Psalm 35:11-19

Contemporary English Version

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

¹⁵I have stumbled,
    and worthless liars
I don't even know
    surround me and sneer.
¹⁶Worthless people make fun^[d]
    and never stop laughing.
¹⁷But all you do is watch!
    When will you do something?
Save me from the attack
    of those vicious lions.
¹⁸And when your people meet,
    I will praise you
and thank you, Lord,
    in front of them all.

¹⁹^(A) Don't let my brutal enemies
be glad because of me.
They hate me for no reason.
Don't let them wink
behind my back.

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Footnotes

35.13 sackcloth: See the note at 30.11.
35.13 went without food: People sometimes went without food (called “fasting”) to show sorrow.
35.13 I … them: Or “My prayer wasn't answered, but I prayed.”
35.16 Worthless … fun: One possible meaning for the difficult Hebrew text.