Psalms · 23 verses

Psalms 55

Every verse links to the people and places named in it, and to the passages readers connect it with.

The chapter

What happens here

Atlas's own reading, written from this chapter and nothing else, and published only once a person has approved it. Each scene names the verses it covers; the names inside it link to the people and places they name.

The companion’s words are softer than oil, but the swords are already out: butter has somehow become the wrapping for war.

Wings, wilderness, and the cityvv. 1–11

David begins in a state of exquisite alarm: restless, distraught, with his heart pounding and death’s terrors assailing him. His proposed remedy is wonderfully literal—wings like a dove, a long flight into the wilderness, and a shelter far from the raging tempest. Yet the trouble is not merely at the door. Violence and strife are in the city; malice and trouble lie within, while destruction, oppression, and deceit keep to the streets. The prayer therefore asks for confusion in their speech, which is a rather formidable request for a city already full of noise.

The close friend with a sword in his mouthvv. 12–15

The wound sharpens when David names its source. This is not an enemy, whose insults might be endured, nor a foe, from whom hiding might be possible. It is a companion and close friend, someone who shared sweet fellowship and walked with the crowd into the house of God. Then comes the psalm’s most startling wish: let death seize them by surprise, and let them go down to Sheol alive, because evil is with them in their homes. The language refuses to let the danger settle politely into one category.

Morning, noon, and nightvv. 16–23

David turns from the companion’s treachery to his own fixed rhythm of appeal: morning, noon, and night. The LORD hears, redeems his soul in peace, and stands enthroned for the ages while the unchanging have no fear of God. The companion’s speech is a small domestic marvel—smooth as butter, softer than oil—until the concealed armament is revealed: war in the heart and swords unsheathed. The final movement lays a burden upon the LORD, sends men of bloodshed and deceit down to the Pit of destruction, and leaves David with trust as his last word.

The text

Read it

Berean Standard Bible, public domain. Names the Hebrew and Greek put in the verse link to the person, place or people they name; the address beside each verse is a link to that verse, which is what a reader copies and shares.

Ps 55:1For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. Listen to my prayer, O God, and do not ignore my plea.
Ps 55:2Attend to me and answer me. I am restless in my complaint, and distraught
Ps 55:3at the voice of the enemy, at the pressure of the wicked. For they bring down disaster upon me and resent me in their anger.
Ps 55:4My heart pounds within me, and the terrors of death assail me.
Ps 55:5Fear and trembling grip me, and horror has overwhelmed me.
Ps 55:6I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and find rest.
Ps 55:7How far away I would flee! In the wilderness I would remain. Selah
Ps 55:8I would hurry to my shelter, far from this raging tempest.”
Ps 55:9O Lord, confuse and confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city.
Ps 55:10Day and night they encircle the walls, while malice and trouble lie within.
Ps 55:11Destruction is within; oppression and deceit never leave the streets.
Ps 55:12For it is not an enemy who insults me; that I could endure. It is not a foe who rises against me; from him I could hide.
Ps 55:13But it is you, a man like myself, my companion and close friend.
Ps 55:14We shared sweet fellowship together; we walked with the crowd into the house of God.
Ps 55:15Let death seize them by surprise; let them go down to Sheol alive, for evil is with them in their homes.
Ps 55:16But I call to God, and the LORD saves me.
Ps 55:17Morning, noon, and night, I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.
Ps 55:18He redeems my soul in peace from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.
Ps 55:19God will hear and humiliate them—the One enthroned for the ages—Selah because they do not change and they have no fear of God.
Ps 55:20My companion attacks his friends; he violates his covenant.
Ps 55:21His speech is smooth as butter, but war is in his heart. His words are softer than oil, yet they are swords unsheathed.
Ps 55:22Cast your burden upon the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous be shaken.
Ps 55:23But You, O God, will bring them down to the Pit of destruction; men of bloodshed and deceit will not live out half their days. But I will trust in You.

01 — Also here

Who else the chapter reaches

Names written in the English are linked in the text above. These are the ones that are not: an entity the Hebrew or Greek names under a spelling the translation does not use, or one reached only by an assertion about a verse of this chapter.

Reached by an assertion Atlas extracted from a verse of this chapter rather than by a name written in it — a pronoun, a title, or a participant the sentence carries without naming. This layer is model-read and measured at 88.6–90.3% precision, and it is kept separate from the names above for that reason.

Davidperson

02 — Read alongside

Where this is echoed

Readers' own connections, from OpenBible's crowd-voted cross-references — agreement about relevance, and not scholarly confidence. 255 passages were voted onto 23 verses of this chapter; the 16 shown lead on votes, and each is listed at the verse it was voted onto most strongly.

22 1 Peter 5:7Cast all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.
22 Psalms 37:5Commit your way to the LORD; trust in Him, and He will do it.
22 Philippians 4:6–7Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
22 Matthew 6:25Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?
22 Psalms 62:6He alone is my rock and my salvation; He is my fortress; I will not be shaken.
22 Psalms 16:8I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
22 Matthew 6:31–34Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’
22 1 Samuel 2:9He guards the steps of His faithful ones, but the wicked perish in darkness; for by his own strength shall no man prevail.
22 John 10:27–30My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me.
22 Isaiah 50:10Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of His Servant? Who among you walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD; let him lean on his God.
22 1 Peter 1:5who through faith are shielded by God’s power for the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.
22 Luke 12:22Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat, or about your body, what you will wear.
17 1 Thessalonians 5:17Pray without ceasing.
17 Ephesians 6:18Pray in the Spirit at all times, with every kind of prayer and petition. To this end, stay alert with all perseverance in your prayers for all the saints.
1 1 Peter 3:12For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
17 Acts 3:1One afternoon Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

Onward

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