Outline of Chapter 55:

         Introduction         An Introduction to Psalm 55

         Inscription            Psalm 55 Inscription

         vv.     1–3           David Calls Upon God Concerning His Enemy

         vv.     4–8           David is Fearful and He Wants To Get Away

         vv.     9–11         David Asks God for Help Because There is Lawlessness in the Streets

         vv.    12–15         David is Distressed Because His Enemy Was Once a Close Friend

         vv.    16–21         David Calls Upon God to Deliver Him From His Duplicitous Enemy

         vv.    22–23         David Trusts God With Every Burden and To Take Down His Enemies

         Addendum          Psalm 55 Addendum

Charts, Short Doctrines and Maps:

         Introduction         The Principals of Psalm 55

         Introduction         The Prequel of Psalm 55

         Introduction         A Synopsis of Psalm 55

         Introduction         Clarke’s Alternative Outline

         v.       1              Links to the Doctrine of Prayer

         v.       3              The Approach to the Revolution Against David

         v.       3              The Lies Spoken and False Charges Made Against Jesus Christ

         v.       8              David Thinks Only About Himself

         v.       8              The Davidic Covenant

         v.       9              Do We Pray for Our Enemies or Against Them?

         v.      15              The Abbreviated Doctrine of Sheol

         v.      17              The Uses of Sîyach in the Psalms

         v.      17              A Summary up to Psalm 55:17

         v.      17              Disaster Testing and the Faith Rest Technique by Stan Simonton

         v.      17              Fear vs. Faith by Stan Simonton

         v.      18              Translating and Explaining Psalm 55:18

         v.      18              A Possible Two-fold Explanation of 2Sam. 55:18

         v.      21              The Abuse of Words

         v.      22              Promises from God and Provisions by God

         Addendum          A Complete Translation of Psalm 55

         Addendum          The Parallels Found in Psalm 55

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An Introduction to Psalm 55

I ntroduction: Psalm 55 is written by David about being betrayed by a friend. Although we place this along side Psalm 41 for the Absalom revolution, who allied himself with Ahithophel; there is actually nothing in this context which undeniable points to that period of time. However, it is the closest narrative which would seem to fit this psalm, and this is where most expositors place it. Furthermore, the friend who has betrayed David in this psalm lives in the same city with him and the walls of a city are mentioned. Both of these things suggest that we are speaking of Jerusalem.

Others have associated this psalm with the period of time when King Saul was chasing David, which would have had to have been early on for David to have been upset by it (however, it is possible that this psalm simply takes in a long period of time of Saul’s constant search and destroy missions which he ran against David). The problem with this approach is, the person of this psalm is said to be a close friend of David’s who has turned against him. Saul has a rocky relationship with David from the beginning going back to 1Sam. 17. Secondly, David’s friend who betrayed him is said in this psalm to go with the House of God together. That would seem like an unlikely destination for David and Saul together; and the Tabernacle was not in Jerusalem during that time period. David did move the Ark of God into Jerusalem eventually—decades after Saul died—and David built a tent of sorts for the Ark (and this could have been the place of worship). Although one could possibly answer these objections, there does not appear to be anything which closely associates Saul with this psalm.

Barnes writes: The occasion on which the psalm was composed is not indicated in the title, nor can it be with certainty ascertained. The author of the Chaldee Paraphrase refers the psalm to the time of Absalom and to his rebellion, and this is also the opinion of the Jewish expositors in general. They suppose that the psalm was composed on occasion of the departure of David from Jerusalem, when he had heard of the rebellion, and that the psalm has special reference to the time when, having fled from the city, and having come to the ascent of the Mount of Olives, while all was consternation around him, he learned that Ahithophel also was among the conspirators, which was the consummation of his calamity (2Sam. 15:31). Others suppose that the psalm was composed when David was in Keilah, and when, surrounded by foes, he was apprehensive that the inhabitants of that place would deliver him into the hand of Saul (1Sam. 23:1–12). Of all the known events in the life of David, the supposition which regards the psalm as composed during the rebellion of Absalom, and at the special time when he learned that the man whom he had trusted - Ahithophel - was among the traitors, is the most probable. All the circumstances in the psalm agree with his condition at that time.

Jamieson, Fausset and Brown: The tone [of Psalm 55] suits David's experience, both in the times of Saul and Absalom, though perhaps neither was exclusively before his mind. And there are verses in this psalm which do not apply to Saul whatsoever.

The NIV Study Bible gives a nice summation of this psalm: A prayer for God’s help when threatened by a powerful conspiracy in Jerusalem under the leadership of a former friend. The situation describes is like that of Absalom’s conspiracy against the king (see 2Sam. 15–17). The city is in turmoil; danger is everywhere; there is uncertainty as to who can be trusted; rumors, false reports and slander are circulating freely. Under such circumstances, David longs for a quiet retreat to escape it all (vv. 6–8). That being out of the question, he casts his cares on the Lord, whom he knows he can trust. In its structure, the prayer is framed by a pleas for help (v. 1) and a simple confession of faith: “I trust in You” (v. 23). David’s escape from all of this intrigue will be casting his burdens upon the Lord, so in the midst of everything that is going on, David will have inner peace (which he clearly does not start out with).

We do not have to necessarily tie this directly to a specific set of historic incidents in order to understand the sort of thing that David is enduring in this psalm. However, since there are so many parallels to what David says and the Absalom revolution, I will proceed throughout most of this psalm as if that is the basis for this psalm.

Psalm 55 is one of David’s imprecatory psalms, which is a psalm where he prays against his enemies and asks for God to defeat them. There will be an ultimate end to the enemies of God. Therefore, it is important that we speak to the dichotomy of praying for our enemies and praying against them as well.

Theopedia lists the imprecatory psalms as follows: Psalms 7, 35, 55, 58, 59, 69, 79, 109, 137 and 139. John Piper is more specific: Psalm 5:10 10:15 28:4 31:17-18 35:4-6 40:14-15 58:6-11 69:22-28 109:6-15 139:19-22 140:9-10.

Matthew Henry suggests that David’s difficulties here are typical of Christ’s sufferings. Although I did not see that on the first read-through, I will keep my eyes open for it as I examine this chapter in its revision. Certainly there is the parallel of the betrayal of a close associate (vv. 12–14) to the betrayal of Judas. However, there is the immediate problem of David being the Christ-figure type, as he prays for the defeat and destruction of his enemies in this psalm (vv. 9, 15,23), which is hardly typical of our Lord. However, in the alternative, those who reject the Lord will be under eternal discipline.

In summarizing this psalm and in going through it, it appears to be rather disjointed. However, when organized in a slightly different fashion, matching the beginning of the psalm with the end of the psalm, it seems to flow, having still a reasonable beginning and a reasonable ending. One thing which is often true of the Davidic psalms is, their structure can be quite complex.

Let me suggest one of the keys to this psalm: David is describing his thinking as he leaves Jerusalem and as he climbs the Mount of Olives. He is suffering from fear and other mental attitude sins. However, David prays and he thinks things through, and he comes to the understanding that God has already answered his prayers; God has already made provision for his difficulties.

Another way of putting this is, this is a doctrinal rationale which David develops in his thinking. David takes his circumstances, which are certainly dire, and he considers what he knows about God and God’s plan and God’s power. God even answers one of David’s prayers early on, so that David has confidence in God and God’s solutions for all of his problems (David prays for God to frustrate the counsel of Ahithophel, and, when David get to the top of the Mount of Olives, there is Hushai waiting for him). As 1Cor. 10:13 reads (R. B. Thieme, Jr. translation): Testing has not caught up with you except the human kind; moreover, God is faithful, who will not permit you to be tested beyond your capabilities, but with the testing will also provide a solution. Prov. 3:5–6 (HCSB): Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; think about Him in all your ways, and He will guide you on the right paths. Prov. 34:19 Many adversities come to the righteous one [the believer in Jesus Christ], but Y^ehowah delivers him from them all. David’s situation combined with the application of doctrine leads him to this final conclusion: Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will support you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (Psalm 55:22; HCSB).

