Psalm 6981
For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;”82
by David
69:1 Deliver me, O God,
for the water has reached my neck.1
69:2 I sink into the deep mire,
where there is no solid ground;2
I am in3
deep water,
and the current overpowers me.
69:3 I am exhausted from yelling for help,
my throat is sore;4
my eyes grow tired of looking for my God.5
69:4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs
of my head,
Those who want to destroy me and are my enemies for no reason6
outnumber me.7
They make me “pay back” what I did not steal!8
69:5 O God, you are aware of my foolish sins,9
my faults are not hidden from you.10
69:6 Let none who rely on you be embarrassed because of me,
O sovereign LORD and king!11
Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me,
O God of Israel!
69:7 For I suffer12
humiliation for your sake,13
and am thoroughly disgraced.14
69:8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger,
they act as if I were a foreigner.15
69:9 Certainly16
devotion to17
your temple18
consumes me,
I endure the insults of those who insult you.19
69:10 I weep and refrain from eating food,20
which causes others to insult me.21
69:11 I wear sackcloth,
and they ridicule me.22
69:12 Those who sit at the city gate talk about me,
drunkards mock me in their songs.23
69:13 O LORD, may you hear my prayer and be favorably
disposed to me!24
O God, because of your great loyal love answer me,
deliver me because of your faithfulness!25
69:14 Rescue me from the mud! Don’t let me sink!
Deliver me26
from those who hate me,
from the deep water!
69:15 Don’t let the current overpower me!
Don’t let the deep swallow me up!
Don’t let the pit27
devour me!28
69:16 Answer me, O LORD, for your loyal love is
what I need!29
Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!
69:17 Do not ignore30
your servant,
for I am in trouble! Answer me right away!31
69:18 Come near me and defend me!32
Because of my enemies rescue me!
69:19 You know how I am insulted, humiliated and disgraced;
you can see all my enemies.33
69:20 Their insults are painful34
and make me lose heart,35
I look36
for sympathy, but receive none,37
for comforters, but find none.
69:21 They put a poisonous herb into my food,
and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.38
69:22 May their dining table become a trap before them!
May it be a snare for that group of friends!39
69:23 May their eyes be blinded!40
Make them incapable of standing up!41
69:24 Pour out your judgment42
upon them!
May your raging anger43
overtake them!
69:25 May their camp become desolate!
May no one be left alive in their tents!44
69:26 For they harass45
the one whom you discipline,46
they spread the news about the suffering of those whom you punish.47
69:27 Hold them accountable for all their sins!48
Do not vindicate them!49
69:28 May their names be wiped out of the scroll
listing the living!50
Do not let their names be listed with the godly!51
69:29 I am oppressed and suffering!
O God, deliver and protect me!52
69:30 I will sing praises to God’s name!53
I will magnify him as I give him thanks!54
69:31 That will please the LORD more than an ox or a bull
with horns and hooves.
69:32 The oppressed look on— let them rejoice!
You who seek God,55
may you be encouraged!56
69:33 For the LORD listens to the needy,
he does not despise those whom he punishes.57
69:34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
along with the seas and everything that swims in them!
69:35 For God will deliver Zion,
and rebuild the cities of Judah,
and his people58
will again live in them and possess Zion.59
69:36 The descendents of his servants will inherit it,
and those who are loyal to him60
will live in it.61