祈求上帝拯救的祷告

大卫作的诗,交给乐长,调用“百合花”。

69 上帝啊,求你拯救我,
因为洪水快把我淹没;
我深陷泥沼,无法站稳脚;
我落入深渊,被洪流淹没。
我连连呼救,已声嘶力竭;
我期盼上帝的帮助,望眼欲穿。
无故恨我的人不计其数,
无故害我的仇敌势力强大,
逼我偿还我没有偷过的东西。
上帝啊,你知道我的愚昧,
我的罪恶也瞒不过你。
主——万军之耶和华啊,
求你不要使等候你的人因我而受辱;
以色列的上帝啊,
求你不要让信靠你的人因我而蒙羞。
我为了你的缘故遭受辱骂,
羞辱满面。
我的弟兄视我为陌生人,
我的手足看我为外人。
我对你的殿充满炙热的爱,
辱骂你之人的辱骂都落在我身上。
10 我悲伤禁食,
他们就羞辱我。
11 我披上麻衣,
他们就讥笑我。
12 我成了街谈巷议的话题,
醉汉作歌取笑我。

13 可是,耶和华啊,
在你悦纳人的时候,
我向你祷告。
上帝啊,
求你以你的大爱和信实拯救我。
14 求你救我脱离泥沼,
不要让我沉下去;
求你救我脱离恨我的人,
使我离开深渊。
15 求你不要让洪水淹没我,
深渊吞灭我,
坟墓吞噬我。

16 耶和华啊,求你答应我的祷告,
因为你充满慈爱和良善;
求你以无限的怜悯眷顾我。
17 求你不要掩面不理你的仆人。
我正身陷困境,
求你快快答应我。
18 求你前来拯救我,
把我从仇敌手中救赎出来。
19 你知道我受的辱骂、欺凌和羞辱,
你看到了我仇敌的所作所为。
20 他们的辱骂使我心碎,
令我绝望无助。
我渴望有人同情,却没有一个;
期望有人安慰,却无一人。
21 他们给我苦胆当食物,
又拿醋给我解渴。

22 愿他们面前的宴席变为网罗,
成为他们的陷阱。
23 愿他们眼目昏暗,无法看见;
愿他们哆哆嗦嗦,直不起腰来。
24 求你把烈怒倾倒在他们身上,
将怒气撒向他们。
25 愿他们的家园一片荒凉,
愿他们的帐篷无人居住。
26 因为他们迫害你击打过的人,
嘲笑你所打伤之人的痛苦。
27 求你清算他们的种种罪行,
不要让他们有份于你的拯救之恩。
28 愿他们的名字从生命册上被抹去,
不得和义人的名字列在一起。
29 上帝啊,
我陷入痛苦和忧伤,
求你拯救我,保护我。
30 我要用歌声赞美上帝的名,
以感恩的心尊崇祂。
31 这要比献上有蹄有角的公牛等祭牲更讨耶和华喜悦。
32 卑微的人看见这一切就欢喜快乐,
愿你们寻求上帝的人精神振奋。
33 耶和华垂听穷苦人的祈求,
不轻看祂被囚的子民。
34 愿天地都赞美祂,
愿海和其中的一切都赞美祂!
35 因为上帝必拯救锡安,
重建犹大的城邑。
祂的子民要住在那里,
拥有那片土地。
36 祂仆人的后裔要承受那地方为业,
凡爱祂的人都要住在那里。

Psalm 69[a]

A Cry of Anguish in Great Distress

For the leader; according to “Lilies.”[b] Of David.

I

Save me, God,
    for the waters[c] have reached my neck.(A)
I have sunk into the mire of the deep,
    where there is no foothold.
I have gone down to the watery depths;
    the flood overwhelms me.(B)
I am weary with crying out;
    my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,
    from looking for my God.(C)
More numerous than the hairs of my head
    are those who hate me without cause.(D)
Those who would destroy me are mighty,
    my enemies without reason.
Must I now restore
    what I did not steal?[d]

II

God, you know my folly;
    my faults are not hidden from you.
Let those who wait in hope for you, Lord of hosts,
    not be shamed because of me.
Let those who seek you, God of Israel,(E)
    not be disgraced because of me.
For it is on your account I bear insult,
    that disgrace covers my face.(F)
I have become an outcast to my kindred,
    a stranger to my mother’s children.(G)
10 Because zeal for your house has consumed me,[e]
    I am scorned by those who scorn you.(H)
11 When I humbled my spirit with fasting,(I)
    this led only to scorn.
12 When I clothed myself in sackcloth;
    I became a byword for them.
13 Those who sit in the gate gossip about me;
    drunkards make me the butt of songs.

