GodsWord - Psalms - 69

69:1  Save me, O God! The water is already up to my neck!

69:2  I am sinking in deep mud. There is nothing to stand on. I am in deep water. A flood is sweeping me away.

69:3  I am exhausted from crying for help. My throat is hoarse. My eyes are strained from looking for my God.

69:4  Those who hate me for no reason outnumber the hairs on my head. Those who want to destroy me are mighty. They have no reason to be my enemies. I am forced to pay back what I did not steal.

69:5  O God, you know my stupidity, and the things of which I am guilty are not hidden from you.

69:6  Do not let those who wait with hope for you be put to shame because of me, O Almighty LORD of Armies. Do not let those who come to you for help be humiliated because of me, O God of Israel.

69:7  Indeed, for your sake I have endured insults. Humiliation has covered my face.

69:8  I have become a stranger to my own brothers, a foreigner to my mother's sons.

69:9  Indeed, devotion for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.

69:10  I cried and fasted, but I was insulted for it.

69:11  I dressed myself in sackcloth, but I became the object of ridicule.

69:12  Those who sit at the gate gossip about me, and drunkards make up songs about me.

69:13  May my prayer come to you at an acceptable time, O LORD. O God, out of the greatness of your mercy, answer me with the truth of your salvation.

69:14  Rescue me from the mud. Do not let me sink into it. I want to be rescued from those who hate me and from the deep water.

69:15  Do not let floodwaters sweep me away. Do not let the ocean swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me.

69:16  Answer me, O LORD, because your mercy is good. Out of your unlimited compassion, turn to me.

69:17  I am in trouble, so do not hide your face from me. Answer me quickly!

69:18  Come close, and defend my soul. Set me free because of my enemies.

69:19  You know that I have been insulted, put to shame, and humiliated. All my opponents are in front of you.

69:20  Insults have broken my heart, and I am sick. I looked for sympathy, but there was none. I looked for people to comfort me, but I found no one.

69:21  They poisoned my food, and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink.

69:22  Let the table set for them become a trap and a snare for their friends.

69:23  Let their vision become clouded so that they cannot see. Let their thighs continually shake.

69:24  Pour your rage on them. Let your burning anger catch up with them.

69:25  Let their camp be deserted and their tents empty.

69:26  They persecute the one you have struck, and they talk about the pain of those you have wounded.

69:27  Charge them with one crime after another. Do not let them be found innocent.

69:28  Let their names be erased from the Book of Life. Do not let them be listed with righteous people.

69:29  I am suffering and in pain. Let your saving power protect me, O God.

69:30  I want to praise the name of God with a song. I want to praise its greatness with a song of thanksgiving.

69:31  This will please the LORD more than sacrificing an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs.

69:32  Oppressed people will see this and rejoice. May the hearts of those who look to God for help be refreshed.

69:33  The LORD listens to needy people. He does not despise his own who are in prison.

69:34  Let heaven and earth, the seas, and everything that moves in them, praise him.

69:35  When God saves Zion, he will rebuild the cities of Judah. His servants will live there and take possession of it.

69:36  The descendants of his servants will inherit it. Those who love him will live there.