Psalms 69:1-18

Psalm 69 ¹ 

For the music director; according to the tune of “Lilies;” ²  by David.

69:1 Deliver me, O God,

for the water has reached my neck. ³ 

69:2 I sink into the deep mire

where there is no solid ground; ⁴ 

I am in ⁵  deep water,

and the current overpowers me.

69:3 I am exhausted from shouting for help;

my throat is sore; ⁶ 

my eyes grow tired of looking for my God. ⁷ 

69:4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head.

Those who want to destroy me, my enemies for no reason, ⁸  outnumber me. ⁹ 

They make me repay what I did not steal! ¹⁰ 

69:5 O God, you are aware of my foolish sins; ¹¹ 

my guilt is not hidden from you. ¹² 

69:6 Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me,

O sovereign Lord and king! ¹³ 

Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me,

O God of Israel!

69:7 For I suffer ¹⁴  humiliation for your sake ¹⁵ 

and am thoroughly disgraced. ¹⁶ 

69:8 My own brothers treat me like a stranger;

they act as if I were a foreigner. ¹⁷ 

69:9 Certainly ¹⁸  zeal for ¹⁹  your house ²⁰  consumes me;

I endure the insults of those who insult you. ²¹ 

69:10 I weep and refrain from eating food, ²² 

which causes others to insult me. ²³ 

69:11 I wear sackcloth

and they ridicule me. ²⁴ 

69:12 Those who sit at the city gate gossip about me;

drunkards mock me in their songs. ²⁵ 

69:13 O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me! ²⁶ 

O God, because of your great loyal love,

answer me with your faithful deliverance! ²⁷ 

69:14 Rescue me from the mud! Don’t let me sink!

Deliver me ²⁸  from those who hate me,

from the deep water!

69:15 Don’t let the current overpower me!

Don’t let the deep swallow me up!

Don’t let the pit ²⁹  devour me! ³⁰ 

69:16 Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good! ³¹ 

Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!

69:17 Do not ignore ³²  your servant,

for I am in trouble! Answer me right away! ³³ 

69:18 Come near me and redeem me! ³⁴ 

Because of my enemies, rescue me!

[69:1]  ¹ sn Psalm 69. The psalmist laments his oppressed condition and asks the Lord to deliver him by severely judging his enemies.

[69:1]  ² tn Heb “according to lilies.” See the superscription to Ps 45.

[69:1]  ³ tn The Hebrew term נפשׁ (nefesh) here refers to the psalmist’s throat or neck. The psalmist compares himself to a helpless, drowning man.

[69:2]  ⁴ tn Heb “and there is no place to stand.”

[69:2]  ⁵ tn Heb “have entered.”

[69:3]  ⁶ tn Or perhaps “raw”; Heb “burned; enflamed.”

[69:3]  ⁷ tn Heb “my eyes fail from waiting for my God.” The psalmist has intently kept his eyes open, looking for God to intervene, but now his eyes are watery and bloodshot, impairing his vision.

[69:4]  ⁸ tn Heb “[with] a lie.” The Hebrew noun שֶׁקֶר (sheqer, “lie”) is used here as an adverb, “falsely, wrongfully” (see Pss 35:19; 38:19).

[69:4]  ⁹ tn The Hebrew verb עָצַם (’atsam) can sometimes mean “are strong,” but here it probably focuses on numerical superiority; note the parallel verb רָבַב (ravav, “be many”).

[69:4]  ¹⁰ tn Heb “that which I did not steal, then I restore.” Apparently אָז (’az, “then”) is used here to emphasize the verb that follows.

[69:5]  ¹¹ tn Heb “you know my foolishness.”

[69:5]  ¹² sn The psalmist is the first to admit that he is not perfect. But even so, he is innocent of the allegations which his enemies bring against him (v. 5b). God, who is aware of his foolish sins and guilt, can testify to the truth of his claim.

[69:6]  ¹³ tn Heb “O Master, Lord of hosts.” Both titles draw attention to God’s sovereign position.

[69:7]  ¹⁴ tn Heb “carry, bear.”

[69:7]  ¹⁵ tn Heb “on account of you.”

[69:7]  ¹⁶ tn Heb “and shame covers my face.”

[69:8]  ¹⁷ tn Heb “and I am estranged to my brothers, and a foreigner to the sons of my mother.”

[69:9]  ¹⁸ tn Or “for.” This verse explains that the psalmist’s suffering is due to his allegiance to God.

[69:9]  ¹⁹ tn Or “devotion to.”

[69:9]  ²⁰ sn God’s house, the temple, here represents by metonymy God himself.

[69:9]  ²¹ tn Heb “the insults of those who insult you fall upon me.”

[69:10]  ²² sn Fasting was a practice of mourners. By refraining from normal activities such as eating food, the mourner demonstrated the sincerity of his sorrow.

[69:10]  ²³ tn Heb “and it becomes insults to me.”

[69:11]  ²⁴ tn Heb “and I am an object of ridicule to them.”

[69:12]  ²⁵ tn Heb “the mocking songs of the drinkers of beer.”

[69:13]  ²⁶ tn Heb “as for me, [may] my prayer be to you, O Lord, [in] a time of favor.”

[69:13]  ²⁷ tn Heb “O God, in the abundance of your loyal love, answer me in the faithfulness of your deliverance.”

[69:14]  ²⁸ tn Heb “let me be delivered.”

[69:15]  ²⁹ tn Heb “well,” which here symbolizes the place of the dead (cf. Ps 55:23).

[69:15]  ³⁰ tn Heb “do not let the well close its mouth upon me.”

[69:16]  ³¹ tn Or “pleasant”; or “desirable.”

[69:17]  ³² tn Heb “do not hide your face from.” The Hebrew idiom “hide the face” can (1) mean “ignore” (see Pss 10:11; 13:1; 51:9) or (2) carry the stronger idea of “reject” (see Pss 30:7; 88:14).

[69:17]  ³³ tn Or “quickly.”

[69:18]  ³⁴ tn Heb “come near my life and redeem it.” The verb “redeem” casts the Lord in the role of a leader who protects members of his extended family in times of need and crisis (see Ps 19:14).