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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Psalms 35: GW
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GOD'S WORD® Translation ©1995, 2003, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2020 by God's Word to the Nations Mission Society. All rights reserved.
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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