Psalm 69

1  SAVE ME, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck [they threaten my life].2  I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, where the floods overwhelm me.3  I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched; my eyes fail with waiting [hopefully] for my God.4  Those who hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head; those who would cut me off and destroy me, being my enemies wrongfully, are many and mighty. I am [forced] to restore what I did not steal. 5  O God, You know my folly and blundering; my sins and my guilt are not hidden from You.6  Let not those who wait and hope and look for You, O Lord of hosts, be put to shame through me; let not those who seek and inquire for and require You [as their vital necessity] be brought to confusion and dishonor through me, O God of Israel.7  Because for Your sake I have borne taunt and reproach; confusion and shame have covered my face.8  I have become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to my mother’s children. 9  For zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches and insults of those who reproach and insult You have fallen upon me. 10  When I wept and humbled myself with fasting, I was jeered at and humiliated;11  When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword (an object of scorn) to them.12  They who sit in [the city’s] gate talk about me, and I am the song of the drunkards.13  But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord. At an acceptable and opportune time, O God, in the multitude of Your mercy and the abundance of Your loving-kindness hear me, and in the truth and faithfulness of Your salvation answer me.14  Rescue me out of the mire, and let me not sink; let me be delivered from those who hate me and from out of the deep waters.15  Let not the floodwaters overflow and overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up nor the [dug] pit [with water perhaps in the bottom] close its mouth over me.16  Hear and answer me, O Lord, for Your loving-kindness is sweet and comforting; according to Your plenteous tender mercy and steadfast love turn to me.17  Hide not Your face from Your servant, for I am in distress; O answer me speedily!18  Draw close to me and redeem me; ransom and set me free because of my enemies [lest they glory in my prolonged distress]!19  You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor; my adversaries are all before You [fully known to You].20  Insults and reproach have broken my heart; I am full of heaviness and I am distressingly sick. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none.21  They gave me also gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar (a soured wine) to drink. 22  Let their own table [with all its abundance and luxury] become a snare to them; and when they are secure in peace [or at their sacrificial feasts, let it become] a trap to them.23  Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and make their loins tremble continually [from terror, dismay, and feebleness].24  Pour out Your indignation upon them, and let the fierceness of Your burning anger catch up with them.25  Let their habitation and their encampment be a desolation; let no one dwell in their tents. 26  For they pursue and persecute him whom You have smitten, and they gossip about those whom You have wounded, [adding] to their grief and pain.27  Let one [unforgiven] perverseness and iniquity accumulate upon another for them [in Your book], and let them not come into Your righteousness or be justified and acquitted by You.28  Let them be blotted out of the book of the living and the book of life and not be enrolled among the [uncompromisingly] righteous (those upright and in right standing with God). 29  But I am poor, sorrowful, and in pain; let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.30  I will praise the name of God with a song and will magnify Him with thanksgiving,31  And it will please the Lord better than an ox or a bullock that has horns and hoofs.32  The humble shall see it and be glad; you who seek God, inquiring for and requiring Him [as your first need], let your hearts revive and live! 33  For the Lord hears the poor and needy and despises not His prisoners (His miserable and wounded ones).34  Let heaven and earth praise Him, the seas and everything that moves in them.35  For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; and [His servants] shall remain and dwell there and have it in their possession;36  The children of His servants shall inherit it, and those who love His name shall dwell in it.

Psalm 69

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” by David.

1 Deliver me, O God,
for the water has reached my neck.

2 I sink into the deep mire
where there is no solid ground;
I am in deep water,
and the current overpowers me.

3 I am exhausted from shouting for help;
my throat is sore;
my eyes grow tired of looking for my God.

4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head.
Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, outnumber me.
They make me repay what I did not steal!

5 O God, you are aware of my foolish sins;
my guilt is not hidden from you.

6 Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me,
O sovereign Lord and king!
Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me,
O God of Israel!

7 For I suffer humiliation for your sake
and am thoroughly disgraced.

8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger;
they act as if I were a foreigner.

9 Certainly zeal for your house consumes me;
I endure the insults of those who insult you.

10 I weep and refrain from eating food,
which causes others to insult me.

11 I wear sackcloth
and they ridicule me.

12 Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me;
drunkards mock me in their songs.

13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me!
O God, because of your great loyal love,
answer me with your faithful deliverance!

14 Rescue me from the mud! Don’t let me sink!
Deliver me from those who hate me,
from the deep water!

15 Don’t let the current overpower me!
Don’t let the deep swallow me up!
Don’t let the pit devour me!

16 Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good!
Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!

17 Do not ignore your servant,
for I am in trouble! Answer me right away!

18 Come near me and redeem me!
Because of my enemies, rescue me!

19 You know how I am insulted, humiliated and disgraced;
you can see all my enemies.

20 Their insults are painful and make me lose heart;
I look for sympathy, but receive none,
for comforters, but find none.

21 They put bitter poison into my food,
and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.

22 May their dining table become a trap before them!
May it be a snare for that group of friends!

23 May their eyes be blinded!
Make them shake violently!

24 Pour out your judgment on them!
May your raging anger overtake them!

25 May their camp become desolate,
their tents uninhabited!

26 For they harass the one whom you discipline;
they spread the news about the suffering of those whom you punish.

27 Hold them accountable for all their sins!
Do not vindicate them!

28 May their names be deleted from the scroll of the living!
Do not let their names be listed with the godly!

29 I am oppressed and suffering!
O God, deliver and protect me!

30 I will sing praises to God’s name!
I will magnify him as I give him thanks!

31 That will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull
with horns and hooves.

32 The oppressed look on – let them rejoice!
You who seek God, may you be encouraged!

33 For the Lord listens to the needy;
he does not despise his captive people.

34 Let the heavens and the earth praise him,
along with the seas and everything that swims in them!

35 For God will deliver Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah,
and his people will again live in them and possess Zion.

36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who are loyal to him will live in it.