Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
² Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
from the throng of evildoers,
³ who whet their tongues like swords,
who aim bitter words like arrows,
⁴ shooting from ambush at the blameless,
shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
⁵ They hold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, “Who can see them?”
⁶ They search out injustice,
saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”
For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.

⁷ But God shoots his arrow at them;
they are wounded suddenly.
⁸ They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;
all who see them will wag their heads.
⁹ Then all mankind fears;
they tell what God has brought about
and ponder what he has done.