Psalms 35

¹O Lord, be on my side against those who are judging me; be at war with those who make war against me.

²Be a breastplate to me, and give me your help.

³Take up your spear and keep back my attackers; say to my soul, I am your salvation.

⁴Let them be overcome and put to shame who make attempts to take my soul; let those who would do me damage be turned back and made foolish.

⁵Let them be like dust from the grain before the wind; let the angel of the Lord send them in flight.

⁶Let their way be dark and full of danger; let them be troubled by the angel of the Lord.

⁷For without cause they have put a net ready for me secretly, in which to take my soul.

⁸Let destruction come on them without their knowledge; let them be taken themselves in their secret nets, falling into the same destruction.

⁹And my soul will have joy in the Lord; it will be glad in his salvation.

¹⁰All my bones will say, Lord, who is like you? The saviour of the poor man from the hands of the strong, of him who is poor and in need from him who takes his goods.

¹¹False witnesses got up: they put questions to me about crimes of which I had no knowledge.

¹²They gave me back evil for good, troubling my soul.

¹³But as for me, when they were ill I put on the clothing of sorrow: I went without food and was sad, and my prayer came back again to my heart.

¹⁴My behaviour was as if it had been my friend or my brother: I was bent low in grief like one whose mother is dead.

¹⁵But they took pleasure in my trouble, and came together, yes, low persons came together against me without my knowledge; they never came to an end of wounding me.

¹⁶Like men of deceit they put me to shame; the voice of their wrath was loud against me.

¹⁷Lord, how long will you be looking on? take my soul from their destruction, my life from the lions.

¹⁸I will give you praise in the great meeting; I will give you honour among a strong people.

¹⁹Do not let my haters be glad over me falsely; let not those who are against me without cause make sport of me.

²⁰For they do not say words of peace; in their deceit they are designing evil things against the quiet ones in the land.

²¹Their mouths were open wide against me, and they said, Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it.

²²You have seen this, O Lord; be not unmoved: O Lord, be not far from me.

²³Be awake, O Lord, be moved to take up my cause, my God and my Lord.

²⁴Be my judge, O Lord my God, in your righteousness; do not let them be glad over me.

²⁵Let them not say in their hearts, So we will have it: let them not say, We have put an end to him.

²⁶Let all those who take pleasure in my troubles be shamed and come to nothing: let those who are lifted up against me be covered with shame and have no honour.

²⁷Let those who are on my side give cries of joy; let them ever say, The Lord be praised, for he has pleasure in the peace of his servant.

²⁸And my tongue will be talking of your righteousness and of your praise all the day.

Psalms 35

¹Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me. Fight against those who fight against me.

²Take hold of shield and buckler, and stand up for my help.

³Brandish the spear and block those who pursue me. Tell my soul, "I am your salvation."

⁴Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor. Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.

⁵Let them be as chaff before the wind, The Lord's angel driving them on.

⁶Let their way be dark and slippery, The Lord's angel pursuing them.

⁷For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me. Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul.

⁸Let destruction come on him unawares. Let his net that he has hidden catch himself. Let him fall into that destruction.

⁹My soul shall be joyful in the Lord. It shall rejoice in his salvation.

¹⁰All my bones shall say, "Lord, who is like you, who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him; yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?"

¹¹Unrighteous witnesses rise up. They ask me about things that I do not know about.

¹²They reward me evil for good, to the bereaving of my soul.

¹³But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth. I afflicted my soul with fasting; and my prayer returned into my own bosom.

¹⁴I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother. I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother.

¹⁵But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together. The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I did not know it. They tore at me, and did not cease.

¹⁶Like the profane mockers in feasts, they gnashed their teeth at me.

¹⁷Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue my soul from their destruction, my precious life from the lions.

¹⁸I will give you thanks in the great assembly. I will praise you among many people.

¹⁹Do not let those who are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me; neither let those who hate me without a cause and wink their eyes.

²⁰For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.

²¹Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me. They said, "Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!"

²²You have seen it, Lord. Do not keep silent. Lord, do not be far from me.

²³Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God! My Lord, contend for me!

²⁴Vindicate me, Lord my God, according to your righteousness. Do not let them gloat over me.

²⁵Do not let them say in their heart, "Aha! That's the way we want it!" Do not let them say, "We have swallowed him up!"

²⁶Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity. Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.

²⁷Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause. Yes, let them say continually, "The Lord be magnified, who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant!"

²⁸My tongue shall talk about your righteousness and about your praise all day long.