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Prayer for Protection from Secret Enemies.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

64 Hear my voice, O God, in my [a]complaint;
Guard my life from the terror of the enemy.

Hide me from the secret counsel and conspiracy of the ungodly,
From the scheming of those who do wrong,

Who have sharpened their tongues like a sword.
They aim venomous words as arrows,

To shoot from ambush at the blameless [one];
Suddenly they shoot at him, without fear.

They encourage themselves in [their pursuit of] an evil agenda;
They talk of laying snares secretly;
They say, “Who will discover us?”

They devise acts of injustice, saying,
“We are ready with a well-conceived plan.”
For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep (mysterious, unsearchable).


But God will shoot them with an [unexpected] arrow;
Suddenly they will be wounded.

So they will be caused to stumble;
Their own tongue is against them;
All who gaze at them will shake the head [in scorn].

Then all men will fear [God’s judgment];
They will declare the work of God,
And they will consider and wisely acknowledge what He has done.
10 
The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him;
All the upright in heart will glory and offer praise.

God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Man.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. A Song.

65 To You belongs silence [the submissive wonder of reverence], and [it bursts into] praise in Zion, O God;
And to You the vow shall be performed.

O You who hear prayer,
To You all mankind comes.

Wickedness and guilt prevail against me;
Yet as for our transgressions,
You forgive them [removing them from Your sight].

Blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near
To dwell in Your courts.
We will be filled with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.


By awesome and wondrous things You answer us in righteousness, O God of our salvation,
You who are the trust and hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest sea;

Who creates the mountains by His strength,
Being clothed with power,

Who stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the tumult of the peoples,

So they who dwell at the ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs [the evidence of Your presence].(A)
You make the dawn and the sunset shout for joy.


You visit the earth and make it overflow [with water];
You greatly enrich it;
The stream of God is full of water;
You provide their grain, when You have prepared the earth.
10 
You water its furrows abundantly,
You smooth its ridges;
You soften it with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 
You crown the year with Your bounty,
And Your paths overflow.
12 
The pastures of the wilderness drip [with dew],
And the hills are encircled with joy.
13 
The meadows are clothed with flocks
And the valleys are covered with grain;
They shout for joy and they sing.

Praise for God’s Mighty Deeds and for His Answer to Prayer.

To the Chief Musician. A Song. A Psalm.

66 Shout joyfully to God, all the earth;

Sing of the honor and glory and magnificence of His name;
Make His praise glorious.

Say to God, “How awesome and fearfully glorious are Your works!
Because of the greatness of Your power Your enemies will pretend to be obedient to You.

“All the earth will [bow down to] worship You [in submissive wonder],
And will sing praises to You;
They will praise Your name in song.” Selah.


Come and see the works of God,
He is awesome in His deeds toward the children of men.

He turned the sea into dry land;
They crossed through the river on foot;
There we rejoiced in Him.(B)

Who rules by His might forever,
His eyes keep watch on the nations;
Do not let the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah.


Bless our God, O peoples,
And make the sound of His praise be heard abroad,

Who keeps us among the living,
And does not allow our feet to slip or stumble.
10 
For You have tested us, O God;
You have refined us as silver is refined.
11 
You brought us into the net;
You laid a heavy burden [of servitude] on [b]us.
12 
You made men (charioteers) [c]ride over our heads [in defeat];
We went through fire and through water,
Yet You brought us out into a [broad] place of abundance [to be refreshed].
13 
I shall come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall pay You my vows,
14 
Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke as a promise when I was in distress.
15 
I shall offer to You burnt offerings of fat lambs,
With the [sweet] smoke of rams;
I will offer bulls with male goats. Selah.

16 
Come and hear, all who fear God [and worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and obedience],
And I will tell what He has done for me.
17 
I cried aloud to Him;
He was highly praised with my tongue.
18 
If I regard sin and baseness in my heart [that is, if I know it is there and do nothing about it],
The Lord will not hear [me];(C)
19 
But certainly God has heard [me];
He has given heed to the voice of my prayer.
20 
Blessed be God,
Who has not turned away my prayer
Nor His lovingkindness from me.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 64:1 Or concern.
  2. Psalm 66:11 Lit upon our loins.
  3. Psalm 66:12 The ancient rabbis understood this as times of captivity for Israel.

