Psalm 7

Prayer for Justice

A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

¹Lord my God, I seek refuge in you; ^a

save me from all my pursuers and rescue me, ^b

²or they ^c will tear me like a lion,

ripping me apart with no one to rescue me. ^d

³Lord my God, if I have done this,

if there is injustice on my hands, ^e

⁴if I have done harm to one at peace with me ^f

or have plundered ^g my adversary without cause, ^h

⁵may an enemy pursue and overtake me;

may he trample me to the ground ⁱ

and leave my honor in the dust. ^j Selah

⁶Rise up, Lord, in your anger;

lift yourself up against the fury of my adversaries; ^k

awake for me; ^l,^m

you have ordained a judgment. ⁿ

⁷Let the assembly of peoples gather around you; ^o

take your seat on high over it. ^p

⁸The Lord judges the peoples; ^q

vindicate me, Lord,

according to my righteousness and my integrity. ^r

⁹Let the evil of the wicked come to an end, ^s

but establish the righteous. ^t

The one who examines the thoughts and emotions ^u

is a righteous God. ^v

¹⁰My shield is with God, ^w

who saves the upright in heart. ^x

¹¹God is a righteous judge

and a God who shows his wrath every day. ^y

¹²If anyone does not repent,

he will sharpen his sword; ^z

he has strung his bow and made it ready. ^aa

¹³He has prepared his deadly weapons;

he tips his arrows with fire. ^ab

¹⁴See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil,

conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit. ^ac

¹⁵He dug a pit and hollowed it out

but fell into the hole he had made. ^ad

¹⁶His trouble comes back on his own head;

his own violence comes down on top of his head. ^ae

¹⁷I will thank the Lord for his righteousness;

I will sing about the name of the Lord Most High. ^af