Psalm 35:1-16

Contemporary English Version

⁴ Let all who want to kill me
be disgraced
    and put to shame.
Chase away and confuse
    all who plan to harm me.
⁵ Send your angel after them
and let them be like straw
    in the wind.
⁶ Make them run in the dark
on a slippery road,
    as your angel chases them.
⁷ I did them no harm,
but they hid a net
    to trap me,
and they dug a deep pit
    to catch and kill me.
^8 (A) Surprise them with disaster!
    Trap them in their own nets
and let them fall and rot
    in the pits they have dug.

⁹ I will celebrate and be joyful
because you, Lord,
    have saved me.
¹⁰ Every bone in my body
    will shout:
“No one is like the Lord!”
You protect the helpless
    from those in power;
you save the poor and needy
    from those who hurt them.

¹¹ Liars accuse me of crimes
    I know nothing about.
¹² They repay evil for good,
    and I feel all alone.
¹³ When they were sick,
I wore sackcloth^[a]
    and went without food.^[b]
I truly prayed for them,^[c]
14 as I would for a friend
    or a relative.
I was in sorrow and mourned,
    as I would for my mother.

¹⁵ I have stumbled,
    and worthless liars
I don't even know
    surround me and sneer.
¹⁶ Worthless people make fun^[d]
    and never stop laughing.