Psalm 35:1-16

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.

A Psalm of David.

35 Contend, Lord, with those who ^(A)contend with me;
Fight against those who ^(B)fight against me.
²Take hold of ^[a]^(C)buckler and shield
And rise up as ^(D)my help.
³Draw also the spear and ^[b]the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am ^(E)your salvation.”
⁴Let those be ^(F)ashamed and dishonored who seek my ^[c]life;
Let those be ^(G)turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
⁵Let them be ^(H)like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
⁶Let their way be dark and ^(I)slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
⁷For ^(J)they ^(K)hid their net for me without cause;
Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.
⁸Let ^(L)destruction come upon him when he is unaware,
And ^(M)let the net which he hid catch him;
Let him fall into that very ^(N)destruction.

⁹So my soul shall ^(O)rejoice in the Lord;
It shall ^(P)rejoice in His salvation.
¹⁰All my ^(Q)bones will say, “Lord, ^(R)who is like You,
Who rescues the afflicted from one ^(S)who is too strong for him,
And ^(T)the afflicted and the poor from one who robs him?”
¹¹^(U)Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
¹²They ^(V)repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
¹³But as for me, ^(W)when they were sick, my ^(X)clothing was sackcloth;
I ^(Y)humbled my soul with fasting,
But my ^(Z)prayer kept returning to ^[d]me.
¹⁴I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I ^(AA)bowed down ^[e]in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother.
¹⁵But ^(AB)at my ^[f]stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The ^[g]^(AC)afflicted people whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They ^[h]^(AD)slandered me without ceasing.
¹⁶Like godless jesters at a feast,
They ^(AE)gnashed at me with their teeth.