Psalms Chapter 35

A Psalm of David

¹ LORD, oppose the ones that oppose me;

         fight those who fight me.

² Put on buckler and shield,

      and come to my aid.

³ Draw spear and javelin against my pursuers;

      tell me you’ll save me.

⁴ Dishonor the ones that want to kill me;

      drive back and humiliate those who scheme against me.

⁵ Make them like chaff in the wind,

      with the angel of the LORD blowing them.

⁶ Make their path dark and slippery,                                      

            with the angel of the LORD chasing them;

         ⁷for no reason they hid a net to catch me

                  and dug a pit to trap me.

⁸ Bring destruction on them unawares;

      have the net they hide catch them;

      have them fall into that very destruction.

Ps 35:1-8

⁹ I’ll be happy in the LORD

      and celebrate over his salvation.

¹⁰ My very bones say, “LORD, who is like you

         that delivers the oppressed from people too strong for them

         and saves the needy from the one that robs them?”

¹¹ Malicious witnesses testify against me

      and accuse me of things I didn’t do

¹² They repay me bad for good; I’m heartbroken.

         ¹³But when they were sick, I wore burlap;

            I humbled myself with fasting

            and prayed with my chin on my chest.

         ¹⁴I went about as if it was my friend or brother;

            I bent over mourning as if it was my mother.

         ¹⁵But when I stumbled, they celebrated and ganged up on me;

            strikers that I didn’t even know gathered against me

            and slandered me for no reason.

         ¹⁶Like godless jesters at a feast,

            they gnashed their teeth at me.                                  

Ps 35:9-16

¹⁷ Lord, how long will you just watch?

      Rescue me from their ravages;

      save me from those lions.

¹⁸ I’ll thank you in the great community

      and praise you in the mighty throng.

¹⁹ Don’t let my enemies celebrate over me

         or wink maliciously who hate me.

²⁰ They don’t talk about peace;

         they scheme against those who are peaceful in the land.

²¹ They open their mouth wide against me,

         “Aha, aha, we saw him do it!”                                        

Ps 35:17-21

²² You can see what they’re doing, LORD;

         don’t stand back and not say anything.

²³ Stir yourself up, awake for my justice,

      for my cause, my Lord and my God.

²⁴ Judge me, LORD, according to your goodness;

      don’t let my enemies celebrate over me.

²⁵ Don’t let them say to themselves, “Just what we’d hoped!”

         Don’t let them say, “Let’s eat him alive!”

²⁶ Humiliate them who celebrate over my distress;

      dress them in shame and dishonor

            who vaunt themselves up over me.

Ps 35:22-26

²⁷ Shout for joy you that are in favor of my vindication;

      say again and again, “The LORD is great;

      he delights in his servant’s prosperity.”

²⁸ I’ll declare your goodness and praise all day long.

Ps 35:27-28