Psalm 55:9

Psalm 55:9, in plain English

Now David turns from his own struggle to asking God to step in. He wants God to disrupt the enemies' communication and power—to confuse and scatter them.

Why it's here

David has seen the violence firsthand in the city. He knows these aren't theoretical enemies—they're real people plotting real harm. He's asking God to intervene in concrete ways.

Who's speaking

David, shifting from his own distress to calling on God's power against his enemies

Where it sits in the story

This reflects an ancient understanding: that evil communicates and coordinates, and that God can disrupt that communication. We see this in Babel, we see it in the end times—God has the power to confound human plans.

The scholarly reading

The psalmist abandons his fantasy of escape and turns to direct prayer, calling upon God to confound his enemies and acknowledging the violence pervading the city.

Language and setting

The vocative 'O Lord' (אֲדֹנָי, 'Ădōnāy) reestablishes covenant address after the fantasy interlude. The imperatives 'confuse and confound' (בַלַּע פִּלְּקָה, ballá' pillqāh) employ verbs of muddying or scattering—what Alter terms 'a kind of verbal fumigation,' asking God to render the enemies' communication incoherent. The appeal to divine intervention now supercedes the desire for self-exile, marking the recovery of faith. The observation about violence and strife in the city suggests an urban setting—Jerusalem or another fortified city—where covenant violation is visibly manifest.

Voice

The psalmist, now returning from fantasy to address God directly with petition.

Significance

This turning-point corresponds to the movement in Christian devotion from despair to supplication—acknowledging that human flight cannot solve the problem, only divine intervention can. The request for confused speech echoes the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11), suggesting God's sovereign power to disrupt human rebellion.

7How far away I would flee! In the wilderness I would remain.

8I would hurry to my shelter, far from this raging tempest.”

9O Lord, confuse and confound their speech, for I see violence and strife in the city.

10Day and night they encircle the walls, while malice and trouble lie within.

11Destruction is within; oppression and deceit never leave the streets.

Read all of Psalm 55 — If an enemy attacked, I could bear it. But it was you — my companion, my close friend. The deepest wounds come from the nearest people.