Psalms 69

1 To the chief Musician upon Shoshannim, [A Psalm] of David. Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto [my] soul.

For the music director. To the tune “Lilies.” A psalm of David. God, please save me, because the water is up to my neck!

2 I sink in deep mire, where [there is] no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.

I'm sinking deeper into the mud—there's no solid ground for me to stand. I find myself in deep water; floods wash over me.

3 I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.

I'm so tired of screaming out for help my throat is totally raw. My eyes are worn out looking for my God to help me.

4 They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, [being] mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored [that] which I took not away.

Those who hate me for no reason are more than the number of hairs on my head. Many enemies try to destroy me by telling lies. How can I give back what I didn't steal?

5 O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.

God, you know how foolish I am! My sins are not hidden from you.

6 Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.

Don't let those who trust you be ashamed because of me, Lord God Almighty. Don't let those who follow you be disgraced because of me, God of Israel.

7 Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.

For your sake I put up with the insults; my face shows my embarrassment.

8 I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.

I have become a foreigner to my brother Israelites; a stranger to my very own brothers.

9 For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.

My devotion for your house is burning me up inside; the insults of those who insulted you have fallen on me.

10 When I wept, [and chastened] my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.

I wept and I fasted, but they mocked me;

11 I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them.

I mourned in sackcloth, but they laughed at me.

12 They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I [was] the song of the drunkards.

People sitting by the town gate gossip about me. I'm the subject of rude songs sung by drunks.

13 But as for me, my prayer [is] unto thee, O LORD, [in] an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.

But my prayer is to you, Lord, believing this is a good time to respond to me. God, in your wonderful trustworthy love, answer me with your sure salvation.

14 Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters.

Please rescue me from the mud—don't let me sink! Save me from those who hate me and from drowning in the deep waters!

15 Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.

Don't let the flood waters wash over me. Don't let the deep waters pull me down. Don't let the grave close over me.

16 Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness [is] good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.

Please answer my prayers, Lord, for you are good and love me with your trustworthy love; because of your kindness, please help me.

17 And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.

Don't turn away from me, your servant. Please answer me quickly because I'm in trouble.

18 Draw nigh unto my soul, [and] redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.

Come here and rescue me; set me free from my enemies.

19 Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries [are] all before thee.

You—you know my shame, my disgrace, my humiliation. You see everything my enemies are doing.

20 Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked [for some] to take pity, but [there was] none; and for comforters, but I found none.

Insults have broken my heart—I am so sick there is no cure. I looked for some sympathy, but there was no one! Nobody showed me any compassion.

21 They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

Instead they gave me bitter herbs to eat and vinegar to drink.

22 Let their table become a snare before them: and [that which should have been] for [their] welfare, [let it become] a trap.

May the table set before them become a trap for them, a net that catches them, bringing punishment.

23 Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.

May their eyes become blind so they cannot see, and may their backs always be bent low in dejection.

24 Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.

Pour out your judgment on them; chase them down in your fierce anger.

25 Let their habitation be desolate; [and] let none dwell in their tents.

Let the places where they live be deserted. Let their homes be abandoned.

26 For they persecute [him] whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.

For they persecute those you have punished, and make it even more painful for those you have disciplined.

27 Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness.

Punish them for the evil they have done. Don't acquit them.

28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.

Blot out their names from the Book of Life. Don't let them be listed with those who do right.

29 But I [am] poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.

But I am suffering and in physical pain. God, please save me and keep me safe.

30 I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.

I will praise God's character in song; I will say how incredible he is and how thankful I am.

31 [This] also shall please the LORD better than an ox [or] bullock that hath horns and hoofs.

The Lord is happier with this than with offering animals as sacrifices: cattle, or bulls with horns and hooves.

32 The humble shall see [this, and] be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.

The humble will see this and be happy. May God encourage everyone who comes to him.

33 For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.

God hears the poor, and he does not ignore his people who are in prison.

34 Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.

Praise him heaven and earth, the seas and everything that lives in them!

35 For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.

For God will save Zion, and rebuild the cities of Judah. They will live there and own the land.

36 The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein.

The descendants of those who follow him will inherit the land, and those who love him will live there.