Psalms 35
1 Yahweh, fight against those who fight against me! Fight against [my enemies] when they fight me!
Of David. Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me.
2 Be [like] a shield [DOU] to protect me and come to help me!
Take up Your shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid.
3 Lift up your spear [DOU] and [throw it] at those who pursue me! Promise me that you will enable me to defeat [my enemies].
Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers; say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”
4 Cause those who are trying to kill me to be defeated and disgraced! Cause those who are planning to do evil things to me to be pushed back and become confused!
May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plan to harm me be driven back and confounded.
5 Send your angel to pursue them, and as a result cause them to disappear like chaff/straw blown away by the wind!
May they be like chaff in the wind, as the angel of the LORD drives them away.
6 Cause the path on which they run to be dark and slippery as your angel pursues them!
May their path be dark and slick, as the angel of the LORD pursues.
7 Although I did not do anything wrong to them, they concealed a deep pit for me to fall into; they hid a net in which they would catch me.
For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.
8 Cause them to suddenly experience disaster! Cause them to be trapped in their own nets! Cause them to fall into the pits that they have dug for me and disappear!
May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.
9 Then I will be joyful about what you, Yahweh, have done for me, I will be glad that you have rescued me.
Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and exult in His salvation.
10 With my whole inner being [SYN] I will say, “There is no one like Yahweh [RHQ]! No one else can rescue helpless people from powerful people [RHQ]. No one else can rescue weak and needy people from those who want to rob them.”
All my bones will exclaim, “Who is like You, O LORD, who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor, the poor and needy from the robber?”
11 People who tell lies stand in court and falsely accuse me of doing things that I do not know [anything] about.
Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.
12 In return for my doing good things for them, they do evil things to me, with the result that I feel that I am alone.
They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul.
13 When they were ill, I showed that I was sad. I did not eat any food, and I bowed my head as I prayed [for them].
Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.
14 I mourned and bowed my head as I prayed as though it was a friend or my mother for whom I was grieving.
I paced about as for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for his mother.
15 But when I had troubles, they were all happy about it. They gathered around to make fun of me. Strangers struck me, and they would not stop.
But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.
16 Worthless people ridicule me and snarl at me.
Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me.
17 Yahweh, how long will you only watch them doing this? Rescue me from their attacking me; Save me from being killed by these men who are attacking me like [MET] lions [that are attacking other animals]
How long, O Lord, will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my precious life from these lions.
18 Then, when many of your people gather, I will praise you and I will thank you in front of all of them.
Then I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people.
19 Do not allow my enemies, who tell lies about me, defeat me and then rejoice! Do not allow those who hate me when there in no reason to hate me to (smirk/smile happily)!
Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause, nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice.
20 They do not talk peacefully to people; instead, they seek ways to tell lies about people who are peaceful.
For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful schemes against those who live quietly in the land.
21 They shout at me, to accuse me, saying, “We saw the wrong things that you did!”
They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”
22 Yahweh, you have seen these things, so do not be silent! Do not stay far from me!
O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me.
23 Arise, my God, and plead my case in court, and successfully defend me!
Awake and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord!
24 Yahweh, my God, because you are righteous, prove that I am innocent in order that my enemies will not be able to gloat [that I was judged to be guilty].
Vindicate me by Your righteousness, O LORD my God, and do not let them gloat over me.
25 Do not allow them to be able to say to themselves, “Yes, we have gotten rid of him [IDM] just like we desired!”
Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!”
26 Cause those who rejoice about my misfortunes to be completely defeated and disgraced; cause those who boast that they are much greater than me to be disgraced and dishonored!
May those who gloat in my distress be ashamed and confounded; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed in shame and reproach.
27 But cause those who desire that I be acquitted to be happy and shout joyfully, and cause them to continually say, “Yahweh is great! He is delighted to cause things to go well for those who serve him.”
May those who favor my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “Exalted be the LORD who delights in His servant’s well-being.”
28 Then I will proclaim that you act righteously, and I will praise you all day long.
Then my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness and Your praises all day long.
