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35 ‎[1] **By David. Strive, Lord, against my rivals. Fight on my behalf. **
‎[2] **Take hold of shield and armor and rise up to help me, **
‎[3] **and unsheathe a spear**** to block my pursuers; say to me: I am your salvation. **
‎[4] **Let those who seek my life be ashamed and dishonored; may those devising evil against me be turned back and humiliated.**
‎[5] **Let them be like chaff in the wind, with an angel of the Lord scattering them. **
‎[6] **Let their way be dark and slippery, **two factors likely to cause one to lose his footing and fall, **with an angel of the Lord pursuing them. **
‎[7] **For without cause they have hidden ditches and nets against me **with which** **to trap me;** without cause they have dug pits for **the purpose of harming me or taking **my soul. **
‎[8] **Let calamity come upon him, **upon my enemy,** unawares,** without him even understanding what it was that brought him down. **Let the net that he laid **for me **ensnare him **instead.** Let him plunge into that very calamity **that he had planned for me.** **
‎[9] **As for me, I will rejoice in the Lord, happy in His salvation. **
‎[10] **All my bones will say, **my entire body, as it were, will join with my mouth in praising God:** Lord, who is like You, who delivers the poor from those who are stronger, the poor and the needy from their despoiler? **
‎[11] The psalmist describes some of the evil plans his enemies have employed against him: **Malicious, **false** witnesses arise** to accuse me,** asking me concerning things about which I know nothing **and imputing to me baseless claims.
‎[12] What hurts most is that some of my accusers are people whom I used to help in their times of need. **They repay me evil for good, causing me grief. **
‎[13] **Whereas I, when they were sick, **felt genuine sympathy for them; **my garb was sackcloth **as an expression of my distress over their troubles, and** I afflicted my soul in fasting. But my prayer returned to my breast. **They did not appreciate my commiseration and actions on their behalf; to them it was as though my prayers were being uttered for myself.
‎[14] **As if with a beloved friend or brother I walked along **with them, sharing their burden,** bowed in gloom, as if grieving for a **deceased **mother. **
‎[15] **But, **in marked contrast,** when I was limping **and hurting,** they rejoiced and gathered together **to gloat and to taunt me. **My attackers congregated without my knowing **what caused them to turn against me,** tearing at me, **at my clothing and my flesh,** without pause. **
‎[16] **In their hypocrisy they made** **contemptuous gestures; they** **gnashed their teeth at me **in derision and enmity.** **
‎[17] In the face of such hatred, the psalmist prays to God:* ***My Lord, how long will You look on **without coming to my aid?** Rescue me from their ravages **that they have schemed for me;** save my soul from **these enemies, who are ferocious like **young lions. **
‎[18] After You heed my prayer and save me, **I will thank You in a great assembly, **and** I will praise You among a mighty throng. **
‎[19] **Do not allow my false enemies,** enemies who had pretended to be my friends,** to gloat over me, or those who hate me without cause, **people with no reason to hate me, who therefore remained unsuspected by me,** to wink with their eyes **toward me** **in contempt.** **
‎[20] **For they do not speak of peace **toward me;** they devise deceitful plans against those living serenely in the land,** who harbor no malice toward anyone.** **
‎[21] And when they believe that they have witnessed my downfall, **they **mockingly **open their mouths wide against me, saying: Hurrah, hurrah! Our eyes have **finally **seen it, **his defeat.** **
‎[22] **You have seen this, Lord; do not keep silent. Lord, do not be far from me. **
‎[23] **Be bestirred and awaken to **do **justice for me; my God and my Lord, **come **to **aid me in **my struggle. **
‎[24] **Vindicate me, Lord my God, as befits Your righteousness; do not let them rejoice over me. **
‎[25] **Do not let them say in their heart: Hurrah for us, **for he has finally fallen!** Do not let them say: We have devoured **and destroyed **him. **
‎[26] **May those who rejoice at my distress be altogether ashamed and humiliated; may those who glorify themselves about me, **about my misfortune, **be clothed in shame and dishonor. **
‎[27] The psalmist ends on a positive note:* ***May those who desire my vindication sing out and rejoice, always saying: Great is the Lord who delights in the well-being of His servant **and has therefore granted him salvation.** **
‎[28] **And **then **my tongue will utter Your righteousness, **and** Your praises all day long.**
Version: The Steinsaltz Tanakh - English
Source: https://korenpub.com/collections/the-steinsaltz-tanakh/products/steinsaltz-tanakh
License: Copyright: Steinsaltz Center