Psalms 31
1 Yahweh, I have come to you to be protected; do not allow me to be [defeated, with the result that I am] disgraced. Since you always do what is fair/right, rescue me!
Unto the end. A Psalm of David according to an ecstasy. In you, Lord, I have hoped; let me never be confounded. In your justice, deliver me.
2 Listen to me, and save me right now! Be [like] a huge rock [under which I can hide] [MET] and [like] a strong fort in which I will be safe.
Incline your ear to me. Hasten to rescue me. Be for me a protector God and a house of refuge, so as to accomplish my salvation.
3 Yes, you are [like] my huge rock and my fort; guide me and lead me [DOU] in order that I can honor you [MTY].
For you are my strength and my refuge; and for the sake of your name, you will lead me and nourish me.
4 You are the one who protects me, so keep me from falling into the hidden traps [that my enemies have set for me].
You will lead me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me. For you are my protector.
5 Yahweh, you are a God who can be trusted, so I put myself into your care because you rescued me.
Into your hands, I commend my spirit. You have redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth.
6 Yahweh, I hate those who worship useless idols, but I trust in you.
You have hated those who practice emptiness to no purpose. But I have hoped in the Lord.
7 I will be very glad [DOU] because you faithfully love me. You see me when I have been afflicted, and you have known when I have had troubles.
I will exult and rejoice in your mercy. For you have looked upon my humility; you have saved my soul from needfulness.
8 You have not allowed my enemies to capture me; instead, you have rescued me from danger.
And you have not enclosed me in the hands of the enemy. You have set my feet in a spacious place.
9 [But now], Yahweh, be kind to me [again] because I am distressed. Because I cry [so much], I cannot see well, and I am completely exhausted.
Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am troubled. My eye has been disturbed by wrath, along with my soul and my gut.
10 I have become very weak because I am [so] miserable, and it is causing my life to become shorter. I have become weak because of all my troubles; even my bones are becoming weaker.
For my life has fallen into sorrow, and my years into sighing. My virtue has been weakened in poverty, and my bones have been disturbed.
11 All of my enemies make fun of me, and [even] my neighbors despise me. [Even] my friends are afraid of me [because they think I am being punished by God], and when they see me on the streets, they run away.
I have become a disgrace among all my enemies, and even more so to my neighbors, and a dread to my acquaintances. Those who catch sight of me, flee away from me.
12 People have forgotten me like they forget people who are dead. [They think I am as useless] as a broken pot.
I have become forgotten, like one dead to the heart. I have become like a damaged utensil.
13 I have heard people slandering me, and they have caused me to become terrified. My enemies are making plans in order to kill me.
For I have heard the harsh criticism of many who linger in the area. While assembled together against me in that place, they deliberated on how to take away my life.
14 But Yahweh, I trust in you. You are my God.
But I have hoped in you, O Lord. I said, “You are my God.”
15 My whole life [MTY] is in your hands; save me from my enemies, from those who pursue me.
My fate is in your hands. Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who are persecuting me.
16 Be kind to me and rescue me because you always faithfully love me.
Shine your face upon your servant. Save me in your mercy.
17 Yahweh, I call out to you, so do not allow me to be disgraced. I desire that wicked people will be disgraced; I want them to [soon die and] go down to the place where the dead people are. (Sheol h7585)
Do not let me be confounded, Lord, for I have called upon you. Let the impious be ashamed and be drawn down into Hell. (Sheol h7585)
18 I desire that you will cause people [MTY] who tell lies to be unable to speak. Do that to people who are proud and those who arrogantly accuse righteous people.
May deceitful lips be silenced: those that speak iniquity against the just, in arrogance and in abusiveness.
19 You have stored up many blessings for those who revere you. You do those good things for those who go to you to be protected; everyone sees you doing that.
How great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord, which you keep hidden for those who fear you, which you have perfected for those who hope in you, in the sight of the sons of men.
20 You hide people in your presence where it is safe, and protect them from people who plot [to kill them]. You hide them in safe places from their enemies [MTY] who accuse/insult them.
You hide them in the concealment of your face, from the disturbance of men. You protect them in your tabernacle, from the contradiction of tongues.
21 Praise Yahweh! When my enemies surrounded the city [in which I was living], he showed me in a wonderful way that he faithfully loves me.
Blessed is the Lord. For he has shown his wonderful mercy to me, in a fortified city.
22 I was afraid, and I cried out, “I have been separated from Yahweh!” but you heard me and answered my cry for help.
But I said in the excess of my mind: “I have been cast away from the glance of your eyes.” And so, you heeded the voice of my prayer, while I was still crying out to you.
23 You people who belong to Yahweh, love him! Those who are loyal to him, he protects, but those who are very proud, he punishes them severely like they deserve to be punished.
Love the Lord, all you his saints. For the Lord will require truth, and he will abundantly repay those who act with arrogance.
24 You who confidently expect Yahweh [to do great things for you], be strong, be courageous!
Act manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all you who hope in the Lord.
