Psalms 7
1 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].
A psalm (shiggaion) of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, from the tribe of Benjamin. Lord my God, you are my protection. Save me from those who persecute me; please rescue me!
2 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].
Otherwise they will tear me apart like a lion, ripping me to pieces with no one to save me.
3 Yahweh my God, if I have done anything that is wrong,
If I have done what I'm accused of, if my hands are guilty,
4 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,
If I have paid back a friend with evil, if I have robbed my enemy for no reason,
5 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.
Then let my enemies chase me down; let them trample me in the dust and drag my reputation through the dirt. (Selah)
6 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!
Stand up, Lord, in your anger, rise up against the fury of my enemies; wake up, Lord, and bring me justice!
7 Gather around you the people of [all] nations, and rule them from where you are in heaven [MTY].
Bring together the nations before you; rule them from your throne on high.
8 Yahweh, judge the people of [all] nations! And, Yahweh, show that I have done nothing that is wrong.
The Lord judges all people. Defend me, Lord, because I do what is right, because of my integrity.
9 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!
Please bring an end to the evil done by the wicked; vindicate those who do good, for you are the God of right who examines hearts and minds.
10 God, you protect me like a shield [protects soldiers] [MET]; you protect all those who are righteous in their inner being.
The Most High God is my defense, the one who saves those who live right.
11 You judge [everyone] correctly, and every day you punish [wicked people].
God is a fair judge who is always hostile to evil.
12 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].
If people do not change their minds, he will sharpen his sword. He has bent and strung his bow.
13 You are preparing your weapons that kill those whom they strike; the arrows that you will shoot have flaming tips.
He has prepared weapons of death, he has his flaming arrows ready.
14 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].
See how the wicked conceive evil! They are pregnant with trouble. They give birth to dishonesty.
15 But when they dig a deep pit [to trap others], they themselves will fall into it.
They dig a deep hole to catch people, but then fall into it themselves.
16 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.
The trouble they cause rebounds to hit them on the head; their violence against others comes down on their own skulls.
17 I praise Yahweh because he [always acts] righteously/justly; I sing to praise Yahweh, the one who is much greater than any other god.
I will thank the Lord because he does what is right; I will sing praises to the name of the Lord Most High.
