Psalms 7
1 A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the LORD concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite. O LORD my God, I take refuge in You; save me and deliver me from all my pursuers,
Yahweh my God, I come to you to protect me. Rescue me, save me from all those who are pursuing me [in order to harm me].
2 or they will shred my soul like a lion and tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
If you do not do that, they will tear me into pieces like a lion does [when it attacks the animals it wants to kill], and no one will save me [from them].
3 O LORD my God, if I have done this, if injustice is on my hands,
Yahweh my God, if I have done anything that is wrong,
4 if I have rewarded my ally with evil, if I have plundered my foe without cause,
if I have done evil to some friend who did good things to me, or if, for no good reason, I have spared (OR, acted violently toward) those who were my enemies,
5 then may my enemy pursue me and overtake me; may he trample me to the ground and leave my honor in the dust.
allow my enemies to pursue me and capture me. Allow them to trample me into the ground and leave me [SYN] [lying dead] in the dirt.
6 Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; rise up against the fury of my enemies. Awake, my God, and ordain judgment.
But Yahweh, because you are [very] angry [with those who pursue me], arise and attack/defeat my enemies who are furiously/angrily [attacking me] Do to them what is just!
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around You; take Your seat over them on high.
Gather around you the people of [all] nations, and rule them from where you are in heaven [MTY].
8 The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and integrity.
Yahweh, judge the people of [all] nations! And, Yahweh, show that I have done nothing that is wrong.
9 Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.
God, you know what every person is thinking, and because you are righteous, you [always] do what is just/right. [So now] stop evil people from doing wicked [deeds], and defend [all of us who are] righteous!
10 My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.
God, you protect me like a shield [protects soldiers] [MET]; you protect all those who are righteous in their inner being.
11 God is a righteous judge and a God who feels indignation each day.
You judge [everyone] correctly, and every day you punish [wicked people].
12 If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.
Whenever your enemies do not (repent/change their behavior), [it is as though] [MET] you sharpen your sword and put a string on your bow [to get ready to kill them].
13 He has prepared His deadly weapons; He ordains His arrows with fire.
You are preparing your weapons that kill those whom they strike; the arrows that you will shoot have flaming tips.
14 Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.
Wicked people tell lies, and they think that they surely will be able to do [MET] the evil things that they are planning to do [just as surely as] a pregnant woman [knows that she is going to give birth to a child] [MET].
15 He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.
But when they dig a deep pit [to trap others], they themselves will fall into it.
16 His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.
They themselves will experience the trouble that they want to cause others to have; they will hurt themselves by the violent things that they want to do to others.
17 I will thank the LORD for His righteousness and sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.
I praise Yahweh because he [always acts] righteously/justly; I sing to praise Yahweh, the one who is much greater than any other god.
