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35. Psalm 35

¹ Contend, LORD, with those who contend with me;
   fight against those who fight against me.
² Take up shield and armor;
   arise and come to my aid.
³ Brandish spear and javelin Or and block the way
   against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
   “I am your salvation.”

    ⁴ May those who seek my life
   be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
   be turned back in dismay.
⁵ May they be like chaff before the wind,
   with the angel of the LORD driving them away;
⁶ may their path be dark and slippery,
   with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.

    ⁷ Since they hid their net for me without cause
   and without cause dug a pit for me,
⁸ may ruin overtake them by surprise—
   may the net they hid entangle them,
   may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.
⁹ Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD
   and delight in his salvation.
¹⁰ My whole being will exclaim,
   “Who is like you, LORD?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
   the poor and needy from those who rob them.”

    ¹¹ Ruthless witnesses come forward;
   they question me on things I know nothing about.
¹² They repay me evil for good
   and leave me like one bereaved.
¹³ Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
   and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
    ¹⁴ I went about mourning
   as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
   as though weeping for my mother.
¹⁵ But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
   assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
   They slandered me without ceasing.
¹⁶ Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; Septuagint; Hebrew may mean Like an ungodly circle of mockers,
   they gnashed their teeth at me.

    ¹⁷ How long, Lord, will you look on?
   Rescue me from their ravages,
   my precious life from these lions.
¹⁸ I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
   among the throngs I will praise you.
¹⁹ Do not let those gloat over me
   who are my enemies without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason
   maliciously wink the eye.
²⁰ They do not speak peaceably,
   but devise false accusations
   against those who live quietly in the land.
²¹ They sneer at me and say, “Aha! Aha!
   With our own eyes we have seen it.”

    ²² LORD, you have seen this; do not be silent.
   Do not be far from me, Lord.
²³ Awake, and rise to my defense!
   Contend for me, my God and Lord.
²⁴ Vindicate me in your righteousness, LORD my God;
   do not let them gloat over me.
²⁵ Do not let them think, “Aha, just what we wanted!”
   or say, “We have swallowed him up.”

    ²⁶ May all who gloat over my distress
   be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
   be clothed with shame and disgrace.
²⁷ May those who delight in my vindication
   shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, “The LORD be exalted,
   who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

²⁸ My tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
your praises all day long.

4. Let those who seek my soul be confounded. David now calls upon God to take vengeance upon his enemies; and he asks not only that he would disappoint and destroy their designs, but also that he would recompense them according to their deserts. In the first place, he desires that they may be confounded and put to shame in seeing their expectation and desire fail; and then he proceeds farther, desiring that while they imagine themselves to be firmly established, and deeply rooted, they may be like chaff or stubble. As the chaff is driven with the wind, so also he desires, that, being disquieted by the secret impulse of the angel of the Lord, they may never have rest. The imprecation which follows is even more dreadful, and it is this: that wherever they go they may meet with darkness and slippery places; and that in their doubt and perplexity the angel of the Lord would pursue them. In fine, whatever they devise, and to whatever side they turn, he prays that all their counsels and enterprises may come to a disastrous termination. When he desires that they may be driven by the angel of the Lord, we learn from this that the reason why the ungodly are troubled, though no man pursues them, is, that God smites them with a spirit of amazement, and distracts them with such fears that they tremble and are troubled.