1: Harass these hecklers, GOD, punch these bullies in the nose.
2: Grab a weapon, anything at hand; stand up for me!
3: Get ready to throw the spear, aim the javelin, at the people who are out to get me. Reassure me; let me hear you say, "I'll save you."
4: When those thugs try to knife me in the back, make them look foolish. Frustrate all those who are plotting my downfall.
5: Make them like cinders in a high wind, with GOD's angel working the bellows.
6: Make their road lightless and mud-slick, with GOD's angel on their tails.
7: Out of sheer cussedness they set a trap to catch me; for no good reason they dug a ditch to stop me.
8: Surprise them with your ambush--catch them in the very trap they set, the disaster they planned for me.
9: But let me run loose and free, celebrating GOD's great work,
10: Every bone in my body laughing, singing, "GOD, there's no one like you. You put the down--and-out on their feet and protect the unprotected from bullies!"
11: Hostile accusers appear out of nowhere, they stand up and badger me.
12: They pay me back misery for mercy, leaving my soul empty.
13: When they were sick, I dressed in black; instead of eating, I prayed.
14: My prayers were like lead in my gut, like I'd lost my best friend, my brother. I paced, distraught as a motherless child, hunched and heavyhearted.
15: But when I was down they threw a party! All the nameless riffraff of the town came chanting insults about me.
16: Like barbarians desecrating a shrine, they destroyed my reputation.
17: GOD, how long are you going to stand there doing nothing? Save me from their brutalities; everything I've got is being thrown to the lions.
18: I will give you full credit when everyone gathers for worship; When the people turn out in force I will say my Hallelujahs.
19: Don't let these liars, my enemies, have a party at my expense, Those who hate me for no reason, winking and rolling their eyes.
20: No good is going to come from that crowd; They spend all their time cooking up gossip against those who mind their own business.
21: They open their mouths in ugly grins, Mocking, "Ha-ha, ha-ha, thought you'd get away with it? We've caught you hands down!"
22: Don't you see what they're doing, GOD? You're not going to let them Get by with it, are you? Not going to walk off without doing something, are you?
23: Please get up--wake up! Tend to my case. My God, my Lord--my life is on the line.
24: Do what you think is right, GOD, my God, but don't make me pay for their good time.
25: Don't let them say to themselves, "Ha-ha, we got what we wanted." Don't let them say, "We've chewed him up and spit him out."
26: Let those who are being hilarious at my expense Be made to look ridiculous. Make them wear donkey's ears; Pin them with the donkey's tail, who made themselves so high and mighty!
27: But those who want the best for me, Let them have the last word--a glad shout!- and say, over and over and over, "GOD is great--everything works together for good for his servant."
28: I'll tell the world how great and good you are, I'll shout Hallelujah all day, every day.