Psalms 35:1-15

¹A psalm of David. Yahweh, work against those who work against me; fight against those who fight against me.

²Grab your small shield and large shield; rise up and help me.

³Use your spear and battle ax against those who chase me; say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”

⁴May those who seek my life be shamed and dishonored. May those who plan to harm me be turned back and confounded.

⁵May they be as chaff before the wind, as the angel of Yahweh drives them away.

⁶May their way be dark and slippery, as the angel of Yahweh chases them.

⁷Without cause they set their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life.

⁸Let destruction overtake them by surprise. Let the net that they have set catch them. Let them fall into it, to their destruction.

⁹But I will be joyful in Yahweh and rejoice in his salvation.

¹⁰All my bones will say, “Yahweh, who is like you, who rescues the oppressed from those who are too strong for them and the poor and needy from those who try to rob them?”

¹¹Unrighteous witnesses rise up; they accuse me falsely.

¹²They repay me evil for good. I am sorrowful.

¹³But, when they were sick, I wore sackcloth; I fasted for them with my head bowed on my chest.

¹⁴I went about in grief as for my brother; I bent down in mourning as for my mother.

¹⁵But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together; they gathered together against me, and I was surprised by them. They tore at me without stopping.