PSALMS.
Chapter 69.
For the choir director; according to shoshannim; by David. Save me, O God! The water is already up to my neck! 
I am sinking in deep mud. There is nothing to stand on. I am in deep water. A flood is sweeping me away. 
I am exhausted from crying for help. My throat is hoarse. My eyes are strained ⌞from⌟ looking for my God. 
Those who hate me for no reason outnumber the hairs on my head. Those who want to destroy me are mighty. They have no reason to be my enemies. I am forced to pay back what I did not steal. 
O God, you know my stupidity, and the things of which I am guilty are not hidden from you. 
Do not let those who wait with hope for you be put to shame because of me, O Almighty Lord of Armies. Do not let those who come to you for help be humiliated because of me, O God of Israel. 
Indeed, for your sake I have endured insults. Humiliation has covered my face. 
I have become a stranger to my ⌞own⌟ brothers, a foreigner to my mother’s sons. 
Indeed, devotion for your house has consumed me, and the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. 
I cried and fasted, but I was insulted for it. 
I dressed myself in sackcloth, but I became the object of ridicule. 
Those who sit at the gate gossip about me, and drunkards make up songs about me. 
May my prayer come to you at an acceptable time, O Lord. O God, out of the greatness of your mercy, answer me with the truth of your salvation. 
Rescue me from the mud. Do not let me sink ⌞into it⌟. I want to be rescued from those who hate me and from the deep water. 
Do not let floodwaters sweep me away. Do not let the ocean swallow me up, or the pit close its mouth over me. 
Answer me, O Lord, because your mercy is good. Out of your unlimited compassion, turn to me. 
I am in trouble, so do not hide your face from me. Answer me quickly! 
Come close, and defend my soul. Set me free because of my enemies. 
You know that I have been insulted, put to shame, and humiliated. All my opponents are in front of you. 
Insults have broken my heart, and I am sick. I looked for sympathy, but there was none. I looked for people to comfort me, but I found no one. 
They poisoned my food, and when I was thirsty, they gave me vinegar to drink. 
Let the table set for them become a trap and a snare for their friends. 
Let their vision become clouded so that they cannot see. Let their thighs continually shake. 
Pour your rage on them. Let your burning anger catch up with them. 
Let their camp be deserted and their tents empty. 
They persecute the one you have struck, and they talk about the pain of those you have wounded. 
Charge them with one crime after another. Do not let them be found innocent. 
Let their ⌞names⌟ be erased from the Book of Life. Do not let them be listed with righteous people. 
I am suffering and in pain. Let your saving power protect me, O God. 
I want to praise God’s name with a song. I want to praise his great name with a song of thanksgiving. 
This will please the Lord more than ⌞sacrificing⌟ an ox or a bull with horns and hoofs. 
Oppressed people will see ⌞this⌟ and rejoice. May the hearts of those who look to God for help be refreshed. 
The Lord listens to needy people. He does not despise his own who are in prison. 
Let heaven and earth, the seas, and everything that moves in them, praise him. 
When God saves Zion, he will rebuild the cities of Judah. His servants will live there and take possession of it. 
The descendants of his servants will inherit it. Those who love him will live there. 
