Psalm 69

A David Psalm

1 God, God, save me! I'm in over my head,
2 Quicksand under me, swamp water over me; I'm going down for the third time.
3 I'm hoarse from calling for help, Bleary-eyed from searching the sky for God.

4 I've got more enemies than hairs on my head; Sneaks and liars are out to knife me in the back.
What I never stole Must I now give back?
5 God, you know every sin I've committed; My life's a wide-open book before you.

6 Don't let those who look to you in hope Be discouraged by what happens to me, Dear Lord! God of the armies!
Don't let those out looking for you Come to a dead end by following me— Please, dear God of Israel!
7 Because of you I look like an idiot, I walk around ashamed to show my face.
8 My brothers shun me like a bum off the street; My family treats me like an unwanted guest.
9 I love you more than I can say. Because I'm madly in love with you, They blame me for everything they dislike about you.
10 When I poured myself out in prayer and fasting, All it got me was more contempt.
11 When I put on a sad face, They treated me like a clown.
12 Now drunks and gluttons Make up drinking songs about me.

13 And me? I pray. God, it's time for a break!
God, answer in love! Answer with your sure salvation!

14 Rescue me from the swamp, Don't let me go under for good,
Pull me out of the clutch of the enemy; This whirlpool is sucking me down.
15 Don't let the swamp be my grave, the Black Hole Swallow me, its jaws clenched around me.
16 Now answer me, God, because you love me; Let me see your great mercy full-face.
17 Don't look the other way; your servant can't take it. I'm in trouble. Answer right now!
18 Come close, God; get me out of here. Rescue me from this deathtrap.
19 You know how they kick me around— Pin on me the donkey's ears, the dunce's cap.

20 I'm broken by their taunts, Flat on my face, reduced to a nothing.
I looked in vain for one friendly face. Not one. I couldn't find one shoulder to cry on.
21 They put poison in my soup, Vinegar in my drink.
22 Let their supper be bait in a trap that snaps shut; May their best friends be trappers who'll skin them alive.
23 Make them become blind as bats, Give them the shakes from morning to night.
24 Let them know what you think of them, Blast them with your red-hot anger.
25 Burn down their houses, Leave them desolate with nobody at home.
26 They gossiped about the one you disciplined, Made up stories about anyone wounded by God.
27 Pile on the guilt, Don't let them off the hook.
28 Strike their names from the list of the living; No rock-carved honor for them among the righteous.
29 I'm hurt and in pain; Give me space for healing, and mountain air.
30 Let me shout God's name with a praising song, Let me tell his greatness in a prayer of thanks.
31 For God, this is better than oxen on the altar, Far better than blue-ribbon bulls.
32 The poor in spirit see and are glad— Oh, you God-seekers, take heart!
33 For God listens to the poor, He doesn't walk out on the wretched.
34 You heavens, praise him; praise him, earth; Also ocean and all things that swim in it.

35 For God is out to help Zion, Rebuilding the wrecked towns of Judah.
Guess who will live there— The proud owners of the land?
36 No, the children of his servants will get it, The lovers of his name will live 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.