3
Get ready to throw the spear, aim the javelin, at the people who are out to get me. Reassure me; let me hear you say, "I'll save you."
4
When those thugs try to knife me in the back, make them look foolish. Frustrate all those who are plotting my downfall.
5
Make them like cinders in a high wind, with God's angel working the bellows.
6
Make their road lightless and mud-slick, with God's angel on their tails.
7
Out of sheer cussedness they set a trap to catch me; for no good reason they dug a ditch to stop me.
8
Surprise them with your ambush - catch them in the very trap they set, the disaster they planned for me.
9
But let me run loose and free, celebrating God's great work,
10
Every bone in my body laughing, singing, "God, there's no one like you. You put the down-and-out on their feet and protect the unprotected from bullies!"
11
Hostile accusers appear out of nowhere, they stand up and badger me.
12
They pay me back misery for mercy, leaving my soul empty.
13
When they were sick, I dressed in black; instead of eating, I prayed.
14
My prayers were like lead in my gut, like I'd lost my best friend, my brother. I paced, distraught as a motherless child, hunched and heavyhearted.
15
But when I was down they threw a party! All the nameless riffraff of the town came chanting insults about me.
16
Like barbarians desecrating a shrine, they destroyed my reputation.
17
God, how long are you going to stand there doing nothing? Save me from their brutalities; everything I've got is being thrown to the lions.
18
I will give you full credit when everyone gathers for worship; When the people turn out in force I will say my Hallelujahs.