Now, go back and understand how David got here. He sinned against God with regards to Bathsheba and her husband Uriah. God first began to discipline David, and then to put pressure on David’s life, years afterwards. Now, God is not vindictive; God is not looking to simply crush David for several years. This pressure that David is under is very much of his own making. Absalom is his son and David simply did not raise him right and never took any time to explain justice and the laws of divine establishment to Absalom. So Absalom is now in rebellion against David. God uses this opportunity, these circumstances, and His Word, to mix together for David’s benefit. That is, David is not simply under pressure, but God has him under pressure to make a better person out of David. Part of the problem here is the way that he raised Absalom (didn’t raise Absalom). How David, instead, chased skirt, and got a bunch of wives and mistresses, and then put them all on welfare. You cannot do that with your children. Society will pay the piper for doing this; and Absalom is what David has unleashed on society.

So, what is going to be the end result of all of this, after David has quashed this rebellion (God helping him)? He is going to raise Solomon as his son; he is going to teach Solomon doctrine. The book of Proverbs is essentially Solomon’s notebook from David teaching him. David will apparently be faithful to Bathsheba, as she will have 4 sons in all; but we do not hear of any more sons from any of David’s other wives or mistresses.

So God takes this mess—Absalom out of control and revolting against his own father, taking half of the nation with him—and works this to the benefit of David, of Solomon, of Bathsheba and of the nation Israel.

Application: Have you ever landed yourself into a giant jackpot as a result of a bunch of stupid decisions that you have made? Crazy as it sounds, not only is God able to fix it, but God is able to bring great good out of the mess that you made. Rom. 8:28 (MKJV): And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Now, do you love God? Do you love His Word? David is going to think his way out of this situation; he is going to learn to think like God thinks, and God will take the mess in which David finds himself and resolve it for the good of nearly everyone in Israel (except for the revolutionaries, who chose that evil path).

In this psalm, we will actually look into the mind of David. We will see his fears and apprehension; we will see how he begins by thinking about himself too much. Then we will see how his thinking is turned around by focusing on God and calling upon God to deal with the mess that he made. However, David does not say, “Okay, God, you fix it; I will be sitting over here on this park bench while you take care of everything.” He says, instead, “Okay, God, I know that I have made a mess of things; I know that I did a crappy job raising Absalom and now he is leading a revolution against me. Take care of this mess and, in grace, please use me in any way that You can.”

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Psalm 55 Inscription

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament. Although I usually quote the Complete Apostles’ Bible here, I have begun to make changes in the translation when their translation conflicts with the Greek and note what those changes are.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

Aramaic text not represented in some way in the Hebrew original is signaled by italics. The absence of italics should not be construed to mean that the targum translates literally. Aramaic verbs are translated literally; that is, perfects are generally translated as past tense, imperfects as future or jussive, participles as general present.

Targum (trans. By Cook)        For praise, with the words of a hymn; good teaching composed by David.

Latin Vulgate                          Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        To the preeminent one; a n^egîynâh; a Maskil; to David.

Septuagint (Greek)                For the end, among Hymns of instruction by David.

Significant differences:           Although the first phrase in the other ancient languages is questionable, and the second is left out; most of the rest of the inscription is reasonable (as Maskil means an instructive psalm).

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Contemporary English V.       (A special psalm by David for the music leader. Use with stringed instruments.)

Easy English (Pocock)           Betraying a Friend

Jesus said to him, "Judas, are you *betraying the Son of man with a kiss?" (Luke 22:48) ("Betray" means "tell someone's enemies everything about them".)

(This is) for the music leader.

(He must use) *musical instruments.

(It is) a *maskil for David.

The Message                         A David psalm.

New Berkeley Version           Prayer Because of a False Friend

For the Chief Musician, on Stringed Instruments. A Meditation of David.

New Life Bible                                                              Prayer Of A Man Hurt By A Friend

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          To the director; one of the hymns of contemplation of Asaph.

Beck’s American Translation When a Friend Turns Against You

For the choir leader: to be played skillfully on string instruments; by David.

Christian Community Bible     Prayer of the persecuted. The supremacy of money, violence, luxury, prostitution and the exploitation of people. In the midst of a perverted society, the just feel trapped and threatened. Cast your care upon the Lord..

God’s Word™                         For the choir director; on stringed instruments; a maskil by David.

NIRV                                      For the director of music. A maskil of David to be played on stringed instruments.

New Simplified Bible              ([Psalm of David])

Revised English Bible            For the leader: on stringed instruments: a maskil: for David.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      To the conductor for instruments. A lesson from David.

Bible in Basic English             To the chief music-maker, on Neginoth. Maschil. Of David.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 To his bandmaster.

A Reflective Psalm by David.

Judaica Press Complete T.    For the conductor, on neginoth, a maskil of David.

New Advent Bible                  Unto the end, in verses, understanding for David.

NET Bible®                             Psalm 55 The suffering and oppressed author laments that one of his friends has betrayed him, but he is confident that God will vindicate him by punishing his deceitful enemies.

For the music director, to be accompanied by stringed instruments; a well-written song [The meaning of the Hebrew term מַשְׂכִּיל (maskil) is uncertain. See the note on the phrase "well-written song" in the superscription of Psalm 52.] by David. When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                To the Chief Musician; with stringed instruments. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of David.

Concordant Literal Version    Contemplating, Davidic.

Emphasized Bible                  For the end, among Hymns of instruction by David.

English Standard Version      Cast Your Burden on the Lord 

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.

exeGeses companion Bible   To His Eminence; On Strummer;

A Discerning: By David.

LTHB                                     To the Chief Musician on Neginoth. A Contemplation. A Psalm of David.

Modern KJV                           To the Chief Musician. For stringed instruments. A contemplation. A Psalm of David.

NASB                                     Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.

For the choir director; on stringed instruments. A Maskil [Possibly Contemplative, or Didactic, or Skillful Psalm] of David.

New King James Version       Trust in God Concerning the Treachery of Friends

To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments [Hebrew neginoth]. A Contemplation [Hebrew Maschil] of David.

Syndein/Thieme                     {David's Prayer Against Revolution/Conspiracy}

{Title} To the 'chief musician'/'director or music' {natsach} Machil/Maskiyl . . . a taunting song {n@giynah} {A Psalm/mizmowr of} David.

A Voice in the Wilderness      [To the chief Musician. Neginoth. Maschil. A Psalm of David.]

Young’s Literal Translation    To the Overseer with stringed instruments. —An instruction, by David.

The gist of this verse:          This appears to be an instructive Davidic psalm that is to be played on stringed instruments.

Translation: To the Preeminent One;... As we have seen with the numerous translations above, no one is clear as to who this person is. This psalm could be dedicated to God, which is essentially how I have translated it; however, it could be designed to be conducted by the chief musician, which is how Rotherham understands it. Most translators assume that this is given over to the choir director or the conductor or the one in charge of those who sang.

We find this word as a Piel infinitive in 1Chron. 15:21 23:4 2Chron. 34:12 Ezra 3:8–9. 1Chron. 23:4 indicates that this does not have to be a supervisory position, as it reads: Of these [38,000 Levites], 24,000 were to oversee the work of the house of Yahweh; and 6000 were officers and judges. Quite obviously, you cannot have 24,000 chiefs and no Indians, these were all of the Levites assigned to work on the Temple (Ezra 3:8–9 finds this word used in this same way). However, the supervisory nature of this word seems to be clear in 1Chron. 15:21 2Chron. 34:12.

