top Psalm 68 (69)
Greek: Septuagint (LXX)
English: John Barach
Psalm 68 (69)

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Εἰς τὸ τέλος, ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων· τῷ Δαυίδ. For the end; concerning those who shall be changed; for David.
The Rising Waters
1 [MT=69:1] Σῶσόν με, ὁ θεός, ὅτι εἰσήλθοσαν ὕδατα ἕως ψυχῆς μου. 2 [MT=69:2] ἐνεπάγην εἰς ἰλὺν βυθοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὑπόστασις· ἦλθον εἰς τὰ βάθη τῆς θαλάσσης, καὶ καταιγὶς κατεπόντισέν με. 3 [MT=69:3] ἐκοπίασα κράζων, ἐβραγχίασεν ὁ λάρυγξ μου, ἐξέλιπον οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλπίζειν ἐπὶ τὸν θεόν μου. 68.1 [MT=69:1] Save me, O God, for the waters have entered even unto my soul. 68.2 [MT=69:2] I am stuck fast in the mud of the abyss, and there is no standing ground; I have come into the depths of the sea, and a storm-wind has submerged me. 68.3 [MT=69:3] I have grown weary from crying out, my throat has become hoarse; my eyes have failed from hoping upon my God.
4 [MT=69:4] ἐπληθύνθησαν ὑπὲρ τὰς τρίχας τῆς κεφαλῆς μου οἱ μισοῦντές με δωρεάν, ἐκραταιώθησαν οἱ ἐχθροί μου οἱ ἐκδιώκοντές με ἀδίκως· ἃ οὐχ ἥρπασα, τότε ἀπετίννυον. 68.4 [MT=69:4] Those who hate me without cause have multiplied beyond the hairs of my head; my enemies who persecute me unjustly have grown strong; what I did not plunder, I then had to pay back.
Zeal and Reproach
5 [MT=69:5] Ὁ θεός, σὺ ἔγνως τὴν ἀφροσύνην μου, καὶ αἱ πλημμέλειαί μου ἀπὸ σου οὐκ ἐκρύβησαν. 6 [MT=69:6] μὴ αἰσχυνθείησαν ἐπ' ἐμοὶ οἱ ὑπομένοντές σε, κύριε κύριε τῶν δυνάμεων, μὴ ἐντραπείησαν ἐπ' ἐμοὶ οἱ ζητοῦντές σε, ὁ θεὸς τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, 7 [MT=69:7] ὅτι ἕνεκα σου ὑπήνεγκα ὀνειδισμόν, ἐκάλυψεν ἐντροπὴ τὸ πρόσωπόν μου. 8 [MT=69:8] ἀπηλλοτριωμένος ἐγενήθην τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου καὶ ξένος τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς μητρός μου, 9 [MT=69:9] ὅτι ὁ ζῆλος τοῦ οἴκου σου κατέφαγέν με, καὶ οἱ ὀνειδισμοὶ τῶν ὀνειδιζόντων σὲ ἐπέπεσαν ἐπ' ἐμέ. 68.5 [MT=69:5] O God, You knew my folly, and my transgressions have not been hidden from You. 68.6 [MT=69:6] Let not those who wait for You be put to shame on my account, O Lord, Lord of powers; let not those who seek You be confounded on my account, O God of Israel. 68.7 [MT=69:7] For because of You I have endured reproach; shame has covered my face. 68.8 [MT=69:8] I have become estranged from my brothers and a stranger to the sons of my mother, 68.9 [MT=69:9] because zeal for Your house has consumed me, and the reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen upon me.
10 [MT=69:10] καὶ συνέκαμψα ἐν νηστείᾳ τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ ἐγενήθη εἰς ὀνειδισμὸν ἐμοί· 11 [MT=69:11] καὶ ἐθέμην τὸ ἔνδυμά μου σάκκον, καὶ ἐγενόμην αὐτοῖς εἰς παραβολήν. 12 [MT=69:12] κατ' ἐμοῦ ἠδολέσχουν οἱ καθήμενοι ἐν πύλῃ, καὶ εἰς ἐμὲ ἔψαλλον οἱ πίνοντες τὸν οἶνον. 68.10 [MT=69:10] And I bowed down my soul in fasting, and it became a reproach to me; 68.11 [MT=69:11] and I made sackcloth my clothing, and I became a proverb to them. 68.12 [MT=69:12] Those sitting in the gate were gossiping against me, and those drinking wine were making me their song.
