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A Cry for Help[a]

69 Save me, O God!
    The water is up to my neck;
I am sinking in deep mud,
    and there is no solid ground;
I am out in deep water,
    and the waves are about to drown me.
I am worn out from calling for help,
    and my throat is aching.
I have strained my eyes,
    looking for your help.

(A)Those who hate me for no reason
    are more numerous than the hairs of my head.
My enemies tell lies against me;
    they are strong and want to kill me.
They made me give back things I did not steal.
My sins, O God, are not hidden from you;
    you know how foolish I have been.
Don't let me bring shame on those who trust in you,
    Sovereign Lord Almighty!
Don't let me bring disgrace to those who worship you,
    O God of Israel!
It is for your sake that I have been insulted
    and that I am covered with shame.
I am like a stranger to my relatives,
    like a foreigner to my family.

(B)My devotion to your Temple burns in me like a fire;
    the insults which are hurled at you fall on me.
10 I humble myself[b] by fasting,
    and people insult me;
11 I dress myself in clothes of mourning,
    and they laugh at me.
12 They talk about me in the streets,
    and drunkards make up songs about me.

13 But as for me, I will pray to you, Lord;
    answer me, God, at a time you choose.
Answer me because of your great love,
    because you keep your promise to save.
14 Save me from sinking in the mud;
    keep me safe from my enemies,
    safe from the deep water.
15 Don't let the flood come over me;
    don't let me drown in the depths
    or sink into the grave.

16 Answer me, Lord, in the goodness of your constant love;
    in your great compassion turn to me!
17 Don't hide yourself from your servant;
    I am in great trouble—answer me now!
18 Come to me and save me;
    rescue me from my enemies.

19 You know how I am insulted,
    how I am disgraced and dishonored;
    you see all my enemies.
20 Insults have broken my heart,
    and I am in despair.
I had hoped for sympathy, but there was none;
    for comfort, but I found none.
21 (C)When I was hungry, they gave me poison;
    when I was thirsty, they offered me vinegar.

22 (D)May their banquets cause their ruin;
    may their sacred feasts cause their downfall.
23 Strike them with blindness!
    Make their backs always weak!
24 Pour out your anger on them;
    let your indignation overtake them.
25 (E)May their camps be left deserted;
    may no one be left alive in their tents.
26 They persecute those whom you have punished;
    they talk about the sufferings of those you have wounded.
27 Keep a record of all their sins;
    don't let them have any part in your salvation.
28 (F)May their names be erased from the book of the living;
    may they not be included in the list of your people.

29 But I am in pain and despair;
    lift me up, O God, and save me!

30 I will praise God with a song;
    I will proclaim his greatness by giving him thanks.
31 This will please the Lord more than offering him cattle,
    more than sacrificing a full-grown bull.
32 When the oppressed see this, they will be glad;
    those who worship God will be encouraged.
33 The Lord listens to those in need
    and does not forget his people in prison.

34 Praise God, O heaven and earth,
    seas and all creatures in them.
35 He will save Jerusalem
    and rebuild the towns of Judah.
His people will live there and possess the land;
36     the descendants of his servants will inherit it,
    and those who love him will live there.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 69:1 HEBREW TITLE: By David.
  2. Psalm 69:10 Some ancient translations humble myself; Hebrew cry.

Psalm 69

Prayer for Deliverance from Persecution

To the leader: according to Lilies. Of David.

Save me, O God,
    for the waters have come up to my neck.(A)
I sink in deep mire,
    where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters,
    and the flood sweeps over me.(B)
I am weary with my crying;
    my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
    with waiting for my God.(C)

More in number than the hairs of my head
    are those who hate me without cause;
many are those who would destroy me,
    my enemies who accuse me falsely.
What I did not steal,
    must I now restore?(D)
O God, you know my folly;
    the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.(E)

Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me,
    O Lord God of hosts;
do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me,
    O God of Israel.
It is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
    that shame has covered my face.(F)
I have become a stranger to my kindred,
    an alien to my mother’s children.(G)

It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;
    the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.(H)
10 When I humbled my soul with fasting,[a]
    they insulted me for doing so.(I)
11 When I made sackcloth my clothing,
    I became a byword to them.(J)
12 I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,
    and the drunkards make songs about me.(K)

13 But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.
    At an acceptable time, O God,
    in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me.
With your faithful help(L) 14 rescue me
    from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
    and from the deep waters.(M)
15 Do not let the flood sweep over me
    or the deep swallow me up
    or the Pit close its mouth over me.(N)

16 Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;
    according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.(O)
17 Do not hide your face from your servant,
    for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.(P)
18 Draw near to me; redeem me;
    set me free because of my enemies.

19 You know the insults I receive
    and my shame and dishonor;
    my foes are all known to you.(Q)
20 Insults have broken my heart,
    so that I am in despair.
I looked for pity, but there was none;
    and for comforters, but I found none.(R)
21 They gave me poison for food,
    and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.(S)

22 Let their table be a trap for them,
    a snare for their allies.(T)
23 Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,
    and make their loins tremble continually.(U)
24 Pour out your indignation upon them,
    and let your burning anger overtake them.(V)
25 May their camp be a desolation;
    let no one live in their tents.(W)
26 For they persecute those whom you have struck down,
    and those whom you have wounded they attack still more.[b](X)
27 Add guilt to their guilt;
    may they have no acquittal from you.
28 Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
    let them not be enrolled among the righteous.(Y)
29 But I am lowly and in pain;
    let your salvation, O God, protect me.(Z)

30 I will praise the name of God with a song;
    I will magnify him with thanksgiving.(AA)
31 This will please the Lord more than an ox
    or a bull with horns and hoofs.(AB)
32 Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
    you who seek God, let your hearts revive.(AC)
33 For the Lord hears the needy
    and does not despise his own who are in bonds.(AD)

