Psalms 55:9 (YLT)

Passage

Swallow up, O Lord, divide their tongue, For I saw violence and strife in a city.

Nearby Context

Psalms 55:7 Lo, I move far off, I lodge in a wilderness. Selah.

Psalms 55:8 I hasten escape for myself, From a rushing wind, from a whirlwind.

Psalms 55:9 Swallow up, O Lord, divide their tongue, For I saw violence and strife in a city.

Psalms 55:10 By day and by night they go round it, on its walls. Both iniquity and perverseness <FI>are<Fi> in its midst,

Psalms 55:11 Mischiefs <FI>are<Fi> in its midst. Fraud and deceit depart not from its street.

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "swallow", "lord", "divide", "tongue", "violence", "strife", and "city". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "swallow" and "lord", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 8's "I hasten escape for myself From a..." into verse 10's "By day and by night they go...", so "swallow" and "lord" 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 "swallow" and "lord" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.