求上帝伸张正义

大卫向耶和华唱的诗,与便雅悯人古实有关。

我的上帝耶和华啊,我投靠你,
求你拯救我脱离追赶我的人。
别让他们像狮子般撕裂我,
无人搭救。
我的上帝耶和华啊,
倘若我犯了罪,
手上沾了不义;
倘若我恩将仇报,
无故抢夺仇敌,
就让仇敌追上我,
践踏我,使我声名扫地。(细拉)

耶和华啊,
求你发怒攻击我暴怒的仇敌。
我的上帝啊,
求你来伸张正义。
愿万民环绕你,
愿你从高天治理他们,
愿你审判万民!
至高的耶和华啊,
我是公义正直的,
求你为我主持公道。
鉴察人心肺腑的公义上帝啊,
求你铲除邪恶,扶持义人。
10 上帝是我的盾牌,
祂拯救心地正直的人。
11 上帝是公义的审判官,
天天向恶人发怒。
12 他们若不悔改,祂必磨刀霍霍,
弯弓搭箭,诛灭他们。
13 祂准备好了夺命的兵器,
火箭已在弦上。
14 恶人心怀恶念,
居心叵测,滋生虚谎。
15 他们挖了陷阱,却自陷其中。
16 他们的恶行临到自己头上,
他们的暴力落到自己脑壳上。
17 我要称谢耶和华的公义,
我要歌颂至高者耶和华的名。

Psalm 7[a]

Appeal to the Divine Judge

A plaintive song of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush,[b] a Benjaminite.

Lord, my God, I take refuge in you;
    keep me safe from all my pursuers and deliver me,
lest like a lion they tear me to pieces
    and carry me off, with no one to rescue me.
Lord, my God, if I have done this,
    if my hands are stained with guilt,
if I have repaid a friend with treachery—
    I who spared the lives of those who without cause were my enemies—[c]
then let my foe pursue and overtake me;
    let him trample my life into the ground
    and leave my honor in the dust. Selah
Rise up, O Lord, in your indignation;
    rise against the fury of my enemies.
Rouse yourself for me,
    and fulfill the judgment you have decreed.
Let the peoples assemble in your presence
    as you sit above them enthroned on high.
    The Lord is the judge of the nations.
Therefore, pass judgment on me, O Lord, according to my righteousness,
    according to my innocence, O Most High.
10 Put an end to the malice of the wicked
    but continue to sustain the righteous,
O God of justice,
    you who search minds and hearts.[d]
11 God is a shield to me;
    he saves those who are upright of heart.
12 God is a just judge,
    a God who expresses his indignation every day.
13 When a sinner refuses to repent,
    God sharpens his sword,
    and he bends and aims his bow.
14 He has prepared deadly weapons for him
    and made his arrows into fiery shafts.
15 [e]Behold, he who conceives iniquity
    and is pregnant with mischief
    will give birth to lies.
16 He digs a pit and makes it deep,
    but he will fall into the trap he has made.
17 His wickedness will recoil upon his own head,
    and his violence will fall back on his own crown.
18 I will offer thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness,
and I will sing hymns of praise[f] to the name of the Lord Most High.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 7:1 Falsely accused, the psalmist implores the divine assistance, affirms his innocence, invokes God’s just judgment, and expresses limitless confidence in the punishment of his enemy as well as his own salvation, concluding with praise for God’s righteousness.
  2. Psalm 7:1 Cush is not otherwise known, but as a Benjaminite he was probably a supporter of Saul. Hence, the psalm is associated with Saul’s determined attempts on David’s life.
  3. Psalm 7:5 I who . . . enemies: an alternative translation is: “and without cause have despoiled an enemy.”
  4. Psalm 7:10 Minds and hearts: literally, “hearts and kidneys.” These words were used as virtual synonyms (but “heart” most often) to refer to the innermost center of human life. To “search mind and heart” was a conventional expression for God’s examination of a person’s hidden character and motives (see Jer 11:20; 17:10; 20:12).
  5. Psalm 7:15 See notes on Pss 5:11; 35.
  6. Psalm 7:18 I will offer thanks . . . and I will sing hymns of praise: a vow to praise the Lord in keeping with the Israelite belief that praise must follow deliverance. The praise involved thank offerings and celebrating God’s saving deed in the presence of others in the temple (see Ps 50:14f, 23). See also note on Ps 9:2. Name: see notes on Pss 5:12; 8:2.

