1 ARST God, act mercifully toward me because men are attacking me! All day long an enemy presses closer and closer to me because they want to take my life. BSB BSB: For the choirmaster. To the tune of “A Dove on Distant Oaks.” A Miktam of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath. Be merciful to me, O God, for men are hounding me; all day they press their attack.
2 ARST All day long my enemies seek to crush the life from me, there are many enemies attacking me! BSB BSB: My enemies pursue me all day long, for many proudly assail me.
3 ARST But whenever I am afraid, I trust in you. BSB BSB: When I am afraid, I put my trust in You.
4 ARST God, I praise you because you do what you have promised; I trust in you, and then I am not afraid. Ordinary humans certainly cannot harm me! BSB BSB: In God, whose word I praise—in God I trust. I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
5 ARST All day long my enemies claim that I said things that I did not say; they are always thinking of ways to harm me. BSB BSB: All day long they twist my words; all their thoughts are on my demise.
6 ARST In order to cause trouble for me, they hide and watch everything that I do, waiting for an opportunity to kill me. BSB BSB: They conspire, they lurk, they watch my steps while they wait to take my life.
7 ARST So, God, punish them for the wicked things that they are doing; show that you are angry by defeating those people! BSB BSB: In spite of such sin, will they escape? In Your anger, O God, cast down the nations.
8 ARST You have counted all the times that I have been wandering alone; it is as though you have put all my tears in a bottle so that you can see how much I have cried. You have counted my tears and written the number in your book. BSB BSB: You have taken account of my wanderings. Put my tears in Your bottle—are they not in Your book?
9 ARST When I call out to you, my God, my enemies will be defeated; I know that will happen because you are fighting for me. BSB BSB: Then my enemies will retreat on the day I cry for help. By this I will know that God is on my side.
10 ARST I praise you that you do what you have promised; Yahweh, I will always praise you for that. BSB BSB: In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise,
11 ARST I trust in you, and as a result, I will not be afraid. I know that humans cannot really harm me! BSB BSB: in God I trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?
12 ARST I will bring to you the offering that I promised; I will bring an offering to you to thank you BSB BSB: Your vows are upon me, O God; I will render thank offerings to You.
13 ARST because you have rescued me from being killed; you have kept me from stumbling. And so I will continue to live with God every day in his light that gives me life. BSB BSB: For You have delivered my soul from death, and my feet from stumbling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.
Select verses for actions: Enter goes to them and Escape comes back.