Psalms 64:1-7
Psalms 64:1-8 The Message (MSG)
Listen and help, O God. I’m reduced to a whine And a whimper, obsessed with feelings of doomsday. Don’t let them find me— the conspirators out to get me, Using their tongues as weapons, flinging poison words, poison-tipped arrow-words. They shoot from ambush, shoot without warning, not caring who they hit. 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, no one can detect our perfect crime.” The Detective detects the mystery in the dark of the cellar heart. The God of the Arrow shoots! They double up in pain, Fall flat on their faces in full view of the grinning crowd.
Psalms 64:1-7 King James Version (KJV)
Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of the wicked; From the insurrection of the workers of iniquity: Who whet their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows, even bitter words: That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil matter: They commune of laying snares privily; They say, Who shall see them? They search out iniquities; they accomplish a diligent search: Both the inward thought of every one of them, and the heart, is deep. But God shall shoot at them With an arrow; suddenly shall they be wounded.
Psalms 64:1-7 New American Standard Bible - NASB 1995 (NASB1995)
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; Preserve my life from dread of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of evildoers, From the tumult of those who do iniquity, Who have sharpened their tongue like a sword. They aimed bitter speech as their arrow, To shoot from concealment at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him, and do not fear. They hold fast to themselves an evil purpose; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, “Who can see them?” They devise injustices, saying, “We are ready with a well-conceived plot”; For the inward thought and the heart of a man are deep. But God will shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they will be wounded.
Psalms 64:1-7 New Century Version (NCV)
God, listen to my complaint. I am afraid of my enemies; protect my life from them. Hide me from those who plan wicked things, from that gang who does evil. They sharpen their tongues like swords and shoot bitter words like arrows. From their hiding places they shoot at innocent people; they shoot suddenly and are not afraid. They encourage each other to do wrong. They talk about setting traps, thinking no one will see them. They plan wicked things and say, “We have a perfect plan.” The mind of human beings is hard to understand. But God will shoot them with arrows; they will suddenly be struck down.
Psalms 64:1-7 American Standard Version (ASV)
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint: Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret counsel of evil-doers, From the tumult of the workers of iniquity; Who have whet their tongue like a sword, And have aimed their arrows, even bitter words, That they may shoot in secret places at the perfect: Suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not. They encourage themselves in an evil purpose; They commune of laying snares privily; They say, Who will see them? They search out iniquities; We have accomplished, say they, a diligent search: And the inward thought and the heart of every one is deep. But God will shoot at them; With an arrow suddenly shall they be wounded.
Psalms 64:1-7 New International Version (NIV)
Hear me, my God, as I voice my complaint; protect my life from the threat of the enemy. Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked, from the plots of evildoers. They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim cruel words like deadly arrows. They shoot from ambush at the innocent; they shoot suddenly, without fear. They encourage each other in evil plans, they talk about hiding their snares; they say, “Who will see it?” 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.
Psalms 64:1-7 New King James Version (NKJV)
Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, From the rebellion of the workers of iniquity, Who sharpen their tongue like a sword, And bend their bows to shoot their arrows—bitter words, That they may shoot in secret at the blameless; Suddenly they shoot at him and do not fear. They encourage themselves in an evil matter; They talk of laying snares secretly; They say, “Who will see them?” They devise iniquities: “We have perfected a shrewd scheme.” Both the inward thought and the heart of man are deep. But God shall shoot at them with an arrow; Suddenly they shall be wounded.
Psalms 64:1-7 Amplified Bible (AMP)
Hear my voice, O God, in my 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.
Psalms 64:1-7 New Living Translation (NLT)
O God, listen to my complaint. Protect my life from my enemies’ threats. Hide me from the plots of this evil mob, from this gang of wrongdoers. They sharpen their tongues like swords and aim their bitter words like arrows. They shoot from ambush at the innocent, attacking suddenly and fearlessly. They encourage each other to do evil and plan how to set their traps in secret. “Who will ever notice?” they ask. As they plot their crimes, they say, “We have devised the perfect plan!” Yes, the human heart and mind are cunning. But God himself will shoot them with his arrows, suddenly striking them down.
Psalms 64:1-7 The Passion Translation (TPT)
Lord, can’t you hear my cry, my bitter complaint? Keep me safe from this band of criminals and from the conspiracy of these wicked men. They gather in their secret counsel to destroy me. Can’t you hear their slander, their lies? Their words are like poison-tipped arrows shot from the shadows. They are unafraid and have no fear of consequences. They persist with their evil plans and plot together to hide their traps. They boast, “No one can see us or stop us!” They search out opportunities to pervert justice as they plan the “perfect crime.” How unsearchable is their endless evil! They try desperately to hide the deep darkness of their hearts. But all the while God has his own fire-tipped arrows! Suddenly, without warning, they will be pierced and struck down.
Psalms 64:1-7 English Standard Version 2016 (ESV)
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy. Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. They hold fast to their evil purpose; they talk of laying snares secretly, thinking, “Who can see them?” They search out injustice, saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.” For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep. But God shoots his arrow at them; they are wounded suddenly.