Psalm 35

Modern

Literal

Contend with My Opponents, O LORD

¹Of David.

Contend with my opponents, O LORD;

fight against those who fight against me.

¹Of David. Contend, O YHWH, with my opponents; fight with those fighting me!

²Take up Your shield and buckler;

arise and come to my aid.

²Take hold of shield and buckler, and rise in help of me,

³Draw the spear and javelin^a against my pursuers;

say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”

³and draw out the spear and javelin against those pursuing me! Say to my soul, “I am your salvation.”

⁴May those who seek my life

be disgraced and put to shame;

may those who plan to harm me

be driven back and confounded.

⁴Let them be shamed and dishonored, those seeking my soul; let them be turned back and confounded, those planning evil for me!

⁵May they be like chaff in the wind,

as the angel of the LORD drives them away.

⁵Let them be like chaff before the wind, and the angel of YHWH driving them away.

⁶May their path be dark and slick,

as the angel of the LORD pursues.

⁶Let their path be darkness and slickness—and let the angel of YHWH pursue them!

⁷For without cause they laid their net for me;

without reason they dug a pit for my soul.

⁷For without cause, they have hidden a pit for me—their net; they have dug one for my soul without cause.

⁸May ruin befall them by surprise;

may the net they hid ensnare them;

may they fall into the hazard they created.

⁸Let destruction come upon him that he shall not know, and the net that he has hidden, let it catch him; the destruction, let him fall into it!

⁹Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD

and exult in His salvation.

⁹And my soul will rejoice in YHWH; it will exult in His salvation.

¹⁰All my bones will exclaim,

“Who is like You, O LORD,

who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor,

the poor and needy from the robber?”

¹⁰All my bones will say, “O YHWH, who is like You?—Snatching the afflicted from the one stronger than he, and the afflicted one and the needy one from the one plundering him.”

¹¹Hostile witnesses come forward;

they make charges I know nothing about.

¹¹Violent witnesses rise up; those whom I do not know; they interrogate me.

¹²They repay me evil for good,

to the bereavement of my soul.

¹²They repay me evil in place of good, to the bereavement of my soul.

¹³Yet when they were ill,

I put on sackcloth;

I humbled myself with fasting,

but my prayers returned unanswered.^a

¹³And I—in their sickness my clothing is sackcloth; I humbled my soul with fasting, and my prayer returned upon my bosom.

¹⁴I paced about

as for my friend or brother;

I was bowed down with grief,

like one mourning for his mother.

¹⁴As for a friend or brother to me—I went about as one mourning; in grief as for my mother, I bowed down.

¹⁵But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee;

they gathered together against me.

Assailants I did not know

slandered me without ceasing.

¹⁵And in my stumbling, they were glad and gathered themselves together; attackers they gathered together against me, and ones I did not know, they tore and did not cease.

¹⁶Like godless jesters at a feast,^a

they gnashed their teeth at me.

¹⁶Like godless mockers at a feast, they gnashed at me with their teeth.

¹⁷How long, O Lord, will You look on?

Rescue my soul from their ravages,

my precious life from these lions.

¹⁷O Lord, how long will you look on? Turn back my soul from their ravages, my only one from the young lions!

¹⁸Then I will give You thanks in the great assembly;

I will praise You among many people.

¹⁸I will give You thanks in the great assembly; among a mighty people I will praise You.

¹⁹Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause,

nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice.^a

¹⁹Do not let my enemies rejoice over me in deception; those hating me for no reason wink the eye.

²⁰For they do not speak peace,

but they devise deceitful schemes

against those who live quietly in the land.

²⁰For they do not speak peace, and against the quiet of the land, they devise words of deceit.

²¹They gape at me and say,

“Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”

²¹And they opened wide against me their mouths; they said, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it!”

²²O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent.

O Lord, be not far from me.

²²You have seen it, O YHWH; do not be silent! O Lord, do not be far from me!

²³Awake and rise to my defense,

to my cause, my God and my Lord!

²³Rouse Yourself, and awaken to my judgment, my God and my Lord, to my cause!

²⁴Vindicate me by Your righteousness, O LORD my God,

and do not let them gloat over me.

²⁴Judge for me according to Your righteousness, O YHWH my God, and do not let them rejoice over me.

²⁵Let them not say in their hearts,

“Aha, just what we wanted!”

Let them not say,

“We have swallowed him up!”

²⁵Do not let them say in their heart, “Aha, our desire!” Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up!”

²⁶May those who gloat in my distress

be ashamed and confounded;

may those who exalt themselves over me

be clothed in shame and reproach.

²⁶Let them be put to shame and brought to confusion together, those being glad at my distress; may they be clothed with shame and dishonor, those magnifying themselves over me!

²⁷May 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.”

²⁷Let them shout for joy and be glad, those desiring my vindication, and let them say continually, “Let YHWH be magnified, the One delighting in the welfare of His servant!”

²⁸Then my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness

and Your praises all day long.

²⁸And my tongue shall utter Your righteousness—Your praise all the day.