Psalm 69

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” by David.

1Deliver me, O God,

for the water has reached my neck.

2I sink into the deep mire

where there is no solid ground;

I am in deep water,

and the current overpowers me.

3I am exhausted from shouting for help;

my throat is sore;

my eyes grow tired of looking for my God.

4Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head.

Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, outnumber me.

They make me repay what I did not steal!

5O God, you are aware of my foolish sins;

my guilt is not hidden from you.

6Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me,

O sovereign Lord and king!

Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me,

O God of Israel!

7For I suffer humiliation for your sake

and am thoroughly disgraced.

8My own brothers treat me like a stranger;

they act as if I were a foreigner.

9Certainly zeal for your house consumes me;

I endure the insults of those who insult you.

10I weep and refrain from eating food,

which causes others to insult me.

11I wear sackcloth

and they ridicule me.

12Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me;

drunkards mock me in their songs.

13O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me!

O God, because of your great loyal love,

answer me with your faithful deliverance!

14Rescue me from the mud! Don’t let me sink!

Deliver me from those who hate me,

from the deep water!

15Don’t let the current overpower me!

Don’t let the deep swallow me up!

Don’t let the pit devour me!

16Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good!

Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!

17Do not ignore your servant,

for I am in trouble! Answer me right away!

18Come near me and redeem me!

Because of my enemies, rescue me!

19You know how I am insulted, humiliated and disgraced;

you can see all my enemies.

20Their insults are painful and make me lose heart;

I look for sympathy, but receive none,

for comforters, but find none.

21They put bitter poison into my food,

and to quench my thirst they give me vinegar to drink.

22May their dining table become a trap before them!

May it be a snare for that group of friends!

23May their eyes be blinded!

Make them shake violently!

24Pour out your judgment on them!

May your raging anger overtake them!

25May their camp become desolate,

their tents uninhabited!

26For they harass the one whom you discipline;

they spread the news about the suffering of those whom you punish.

27Hold them accountable for all their sins!

Do not vindicate them!

28May their names be deleted from the scroll of the living!

Do not let their names be listed with the godly!

29I am oppressed and suffering!

O God, deliver and protect me!

30I will sing praises to God’s name!

I will magnify him as I give him thanks!

31That will please the Lord more than an ox or a bull

with horns and hooves.

32The oppressed look on – let them rejoice!

You who seek God, may you be encouraged!

33For the Lord listens to the needy;

he does not despise his captive people.

34Let the heavens and the earth praise him,

along with the seas and everything that swims in them!

35For God will deliver Zion

and rebuild the cities of Judah,

and his people will again live in them and possess Zion.

36The descendants of his servants will inherit it,

and those who are loyal to him will live in it.