Unfortunately, the exact meaning of the lâmed preposition is also hard to determine. We find several psalms which are ascribed to David written to David; but the idea is, the psalm belongs to David. The lâmed preposition is used more often when something is given to someone else or something is for someone else, the chief meanings of the lâmed preposition. Despite the use of the lâmed preposition with David throughout the book of Psalms, I have taken this to me that this psalm is written for whomever this Preeminent person is.

Barnes comments on this portion of the inscription: This phrase in the title, “To the chief Musician,” occurs at the beginning of 53 psalms, and at the close of the hymn in Habak. 3:19. It is uniformly rendered “to the chief Musician,” and means that the psalm was intended for him, or was to be given to him, probably to regulate the manner of performing it. In no one instance does the title imply that he was the author. The word rendered “Chief Musician” is derived from [ a Hebrew word] properly meaning “to shine,” but not used in the Qal. In the Piel form it means to be conspicuous; to be over anything; to be chief; to be superintendent (2Chron. 2:2, 18 34:12) and then it means to lead in music. The meaning of the form used here, and in the other places where it occurs as a title to a psalm, is “Chief Musician,” or precentor; and the idea is, that the psalm is to be performed under his direction; or that the music is to be directed and adapted by him.

Even though we have the same preposition used here as we find used with David, when he is the author, the many times that this phrase is found in combination with the author’s name suggests more that there is a musical organization and that this song was delivered over to the Choirmaster (or conductor) of that organization to be sung and performed at various functions.

The NIV Study Bible has its opinion on this matter: [For the director of music is] probably a liturgical notation, indicating either that the psalm was to be added to he collection of works to be used by the director of music in Israel’s worship services, or that when the psalm was used in the temple worship, it was to be spoke [or, sung?] by the leader of the Levitical choir—or by the choir itself (see 1Chron. 23:4–5, 30 [Of the overseers over the works of the house of the Lord there were twenty-four thousand, and there were six thousand scribes and judges; and four thousand gatekeepers, and four thousand to praise the Lord with instruments which he made to praise the Lord...to stand in the morning to praise and give thanks to the Lord, and so in the evening] 25 [assignments are given to the sons of Korah, among others]). In this liturgical activity the Levites functioned as representatives of the worshiping congregation. Following their lead the people probably responded with “Amen” and “Praise the Lord” (Hallelujah); see 1Chron. 16:36 Neh. 5:13; compare 1Cor. 14:16 Rev. 5:14 7:12 19:4.

Translation: ...a song [played on a stringed instrument]... N^egîynâh is found in Job 30:9 in the titles of Psalms 4, 6, 54, 55, 61, 67, 76 Psalm 69:12 77:6 Isa. 38:20 Lam. 3:14 5:14 Habak. 3:19. In every case, the word is associated with a psalm or Hebrew poetry. The verb that this word is based upon—nâgan (נָגַן) [pronounced naw-GAHN]—means to touch the strings, to play a stringed instrument. This is a word we have already come upon in 1Sam. 16:16 18:10 19:9 Strong’s #5059 BDB #618. Since n^egîynâh is based upon nâgan, we can reasonably assume that it is related to music, and more specifically to stringed instruments.

In Job 30:8–9, n^egîynâh appears to be a song of derision, as Job tells his friends how embarrassed he is to have become the taunt of fools as well as a byword for them. This appears to have a similar usage in Psalm 69:12 Lam. 3:14. However, there seems to be no such connotation of derision in the inscriptions of the other psalms or in Psalm 77:6 Isa. 38:20 Lam 5:14 Habak. 3:19 (therefore, this connotation is more of the exception than the rule). Our most reasonable guess is, this is a song played on a stringed instrument or arranged for a stringed instrument.

Translation: ...a Maskil [instructive psalm]... Although many good translations tend to transliterate this as maskil, I think that we can safely refer to this as an instructive psalm, given that there is no question about this words ties to the Hiphil (causal stem) of sâkal, which means to instruct, to make prudent, to teach. We find this used in the titles of Psalms  32, 42, 44, 45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88, 89, and 142. David is specifically mentioned in half of those psalms, with the following exceptions: no one is listed as the author for Psalms 42 44 45; Asaph is named as the writer of Psalms 74 78, Heman for Psalm 88 and Ethan for Psalm 89. After we cover a few more of these instructive psalms of David, then we will look at them as a whole.

Of this title being a Maskil, Spurgeon writes: This is most fitly called a Maschil, for it is most instructive. No subject is more important or is so fully the key to all theology as that of the covenant. He who is taught by the Holy Spirit to be clear upon the covenant of grace will be a scribe well instructed in the things of the kingdom; he whose doctrinal theory is a mingle-mangle of works and grace is scarcely fit to be teacher of babes.

Translation: ...by David. David is listed as the human author; God the Holy Spirit is the Divine Author of this psalm.

This is a psalm about betrayal. David’s son, Absalom, is leading a revolution against him; and one-time confidant, Ahithophel, will coordinate his military.

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David Calls Upon God Concerning His Enemy

Here is how others have handled this verse:

Ancient texts:                       Note: I compare the Hebrew text to English translations of the Latin, Syriac and Greek texts, using the Douay-Rheims translation ; George Lamsa’s translation, and Sir Lancelot Charles Lee Brenton’s translation as revised and edited by Paul W. Esposito, respectively. I often update these texts with non-substantive changes (e.g., you for thou, etc.). I often use the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible instead of Brenton’s translation, because it updates the English text.

The Septuagint was the earliest known translation of a book (circa 200 b.c.). Since this translation was made before the textual criticism had been developed into a science and because different books appear to be translated by different men, the Greek translation can sometimes be very uneven.

When there are serious disparities between my translation and Brenton’s (or the text of the Complete Apostles’ Bible), I look at the Greek text of the Septuagint (the LXX) to see if a substantive difference actually exists (and I reflect these changes in the English rendering of the Greek text). I use the Greek LXX with Strong’s numbers and morphology available for e-sword. The only problem with this resource (which is a problem for similar resources) is, there is no way to further explore Greek verbs which are not found in the New Testament.

The Masoretic text is the Hebrew text with all of the vowels (vowel points) inserted (the original Hebrew text lacked vowels). We take the Masoretic text to be the text closest to the original. However, differences between the Masoretic text and the Greek, Latin and Syriac are worth noting and, once in a great while, represent a more accurate text possessed by those other ancient translators.

In general, the Latin text is an outstanding translation from the Hebrew text into Latin and very trustworthy (I say this as a non-Catholic). Unfortunately, I do not read Latin—apart from some very obvious words—so I am dependent upon the English translation of the Latin (principally, the Douay-Rheims translation).

Underlined words indicate differences in the text.

Bracketed portions of the Dead Sea Scrolls are words, letters and phrases lost in the scroll due to various types of damage. Underlined words or phrases are those in the Dead Sea Scrolls but not in the Masoretic text.

Aramaic text not represented in some way in the Hebrew original is signaled by italics. The absence of italics should not be construed to mean that the targum translates literally. Aramaic verbs are translated literally; that is, perfects are generally translated as past tense, imperfects as future or jussive, participles as general present.

Targum (trans. By Cook)        Hear, O God, my prayer, and do not hide yourself from my prayer.

Latin Vulgate                          Hear, O God, my prayer, and despise not my supplication.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Give ear, Elohim, [to] my prayer,

and do not hide Yourself from my request.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    GIVE ear to my prayer, O God; and reject not my supplication.

Septuagint (Greek)                Hearken, O God, to my prayer; and disregard not my supplication.

Significant differences:           The second verb had so many different approaches in the English translation from the Latin, Syriac and Greek, that I double-checked it’s meaning. BDB and Gesenius give it the sole meaning to hide oneself in the Hithpael.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           God, listen to my prayer;

don't avoid my request!.

Contemporary English V.       Listen, God, to my prayer! Don't reject my request.

Easy English (Pocock)           God, listen to my *prayer.

