Psalms 69
69
1God, God, save me!
I’m in over my head,
2Quicksand under me, swamp water over me;
I’m going down for the third time.
3I’m hoarse from calling for help,
Bleary-eyed from searching the sky for God.
4I’ve got more enemies than hairs on my head;
Liars and cheats are out to knife me in the back.
What I never stole
Must I now give back?
5God, you know every sin I’ve committed;
My life’s a wide-open book before you.
6Don’t let those who look to you in hope
Be discouraged by what happens to me,
Dear Lord! God of the armies!
Don’t let those out looking for you
Come to a dead end by following me—
Please, dear God of Israel!
7Because of you I look like an idiot,
I walk around ashamed to show my face.
8My brothers shun me like a bum off the street;
My family treats me like an unwanted guest.
9I love you more than I can say.
Because I’m madly in love with you,
They blame me for everything they dislike about you.
10When I poured myself out in prayer and fasting,
All it got me was more contempt.
11When I put on a sad face,
They treated me like a clown.
12Now drunks and gluttons
Make up drinking songs about me.
13And me? I pray.
God, it’s time for a break!
God, answer in love!
Answer with your sure salvation!
14Rescue me from the swamp,
Don’t let me go under for good,
Pull me out of the clutch of the enemy;
This whirlpool is sucking me down.
15Don’t let the swamp be my grave, the Black Hole
Swallow me, its jaws clenched around me.
16Now answer me, God, because you love me;
Let me see your great mercy full-face.
17Don’t look the other way; your servant can’t take it.
I’m in trouble. Answer right now!
18Come close, God; get me out of here.
Rescue me from this deathtrap.
19You know how they kick me around—
Pin on me the donkey’s ears, the dunce’s cap.
20I’m broken by their taunts,
Flat on my face, reduced to a nothing.
I looked in vain for one friendly face. Not one.
I couldn’t find one shoulder to cry on.
21They put poison in my soup,
Vinegar in my drink.
22Let their supper be bait in a trap that snaps shut;
May their best friends be trappers who’ll skin them alive.
23Make them become blind as bats,
Give them the shakes from morning to night.
24Let them know what you think of them,
Blast them with your red-hot anger.
25Burn down their houses,
Leave them desolate with nobody at home.
26They gossiped about the one you disciplined,
Made up stories about anyone wounded by God.
27Pile on the guilt,
Don’t let them off the hook.
28Strike their names from the list of the living;
No rock-carved honor for them among the righteous.
29I’m hurt and in pain;
Give me space for healing, and mountain air.
30Let me shout God’s name with a praising song,
Let me tell his greatness in a prayer of thanks.
31For God, this is better than oxen on the altar,
Far better than blue-ribbon bulls.
32The poor in spirit see and are glad—
Oh, you God-seekers, take heart!
33For God listens to the poor,
He doesn’t walk out on the wretched.
34You heavens, praise him; praise him, earth;
Also ocean and all things that swim in it.
35For God is out to help Zion,
Rebuilding the wrecked towns of Judah.
Guess who will live there—
The proud owners of the land?
36No, the children of his servants will get it,
The lovers of his name will live in it.
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Psalms 69: MSG
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THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.
Psalms 69
69
A Cry for Help
For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” A psalm of David.
1God, save me,
because the water has risen to my neck.
2I’m sinking down into the mud,
and there is nothing to stand on.
I am in deep water,
and the flood covers me.
3I am tired from calling for help;
my throat is sore.
My eyes are tired from waiting
for God to help me.
4There are more people who hate me for no reason than hairs on my head;
powerful enemies want to destroy me for no reason.
They make me pay back
what I did not steal.
5God, you know what I have done wrong;
I cannot hide my guilt from you.
6Lord God All-Powerful,
do not let those who hope in you be ashamed because of me.
God of Israel,
do not let your worshipers be disgraced because of me.
7For you, I carry this shame,
and my face is covered with disgrace.
8I am like a stranger to my closest relatives
and a foreigner to my mother’s children.
9My strong love for your Temple completely controls me.
When people insult you, it hurts me.
10When I cry and fast,
they make fun of me.
11When I wear clothes of sadness,
they joke about me.
12They make fun of me in public places,
and the drunkards make up songs about me.
13But I pray to you, Lord, for favor.
God, because of your great love, answer me.
You are truly able to save.
14Pull me from the mud,
and do not let me sink.
Save me from those who hate me
and from the deep water.
15Do not let the flood drown me
or the deep water swallow me
or the grave close its mouth over me.
16Lord, answer me because your love is so good.
Because of your great kindness, turn to me.
17Do not hide from me, your servant.
I am in trouble. Hurry to help me!
18Come near and save me;
rescue me from my enemies.
19You see my shame and disgrace.
You know all my enemies and what they have said.
20Insults have broken my heart
and left me weak.
I looked for sympathy, but there was none;
I found no one to comfort me.
21They put poison in my food
and gave me vinegar to drink.
22Let their own feasts cause their ruin;
let their feasts trap them and pay them back.
23Let their eyes be closed so they cannot see
and their backs be forever weak from troubles.
24Pour your anger out on them;
let your anger catch up with them.
25May their place be empty;
leave no one to live in their tents.
26They chase after those you have hurt,
and they talk about the pain of those you have wounded.
27Charge them with crime after crime,
and do not let them have anything good.
28Wipe their names from the book of life,
and do not list them with those who do what is right.
29I am sad and hurting.
God, save me and protect me.
30I will praise God in a song
and will honor him by giving thanks.
31That will please the Lord more than offering him cattle,
more than sacrificing a bull with horns and hoofs.
32Poor people will see this and be glad.
Be encouraged, you who worship God.
33The Lord listens to those in need
and does not look down on captives.
34Heaven and earth should praise him,
the seas and everything in them.
35God will save Jerusalem
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will live there and own the land.
36The descendants of his servants will inherit that land,
and those who love him will live there.
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The Holy Bible, New Century Version, Copyright © 2005 Thomas Nelson. All rights reserved.