1
|
Of David. Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me. |
|
2
|
Take up Your shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid. |
|
3
|
Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers; say to my soul: “I am your salvation.” |
|
4
|
May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plan to harm me be driven back and confounded. |
|
5
|
May they be like chaff in the wind, as the angel of the LORD drives them away. |
|
6
|
May their path be dark and slick, as the angel of the LORD pursues. |
|
7
|
For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul. |
|
8
|
May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created. |
|
9
|
Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and exult in His salvation. |
|
10
|
All my bones will exclaim, “Who is like You, O LORD, who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor, the poor and needy from the robber?” |
|
11
|
Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about. |
|
12
|
They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul. |
|
13
|
Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered. |
|
14
|
I paced about as for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for his mother. |
|
15
|
But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing. |
|
16
|
Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me. |
|
17
|
How long, O Lord, will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my precious life from these lions. |
|
18
|
Then I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people. |
|
19
|
Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause, nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice. |
|
20
|
For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful schemes against those who live quietly in the land. |
|
21
|
They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!” |
|
22
|
O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me. |
|
23
|
Awake and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord! |
|
24
|
Vindicate me by Your righteousness, O LORD my God, and do not let them gloat over me. |
|
25
|
Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!” |
|
26
|
May those who gloat in my distress be ashamed and confounded; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed in shame and reproach. |
|
27
|
May those who favor my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “Exalted be the LORD who delights in His servant’s well-being.” |
|
28
|
Then my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness and Your praises all day long. |
|