Bible Strands
Psalms 55:1
For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. Listen to my prayer, O God, and do not ignore my plea.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — David addresses God directly, identified in the superscript as a Maskil (a meditative teaching poem) for the choirmaster with stringed instruments. The immediate context (v. 2) reveals the speaker is "restless in my complaint, and distraught."
The words — תִּתְעַלַּם (tit'aLam) means "you hide yourself" — not that God is deaf, but that He is concealing His face. The image is deliberate withdrawal, not mere absence.
The thread — The same "hear my prayer" formula appears in Psalms 86:6 and 61:1, and 1 Peter 3:12 affirms that the Lord's ears are inclined to the prayer of the righteous.
Why it lands — The verse names a specific fear: that God is not merely silent but actively hiding His face from the petitioner. It asks the reader to hold that tension — the honest complaint alongside the continued address to God — without resolving it prematurely.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Hebrew words
King James Version
To the chief Musician on Neginoth, Maschil, A Psalm of David. Give ear to my prayer, O God; and hide not thyself from my supplication.
Cross-references
- 1 Peter 3:12 For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are inclined to their prayer. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
- Psalms 86:6 Hear my prayer, O LORD, and attend to my plea for mercy.
- Psalms 61:1 For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. Of David. Hear my cry, O God; attend to my prayer.
- Psalms 27:9 Hide not Your face from me, nor turn away Your servant in anger. You have been my helper; do not leave me or forsake me, O God of my salvation.
- Psalms 64:1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Hear, O God, my voice of complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
- Psalms 80:1 For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” A Psalm of Asaph. Hear us, O Shepherd of Israel, who leads Joseph like a flock; You who sit enthroned between the cherubim, shine forth
- Psalms 54:1 For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. When the Ziphites went to Saul and said, “Is David not hiding among us?” Save me, O God, by Your name, and vindicate me by Your might!
- Psalms 84:8 O LORD God of Hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah
- Psalms 143:7 Answer me quickly, O LORD; my spirit fails. Do not hide Your face from me, or I will be like those who descend to the Pit.
- Psalms 5:1 For the choirmaster, to be accompanied by flutes. A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O LORD; consider my groaning.