Dual Panel1<> O LORD, oppose those who oppose me. Declare war on those who are attacking me.
2Put on your armor, and take up your shield. Prepare for battle, and come to my aid.
3Lift up your spear and javelin and block the way of my enemies. Let me hear you say, "I am your salvation!"
4Humiliate and disgrace those trying to kill me; turn them back in confusion.
5Blow them away like chaff in the wind––a wind sent by the angel of the LORD.
6Make their path dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.
7Although I did them no wrong, they laid a trap for me. Although I did them no wrong, they dug a pit for me.
8So let sudden ruin overtake them! Let them be caught in the snare they set for me! Let them fall to destruction in the pit they dug for me.
9Then I will rejoice in the LORD. I will be glad because he rescues me.
10I will praise him from the bottom of my heart: "LORD, who can compare with you? Who else rescues the weak and helpless from the strong? Who else protects the poor and needy from those who want to rob them?"
11Malicious witnesses testify against me. They accuse me of things I don’t even know about.
12They repay me with evil for the good I do. I am sick with despair.
13Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them. I even fasted and prayed for them, but my prayers returned unanswered.
14I was sad, as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for my own mother.
15But they are glad now that I am in trouble; they gleefully join together against me. I am attacked by people I don’t even know; they hurl slander at me continually.
16They mock me with the worst kind of profanity, and they snarl at me.
17How long, O Lord, will you look on and do nothing? Rescue me from their fierce attacks. Protect my life from these lions!
18Then I will thank you in front of the entire congregation. I will praise you before all the people.
19Don’t let my treacherous enemies rejoice over my defeat. Don’t let those who hate me without cause gloat over my sorrow.
20They don’t talk of peace; they plot against innocent people who are minding their own business.
21They shout that they have seen me doing wrong. "Aha," they say. "Aha! With our own eyes we saw him do it!"
22O LORD, you know all about this. Do not stay silent. Don’t abandon me now, O Lord.
23Wake up! Rise to my defense! Take up my case, my God and my Lord.
24Declare me "not guilty," O LORD my God, for you give justice. Don’t let my enemies laugh about me in my troubles.
25Don’t let them say, "Look! We have what we wanted! Now we will eat him alive!"
26May those who rejoice at my troubles be humiliated and disgraced. May those who triumph over me be covered with shame and dishonor.
27But give great joy to those who have stood with me in my defense. Let them continually say, "Great is the LORD, who enjoys helping his servant."
28Then I will tell everyone of your justice and goodness, and I will praise you all day long.