Psalms 55:3

at the voice of the enemy, at the pressure of the wicked. For they bring down disaster upon me and resent me in their anger.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — The psalmist addresses God, pleading for attention and response during a moment of profound restlessness and distress. This declaration follows a direct request for divine intervention and precedes a description of paralyzing fear.

The words — The Hebrew עָקַת (ʿāqaṯ) literally means "pressure," paired with רָשָׁ֑ע (rāšāʿ), "the wicked." The text identifies the source of the psalmist's distress as the oppressive force of hostile individuals.

The thread — This pattern of unjust persecution appears in 2 Samuel 16:7 with Shimei’s public cursing, Psalm 35:11 with hostile witnesses, and Psalm 27:12 with false accusers breathing violence. The motif consistently links wrongful human hostility with divine petition.

Why it lands — The text demands recognition that suffering from malicious opposition is a concrete reality requiring direct appeal to God. It instructs the reader to name the specific source of oppression rather than internalize the attack.

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

מִקּ֤וֹלmi./Kolfrom/ [the] sound of אוֹיֵ֗ב'o.Yevan enemy מִפְּנֵ֣יmi./pe.Nei<from>/ because of עָקַ֣ת'a.Kat[the] pressure of רָשָׁ֑עra.Sha'[the] wicked כִּי־ki-for יָמִ֥יטוּya.Mi.tuthey drop עָלַ֥י'a.La/ion/ me אָ֝֗וֶן'A.venwickedness וּבְאַ֥ףu./ve./'Afand/ in/ anger יִשְׂטְמֽוּנִי׃yis.te.Mu./nithey are hostile to/ me

King James Version

Because 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.

Cross-references

2 Samuel 16:7 And as he yelled curses, Shimei said, “Get out, get out, you worthless man of bloodshed!
Psalms 35:11 Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.
Psalms 27:12 Do not hand me over to the will of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, breathing out violence.
2 Samuel 15:3 Absalom would say, “Look, your claims are good and right, but the king has no deputy to hear you.”
2 Samuel 19:19 and said, “My lord, do not hold me guilty, and do not remember your servant’s wrongdoing on the day my lord the king left Jerusalem. May the king not take it to heart.
Psalms 12:5 “For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”
Psalms 17:9 from the wicked who assail me, from my mortal enemies who surround me.
Psalms 54:3 For strangers rise up against me, and ruthless men seek my life—men with no regard for God. Selah
Psalms 71:11 saying, “God has forsaken him; pursue him and seize him, for there is no one to rescue him.”
Psalms 73:8 They mock and speak with malice; with arrogance they threaten oppression.