69:1 *[For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of David.] Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. / *In Hebrew texts 69:1-36 is numbered 69:2-37.
69:2 I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.
69:3 I am worn out calling for help; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.
69:4 Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me. I am forced to restore what I did not steal.
69:5 You, God, know my folly; my guilt is not hidden from you.
69:6 Lord, 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.
69:7 For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face.
69:8 I am a foreigner to my own family, a stranger to my own mother’s children;
69:9 for zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
69:10 When I weep and fast, I must endure scorn;
69:11 when I put on sackcloth, people make sport of me.
69:12 Those who sit at the gate mock me, and I am the song of the drunkards.
69:13 But I pray to you, Lord, in the time of your favor; in your great love, O God, answer me with your sure salvation.
69:14 Rescue me from the mire, do not let me sink; deliver me from those who hate me, from the deep waters.
69:15 Do not let the floodwaters engulf me or the depths swallow me up or the pit close its mouth over me.
69:16 Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me.
69:17 Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.
69:18 Come near and rescue me; deliver me because of my foes.
69:19 You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed; all my enemies are before you.
69:20 Scorn has broken my heart and has left me helpless; I looked for sympathy, but there was none, for comforters, but I found none.
69:21 They put gall in my food and gave me vinegar for my thirst.
69:22 May the table set before them become a snare; may it become retribution and* a trap. / *Or snare and their fellowship become
69:23 May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs be bent forever.
69:24 Pour out your wrath on them; let your fierce anger overtake them.
69:25 May their place be deserted; let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
69:26 For they persecute those you wound and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
69:27 Charge them with crime upon crime; do not let them share in your salvation.
69:28 May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be listed with the righteous.
69:29 But as for me, afflicted and in pain - may your salvation, God, protect me.
69:30 I will praise God’s name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.
69:31 This will please the Lord more than an ox, more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
69:32 The poor will see and be glad - you who seek God, may your hearts live!
69:33 The Lord hears the needy and does not despise his captive people.
69:34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that move in them,
69:35 for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah. Then people will settle there and possess it;
69:36 the children of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will dwell there.