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 Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord about Cush, the Benjamite. Lord my God, I take refuge in you. Deliver me, save me from all who pursue 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].
or like lions they will tear me to pieces, and rend me, past hope of rescue.
3 Yahweh my God, if I have done anything that is wrong,
Lord, my God, if my life has been such if my hands have been stained with guilt,
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 friends I paid back with evil, if I plundered my foes without cause,
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.
may the enemy chase and find me, trample my life to the ground, my honour leave in 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!
Arise, Lord, in anger, against my foes rise in fury. Awake for my help: let justice be done.
7 Gather around you the people of [all] nations, and rule them from where you are in heaven [MTY].
Gather the nations about you, and sit on your lofty throne,
8 Yahweh, judge the people of [all] nations! And, Yahweh, show that I have done nothing that is wrong.
as the Lord, the judge of the peoples. Judge me, Lord, in my innocence and according to 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!
Put an end to the wrong of the wicked, protect the righteous. Searcher of hearts and minds, righteous God.
10 God, you protect me like a shield [protects soldiers] [MET]; you protect all those who are righteous in their inner being.
God is my shield: he saves the upright in heart.
11 You judge [everyone] correctly, and every day you punish [wicked people].
God is a just judge, constant in righteous anger.
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].
He will sharpen his sword without fail, his bow is bent and ready,
13 You are preparing your weapons that kill those whom they strike; the arrows that you will shoot have flaming tips.
his deadly weapons are ready, his arrows he makes of flame.
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].
The enemy who conceives evil; pregnant with mischief, giving birth to lies,
15 But when they dig a deep pit [to trap others], they themselves will fall into it.
a pit they have made and dug; but into the hole that they made they will fall.
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.
On their own heads their mischief comes back; on their own skulls their violence comes down.
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 give thanks to the Lord for his justice, and sing to the name of the Lord Most High.
