Psalm 35:1
Of David. Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me.
Psalm 35:2
Take up Your shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid.
Psalm 35:3
Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers; say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”
Psalm 35:4
May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plan to harm me be driven back and confounded.
Psalm 35:5
May they be like chaff in the wind, as the angel of the LORD drives them away.
Psalm 35:6
May their path be dark and slick, as the angel of the LORD pursues.
Psalm 35:7
For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.
Psalm 35:8
May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.
Psalm 35:9
Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and exult in His salvation.
Psalm 35:10
All my bones will exclaim, “Who is like You, O LORD, who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor, the poor and needy from the robber?”
Psalm 35:11
Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.
Psalm 35:12
They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul.
Psalm 35:13
Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.
Psalm 35:14
I paced about as for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for his mother.
Psalm 35:15
But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.
Psalm 35:16
Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me.
Psalm 35:17
How long, O Lord, will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my precious life from these lions.
Psalm 35:18
Then I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people.
Psalm 35:19
Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause, nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice.
Psalm 35:20
For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful schemes against those who live quietly in the land.
Psalm 35:21
They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”
Psalm 35:22
O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me.
Psalm 35:23
Awake and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord!
Psalm 35:24
Vindicate me by Your righteousness, O LORD my God, and do not let them gloat over me.
Psalm 35:25
Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!”
Psalm 35:26
May those who gloat in my distress be ashamed and confounded; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed in shame and reproach.
Psalm 35:27
May those who favor my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, “Exalted be the LORD who delights in His servant’s well-being.”
Psalm 35:28
Then my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness and Your praises all day long.