Psalm 68–70

PSALM 68

The God of Sinai and of the Sanctuary.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David. A Song.

¹¹Let ^aGod arise, ²let His enemies be scattered,

And ³let those who hate Him flee before Him.

²As ^asmoke is driven away, so drive them away;

As ^bwax melts before the fire,

So let the ^cwicked perish before God.

³But let the ^arighteous be glad; let them exult before God;

Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.

⁴Sing to God, ^asing praises to His name;

^1bLift up a song for Him who ^crides through the deserts,

Whose ^dname is ²the Lord, and exult before Him.

⁵A ^afather of the fatherless and a ^bjudge ¹for the widows,

Is God in His ^choly habitation.

⁶God ^1amakes a home for the lonely;

He ^bleads out the prisoners into prosperity,

Only ^cthe rebellious dwell in a parched land.

⁷O God, when You ^awent forth before Your people,

When You ^bmarched through the wilderness,

¹Selah.

⁸The ^aearth quaked;

The ^bheavens also dropped rain at the presence of God;

^1cSinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

⁹You ^ashed abroad a plentiful rain, O God;

You confirmed Your inheritance when it was ¹parched.

¹⁰Your creatures settled in it;

You ^aprovided in Your goodness for the poor, O God.

¹¹The Lord gives the ¹command;

The ^awomen who proclaim the good tidings are a great host:

¹²“^aKings of armies flee, they flee,

And she who remains at home will ^bdivide the spoil!”

¹³¹When you lie down ^aamong the ²sheepfolds,

You are like the wings of a dove covered with silver,

And its pinions with glistening gold.

¹⁴When the Almighty ^ascattered the kings ¹there,

It was snowing in ^bZalmon.

¹⁵A ^1amountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;

A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.

¹⁶Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,

At the mountain which God has ^adesired for His abode?

Surely ^bthe Lord will dwell there forever.

¹⁷The ^achariots of God are ¹myriads, ^bthousands upon thousands;

²The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.

¹⁸You have ^aascended on high, You have ^bled captive Your captives;

You have received gifts among men,

Even among the rebellious also, that ¹the Lord God may dwell there.

¹⁹Blessed be the Lord, who daily ^abears our burden,

^bThe God who is our salvation.

Selah.

²⁰God is to us a ^aGod of deliverances;

And ^bto ¹God the Lord belong escapes ²from death.

²¹Surely God will ^ashatter the head of His enemies,

The hairy crown of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.

²²The Lord ¹said, “^aI will bring them back from Bashan.

I will bring them back from the depths of the sea;

²³That ^1ayour foot may shatter them in blood,

The tongue of your ^bdogs may have its portion from your enemies.”

²⁴They have seen ^aYour ¹procession, O God,

The procession of my God, my King, ^2binto the sanctuary.

²⁵The ^asingers went on, the musicians after them,

¹In the midst of the ^bmaidens beating tambourines.

^26aBless God in the congregations,

Even the Lord, you who are of the ^bfountain of Israel.

²⁷There is ^aBenjamin, the ¹youngest, ²ruling them,

The princes of Judah in their throng,

The princes of ^bZebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

²⁸¹Your God has ^acommanded your strength;

Show Yourself strong, O God, ^bwho have acted ²on our behalf.

²⁹¹Because of Your temple at Jerusalem

^aKings will bring gifts to You.

³⁰Rebuke the ^abeasts ¹in the reeds,

The herd of ^bbulls with the calves of the peoples,

Trampling under foot the pieces of silver;

He has ^cscattered the peoples who delight in war.

³¹Envoys will come out of ^aEgypt;

^1bEthiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

³²Sing to God, O ^akingdoms of the earth,

^bSing praises to the Lord,

Selah.

³³To Him who ^arides upon the ^1bhighest heavens, which are from ancient times;

Behold, ^cHe ²speaks forth with His voice, a ^dmighty voice.

^34aAscribe strength to God;

His majesty is over Israel

And ^bHis strength is in the ¹skies.

³⁵¹O God, You are ^aawesome from Your ²sanctuary.

The God of Israel Himself ^bgives strength and power to the people.

^cBlessed be God!

PSALM 69

A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.

For the choir director; according to ^†Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.