Do not turn away when I cry for *mercy.

Easy-to-Read Version            God, hear my prayer.

Please don’t ignore my prayer for mercy.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Hear my prayer, O God; don't turn away from my plea!

The Message                         Open your ears, God, to my prayer; don't pretend you don't hear me knocking.

New Berkeley Version           Hear, O God, my prayer; hide not Thyself from my petition.

New Living Translation           Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not hide Yourself from what I ask.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Give ear, O God, to my prayer; do not overlook the things for which I beg.

Christian Community Bible     Listen to my prayer, O God, do not be deaf to my pleading;... Psalm 17:1 86:6

New American Bible              Listen, God, to my prayer;

do not hide from my pleading;... Ps 5:2-3; 86:6; 130:1-2; Lam 3:56; Jon 2:3.

NIRV                                      God, listen to my prayer.

Pay attention to my cry for help.

New Simplified Bible              Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not hide from my plea for favor.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Hearken to my prayer, God: Never evade my supplication!

Bible in Basic English             Give hearing to my prayer, O God; and let not your ear be shut against my request.

HCSB                                     God, listen to my prayer and do not ignore my plea for help.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               Give ear, O God, to my prayer;

do not ignore my plea;...

                                               ³       pay attention to me and answer me. A portion of the subsequent verse added for context

New Advent Bible                  Hear, O God, my prayer, and despise not my supplication:...

NET Bible®                             Listen, O God, to my prayer!

Do not ignore [Heb "hide yourself from."] my appeal for mercy! When it comes to making an actual material change to the text, the NET Bible® is pretty good about indicating this. Since most of these corrections will be clear in the more literal translations below and within the Hebrew exegesis itself, I will not continue to list every NET Bible® footnote.

NIV – UK                                Listen to my prayer, O God,

do not ignore my plea;

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    Do give ear, O Elohim, to my prayer, And do not obscure Yourself from my supplication.

English Standard Version      Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!

The Geneva Bible                  Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication. The earnestness of his prayer declares the vehemency of his grief in so much as he is compelled to burst out into cries.

LTHB                                     Give ear to my prayer, O God; and do not hide Yourself from my cry.

Syndein/Thieme                     Listen to my prayer, O 'Elohim/God and do not hide Yourself from my supplication. {Note: RBT says that psalms 39,41 and 55 are conspiracy psalms written by David approximately at the time of II Samuel 15:12 - the Absalom revolution.}.

World English Bible                Listen to my prayer, God. Don't hide yourself from my supplication.

Young's Literal Translation     Give ear, O God, to my prayer, And hide not from my supplication.

The gist of this verse:          David calls for God to listen to his prayer.

Translation: Listen, O Elohim, [to] my prayer... We are assuming that this is David, on the Mount of Olives, after having left Jerusalem, for fear of Absalom’s revolt and the devastation that it would cause. David demands that God listen to his prayer, and in fellowship, we may demand the same thing, no matter how lousy our life has been and no matter how many mistakes that we have made. We stand on the completed work of Jesus Christ; we do not stand on our own accomplishments; and that give us God’s ear. We are sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus (Gal. 3:26); based upon this, our prayers will be heard.

Translation: ...and do not hide from [or, neglect] my request. David is asking for a clear response from God to his prayer. His prayer is the content of this psalm.

Barnes writes: [This] language is, of course, figurative, but it illustrates what often occurs when God seems to withdraw himself; when our prayers do not appear to be heard; when God is apparently unwilling to attend to us.

Although Matthew Henry writes Prayer is a salve for every sore and a relief to the spirit under every burden; it should be noted that, if prayer is the only tool in your tool box, then your spiritual life will be miserable indeed. Without suggesting that anyone cut back on their prayer life, we must have knowledge of the plan of God in order for our prayer life to be effective. Note what David does here, while filled with the Holy Spirit: he orders God to listen to him! This totally outclasses the believer who is not sure if God is hearing him or not; and the believer who thinks that God hears every one of his prayers.

If you are a person who uses tools of any kind, and you carry these tools in a box, then, if you are even moderately adept at your craft, you have more than one tool in your toolbox. A carpenter who only has a hammer in his tool box is great to have around when something needs to be hammered; but he is not much help when crown molding needs to be cut. Furthermore, you need to actually know how to use the tools that you have. Prayer is no good if you do not know how to use it effectively or if you pray for the wrong things.

This verse reads: Listen, O Elohim, [to] my prayer and do not hide from [or, neglect] my request. Interestingly enough, David gave many intense prayers, and he was very insistent on God listening to and answer these prayers. How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? (Psalm 13:1). Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, O You who have been my Help. Do not cast me aside and do not forsake me, O God of my salvation! (Psalm 27:9). See also Psalm 28:1 80:4 143:7 for a similar approach. When David prayed to God, he expected a response. Since this is the Word of God, we ought to expect a response as well.

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum (trans. By Cook)        Hear my utterance, and accept it from me; I will roar out in my words and be agitated.

Latin Vulgate                          Be attentive to me and hear me. I am grieved in my exercise; and am troubled,...

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        Attend to me and answer me;

I wander about in my concern and I make a commotion...

Peshitta (Syriac)                    Hear me and answer me; return to my cry and incline to me,...

Septuagint (Greek)                Attend to me, and hearken to me; I was grieved in my meditation, and troubled;...

Significant differences:           The second half of this verse in the English translation from the Latin, Syriac and Greek seem quite different from the Hebrew. In the Hebrew, the verb means to wander about; in the Greek, the verb means to be grieved. The following noun in the Hebrew means complaint; concern, voiced concern; communication, declaration, talk; mediation, study, contemplation; and the Greek noun appears to mean chatty, talkative, loquacious.

The final verb in the Hebrew means to roar, to make a commotion; to cause a stir, to cause a disturbance; the Greek verb is not too dramatically different; it means to agitate, trouble (a thing, by the movement of its parts to and fro); to cause one inward commotion, take away his calmness of mind, disturb his equanimity; to disquiet, make restless; to stir up.

Since the second to the last set of verbs are so different, this will be noted in the Hebrew exegesis.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           Pay attention! Answer me!

I can't sit still while complaining.

I'm beside myself...

Contemporary English V.       Please listen and help me. My thoughts are troubled, and I keep groaning...

Easy-to-Read Version            God, please listen to me and answer me.

Let me speak to you

and tell you what upsets me.

Good News Bible (TEV)         Listen to me and answer me; I am worn out by my worries.

The Message                         Come close and whisper your answer. I really need you. I shudder...

New Berkeley Version           Observe me and answer me [No one to appeal to except God; fortunately He suffices.].

In restlessness I groan and am distracted...

New Century Version             Pay attention to me and answer me.

I am troubled and upset...

New Life Bible                        Hear me and answer me. My thoughts trouble me and I have no peace,...

New Living Translation           Please listen and answer me,

for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          Please pay attention and listen!

I was worried in my meditations; at the voice of my enemy I was disturbed,...

Beck’s American Translation Turn to me and answer me.

I am restless and troubled.

Christian Community Bible     ...give heed to me and answer me.

I am greatly troubled...

God’s Word™                         Pay attention to me, and answer me. My thoughts are restless, and I am confused...

New American Bible              ...hear me and give answer.

I rock with grief; I groan...

NIRV                                               Hear me and answer me.

My thoughts upset me. I'm very troubled.

New Jerusalem Bible             ...give me a hearing, answer me, my troubles give me no peace. I shudder...

New Simplified Bible              Pay attention to me, and answer me. My thoughts are restless. I am confused and distracted.

Revised English Bible            Hear me and give me an answer,

for my cares leave me no peace.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      Listen to me and answer my meditation in my misery....

Bible in Basic English             Give thought to me, and let my prayer be answered: I have been made low in sorrow;...

