Psalm 7

1 Yahweh, my God, I take refuge in you.
Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,
2 lest they tear apart my soul like a lion,
ripping it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.
3 Yahweh, my God, if I have done this,
if there is iniquity in my hands,
4 if I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me
(yes, if I have delivered him who without cause was my adversary),
5 let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it;
yes, let him tread my life down to the earth,
and lay my glory in the dust.

Selah.

6 Arise, Yahweh, in your anger.
Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries.
Awake for me. You have commanded judgment.
7 Let the congregation of the peoples surround you.
Rule over them on high.
8 Yahweh administers judgment to the peoples.
Judge me, Yahweh, according to my righteousness,
and to my integrity that is in me.
9 Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous;
their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God.
10 My shield is with God,
who saves the upright in heart.
11 God is a righteous judge,
yes, a God who has indignation every day.
12 If a man doesn’t relent, he will sharpen his sword;
he has bent and strung his bow.
13 He has also prepared for himself the instruments of death.
He makes ready his flaming arrows.
14 Behold, he travails with iniquity.
Yes, he has conceived mischief,
and brought forth falsehood.
15 He has dug a hole,
and has fallen into the pit which he made.
16 The trouble he causes shall return to his own head.
His violence shall come down on the crown of his own head.
17 I will give thanks to Yahweh according to his righteousness,
and will sing praise to the name of Yahweh Most High.

Psalm 7

A musical composition by David, which he sang to the Lord concerning3 a Benjaminite named Cush.4

1 O Lord my God, in you I have taken shelter.
Deliver me from all who chase me! Rescue me!

2 Otherwise they will rip me to shreds like a lion;
they will tear me to bits and no one will be able to rescue me.

3 O Lord my God, if I have done what they say,
or am guilty of unjust actions,

4 or have wronged my ally,
or helped his lawless enemy,

5 may an enemy relentlessly chase me and catch me;
may he trample me to death
and leave me lying dishonored in the dust. (Selah)

6 Stand up angrily,Lord!
Rise up with raging fury against my enemies!
Wake up for my sake and execute the judgment you have decreed for them!

7 The countries are assembled all around you;
take once more your rightful place over them!

8 The Lord judges the nations.
Vindicate me, Lord, because I am innocent,
because I am blameless, O Exalted One!

9 May the evil deeds of the wicked come to an end!
But make the innocent secure,
O righteous God,
you who examine inner thoughts and motives!

10 The Exalted God is my shield,
the one who delivers the morally upright.

11 God is a just judge;
he is angry throughout the day.

12 If a person does not repent, God sharpens his sword
and prepares to shoot his bow.

13 He prepares to use deadly weapons against him;
he gets ready to shoot flaming arrows.

14 See the one who is pregnant with wickedness,
who conceives destructive plans,
and gives birth to harmful lies –

15 he digs a pit
and then falls into the hole he has made.

16 He becomes the victim of his own destructive plans
and the violence he intended for others falls on his own head.

17 I will thank the Lord for his justice;
I will sing praises to the sovereign Lord!