Psalm 35:1-28

God, please help me

1 Lord, speak against those people who speak against me.

Fight against those people who are fighting against me.

2 Yes, pick up your shield

and put on your armour!

Prepare to fight and give me help!

3 Take your spears and throw them,

to stop the people who are chasing me.

Say to me, ‘I will make you safe.’

4 Cause the people who want to kill me

to become ashamed.

Chase away the people who want to hurt me,

so that they become confused.

5 Make them become like chaff

that the wind blows away.

Send the angel of the Lord

to chase them away.

6 Make their way dark and dangerous.

as the angel of the Lord chases after them.

7 They hid a trap to catch me.

There was no reason for them to do that.

They even dug a deep hole for me to fall into.

8 Surprise my enemies and destroy them!

Let their own traps catch them!

Let them fall to their own death!

9 Then I will be happy

because of what the Lord has done.

I will be happy

because he has made me safe.

10 I will shout with all my strength,

‘Lord, who is like you?

When strong people try to hurt weak people,

you are the one who keeps the weak people safe.

You also keep poor people safe

when robbers try to take things from them.’

11 Cruel people tell lies against me in court.

I do not even know what they are talking about.

12 When I do good things to help them,

they pay me back with evil things!

That makes me feel very sad and upset.

13 When they were ill,

I wore rough clothes,

and I stopped eating food.

I bent down my head as I prayed for them.

14 I wept as I prayed,

as I would weep when a friend or my mother had died.

15 But when I had troubles myself,

they were happy.

They stood round and they laughed at me.

Even strangers attacked me

and they would not stop.

16 Useless people like that insulted me,

and they showed their teeth to frighten me.

17 Lord, how long will you continue to watch

as they do this to me?

Keep me safe when they attack me.

They attack me like hungry lions.

Do not let them kill me!

18 Then I will praise you

in the great meeting of your people.

I will thank you so that everyone hears me.

19 My enemies tell lies about me.

Do not let them win against me,

and be happy.

They have no reason to hate me,

so do not let them laugh at me.

20 They do not talk in a way that brings peace.

Instead, they try to deceive people who want to live quietly.

21 They open their mouths wide

to speak against me.

They say, ‘Aha!

We have seen the bad things that you do!’

22 Lord, you have seen all this.

Do not remain silent, Lord.

Do not stay far away from me.

23 Wake up! Get ready to give me justice!

Show that I am not guilty,

my Lord and my God.

24 Lord, you are righteous.

Give me justice, my God.

Do not let them laugh at me.

25 Do not let them say,

‘Aha! This is what we wanted.’

Do not let them say,

‘We have eaten him alive!’

26 For those who are happy when I have troubles,

make them ashamed and confused!

For those proud people who laugh at me,

make them feel weak and ashamed.

27 But for those who want justice for me,

let them shout aloud in their pleasure.

May they always say, ‘The Lord is great!

He is happy when his servant is safe and well!’

28 Then I will tell everyone that you are righteous.

I will praise you all through the day.