1O Lord, attack those who attack me;
fight against those who fight against me.
2Come to my aid with armour and shield;
3stand with your spear and war ax, halt my pursuers. Say to my soul, “I am your deliverer.”
4Let them be shamed and dishonored, those who seek my life. Let them be routed and destroyed, those who plot my ruin.
5Let them be like chaff before the wind, when the Lord’s angel drives them away.
6Let their escape path be dark and precipitous, with the Lord’s angel always at their heels.
7They set their net against me for no cause, they dug a pit for me without reason.
8Let ruin come upon them unexpectedly, let them be entangled in their own snare; let them fall into the trap of their own making.
9Then will my soul rejoice in the Lord and exult in his salvation.
10My whole being will exclaim, “O Lord, who is like you? You deliver the oppressed from those too strong for them, you rescue the poor and the needy from their oppressors.” 11False witnesses take the stand, accusing me of crimes of which I am innocent.
12For my kindness they return evil, bringing my life to despair.
13When they were sick, I wore sackcloth and fasted; I prayed hard with head bowed,
14as if I were bereft of a friend or brother; I shed tears in grief, as one mourning the death of his mother.
15But when I stumbled they gathered in glee and, began to strike me; like strangers they disowned me and accused me falsely.
16Like an ungodly circle of mockers, they gnashed their teeth and made me the butt of all their ridicule.
17How long, O Lord, will you look on? Deliver my life, my only one, from these lions. 18Then I will thank you in the great assembly; I will praise you in the mighty throng.
19Do not let them gloat over me – those who, unprovoked, have become my foes. Do not let them wink maliciously – those who hate me without cause.
20Sowing discontent with their tongue and mind, they devise false accusations against the peace-loving people of the land.
21They open wide their mouths against me: “Aha, aha!” they say, “We have seen it with our own eyes!”
22But you, O Lord, who have seen, do not keep silent. Do not stand far from me.
23Stir yourself up, stand up for my rights and my cause, my God and my Lord!
24Declare me innocent, O Lord, my God, according to your justice.
Let them not gloat over me.
25Never give them reason to say, “We have trampled him down!”
26Let them be utterly disgraced and confounded, who exult over my calamity. Let them be ashamed and dishonored, who rejoice at my distress.
27But let them be glad and rejoice, who are in sympathy with my cause. And may they ever say, “Great is the Lord, who has justified his servant.”
28Then will my tongue proclaim your righteousness, and sing your praises all day long.
