Psalms 35:1-23

¹A psalm of David. Oppose my opponents, Lord; fight those who are fighting against me.

²Put your armor on, and pick up your shield. Get ready, come and help me.

³Draw your spear and your javelin, confront those who are chasing me. Tell me, “I am your salvation!”

⁴Shame them! Humiliate those who are trying to kill me! Turn them back! Disgrace those who are planning to hurt me!

⁵Let them be like chaff blown by the wind; let the angel of the Lord drive them away.

⁶May their path be dark and slippery, with the angel of the Lord chasing them down.

⁷For no reason they set a net to catch me; for no reason they dug a pit to trap me.

⁸Let disaster come on them suddenly; let the net they set catch them instead; let the pit they dug trap them instead.

⁹Then I will be glad in the Lord; I will be happy in his salvation.

¹⁰Every part of me will say, Who can compare to you, Lord? You rescue the weak from the strong; the poor and needy from robbers.

¹¹Hostile witnesses stand up to testify against me, accusing me of crimes I don't know anything about.

¹²They pay me back with evil instead of good. I feel like giving up.

¹³But when they were sick, I put on clothes of sackcloth in sympathy. I denied myself through fasting. May my prayer for them return to bless me too.

¹⁴I was upset for them, as if they were my own friends or family; I bowed down in grief as if I was mourning my own mother.

¹⁵But when I was in trouble, they gathered around and laughed at me. Even strangers I don't know attacked me, constantly tearing me apart.

¹⁶Like irreligious people mocking a cripple they mock me and call me names, gnashing their teeth at me.

¹⁷How long, Lord, will you sit by and just watch? Save me from their vicious attacks; defend the only life I have from these lions.

¹⁸Then I will thank you in front of the whole congregation and praise you in front of all the people.

¹⁹Don't let my enemies take pleasure in my troubles, those people who hate me and tell lies about me, gloating over me for no reason.

²⁰They are not looking for peace; they invent malicious and deceptive schemes against innocent peace-loving people.

²¹They open their mouths wide to make accusations against me, saying, “Look! Look! We saw it with our own eyes!”

²²But Lord, you've seen all this! Say something! Don't give up on me, Lord!

²³Wake up! Get up and defend me, my Lord and my God! Take up my case and make sure justice is done!