Psalm 69:1–21

¹Save me, O God! 

The water is already up to my neck! 

²I am sinking in deep mud. 

There is nothing to stand on. 

I am in deep water. 

A flood is sweeping me away. 

³I am exhausted from crying for help. 

My throat is hoarse. 

My eyes are strained ⸤from⸥ looking for my God. 

⁴Those who hate me for no reason 

outnumber the hairs on my head. 

Those who want to destroy me are mighty. 

They have no reason to be my enemies. 

I am forced to pay back what I did not steal. 

⁵O God, you know my stupidity, 

and the things of which I am guilty are not hidden from you. 

⁶Do not let those who wait with hope for you 

be put to shame because of me, O Almighty Lord of Armies. 

Do not let those who come to you for help 

be humiliated because of me, O God of Israel. 

⁷Indeed, for your sake I have endured insults. 

Humiliation has covered my face. 

⁸I have become a stranger to my ⸤own⸥ brothers, 

a foreigner to my mother’s sons. 

⁹Indeed, devotion for your house has consumed me, 

and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. 

¹⁰I cried and fasted, but I was insulted for it. 

¹¹I dressed myself in sackcloth, but I became the object of ridicule. 

¹²Those who sit at the gate gossip about me, 

and drunkards make up songs about me. 

¹³May my prayer come to you at an acceptable time, O Lord. 

O God, out of the greatness of your mercy, 

answer me with the truth of your salvation. 

¹⁴Rescue me from the mud. 

Do not let me sink ⸤into it⸥. 

I want to be rescued from those who hate me 

and from the deep water. 

¹⁵Do not let floodwaters sweep me away. 

Do not let the ocean swallow me up, 

or the pit close its mouth over me. 

¹⁶Answer me, O Lord, because your mercy is good. 

Out of your unlimited compassion, turn to me. 

¹⁷I am in trouble, so do not hide your face from me. 

Answer me quickly! 

¹⁸Come close, and defend my soul. 

Set me free because of my enemies. 

¹⁹You know that I have been insulted, put to shame, and humiliated. 

All my opponents are in front of you. 

²⁰Insults have broken my heart, and I am sick. 

I looked for sympathy, but there was none. 

I looked for people to comfort me, but I found no one. 

²¹They poisoned my food, 

and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.