Charles Ellicott Commentary Psalms 55:9

"Destroy, O Lord, [and] divide their tongue; For I have seen violence and strife in the city." — Psalms 55:9 (ASV)

Destroy. —Literally, swallow up. So the Septuagint, forcibly, translates: “drown in the sea.” The object them must be supplied.

This sudden change from plaintive sadness to violent invective is one of the marked features of this poem. Some think there has been a transposition of verses, but in lyric poetry these abrupt transitions of tone are not uncommon nor unpleasing.

Divide their tongues —that is, cause division in their councils. “Divide their voices” would be almost English, being exactly the opposite of Shakespeare’s “a joint and corporate voice.”

For I have seen. —With the sense, and see still.