Psalms 55:14-23

14 with whom I kept pleasant company; we walked in the house of God with the throng.

15 Let death come upon them; let them go down alive to Sheol; for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.

16 But I call upon God, and the Lord will save me.

17 Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan, and he will hear my voice.

18 He will redeem me unharmed from the battle that I wage, for many are arrayed against me.

19 God, who is enthroned from of old, (Selah) will hear, and will humble them— because they do not change, and do not fear God.

20 My companion laid hands on a friend and violated a covenant with me

21 with speech smoother than butter, but with a heart set on war; with words that were softer than oil, but in fact were drawn swords.

22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.

23 But you, O God, will cast them down into the lowest pit; the bloodthirsty and treacherous shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in you.

Psalms 55:14-23 Meaning and Commentary

To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil [A Psalm] of David. The occasion of this psalm was either the persecution of Saul, or the conspiracy of Absalom. Some think it was written when David understood that the inhabitants of Keilah would deliver him into the hands of Saul, 1 Samuel 23:12; and others when the Ziphites attempted a second time to do the same, 1 Samuel 26:1; but since a single person is spoken of that magnified himself against him, Psalm 55:12; and Ahithophel seems to be designed; it may be thought rather to be written on account of Absalom's rebellion, and Ahithophel's counsel against him; who is considered by many Christian interpreters as a type of Judas, the betrayer of our Lord; and, indeed, there are many things in this psalm, if not the whole, which may be truly applied to Christ, as will be seen in the following exposition of it.

Footnotes

• [a]. Heb lacks [with me]
• [b]. Or [Cast what he has given you]