A Prayer for Protection from Hidden Enemies

641 [1]Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the plots of evildoers. 3 They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like deadly arrows. 4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent; they shoot suddenly, without fear. 5 They encourage each other in evil plans, they talk about hiding their snares; they say, "Who will see it[2] ?" 6 They plot injustice and say, "We have devised a perfect plan!" Surely the human mind and heart are cunning.

Other Translations of Psalm 64:1-6

King James Version

A Prayer for Protection from Hidden Enemies

641 Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; from the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: 3 Who whet their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: 4 That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. 5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter: matter: or, speech they commune of laying snares privily; they say, Who shall see them? 6 They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep.

English Standard Version

A Prayer for Protection from Hidden Enemies

641 Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, 3 who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, 4 shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. 5 They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, "Who can see them?" 6 They search out injustice, saying, "We have accomplished a diligent search." For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep!

The Message

A Prayer for Protection from Hidden Enemies

641 Listen and help, O God. I'm reduced to a whine And a whimper, obsessed with feelings of doomsday. 2 Don't let them find me - the conspirators out to get me, 3 Using their tongues as weapons, flinging poison words, poison-tipped arrow-words. 4 They shoot from ambush, shoot without warning, not caring who they hit. 5 They keep fit doing calisthenics of evil purpose, They keep lists of the traps they've secretly set. They say to each other, "No one can catch us, 6 no one can detect our perfect crime." The Detective detects the mystery in the dark of the cellar heart.

New King James Version

A Prayer for Protection from Hidden Enemies

641 To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David. Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. 2 Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, 3 Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows--bitter words, 4 That they may shoot in secret at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear. 5 They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, "Who will see them?" 6 They devise iniquities: "We have perfected a shrewd scheme." Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep.

New Living Translation

A Prayer for Protection from Hidden Enemies

641 O God, listen to my complaint. Protect my life from my enemies' threats. 2 Hide me from the plots of this evil mob, from this gang of wrongdoers. 3 They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows. 4 They shoot from ambush at the innocent, attacking suddenly and fearlessly. 5 They encourage each other to do evil and plan how to set their traps in secret. "Who will ever notice?" they ask. 6 As they plot their crimes, they say, "We have devised the perfect plan!" Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning.

Matthew Henry's Commentary on Psalm 64:1-6

Commentary on Psalm 64:1-6

(Read Psalm 64:1-6)

The psalmist earnestly begs of God to preserve him from disquieting fear. The tongue is a little member, but it boasts great things. The upright man is the mark at which the wicked aim, they cannot speak peaceably either of him or to him. There is no guard against a false tongue. It is bad to do wrong, but worse to encourage ourselves and one another in it. It is a sign that the heart is hardened to the greatest degree, when it is thus fully set to do evil. A practical disbelief of God's knowledge of all things, is at the bottom of every wickedness. The benefit of a good cause and a good conscience, appears most when nothing can help a man against his enemies, save God alone, who is always a present help.