Complete Jewish Bible           Pay attention to me, and answer me! I am panic-stricken as I make my complaint, I shudder...

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 Give a hearing unto me, and reply,

For I wander reflecting, and moan,...

HCSB                                     Pay attention to me and answer me. I am restless and in turmoil with my complaint,...

JPS (Tanakh—1985)                         ...pay heed to me and answer me.

I am tossed about, complaining and moaning

                                               ⁴       at the clamor of the enemy,... A portion of v. 4 was added for context.

New Advent Bible                  Be attentive to me and hear me. I am grieved in my exercise; and am troubled,...

NET Bible®                             Pay attention to me and answer me!

I am so upset [Or "restless" (see Gen. 27:40). The Hiphil is intransitive–exhibitive, indicating the outward display of an inner attitude.] and distressed [Heb "in my complaint."], I am beside myself [The verb is a Hiphil cohortative from הוּם (hum), which means "to confuse someone" in the Qal and "to go wild" in the Niphal. An Arabic cognate means "to be out of one's senses, to wander about." With the vav (ו) conjunctive prefixed to it, the cohortative probably indicates the result or effect of the preceding main verb. Some prefer to emend the form to וְאֵהוֹמָה (ve'ehomah), a Niphal of הוּם (hum), or to וְאֶהַמֶה (ve'ehameh), a Qal imperfect from הָמָה (hamah, "to moan"). Many also prefer to take this verb with what follows (see Psalm 55:3).],...

NIV – UK                                ...hear me and answer me.

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught...

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

American KJV                        Attend to me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;...

The Amplified Bible                Attend to me and answer me; I am restless and distraught in my complaint and must moan...

Concordant Literal Version    Do attend to me and answer me; I am pressed down by my concern.

Darby Translation                  Attend unto me, and answer me: I wander about in my plaint, and I moan aloud.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...hearken to me and answer;

I ramble on in my meditation and quake...

KJV (Scofield)                        Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;...

LTHB                                     Pay attention to me, and answer me; I wander and I moan in my complaint,...

NASB                                     Give heed to me and answer me;

I am restless in my complaint and am surely distracted [Or I must moan],...

New King James Version       Attend to me, and hear me;

I am restless in my complaint, and moan noisily,...

Syndein                                  Hear me . . . and answer me. Attend unto me, and hear me. My thoughts trouble me and I am distracted. {Note: Once David heard of the Absalom revolution and how well organized it was, he was under great pressure.}.

A Voice in the Wilderness      Give attention to me, and hear me; I am restless in my meditation, and murmur;...

World English Bible                Attend to me, and answer me. I am restless in my complaint, and moan,...

Young's Literal Translation     Attend to me, and answer me, I mourn in my meditation, and make a noise,...

The gist of this verse:          David calls for God’s attention and an answer to his prayer; he is upset over what is happening.

Translation: Pay attention to me... David needs to determine what his next steps will be. He is in the desert with hundreds of people who depend upon him; and he must act in order to insure their safety and to share their concerns. Therefore, he calls upon God; and he asks for God’s attention right away. David sees himself as being in a very difficult circumstance.

Translation: ...and answer me. David demands an answer from God; and this is based upon grace, not upon some great thing that David has done. You will note that David does not say, “Do you rememeber that whole Goliath thing, God?”

The first half of v. 2 seems to naturally affix itself to v. 1: Listen, O Elohim, [to] my prayer and do not hide from [or, neglect] my request. Pay attention to me and answer me. These appear to be parallel statements where David is demanding God’s attention. Furthermore, these statements either belong together in the same verse, or they should be two separate verses with v. 2c actually beginning v. 3.

In fact, in the division of verses, we have several problems. V. 2c–d should begin a new verse and not be connected to v. 2a–b; and v. 3a is actually a part of v. 2d. I realize that you did not follow this. However, the translation at the end will properly separate these clauses and verses.

Translation: ...I wander about [restlessly] in my complaint [or, concern]... David is at the top of the Mount of Olives, looking down to Jerusalem; trying to determine his next move. He is nervous; he has willingly left the capital of Jerusalem. However, he does not have any sort of exact destination because he has no intelligence on Absalom’s forces. Consequently, he cannot just continue to meander about, as he has hundreds of people depending upon him (2Sam. 15:19–20).

According to Barnes, this verb, to wander, is especially applied to animals who have broken loose. Quite a picture of David leaving Jerusalem and wandering around on the mountain adjacent to Mount Zion. However, what is key is, this describes David’s state of mind as well. His restlessness, like an animal which has broken free, is also a description of his state of mind. He was the king; and, a few hours later, his son has been declared king in Hebron. Obviously, this is going to shake up any normal person.

This phrase in the Greek is quite different; it means: ...I am grieved (or, sorrowful) in loquaciousness... Although that does not make a great deal of sense, that final word (not found in the NT) may concern, communication, declaration. The problem is, these words can have slightly different definitions depending upon the type of Greek which is being looked at.

Either understanding seems reasonable to the context; David can be walking about with nervous energy (as per the Hebrew); something which people do when things have gone awry; he can also be grieving over what is going on (as per the Greek). In either case, there is an energy and a concern which is taking place in David’s thought process over the situation in which he finds himself.

Translation: ...and I make a commotion... This final phrase belongs with v. 3a; but with all of these people, David is making quite a commotion in his movement out of Jerusalem, despite it all being very organized. After all, a significant force will be moving out of Jerusalem with King David, which will cause quite an uproar. It is sort of like the rapture of the church. David, by his choices of what do to, causes (Hiphil tense) this great uproar or disturbance.

The parallel is, David wants a response from God right away, or a minute ago. So he will make a commotion on the throne of grace, as it were.

The problem with this final line is, it appears to be connected to the next verse, so fully understanding it is somewhat difficult to do until we get to the next verse. Together, these two pieces of a verse say: ...and I make a commotion on account of the sound of the enemy. Quite obviously, David is upset over what has happened, and he is making quite a stir over it. What is the sound that he heard? The trumpet sounds throughout the land, and the men in the town squares calling out, “Absalom is king in Hebron!” (2Sam. 15:10b).

Externally, he is moving those loyal to him out of Jerusalem, down into the valley and up the Mount of Olives. He does this because of the sound of his enemy, who is Absalom, his son. That sound would be trumpets and men declaring that Absalom is now king in Hebron. Internally, David is stirred up in his soul as well. Obviously, these series of events culminating in Absalom assuming the kingship would cause to dramatically stir up David’s soul.

Here is something that you may not get in this final phrase: David causes this stirring up, and it occurs both externally and internally. David does not use the Hithpael stem (the reflexive) nor does he use the Hophal stem (the causative passive). It is through his own volition that his own soul is stirred up and disturbed. In the next vew verses, we are going to see that David admits to the mental attitude sin fear, which goes hand-in-hand with being stirred up. However, his soul is not caused to be stirred up (Hophil) but he causes his soul to be stirred up (Hiphil).

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Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Jerusalem targum                  From the voice of the enemy, from the trouble of the wicked, for they extend lies against me, and in anger they will hold a grudge towards me.

Latin Vulgate                          ...at the voice of the enemy, and at the tribulation of the sinner. For they have cast iniquities upon me: and in wrath they were troublesome to me.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        ...from a voice a an enemy,

from faces of oppression of an unrighteous [one];

for they shake upon me falsehood [or, iniquity]

and in anger they oppose me.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    Because of mine enemies, because of the oppression of the wicked; for they have devised iniquity against me, and reproached me.

Septuagint (Greek)                ...because of the voice of the enemy, and because of the oppression of the sinner; for they brought iniquity against me, and were wrathfully angry with me.

Significant differences:           The English translation of the Syriac does not have voice in the first phrase. The second phrase found in the Latin seems to very different from the MT. However, tribulation might be a semi-reasonable way to translate oppression; and sinner can certainly stand in for unrighteous one.

