For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by Dawud1.
1Hear my voice, God2, in my complaint.
Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
2Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
From the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil;
3Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
And aim their arrows, deadly words,
4To shoot innocent men from ambushes.
They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly.
5They encourage themselves in evil plans.
They talk about laying snares secretly.
They say, “Who will see them?”
6They plot injustice, saying, “We have made a perfect plan!”
Surely man’s mind and heart are cunning.
7But God will shoot at them.
They will be suddenly struck down with an arrow.
8Their own tongues shall ruin them.
All who see them will shake their heads.
9All mankind shall be afraid.
They shall declare the work of God,
And shall wisely ponder what he has done.
10The righteous shall be glad in YAHWEH3,
And shall take refuge in him.
All the upright in heart shall praise him!
- 64:title Dawud, this Arabic name is derived from David (Hebrew) and means “Beloved.” ↩︎
- 64:1 God, in Hebrew elohim, which is related to the Arabic allah. Both words translate correctly as “God,” referring to the one true God. ↩︎
- 64:10 YAHWEH, God’s personal Name revealed to Prophet Musa in the Taurat, Exodus 3:15: ‘God said moreover to Musa, “You shall tell Bani-Israel this, ‘YAHWEH, the God of your fathers, the God of Ibrahim, the God of Ishaq, and the God of Yaqub, has sent me to you.’ This is my Name forever, and this is how I am to be remembered to all generations.”’ ↩︎