Psalms 64

God, listen to my voice as I pour out my complaint. Guard my life from the terror my enemy brings.

1Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

Note"Complaint" here renders a Hebrew word (siach) meaning a spoken lament or troubled brooding said out loud, the anxious talk of someone in distress, not a petty grumble or a formal grievance.

2Keep me hidden from the secret plans of wicked people, and from the noisy crowd of those who do wrong.

2Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity:

NoteKJV's "insurrection" translates a Hebrew word meaning a noisy throng or uproar, a mob in loud commotion rather than an organized revolt against a government. "Workers of iniquity" is a standard Hebrew phrase for habitual wrongdoers: people whose trade is doing harm.

3They sharpen their tongues like swords. They aim their cruel words the way an archer aims arrows.

3Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words:

NoteSharpened tongues and drawn bows are stock Hebrew images for slander and false accusation. The complaint through this psalm is about words used as weapons (malicious testimony, rumor, the ruin of a reputation), not physical assault.

4They shoot from hiding at a person who has done nothing wrong. They strike without warning, and they are not afraid.

4That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.

NoteKJV "the perfect" does not mean flawless. The Hebrew word (tam) means whole, blameless, innocent of the particular charge, a person who has given no cause for the attack. The word's English sense has narrowed since 1611.

5They hold on tightly to their evil plan. They talk together about setting traps in secret, and they say, "Who will ever see them?"

5They encourage themselves in an evil matter: they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them?

NoteIn KJV, "commune" means to talk something over together, and "privily" means secretly. "Snares" are hunter's traps, hidden and triggered by the animal itself; laying them for a person is a standard image for entrapment by words or false charges.

6They hunt for ways to do harm, and they say their plan is perfectly worked out. The thoughts inside a person, and the human heart, run deep.

6They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.

NoteThis is one of the most damaged and disputed verses in the Psalms; the Hebrew of the middle clause is barely construable, and translations differ widely on who is speaking and what is being said. The final line ("the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep") can be read as the plotters boasting that no one can fathom them, or as the poet's own remark that the human interior is unsearchable. The rendering keeps both possibilities open. "Heart" in Hebrew usage means the seat of thought, intention and decision, closer to "mind" than to feeling.

7But God will shoot at them with an arrow. They will be struck down without warning.

7But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.

NoteThe Hebrew deliberately reuses the vocabulary of verses 3–4 (arrows, shooting, suddenness), so that what God does is described in exactly the words used for what the plotters did. The mirroring is a feature of the poem, not a coincidence of translation.

8Their own tongues will be turned against them and bring them down. Everyone who sees it will shake their heads and back away.

8So they shall make their own tongue to fall upon themselves: all that see them shall flee away.

NoteThe Hebrew here is compressed and uncertain, which is why KJV and modern versions diverge. The verb behind KJV's "flee away" (nud) covers both wandering off and shaking the head; head-shaking was a public gesture of dismay or scorn at someone's downfall, so the line can mean onlookers recoil, or that they shake their heads at what they see.

9Then everyone will be filled with awe. They will tell others what God has done, and they will think carefully about what he did.

9And all men shall fear, and shall declare the work of God; for they shall wisely consider of his doing.

Note"Fear" in this sense means awe, the shock and reverence of witnessing something overwhelming, not fright or cowering. The same word carries both senses in Hebrew, as it did in 1611 English.

10Those who do right will be glad because of the LORD, and will find safety in him. All whose hearts are honest will celebrate.

10The righteous shall be glad in the LORD, and shall trust in him; and all the upright in heart shall glory.

NotePrinted as "LORD" in small capitals, this stands in for the personal name of Israel's God (the four Hebrew letters YHWH), which readers traditionally did not pronounce. Where the text has the ordinary word for "lord" or "master", English versions print "Lord" normally. KJV's "trust in him" translates a verb meaning to take shelter, as under a rock or a bird's wing; "glory" here is the older English sense of exulting or boasting aloud, not splendor.