New International Version NIV
The Message Bible MSG
1 In you, LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; deliver me in your righteousness.
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I run to you, God; I run for dear life. Don't let me down! Take me seriously this time!
2 Turn your ear to me, come quickly to my rescue; be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me.
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Get down on my level and listen, and please - no procrastination! Your granite cave a hiding place, your high cliff aerie a place of safety.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
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You're my cave to hide in, my cliff to climb. Be my safe leader, be my true mountain guide.
4 Keep me free from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge.
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Free me from hidden traps; I want to hide in you.
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit; deliver me, LORD, my faithful God.
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I've put my life in your hands. You won't drop me, you'll never let me down.
6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols; as for me, I trust in the LORD.
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I hate all this silly religion, but you, God, I trust.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul.
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I'm leaping and singing in the circle of your love; you saw my pain, you disarmed my tormentors,
8 You have not given me into the hands of the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.
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You didn't leave me in their clutches but gave me room to breathe.
9 Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.
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Be kind to me, God - I'm in deep, deep trouble again. I've cried my eyes out; I feel hollow inside.
10 My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction,and my bones grow weak.
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My life leaks away, groan by groan; my years fade out in sighs. My troubles have worn me out, turned my bones to powder.
11 Because of all my enemies, I am the utter contempt of my neighbors and an object of dread to my closest friends— those who see me on the street flee from me.
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To my enemies I'm a monster; I'm ridiculed by the neighbors. My friends are horrified; they cross the street to avoid me.
12 I am forgotten as though I were dead; I have become like broken pottery.
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They want to blot me from memory, forget me like a corpse in a grave, discard me like a broken dish in the trash.
13 For I hear many whispering, “Terror on every side!” They conspire against me and plot to take my life.
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The street-talk gossip has me "criminally insane"! Behind locked doors they plot how to ruin me for good.
14 But I trust in you, LORD; I say, “You are my God.”
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Desperate, I throw myself on you: you are my God!
15 My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me.
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Hour by hour I place my days in your hand, safe from the hands out to get me.
16 Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.
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Warm me, your servant, with a smile; save me because you love me.
17 Let me not be put to shame, LORD, for I have cried out to you; but let the wicked be put to shame and be silent in the realm of the dead.
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Don't embarrass me by not showing up; I've given you plenty of notice. Embarrass the wicked, stand them up, leave them stupidly shaking their heads as they drift down to hell.
18 Let their lying lips be silenced, for with pride and contempt they speak arrogantly against the righteous.
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Gag those loudmouthed liars who heckle me, your follower, with jeers and catcalls.
19 How abundant are the good things that you have stored up for those who fear you, that you bestow in the sight of all, on those who take refuge in you.
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What a stack of blessing you have piled up for those who worship you, Ready and waiting for all who run to you to escape an unkind world.
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from all human intrigues; you keep them safe in your dwelling from accusing tongues.
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You hide them safely away from the opposition. As you slam the door on those oily, mocking faces, you silence the poisonous gossip.
21 Praise be to the LORD, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege.
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Blessed God! His love is the wonder of the world.
22 In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from your sight!” Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help.
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I panicked. "Out of sight, out of mind," I said. But you heard me say it, you heard and listened.
23 Love the LORD, all his faithful people! The LORD preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full.
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Love God, all you saints; God takes care of all who stay close to him, But he pays back in full those arrogant enough to go it alone.
24 Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the LORD.
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Be brave. Be strong. Don't give up. Expect God to get here soon.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.