Psalms 35
35
The Lord the Avenger of His People
A Psalm of David.
1Plead my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
2Take hold of shield and buckler,
And stand up for my help.
3Also draw out the spear,
And stop those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”
4#Ps. 40:14, 15; 70:2, 3Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor
Who seek after my life;
Let those be #Ps. 129:5turned back and brought to confusion
Who plot my hurt.
5#Job 21:18; Ps. 83:13; Is. 29:5Let them be like chaff before the wind,
And let the angel of the Lord chase them.
6Let their way be #Ps. 73:18; Jer. 23:12dark and slippery,
And let the angel of the Lord pursue them.
7For without cause they have #Ps. 9:15hidden their net for me in a pit,
Which they have dug without cause for my life.
8Let #(Ps. 55:23); Is. 47:11; (1 Thess. 5:3)destruction come upon him unexpectedly,
And let his net that he has hidden catch himself;
Into that very destruction let him fall.
9And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.
10#Ps. 51:8All my bones shall say,
“Lord, #(Ex. 15:11); Ps. 71:19; 86:8; (Mic. 7:18)who is like You,
Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,
Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”
11Fierce witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
12#Ps. 38:20; 109:5; Jer. 18:20; John 10:32They reward me evil for good,
To the sorrow of my soul.
13But as for me, #Job 30:25when they were sick,
My clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting;
And my prayer would return to my own heart.
14I paced about as though he were my friend or brother;
I bowed down heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.
15But in my adversity they rejoiced
And gathered together;
Attackers gathered against me,
And I did not know it;
They tore at me and did not cease;
16With ungodly mockers at feasts
They gnashed at me with their teeth.
17Lord, how long will You #Ps. 13:1; (Hab. 1:13)look on?
Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.
18I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise You among many people.
19#Ps. 69:4; 109:3; Lam. 3:52; (John 15:25)Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies;
Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.
20For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful matters
Against the quiet ones in the land.
21They also opened their mouth wide against me,
And said, “Aha, aha!
Our eyes have seen it.”
22This You have seen, O Lord;
Do not keep silence.
O Lord, do not be far from me.
23Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication,
To my cause, my God and my Lord.
24Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness;
And let them not rejoice over me.
25Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who rejoice at my hurt;
Let them be #Ps. 109:29clothed with shame and dishonor
Who exalt themselves against me.
27#Rom. 12:15Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the Lord be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
28And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness
And of Your praise all the day long.
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Psalms 35: NKJV
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The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright © 1982 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.
Psalms 35
35
(A psalm by David.)
A Prayer for Protection from Enemies
1Fight my enemies, Lord!
Attack my attackers!
2Shield me and help me.
3Aim your spear at everyone
who hunts me down,
but promise to save me.
4Let all who want to kill me
be disgraced
and put to shame.
Chase away and confuse
all who plan to harm me.
5Send your angel after them
and let them be like straw
in the wind.
6Make them run in the dark
on a slippery road,
as your angel chases them.
7I did them no harm,
but they hid a net
to trap me,
and they dug a deep pit
to catch and kill me.
8 #
3 Macc 6.21. Surprise them with disaster!
Trap them in their own nets
and let them fall and rot
in the pits they have dug.
9I will celebrate and be joyful
because you, Lord,
have saved me.
10Every bone in my body
will shout:
“No one is like the Lord!”
You protect the helpless
from those in power;
you save the poor and needy
from those who hurt them.
11Liars accuse me of crimes
I know nothing about.
12They repay evil for good,
and I feel all alone.
13When they were sick,
I wore sackcloth#35.13 sackcloth: See the note at 30.11.
and went without food.#35.13 went without food: People sometimes went without food (called “fasting”) to show sorrow.
I truly prayed for them,#35.13 I … them: Or “My prayer wasn't answered, but I prayed.”
14as I would for a friend
or a relative.
I was in sorrow and mourned,
as I would for my mother.
15I have stumbled,
and worthless liars
I don't even know
surround me and sneer.
16Worthless people make fun#35.16 Worthless … fun: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.
and never stop laughing.
17But all you do is watch!
When will you do something?
Save me from the attack
of those vicious lions.
18And when your people meet,
I will praise you
and thank you, Lord,
in front of them all.
19 #
Ps 69.4; Jn 15.25. Don't let my brutal enemies
be glad because of me.
They hate me for no reason.
Don't let them wink
behind my back.
20They say hurtful things,
and they lie to people
who want to live in peace.
21They are quick to accuse me.
They say, “You did it!
We saw you ourselves.”
22You see everything, Lord!
Please don't keep silent
or stay so far away.
23Fight to defend me, Lord God,
24and prove that I am right
by your standards.
Don't let them laugh at me
25or say to each other,
“Now we've got what we want!
We'll gobble him up!”
26Disappoint and confuse
all who are glad
to see me in trouble;
disgrace and embarrass
my proud enemies who say to me,
“You are nothing!”
27Let all who want me to win
be happy and joyful.
From now on let them say,
“The Lord is wonderful!
God is glad when all goes well
for his servant.”
28Then I will shout all day,
“Praise the Lord God!
He did what was right.”
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.