| 55 | Psalms | Passage |
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| 1 |
For the choirmaster For strings Poem Of David
God, hear my prayer, do not hide away from my plea, |
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| 2 |
give me a hearing, answer me, my troubles give me no peace. I shudder |
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| 3 |
at the enemy's shouts, at the outcry of the wicked; they heap up charges against me, in their anger bring hostile accusations against me. |
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| 4 |
My heart writhes within me, the terrors of death come upon me, |
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| 5 |
fear and trembling overwhelm me, and shuddering grips me. |
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| 6 |
And I say, 'Who will give me wings like a dove, to fly away and find rest?' |
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| 7 |
How far I would escape, and make a nest in the desert! Pause |
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| 8 |
I would soon find a refuge from the storm of abuse, from the |
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| 9 |
destructive tempest, Lord, from the flood of their tongues. For I see violence and strife in the city, |
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| 10 |
day and night they make their rounds along the city walls, Inside live malice and mischief, |
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| 11 |
inside lives destruction, tyranny and treachery never absent from its central square. |
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| 12 |
Were it an enemy who insulted me, that I could bear; if an opponent pitted himself against me, I could turn away from him. |
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| 13 |
But you, a person of my own rank, a comrade and dear friend, |
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| 14 |
to whom I was bound by intimate friendship in the house of God! May they recoil in disorder, |
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| 15 |
may death descend on them, may they go down alive to Sheol, since evil shares their home with them. |
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| 16 |
For my part, I appeal to God, and Yahweh saves me; |
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| 17 |
evening, morning, noon, I complain and I groan. He hears my cry, |
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| 18 |
he ransoms me and gives me peace from the feud against me, for they are taking me to law. |
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| 19 |
But God will listen and will humble them, he who has been enthroned from the beginning; no change of heart for them, for they do not fear God. |
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| 20 |
They attack those at peace with them, going back on their oaths; |
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| 21 |
though their mouth is smoother than butter, enmity is in their hearts; their words more soothing than oil, yet sharpened like swords. |
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| 22 |
Unload your burden onto Yahweh and he will sustain you; never will he allow the upright to stumble. |
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| 23 |
You, God, will thrust them down to the abyss of destruction, men bloodthirsty and deceptive, before half their days are spent. For my part, I put my trust in you. |
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