Psalm 69-71

English Standard Version

^4 (I)More in number than the hairs of my head
    are ^(J)those who hate me ^(K)without cause;
mighty are those who would destroy me,
    ^(L)those who attack me with lies.
What I did not steal
    must I now restore?
⁵ O God, you know my folly;
    the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

⁶ Let not those who hope in you ^(M)be put to shame through me,
    O Lord God of hosts;
let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me,
    O God of Israel.
⁷ For it is ^(N)for your sake that I have borne reproach,
    that dishonor has covered my face.
⁸ I have become ^(O)a stranger to my brothers,
    an alien to my mother's sons.

⁹ For ^(P)zeal for your house has consumed me,
    and ^(Q)the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
¹⁰ When I wept and humbled^[b] my soul with fasting,
    it became my reproach.
¹¹ When I made ^(R)sackcloth my clothing,
    I became ^(S)a byword to them.
¹² I am the talk of those who ^(T)sit in the gate,
    and the drunkards make ^(U)songs about me.

¹³ But as for me, my ^(V)prayer is to you, O Lord.
    At ^(W)an acceptable time, O God,
    in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
¹⁴ Deliver me
    from sinking in ^(X)the mire;
^(Y)let me be delivered from my enemies
    and from ^(Z)the deep waters.
¹⁵ Let not the flood sweep over me,
    or the deep swallow me up,
    or ^(AA)the pit close ^(AB)its mouth over me.

¹⁶ Answer me, O Lord, for your ^(AC)steadfast love is good;
    according to your abundant ^(AD)mercy, ^(AE)turn to me.
^17 (AF)Hide not your face from your servant,
    ^(AG)for I am in distress; ^(AH)make haste to answer me.
¹⁸ Draw near to my soul, redeem me;
    ransom me because of my enemies!

¹⁹ You know my ^(AI)reproach,
    and my shame and my dishonor;
    my foes are all known to you.
^20 (AJ)Reproaches have broken my heart,
    so that I am in ^(AK)despair.
I ^(AL)looked for ^(AM)pity, but there was none,
    and for ^(AN)comforters, but I found none.
²¹ They gave me ^(AO)poison for food,
    and for my thirst they gave me ^(AP)sour wine to drink.

^22 (AQ)Let their own ^(AR)table before them become a snare;
    ^(AS)and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.^[c]
23 (AT)Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,
    ^(AU)and make their loins tremble continually.
²⁴ Pour out your indignation upon them,
    and let your burning anger overtake them.
^25 (AV)May their camp be a desolation;
    let no one dwell in their tents.
²⁶ For they ^(AW)persecute him whom ^(AX)you have struck down,
    and they recount the pain of ^(AY)those you have wounded.
^27 (AZ)Add to them punishment upon punishment;
    may they have no acquittal from you.^[d]
28 Let them be ^(BA)blotted out of the book of the living;
    let them not be ^(BB)enrolled among the righteous.

²⁹ But I am afflicted and in pain;
    let your salvation, O God, ^(BC)set me on high!

³⁰ I will ^(BD)praise the name of God with a song;
    I will ^(BE)magnify him with ^(BF)thanksgiving.
³¹ This will ^(BG)please the Lord more than an ox
    or a bull ^(BH)with horns and hoofs.
³² When ^(BI)the humble see it they will be glad;
    you who seek God, ^(BJ)let your hearts revive.
³³ For the Lord hears the needy
    and ^(BK)does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

³⁴ Let ^(BL)heaven and earth praise him,
    the seas and everything that moves in them.
³⁵ For ^(BM)God will save Zion
    and build up the cities of Judah,
and people shall dwell there and possess it;
^{36     (BN)}the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,
    and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

⁴ May all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you!
May those who love your salvation
    say evermore, “God is great!”
⁵ But I am poor and needy;
    ^(BQ)hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
    O Lord, do not delay!

^4 (BV)Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
    from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
⁵ For you, O Lord, are my ^(BW)hope,
    my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
⁶ Upon you I have leaned ^(BX)from before my birth;
    you are he who ^(BY)took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.

⁷ I have been as ^(BZ)a portent to many,
    but you are my strong refuge.
⁸ My ^(CA)mouth is filled with your praise,
    and with your glory all the day.
^9 (CB)Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
    forsake me not when my strength is spent.
¹⁰ For my enemies speak concerning me;
    those who ^(CC)watch for my life ^(CD)consult together
¹¹ and say, “God has forsaken him;
    pursue and seize him,
    for there is none to deliver him.”

¹² O God, be not ^(CE)far from me;
    O my God, ^(CF)make haste to help me!
¹³ May my accusers be ^(CG)put to shame and consumed;
    ^(CH)with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
    who ^(CI)seek my hurt.
¹⁴ But I will ^(CJ)hope continually
    and will ^(CK)praise you yet more and more.
¹⁵ My ^(CL)mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
    of your deeds of salvation all the day,
    for ^(CM)their number is past my knowledge.
¹⁶ With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;
    I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

¹⁷ O God, from my youth you have taught me,
    and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
¹⁸ So even to ^(CN)old age and gray hairs,
    O God, ^(CO)do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
    your power to all those to come.
¹⁹ Your ^(CP)righteousness, O God,
    reaches the high heavens.
You who have done ^(CQ)great things,
    O God, ^(CR)who is like you?
²⁰ You who have ^(CS)made me see many troubles and calamities
    will ^(CT)revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
    you will bring me up again.
²¹ You will increase my greatness
    and comfort me again.

²² I will also praise you with ^(CU)the harp
    for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
    O ^(CV)Holy One of Israel.
²³ My lips will shout for joy,
    when I sing praises to you;
    my soul also, which you have ^(CW)redeemed.
²⁴ And my ^(CX)tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,
for they have been ^(CY)put to shame and disappointed
    who sought to do me hurt.