Psalm 69-72

GOD’S WORD Translation

⁵ O God, you know my stupidity,
and the things of which I am guilty are not hidden from you.
⁶ Do not let those who wait with hope for you
be put to shame because of me, O Almighty Lord of Armies.
Do not let those who come to you for help
be humiliated because of me, O God of Israel.

⁷ Indeed, for your sake I have endured insults.
Humiliation has covered my face.
⁸ I have become a stranger to my ⌞own⌟ brothers,
a foreigner to my mother’s sons.
⁹ Indeed, devotion for your house has consumed me,
and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.
¹⁰ I cried and fasted, but I was insulted for it.
¹¹ I dressed myself in sackcloth, but I became the object of ridicule.
¹² Those who sit at the gate gossip about me,
and drunkards make up songs about me.

¹³ May my prayer come to you at an acceptable time, O Lord.
O God, out of the greatness of your mercy,
answer me with the truth of your salvation.
¹⁴ Rescue me from the mud.
Do not let me sink ⌞into it⌟.
I want to be rescued from those who hate me
and from the deep water.
¹⁵ Do not let floodwaters sweep me away.
Do not let the ocean swallow me up,
or the pit close its mouth over me.
¹⁶ Answer me, O Lord, because your mercy is good.
Out of your unlimited compassion, turn to me.
¹⁷ I am in trouble, so do not hide your face from me.
Answer me quickly!
¹⁸ Come close, and defend my soul.
Set me free because of my enemies.

¹⁹ You know that I have been insulted, put to shame, and humiliated.
All my opponents are in front of you.
²⁰ Insults have broken my heart, and I am sick.
I looked for sympathy, but there was none.
I looked for people to comfort me, but I found no one.
²¹ They poisoned my food,
and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.

²² Let the table set for them become a trap
and a snare for their friends.
²³ Let their vision become clouded so that they cannot see.
Let their thighs continually shake.

²⁴ Pour your rage on them.
Let your burning anger catch up with them.
²⁵ Let their camp be deserted
and their tents empty.

²⁶ They persecute the one you have struck,
and they talk about the pain of those you have wounded.
²⁷ Charge them with one crime after another.
Do not let them be found innocent.
²⁸ Let their ⌞names⌟ be erased from the Book of Life.
Do not let them be listed with righteous people.

²⁹ I am suffering and in pain.
Let your saving power protect me, O God.
³⁰ I want to praise God’s name with a song.
I want to praise his great name with a song of thanksgiving.
³¹ This will please the Lord more than ⌞sacrificing⌟ an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
³² Oppressed people will see ⌞this⌟ and rejoice.
May the hearts of those who look to God for help be refreshed.

³³ The Lord listens to needy people.
He does not despise his own who are in prison.
³⁴ Let heaven and earth, the seas, and everything that moves in them, praise him.
³⁵ When God saves Zion, he will rebuild the cities of Judah.
His servants will live there and take possession of it.
³⁶ The descendants of his servants will inherit it.
Those who love him will live there.

⁵ But I am oppressed and needy.
O God, come to me quickly.
You are my help and my savior.
O Lord, do not delay!

71 I have taken refuge in you, O Lord.
Never let me be put to shame.
² Rescue me and free me because of your righteousness.
Turn your ear toward me, and save me.
³ Be a rock on which I may live,
a place where I may always go.
You gave the order to save me!
Indeed, you are my rock and my fortress.
⁴ My God, free me from the hands of a wicked person,
from the grasp of one who is cruel and unjust.
⁵ You are my hope, O Almighty Lord.
You have been my confidence ever since I was young.
⁶ I depended on you before I was born.
You took me from my mother’s womb.
My songs of praise constantly speak about you.
⁷ I have become an example to many people,
but you are my strong refuge.
⁸ My mouth is filled with your praise,
with your glory all day long.

⁹ Do not reject me when I am old
or abandon me when I lose my strength.
¹⁰ My enemies talk about me.
They watch me as they plot to take my life.
¹¹ They say, “God has abandoned him.
Pursue him and grab him because there is no one to rescue him.”
¹² O God, do not be so distant from me.
O my God, come quickly to help me.
¹³ Let those who accuse me come to a shameful end.
Let those who want my downfall be covered
with disgrace and humiliation.
¹⁴ But I will always have hope.
I will praise you more and more.
¹⁵ My mouth will tell about your righteousness,
about your salvation all day long.
Even then, it is more than I can understand.
¹⁶ I will come with the mighty deeds of the Almighty Lord.
I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.

¹⁷ O God, you have taught me ever since I was young,
and I still talk about the miracles you have done.
¹⁸ Even when I am old and gray, do not abandon me, O God.
Let me live to tell the people of this age
what your strength has accomplished,
to tell about your power to all who will come.

¹⁹ Your righteousness reaches to the heavens, O God.
You have done great things.
O God, who is like you?
²⁰ You have made me endure many terrible troubles.
You restore me to life again.
You bring me back from the depths of the earth.
²¹ You comfort me and make me greater than ever.

²² Because of your faithfulness, O my God,
even I will give thanks to you as I play on a lyre.
I will make music with a harp to praise you, O Holy One of Israel.
²³ My lips will sing with joy when I make music to praise you.
My soul, which you have rescued, also will sing joyfully.
²⁴ My tongue will tell about your righteousness all day long,
because those who wanted my downfall
have been disgraced and put to shame.

³ May the mountains bring peace to the people
and the hills bring righteousness.
⁴ May he grant justice to the people who are oppressed.
May he save the children of needy people
and crush their oppressor.
⁵ May they fear you as long as the sun and moon ⌞shine⌟—
throughout every generation.
⁶ May he be like rain that falls on ⌞freshly⌟ cut grass,
like showers that water the land.
⁷ May righteous people blossom in his day.
May there be unlimited peace until the moon no longer ⌞shines⌟.

⁸ May he rule from sea to sea,
from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
⁹ May the people of the desert kneel in front of him.
May his enemies lick the dust.
¹⁰ May the kings from Tarshish and the islands bring presents.
May the kings from Sheba and Seba bring gifts.
¹¹ May all kings worship him.
May all nations serve him.

¹² He will rescue the needy person who cries for help
and the oppressed person who has no one’s help.
¹³ He will have pity on the poor and needy
and will save the lives of the needy.
¹⁴ He will rescue them from oppression and violence.
Their blood will be precious in his sight.

¹⁵ May he live long.
May the gold from Sheba be given to him.
May ⌞the people⌟ pray for him continually.
May ⌞they⌟ praise him all day long.
¹⁶ May there be plenty of grain in the land.
May it wave ⌞in the breeze⌟ on the mountaintops,
its fruit like ⌞the treetops of⌟ Lebanon.
May those from the city flourish like the grass on the ground.
¹⁷ May his name endure forever.
May his name continue as long as the sun ⌞shines⌟.
May all nations be blessed through him and call him blessed.

¹⁸ Thank the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does miracles.
¹⁹ Thanks be to his glorious name forever.
May the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and amen!

²⁰ The prayers by David, son of Jesse, end here.