Psalms 69

1 O God, save me, because [I am in great danger]. [It is as though] flood water is up to my neck, [and I am about to drown] [MET].

Unto the end. For those who will be changed: of David. Save me, O God, for the waters have entered, even to my soul.

2 I continue to sink in the deep mud, and there is no solid ground for me to stand on. I am in deep water, and flood waters are swirling around me.

I have become stuck in a deep quagmire, and there is no firm footing. I have arrived at the height of the sea, and a tempest has overwhelmed me.

3 I am exhausted from calling out [for help]; my throat is very dry. Because I have cried so much as I have waited for God [to help me], my eyes are swollen.

I have endured hardships, while crying out. My jaws have become hoarse; my eyes have failed. Meanwhile, I hope in my God.

4 Those who hate me when there is no reason to hate me are more than the number of hairs on my head [HYP]! Those who want to get rid of me are strong, and they tell lies about me. They demand that I return to them things that I did not steal!

Those who hate me without cause have been multiplied beyond the hairs of my head. My enemies, who persecuted me unjustly, have been strengthened. Then I was required to pay for what I did not take.

5 O God, (you see the sins that I have committed/my sins are not hidden from you). You know that I have foolishly [disobeyed your laws].

O God, you know my foolishness, and my offenses have not been hidden from you.

6 O Yahweh God, [you who are the commander] of the armies [of heaven], do not allow the [wrong things that] I [have done] to cause those who trust in you to be disappointed/disillusioned. O God, you whom [we] Israeli people [worship], do not allow me to cause your people to be humiliated.

Let those who wait for you, O Lord, the Lord of hosts, not be shamed in me. Let those who seek you, O God of Israel, not be confounded over me.

7 People have insulted/ridiculed me because [I am devoted to] you. They have thoroughly humiliated [IDM] me.

For because of you, I have endured reproach; confusion has covered my face.

8 Even my own [older] brothers act as if they do not know me; they treat me like a foreigner.

I have become a stranger to my brothers and a sojourner to the sons of my mother.

9 [Some people have despised your temple]; but my zeal for [keeping] your temple [holy] is like a fire burning inside me. So [it is as though] those who are insulting you are also insulting me.

For zeal for your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproached you have fallen upon me.

10 When I have humbled myself and (fasted/abstained from eating food) [to show my sadness about the disgraceful things that they have done to your temple], they just insult me.

And I covered my soul with fasting, and it has become a reproach to me.

11 When I put on [rough] sackcloth [to show that I am sad], they laugh at [IDM] me.

And I put on a haircloth as my garment, and I became a parable to them.

12 Even the elders [of the city] say bad things about me. The drunkards of the city sing [disgusting] songs about me.

Those who sat at the gate spoke against me, and those who drank wine made me their song.

13 But Yahweh, I will [continue] praying to you. At the time that you choose, answer me and rescue me because you faithfully love me.

But as for me, truly, my prayer is to you, O Lord. This time has pleased you well, O God. In the multitude of your mercy, in the truth of your salvation, hear me.

14 Do not allow me to sink any more in the mud. Rescue me from those who hate me! Lift me up out of these deep waters!

Rescue me from the quagmire, so that I may not become trapped. Free me from those who hate me and from deep waters.

15 Do not allow flood waters to swirl around me, do not allow the deep [mud] to swallow me; keep me from sinking into the pit [of death] [MET].

Do not allow the tempest of water to submerge me, nor the deep to absorb me. And do not allow the well to close in on me.

16 O Yahweh, answer my prayer and help me because you are good and love me faithfully.

Hear me, O Lord, for your mercy is kind. Look upon me, according to the fullness of your compassion.

17 Do not (hide yourself from/refuse to hear) me; answer me quickly because I am in great trouble.

And do not turn your face away from your servant, for I am in trouble: heed me quickly.

18 Come near to me and save me; rescue me from my enemies.

Attend to my soul, and free it. Rescue me, because of my enemies.

19 You know that I am insulted and that [people cause] me [to feel] ashamed and dishonored; you know [who] all my enemies [are].

You know my reproach, and my confusion, and my reverence.

20 [Their] insults have deeply offended me, and I (feel helpless/am in despair). I searched for [someone who would] pity [me], but there was no one. I wanted someone to encourage/comfort me, but there were none.

All those who trouble me are in your sight; my heart has anticipated reproach and misery. And I sought for one who might grieve together with me, but there was no one, and for one who might console me, and I found no one.

21 [Instead], they gave me food [that tasted like] poison, and when I was thirsty, they gave me sour wine to drink.

And they gave me gall for my food. And in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.

22 I hope/desire that the feasts [MTY] [that they enjoy] will (become a snare for/bring trouble to) them, and that [those whom they invite to] the sacrificial feasts will also be trapped.

Let their table be a snare before them, and a retribution, and a scandal.

23 I hope/desire that their eyesight will become dim so that they cannot see anything, and that their backs/bodies will become weaker and weaker.

Let their eyes be darkened, so that they may not see, and may their back always be crooked.

24 Show them that you are very angry with them! Because of your great/furious anger, chase after them and catch them.

Pour out your indignation upon them, and may the fury of your anger take hold of them.

25 Cause their towns to become abandoned/deserted and that there will be no one left to live in their tents/houses.

May their dwelling place be deserted, and may there be no one who dwells in their tabernacles.

26 [Do this] because they persecute those whom you have punished, (they talk about the sins of/they want to hurt even more) those whom you have wounded.

For they persecuted whomever you struck. And they have added to the grief of my wounds.

27 Keep making a record of all their sins, do not acquit/pardon them [for the evil things that they have done].

Assign an iniquity upon their iniquity, and may they not enter into your justice.

28 Erase their names [SYN] from the book [containing the names of those who have eternal] life; do not include them in the list of righteous people.

Delete them from the Book of the Living, and let them not be written down with the just.

29 As for me, I have pain and am suffering. O God, protect me and rescue me.

I am poor and sorrowful, but your salvation, O God, has taken me up.

30 When God does that, I will sing as I praise God, and I will honor him by thanking him.

I will praise the name of God with a canticle, and I will magnify him with praise.

31 My doing that will please Yahweh more than [sacrificing] oxen, more than offering him full-grown bulls.

And it will please God more than a new calf producing horns and hoofs.

32 Oppressed/Afflicted people will see [that God has rescued me], and they will be glad. I want all of you who ask God [to help you] to be encouraged.

Let the poor see and rejoice. Seek God, and your soul will live.

33 Yahweh listens to those who are needy; He does not ignore/forget those who are oppressed/imprisoned.

For the Lord has heard the poor, and he has not despised his prisoners.

34 I desire that everything will praise God— everything that is in heaven and on earth, and all the creatures that are in the seas.

Let the heavens and the earth praise him: the sea, and everything that crawls in it.

35 God will rescue the people of Jerusalem [from their enemies], and he will rebuild the towns that are in Judah. His people will live there and [again] possess the land.

For God will save Zion, and the cities of Judah will be built up. And they will dwell there, and they will acquire it by inheritance.

36 The descendants of his people will inherit it, and those who love him will live there [safely].

And the offspring of his servants will possess it; and those who love his name will dwell in it.