Psalms 55:15 (DBY)

Passage

Let death seize upon them, let them go down alive into Sheol. For wickedness is in their dwellings, in their midst.

Nearby Context

Psalms 55:13 But it was thou, a man mine equal, mine intimate, my familiar friend.

Psalms 55:14 We who held sweet intercourse together. To the house of God we walked amid the throng.

Psalms 55:15 Let death seize upon them, let them go down alive into Sheol. For wickedness is in their dwellings, in their midst.

Psalms 55:16 As for me, unto God will I call; and Jehovah will save me.

Psalms 55:17 Evening, and morning, and at noon, will I pray and moan aloud; and he will hear my voice.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "death", "seize", "upon", "down", "alive", "sheol", "wickedness", and "dwellings". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "death" and "seize", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 14's "We who held sweet intercourse together To..." into verse 16's "As for me unto God will I...", so "death" and "seize" belong inside that flow. In Psalms context, the local focus is worship, trust, the LORD's kingship, and covenant mercy.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "death" and "seize" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.