III

14 But I will pray to you, Lord,
    at a favorable time.
God, in your abundant kindness, answer me
    with your sure deliverance.(J)
15 Rescue me from the mire,(K)
    and do not let me sink.
Rescue me from those who hate me
    and from the watery depths.
16 Do not let the flood waters overwhelm me,
    nor the deep swallow me,
    nor the pit close its mouth over me.
17 Answer me, Lord, in your generous love;
    in your great mercy turn to me.
18 Do not hide your face from your servant;
    hasten to answer me, for I am in distress.(L)
19 Come and redeem my life;
    because of my enemies ransom me.
20 You know my reproach, my shame, my disgrace;
    before you stand all my foes.
21 Insult has broken my heart, and I despair;
    I looked for compassion, but there was none,(M)
    for comforters, but found none.
22 Instead they gave me poison for my food;
    and for my thirst they gave me vinegar.(N)

IV

23 May their own table be a snare for them,
    and their communion offerings a trap.(O)
24 Make their eyes so dim they cannot see;
    keep their backs ever feeble.
25 Pour out your wrath upon them;
    let the fury of your anger overtake them.
26 Make their camp desolate,
    with none to dwell in their tents.(P)
27 For they pursued the one you struck,
    added to the pain of the one you wounded.
28 Heap punishment upon their punishment;
    let them gain from you no vindication.
29 May they be blotted from the book of life;
    not registered among the just!(Q)

V

30 But here I am miserable and in pain;
    let your saving help protect me, God,
31 [f]That I may praise God’s name in song
    and glorify it with thanksgiving.
32 That will please the Lord more than oxen,
    more than bulls with horns and hooves:(R)
33 “See, you lowly ones, and be glad;
    you who seek God, take heart!(S)
34 For the Lord hears the poor,
    and does not spurn those in bondage.
35 Let the heaven and the earth praise him,
    the seas and whatever moves in them!”

VI

36 For God will rescue Zion,
    and rebuild the cities of Judah.(T)
They will dwell there and possess it;
37 the descendants of God’s servants will inherit it;
    those who love God’s name will dwell in it.(U)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 69 A lament complaining of suffering in language both metaphorical (Ps 69:2–3, 15–16, the waters of chaos) and literal (Ps 69:4, 5, 9, 11–13, exhaustion, alienation from family and community, false accusation). In the second part the psalmist prays with special emphasis that the enemies be punished for all to see (Ps 69:23–29). Despite the pain, the psalmist does not lose hope that all be set right, and promises public praise (Ps 69:30–36). The Psalm, which depicts the suffering of the innocent just person vividly, is cited often by the New Testament especially in the passion accounts, e.g., Ps 69:5 in Jn 15:25; Ps 69:22 in Mk 15:23, 36 and parallels and in Jn 19:29. The Psalm prays not so much for personal vengeance as for public vindication of God’s justice. There was, at this time, no belief in an afterlife where such vindication could take place. Redress had to take place now, in the sight of all.
  2. 69:1 “Lilies”: apparently the name of the melody.
  3. 69:2 Waters: the waters of chaos from which God created the world are a common metaphor for extreme distress, cf. Ps 18:5; 42:8; 88:8; Jon 2:3–6.
  4. 69:5 What I did not steal: the psalmist, falsely accused of theft, is being forced to make restitution.
  5. 69:10 Zeal for your house has consumed me: the psalmist’s commitment to God’s cause brings only opposition, cf. Jn 2:17. I am scorned by those who scorn you: Rom 15:3 uses the verse as an example of Jesus’ unselfishness.
  6. 69:31 That I may praise God’s name in song: the actual song is cited in Ps 69:33–35, the word “praise” in Ps 69:35 referring back to “praise” in Ps 69:31.

Psalm 69[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.

Save me, O God,
    for the waters(A) have come up to my neck.(B)
I sink in the miry depths,(C)
    where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
    the floods engulf me.
I am worn out calling for help;(D)
    my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,(E)
    looking for my God.
Those who hate me(F) without reason(G)
    outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,(H)
    those who seek to destroy me.(I)
I am forced to restore
    what I did not steal.

You, God, know my folly;(J)
    my guilt is not hidden from you.(K)

Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    may those who hope in you
    not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
    may those who seek you
    not be put to shame because of me.
For I endure scorn(L) for your sake,(M)
    and shame covers my face.(N)
I am a foreigner to my own family,
    a stranger to my own mother’s children;(O)
for zeal for your house consumes me,(P)
    and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.(Q)
10 When I weep and fast,(R)
    I must endure scorn;
11 when I put on sackcloth,(S)
    people make sport of me.
12 Those who sit at the gate(T) mock me,
    and I am the song of the drunkards.(U)

13 But I pray to you, Lord,
    in the time of your favor;(V)
in your great love,(W) O God,
    answer me with your sure salvation.
14 Rescue me from the mire,
    do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
    from the deep waters.(X)
15 Do not let the floodwaters(Y) engulf me
    or the depths swallow me up(Z)
    or the pit close its mouth over me.(AA)

16 Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;(AB)
    in your great mercy turn to me.
17 Do not hide your face(AC) from your servant;
    answer me quickly,(AD) for I am in trouble.(AE)
18 Come near and rescue me;
    deliver(AF) me because of my foes.

