Psalms 5

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Reading Psalms · Listen to the poem

Start anywhere in Psalms. Bring these reading tools with you.

Identify the kind of speech

Ask whether this psalm praises, laments, gives thanks, teaches, or celebrates kingship. These forms can overlap. Notice who speaks and whom the poem addresses before assigning every line to the same voice.

Read across the lines

Compare neighboring lines: does the second echo, contrast with, or develop the first? Repeated words and changing images can reveal movement within a short poem. Superscriptions are part of the received text, but do not by themselves securely date composition.

Try it in Psalm 23

Track the movement from pasture and paths to a table, cup, and dwelling. What changes when the speaker moves from describing the shepherd to directly addressing him? Keep poetic imagery distinct from an itinerary.

Keep the collection in view

Read the preceding and following psalms as a separate comparison. Their placement can invite connections without proving that they were composed together. Numbering can differ between Hebrew and Greek traditions.

Explore the scholarship: Yale · historical and literary discussion ↗

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1 To the chief Musician upon Nehiloth, A Psalm of David. Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation.

2 Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray.

3 My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.

4 For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee.

5 The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity.

6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man.

7 But as for me, I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy: and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.

8 Lead me, O LORD, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face.

9 For there is no faithfulness in their mouth; their inward part is very wickedness; their throat is an open sepulchre; they flatter with their tongue.

10 Destroy thou them, O God; let them fall by their own counsels; cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions; for they have rebelled against thee.

11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.

12 For thou, LORD, wilt bless the righteous; with favour wilt thou compass him as with a shield.

World Behind This Chapter

Explore the people, places, language, history, and material world connected to Psalms 5.

QUESTIONS WORTH EXPLORING

How certain is the instrument named in the heading?

SCHOLARLY DEBATE

The heading’s term Nehiloth is often associated with wind instruments, but its exact meaning remains uncertain. Compare translated headings and explanatory notes. The term should not be used to reconstruct a specific flute ensemble or an otherwise unattested performance arrangement.

What is arranged in the morning?

WELL SUPPORTED

Verse 3 repeats the morning setting and uses a verb that translations render as directing, preparing or arranging. Compare the verb’s object and the following expectation or watchfulness. A sacrificial association is a proposal to assess, not an explicit description of an offering in this verse.

How does speech connect the opening prayer with the accusations?

WELL SUPPORTED

The opening names words, groaning and a cry; later lines describe unreliable mouths, throats and tongues. Follow the changing speakers and kinds of speech across the poem. This contrast is visible in the wording even though the opponents are not historically identified.

Research PathsCurated links for exploring this chapter 3
History & Daily Life1
  • TempleBible Odyssey

    Concise reference on the temple as a sacred place of divine presence, worship, sacrifice, prayer, and community identity. Useful for Psalm 5:7, where the speaker looks toward God’s holy temple.

Language & Literature2

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