Psalm 69

1 Save me, God,
for the waters have come up to my neck!
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold.
I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
3 I am weary with my crying.
My throat is dry.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head.
Those who want to cut me off, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty.
I have to restore what I didn’t take away.
5 God, you know my foolishness.
My sins aren’t hidden from you.
6 Don’t let those who wait for you be shamed through me, Lord Yahweh of Armies.
Don’t let those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, God of Israel.
7 Because for your sake, I have borne reproach.
Shame has covered my face.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers,
an alien to my mother’s children.
9 For the zeal of your house consumes me.
The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
10 When I wept and I fasted,
that was to my reproach.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
12 Those who sit in the gate talk about me.
I am the song of the drunkards.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, Yahweh, in an acceptable time.
God, in the abundance of your loving kindness, answer me in the truth of your salvation.
14 Deliver me out of the mire, and don’t let me sink.
Let me be delivered from those who hate me, and out of the deep waters.
15 Don’t let the flood waters overwhelm me,
neither let the deep swallow me up.
Don’t let the pit shut its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, Yahweh, for your loving kindness is good.
According to the multitude of your tender mercies, turn to me.
17 Don’t hide your face from your servant,
for I am in distress.
Answer me speedily!
18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it.
Ransom me because of my enemies.
19 You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor.
My adversaries are all before you.
20 Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness.
I looked for some to take pity, but there was none;
for comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me gall for my food.
In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their table before them become a snare.
May it become a retribution and a trap.
23 Let their eyes be darkened, so that they can’t see.
Let their backs be continually bent.
24 Pour out your indignation on them.
Let the fierceness of your anger overtake them.
25 Let their habitation be desolate.
Let no one dwell in their tents.
26 For they persecute him whom you have wounded.
They tell of the sorrow of those whom you have hurt.
27 Charge them with crime upon crime.
Don’t let them come into your righteousness.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of life,
and not be written with the righteous.
29 But I am in pain and distress.
Let your salvation, God, protect me.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song,
and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31 It will please Yahweh better than an ox,
or a bull that has horns and hoofs.
32 The humble have seen it, and are glad.
You who seek after God, let your heart live.
33 For Yahweh hears the needy,
and doesn’t despise his captive people.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him;
the seas, and everything that moves therein!
35 For God will save Zion, and build the cities of Judah.
They shall settle there, and own it.
36 The children also of his servants shall inherit it.
Those who love his name shall dwell therein.

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.