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: CEV
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Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®)
© 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
Psalms 35
35
Psalm 35
By David.
1O Lord, attack those who attack me.
Fight against those who fight against me.
2Use your shields, ⌞both⌟ small and large.
Arise to help me.
3Hold your spear to block the way of those who pursue me.
Say to my soul, “I am your savior.”
4Let those who seek my life be put to shame and disgraced.
Let those who plan my downfall be turned back in confusion.
5Let them be like husks blown by the wind
as the Messenger of the Lord chases them.
6Let their path be dark and slippery
as the Messenger of the Lord pursues them.
7For no reason they hid their net in a pit.
For no reason they dug the pit ⌞to trap me⌟.
8Let destruction surprise them.
Let the net that they hid catch them.
Let them fall into their own pit and be destroyed.
9My soul will find joy in the Lord
and be joyful about his salvation.
10All my bones will say, “O Lord, who can compare with you?
You rescue the weak person from the one who is too strong for him
and weak and needy people from the one who robs them.”
11Malicious people bring charges against me.
They ask me things I know nothing about.
12I am devastated
because they pay me back with evil instead of good.
13But when they were sick, I wore sackcloth.
I humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayer returned unanswered,
14I walked around as if I were mourning for my friend or my brother.
I was bent over as if I were mourning for my mother.
15Yet, when I stumbled,
they rejoiced and gathered together.
They gathered together against me.
Unknown attackers tore me apart without stopping.
16With crude and abusive mockers,
they grit their teeth at me.
17O Lord, how long will you look on?
Rescue me from their attacks.
Rescue my precious life from the lions.
18I will give you thanks in a large gathering.
I will praise you in a crowd ⌞of worshipers⌟.
19Do not let my treacherous enemies gloat over me.
Do not let those who hate me for no reason wink ⌞at me⌟.
20They do not talk about peace.
Instead, they scheme against the peaceful people in the land.
21They open their big mouths and say about me,
“Aha! Aha! Our own eyes have seen it.”
22You have seen it, O Lord.
Do not remain silent.
O Lord, do not be so far away from me.
23Wake up, and rise to my defense.
Plead my case, O my God and my Lord.
24Judge me by your righteousness, O Lord my God.
Do not let them gloat over me
25or think, “Aha, just what we wanted!”
Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26Let those who gloat over my downfall
be thoroughly put to shame and confused.
Let those who promote themselves at my expense
be clothed with shame and disgrace.
27Let those who are happy when I am declared innocent
joyfully sing and rejoice.
Let them continually say, “The Lord is great.
He is happy when his servant has peace.”
28Then my tongue will tell about your righteousness,
about your praise all day long.
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