| 1 | Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me! |
| 2 | Take hold of shield and buckler, and rise up to help me! |
| 3 | Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers; say to my soul, “I am your salvation.” |
| 4 | Let them be put to shame and dishonor who seek after my life. Let them be turned back and confounded who devise evil against me. |
| 5 | Let them be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them on. |
| 6 | Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them. |
| 7 | For without cause they hid their net for me; without cause they dug a pit for my life. |
| 8 | Let ruin come on them unawares. And let the net that they hid ensnare them; let them fall in it — to their ruin. |
| 9 | Then my soul shall rejoice in the LORD, exulting in his deliverance. |
| 10 | All my bones shall say, “O LORD, who is like you? You deliver the weak from those too strong for them, the weak and needy from those who despoil them.” |
| 11 | Malicious witnesses rise up; they ask me about things I do not know. |
| 12 | They repay me evil for good; my soul is forlorn. |
| 13 | But as for me, when they were sick, I wore sackcloth; I afflicted myself with fasting. I prayed with head bowed on my bosom, |
| 14 | as though I grieved for a friend or a brother; I went about as one who laments for a mother, bowed down and in mourning. |
| 15 | But at my stumbling they gathered in glee, they gathered together against me; ruffians whom I did not know tore at me without ceasing; |
| 16 | they impiously mocked more and more, gnashing at me with their teeth. |
| 17 | How long, O LORD, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my life from the lions! |
| 18 | Then I will thank you in the great congregation; in the mighty throng I will praise you. |
| 19 | Do not let my treacherous enemies rejoice over me, or those who hate me without cause wink the eye. |
| 20 | For they do not speak peace, but they conceive deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land. |
| 21 | They open wide their mouths against me; they say, “Aha, Aha, our eyes have seen it.” |
| 22 | You have seen, O LORD; do not be silent! O Lord, do not be far from me! |
| 23 | Wake up! Bestir yourself for my defense, for my cause, my God and my Lord! |
| 24 | Vindicate me, O LORD, my God, according to your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me. |
| 25 | Do not let them say to themselves, “Aha, we have our heart’s desire.” Do not let them say, “We have swallowed you up.” |
| 26 | Let all those who rejoice at my calamity be put to shame and confusion; let those who exalt themselves against me be clothed with shame and dishonor. |
| 27 | Let those who desire my vindication shout for joy and be glad, and say evermore, “Great is the LORD, who delights in the welfare of his servant.” |
| 28 | Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness and of your praise all day long. |