by implication · noun, common feminine plural absolute
midst
בְּקִרְבָּ֑הּbe.kir.Bah
H7130
properly · preposition + noun, common masculine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
deceit
תֹּ֣ךְtokh
H8496
oppression · noun, common masculine singular absolute
guile
וּמִרְמָֽהu.mir.Mah
H4820
fraud · conjunction + noun, common feminine singular absolute
depart
יָמִ֥ישׁya.Mish
H4185
to withdraw (both literally and figuratively · verb, qal imperfect, 3rd person masculine singular
streets
מֵ֝רְחֹבָ֗הּme.re.cho.Vah
H7339
a width · preposition + noun, common feminine singular construct + pronominal suffix, 3rd person feminine singular
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance (James Strong, 1890/1894), public domain; digitized by Open Scriptures (CC BY-SA). KJV word tagging: eBible.org (public domain). Original-language text, parsing and brief lexicon: STEPBible.org data from Tyndale House, Cambridge (CC BY 4.0).
Cross-references
Psalms 5:9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with thei…
Isaiah 59:7 Their feet run to evil, and they make haste to shed innocent blood: their thoughts are thoughts of iniquity; wasting and destruction are in…
Psalms 10:7 His mouth is full of cursing and deceit and fraud: under his tongue is mischief and vanity.
Jeremiah 5:26-27 For among my people are found wicked men: they lay wait, as he that setteth snares; they set a trap, they catch men.
Acts 7:51-52 Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.
Psalms 109:2-3 For the mouth of the wicked and the mouth of the deceitful are opened against me: they have spoken against me with a lying tongue.
Jeremiah 9:3-5 And they bend their tongues like their bow for lies: but they are not valiant for the truth upon the earth; for they proceed from evil to ev…
Ezekiel 22:1-12 Moreover the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Cross-references from OpenBible.info (CC BY), in the lineage of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (public domain).
Commentary
Matthew Henry on Psalms 55:9-15
David here complains of his enemies, whose wicked plots had brought him, though not to his faith's end, yet to his wits' end, and prays against them by the spirit of prophecy. Observe here,
I. The character he gives of the enemies he feared. They were of the worst sort of men, and his description of them agrees very well with Absalom and his accomplices. 1. He complains of the city of Jerusalem, which strangely fell in with Absalom and fell off from David, so that he had none there but how own guards and servants that he could repose any confidence in: How has that faithful city become a harlot! David did not take the representation of it from others; but with his own eyes, and with a sad he…
Wickedness--literally, "Mischief," evils resulting from others (Psa 5:9; Psa 52:2, Psa 52:7).
streets--or literally, "wide places," markets, courts of justice, and any public place.
John Gill on Psalms 55:11
Wickedness is in the midst thereof,.... All manner of wickedness; abominable wickedness; wickedness as arrived to its highest pitch, and as having filled up its measure; see Ezekiel 9:4;
deceit and guile depart not from her streets; where truth was fallen, and equity could not enter, Isaiah 59:14; for these are contrary the one to the other, and are incompatible; where the one prevails, the other must give way. This whole account shows the aboundings of sin in Jerusalem at this time, and that it was openly and publicly committed, and contains so many reasons of the imprecations in Psalm 55:9.
John Calvin on Psalms 55:9-11
Psalm 55:9-11
9. Destroy, O Lord! and divide their tongue: for I have seen persecution and strife in the city. 10. Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof labouring also, and sorrow, are in the midst of it. 11. Wickedness [302] is in the midst thereof; deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
9. Destroy, [303] O Lord; and divide their tongue Having now composed, as it were, his mind, he resumes the exercise of prayer. Had he indulged longer in the strain of complaint, he might have given his sanction to the folly of those who do themselves more harm than good by the excessive use of this barren species of comfort. There will occasionally escape from the lips of a saint,…
The Church Fathers
"There has not failed from the streets thereof usury and deceit" [Psalm 55:11]. Usury and deceit are not hidden at least, because they are evil things, but in public they rage. For he that in his house does any evil thing, however for his evil thing does blush: "In the streets thereof usury and deceit." Money-lending even has a profession, Money-lending also is called a science; a corporation is spoken of, a corporation as if necessary to the state, and of its profession it pays revenue; so entirely indeed in the streets is that which should have been hidden. There is also another usury worse, when you forgive not that which to you is owed; and the eye is disturbed in that verse of the prayer, "Forgive us our debts— as we too forgive our debtors." For what there will you do, when you are going to pray, and coming to that same verse? An insulting word you have heard: you would exact the punishment of condemnation. Do but consent to exact just so much as you have given, thou usurer of injuries! With the fist you have been smitten, slaying you seek, Evil usury! How will you go to prayer? If you shall have left praying, which way will you come round unto the Lord? Behold you will say: "Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be Your Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, as in heaven so on earth." You will say, "Our daily bread give us today." You will come to, "Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors." [Matthew 6:9-12] Even in that evil city let there abound these usuries; let them not enter the walls where the breast is smitten! What will you do? Because there thou and that verse are in the midst? Petitions for you has a heavenly Lawyer composed. He that knew what used there to be done, said to you, "Otherwise you shall not obtain." "Verily, verily, I say unto you, that if you shall have forgiven men sins, they shall be forgiven you; but if you shall not have forgiven sins unto men, neither will your Father forgive you." [Matthew 6:14] Who says this? He that knows what there is being done, in the place whereat you are standing to make request. See how Himself has willed to be your Advocate; Himself your Counsellor, Himself the Assessor of the Father, Himself your Judge has said, "Otherwise you shall not receive." What will you do? You will not receive, unless you shall speak; will not receive if falsely you shall speak. Therefore either you…
The Church Fathers: public-domain translations (Ante-Nicene and Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers), verse-indexed by SermonIndex (CC BY 4.0).
Dictionary and topics
Neginoth — I.e., songs with instrumental accompaniment, found in the titles of Ps. 4; 6; 54; 55; 67; 76; rendered “stringed instruments,” Hab. 3:19, A.V. It denotes all kinds of stringed instruments, as the…
Malice · General scriptures concerning — General scriptures concerning
Dictionary: Easton's (1897) and Smith's (1863), public domain. Topics: Nave's Topical Bible (1896) and Torrey's Topical Textbook (1897), public domain. Both as parsed by NEUU (CC BY 4.0).
In the second group anger is the prevailing feeling. In the city all kinds of party passions have broken loose; even his bosom friend has taken a part in this hostile rising. The retrospective reference to the confusion of tongues at Babel which is contained in the word פּלּג (cf. Gen 10:25), also in remembrance of בּלל (Gen 11:1-9), involves the choice of the word בּלּע, which here, after Isa 19:3, denotes a swallowing up, i.e., annihilation by means of confounding and rendering utterly futile. לשׁונם is the object to both imperatives, the second of which is פּלּג (like the pointing usual in connection with a final guttural) for the sake of similarity of sound. Instead of חמס וריב, the poin…
In the experience of deep anguish, the psalmist confesses that his adversity has become unbearable and he seeks an escape.
Spurgeon's Treasury of David on Psalms 55:11
Wickedness is in the midst thereof: deceit and guile depart not from her streets.
Wickedness is in the midst thereof. The very heart of the city was base. In her places of authority crime went hand in hand with calamity. All the wilder and more wicked elements were uppermost; the canaille were commanders; the scum floated uppermost; justice was at a discount; the population was utterly demoralized; prosperity had vanished and order with it. Deceit and guile depart not from her streets. In all the places of concourse crafty tongues were busy persuading the people with cozening phrases. Crafty demagogues led the people by the nose. Their good king was defamed in all ways, and when they saw hi…
