Psalm 35 (34)
Prayer of a just person when persecuted.
23 O Lord, attack those who attack me;
fight against those who fight against me.
2 Come to my aid with armour and shield;
3 stand with your spear and war ax, halt my pursuers. Say to my soul, ¡°I am
your deliverer.¡±
4 Let them be shamed and dishonored, those who seek my life. Let them be
routed and destroyed, those who plot my ruin.
5 Let them be like chaff before the wind, when the Lord¡¯s angel drives them
away.
6 Let their escape path be dark and precipitous, with the Lord¡¯s angel
always at their heels.
7 They set their net against me for no cause, they dug a pit for me without
reason.
8 Let ruin come upon them unexpectedly, let them be entangled in their own
snare; let them fall into the trap of their own making.
9 Then will my soul rejoice in the Lord and exult in his salvation.
10 My whole being will exclaim, ¡°O Lord, who is like you? You deliver the
oppressed from those too strong for them, you rescue the poor and the needy
from their oppressors.¡±
11 False witnesses take the stand, accusing me of crimes of which I am
innocent.
12 For my kindness they return evil, bringing my life to despair.
13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth and fasted; I prayed hard with head
bowed,
14 as if I were bereft of a friend or brother; I shed tears in grief, as one
mourning the death of his mother.
15 But when I stumbled they gathered in glee and, be gan to strike me; like
strangers they disowned me and accused me falsely.
16 Like an ungodly circle of mock ers, they gnashed their teeth and made me
the butt of all their ridi cule.
17 How long, O Lord, will you look on? Deliver my life, my only one, from
these lions.
18 Then I will thank you in the great assembly; I will praise you in the
mighty throng.
19 Do not let them gloat over me ¨C those who, unprovoked, have be come my
foes. Do not let them wink maliciously ¨C those who hate me without cause.
20 Sowing discontent with their tongue and mind, they devise false
accusations against the peace-loving people of the land.
21 They open wide their mouths against me: ¡°Aha, aha!¡± they say, ¡°We have
seen it with our own eyes!¡±
22 But you, O Lord, who have seen, do not keep silent. Do not stand far from
me.
23 Stir yourself up, stand up for my rights and my cause, my God and my
Lord!
24 Declare me innocent, O Lord, my God, according to your justice.
Let them not gloat over me.
25 Never give them reason to say, ¡°We have trampled him down!¡±
26 Let them be utterly disgraced and confounded, who exult over my calamity.
Let them be ashamed and dishonored, who rejoice at my distress.
27 But let them be glad and rejoice, who are in sympathy with my cause. And
may they ever say, ¡°Great is the Lord, who has justified his servant.¡±
28 Then will my tongue proclaim your righteousness, and sing your praises
all day long.