Psalm 69:1-28

New International Version

Psalm 69^[a]

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.

¹Save me, O God,
    for the waters^(A) have come up to my neck.^(B)
²I sink in the miry depths,^(C)
    where there is no foothold.
I have come into the deep waters;
    the floods engulf me.
³I am worn out calling for help;^(D)
    my throat is parched.
My eyes fail,^(E)
    looking for my God.
⁴Those who hate me^(F) without reason^(G)
    outnumber the hairs of my head;
many are my enemies without cause,^(H)
    those who seek to destroy me.^(I)
I am forced to restore
    what I did not steal.

⁵You, God, know my folly;^(J)
my guilt is not hidden from you.^(K)

⁶Lord, the Lord Almighty,
    may those who hope in you
    not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
    may those who seek you
    not be put to shame because of me.
⁷For I endure scorn^(L) for your sake,^(M)
    and shame covers my face.^(N)
⁸I am a foreigner to my own family,
    a stranger to my own mother’s children;^(O)
⁹for zeal for your house consumes me,^(P)
    and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.^(Q)
¹⁰When I weep and fast,^(R)
    I must endure scorn;
¹¹when I put on sackcloth,^(S)
    people make sport of me.
¹²Those who sit at the gate^(T) mock me,
    and I am the song of the drunkards.^(U)

¹³But I pray to you, Lord,
    in the time of your favor;^(V)
in your great love,^(W) O God,
    answer me with your sure salvation.
¹⁴Rescue me from the mire,
    do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
    from the deep waters.^(X)
¹⁵Do not let the floodwaters^(Y) engulf me
    or the depths swallow me up^(Z)
    or the pit close its mouth over me.^(AA)

¹⁶Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;^(AB)
    in your great mercy turn to me.
¹⁷Do not hide your face^(AC) from your servant;
    answer me quickly,^(AD) for I am in trouble.^(AE)
¹⁸Come near and rescue me;
    deliver^(AF) me because of my foes.

¹⁹You know how I am scorned,^(AG) disgraced and shamed;
    all my enemies are before you.
²⁰Scorn has broken my heart
    and has left me helpless;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
    for comforters,^(AH) but I found none.^(AI)
²¹They put gall in my food
    and gave me vinegar^(AJ) for my thirst.^(AK)

²²May the table set before them become a snare;
    may it become retribution and^[b] a trap.^(AL)
²³May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
    and their backs be bent forever.^(AM)
²⁴Pour out your wrath^(AN) on them;
    let your fierce anger overtake them.
²⁵May their place be deserted;^(AO)
    let there be no one to dwell in their tents.^(AP)
²⁶For they persecute those you wound
    and talk about the pain of those you hurt.^(AQ)
²⁷Charge them with crime upon crime;^(AR)
    do not let them share in your salvation.^(AS)
²⁸May they be blotted out of the book of life^(AT)
    and not be listed with the righteous.^(AU)

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Footnotes

Psalm 69:1 In Hebrew texts 69:1-36 is numbered 69:2-37.
Psalm 69:22 Or snare / and their fellowship become

2 Corinthians 5:14-21

New International Version

¹⁴For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died.^(A) ¹⁵And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves^(B) but for him who died for them^(C) and was raised again.

¹⁶So from now on we regard no one from a worldly^(D) point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ,^(E) the new creation^(F) has come:^[a] The old has gone, the new is here!^(G) ¹⁸All this is from God,^(H) who reconciled us to himself through Christ^(I) and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.^(J) And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors,^(K) as though God were making his appeal through us.^(L) We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.^(M) ²¹God made him who had no sin^(N) to be sin^[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.^(O)