Psalm 35 New King James Version (NKJV)
The Lord the Avenger of His People
A Psalm of David.
35
Oppose those who oppose me, Lord,
and fight those who fight against me!
2 Take your shield and armor
and come to me in my desperate need.
3 Lift up your spear and war ax
against those who come after me and attack me
Promise that you will save me.
4 May those who try to kill me
be defeated and disgraced!
May those who plot against me
be turned back and confused!
5 May they be like straw blown by the wind
as the angel of the Lord pursues them!
6 May their path be dark and slippery
while the angel of the Lord strikes them down!
7 Without any reason they set snares against me
and dug a deep hole to catch me.
8 But destruction will catch them before they know it;
they will be caught in their own trap
and fall to their destruction!
9 Then I will be glad because of the Lord;
I will be happy because he rescued and saved me.
10 With all my heart I will say to the Lord,
“There is no one like you.
You protect the weak from the strong,
the poor from the oppressor.”
11 Evil people testify against me
and accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.
12 They pay me back evil for good,
and I sink in despair.
13 when they were sick, I dressed in mourning;
I deprived myself of food;
I prayed with my head bowed low, and to my knees
14 as I would pray for a friend or a brother.
I went around bent over in mourning,
as one who mourns for his mother.
15 But when I was in trouble, they were all delighted
and gathered around to mock me
strangers beat me
and kept striking me.
16 Like those who would have there amusement from a cripple,[b]
they glared at me with hate.
17 How much longer, Lord, will you just look on doing nothing?
Rescue me from their assaults,
save my life from these lions!
18 Then I will thank you in the assembly of your people;
I will praise you before them all.
19 Don’t let my enemies, those liars,
gloat over my defeat.
Don’t let those who hate me for no reason
smirk with delight over my sorrow.
20 They do not speak in a friendly way;
instead they invent all kinds of lies about peace-loving people.
21 They accuse me, shouting,
“We saw what you did!”
22 But you, O Lord, have seen this.
So don’t be in hiding,Lord;
don’t keep yourself far away!
23 Rouse yourself, O Lord, and defend me;
rise up, my God, and he led controversy over me.
24 You are righteous, O Lord, so declare me innocent;
don’t let my enemies delight in me.
25 Don’t let them say to themselves,
“We are rid of him!
That’s just what we wanted!”
26 May those who gloat over my suffering
be completely defeated and confused;
may those who claim to be better than I am
be covered with shame and disgrace.
27 May those who want to see me acquitted free me
shout for joy and say again and again,
“How great is the Lord!
He is pleased with the success of his servant.”
28 Then I will proclaim your righteousness,
and I will praise you all day long each day of my life.
