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 disappointed
and disgraced.
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.
8Surprise 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.
19Don't let my brutal enemies#Ps 69.4; Jn 15.25.
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,
but 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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Psalms 35: CEVUK
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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012
Psalms 35
35
PSALM 35
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
A Psalm of David.
1Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
2Take hold of #I.e. small shieldbuckler and shield
And rise up for my help.
3Draw also the spear and the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
4Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life;
Let those be turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
5Let them be like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6Let their way be dark and slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7For without cause they hid their net for me;
Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.
8Let destruction come upon him unawares,
And let the net which he hid catch himself;
Into that very destruction let him fall.
9And my soul shall rejoice in the Lord;
It shall exult in His salvation.
10All my bones will say, “Lord, who is like You,
Who delivers the afflicted from him who is too strong for him,
And the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”
11Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I do not know.
12They repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
13But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled my soul with fasting,
And my prayer kept returning to my bosom.
14I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I bowed down mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.
15But at my #Or limpingstumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They slandered me without ceasing.
16Like godless jesters at a feast,
They gnashed at me with their teeth.
17Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul from their ravages,
My only life from the lions.
18I will give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will praise You among a mighty throng.
19Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those who hate me without cause wink maliciously.
20For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21They opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”
22You have seen it, O Lord, do not keep silent;
O Lord, do not be far from me.
23Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
And do not let them rejoice over me.
25Do not let them say in their heart, “Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up!”
26Let those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress;
Let those be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves over me.
27Let them shout for joy and rejoice, who favor my vindication;
And let them say continually, “The Lord be magnified,
Who delights in the prosperity of His servant.”
28And my tongue shall declare Your righteousness
And Your praise all day long.
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