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New Testament
Psalm 35
Psalm 35
David's Defender
By David.
Opening Prayer
1
Lord, oppose those who oppose me.
Fight against those who fight against me.
Rise up to help me.
Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”
First Petition
4May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame.
May those who plot to harm me be turned back and dismayed.
5May they be like chaff driven by the wind.
May an angel of the Lord drive them away.
6May their path be dark and slippery.
May an angel of the Lord pursue them.
7Without cause they hid their net to catch me.
Without cause they dug a pit to trap me.
8May devastation overtake him before he knows it.
May the net which he hid catch him.
May he fall into it to his own destruction.
First Vow
9Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord.
It will delight in his salvation.
You rescue the poor from the one too strong for him,
the poor and needy from the one who robs him.”
The Attacks of the Wicked
11Malicious witnesses arise.
They ask me about things I do not know.
12They repay me with evil instead of good.
They rob my soul of happiness.
13But when they were sick, I dressed in sackcloth.
I afflicted myself with fasting.
14I walked around mourning,
as if mourning for a friend or for my brother.
I bowed down, dirty with ashes,
as though mourning for my mother.
15But when I stumbled, they were happy.
They gathered together.
Yes, attackers gathered together against me
though I did not expect it.
They ripped me and were never quiet.
Second Petition
17Lord, how long will you look on?
Restore my life from their devastating attacks,
my precious life from these young lions.
Second Vow
18I will give thanks to you in the great assembly.
In a large crowd I will praise you.
Third Petition
19Do not let them rejoice over me—
those who are my enemies without cause.
20For they do not speak for peace,
but they devise false accusations
against those who live quietly in the land.
21They also open their mouth wide against me.
They say, “Ha! Ha! We see with our own eyes.”
22
Lord, you have seen all this.
Do not be silent.
Lord, do not be far from me.
23Wake up and rise up to my defense!
My God and Lord, rise to my cause.
24Judge me according to your righteousness,
O Lord, my God.
Do not let them rejoice over me.
25Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Just what we wanted!”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him.”
26May those who rejoice over my trouble
be put to shame and disgrace.
May those who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and contempt.
27May those who are pleased by my acquittal
shout for joy and be glad.
May they always say, “The Lord is great.
He takes delight in the peace of his servant.”
Third Vow
28My tongue will report your righteousness
and your praise all day long.
Footnotes
- 35:2 This may refer to two kinds of shields.
- 35:3 Many translations read this term as the name of a weapon: a lance, javelin, or battle-ax. This reading yields a translation like: Wield spear and javelin against those who pursue me.
- 35:10 My bones means my strongest part.
- 35:13 Or I prayed with a bowed head. Literally my prayer returned to my lap.
- 35:16 Literally, the Hebrew words are among the profane mockers for a cake. Because of the difficulty of making sense of this, many translations emend the text.
- 35:19 Literally wink the eye. It is not certain what this body language means in this context.