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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Psalms 35: CEVDCI
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Psalms 35
35
A Psalm of David.
1Plead my cause, O Lord, with my adversaries;
fight those who fight me.
2#Ps 63:1; 84:2 Take hold of the large shield and small shield,
and rise up for my help.
3#Ps 79:10; 80:5 Draw the spear and javelin
against those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
“I am Your salvation.”
4#Isa 30:29; Ps 62:8 May those who seek my life
be ashamed and humiliated;
may those who plan my injury
be turned back and put to shame.
5#Ps 42:11; 43:5 May they be as chaff before the wind,
and may the angel of the Lord cast them down.
6#2Sa 17:22; Dt 3:8–9 May their way be dark and slippery,
and may the angel of the Lord pursue them.
7#Ps 88:7; Jnh 2:3 For without cause they have hidden their net for me in a pit,
which they have dug without cause for my soul.
8#Job 35:10; Ps 63:6 Let destruction come on him without warning,
and let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it, to his destruction.
9#Ps 38:6; 18:2 My soul will be joyful in the Lord;
it will rejoice in His salvation.
10#Ps 42:3; Joel 2:17 All my bones will say,
“Lord, who is like You,
who delivers the poor from a stronger one,
the poor and the needy from the one who robs them?”
11#Ps 42:5; 43:5 Witnesses intent on violence rose up;
they accused me of things I knew nothing about.
12They rewarded me evil for good,
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 returns to my own heart.
14I paced as though he were my friend or brother;
I bowed down lamenting,
as one who mourns for a mother.
15But in my adversity they rejoiced and gathered together;
assailants gathered together against me, though I was unaware;
they tore me apart and did not stop;
16with hypocritical mockers in feasts,
they gnashed on me with their teeth.
17Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul from their destructions,
my life from the lions.
18I will give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will praise You among a mighty people.
19May my deceitful enemies
not rejoice over me;
nor may those who hate me without cause
wink with their eye.
20For they do not speak peace,
but they devise deceitful matters
against the restful ones in the land.
21They opened their mouth wide against me,
and said, “Aha, aha, our eye has seenit.”
22This You have seen, O Lord; do not be silent;
O Lord, be not far from me.
23Rouse Yourself and awake for my judgment,
for my cause, my God and my Lord.
24Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
and may they not rejoice over me.
25May they not say in their hearts, “Ah, we have our soul’s desire.”
May they not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26May those who rejoice at my harm be ashamed
and altogether put to shame;
may they be clothed with shame and dishonor
who magnify themselves against me.
27May those who favor my righteous cause
shout for joy and be glad;
may they say continually, “The Lord be magnified,
who delights in the peace of His servant.”
28My tongue will speak of Your righteousness
and of Your praise all the day long.
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