Psalm 35
35
Great Is the Lord
Of David.
1Contend, O Lord, with those who #Isa. 49:25 contend with me;
# [Ex. 14:25; Isa. 42:13] fight against those who fight against me!
2Take hold of #Ps. 91:4; [Ps. 5:12]shield and buckler
and rise for my help!
3Draw the spear and javelin#35:3 Or and close the way
against my pursuers!
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation!”
4 # For ver. 4-8, see Ps. 69:22-28; 109:6-15 Let them be #ver. 26; Ps. 40:14; 70:2; 71:13; 83:17 put to shame and dishonor
who seek after my life!
Let them be #Ps. 129:5turned back and disappointed
who devise evil against me!
5Let them be like #See Job 21:18chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
6Let their way be dark and #Ps. 73:18; Jer. 23:12slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!
7For #See Ps. 69:4 without cause #See Job 18:8 they hid their net for me;
without cause they dug #See Ps. 7:15a pit for my life.#35:7 The word pit is transposed from the preceding line; Hebrew For without cause they hid the pit of their net for me; without cause they dug for my life
8Let #[1 Thess. 5:3] destruction come upon him #Isa. 47:11when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his destruction!
9Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
#
Luke 1:47; See Ps. 9:14 exulting in his salvation.
10All my #Ps. 51:8 bones shall say,
“O Lord, #Ps. 71:19; 86:8; 89:6, 8; 113:5; Ex. 15:11who is like you,
delivering the poor
from him who is too strong for him,
the poor and needy from him who robs him?”
11 # See Ps. 27:12 Malicious#35:11 Or Violent witnesses rise up;
they ask me of things that I do not know.
12 #
Ps. 38:20; 109:4; Jer. 18:20; [John 10:32] They repay me evil for good;
my soul is bereft.#35:12 Hebrew it is bereavement to my soul
13But I, #[Job 30:25] when they were sick—
I #Ps. 69:11; [1 Kgs. 20:31] wore sackcloth;
I #Ps. 69:10; Num. 29:7 afflicted myself with fasting;
I prayed #[Matt. 10:13]; Luke 10:6with head bowed#35:13 Or my prayer shall turn back on my chest.
14I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
as one who laments his mother,
I #See Ps. 38:6bowed down in mourning.
15But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;
they gathered together against me;
#
Job 30:1, 8, 12 wretches whom I did not know
tore at me without ceasing;
16like profane mockers at a feast,#35:16 The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain
they #Ps. 37:12; Job 16:9; Lam. 2:16gnash at me with their teeth.
17How long, O Lord, will you #Hab. 1:13 look on?
Rescue me from their destruction,
#
Ps. 22:20
my precious life from the lions!
18I will thank you in #Ps. 22:25the great congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise you.
19 # ver. 24; See Ps. 13:4 Let not those rejoice over me
who are #Ps. 38:19; 69:4; 119:78, 86 wrongfully my foes,
and let not those #Prov. 6:13; 10:10 wink the eye
who #Ps. 69:4; Cited John 15:25 hate me #ver. 7without cause.
20For they do not speak peace,
but against those who are quiet in the land
they devise words of deceit.
21They #See Ps. 22:13 open wide their mouths against me;
they say, #ver. 25; Ps. 40:15; 70:3“Aha, Aha!
Our eyes have seen it!”
22 # [Ex. 3:7] You have seen, O Lord; #Ps. 28:1 be not silent!
O Lord, #See Ps. 10:1be not far from me!
23Awake and #Ps. 44:23; 59:4; 80:2 rouse yourself for #Ps. 7:6my vindication,
for my cause, my God and my Lord!
24 #
Ps. 7:8 Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,
according to your righteousness,
and #ver. 19let them not rejoice over me!
25Let them not say in their hearts,
# ver. 21 “Aha, our heart’s desire!”
Let them not say, #2 Sam. 17:16; Lam. 2:16“We have swallowed him up.”
26Let them be #See ver. 4 put to shame and disappointed altogether
who rejoice at my calamity!
Let them be #See Job 8:22 clothed with shame and dishonor
who #See Job 19:5magnify themselves against me!
27Let those who delight in my righteousness
shout for joy and be glad
#
Ps. 40:16; 70:4 and say evermore,
#
Ps. 34:3 “Great is the Lord,
who #Ps. 149:4delights in the welfare of his servant!”
28Then my #Ps. 51:14; 71:8, 15, 24tongue shall tell of your righteousness
and of your praise all the day long.
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The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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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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© British and Foreign Bible Society 2012