Contend for Me, LORD

Verses 1–26 · hunted by false witnesses and former friends

1. ^{verse 1}Contend with my opponents, O LORD; fight against those who fight against me.
2. ^{verse 2}Take up Your shield and buckler; arise and come to my aid.
3. ^{verse 3}Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers; say to my soul: “I am your salvation.”
4. ^{verse 4}May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plan to harm me be driven back and confounded.
5. ^{verse 5}May they be like chaff in the wind, as the angel of the LORD drives them away.
6. ^{verse 6}May their path be dark and slick, as the angel of the LORD pursues.
7. ^{verse 7}For without cause they laid their net for me; without reason they dug a pit for my soul.
8. ^{verse 8}May ruin befall them by surprise; may the net they hid ensnare them; may they fall into the hazard they created.
9. ^{verse 9}Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD and exult in His salvation.
10. ^{verse 10}All my bones will exclaim, “Who is like You, O LORD, who delivers the afflicted from the aggressor, the poor and needy from the robber?”
11. ^{verse 11}Hostile witnesses come forward; they make charges I know nothing about.
12. ^{verse 12}They repay me evil for good, to the bereavement of my soul.
13. ^{verse 13}Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, but my prayers returned unanswered.
14. ^{verse 14}I paced about as for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for his mother.
15. ^{verse 15}But when I stumbled, they assembled in glee; they gathered together against me. Assailants I did not know slandered me without ceasing.
16. ^{verse 16}Like godless jesters at a feast, they gnashed their teeth at me.
17. ^{verse 17}How long, O Lord, will You look on? Rescue my soul from their ravages, my precious life from these lions.
18. ^{verse 18}Then I will give You thanks in the great assembly; I will praise You among many people.
19. ^{verse 19}Let not my enemies gloat over me without cause, nor those who hate me without reason wink in malice.
20. ^{verse 20}For they do not speak peace, but they devise deceitful schemes against those who live quietly in the land.
21. ^{verse 21}They gape at me and say, “Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen!”
22. ^{verse 22}O LORD, You have seen it; be not silent. O Lord, be not far from me.
23. ^{verse 23}Awake and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord!
24. ^{verse 24}Vindicate me by Your righteousness, O LORD my God, and do not let them gloat over me.
25. ^{verse 25}Let them not say in their hearts, “Aha, just what we wanted!” Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up!”
26. ^{verse 26}May those who gloat in my distress be ashamed and confounded; may those who exalt themselves over me be clothed in shame and reproach.

Verses 27–28 · praise for the God who delights in his servant's welfare

1. ^{verse 27}May 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.”
2. ^{verse 28}Then my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness and Your praises all day long.