Psalm 35 - Easy To Read Version

¹ Lord, fight my battles.\par Fight my wars!\par

² Lord, pick up the shield and buckler. {\cf2\super [213]} \par Get up and help me.\par

³ Take a spear and javelin {\cf2\super [214]} \par and fight the people\par that are chasing me.\par Lord, tell my soul,\par “I will save you.”\par

⁴ Some people are trying to kill me.\par Disappoint them\par and make them ashamed.\par Make them turn and run away.\par Those people are planning to hurt me.\par \{Defeat them and\} embarrass them.\par

⁵ Make those people be like chaff {\cf2\super [215]} \par blown by the wind. {\cf2\super [216]} \par Let them be chased by the Lord’s angel.\par

⁶ Lord, make their road dark and slippery.\par Let the Lord’s angel chase them.\par

⁷ I did nothing wrong,\par but those people tried to trap me.\par For no reason at all,\par they tried to trap me.\par

⁸ So, Lord, let them fall into their own traps.\par Let them stumble into their own nets.\par Let some unknown danger catch them.\par

⁹ Then I will rejoice in the Lord.\par I will be happy when he saves me.\par

¹⁰ With my whole self I will say,\par “Lord, there is no one like you.\par You save a poor person from people that are stronger.\par You take things from strong people,\par and you give those things\par to that poor, helpless person.”\par

¹¹ A group of witnesses {\cf2\super [217]} are planning\par to hurt me.\par Those people will ask me questions\par that I know nothing about.\par

¹² I have done only good things.\par But those people will do bad things to me.\par \{Lord,\} give me the good things I deserve.\par

¹³ When those people were sick,\par I was sad for them.\par I showed my sadness by not eating.\par Is this what I get for praying for them?\par

¹⁴ I wore clothes of sadness for those people.\par I treated those people like my friends or even like brothers.\par I was sad, like a man crying because his mother had died.\par I wore black clothes to show my sadness for those people.\par I walked with my head bowed in sadness.\par

¹⁵ But when I made a mistake, {\cf2\super [218]} \par those people laughed at me.\par Those people were not really friends.\par I didn’t even know them.\par But they surrounded me and attacked me.\par

¹⁶ They used bad language\par and made fun of me.\par Those people showed they were angry at me by grinding their teeth.\par

¹⁷ My Master, how long will you watch these bad things happen?\par Those people are trying to destroy me.\par Lord, save my life.\par Save my dear life\par from those bad people.\par They are like lions.\par

¹⁸ Lord, I will praise you in the great assembly.\par I will praise you when I am with the powerful people.\par

¹⁹ My lying enemies will not keep laughing.\par Surely my enemies will be punished\par for their secret plans. {\cf2\super [219]} \par

²⁰ My enemies are not really making plans for peace.\par They are secretly making plans\par to do bad things to the peaceful people\par in this country.\par

²¹ My enemies are saying bad things\par about me.\par \{They tell lies and say,\}\par “Aha! We know what you are doing!”\par

²² Lord, surely you can see what is happening.\par So don’t keep quiet.\par Don’t leave me.\par

²³ Lord, wake up! Get up!\par My God and my Lord, fight for me,\par and bring me justice.\par

²⁴ Lord my God, judge me with your fairness.\par Don’t let those people laugh at me.\par

²⁵ Don’t let those people say,\par “Aha! We got what we wanted!”\par Lord, don’t let them say,\par “We destroyed him!”\par

²⁶ I hope that all my enemies will be ashamed and embarrassed.\par Those people were happy when bad things happened to me.\par They thought they were better than me!\par So let those people be covered with shame and humiliation.\par

²⁷ Some people want good things\par to happen to me.\par I hope those people will be very happy!\par Those people always say,\par “The Lord is great!\par He wants what is best for his servant.”\par

²⁸ So Lord, I tell people how good you are.\par I praise you every day.\par