The Prayer for Deliverance
13 [MT=69:13] Ἐγὼ δὲ τῇ προσευχῇ μου πρὸς σέ, κύριε· καιρὸς εὐδοκίας, ὁ θεός, ἐν τῷ πλήθει τοῦ ἐλέους σου· ἐπάκουσόν μου ἐν ἀληθείᾳ τῆς σωτηρίας σου. 14 [MT=69:14] σῶσόν με ἀπὸ πηλοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἐμπαγῶ· ῥυσθείην ἐκ τῶν μισούντων με καὶ ἐκ τοῦ βάθους τῶν ὑδάτων· 15 [MT=69:15] μή με καταποντισάτω καταιγὶς ὕδατος, μηδὲ καταπιέτω με βυθός, μηδὲ συσχέτω ἐπ' ἐμὲ φρέαρ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ. 68.13 [MT=69:13] But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord; O God, it is a time of favor; in the abundance of Your mercy, hear me in the truth of Your salvation. 68.14 [MT=69:14] Save me from the clay, so that I am not stuck fast; may I be rescued from those who hate me and from the depth of the waters. 68.15 [MT=69:15] Let not a storm-wind of water submerge me, nor the abyss swallow me up, nor the well close its mouth over me.
16 [MT=69:16] εἰσάκουσόν μου, κύριε, ὅτι χρηστὸν τὸ ἔλεός σου· κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν σου ἐπίβλεψον ἐπ' ἐμέ. 17 [MT=69:17] μὴ ἀποστρέψῃς τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀπὸ τοῦ παιδὸς σου, ὅτι θλίβομαι, ταχὺ ἐπάκουσόν μου. 18 [MT=69:18] πρόσχες τῇ ψυχῇ μου καὶ λύτρωσαι αὐτήν, ἕνεκα τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου ῥῦσαί με. 68.16 [MT=69:16] Hear me, O Lord, for Your mercy is kind; according to the multitude of Your compassions, look upon me. 68.17 [MT=69:17] Do not turn away Your face from Your servant, for I am afflicted; hear me quickly. 68.18 [MT=69:18] Attend to my soul and ransom it; because of my enemies, rescue me.
The Gall and the Curse
19 [MT=69:19] Σὺ γὰρ γινώσκεις τὸν ὀνειδισμόν μου καὶ τὴν αἰσχύνην μου καὶ τὴν ἐντροπήν μου· ἐναντίον σου πάντες οἱ θλίβοντές με. 20 [MT=69:20] ὀνειδισμὸν προσεδόκησεν ἡ ψυχή μου καὶ ταλαιπωρίαν, καὶ ὑπέμεινα συλλυπούμενον, καὶ οὐχ ὑπῆρξεν, καὶ παρακαλοῦντας, καὶ οὐχ εὗρον. 21 [MT=69:21] καὶ ἔδωκαν εἰς τὸ βρῶμά μου χολὴν καὶ εἰς τὴν δίψαν μου ἐπότισάν με ὄξος. 68.19 [MT=69:19] For You know my reproach and my shame and my confusion; all those who afflict me are before You. 68.20 [MT=69:20] My soul expected reproach and misery; I waited for someone to grieve with me, and there was no one, and for those who comfort, and I found none. 68.21 [MT=69:21] And they gave gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22 [MT=69:22] γενηθήτω ἡ τράπεζα αὐτῶν ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν εἰς παγίδα καὶ εἰς ἀνταπόδοσιν καὶ εἰς σκάνδαλον· 23 [MT=69:23] σκοτισθήτωσαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτῶν τοῦ μὴ βλέπειν, καὶ τὸν νῶτον αὐτῶν διὰ παντὸς1 σύγκαμψον· 24 [MT=69:24] ἔκχεον ἐπ' αὐτοὺς τὴν ὀργήν σου, καὶ ὁ θυμὸς τῆς ὀργῆς σου καταλάβοι αὐτούς. 25 [MT=69:25] γενηθήτω ἡ ἔπαυλις αὐτῶν ἠρημωμένη, καὶ ἐν τοῖς σκηνώμασιν αὐτῶν μὴ ἔστω ὁ κατοικῶν· 26 [MT=69:26] ὅτι ὃν σὺ ἐπάταξας, αὐτοὶ κατεδίωξαν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἄλγος τῶν τραυματιῶν σου προσέθηκαν. 68.22 [MT=69:22] Let their table before them become a snare, and a retribution, and a stumbling block. 68.23 [MT=69:23] Let their eyes be darkened so they do not see, and bend their back continually. 68.24 [MT=69:24] Pour out Your wrath upon them, and let the fury of Your anger overtake them. 68.25 [MT=69:25] Let their homestead be made desolate, and let there be no one dwelling in their tents; 68.26 [MT=69:26] for they persecuted the one whom You struck, and they added to the pain of my wounds.
