Psalm 69:1–21

69:1 Deliver me, O God,

for the water has reached my neck.1

69:2 I sink into the deep mire

where there is no solid ground;2

I am in3 deep water,

and the current overpowers me.

69:3 I am exhausted from shouting for help;

my throat is sore;4

my eyes grow tired of looking for my God.5

69:4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head.

Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason,6 outnumber me.7

They make me repay what I did not steal!8

69:5 O God, you are aware of my foolish sins;9

my guilt is not hidden from you.10

69:6 Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me,

O sovereign Lord and king!11

Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me,

O God of Israel!

69:7 For I suffer12 humiliation for your sake13

and am thoroughly disgraced.14

69:8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger;

they act as if I were a foreigner.15

69:9 Certainly16 zeal for17 your house18 consumes me;

I endure the insults of those who insult you.19

69:10 I weep and refrain from eating food,20

which causes others to insult me.21

69:11 I wear sackcloth

and they ridicule me.22

69:12 Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me;

drunkards mock me in their songs.23

69:13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me!24

O God, because of your great loyal love,

answer me with your faithful deliverance!25

69:14 Rescue me from the mud! Don’t let me sink!

Deliver me26 from those who hate me,

from the deep water!

69:15 Don’t let the current overpower me!

Don’t let the deep swallow me up!

Don’t let the pit27 devour me!28

69:16 Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good!29

Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!

69:17 Do not ignore30 your servant,

for I am in trouble! Answer me right away!31

69:18 Come near me and redeem me!32

Because of my enemies, rescue me!

69:19 You know how I am insulted, humiliated and disgraced;

you can see all my enemies.33

69:20 Their insults are painful34 and make me lose heart;35

I look36 for sympathy, but receive none,37

for comforters, but find none.

69:21 They put bitter poison38 into my food,

and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.39

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1	tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.
2	tn Heb “and there is no place to stand.”
3	tn Heb “have entered.”
4	tn Or perhaps “raw”; Heb “burned; enflamed.”
5	tn Heb “my eyes fail from waiting for my God.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision.
6	tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Pss 35:19; 38:19).
7	tn The Hebrew verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority; note the parallel verb רָבַב (ravav, “be many”).
8	tn Heb “that which I did not steal, then I restore.” Apparently אָז (’az, “then”) is used here to emphasize the verb that follows. sn They make me repay what I did not steal. The psalmist’s enemies falsely accuse him and hold him accountable for alleged crimes he did not even commit.
9	tn Heb “you know my foolishness.”
10	sn The psalmist is the first to admit that he is not perfect. But even so, he is innocent of the allegations which his enemies bring against him (v. 5b). God, who is aware of his foolish sins and guilt, can testify to the truth of his claim.
11	tn Heb “O Master, Lord of hosts.” Both titles draw attention to God’s sovereign position.
12	tn Heb “carry, bear.”
13	tn Heb “on account of you.”
14	tn Heb “and shame covers my face.”
15	tn Heb “and I am estranged to my brothers, and a foreigner to the sons of my mother.”
16	tn Or “for.” This verse explains that the psalmist’s suffering is due to his allegiance to God.
17	tn Or “devotion to.”
18	sn God’s house, the temple, here represents by metonymy God himself.
19	tn Heb “the insults of those who insult you fall upon me.” sn Jn 2:17 applies the first half of this verse to Jesus’ ministry in the context of John’s account of Jesus cleansing the temple.
20	sn Fasting was a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.
21	tn Heb “and it becomes insults to me.”
22	tn Heb “and I am an object of ridicule to them.”
23	tn Heb “the mocking songs of the drinkers of beer.”
24	tn Heb “as for me, [may] my prayer be to you, O Lord, [in] a time of favor.”
25	tn Heb “O God, in the abundance of your loyal love, answer me in the faithfulness of your deliverance.”
26	tn Heb “let me be delivered.”
27	tn Heb “well,” which here symbolizes the place of the dead (cf. Ps 55:23).
28	tn Heb “do not let the well close its mouth upon me.”
29	tn Or “pleasant”; or “desirable.”
30	tn Heb “do not hide your face from.” The Hebrew idiom “hide the face” can (1) mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).
31	tn Or “quickly.”
32	tn Heb “come near my life and redeem it.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).
33	tn Heb “before you [are] all my enemies.”
34	tn Heb “break my heart.” The “heart” is viewed here as the origin of the psalmist’s emotions.
35	tn The verb form appears to be a Qal preterite from an otherwise unattested root נוּשׁ (nush), which some consider an alternate form of אָנַשׁ (’anash, “be weak; be sick”; see BDB 60 s.v. I אָנַשׁ). Perhaps the form should be emended to a Niphal, וָאֵאָנְשָׁה (va’e’onshah, “and I am sick”). The Niphal of אָנַשׁ occurs in 2 Sam 12:15, where it is used to describe David’s sick child.
36	tn Heb “wait.”
37	tn Heb “and I wait for sympathy, but there is none.” The form נוּד (nud) is an infinitive functioning as a verbal noun:, “sympathizing.” Some suggest emending the form to a participle נָד (nad, “one who shows sympathy”). The verb נוּד (nud) also has the nuance “show sympathy” in Job 2:11; 42:11 and Isa 51:19.
38	tn According to BDB 912 s.v. II רֹאשׁ the term can mean “a bitter and poisonous plant.”
39	sn John 19:28–30 appears to understand Jesus’ experience on the cross as a fulfillment of this passage (or Ps 22:15). See the study note on the word “thirsty” in John 19:28.

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