Old Testament · Poetry

Psalm 55

Betrayed by a Friend

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.

King James Version BSB KJV

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1Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.

2Attend unto me, and hear me: I mourn in my complaint, and make a noise;

3Because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked: for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.

4My heart is sore pained within me: and the terrors of death are fallen upon me.

5Fearfulness and trembling are come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.

6And I said, Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then would I fly away, and be at rest.

7Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness. Selah.

8I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.

9Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues: for I have seen violence and strife in the city.

10Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof: mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.

11Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.

12For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:

13But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance.

14We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

15Let death seize upon them, and let them go down quick into hell: for wickedness is in their dwellings, and among them.

16As for me, I will call upon God; and the LORD shall save me.

17Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud: and he shall hear my voice.

18He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me: for there were many with me.

19God shall hear, and afflict them, even he that abideth of old. Selah. Because they have no changes, therefore they fear not God.

20He hath put forth his hands against such as be at peace with him: he hath broken his covenant.

21The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart: his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.

22Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

23But thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction: bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days; but I will trust in thee.

Understand This

Psalm 55, explained

What Psalm 55 is saying

This emotionally intense lament grapples with betrayal by a trusted companion, producing some of the Psalter's most vivid imagery of anguish. The psalmist's wish for dove's wings to flee the city reflects the unbearable weight of social treachery. The central wound is not enemy attack but the violation of covenant friendship—the companion who shared sweet counsel and walked to God's house has become a predator.

The background behind it

While the superscription attributes the psalm to David, its urban setting and descriptions of civic corruption have led some scholars to situate it in the monarchic period when Jerusalem's social fabric was strained. The betrayal language has been connected to Ahithophel's treachery (2 Samuel 15–17).

Themes running underneath

The psalm explores the unique devastation of intimate betrayal—enemies are expected, but a friend's treachery shatters the social order itself. The broken covenant imagery ('his speech was smooth as butter, yet war was in his heart') parallels prophetic denunciations of false peace. The resolution rests not in flight but in casting one's burden on the Lord.

Why it still matters

The psalm validates the acute pain of betrayal while redirecting the sufferer from escapism to trust. Its counsel to 'cast your burden on the LORD' acknowledges that some wounds exceed human capacity to bear alone.

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Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.