Psalms 35
35
PSALM 35
Common Meter: 8,6,8,6
A Psalm of David.
1Plead, Lord, with those that plead; and fight
with those that fight with me.
2Of shield and buckler take thou hold,
stand up mine help to be.
3Draw also out the spear, and do
against them stop the way
That me pursue: unto my soul,
I'm thy salvation, say.
4Let them confounded be and sham'd
that for my soul have sought:
Who plot my hurt turn'd back be they,
and to confusion brought.
5Let them be like unto the chaff
that flies before the wind;
And let the angel of the Lord
pursue them hard behind.
6With darkness cover thou their way,
and let it slipp'ry prove;
And let the angel of the Lord
pursue them from above.
7For without cause have they for me
their net hid in a pit,
They also have without a cause
for my soul digged it.
8Let ruin seize him unawares;
his net he hid withal
Himself let catch; and in the same
destruction let him fall.
9My soul in God shall joy; and glad
in his salvation be:
10And all my bones shall say, O Lord,
who is like unto thee,
Which dost the poor set free from him
that is for him too strong;
The poor and needy from the man
that spoils and does him wrong?
11False witnesses rose; to my charge
things I not knew they laid.
12They, to the spoiling of my soul,
me ill for good repaid.
13But as for me, when they were sick,
in sackcloth sad I mourn'd:
My humbled soul did fast, my pray'r
into my bosom turn'd.
14Myself I did behave as he
had been my friend or brother;
I heavily bow'd down, as one
that mourneth for his mother.
15But in my trouble they rejoic'd,
gath'ring themselves together;
Yea, abjects vile together did
themselves against me gather:
I knew it not; they did me tear,
and quiet would not be.
16With mocking hypocrites, at feasts
they gnash'd their teeth at me.
17How long, Lord, look'st thou on? from those
destructions they intend
Rescue my soul, from lions young
my darling do defend.
18I will give thanks to thee, O Lord,
within th' assembly great;
And where much people gather'd are
thy praises forth will set.
19Let not my wrongful enemies
proudly rejoice o'er me;
Nor who me hate without a cause,
let them wink with the eye.
20For peace they do not speak at all;
but crafty plots prepare
Against all those within the land
that meek and quiet are.
21With mouths set wide, they 'gainst me said,
Ha, ha! our eye doth see.
22Lord, thou hast seen, hold not thy peace;
Lord, be not far from me.
23Stir up thyself; wake, that thou may'st
judgment to me afford,
Ev'n to my cause, O thou that art
my only God and Lord.
24O Lord my God, do thou me judge
after thy righteousness;
And let them not their joy 'gainst me
triumphantly express:
25Nor let them say within their hearts,
Ah, we would have it thus;
Nor suffer them to say, that he
is swallow'd up by us.
26Sham'd and confounded be they all
that at my hurt are glad;
Let those against me that do boast
with shame and scorn be clad.
27Let them that love my righteous cause
be glad, shout, and not cease
To say, The Lord be magnify'd,
who loves his servant's peace.
28Thy righteousness shall also be
declared by my tongue;
The praises that belong to thee
speak shall it all day long.
Currently Selected:
Psalms 35: MP1650
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
maintained by the British and Foreign Bible Society
Psalms 35
35
1-3Harass these hecklers, God,
punch these bullies in the nose.
Grab a weapon, anything at hand;
stand up for me!
Get ready to throw the spear, aim the javelin,
at the people who are out to get me.
Reassure me; let me hear you say,
“I’ll save you.”
4-8When those thugs try to knife me in the back,
make them look foolish.
Frustrate all those
who are plotting my downfall.
Make them like cinders in a high wind,
with God’s angel working the bellows.
Make their road lightless and mud-slick,
with God’s angel on their tails.
Out of sheer cussedness they set a trap to catch me;
for no good reason they dug a ditch to stop me.
Surprise them with your ambush—
catch them in the very trap they set,
the disaster they planned for me.
9-10But let me run loose and free,
celebrating God’s great work,
Every bone in my body laughing, singing, “God,
there’s no one like you.
You put the down-and-out on their feet
and protect the unprotected from bullies!”
11-12Hostile accusers appear out of nowhere,
they stand up and badger me.
They pay me back misery for mercy,
leaving my soul empty.
13-14When they were sick, I dressed in black;
instead of eating, I prayed.
My prayers were like lead in my gut,
like I’d lost my best friend, my brother.
I paced, distraught as a motherless child,
hunched and heavyhearted.
15-16But when I was down
they threw a party!
All the nameless misfits of the town came
chanting insults about me.
Like barbarians desecrating a shrine,
they destroyed my reputation.
17-18 God, how long are you going
to stand there doing nothing?
Save me from their brutalities;
everything I’ve got is being thrown to the lions.
I will give you full credit
when everyone gathers for worship;
When the people turn out in force
I will say my Hallelujahs.
19-21Don’t let these liars, my enemies,
have a party at my expense,
Those who hate me for no reason,
winking and rolling their eyes.
No good is going to come
from that crowd;
They spend all their time cooking up gossip
against those who mind their own business.
They open their mouths
in ugly grins,
Mocking, “Ha-ha, ha-ha, thought you’d get away with it?
We’ve caught you hands down!”
22Don’t you see what they’re doing, God?
You’re not going to let them
Get by with it, are you? Not going to walk off
without doing something, are you?
23-26Please get up—wake up! Tend to my case.
My God, my Lord—my life is on the line.
Do what you think is right, God, my God,
but don’t make me pay for their good time.
Don’t let them say to themselves,
“Ha-ha, we got what we wanted.”
Don’t let them say,
“We’ve chewed him up and spit him out.”
Let those who are being hilarious
at my expense
Be made to look ridiculous.
Make them wear donkey’s ears;
Pin them with the donkey’s tail,
who made themselves so high and mighty!
27-28But those who want
the best for me,
Let them have the last word—a glad shout!—
and say, over and over and over,
“God is great—everything works
together for good for his servant.”
I’ll tell the world how great and good you are,
I’ll shout Hallelujah all day, every day.
Currently Selected:
:
Highlight
Share
Copy
Want to have your highlights saved across all your devices? Sign up or sign in
THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson. All rights reserved. Used by permission of NavPress. Represented by Tyndale House Publishers.