< Psalms 69 >

1 For the chief musician; set to Shoshannim. A psalm of David. Save me, God; for the waters have put my life in danger.
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].
2 I sink in deep mire, where there is no place to stand; I have come into deep waters, where the floods flow over me.
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.
3 I am weary with my crying; my throat is dry; my eyes fail while I wait for my God.
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.
4 Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs on my head; those who would cut me off, being my enemies for wrong reasons, are mighty; what I did not steal, I have to give back.
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!
5 God, you know my foolishness, and my sins are not hidden from you.
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].
6 Let not those who hope in you be put to shame because of me, Lord Yahweh of hosts; let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor because of me, God of Israel.
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.
7 For your sake I have borne rebuke; shame has covered my face.
People have insulted/ridiculed me because [I am devoted to] you. They have thoroughly humiliated [IDM] me.
8 I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother's children.
Even my own [older] brothers act as if they do not know me; they treat me like a foreigner.
9 For the zeal of your house has eaten me up, and the rebukes of those who rebuke you have fallen on me.
[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.
10 When I wept and did not eat food, they insulted me.
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.
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became the object of a proverb to them.
When I put on [rough] sackcloth [to show that I am sad], they laugh at [IDM] me.
12 Those who sit in the city gate talk about me; I am a song of drunkards.
Even the elders [of the city] say bad things about me. The drunkards of the city sing [disgusting] songs about me.
13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, Yahweh, at a time that you will accept; answer me in the trustworthiness of your salvation.
But Yahweh, I will [continue] praying to you. At the time that you choose, answer me and rescue me because you faithfully love me.
14 Pull me out of the mire, and do not let me sink; let me be taken away from those who hate me and rescued out of the deep waters.
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!
15 Do not let the floods of water overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up. Do not let the pit shut its mouth on me.
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].
16 Answer me, Yahweh, for your covenant faithfulness is good; because your mercies for me are many, turn to me.
O Yahweh, answer my prayer and help me because you are good and love me faithfully.
17 Do not hide your face from your servant, for I am in distress; answer me quickly.
Do not (hide yourself from/refuse to hear) me; answer me quickly because I am in great trouble.
18 Come to me and redeem me. Because of my enemies, ransom me.
Come near to me and save me; rescue me from my enemies.
19 You know my rebuke, my shame, and my dishonor; my adversaries are all before you.
You know that I am insulted and that [people cause] me [to feel] ashamed and dishonored; you know [who] all my enemies [are].
20 Rebuke has broken my heart; I am full of heaviness; I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none; I looked for comforters, but I found none.
[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.
21 They gave me poison for my food; in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
[Instead], they gave me food [that tasted like] poison, and when I was thirsty, they gave me sour wine to drink.
22 Let their table before them become a snare; when they think they are in safety, let it become a trap.
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.
23 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see; and always make their loins shake.
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.
24 Pour out your indignation on them, and let the fierceness of your anger overtake them.
Show them that you are very angry with them! Because of your great/furious anger, chase after them and catch them.
25 Let their place be a desolation; let no one live in their tents.
Cause their towns to become abandoned/deserted and that there will be no one left to live in their tents/houses.
26 For they persecuted the one you struck down. They repeated the account of the pain of those you have wounded.
[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.
27 Accuse them of having committed iniquity after iniquity; do not let them come into your righteous victory.
Keep making a record of all their sins, do not acquit/pardon them [for the evil things that they have done].
28 Let them be blotted out of the Book of Life and not be written down along with the righteous.
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.
29 But I am poor and sorrowful; let your salvation, God, set me up on high.
As for me, I have pain and am suffering. O God, protect me and rescue me.
30 I will praise the name of God with a song and will exalt him with thanksgiving.
When God does that, I will sing as I praise God, and I will honor him by thanking him.
31 That will please Yahweh better than an ox or a bull that has horns and hooves.
My doing that will please Yahweh more than [sacrificing] oxen, more than offering him full-grown bulls.
32 The meek have seen it and are glad; you who seek after God, let your hearts live.
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.
33 For Yahweh hears the needy and does not despise his prisoners.
Yahweh listens to those who are needy; He does not ignore/forget those who are oppressed/imprisoned.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them.
I desire that everything will praise God— everything that is in heaven and on earth, and all the creatures that are in the seas.
35 For God will save Zion and will rebuild the cities of Judah; the people will live there and have it as a possession.
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.
36 His servants' descendants will inherit it; and those who love his name will live there.
The descendants of his people will inherit it, and those who love him will live there [safely].

< Psalms 69 >