Psalm 69

A Cry of Distress and Imprecation on Adversaries.

For the choir director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.

1Save me, O God,
For the waters have [b]threatened my life.
I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a [c]flood overflows me.
I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My eyes fail while I wait for my God.
Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would [d]destroy me are powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;
What I did not steal, I then have to restore.

O God, it is You who knows my folly,
And my wrongs are not hidden from You.
May those who wait for You not be ashamed through me, O Lord [e]God of hosts;
May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,
Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
Dishonor has covered my face.
I have become estranged [f]from my brothers
And an alien to my mother’s sons.
For zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept in my soul with fasting,
It became my reproach.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
12 Those who sit in the gate talk about me,
And I am the [g]song of the drunkards.

13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord, at an acceptable time;
O God, in the greatness of Your lovingkindness,
Answer me with [h]Your saving truth.
14 Deliver me from the mire and do not let me sink;
May I be delivered from [i]my foes and from the [j]deep waters.
15 May the [k]flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the pit shut its mouth on me.

16 Answer me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good;
According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me,
17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am in distress; answer me quickly.
18 Oh draw near to my soul and redeem it;
Ransom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonor;
All my adversaries are [l]before You.

20 Reproach has broken my heart and I am so sick.
And I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
And for comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me [m]gall [n]for my food
And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

22 May their table before them become a snare;
And [o]when they are in peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their loins shake continually.
24 Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their [p]camp be desolate;
May none dwell in their tents.
26 For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself have smitten,
And they tell of the pain of those whom You have [q]wounded.
27 Add iniquity to their iniquity,
And may they not come into Your righteousness.
28 May they be blotted out of the book of life
And may they not be [r]recorded with the righteous.

29 But I am afflicted and in pain;
[s]May Your salvation, O God, set me securely on high.
30 I will praise the name of God with song
And magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31 And it will please the Lord better than an ox
Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The humble [t]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, let your heart [u]revive.
33 For the Lord hears the needy
And does not despise His who are prisoners.

34 Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas and everything that moves in them.
35 For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and possess it.
36 The [v]descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name will dwell in it.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 69:1 Or possibly Lilies
  2. Psalm 69:1 Lit come to the soul
  3. Psalm 69:2 Lit flowing stream
  4. Psalm 69:4 Or silence
  5. Psalm 69:6 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  6. Psalm 69:8 Lit to
  7. Psalm 69:12 Lit songs
  8. Psalm 69:13 Or the faithfulness of Your salvation
  9. Psalm 69:14 Lit those who hate me
  10. Psalm 69:14 Lit deep places of water
  11. Psalm 69:15 Lit stream
  12. Psalm 69:19 Or known to You
  13. Psalm 69:21 Or poison
  14. Psalm 69:21 Or in
  15. Psalm 69:22 Lit for those who are secure
  16. Psalm 69:25 Lit encampment
  17. Psalm 69:26 Lit pierced
  18. Psalm 69:28 Lit written
  19. Psalm 69:29 Or Your salvation, O God, will set...
  20. Psalm 69:32 Some mss and ancient versions read will see
  21. Psalm 69:32 Or live
  22. Psalm 69:36 Lit seed