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To the director: To the tune “The Lilies.” A song of David.

69 God, save me from all my troubles!
    The rising water has reached my neck.
I have nothing to stand on.
    I am sinking down, down into the mud.
I am in deep water,
    and the waves are about to cover me.
I am getting weak from calling for help.
    My throat is sore.
I have waited and looked for your help
    until my eyes are hurting.
I have more enemies than the hairs on my head.
    They hate me for no reason.
    They try hard to destroy me.
My enemies tell lies about me.
    They say I stole from them
    and they demand that I pay for things I did not steal.
God, you know my faults.
    I cannot hide my sins from you.
My Lord God All-Powerful, don’t let me embarrass your followers.
    God of Israel, don’t let me bring disgrace to those who worship you.
My face is covered with shame.
    I carry this shame for you.
My own brothers treat me like a stranger.
    They act as if I came from a foreign land.
My strong devotion to your Temple is destroying me.
    Those who insult you are also insulting me.
10 When I spend time crying and fasting,
    they make fun of me.
11 When I wear sackcloth to show my sorrow,
    they tell jokes about me.
12 They talk about me in public places.
    The beer drinkers make up songs about me.
13 As for me, Lord, this is my prayer to you:
    Please accept me!
God, I want you to answer me with love.
    I know I can trust you to save me.
14 Pull me from the mud,
    and don’t let me sink down deeper.
Save me from those who hate me.
    Save me from this deep water.
15 Don’t let the waves drown me.
    Don’t let the deep sea swallow me
    or the grave close its mouth on me.
16 Answer me, Lord, from the goodness of your faithful love.
    Out of your great kindness turn to me and help me!
17 Don’t turn away from your servant.
    I am in trouble, so hurry and help me!
18 Come save my soul.
    Rescue me from my enemies.
19 You know the shame I have suffered.
    You know all my enemies.
    You saw how they humiliated me.
20 I feel the pain of their insults.
    The shame makes me feel like dying!
I wanted some sympathy,
    but there was none.
I waited for someone to comfort me,
    but no one came.
21 They gave me poison, not food.
    They gave me vinegar, not wine.
22 Their tables are covered with food.
    Let their fellowship meals destroy them.
23 Let them go blind and their backs become weak.
24 Show them how angry you are.
    Let them feel what your anger can do.
25 Make their homes empty.
    Don’t let anyone live there.
26 They try to hurt people you have already punished.
    They tell everyone about the suffering you gave them.
27 Punish them for the bad things they have done.
    Don’t show them how good you can be.
28 Erase their names from the book of life.
    Don’t let their names appear on the list of those who do what is right.
29 I am sad and hurting.
    God, lift me up and save me!
30 I will praise God’s name in song.
    I will honor him by giving him thanks.
31 The Lord will be happier with this
    than with the offering of an ox or a full-grown bull as a sacrifice.
32 Poor people, you came to worship God.
    You will be happy to know these things.
33 The Lord listens to poor, helpless people.
    He does not turn away from those who are in prison.
34 Praise him, heaven and earth!
    Sea and everything in it, praise him!
35 God will save Zion.
    He will rebuild the cities of Judah.
The people will settle there again and own the land.
36     The descendants of his servants will get that land.
    Those who love his name will live there.

Psalm 69[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.

Save me, O God,
    for the waters(A) have come up to my neck.(B)
I sink in the miry depths,(C)
    where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
    the floods engulf me.
I am worn out calling for help;(D)
    my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,(E)
    looking for my God.
Those who hate me(F) without reason(G)
    outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,(H)
    those who seek to destroy me.(I)
I am forced to restore
    what I did not steal.

You, God, know my folly;(J)
    my guilt is not hidden from you.(K)

Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    may those who hope in you
    not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
    may those who seek you
    not be put to shame because of me.
For I endure scorn(L) for your sake,(M)
    and shame covers my face.(N)
I am a foreigner to my own family,
    a stranger to my own mother’s children;(O)
for zeal for your house consumes me,(P)
    and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.(Q)
10 When I weep and fast,(R)
    I must endure scorn;
11 when I put on sackcloth,(S)
    people make sport of me.
12 Those who sit at the gate(T) mock me,
    and I am the song of the drunkards.(U)

13 But I pray to you, Lord,
    in the time of your favor;(V)
in your great love,(W) O God,
    answer me with your sure salvation.
14 Rescue me from the mire,
    do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
    from the deep waters.(X)
15 Do not let the floodwaters(Y) engulf me
    or the depths swallow me up(Z)
    or the pit close its mouth over me.(AA)

16 Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;(AB)
    in your great mercy turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face(AC) from your servant;
    answer me quickly,(AD) for I am in trouble.(AE)
18 Come near and rescue me;
    deliver(AF) me because of my foes.

19 You know how I am scorned,(AG) disgraced and shamed;
    all my enemies are before you.
20 Scorn has broken my heart
    and has left me helpless;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
    for comforters,(AH) but I found none.(AI)
21 They put gall in my food
    and gave me vinegar(AJ) for my thirst.(AK)

22 May the table set before them become a snare;
    may it become retribution and[b] a trap.(AL)
23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
    and their backs be bent forever.(AM)
24 Pour out your wrath(AN) on them;
    let your fierce anger overtake them.
25 May their place be deserted;(AO)
    let there be no one to dwell in their tents.(AP)
26 For they persecute those you wound
    and talk about the pain of those you hurt.(AQ)
27 Charge them with crime upon crime;(AR)
    do not let them share in your salvation.(AS)
28 May they be blotted out of the book of life(AT)
    and not be listed with the righteous.(AU)

29 But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
    may your salvation, God, protect me.(AV)

30 I will praise God’s name in song(AW)
    and glorify him(AX) with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox,
    more than a bull with its horns and hooves.(AY)
32 The poor will see and be glad(AZ)
    you who seek God, may your hearts live!(BA)
33 The Lord hears the needy(BB)
    and does not despise his captive people.

34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
    the seas and all that move in them,(BC)
35 for God will save Zion(BD)
    and rebuild the cities of Judah.(BE)
Then people will settle there and possess it;
36     the children of his servants will inherit it,(BF)
    and those who love his name will dwell there.(BG)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 69:1 In Hebrew texts 69:1-36 is numbered 69:2-37.
  2. Psalm 69:22 Or snare / and their fellowship become