Psalm 7

Living Bible

7 I am depending on you, O Lord my God, to save me from my persecutors. ² Don’t let them pounce upon me as a lion would and maul me and drag me away with no one to rescue me. ³ It would be different, Lord, if I were doing evil things— ⁴ if I were paying back evil for good or unjustly attacking those I dislike. ⁵ Then it would be right for you to let my enemies destroy me, crush me to the ground, and trample my life in the dust.

⁶ But Lord! Arise in anger against the anger of my enemies. Awake! Demand justice for me, Lord! ^7-8 Gather all peoples before you; sit high above them, judging their sins. But justify me publicly; establish my honor and truth before them all. ⁹ End all wickedness, O Lord, and bless all who truly worship God;^[a] for you, the righteous God, look deep within the hearts of men and examine all their motives and their thoughts.

¹⁰ God is my shield; he will defend me. He saves those whose hearts and lives are true and right.^[b]

¹¹ God is a judge who is perfectly fair, and he is angry with the wicked every day. ¹² Unless they repent, he will sharpen his sword and slay them.

He has bent and strung his bow ¹³ and fitted it with deadly arrows made from shafts of fire.

¹⁴ The wicked man conceives an evil plot, labors with its dark details, and brings to birth his treachery and lies; ¹⁵ let him fall into his own trap. ¹⁶ May the violence he plans for others boomerang upon himself; let him die.

¹⁷ Oh, how grateful and thankful I am to the Lord because he is so good. I will sing praise to the name of the Lord who is above all lords.