Psalms 35
35
Prayer for Help Against Unjust Enemies
1Of David.
I
#The mixture of judicial, martial, and hunting images shows that the language is figurative. The actual injustice is false accusation of serious crimes (Ps 35:11, 15, 20–21). The psalmist seeks lost honor through a trial before God.Oppose, O Lord, those who oppose me;
war upon those who make war upon me.
2Take up the shield and buckler;
rise up in my defense.
3Brandish lance and battle-ax
against my pursuers.
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”
4Let those who seek my life
be put to shame and disgrace.
Let those who plot evil against me#Ps 40:15; 71:13.
be turned back and confounded.
5Make them like chaff before the wind,#Ps 1:4; 83:14; Jb 21:18.
with the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6Make their way slippery and dark,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
II
7Without cause they set their snare for me;
without cause they dug a pit for me.
8Let ruin overtake them unawares;
let the snare they have set catch them;
let them fall into the pit they have dug.#Ps 7:16; 9:16; 57:7; Prv 26:27; Eccl 10:8; Sir 27:26.
9Then I will rejoice in the Lord,
exult in God’s salvation.
10My very bones shall say,
“O Lord, who is like you,#Ps 86:8; 89:7, 9; Ex 15:11.
Who rescue the afflicted from the powerful,
the afflicted and needy from the despoiler?”
III
11Malicious witnesses rise up,
accuse me of things I do not know.
12They repay me evil for good;
my soul is desolate.#Ps 27:12; 38:20–21; 109:5; Jer 18:20.
13#35:13, 15–17] The Hebrew is obscure.Yet I, when they were ill, put on sackcloth,
afflicted myself with fasting,
sobbed my prayers upon my bosom.
14I went about in grief as for my brother,
bent in mourning as for my mother.
15Yet when I stumbled they gathered with glee,
gathered against me and I did not know it.
They slandered me without ceasing;
16without respect they mocked me,
gnashed their teeth against me.
IV
17O Lord, how long will you look on?
Restore my soul from their destruction,
my very life from lions!#Ps 17:12; 22:22; 58:7.
18Then I will thank you in the great assembly;
I will praise you before the mighty throng.#Ps 22:23; 26:12; 35:18; 40:10; 149:1.
19Do not let lying foes rejoice over me,
my undeserved enemies wink knowingly.#Ps 38:17.
20They speak no words of peace,
but against the quiet in the land
they fashion deceitful speech.#Ps 120:6–7.
21They open wide their mouths against me.
They say, “Aha! Good!
Our eyes have seen it!”#Ps 40:16; Lam 2:16.
22You see this, Lord; do not be silent;#Ps 22:12; 38:21; 109:1.
Lord, do not withdraw from me.
23Awake, be vigilant in my defense,
in my cause, my God and my Lord.
24Defend me because you are just, Lord;
my God, do not let them rejoice over me.
25Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Our soul!”#Aha! Our soul!: an ancient idiomatic expression meaning that we have attained what we wanted.
Do not let them say,
“We have devoured that one!”
26Put to shame and confound
all who relish my misfortune.
Clothe with shame and disgrace
those who lord it over me.
27But let those who favor my just cause
shout for joy and be glad.
May they ever say, “Exalted be the Lord
who delights in the peace of his loyal servant.”
28Then my tongue shall recount your justice,
declare your praise, all the day long.#Ps 71:15–16.
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Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc
Psalms 35
35
A Prayer for Rescue from Enemies
Of David.#The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm
1Contend, O Yahweh, with my contenders;
fight those who fight me.
2Grasp buckler and shield
and rise to my aid.
3And draw the spear and javelin to meet those who pursue me.
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
4Let those who seek my life be shamed and humiliated.
Let those who plot calamity against me be repulsed and ashamed.
5Let them be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of Yahweh driving them.#Literally “pushing”
6Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of Yahweh pursuing them.
7For without cause they secretly hide the pit with their net for me;
without cause they dug it for my life.
8Let unforeseen ruin#Literally “ruin he does not know” come on him,
and his net that he hid, let it catch him.
Let him fall into it in ruin.
9Then my soul will rejoice in Yahweh;
it will rejoice in his salvation.
10All of my bones shall say, “O Yahweh, who is like you,
who delivers the poor from one stronger than he
and the poor and needy from the one who robs him?”
11Violent witnesses rise up;
they ask me concerning what I do not know.
12They repay me evil in place of good.
It is bereavement to my soul.
13But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth.
I weakened my soul with fasting,
and my prayer returned to me unanswered.#Literally “upon my lap it will return”
14I behaved#Literally “walked about” as though he were a friend or as a brother to me.
As one lamenting a mother, I was bowed down in mourning.
15But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered together;
smiters whom I did not know gathered against me.
They tore and did not cease.
16Among the ungodly of the mockers at feasts,#With a slight change the Hebrew might read, “The ungodly boldly mocked”
they gnashed at me with their teeth.
17My Lord, how long will you watch?
Restore my life from their ravages,#Or “roaring”
my only life from the young lions.
18I will give thanks to you in the great assembly;
among the mighty people I will praise you.
19Let not those who are wrongfully my enemies#Or “those who oppose me with falsehood” rejoice over me.
Nor let those who hate me without cause wink the eye.
20For they do not speak peace,
but against the quiet ones of the land
they plan deceitful words.
21They also made wide their mouths#Hebrew “mouth” against me.
They said, “Aha! Aha!
Our eyes have seen it.”
22You have seen, O Yahweh. Do not be deaf.
O Lord, do not be far from me.
23Wake up and rouse yourself for my right,
for my cause, O my God and my Lord.
24Vindicate me according to your righteousness,
O Yahweh my God,
and do not let them rejoice over me.
25Do not let them say in their hearts,#Hebrew “heart” “Aha, our desire.”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26Let them be shamed and abashed altogether,
who rejoice at my misfortune.
Let them put on shame and insult,
who magnify themselves against me.
27Let them shout for joy and be glad,
who delight in my vindication;
and let them say continually, “Yahweh is great,
who delights in the welfare of his servant.”
28Then my tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
and your praise all day.
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