Psalms 35:11-21

11Cruel people tell lies against me in court. I do not even know what they are talking about.

12When I do good things to help them, they pay me back with evil things! That makes me feel very sad and upset.

13When they were ill, I wore rough clothes, and I stopped eating food. I bent down my head as I prayed for them.

14I wept as I prayed, as I would weep when a friend or my mother had died.

15But when I had troubles myself, they were happy. They stood together and they laughed at me. Even strangers attacked me and they would not stop.

16Useless people like that insulted me, and they showed their teeth to frighten me.

17My Lord, how long will you continue to watch as they do this to me? Keep me safe when they attack me. They attack me like hungry lions. Do not let them kill me!

18Then I will praise you in the great meeting of your people. I will thank you so that everyone hears me.

19My enemies tell lies about me. Do not let them win against me, and be happy. They have no reason to hate me, so do not let them laugh at me.

20They do not talk in a way that brings peace. Instead, they try to deceive people who want to live quietly.

21They open their mouths wide to speak against me. They say, ‘Aha! We have seen the bad things that you do!’