Read the Bible

¹ Oppose those who oppose me, Lord,
    and fight those who fight against me!
² Take your shield and armor
    and come to my rescue.
³ Lift up your spear and war ax
    against those who pursue 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 laid a trap for 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 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 But when they were sick, I dressed in mourning;
    I deprived myself of food;
I prayed with my head bowed low,
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 glad
    and gathered around to make fun of me;
strangers beat me
    and kept striking me.
¹⁶ Like those who would mock a cripple,^[b]
    they glared at me with hate.

¹⁷ How much longer, Lord, will you just look on?
    Rescue me from their attacks;
    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 (a)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 silent, Lord;
    don't keep yourself far away!
²³ Rouse yourself, O Lord, and defend me;
    rise up, my God, and plead my cause.
²⁴ You are righteous, O Lord, so declare me innocent;
    don't let my enemies gloat over 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
    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.