In the third phrase, the Hebrew verb seems odd, compared to the other verbs in the other languages.

The final phrase is roughly similar in these translations.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           I'm beside myself

                                               ³    over the enemy's noise,

at the wicked person's racket,

because they bring disaster on me

and harass me furiously. A portion of v. 2 has been included.

Contemporary English V.       ...because my loud enemies shout and attack. They treat me terribly and hold angry grudges.

Easy English                          I am very *unhappy

because of what my enemies say. They give me a lot of pain.

And they are so angry that they *hate and make trouble for me. The first phrase is v. 2.

Easy-to-Read Version            My enemy said bad things to me.

That wicked man yelled at me.

My enemies were angry and attacked me.

They brought troubles crashing down on top of me.

Good News Bible (TEV)         I am terrified by the threats of my enemies, crushed by the oppression of the wicked. They bring trouble on me; they are angry with me and hate me.

New Berkeley Version           In restlessness I groan and am distracted

because of the enemy’s noisiness;

because of the threatening of the wicked.

For they engulf me with their mischief

and in anger they assault me. A portion of v. 2 was included for context.

New Century Version                      I am troubled and upset

³ by what the enemy says

and how the wicked look at me.

They bring troubles down on me,

and in anger they attack me. A portion of v. 2 included.

New Life Bible                        My thoughts trouble me and I have no peace, ³because of the voice of those who hate me and the power of the sinful. For they bring trouble upon me, and in anger they keep on having bad thoughts against me. A portion of v. 2 included.

New Living Translation           My enemies shout at me,

making loud and wicked threats.

They bring trouble on me

and angrily hunt me down.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          I was worried in my meditations; at the voice of my enemy I was disturbed, ³ and by the oppression of sinners. For, lawlessly they've turned against me, and in anger they've shown their rage. A portion of v. 2 was included.

Beck’s American Translation I am restless and troubled

and confused by the shouting of the enemy

and the oppression of the wicked. A portion of v. 2 was included for context.

Christian Community Bible     I am greatly troubled ⁴ at the outcry of the enemy and the clamor of the wicked.

I am distraught at the way they revile me and persecute me in their fury. A portion of the previous verse is included.

God’s Word™                         ...because my enemy shouts at me and a wicked person persecutes me. They bring misery crashing down on me, and they attack me out of anger.

New American Bible              I rock with grief; I groan

⁴at the uproar of the enemy,

the clamor of the wicked.

They heap trouble upon me,

savagely accuse me. A portion of the previous verse is included.

NIRV                                      My thoughts upset me. I'm very troubled.

                                               ³     I'm troubled by what my enemies say about me.

I'm upset because sinful people stare at me.

They cause me all kinds of suffering.

When they are angry, they attack me with their words. A portion of v. 2 is included.

New Jerusalem Bible             ...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.

New Simplified Bible              This is because my enemy shouts at me and a wicked person persecutes me. They bring misery crashing down on me, and they attack me out of anger.

Revised English Bible            I am panic-stricken at the hostile shouts,

at the shrill clamour of the wicked,

for they heap trouble on me

and revile me in their fury.

Today’s NIV                          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. A portion of v. 2 is included.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      I quake from the voice of the enemy in front of me. The wicked overload me. For they move vice over me, and oppose me with their emotion.

Bible in Basic English             I am troubled because of the voice of the cruel ones, because of the loud cry of the evil-doers; for they put a weight of evil on me, and they are cruel in their hate for me.

Complete Jewish Bible           I am panic-stricken as I make my complaint, I shudder ³ at how the enemy shouts, at how the wicked oppress; for they keep heaping trouble on me and angrily tormenting me. A portion of v. 2 is included.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 At my foe’s voice, before and behind,

For the wicked throw terror on me;

They accuse me with fury and rage,...

HCSB                                     ...because of the enemy's voice, because of the pressure of the wicked. For they bring down disaster on me and harass me in anger.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               I am tossed about, complaining that moaning

at the clamor of the enemy,

because of the oppression of the wicked;

for they bring evil upon me

and furiously harass me. A portion of v. 2 (the first line) is included.

New Advent Bible                  I am grieved in my exercise; and am troubled, ⁴ at the voice of the enemy, and at the tribulation of the sinner. For they have cast iniquities upon me: and in wrath they were troublesome to me. A portion of v. 2 is included (which is v. 3 in the Latin).

NET Bible®                             ...because of what the enemy says [Heb "because of [the] voice of [the] enemy."],

and because of how the wicked [The singular forms "enemy" and "wicked" are collective or representative, as the plural verb forms in the second half of the verse indicate.] pressure me [Heb "from before the pressure of the wicked." Some suggest the meaning "screech" (note the parallel "voice"; cf. NEB "shrill clamour"; NRSV "clamor") for the rare noun עָקָה ('aqah, "pressure").],

for they hurl trouble [Heb "wickedness," but here the term refers to the destructive effects of their wicked acts.] down upon me [The verb form in the Masoretic Text (MT) appears to be a Hiphil imperfect from the root מוֹט (mot, "to sway"), but the Hiphil occurs only here and in the Kethib (consonantal text) of Psa_140:10, where the form יַמְטֵר (yamter, "let him rain down") should probably be read. Here in Psa_55:3 it is preferable to read יַמְטִירוּ (yamtiru, "they rain down"). It is odd for "rain down" to be used with an abstract object like "wickedness," but in Job_20:23 God "rains down" anger (unless one emends the text there; see BHS).]

and angrily attack me.

NIV – UK                                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. A portion of v. 2 is included.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

Concordant Literal Version    And I am discomfited by the voice of the enemy, Because of the pressure of the wicked. For they are slipping lawlessness upon me And are assailing me in anger.

A Conservative Version         ...because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they cast iniquity upon me, and in anger they persecute me.

Context Group Version          Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked; For they cast iniquity on me, And in anger they persecute me.

English Standard Version      ...because of the noise of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked. For they drop trouble upon me, and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

exeGeses companion Bible   ...- because of the voice of the enemy

at the face of the oppression of the wicked:

for they topple mischief on me;

in wrath they oppose me.

The Geneva Bible                  Because of the voice [For the threatenings of Saul and his adherents.] of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me [They have defamed me as a wicked person, or they have imagined my destruction.], and in wrath they hate me.

LTHB                                     ...from the voice of the enemy, from the oppression of the wicked; for they shake trouble over me, and in anger they hate me.

NASB                                     Because of the voice of the enemy,

Because of the pressure of the wicked;

For they bring down trouble [Or wickedness] upon me

And in anger they bear a grudge against me.

New RSV                               I am distraught ³by the noise of the enemy,

because of the clamour of the wicked.

For they bring [Cn Compare Gk: Heb they cause to totter] trouble upon me,

and in anger they cherish enmity against me. A portion of v. 2 is shown.

Syndein                                  At the 'voice of the enemy', {this is 'Absalom reigns in Hebron' - see 2Samuel 15:10} by the depression of the lawless one . . . for they bring down suffering on me, and in anger they would trap/destroy me.

World English Bible                Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked. For they bring suffering on me. In anger they hold a grudge against me.

Young's Literal Translation     Because of the voice of an enemy, Because of the oppression of the wicked, For they cause sorrow to move against me, And in anger they hate me.

The gist of this verse:          David’s enemies are filled with mental attitude sins against him.

Translation: ...on account of the sound of the enemy,... Let’s connect this to v. 2 in order to have a better feel for what is being said. ...and I make a commotion on account of the sound of the enemy,... This speaks of David moving out, heading northeast from Jerusalem, as his enemy, Absalom, comes from the south into Jerusalem. He hears the trumpets and then he hears about his son Absalom being declared king in Hebron and responds by exiting Jerusalem and then waiting for more intelligence to determine what to do next (2Sam. 15:10, 13–14).

