Psalm 17

 

Hear a just cause, O Lord,

be attentive to my cry.

Give ear to my prayer,

it comes from lips that

are without fraud.

May my judgment issue forth

from your presence,

may your eyes see

my integrity.

You have tried my heart,

You have visited by night

and tested me,

and in me was found

no iniquity.

That my mouth might not speak

of the deeds of men,

due to words from your lips,

I kept to difficult ways.

Restore my steps

to your paths,

that my feet

may not falter.

I have invoked You

that You might hear me,

O God,

incline your ear

to me,

and hear

my words.

Make your mercy marvelous,

You who save

those who hope in You

from those who resist

your right hand.

Guard me as the

pupil of your eye,

protect me

in the shade

of your wings

from the wicked who

have afflicted me.

My enemies have surrounded me,

closing ranks with their bulk

and their bragging mouths,

they have taunted me,

advancing against me

they surround me,

their eyes set on

throwing me to the ground.

They are like a lion

ready to attack,

like the lion cub

who waits in hiding.

Rise up, O Lord,

meet and overthrow them,

save my soul

from the wicked

by your sword,

by your hand,

from these men,

dead in their depths,

whose portion

is this life.

But as for your protected ones,

you will fill their stomachs,

so that their sons will be satisfied

and they will send the rest

to their infants.

But I, justified,

shall behold your face:

when I have awakened,

I shall be filled

with the vision

of You.

Translation Copyright © 2023 by Donald C. Traxler.