Psalm 64[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint;(A)
    protect my life from the threat of the enemy.(B)

Hide me from the conspiracy(C) of the wicked,(D)
    from the plots of evildoers.
They sharpen their tongues like swords(E)
    and aim cruel words like deadly arrows.(F)
They shoot from ambush at the innocent;(G)
    they shoot suddenly, without fear.(H)

They encourage each other in evil plans,
    they talk about hiding their snares;(I)
    they say, “Who will see it[b]?”(J)
They plot injustice and say,
    “We have devised a perfect plan!”
    Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.

But God will shoot them with his arrows;
    they will suddenly be struck down.
He will turn their own tongues against them(K)
    and bring them to ruin;
    all who see them will shake their heads(L) in scorn.(M)
All people will fear;(N)
    they will proclaim the works of God
    and ponder what he has done.(O)

10 The righteous will rejoice in the Lord(P)
    and take refuge in him;(Q)
    all the upright in heart will glory in him!(R)

Psalm 65[c]

For the director of music. A psalm of David. A song.

Praise awaits[d] you, our God, in Zion;(S)
    to you our vows will be fulfilled.(T)
You who answer prayer,
    to you all people will come.(U)
When we were overwhelmed by sins,(V)
    you forgave[e] our transgressions.(W)
Blessed are those you choose(X)
    and bring near(Y) to live in your courts!
We are filled with the good things of your house,(Z)
    of your holy temple.

You answer us with awesome and righteous deeds,(AA)
    God our Savior,(AB)
the hope of all the ends of the earth(AC)
    and of the farthest seas,(AD)
who formed the mountains(AE) by your power,
    having armed yourself with strength,(AF)
who stilled the roaring of the seas,(AG)
    the roaring of their waves,
    and the turmoil of the nations.(AH)
The whole earth is filled with awe at your wonders;
    where morning dawns, where evening fades,
    you call forth songs of joy.(AI)

You care for the land and water it;(AJ)
    you enrich it abundantly.(AK)
The streams of God are filled with water
    to provide the people with grain,(AL)
    for so you have ordained it.[f]
10 You drench its furrows and level its ridges;
    you soften it with showers(AM) and bless its crops.
11 You crown the year with your bounty,(AN)
    and your carts overflow with abundance.(AO)
12 The grasslands of the wilderness overflow;(AP)
    the hills are clothed with gladness.(AQ)
13 The meadows are covered with flocks(AR)
    and the valleys are mantled with grain;(AS)
    they shout for joy and sing.(AT)

Psalm 66

For the director of music. A song. A psalm.

Shout for joy to God, all the earth!(AU)
    Sing the glory of his name;(AV)
    make his praise glorious.(AW)
Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!(AX)
    So great is your power
    that your enemies cringe(AY) before you.
All the earth bows down(AZ) to you;
    they sing praise(BA) to you,
    they sing the praises of your name.”[g]

Come and see what God has done,
    his awesome deeds(BB) for mankind!
He turned the sea into dry land,(BC)
    they passed through(BD) the waters on foot—
    come, let us rejoice(BE) in him.
He rules forever(BF) by his power,
    his eyes watch(BG) the nations—
    let not the rebellious(BH) rise up against him.

Praise(BI) our God, all peoples,
    let the sound of his praise be heard;
he has preserved our lives(BJ)
    and kept our feet from slipping.(BK)
10 For you, God, tested(BL) us;
    you refined us like silver.(BM)
11 You brought us into prison(BN)
    and laid burdens(BO) on our backs.
12 You let people ride over our heads;(BP)
    we went through fire and water,
    but you brought us to a place of abundance.(BQ)

13 I will come to your temple with burnt offerings(BR)
    and fulfill my vows(BS) to you—
14 vows my lips promised and my mouth spoke
    when I was in trouble.
15 I will sacrifice fat animals to you
    and an offering of rams;
    I will offer bulls and goats.(BT)

16 Come and hear,(BU) all you who fear God;
    let me tell(BV) you what he has done for me.
17 I cried out to him with my mouth;
    his praise was on my tongue.
18 If I had cherished sin in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened;(BW)
19 but God has surely listened
    and has heard(BX) my prayer.
20 Praise be to God,
    who has not rejected(BY) my prayer
    or withheld his love from me!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 64:1 In Hebrew texts 64:1-10 is numbered 64:2-11.
  2. Psalm 64:5 Or us
  3. Psalm 65:1 In Hebrew texts 65:1-13 is numbered 65:2-14.
  4. Psalm 65:1 Or befits; the meaning of the Hebrew for this word is uncertain.
  5. Psalm 65:3 Or made atonement for
  6. Psalm 65:9 Or for that is how you prepare the land
  7. Psalm 66:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 7 and 15.