Translation: ...[and] because of the pressure of the malevolent;... Absalom would be the one who is malevolent; the one who is corrupt and wicked. He is hostile to God because he does not want to wait until God removes his man (David) from office. Absalom wants this position of rulership right now. In fact, insofar as we know, Absalom may not even believe in the God of Israel.

The pressure which Absalom is exerting on the situation is, he has been declared king in Hebron; and men all over the entirety of Israel have made this war cry, if you will.

So far, this, with a portion of the previous verse, reads: ...and I make a commotion on account of the sound of the enemy, [and] because of the pressure of the malevolent;...

Translation: ...for they have caused falsehood to move against [possibly, to rain down upon] me,... What Absalom has used is falsehood against David; he has misrepresented who David is to the people of Israel, in order to gain a favorable dispensation from them.

Barnes: [David] was suffering from slanderous reproaches; from assaults which had been made on his character. He was charged with evil conduct, and the charge was made in such a manner that he could not meet it. The result was, that a series of calamities had come upon him which was quite overwhelming.

Application: I write this in 2012, after the election, and this is exactly what Barack Obama’s team did to Mitt Romney; they caused falsehood and fraudulent assertions to be used against Mitt Romney. Their strategy was to “Kill Romney,” meaning that they would attack his character in every way possible. Romney, who had a very nearly perfect background for the presidency (he turned around businesses for a living with an 80% success rate), and a very nearly perfect character, was portrayed as a disconnected, unfeeling corporate raider, who hated dogs and wanted to take away women’s access to contraception.

As an aside, the Bible has many modern-day applications. During nearly any election, we could pull out this psalm or the middle-end chapters of 2Samuel and have a great deal which could be applied to that election. I am not shilling for a candidate here, because that election is over; but it is good for an up-to-date illustration. This is exactly how Absalom undermined David’s authority as king (2Sam. 15:2–4 Psalm 55:3, 20–21).

David had a less exemplary character than Romney in the realm of marriage and family; and it is very likely that Absalom used this against his father (Absalom clearly used the courts against his father, alleging that they were biased and unresponsive—2Sam. 15:2–4).

As a result, many people hated David, as we will see in 2Sam. 16:5–8. Can you imagine? The greatest ruler of Israel and possibly in world history, and David was hated by many of his subjects.

Application: We have this in the United States; Ronald Reagan was one of the greatest presidents of my generation; and there are millions of people who hate him. Quite a number of liberals have told me how Reagan raised taxes and ran up the deficit; and then they supported a president (Obama) who raised taxes and ran up the deficit. These same people hate Reagan and would destroy him by any means possible if he were alive and running for president today; and yet they spread falsehoods about him, saying that he did the things which they actually favor and vote for.

My point is, a great ruler will be hated; and lies and falsehoods about this man will be liberally spread throughout the land. This is what gives the revolutionaries a pretense against David (and against any establishment ruler). They paint him with a broad brush of lies and deceit. Negative campaigning did not start in 2012; or even in 1800 (Adams versus Jefferson). Here, circa 1000 b.c., Absalom is using this approach with great success.

Application: I found this out almost immediately when President Bush (43) was reelected. My inbox began to fill up with tons of anti-Bush propaganda. I recognized it as being slanted and often incorrect, even though I knew almost nothing about politics at the point in my life (except to vote for conservatives). In fact, it was a result of these emails that I began to look into politics more carefully and ended up moving far right.

Application: How do you, as a believer, know that you are voting for the correct candidate/party? If you see ad after ad which attacks the character of the opponent, then you might be better off voting for the person whose character is being assailed. If you see ads which are clearly false (and it is more difficult to determine nowadays, as “fact check” sites are often shills for this or that party; and spin the facts more artfully even than the ad does), then voting for the other candidate is probably the way to go. If you have on one side a party which sticks to the most important issues and giving their opinions on how to best deal with those issues; and a party which simply attacks its opponents, then you vote for the former, and not the latter.

Translation: ...and they oppose me in anger. Absalom leads a revolt against David, and that is a revolt of hatred. Absalom’s campaign is based upon mental attitude sins. He does not look at his father and see areas where David has really fallen down on the job; where David has made it clear that he cannot handle the job of being king; Absalom’s motivation has become hatred and anger. He is motivated by mental attitude sins. He spreads lies and falsehoods about his father in order to gain favor with the people. Or, as Solomon later wrote, There is no new thing under the sun (Eccles. 1:9).

David, as a believer in the Almighty, demands a hearing from God. This is completely legitimate from any believer under any circumstances (unless he is under the sin unto death; and that requires real reform in order to get out from under that).

One more thing ought to be noted; Absalom’s life is centered around politics and power; David’s is centered around God. Absalom’s supporters follow his lead in this respect; David’s supporters follow his lead in this respect.

David appears to have faced similar problems in Psalm 27:11–12 (HCSB) Because of my adversaries, show me Your way, LORD, and lead me on a level path. Do not give me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing violence.

At this point of David complaining about the lies that were being spoken about him, let us note the lies which were spoken about our Lord:

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David is Fearful and He Wants To Get Away

In the next 5 verses, David will talk all about himself. He will use 1^st person verbs and 1^st person suffixes over 10 times in these 5 verses. Remember that David is a leader and there are hundreds of people with him. He cannot spend a few days thinking about himself and how this all impacts him and what he needs to do for himself. If you are a leader, you do not put yourself first. This indicates some clear problems with David: he is out of fellowship due to fear and he is dreaming of how he could just get away from all of this to his little place in the country. This is fine for a man retiring; but it is not fine for a man who is leading several brigades and their families out of Jerusalem.

Remember Satan’s strategy: he wants the believer to get his eyes on himself, on other people, and/or on things. As long as you focus on one or more of those things, Satan has you off-balance and he is able to manipulate you.

Here is how others have translated this verse:

Ancient texts:

Targum (trans. By Cook)        My heart will tremble within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

Latin Vulgate                          My heart is troubled within me: and the fear of death is fallen upon me.

Masoretic Text (Hebrew)        My heart turns in a midst of me

and terrors of death have fallen upon me.

Peshitta (Syriac)                    My heart is greatly pained within me; and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.

Septuagint (Greek)                My heart was troubled within me; and the fear of death fell upon me.

Significant differences:           The first verb seems to be different in the English translation of the Syriac. Fear is a singular noun (in the Greek and Latin); terrors is in the plural.

Thought-for-thought translations; paraphrases:

Common English Bible           My heart pounds in my chest

because death's terrors have reached me.

Contemporary English V.       My heart is racing fast, and I am afraid of dying.

Easy English                          My *heart is jumping inside me.

And all the fear of death is on every side of me.

Easy-to-Read Version            My heart is pounding inside me.

I am scared to death.

Good News Bible (TEV)         I am terrified, and the terrors of death crush me.

The Message                         My insides are turned inside out; specters of death have me down.

New Berkeley Version                     My heart is distressed within me,

and terrors of death come down on me.

New Century Version             I am frightened inside;

the terror of death has attacked me.

New Living Translation           My heart pounds in my chest.

The terror of death assaults me.

Partially literal and partially paraphrased translations:

American English Bible          My heart was pounding within me, and the fear of death came upon me...

Beck’s American Translation My mind is in a state of anguish

as the terrors of death fall on me;...

Christian Community Bible     My heart agonizes within me; the terrors of death fall upon me. Job 4:14

God’s Word™                         My heart is in turmoil. The terrors of death have seized me.

New American Bible              My heart pounds within me;

death's terrors fall upon me.

NIRV                                      I feel great pain deep down inside me.

The terrors of death are crushing me.

New Jerusalem Bible             My heart writhes within me, the terrors of death come upon me,...

New Simplified Bible              My heart is in turmoil within me. The terrors of death have seized me.

