[1] To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Psalm of David. [2] Save me,
O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. [3] I sink in deep mire,
where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood
sweeps over me. [4] I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched. My
eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. [5] More in number than the hairs of
my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would
destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now
restore? [6] O God, thou knowest my folly; the wrongs I have done are not
hidden from thee. [7] Let not those who hope in thee be put to shame
through me, O Lord GOD of hosts; let not those who seek thee be brought to
dishonor through me, O God of Israel. [8] For it is for thy sake that I
have borne reproach, that shame has covered my face. [9] I have become a
stranger to my brethren, an alien to my mother's sons. [10] For zeal for
thy house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult thee have
fallen on me. [11] When I humbled my soul with fasting, it became my
reproach. [12] When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword to
them. [13] I am the talk of those who sit in the gate, and the drunkards
make songs about me. [14] But as for me, my prayer is to thee, O LORD. At
an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of thy steadfast love answer
me. With thy faithful help [15] rescue me from sinking in the mire; let me
be delivered from my enemies and from the deep waters. [16] Let not the
flood sweep over me, or the deep swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth
over me. [17] Answer me, O LORD, for thy steadfast love is good; according
to thy abundant mercy, turn to me. [18] Hide not thy face from thy servant;
for I am in distress, make haste to answer me. [19] Draw near to me, redeem
me, set me free because of my enemies! [20] Thou knowest my reproach, and
my shame and my dishonor; my foes are all known to thee. [21] Insults have
broken my heart, so that I am in despair. I looked for pity, but there was
none; and for comforters, but I found none. [22] They gave me poison for
food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. [23] Let their own
table before them become a snare; let their sacrificial feasts be a trap.
[24] Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see; and make their
loins tremble continually. [25] Pour out thy indignation upon them, and let
thy burning anger overtake them. [26] May their camp be a desolation, let
no one dwell in their tents. [27] For they persecute him whom thou hast
smitten, and him whom thou hast wounded, they afflict still more. [28] Add
to them punishment upon punishment; may they have no acquittal from thee.
[29] Let them be blotted out of the book of the living; let them not be
enrolled among the righteous. [30] But I am afflicted and in pain; let thy
salvation, O God, set me on high! [31] I will praise the name of God with a
song; I will magnify him with thanksgiving. [32] This will please the LORD
more than an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. [33] Let the oppressed see
it and be glad; you who seek God, let your hearts revive. [34] For the LORD
hears the needy, and does not despise his own that are in bonds. [35] Let
heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves therein.
[36] For God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; and his
servants shall dwell there and possess it; [ (Psalms 69:37) the children of
his servants shall inherit it, and those who love his name shall dwell in
it. ]
