New Living Translation NLT
The Message Bible MSG
1 Listen to my prayer, O God. Do not ignore my cry for help!
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Open your ears, God, to my prayer; don't pretend you don't hear me knocking.
2 Please listen and answer me, for I am overwhelmed by my troubles.
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Come close and whisper your answer. I really need you.
3 My enemies shout at me, making loud and wicked threats. They bring trouble on me and angrily hunt me down.
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at the mean voice, quail before the evil eye, As they pile on the guilt, stockpile angry slander.
4 My heart pounds in my chest. The terror of death assaults me.
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My insides are turned inside out; specters of death have me down.
5 Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can’t stop shaking.
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I shake with fear, I shudder from head to foot.
6 Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!
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"Who will give me wings," I ask - "wings like a dove?" Get me out of here on dove wings;
7 I would fly far away to the quiet of the wilderness. Interlude
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I want some peace and quiet. I want a walk in the country,
8 How quickly I would escape— far from this wild storm of hatred.
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I want a cabin in the woods. I'm desperate for a change from rage and stormy weather.
9 Confuse them, Lord, and frustrate their plans, for I see violence and conflict in the city.
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Come down hard, Lord - slit their tongues. I'm appalled how they've split the city Into rival gangs prowling the alleys
10 Its walls are patrolled day and night against invaders, but the real danger is wickedness within the city.
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Day and night spoiling for a fight, trash piled in the streets,
11 Everything is falling apart; threats and cheating are rampant in the streets.
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Even shopkeepers gouging and cheating in broad daylight.
12 It is not an enemy who taunts me— I could bear that. It is not my foes who so arrogantly insult me— I could have hidden from them.
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This isn't the neighborhood bully mocking me - I could take that. This isn't a foreign devil spitting invective - I could tune that out.
13 Instead, it is you—my equal, my companion and close friend.
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It's you! We grew up together! You! My best friend!
14 What good fellowship we once enjoyed as we walked together to the house of God.
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Those long hours of leisure as we walked arm in arm, God a third party to our conversation.
15 Let death stalk my enemies; let the grave swallow them alive, for evil makes its home within them.
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Haul my betrayers off alive to hell - let them experience the horror, let them feel every desolate detail of a damned life.
16 But I will call on God, and the LORD will rescue me.
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I call to God; God will help me.
17 Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the LORD hears my voice.
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At dusk, dawn, and noon I sigh deep sighs - he hears, he rescues.
18 He ransoms me and keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, though many still oppose me.
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My life is well and whole, secure in the middle of danger Even while thousands are lined up against me.
19 God, who has ruled forever, will hear me and humble them. Interlude For my enemies refuse to change their ways; they do not fear God.
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God hears it all, and from his judge's bench puts them in their place. But, set in their ways, they won't change; they pay him no mind.
20 As for my companion, he betrayed his friends; he broke his promises.
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And this, my best friend, betrayed his best friends; his life betrayed his word.
21 His words are as smooth as butter, but in his heart is war. His words are as soothing as lotion, but underneath are daggers!
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All my life I've been charmed by his speech, never dreaming he'd turn on me. His words, which were music to my ears, turned to daggers in my heart.
22 Give your burdens to the LORD, and he will take care of you. He will not permit the godly to slip and fall.
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Pile your troubles on God's shoulders - he'll carry your load, he'll help you out. He'll never let good people topple into ruin.
23 But you, O God, will send the wicked down to the pit of destruction. Murderers and liars will die young, but I am trusting you to save me.
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But you, God, will throw the others into a muddy bog, Cut the lifespan of assassins and traitors in half. And I trust in you.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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.