Psalms 69

A Cry of Distress and a Curse on Adversaries.

For the music director; according to ▼

▼Or possibly Lilies

Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.

1 Save me, God,
For the ^bwaters have ▼

▼Lit come up to my soul

threatened my life.
2 I have sunk in deep ^dmud, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a ▼

▼Lit flowing stream

, ^fflood overflows me.
3 I am ^gweary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My ^heyes fail while I wait for my God.
4 Those ⁱwho hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would ▼

▼Or silence

destroy me ^kare powerful, those who oppose me with lies;
^lWhat I did not steal, I then have to restore.

5 God, You know ^mmy foolishness,
And ⁿmy guilt is not hidden from You.
6 May those who wait for You not ^obe ashamed because of me, Lord ▼

▼Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord

God of armies;
May those who seek You not be dishonored because of me, God of Israel,
7 Because ^qfor Your sake I have endured disgrace;
^rDishonor has covered my face.
8 I have become ^sestranged ▼

▼Lit to

from my brothers,
And a stranger to my mother’s sons.
9 For ^uzeal for Your house has consumed me,
And ^vthe taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept ^win my soul with fasting,
It became my ^xdisgrace.
11 When I made ^ysackcloth my clothing,
I became ^za proverb to them.
12 Those who ^aasit in the gate talk about me,
And ^absongs of mockery by those habitually drunk are about me.

13 But as for me, my prayer is to You, Lord, ^acat an acceptable time;
God, in the ^adgreatness of Your mercy,
Answer me with ▼

▼Or the faithfulness of Your salvation

Your saving truth.
14 Rescue me from the ^afmud and do not let me sink;
May I be ^agrescued from those who hate me, and from the ^ahdepths of water.
15 May the ▼

▼Lit stream

, ^ajflood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the ^akpit close its mouth on me.

16 Answer me, Lord, for ^alYour mercy is good;
^amAccording to the greatness of Your compassion, ^anturn to me,
17 And ^aodo not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am ^apin distress; answer me quickly.
18 Come near to my soul and ^aqredeem it;
^arRansom me because of my enemies!
19 You know my ^asdisgrace, my shame, and my dishonor;
All my enemies are ▼

▼Lit before You

known to You.

20 Disgrace has ^aubroken my heart, and I am so sick.
And ^avI waited for sympathy, but there was none;
And for ^awcomforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me ▼

▼Or poison

, ^aya bitter herb in my food,
And for my thirst they ^azgave me vinegar to drink.

22 May ^batheir table before them become a snare;
And ▼

▼Lit for those who are secure

, ^bcwhen they are at peace, may it become a trap.
23 May their ^bdeyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their ^behips shake continually.
24 ^bfPour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
25 May their ▼

▼Lit encampment

, ^bhcamp be desolated;
May there be none living in their tents.
26 For they have ^bipersecuted him whom ^bjYou Yourself struck,
And they tell of the pain of those whom ^bkYou have ▼

▼Lit pierced

wounded.
27 Add ^bmguilt to their guilt,
And ^bnmay they not come into ^boYour righteousness.
28 May they be ^bpwiped out of the ^bqbook of life,
And may they not be ▼

▼Lit written

, ^bsrecorded with the righteous.

29 But I am ^btafflicted and in pain;
▼

▼Or Your salvation, O God, will set...

May Your salvation, God, ^bvset me safely on high.
30 I will ^bwpraise the name of God with song,
And ^bxexalt Him with ^bythanksgiving.
31 And it will ^bzplease the Lord better than an ox
Or bull with horns and hoofs.
32 The ^cahumble ▼

▼Some mss and ancient versions will see

have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, ^cclet your heart ▼

▼Or live

revive.
33 For ^cethe Lord hears the needy,
And ^cfdoes not despise those of His who are prisoners.

34 ^cgHeaven and earth shall praise Him,
The seas and ^cheverything that moves in them.
35 For God will ^cisave Zion and ^cjbuild the cities of Judah,
So that they may live there and ^ckpossess it.
36 The ▼

▼Lit seed

, ^cmdescendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name ^cnwill live in it.