hear my voice.
18He has delivered my soul with peace even when the battle raged against me; though many yet oppose me.
19God, the One Who remains enthroned from the beginning, shall hear, and humble them. Selah. Because they do not change, and will not honor God.
20They betray and assault those who are at peace with them; they violate their trust.
21Their words are smoother than butter, but aggression is in their heart; their words were softer than oil, but with drawn swords.
22Cast your burden and cares upon the LORD, and He shall sustain you; He shall never allow the righteous to be shaken.
23But You, O God, shall bring blood-thirsty and deceitful men down into the pit of destruction. Such men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in You. Michtam of David, when the Philistines took him in Gath*. *When David learned of Saul’s intent to kill him, in desperation he fled and sought refuge from Achish, king of Israel’s arch-enemy, the Philistines, at their city of Gath. But when the servants of Achish said, “Is this not David, of whom they sang “Saul has slain his thousands, and David his ten thousands (of Philistines)?”, David realized that he was in mortal danger and began acting like a mad man, prompting Achish to tell his servants, “Lo, you see the man is mad; why then have you brought him to me? Do I have need of mad men, that you have brought this fellow to act crazy in my presence? And they drove “mad man” David away, which effected his escape from his perilous brief stay at Gath of the Philistines. Easy Reader Bible: Purple Letter Edition © 2023 by Jim Musser. Used by Permission. All rights Reserved. Bible Hub |
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