[pause]^[b]

⁴ Keep me from the grip of these cruel men, O Eternal One.
    Shield me from this band of violent men
    whose only intention is to trip me up and undermine all I do.
⁵ Those arrogant people are trying to catch me;
    they’ve laid their trap, hiding a net along my path;
    their traps are set, and I am the prey.

[pause]

⁶ “Eternal One,” I said, “You are my one and only God.
    Hear me, O Eternal, hear my humble cry for rescue.
⁷ O Lord, Eternal One, power of my deliverance,
    You are my helmet in the day of battle.
⁸ So do not fulfill the desires of these evildoers, Eternal One;
    do not advance their evil schemes, lest they brag about their successes.

[pause]

⁹ “As for the gang leader of those who surround me,
    let their mischievous words cover them; smother them in trouble.
¹⁰ Let hot coals fall from heaven upon them
    and cast them into the roaring fires.
    May they sink into the muddy marsh from which there is no return.
¹¹ Let no liar find a home anywhere in the land;
    let evil hunt down the violent man and do him in quickly.”

¹² I am certain the Eternal supports the cause of the distressed;
    the poor will receive the justice they deserve.
¹³ Indeed, the just-living will glorify Your name,
    and honorable people will be at home in Your presence.