Psalm 69

New American Standard Bible

A Cry of Distress and a Curse on Adversaries.

For the music director; according to ^[a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.

69 Save me, God,
For the ^(A)waters have ^[b]threatened my life.
²I have sunk in deep ^(B)mud, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, and a ^[c]^(C)flood overflows me.
³I am ^(D)weary with my crying; my throat is parched;
My ^(E)eyes fail while I wait for my God.
⁴Those ^(F)who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;
Those who would ^[d]destroy me ^(G)are powerful, those who oppose me with lies;
^(H)What I did not steal, I then have to restore.

⁵God, You know ^(I)my foolishness,
And ^(J)my guilt is not hidden from You.
⁶May those who wait for You not ^(K)be ashamed because of me, Lord ^[e]God of armies;
May those who seek You not be dishonored because of me, God of Israel,
⁷Because ^(L)for Your sake I have endured disgrace;
^(M)Dishonor has covered my face.
⁸I have become ^(N)estranged ^[f]from my brothers,
And a stranger to my mother’s sons.
⁹For ^(O)zeal for Your house has consumed me,
And ^(P)the taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on me.
¹⁰When I wept ^(Q)in my soul with fasting,
It became my ^(R)disgrace.
¹¹When I made ^(S)sackcloth my clothing,
I became ^(T)a proverb to them.
¹²Those who ^(U)sit in the gate talk about me,
And ^(V)songs of mockery by those habitually drunk are about me.

¹³But as for me, my prayer is to You, Lord, ^(W)at an acceptable time;
God, in the ^(X)greatness of Your mercy,
Answer me with ^[g]Your saving truth.
¹⁴Rescue me from the ^(Y)mud and do not let me sink;
May I be ^(Z)rescued from those who hate me, and from the ^(AA)depths of water.
¹⁵May the ^[h]^(AB)flood of water not overflow me
Nor the deep swallow me up,
Nor the ^(AC)pit close its mouth on me.

¹⁶Answer me, Lord, for ^(AD)Your mercy is good;
^(AE)According to the greatness of Your compassion, ^(AF)turn to me,
¹⁷And ^(AG)do not hide Your face from Your servant,
For I am ^(AH)in distress; answer me quickly.
¹⁸Come near to my soul and ^(AI)redeem it;
^(AJ)Ransom me because of my enemies!
¹⁹You know my ^(AK)disgrace, my shame, and my dishonor;
All my enemies are ^[i]known to You.

²⁰Disgrace has ^(AL)broken my heart, and I am so sick.
And ^(AM)I waited for sympathy, but there was none;
And for ^(AN)comforters, but I found none.
²¹They also gave me ^[j]^(AO)a bitter herb in my food,
And for my thirst they ^(AP)gave me vinegar to drink.

²²May ^(AQ)their table before them become a snare;
And ^[k]^(AR)when they are at peace, may it become a trap.
²³May their ^(AS)eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,
And make their ^(AT)hips shake continually.
²⁴^(AU)Pour out Your indignation on them,
And may Your burning anger overtake them.
²⁵May their ^[l]^(AV)camp be desolated;
May there be none living in their tents.
²⁶For they have ^(AW)persecuted him whom ^(AX)You Yourself struck,
And they tell of the pain of those whom ^(AY)You have ^[m]wounded.
²⁷Add ^(AZ)guilt to their guilt,
And ^(BA)may they not come into ^(BB)Your righteousness.
²⁸May they be ^(BC)wiped out of the ^(BD)book of life,
And may they not be ^[n]^(BE)recorded with the righteous.

²⁹But I am ^(BF)afflicted and in pain;
^[o]May Your salvation, God, ^(BG)set me safely on high.
³⁰I will ^(BH)praise the name of God with song,
And ^(BI)exalt Him with ^(BJ)thanksgiving.
³¹And it will ^(BK)please the Lord better than an ox
Or bull with horns and hoofs.
³²The ^(BL)humble ^[p]have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God, ^(BM)let your heart ^[q]revive.
³³For ^(BN)the Lord hears the needy,
And ^(BO)does not despise those of His who are prisoners.