34 Let heaven and earth praise him,
    the seas and everything that moves in them.(AE)
35 For God will save Zion
    and rebuild the cities of Judah,
and his servants shall live[c] there and possess it;(AF)
36     the children of his servants shall inherit it,
    and those who love his name shall live in it.(AG)

Footnotes

  1. 69.10 Gk Syr: Heb I wept, with fasting my soul, or I made my soul mourn with fasting
  2. 69.26 Gk Syr: Heb recount the pain of
  3. 69.35 Syr: Heb and they shall live

69 (0) For the leader. Set to “Lilies.” By David:

(1) 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,
10 (9) because zeal for your house is eating me up,
and on me are falling the insults
of those insulting you.
11 (10) I weep bitterly, and I fast,
but that too occasions insults.
12 (11) I clothe myself with sackcloth
and become an object of scorn,
13 (12) the gossip of those sitting by the town gate,
the theme of drunkards’ songs.

14 (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.
15 (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.
16 (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.

17 (16) Answer me, Adonai, for your grace is good;
in your great mercy, turn to me.
18 (17) Don’t hide your face from your servant,
for I am in trouble; answer me quickly.
19 (18) Come near to me, and redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies.

20 (19) You know how I am insulted,
shamed and disgraced;
before you stand all my foes.
21 (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.
22 (21) They put poison in my food;
in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
23 (22) Let their dining table
before them become a snare;
when they are at peace,
let it become a trap;
24 (23) let their eyes be darkened,
so that they can’t see,
and let their bodies
always be stumbling.
25 (24) Pour out your fury on them,
let your fierce anger overtake them.
26 (25) Let the place where they live be desolate,
with no one to live in their tents,
27 (26) for persecuting someone you had already stricken,
for adding to the pain of those you wounded.
28 (27) Add guilt to their guilt,
don’t let them enter your righteousness.
29 (28) Erase them from the book of life,
let them not be written with the righteous.

30 (29) Meanwhile, I am afflicted and hurting;
God, let your saving power raise me up.
31 (30) I will praise God’s name with a song
and extol him with thanksgiving.

32 (31) This will please Adonai more than a bull,
with its horns and hoofs.
33 (32) The afflicted will see it and rejoice;
you seeking after God, let your heart revive.
34 (33) For Adonai pays attention to the needy
and doesn’t scorn his captive people.

35 (34) Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them.
36 (35) For God will save Tziyon,
he will build the cities of Y’hudah.
[His people] will settle there and possess it.
37 (36) The descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will live there.

69 God, God, save me!
I’m in over my head,

Quicksand under me, swamp water over me;
I’m going down for the third time.

I’m hoarse from calling for help,
Bleary-eyed from searching the sky for God.

I’ve got more enemies than hairs on my head;
Liars and cheats are out to knife me in the back.

What I never stole
Must I now give back?

God, you know every sin I’ve committed;
My life’s a wide-open book before you.

Don’t let those who look to you in hope
Be discouraged by what happens to me,
Dear Lord! God of the armies!

Don’t let those out looking for you
Come to a dead end by following me—
Please, dear God of Israel!

Because of you I look like an idiot,
I walk around ashamed to show my face.

My brothers shun me like a bum off the street;
My family treats me like an unwanted guest.

I love you more than I can say.
Because I’m madly in love with you,
They blame me for everything they dislike about you.

10 When I poured myself out in prayer and fasting,
All it got me was more contempt.

11 When I put on a sad face,
They treated me like a clown.

12 Now drunks and gluttons
Make up drinking songs about me.

13 And me? I pray.
God, it’s time for a break!

God, answer in love!
Answer with your sure salvation!

14 Rescue me from the swamp,
Don’t let me go under for good,

Pull me out of the clutch of the enemy;
This whirlpool is sucking me down.

15 Don’t let the swamp be my grave, the Black Hole
Swallow me, its jaws clenched around me.

16 Now answer me, God, because you love me;
Let me see your great mercy full-face.

17 Don’t look the other way; your servant can’t take it.
I’m in trouble. Answer right now!

18 Come close, God; get me out of here.
Rescue me from this deathtrap.

19 You know how they kick me around—
Pin on me the donkey’s ears, the dunce’s cap.

20 I’m broken by their taunts,
Flat on my face, reduced to a nothing.

I looked in vain for one friendly face. Not one.
I couldn’t find one shoulder to cry on.

21 They put poison in my soup,
Vinegar in my drink.

22 Let their supper be bait in a trap that snaps shut;
May their best friends be trappers who’ll skin them alive.

23 Make them become blind as bats,
Give them the shakes from morning to night.

24 Let them know what you think of them,
Blast them with your red-hot anger.

25 Burn down their houses,
Leave them desolate with nobody at home.

26 They gossiped about the one you disciplined,
Made up stories about anyone wounded by God.

27 Pile on the guilt,
Don’t let them off the hook.

28 Strike their names from the list of the living;
No rock-carved honor for them among the righteous.

29 I’m hurt and in pain;
Give me space for healing, and mountain air.

30 Let me shout God’s name with a praising song,
Let me tell his greatness in a prayer of thanks.

31 For God, this is better than oxen on the altar,
Far better than blue-ribbon bulls.

32 The poor in spirit see and are glad—
Oh, you God-seekers, take heart!

33 For God listens to the poor,
He doesn’t walk out on the wretched.

34 You heavens, praise him; praise him, earth;
Also ocean and all things that swim in it.

35 For God is out to help Zion,
Rebuilding the wrecked towns of Judah.

Guess who will live there—
The proud owners of the land?

36 No, the children of his servants will get it,
The lovers of his name will live in it.

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