Psalm 69

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.

¹Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to my neck.

²I sink in the miry depths,

where there is no foothold.

I have come into the deep waters;

the floods engulf me.

³I am worn out calling for help;

my throat is parched.

My eyes fail,

looking for my God.

⁴Those who hate me without reason

outnumber the hairs of my head;

many are my enemies without cause,

those who seek to destroy me.

I am forced to restore

what I did not steal.

⁵You, God, know my folly;

my guilt is not hidden from you.

⁶Lord, the Lord Almighty,

may those who hope in you

not be disgraced because of me;

God of Israel,

may those who seek you

not be put to shame because of me.

⁷For I endure scorn for your sake,

and shame covers my face.

⁸I am a foreigner to my own family,

a stranger to my own mother’s children;

⁹for zeal for your house consumes me,

and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.

¹⁰When I weep and fast,

I must endure scorn;

¹¹when I put on sackcloth,

people make sport of me.

¹²Those who sit at the gate mock me,

and I am the song of the drunkards.

¹³But I pray to you, Lord,

in the time of your favor;

in your great love, O God,

answer me with your sure salvation.

¹⁴Rescue me from the mire,

do not let me sink;

deliver me from those who hate me,

from the deep waters.

¹⁵Do not let the floodwaters engulf me

or the depths swallow me up

or the pit close its mouth over me.

¹⁶Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;

in your great mercy turn to me.

¹⁷Do not hide your face from your servant;

answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.

¹⁸Come near and rescue me;

deliver me because of my foes.

¹⁹You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed;

all my enemies are before you.

²⁰Scorn has broken my heart

and has left me helpless;

I looked for sympathy, but there was none,

for comforters, but I found none.

²¹They put gall in my food

and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

²²May the table set before them become a snare;

may it become retribution and a trap.

²³May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,

and their backs be bent forever.

²⁴Pour out your wrath on them;

let your fierce anger overtake them.

²⁵May their place be deserted;

let there be no one to dwell in their tents.

²⁶For they persecute those you wound

and talk about the pain of those you hurt.

²⁷Charge them with crime upon crime;

do not let them share in your salvation.

²⁸May they be blotted out of the book of life

and not be listed with the righteous.

²⁹But as for me, afflicted and in pain—

may your salvation, God, protect me.

³⁰I will praise God’s name in song

and glorify him with thanksgiving.

³¹This will please the Lord more than an ox,

more than a bull with its horns and hooves.

³²The poor will see and be glad—

you who seek God, may your hearts live!

³³The Lord hears the needy

and does not despise his captive people.

³⁴Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and all that move in them,

³⁵for God will save Zion

and rebuild the cities of Judah.

Then people will settle there and possess it;

³⁶the children of his servants will inherit it,

and those who love his name will dwell there.