3On account of the clamors of the enemy, On account of the violence of the wicked. For they bring evil upon me, And in wrath set themselves against me.
4My heart trembleth in my bosom, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5Fear and trembling have seized me, And horror hath overwhelmed me.
6Then I say, O that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away, and be at rest.
7Behold, I would wander far away, And take up my abode in a wilderness. Pause.
8I would hasten away to a shelter From the rushing wind and tempest.
9Confound, O Lord! divide their counsels! For I behold violence and strife in the city.
10Day and night do these go about its walls; In the midst of it are iniquity and mischief.
11Wickedness is in the midst of it; Oppression and fraud depart not from its streets.
12It was not an enemy that reviled me, Then I could have borne it; Nor one that hated me, who rose up against me; From him I could have hid myself.
13But it was thou, a man my equal, My friend, and my acquaintance.
14We held sweet converse together, And walked to the house of God in company.
15May sudden death seize upon them! May they go down to the underworld alive! For wickedness is in their dwellings, in the midst of them.
16As for me, I will call upon God, And Jehovah will save me.
17At evening, at morn, and at noon I mourn and sigh, And he will hear my voice.
18He will deliver me in peace from my conflict; For many have risen up against me.