Revised English Bible            My heart is torn with anguish

and the terrors of death bear down on me.

Mostly literal renderings (with some occasional paraphrasing):

Ancient Roots Translinear      My heart travails in my center. The awe of death falls over me.

Bible in Basic English             My heart is deeply wounded, and the fear of death has come on me.

Ferar-Fenton Bible                 My heart beating quick in my breast,

Whilst the faintness of Death on me falls;...

HCSB                                     My heart shudders within me; terrors of death sweep over me.

JPS (Tanakh—1985)               My heart is convulsed within me;

terrors of death assail me.

New Advent Bible                  My heart is troubled within me: and the fear of death is fallen upon me.

NET Bible®                             My heart beats violently [Heb "shakes, trembles."] within me;

the horrors of death overcome me [Heb "the terrors of death have fallen on me."].

The Scriptures 1998              My heart is pained within me, And the frights of death have fallen upon me.

Literal, almost word-for-word, renderings:

The Amplified Bible                My heart is grievously pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

Concordant Literal Version    My heart, it is travailing within me, And dreadings of death have fallen upon me.

English Standard Version      My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

exeGeses companion Bible   My heart writhes within me

and the terrors of death fall on me:...

New RSV                               My heart is in anguish within me,

the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

Syndein                                  My 'right lobe'/heart is anguished within me. And the terror of death has fallen on me. {David's life was in very grave danger}.

World English Bible                My heart is severely pained within me. The terrors of death have fallen on me.

Young's Literal Translation     My heart is pained within me, And terrors of death have fallen on me.

The gist of this verse:          David is clearly upset in the situation that he is in, and is concerned even for his life.

Translation: My heart turns within me... This very much would describe how David felt during the Absalom rebellion. He and Absalom had completely reconciled (2Sam. 14:33), after a long period of time when they were estranged; and Absalom is very much like David. He had all of David’s external characteristics including a great personality. Although we are told very little about David’s interaction with Absalom after they reconciled (apart from the revolution), it is reasonable to suppose that they had developed a friendship (in David’s eyes). Therefore, when facing Absalom in a civil war, David is very conflicted. As far as he is concerned, this seemed to come out of nowhere.

Barnes writes: It is easy to see that David would be in deep distress or anguish, if this psalm refers to the revolt of Absalom. The ingratitude and rebellion of a son - the fact of being driven away from his throne - the number of his enemies - the unexpected news that Ahithophel was among them - and the entire uncertainty as to the result, justified the use of this strong language.

David appears to have been a good judge of character—which would be required for a great leader—but he could be easily blind-sided by his own children. Much of this is David’s own fault. What he should have done originally, after Amnon raped his half-sister Tamar, was to take this case to court and try it. When he did not do that, Absalom had Amnon murdered. David then should have taken that case to court for trial then. We read over and over again about this incident in various commentators who say, almost with one voice, “David needed to fully forgive Absalom.” Wrong! David needed to sort out Absalom in justice. The circumstances of the case needed to be aired publically in court—with a judge other than David—and adjudicated there. See the exegesis of 2Samuel 14 (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). The key to that narrative is, when justice is called for, there is no substitute. David is on the run from Absalom because he did not deal with Absalom’s transgressions in court.

Also key to this is, our God is a God of perfect justice; if our salvation was not based upon justice, then we would not be saved. That we stand justified before God on the basis of our Lord’s substitutionary death on the cross, is a fundamental tenet of Christianity.

Translation: ...and the terror of death has fallen on me. To David, this appeared to all come upon him suddenly, although revolution had been in the air for at least 4 years. However, because David was not able to properly evaluate the actions of his own son, Absalom, he did not see this revolution coming.

David writes: My heart is conflicted and I find myself afraid of dying. David has also considered his own mortality in all of this. He believes that God may take him out under the sin unto death, and he knows that is a painful way to die. A mature believer need not be afraid of death; dying grace is a wonderful experience. Even dying as a warrior can be a great experience; but David confesses fear here. Again, this suggests that David has not yet fully recovered from his own cluster of sins.

There are two times in Scripture where David would have been in this situation. As a younger man, he left the palace because Saul wanted to kill him (1Sam. 19:11–19). At that time, David was afraid that Saul would kill him. Then again, when Absalom revolts against a much older David, David does not express fear in the narrative (2Sam. 15) , but he does retreat from Jerusalem. It is possible that, on several occasions during the Absalom revolt that David was fearful. However, we only know this based upon this psalm.

If David was fearful during the Absalom rebellion, that we know that he had not fully recovered from the interlocking systems of arrogance (HTML) (PDF) (WPD). What must have been the case (and we are assuming that Psalm 55 parallels 2Sam. 15) is that, from time to time, David was in fear when leaving Jerusalem. What God is going to do is to deliver David from his chief weakness as a skirt-chaser but this is a difficult and painful process which took a period of perhaps 10 years. This was a weakness which David indulged in on many occasions over a period of perhaps 20 years (he married 10 women and had at least 10 mistresses, if memory serves), and yet still had affairs (2Sam. 11). He gave in to sexual lust so many times that this had warped David’s soul; sexual lust overrode all of his other activities in life (R. B. Thieme, Jr. uses the interlocking systems of arrogance to explain this). So, what is happening is, David, one of the greatest soldiers of all time, is suffering from fear from time to time, because he is interlocking with the fear cluster of sins.

The best way to understand a cluster of sins within the interlocking systems of arrogance is to think about drug addiction, as most of us have known people who are addicted to drugs. This can change everything about them; their need and desire for drugs can affect nearly everything that they do in their lives and, in fact, drive them to do things that, in the past, they would have never considered before (such as crime). In this way, one cluster of sins is interlocking with another cluster of sins. As we know, drug addiction is not cured overnight; and that desire remains within the soul for a long time (although it is possible that a newly saved person has the option of more easily walking away from any addiction in their life ). David’s foray into the interlocking systems of arrogance via the sexual arrogance gate (HTML) (PDF) (WPD) is something which is taking a long time to cure. His sexual arrogance began to control his life to where he even seduced one of his soldiers’ wives. 2Samuel 11 (HTML) (PDF).

Just as David’s being locked in sexual arrogance colored his entire behavior pattern in Jerusalem; fear could have immobilized him as well. However, despite what is said in vv. 4–5, David will emerge from his fear clear-headed and unafraid.

David, on many occasions, was troubled and faced sufferings (Psalm 6:3 18:4–5 69:20 88:3 102:3–5 116:3). You may ask, why does God subject us to so much trouble and pain? First of all, much of that is self-induced misery; and, secondly, some of us need trouble in order to turn us toward God. When people have everything they need, they tend to forget about God.

Let me give you an odd illustration: people on welfare. People on welfare today can get a house, a phone, money, and food. Nearly all of them have air conditioning, a big screen tv, and a decent car. If they can work 20-30 hours or not work at all, and still get all of this stuff; then they are fine with that. We are developing a culture of dependents; of those who take from the government and enjoy a free ride provided from everyone else. This affects their entire way of thinking. So it is with mankind and God; if life is easy and we have everything that we need, and there are no problems; then why look to God for anything? And our hope for you is firm, because we know that as you share in the sufferings, so you will share in the comfort. For we don't want you to be unaware, brothers, of our affliction that took place in the province of Asia: we were completely overwhelmed--beyond our strength--so that we even despaired of life. However, we personally had a death sentence within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead. He has delivered us from such a terrible death, and He will deliver us; we have placed our hope in Him that He will deliver us again (2Cor. 1:7–10).

Thirdly, sin itself is a reason for trouble and sadness; even if we really, really want to commit these sins. Our Lord prior to His crucifixion was greatly troubled (Matt. 26:37–38 John 12:27 Heb. 5:7). This is because He would take upon Himself the penalty for all of the sins which we have committed. There is going to be pain and suffering associated with sins.

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