Psalm 5:1

Psalm 5:1, in plain English

David is asking God to actually listen to him—not just hear his words, but pay attention to the deep pain he's expressing. He's bringing his whole self to God, including the groaning that goes beyond what words can say.

Why it's here

David is in trouble, surrounded by enemies who want to harm him. He's not making polite requests; he's desperate. When he asks God to "give ear," he means really listen—the way you'd lean in close to hear someone who's barely holding it together.

Who's speaking

David, likely when he's under threat and feeling hunted.

Where it sits in the story

This is the prayer of someone who knows God personally enough to approach Him in raw honesty. It shows us that the God of the Bible isn't interested in fake prayers or put-together words—He wants the real you, groaning and all.

The scholarly reading

The psalmist opens with an urgent plea for God's attention, asking Him to listen not merely to words but to the deeper anguish expressed through groaning—the wordless suffering that transcends articulate speech.

Language and setting

This is the voice of someone in genuine distress, likely facing persecution or slander, who recognizes that formal prayer language alone cannot capture the depth of his suffering. The act of groaning (נאקה, na'akah) appears throughout Scripture as the authentic language of the afflicted—what Paul would later call groaning in Romans 8:26 as the Spirit's intercession.

Voice

David, according to the superscription (לדוד, ledavid), though scholars debate whether this reflects historical authorship or liturgical attribution. The psalm addresses the king figure of Israel in his vulnerability.

Significance

This opens the Psalter's recurring motif of the righteous sufferer bringing lament before God's throne. It echoes Abraham's intercession and Job's complaint, establishing the biblical principle that authentic prayer includes anguish, not merely adoration.

1Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning.

2Attend to the sound of my cry, my King and my God, for to You I pray.

3In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice; at daybreak I lay my plea before You and wait in expectation.

Read all of Psalm 5 — Lead me in your righteousness. David brings his case to God at dawn, before the noise of the day takes over.