Psalms 64:1
in Psalms 64Hear, O God, my voice of complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint: Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
KJV
Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
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This verse in Psalms 64
Commentary
3 notes on this verseHear my voice, O God, in my prayer. It often helps devotion if we are able to use the voice and speak audibly; but even mental prayer has a voice with God which he will hear. We do not read that Moses had spoken with his lips at the Red Sea, and yet the Lord said to him, "Why criest thou unto me?" Prayers which are unheard on earth may be among the best heard in heaven.
This site's exposition
my voice of complaint
on Psalms 64:1-2
The harm named is dread of the enemy. He asks to be hidden from the scheming of the wicked and from the mob of workers of iniquity. Barnes reads the danger as a plot he cannot see.
The record, by era
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
In singing this psalm we must observe the effect of the old enmity that is in the seed of the woman against the seed of the serpent, and assure ourselves that the serpent's head will be broken, at last, to the honour and joy of the holy seed. Malice of David's Enemies. 1 Hear my voice, O God, in my prayer: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
How the passage was read
What the Jewish commentators add
On the verses either side of this one
Hear, O God, my voice in my prayer The authors of Aggadoth Tehllim (Mid. Ps.) interpreted this psalm as referring to Daniel, who was cast into the lions’ den. The language of the psalm fits the Aggadah very well.
This section is reception history: how the passage was read and kept in the Jewish tradition. Where a reading parts from an essential of the Christian faith, the section says so at that point.
Texts and citation data: Sefaria; each excerpt follows its version’s licence. 6 further sources are cited on this chapter that carry no English text this site may quote or only restate the verse.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| שְׁמַע־ | shema'- | hear | H8085 → | 1159 times |
| אֱלֹהִ֣ים | ʾelohim | O God | H430 → | 2601 times |
| קוֹלִ֣י | koli | voice my | H6963 → | 506 times |
| בְשִׂיחִ֑י | vesichi | in complaint my | H7879 → | 13 times |
| מִפַּ֥חַד | mipachad | from dread of | H6343 → | 49 times |
| א֝וֹיֵ֗ב | ʾoyev | an enemy | H341 → | 282 times |
| תִּצֹּ֥ר | titzor | you will preserve | H5341 → | 63 times |
| חַיָּֽי׃ | chaiyai | life my | H2416 → | 498 times |
שְׁמַע־hear
shema'-H8085 →1159 times
אֱלֹהִ֣יםO God
ʾelohimH430 →2601 times
קוֹלִ֣יvoice my
koliH6963 →506 times
בְשִׂיחִ֑יin complaint my
vesichiH7879 →13 times
מִפַּ֥חַדfrom dread of
mipachadH6343 →49 times
א֝וֹיֵ֗בan enemy
ʾoyevH341 →282 times
תִּצֹּ֥רyou will preserve
titzorH5341 →63 times
חַיָּֽי׃life my
chaiyaiH2416 →498 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Psalms 34:4I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
it leads to
- Psalms 18:6
In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.
- Matthew 7:7
Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
- Psalms 116:1–6
I love the LORD, for He has heard my voice— my appeal for mercy.
- Psalms 56:3
When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
- 2 Timothy 1:7
For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and self-control.
- Psalms 18:6
Through
Psalms 140:1Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men. Protect me from men of violence,
it leads to
- Psalms 18:48
who delivers me from my enemies. You exalt me above my foes; You rescue me from violent men.
- Psalms 71:4
Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless.
- Psalms 140:4
Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked. Keep me safe from men of violence who scheme to make me stumble.
- Psalms 18:48
About Psalms
This page draws on Albert Barnes, Notes on the Book of Psalms; Charles Spurgeon, The Treasury of David, Vol. 3 and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.