For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Hear, O God, my voice of complaint; preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
Parallel translations
- WEB For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. Hear my voice, 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.
- NKJV Hear my voice, O God, in my meditation; Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
- NASB Hear my voice, God, in my complaint; Protect my life from dread of the enemy.
- NLT O God, listen to my complaint. Protect my life from my enemies’ threats.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
David asks God to hear his complaint and guard his life from the terror caused by his enemies. It teaches us to bring our fears directly to God in prayer.
Overview
This psalm opens with a plea for God to listen as David lays out his distress over those plotting against him. Rather than retaliate, he entrusts his safety to God, modeling honest, dependent prayer under threat. Believers in Christ share this confidence, knowing the Father hears us through the Son who Himself prayed in anguish and was preserved through death.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 13
- Ps 143:1–3A Psalm of David. O LORD, hear my prayer. In Your faithfulness, give ear to my plea; in Your righteousness, answer me.
- Ps 34:4I sought the LORD, and He answered me; He delivered me from all my fears.
- Ps 140:1For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. Rescue me, O LORD, from evil men. Protect me from men of violence,
- Lam 3:55–56I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit.
- Ps 141:1A Psalm of David. I call upon You, O LORD; come quickly to me. Hear my voice when I call to You.
- Ps 130:1–2A song of ascents. Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD!
- Ps 31:13–15For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life.
- Acts 27:24and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And look, God has granted you the lives of all who sail with you.’
- Ps 55:1–2For the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Maskil of David. Listen to my prayer, O God, and do not ignore my plea.
- Ps 27:7Hear, O LORD, my voice when I call; be merciful and answer me.
- Ps 56:2–4My enemies pursue me all day long, for many proudly assail me.
- Ps 17:8–9Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings
- Acts 18:9–10One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking; do not be silent.
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
The Psalms are Christ's own prayer book and a gallery of his portraits — the suffering one of Psalm 22, the risen Lord of Psalm 16, the priest-king of Psalm 110, the Son to whom the nations are given.
How Psalms 64:1 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Hebrew word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.