1 For the leader. Set to
"Lilies." By David: Save me, God! For the water threatens my
life.
2 I am sinking down in the mud, and
there is no foothold; I have come into deep water; the flood is sweeping over
me.
3 I am exhausted from crying, my throat
is dry and sore, my eyes are worn out with looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me for no reason
outnumber the hairs on my head. My persecutors are powerful, my enemies accuse
me falsely. Am I expected to return things I didn't steal?
5 God, you know how foolish I am; my
guilt is not hidden from you.
6 Let those who put their hope in you,
Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva'ot, not be put to shame through me; let those who are
seeking you, God of Isra'el, not be disgraced through me.
7 For your sake I suffer insults, shame
covers my face.
8 I am estranged from my brothers, an
alien to my mother's children,
9 because zeal for your house is eating
me up, and on me are falling the insults of those insulting you.
10 I weep bitterly, and I fast, but
that too occasions insults.
11 I clothe myself with sackcloth and
become an object of scorn,
12 the gossip of those sitting by the
town gate, the theme of drunkards' songs.
13 As for me, ADONAI, let my prayer to
you come at an acceptable time; In your great grace, God, answer me with the
truth of your salvation.
14 Rescue me from the mud! Don't let me
sink! Let me be rescued from those who hate me and from the deep water.
15 Don't let the floodwaters overwhelm
me, don't let the deep swallow me up, don't let the pit close its mouth over
me.
16 Answer me, ADONAI, for your grace is
good; in your great mercy, turn to me.
17 Don't hide your face from your
servant, for I am in trouble; answer me quickly.
18 Come near to me, and redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies.
19 You know how I am insulted, shamed
and disgraced; before you stand all my foes.
20 Insults have broken my heart to the
point that I could die. I hoped that someone would show compassion, but nobody
did; and that there would be comforters, but I found none.
21 They put poison in my food; in my
thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 Let their dining table before them
become a snare; when they are at peace, let it become a trap;
23 let their eyes be darkened, so that
they can't see, and let their bodies always be stumbling.
24 Pour out your fury on them, let your
fierce anger overtake them.
25 Let the place where they live be
desolate, with no one to live in their tents,
26 for persecuting someone you had
already stricken, for adding to the pain of those you wounded.
27 Add guilt to their guilt, don't let
them enter your righteousness.
28 Erase them from the book of life,
let them not be written with the righteous.
29 Meanwhile, I am afflicted and
hurting; God, let your saving power raise me up.
30 I will praise God's name with a song
and extol him with thanksgiving.
31 This will please ADONAI more than a
bull, with its horns and hoofs.
32 The afflicted will see it and
rejoice; you seeking after God, let your heart revive.
33 For ADONAI pays attention to the
needy and doesn't scorn his captive people.
34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the
seas and whatever moves in them.
35 For God will save Tziyon, he will
build the cities of Y'hudah. [His people] will settle there and possess
it.
36 The descendants of his servants will
inherit it, and those who love his name will live there.