19 You know how I am scorned,(AG) disgraced and shamed;
    all my enemies are before you.
20 Scorn has broken my heart
    and has left me helpless;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
    for comforters,(AH) but I found none.(AI)
21 They put gall in my food
    and gave me vinegar(AJ) for my thirst.(AK)

22 May the table set before them become a snare;
    may it become retribution and[b] a trap.(AL)
23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
    and their backs be bent forever.(AM)
24 Pour out your wrath(AN) on them;
    let your fierce anger overtake them.
25 May their place be deserted;(AO)
    let there be no one to dwell in their tents.(AP)
26 For they persecute those you wound
    and talk about the pain of those you hurt.(AQ)
27 Charge them with crime upon crime;(AR)
    do not let them share in your salvation.(AS)
28 May they be blotted out of the book of life(AT)
    and not be listed with the righteous.(AU)

29 But as for me, afflicted and in pain—
    may your salvation, God, protect me.(AV)

30 I will praise God’s name in song(AW)
    and glorify him(AX) with thanksgiving.
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox,
    more than a bull with its horns and hooves.(AY)
32 The poor will see and be glad(AZ)
    you who seek God, may your hearts live!(BA)
33 The Lord hears the needy(BB)
    and does not despise his captive people.

34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
    the seas and all that move in them,(BC)
35 for God will save Zion(BD)
    and rebuild the cities of Judah.(BE)
Then people will settle there and possess it;
36     the children of his servants will inherit it,(BF)
    and those who love his name will dwell there.(BG)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 69:1 In Hebrew texts 69:1-36 is numbered 69:2-37.
  2. Psalm 69:22 Or snare / and their fellowship become

An Urgent Plea for Help in Trouble

To the Chief Musician. Set to [a]“The Lilies.” A Psalm of David.

69 Save me, O God!
For (A)the waters have come up to my [b]neck.
(B)I sink in deep mire,
Where there is no standing;
I have come into deep waters,
Where the floods overflow me.
(C)I am weary with my crying;
My throat is dry;
(D)My eyes fail while I wait for my God.

Those who (E)hate me without a cause
Are more than the hairs of my head;
They are mighty who would destroy me,
Being my enemies wrongfully;
Though I have stolen nothing,
I still must restore it.

O God, You know my foolishness;
And my sins are not hidden from You.
Let not those who [c]wait for You, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed because of me;
Let not those who seek You be [d]confounded because of me, O God of Israel.
Because for Your sake I have borne reproach;
Shame has covered my face.
(F)I have become a stranger to my brothers,
And an alien to my mother’s children;
(G)Because zeal for Your house has eaten me up,
(H)And the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.
10 When I wept and chastened my soul with fasting,
That became my reproach.
11 I also [e]made sackcloth my garment;
I became a byword to them.
12 Those who [f]sit in the gate speak against me,
And I am the song of the (I)drunkards.

13 But as for me, my prayer is to You,
O Lord, in the acceptable time;
O God, in the multitude of Your mercy,
Hear me in the truth of Your salvation.
14 Deliver me out of the mire,
And let me not sink;
Let me be delivered from those who hate me,
And out of the deep waters.
15 Let not the floodwater overflow me,
Nor let the deep swallow me up;
And let not the pit shut its mouth on me.

16 Hear me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is good;
Turn to me according to the multitude of Your tender mercies.
17 And do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am in trouble;
Hear me speedily.
18 Draw near to my soul, and redeem it;
Deliver me because of my enemies.

19 You know (J)my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor;
My adversaries are all before You.
20 Reproach has broken my heart,
And I am full of [g]heaviness;
(K)I looked for someone to take pity, but there was none;
And for (L)comforters, but I found none.
21 They also gave me gall for my food,
(M)And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

22 (N)Let their table become a snare before them,
And their well-being a trap.
23 (O)Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see;
And make their loins shake continually.
24 (P)Pour out Your indignation upon them,
And let Your wrathful anger take hold of them.
25 (Q)Let their dwelling place be desolate;
Let no one live in their tents.
26 For they persecute the ones (R)You have struck,
And talk of the grief of those You have wounded.
27 (S)Add iniquity to their iniquity,
(T)And let them not come into Your righteousness.
28 Let them (U)be blotted out of the book of the living,
(V)And not be written with the righteous.

29 But I am poor and sorrowful;
Let Your salvation, O God, set me up on high.
30 (W)I will praise the name of God with a song,
And will magnify Him with thanksgiving.
31 (X)This also shall please the Lord better than an ox or bull,
Which has horns and hooves.
32 (Y)The humble shall see this and be glad;
And you who seek God, (Z)your hearts shall live.
33 For the Lord hears the poor,
And does not despise (AA)His prisoners.

34 (AB)Let heaven and earth praise Him,
The seas (AC)and everything that moves in them.
35 (AD)For God will save Zion
And build the cities of Judah,
That they may dwell there and possess it.
36 Also, (AE)the [h]descendants of His servants shall inherit it,
And those who love His name shall dwell in it.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 69:1 Heb. Shoshannim
  2. Psalm 69:1 Lit. soul
  3. Psalm 69:6 Wait in faith
  4. Psalm 69:6 dishonored
  5. Psalm 69:11 Symbolic of sorrow
  6. Psalm 69:12 Sit as judges
  7. Psalm 69:20 Lit. sickness
  8. Psalm 69:36 Lit. seed