⁶ I hate those who worship false gods.
    I trust only in the Lord.
⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
    because you saw my suffering;
    you knew my troubles.
⁸ You have not handed me over to my enemies
    but have set me in a safe place.

⁹ Lord, have mercy, because I am in misery.
    My eyes are weak from so much crying,
    and my whole being is tired from grief.
¹⁰ My life is ending in sadness,
    and my years are spent in crying.
My troubles are using up my strength,
    and my bones are getting weaker.
¹¹ Because of all my troubles, my enemies hate me,
    and even my neighbors look down on me.
When my friends see me,
    they are afraid and run.
¹² I am like a piece of a broken pot.
    I am forgotten as if I were dead.
¹³ I have heard many insults.
    Terror is all around me.
They make plans against me
    and want to kill me.

¹⁴ Lord, I trust you.
    I have said, “You are my God.”
¹⁵ My life is in your hands.
    Save me from my enemies
    and from those who are chasing me.
¹⁶ Show your kindness to me, your servant.
    Save me because of your love.
¹⁷ Lord, I called to you,
    so do not let me be disgraced.
Let the wicked be disgraced
    and lie silent in the grave.
¹⁸ With pride and hatred
    they speak against those who do right.
So silence their lying lips.

¹⁹ How great is your goodness
    that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you have given to those who trust you.
    You do this for all to see.
²⁰ You protect them by your presence
    from what people plan against them.
    You shelter them from evil words.
²¹ Praise the Lord.
    His love to me was wonderful
    when my city was attacked.
²² In my distress, I said,
    “God cannot see me!”
But you heard my prayer
    when I cried out to you for help.
²³ Love the Lord, all you who belong to him.
    The Lord protects those who truly believe,
    but he punishes the proud as much as they have sinned.
²⁴ All you who put your hope in the Lord
    be strong and brave.

⁴ Make those who want to kill me
    be ashamed and disgraced.
Make those who plan to harm me
    turn back and run away.
⁵ Make them like chaff blown by the wind
    as the angel of the Lord forces them away.
⁶ Let their road be dark and slippery
    as the angel of the Lord chases them.
⁷ For no reason they spread out their net to trap me;
    for no reason they dug a pit for me.
⁸ So let ruin strike them suddenly.
    Let them be caught in their own nets;
    let them fall into the pit and die.
⁹ Then I will rejoice in the Lord;
    I will be happy when he saves me.
¹⁰ Even my bones will say,
    “Lord, who is like you?
You save the weak from the strong,
    the weak and poor from robbers.”

¹¹ Men without mercy stand up to testify.
    They ask me things I do not know.
¹² They repay me with evil for the good I have done,
    and they make me very sad.
¹³ Yet when they were sick, I put on clothes of sadness
    and showed my sorrow by fasting.
But my prayers were not answered.
¹⁴ I acted as if they were my friends or brothers.
I bowed in sadness as if I were crying for my mother.
¹⁵ But when I was in trouble, they gathered and laughed;
    they gathered to attack before I knew it.
    They insulted me without stopping.
¹⁶ They made fun of me and were cruel to me
    and ground their teeth at me in anger.

¹⁷ Lord, how long will you watch this happen?
    Save my life from their attacks;
    save me from these people who are like lions.
¹⁸ I will praise you in the great meeting.
    I will praise you among crowds of people.
¹⁹ Do not let my enemies laugh at me;
    they hate me for no reason.
Do not let them make fun of me;
    they have no cause to hate me.
²⁰ Their words are not friendly
    but are lies about peace-loving people.
²¹ They speak against me
    and say, “Aha! We saw what you did!”

²² Lord, you have been watching. Do not keep quiet.
    Lord, do not leave me alone.
²³ Wake up! Come and defend me!
    My God and Lord, fight for me!
²⁴ Lord my God, defend me with your justice.
    Don’t let them laugh at me.
²⁵ Don’t let them think, “Aha! We got what we wanted!”
    Don’t let them say, “We destroyed him.”
²⁶ Let them be ashamed and embarrassed,
    because they were happy when I hurt.
Cover them with shame and disgrace,
    because they thought they were better than I was.
²⁷ May my friends sing and shout for joy.
    May they always say, “Praise the greatness of the Lord,
    who loves to see his servants do well.”
²⁸ I will tell of your goodness
    and will praise you every day.

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;
    if he is thirsty, give him a drink.
Doing this will be like pouring burning coals on his head.” Proverbs 25:21–22