³⁴^(BP)Heaven and earth shall praise Him,
The seas and ^(BQ)everything that moves in them.
³⁵For God will ^(BR)save Zion and ^(BS)build the cities of Judah,
So that they may live there and ^(BT)possess it.
³⁶The ^[r]^(BU)descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name ^(BV)will live in it.

Footnotes

Psalm 69 Title Or possibly Lilies
Psalm 69:1 Lit come up to my soul
Psalm 69:2 Lit flowing stream
Psalm 69:4 Or silence
Psalm 69:6 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Psalm 69:8 Lit to
Psalm 69:13 Or the faithfulness of Your salvation
Psalm 69:15 Lit stream
Psalm 69:19 Lit before You
Psalm 69:21 Or poison
Psalm 69:22 Lit for those who are secure
Psalm 69:25 Lit encampment
Psalm 69:26 Lit pierced
Psalm 69:28 Lit written
Psalm 69:29 Or Your salvation, O God, will set...
Psalm 69:32 Some mss and ancient versions will see
Psalm 69:32 Or live
Psalm 69:36 Lit seed

Psalm 73

New American Standard Bible

BOOK 3

The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

A Psalm of Asaph.

73 God certainly is ^(A)good to Israel,
To those who are ^(B)pure in heart!
²But as for me, ^(C)my feet came close to stumbling,
My steps ^[a]had almost slipped.
³For I was ^(D)envious of the ^[b]arrogant
As I saw the ^(E)prosperity of the wicked.
⁴For there are no pains in their death,
And their belly is fat.
⁵They are ^(F)not ^[c]in trouble like other people,
Nor are they ^(G)tormented together with the rest of mankind.
⁶Therefore arrogance is ^(H)their necklace;
The ^(I)garment of violence covers them.
⁷Their eye ^[d]bulges from ^(J)fatness;
The imaginations of their heart overflow.
⁸They ^(K)mock and ^[e]wickedly speak of oppression;
They ^(L)speak from on high.
⁹They have ^(M)set their mouth ^[f]against the heavens,
And their tongue ^[g]parades through the earth.

¹⁰Therefore ^[h]his people return here,
And ^(N)abundant waters are drunk by them.
¹¹They say, “^(O)How does God know?
And is there knowledge ^[i]with the Most High?”
¹²Behold, ^(P)these are the wicked;
And always ^(Q)at ease, they have increased in wealth.
¹³Surely ^(R)in vain I have ^[j]kept my heart pure
And ^(S)washed my hands in innocence;
¹⁴For I have been stricken ^(T)all day long,
And ^[k]^(U)punished every morning.

¹⁵If I had said, “I will speak this way,”
Behold, I would have betrayed the ^(V)generation of Your children.
¹⁶When I ^(W)thought of understanding this,
It was ^[l]troublesome in my sight
¹⁷Until I entered the ^[m]^(X)sanctuary of God;
Then I perceived their ^(Y)end.
¹⁸You indeed put them on ^(Z)slippery ground;
You dropped them into ^[n]^(AA)ruin.
¹⁹How they are ^[o]^(AB)destroyed in a moment!
They are utterly swept away by ^(AC)sudden terrors!
²⁰Like a ^(AD)dream when one awakes,
Lord, when ^(AE)stirred, You will ^(AF)despise their image.

²¹When my ^(AG)heart was embittered
And I was ^(AH)pierced ^[p]within,
²²Then I was ^(AI)stupid and ignorant;
I was like an ^(AJ)animal ^[q]before You.
²³Nevertheless ^(AK)I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.
²⁴You will ^(AL)guide me with Your plan,
And afterward ^(AM)receive me ^[r]to glory.

²⁵^(AN)Whom do I have in heaven but You?
And with You, I desire nothing on earth.
²⁶My ^(AO)flesh and my heart may fail,
But God is the ^[s]strength of my heart and my ^(AP)portion forever.
²⁷For, behold, ^(AQ)those who are far from You will ^(AR)perish;
You have destroyed all those who ^[t]^(AS)are unfaithful to You.
²⁸But as for me, ^(AT)the nearness of God is good for me;
I have made the Lord ^[u]God my ^(AU)refuge,
So that I may ^(AV)tell of all Your works.