1-2 God! God! I am running to you for dear life;
    the chase is wild.
If they catch me, I’m finished:
    ripped to shreds by foes fierce as lions,
    dragged into the forest and left
    unlooked for, unremembered.

3-5 God, if I’ve done what they say—
    betrayed my friends,
    ripped off my enemies—
If my hands are really that dirty,
    let them get me, walk all over me,
    leave me flat on my face in the dirt.

6-8 Stand up, God; pit your holy fury
    against my furious enemies.
Wake up, God. My accusers have packed
    the courtroom; it’s judgment time.
Take your place on the bench, reach for your gavel,
    throw out the false charges against me.
I’m ready, confident in your verdict:
    “Innocent.”

9-11 Close the book on Evil, God,
    but publish your mandate for us.
You get us ready for life:
    you probe for our soft spots,
    you knock off our rough edges.
And I’m feeling so fit, so safe:
    made right, kept right.
God in solemn honor does things right,
    but his nerves are sandpapered raw.

11-13 Nobody gets by with anything.
    God is already in action—
Sword honed on his whetstone,
    bow strung, arrow on the string,
Lethal weapons in hand,
    each arrow a flaming missile.

14 Look at that guy!
    He had sex with sin,
    he’s pregnant with evil.
Oh, look! He’s having
    the baby—a Lie-Baby!

15-16 See that man shoveling day after day,
    digging, then concealing, his man-trap
    down that lonely stretch of road?
Go back and look again—you’ll see him in it headfirst,
    legs waving in the breeze.
That’s what happens:
    mischief backfires;
    violence boomerangs.

17 I’m thanking God, who makes things right.
I’m singing the fame of heaven-high God.

Psalm 7[a]

A shiggaion[b](A) of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.

Lord my God, I take refuge(B) in you;
    save and deliver me(C) from all who pursue me,(D)
or they will tear me apart like a lion(E)
    and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue(F) me.

Lord my God, if I have done this
    and there is guilt on my hands(G)
if I have repaid my ally with evil
    or without cause(H) have robbed my foe—
then let my enemy pursue and overtake(I) me;
    let him trample my life to the ground(J)
    and make me sleep in the dust.[c](K)

Arise,(L) Lord, in your anger;
    rise up against the rage of my enemies.(M)
    Awake,(N) my God; decree justice.
Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
    while you sit enthroned over them on high.(O)
    Let the Lord judge(P) the peoples.
Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness,(Q)
    according to my integrity,(R) O Most High.(S)
Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
    and make the righteous secure—(T)
you, the righteous God(U)
    who probes minds and hearts.(V)

10 My shield[d](W) is God Most High,
    who saves the upright in heart.(X)
11 God is a righteous judge,(Y)
    a God who displays his wrath(Z) every day.
12 If he does not relent,(AA)
    he[e] will sharpen his sword;(AB)
    he will bend and string his bow.(AC)
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
    he makes ready his flaming arrows.(AD)

14 Whoever is pregnant with evil
    conceives trouble and gives birth(AE) to disillusionment.
15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
    falls into the pit(AF) they have made.(AG)
16 The trouble they cause recoils on them;
    their violence comes down on their own heads.

17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;(AH)
    I will sing the praises(AI) of the name of the Lord Most High.(AJ)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-17 is numbered 7:2-18.
  2. Psalm 7:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  3. Psalm 7:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
  4. Psalm 7:10 Or sovereign
  5. Psalm 7:12 Or If anyone does not repent, / God