Psalm 69

Psalm 69

Prayer for Deliverance from Persecution

To the leader: according to Lilies. Of David.

¹Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck.^*

²I sink in deep mire,

where there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters,

and the flood sweeps over me.^*

³I am weary with my crying;

my throat is parched.

My eyes grow dim

with waiting for my God.^*

⁴More in number than the hairs of my head

are those who hate me without cause;

many are those who would destroy me,

my enemies who accuse me falsely.

What I did not steal,

must I now restore?^*

⁵O God, you know my folly;

the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.^*

⁶Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me,

O Lord God of hosts;

do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me,

O God of Israel.

⁷It is for your sake that I have borne reproach,

that shame has covered my face.^*

⁸I have become a stranger to my kindred,

an alien to my mother’s children.^*

⁹It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;

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

¹⁰When I humbled my soul with fasting,^l

they insulted me for doing so.^*

¹¹When I made sackcloth my clothing,

I became a byword to them.^*

¹²I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,

and the drunkards make songs about me.^*

¹³But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.

At an acceptable time, O God,

in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me.

With your faithful help^{* 14}rescue me

from sinking in the mire;

let me be delivered from my enemies

and from the deep waters.^*

¹⁵Do not let the flood sweep over me

or the deep swallow me up

or the Pit close its mouth over me.^*

¹⁶Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;

according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.^*

¹⁷Do not hide your face from your servant,

for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.^*

¹⁸Draw near to me; redeem me;

set me free because of my enemies.

¹⁹You know the insults I receive

and my shame and dishonor;

my foes are all known to you.^*

²⁰Insults 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.^*

²¹They gave me poison for food,

and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.^*

²²Let their table be a trap for them,

a snare for their allies.^*

²³Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,

and make their loins tremble continually.^*

²⁴Pour out your indignation upon them,

and let your burning anger overtake them.^*

²⁵May their camp be a desolation;

let no one live in their tents.^*

²⁶For they persecute those whom you have struck down,

and those whom you have wounded they attack still more.^m*

²⁷Add guilt to their guilt;

may they have no acquittal from you.

²⁸Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;

let them not be enrolled among the righteous.^*

²⁹But I am lowly and in pain;

let your salvation, O God, protect me.^*

³⁰I will praise the name of God with a song;

I will magnify him with thanksgiving.^*

³¹This will please the Lord more than an ox

or a bull with horns and hoofs.^*

³²Let the oppressed see it and be glad;

you who seek God, let your hearts revive.^*

³³For the Lord hears the needy

and does not despise his own who are in bonds.^*

³⁴Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and everything that moves in them.^*

³⁵For God will save Zion

and rebuild the cities of Judah,

and his servants shall liveⁿ there and possess it;^*

³⁶the children of his servants shall inherit it,

and those who love his name shall live in it.^*