¹Save me, O God,

For the ^awaters have ¹threatened my life.

²I have sunk in deep ^amire, and there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters, and a ^1bflood overflows me.

³I am ^aweary with my crying; my throat is parched;

My ^beyes fail while I wait for my God.

⁴Those ^awho hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;

Those who would ¹destroy me ^bare powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;

^cWhat I did not steal, I then have to restore.

⁵O God, it is You who knows ^amy folly,

And ^bmy wrongs are not hidden from You.

⁶May those who wait for You not ^abe ashamed through me, O Lord ¹God of hosts;

May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,

⁷Because ^afor Your sake I have borne reproach;

^bDishonor has covered my face.

⁸I have become ^aestranged ¹from my brothers

And an alien to my mother’s sons.

⁹For ^azeal for Your house has consumed me,

And ^bthe reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

¹⁰When I wept ^ain my soul with fasting,

It became my reproach.

¹¹When I made ^asackcloth my clothing,

I became ^ba byword to them.

¹²Those who ^asit in the gate talk about me,

And I am the ^1bsong of the drunkards.

¹³But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, ^aat an acceptable time;

O God, in the ^bgreatness of Your lovingkindness,

Answer me with ¹Your saving truth.

¹⁴Deliver me from the ^amire and do not let me sink;

May I be ^bdelivered from ¹my foes and from the ²deep waters.

¹⁵May the ^1aflood of water not overflow me

Nor the deep swallow me up,

Nor the ^bpit shut its mouth on me.

¹⁶Answer me, O Lord, for ^aYour lovingkindness is good;

^bAccording to the greatness of Your compassion, ^cturn to me,

¹⁷And ^ado not hide Your face from Your servant,

For I am ^bin distress; answer me quickly.

¹⁸Oh draw near to my soul and ^aredeem it;

^bRansom me because of my enemies!

¹⁹You know my ^areproach and my shame and my dishonor;

All my adversaries are ¹before You.

²⁰Reproach has ^abroken my heart and I am so sick.

And ^bI looked for sympathy, but there was none,

And for ^ccomforters, but I found none.

²¹They also gave me ^1agall ²for my food

And for my thirst they ^bgave me vinegar to drink.

²²May ^atheir table before them become a snare;

And ^1bwhen they are in peace, may it become a trap.

²³May their ^aeyes grow dim so that they cannot see,

And make their ^bloins shake continually.

^24aPour out Your indignation on them,

And may Your burning anger overtake them.

²⁵May their ^1acamp be desolate;

May none dwell in their tents.

²⁶For they have ^apersecuted him whom ^bYou Yourself have smitten,

And they tell of the pain of those whom ^cYou have ¹wounded.

²⁷Add ^ainiquity to their iniquity,

And ^bmay they not come into ^cYour righteousness.

²⁸May they be ^ablotted out of the ^bbook of life

And may they not be ^1crecorded with the righteous.

²⁹But I am ^aafflicted and in pain;

¹May Your salvation, O God, ^bset me securely on high.

³⁰I will ^apraise the name of God with song

And ^bmagnify Him with ^cthanksgiving.

³¹And it will ^aplease the Lord better than an ox

Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.

³²The ^ahumble ¹have seen it and are glad;

You who seek God, ^blet your heart ²revive.

³³For ^athe Lord hears the needy

And ^bdoes not despise His who are prisoners.

³⁴Let ^aheaven and earth praise Him,

The seas and ^beverything that moves in them.

³⁵For God will ^asave Zion and ^bbuild the cities of Judah,

That they may dwell there and ^cpossess it.

³⁶The ^1adescendants of His servants will inherit it,

And those who love His name ^bwill dwell in it.

PSALM 70

Prayer for Help against Persecutors.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David; for a memorial.

^1aO God, hasten to deliver me;

O Lord, hasten to my help!

^2aLet those be ashamed and humiliated

Who seek my ¹life;

Let those be turned back and dishonored

Who delight ²in my hurt.

^3aLet those be ¹turned back because of their shame

Who say, “Aha, aha!”

⁴Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;

And let those who love Your salvation say continually,

“Let God be magnified.”

⁵But ^aI am afflicted and needy;

^bHasten to me, O God!

You are my help and my deliverer;

O Lord, do not delay.