A Cry of Distress and a Curse on Adversaries.

For the music director; according to [a]Shoshannim. A Psalm of David.

1Save me, God,

For the waters have [b]threatened my life.

2I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters, and a [c]flood overflows me.

3I am weary with my crying; my throat is parched;

My eyes fail while I wait for my God.

4Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head;

Those who would [d]destroy me are powerful, those who oppose me with lies;

What I did not steal, I then have to restore.

5God, You know my foolishness,

And my guilt is not hidden from You.

6May those who wait for You not be ashamed because of me, Lord [e]GOD of armies;

May those who seek You not be dishonored because of me, God of Israel,

7Because for Your sake I have endured disgrace;

Dishonor has covered my face.

8I have become estranged [f]from my brothers,

And a stranger to my mother’s sons.

9For zeal for Your house has consumed me,

And the taunts of those who taunt You have fallen on me.

10When I wept in my soul with fasting,

It became my disgrace.

11When I made sackcloth my clothing,

I became a proverb to them.

12Those who sit in the gate talk about me,

And songs of mockery by those habitually drunk are about me.

13But as for me, my prayer is to You, LORD, at an acceptable time;

God, in the greatness of Your mercy,

Answer me with [g]Your saving truth.

14Rescue me from the mud and do not let me sink;

May I be rescued from those who hate me, and from the depths of water.

15May the [h]flood of water not overflow me

Nor the deep swallow me up,

Nor the pit close its mouth on me.

16Answer me, LORD, for Your mercy is good;

According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me,

17And do not hide Your face from Your servant,

For I am in distress; answer me quickly.

18Come near to my soul and redeem it;

Ransom me because of my enemies!

19You know my disgrace, my shame, and my dishonor;

All my enemies are [i]known to You.

20Disgrace has broken my heart, and I am so sick.

And I waited for sympathy, but there was none;

And for comforters, but I found none.

21They also gave me [j]a bitter herb in my food,

And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

22May their table before them become a snare;

And [k]when they are at peace, may it become a trap.

23May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see,

And make their hips shake continually.

24Pour out Your indignation on them,

And may Your burning anger overtake them.

25May their [l]camp be desolated;

May there be none living in their tents.

26For they have persecuted him whom You Yourself struck,

And they tell of the pain of those whom You have [m]wounded.

27Add guilt to their guilt,

And may they not come into Your righteousness.

28May they be wiped out of the book of life,

And may they not be [n]recorded with the righteous.

29But I am afflicted and in pain;

[o]May Your salvation, God, set me safely on high.

30I will praise the name of God with song,

And exalt Him with thanksgiving.

31And it will please the LORD better than an ox

Or bull with horns and hoofs.

32The humble [p]have seen it and are glad;

You who seek God, let your heart [q]revive.

33For the LORD hears the needy,

And does not despise those of His who are prisoners.

34Heaven and earth shall praise Him,

The seas and everything that moves in them.

35For God will save Zion and build the cities of Judah,

So that they may live there and possess it.

36The [r]descendants of His servants will inherit it,

And those who love His name will live in it.