The Waters Are up to My Neck

1For the one directing. According to “The Lilies.” Of David.

1 Save me, O God,

for the waters have come up to the soul.

2I sink in the mire of the deep,

and there is no place to stand;

I have come into the depths of the waters,

and a flood washes over me.

3I have grown weary with my calling out;

my throat is dry;

my eyes fail,

waiting for my God.

4Those hating me without cause†

outnumber the hairs of my head;

many are those seeking my destruction,

my enemies with deception!

That which I did not steal,

I must then return.

5O God, You know of my foolishness,

and my guilt is not hidden from You.

6Do not let those waiting on You come to shame because of me,

O Lord YHWH of hosts;

do not let those seeking You be disgraced because of me,

O God of Israel!

7It is for Your sake that I have carried scorn,

and shame has covered my face.

8I have become a stranger to my brothers,

and a foreigner to the sons of my mother.

9For zeal for Your house has consumed me,†

and the insults of those insulting You have fallen on me.†

10I even wept in the fasting of my soul,

and it was for a reproach to me.

11I made my clothing sackcloth,

and I became to them as a byword.

12Those sitting at the gate meditate against me,

and I am the song of those drinking wine.

13And I—my prayer is to You, O YHWH;

in the time of favor, O God,

in the abundance of Your loving devotion,

may You answer me in the truth of Your salvation!

14Deliver me from the mire,

that I should not sink!

May I be delivered from those hating me,

and out of the depths of the waters.

15Do not let the flood of waters engulf me,

and do not let the deep swallow me up,

and do not let the pit shut its mouth over me!

16Answer me, O YHWH,

for good is Your loving devotion;

according to the abundance of Your tender mercies, turn to me.

17And do not hide Your face from Your servant,

for distress is unto me;

hurry to answer me!

18Draw near to my soul and redeem it;

on account of my enemies, may You ransom me.

19You know my scorn, and my shame, and my disgrace;

all my adversaries are before You.

20Reproach has broken my heart,

and I am sick.

And I looked for a bemoaner, and there was none,

and for comforters, and I found none.

21And they gave gall for my food,

and for my thirst they made me drink vinegar.

22May their table before them become a snare,

and for a recompense—for a trap!†

23May their eyes grow dark from seeing,

and their backs be bent forever!†

24Pour out upon them Your indignation,

and may the burning of Your anger overtake them!

25May their encampment become desolate;

may there be no one dwelling in their tents.†

26For You—the one whom You struck—they pursue,

and the pain of those You pierced they recount.

27May You add iniquity to their iniquity,

and do not let them come into Your righteousness!

28May they be blotted out from the book of the living,

and do not let them be written with the righteous!

29And I am afflicted and pained;

may Your salvation, O God, set me on high.

30I will praise the name of God with a song,

and will I magnify Him with thanksgiving.

31And it is better to YHWH than an ox,

a bull horned and hoofed.

32The humble have seen—they rejoice—

you seeking God, your⁺ heart shall live!

33For YHWH listens to the needy,

and he has not despised His captives.

34Let the heavens and earth shout praise to Him,

the seas, and every moving thing in them.

35For God will save Zion,

and He will rebuild the cities of Judah,

that they may dwell there and possess it.

36And the seed of His servants will inherit it,

and those loving His name will settle in it.