Psalm 69:1-16

Common English Bible

Psalm 69

For the music leader. According to “The Lilies.” Of David.

69 Save me, God,
    because the waters have reached my neck!
²I have sunk into deep mud.
    My feet can’t touch the bottom!
I have entered deep water;
    the flood has swept me up.
³I am tired of crying.
    My throat is hoarse.
    My eyes are exhausted with waiting for my God.

⁴More numerous than the hairs on my head
    are those who hate me for no reason.
My treacherous enemies,
    those who would destroy me, are countless.
    Must I now give back
    what I didn’t steal in the first place?
⁵God, you know my foolishness;
    my wrongdoings aren’t hidden from you.

⁶Lord God of heavenly forces!—
    don’t let those who hope in you
        be put to shame because of me.
God of Israel!—
    don’t let those who seek you
    be disgraced because of me.
⁷I am insulted because of you.
    Shame covers my face.
⁸I have become a stranger to my own brothers,
    an immigrant to my mother’s children.
⁹Because passion for your house has consumed me,
    the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me!
¹⁰I wept while I fasted—
    even for that I was insulted.
¹¹When I wore funeral clothes,
    people made fun of me.
¹²Those who sit at the city gate muttered things about me;
    drunkards made up rude songs.

¹³But me? My prayer reaches you, Lord,
    at just the right time.
God, in your great and faithful love,
    answer me with your certain salvation!
¹⁴Save me from the mud!
    Don’t let me drown!
    Let me be saved from those who hate me
    and from these watery depths!
¹⁵Don’t let me be swept away by the floodwaters!
    Don’t let the abyss swallow me up!
    Don’t let the pit close its mouth over me!
¹⁶Answer me, Lord, for your faithful love is good!
    Turn to me in your great compassion!