³ For lo, they lie in wait for my life;
    fierce men band themselves against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
⁴     for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

Rouse thyself, come to my help, and see!
⁵     Thou, Lord God of hosts, art God of Israel.
Awake to punish all the nations;
    spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.Selah

⁶ Each evening they come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
⁷ There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
    and snarling with^[a] their lips—
    for “Who,” they think, “will hear us?”

⁸ But thou, O Lord, dost laugh at them;
    thou dost hold all the nations in derision.
⁹ O my Strength, I will sing praises to thee;^[b]
    for thou, O God, art my fortress.
¹⁰ My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
    my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

¹¹ Slay them not, lest my people forget;
    make them totter by thy power, and bring them down,
    O Lord, our shield!
¹² For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
    let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies which they utter,
¹³     consume them in wrath,
    consume them till they are no more,
that men may know that God rules over Jacob
    to the ends of the earth.Selah

¹⁴ Each evening they come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
¹⁵ They roam about for food,
    and growl if they do not get their fill.

¹⁶ But I will sing of thy might;
    I will sing aloud of thy steadfast love in the morning.
For thou hast been to me a fortress
    and a refuge in the day of my distress.
¹⁷ O my Strength, I will sing praises to thee,
    for thou, O God, art my fortress,
    the God who shows me steadfast love.