27 [MT=69:27] πρόσθες ἀνομίαν ἐπὶ τὴν ἀνομίαν αὐτῶν, καὶ μὴ εἰσελθέτωσαν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ σου· 28 [MT=69:28] ἐξαλειφθήτωσαν ἐκ βίβλου ζώντων καὶ μετὰ δικαίων μὴ γραφήτωσαν. 68.27 [MT=69:27] Add lawlessness to their lawlessness, and let them not enter into Your righteousness. 68.28 [MT=69:28] Let them be wiped out of the book of the living and not be written with the righteous.
The Vow of Restoration
29 [MT=69:29] Πτωχὸς καὶ ἀλγῶν εἰμι ἐγώ, καὶ ἡ σωτηρίᾳ τοῦ προσώπου σου, ὁ θεός, ἀντελάβετό μου. 30 [MT=69:30] αἰνέσω τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ θεοῦ μετ' ᾠδῆς, μεγαλυνῶ αὐτὸν ἐν αἰνέσει, 31 [MT=69:31] καὶ ἀρέσει τῷ θεῷ ὑπὲρ μόσχον νέον κέρατα ἐκφέροντα καὶ ὁπλάς. 68.29 [MT=69:29] I am poor and in pain, and the salvation of Your face, O God, has taken hold of me. 68.30 [MT=69:30] I will praise the name of God with a song; I will magnify Him with praise. 68.31 [MT=69:31] And it shall please God more than a young calf bringing forth horns and hooves.
32 [MT=69:32] ἰδέτωσαν πτωχοὶ καὶ εὐφρανθήτωσαν· ἐκζητήσατε τὸν θεόν, καὶ ζήσεται ἡ ψυχὴ ὑμῶν, 33 [MT=69:33] ὅτι εἰσήκουσεν τῶν πενήτων ὁ κύριος καὶ τοὺς πεπεδημένους αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐξουδένωσεν. 34 [MT=69:34] αἰνεσάτωσαν αὐτὸν οἱ οὐρανοὶ καὶ ἡ γῆ, θάλασσα καὶ πάντα τὰ ἕρποντα ἐν αὐτοῖς. 35 [MT=69:35] ὅτι ὁ θεὸς σώσει τὴν Σιών, καὶ οἰκοδομηθήσονται αἱ πόλεις τῆς Ἰουδαίας, καὶ κατοικήσουσιν ἐκεῖ καὶ κληρονομήσουσιν αὐτήν· 36 [MT=69:36] καὶ τὸ σπέρμα τῶν δούλων αὐτοῦ καθέξουσιν αὐτήν, καὶ οἱ ἀγαπῶντες τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ κατασκηνώσουσιν ἐν αὐτῇ. 68.32 [MT=69:32] Let the poor see and be glad; seek God, and your soul shall live; 68.33 [MT=69:33] for the Lord has heard the needy and has not despised His shackled ones. 68.34 [MT=69:34] Let the heavens and the earth praise Him, the sea and all the things that creep in them. 68.35 [MT=69:35] For God will save Zion, and the cities of Judea shall be built, and they shall dwell there and inherit it; 68.36 [MT=69:36] and the seed of His servants shall possess it, and those who love His name shall encamp in it.