Psalms 55:12-14

55:12 Indeed, ¹  it is not an enemy who insults me,

or else I could bear it;

it is not one who hates me who arrogantly taunts me, ² 

or else I could hide from him.

55:13 But it is you, ³  a man like me, ⁴ 

my close friend in whom I confided. ⁵ 

55:14 We would share personal thoughts with each other; ⁶ 

in God’s temple we would walk together among the crowd.

Psalms 55:20-22

55:20 He ⁷  attacks ⁸  his friends; ⁹ 

he breaks his solemn promises to them. ¹⁰ 

55:21 His words are as smooth as butter, ¹¹ 

but he harbors animosity in his heart. ¹² 

His words seem softer than oil,

but they are really like sharp swords. ¹³ 

55:22 Throw your burden ¹⁴  upon the Lord,

and he will sustain you. ¹⁵ 

He will never allow the godly to be upended. ¹⁶ 

[55:12]  ¹ tn Or “for.”

[55:12]  ² tn Heb “[who] magnifies against me.” See Pss 35:26; 38:16.

[55:13]  ³ sn It is you. The psalmist addresses the apparent ringleader of the opposition, an individual who was once his friend.

[55:13]  ⁴ tn Heb “a man according to my value,” i.e., “a person such as I.”

[55:13]  ⁵ tn Heb “my close friend, one known by me.”

[55:14]  ⁶ tn Heb “who together we would make counsel sweet.” The imperfect verbal forms here and in the next line draw attention to the ongoing nature of the actions (the so-called customary use of the imperfect). Their relationship was characterized by such intimacy and friendship. See IBHS 502-3 §31.2b.

[55:20]  ⁷ sn He. This must refer to the psalmist’s former friend, who was addressed previously in vv. 12-14.

[55:20]  ⁸ tn Heb “stretches out his hand against.”

[55:20]  ⁹ tc The form should probably be emended to an active participle (שֹׁלְמָיו, sholÿmayv) from the verbal root שָׁלַם (shalam, “be in a covenant of peace with”). Perhaps the translation “his friends” suggests too intimate a relationship. Another option is to translate, “he attacks those who made agreements with him.”

[55:20]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “he violates his covenant.”

[55:21]  ¹¹ tn Heb “the butter-like [words] of his mouth are smooth.” The noun מַחְמָאֹת (makhma’ot, “butter-like [words]”) occurs only here. Many prefer to emend the form to מֵחֶמְאָה (mekhem’ah, from [i.e., “than”] butter”), cf. NEB, NRSV “smoother than butter.” However, in this case “his mouth” does not agree in number with the plural verb חָלְקוּ (kholqu, “they are smooth”). Therefore some further propose an emendation of פִּיו (piv, “his mouth”) to פָּנָיו (panayv, “his face”). In any case, the point seems to that the psalmist’s former friend spoke kindly to him and gave the outward indications of friendship.

[55:21]  ¹² tn Heb “and war [is in] his heart.”

[55:21]  ¹³ tn Heb “his words are softer than oil, but they are drawn swords.”

[55:22]  ¹⁴ tn The Hebrew noun occurs only here.

[55:22]  ¹⁵ tn The pronoun is singular; the psalmist addresses each member of his audience individually.

[55:22]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “he will never allow swaying for the righteous.”