Psalm 20 CJB
For the leader. A psalm of David:
May ADONAI answer you in times of distress,
may the name of the God of Ya‘akov protect you.
May he send you help from the sanctuary
and give you support from Tziyon.
May he be reminded by all your grain offerings
and accept the fat of your burnt offerings. (Selah)
May he grant you your heart’s desire and bring all your plans to success.
Then we will shout for joy at your victory
and fly our flags in the name of our God. May ADONAI fulfill all your requests.
Now I know that ADONAI gives victory to his anointed one —
he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand.
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we praise the name of ADONAI our God.
They will crumple and fall, but we will arise and stand erect.
Give victory, ADONAI!
Let the King answer us the day we call.
Psalm 69 CJB
For the leader. Set to “Lilies.” By David:
Save me, God! For the water threatens my life.
I am sinking down in the mud, and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep water; the flood is sweeping over me.
I am exhausted from crying, my throat is dry and sore,
my eyes are worn out with looking for my God.
Those who hate me for no reason outnumber the hairs on my head.
My persecutors are powerful, my enemies accuse me falsely.
Am I expected to return things I didn’t steal?
God, you know how foolish I am; my guilt is not hidden from you.
Let those who put their hope in you, Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva’ot,
not be put to shame through me; let those who are seeking you,
God of Isra’el, not be disgraced through me.
For your sake I suffer insults, shame covers my face.
I am estranged from my brothers, an alien to my mother’s children,
because zeal for your house is eating me up, and on me are falling the insults
of those insulting you.
I weep bitterly, and I fast, but that too occasions insults.
I clothe myself with sackcloth and become an object of scorn,
the gossip of those sitting by the town gate, the theme of drunkards’ songs.
As for me, ADONAI, let my prayer to you come at an acceptable time;
In your great grace, God, answer me with the truth of your salvation.
Rescue me from the mud! Don’t let me sink! Let me be rescued from those who hate me
and from the deep water.
Don’t let the floodwaters overwhelm me, don’t let the deep swallow me up,
don’t let the pit close its mouth over me.
Answer me, ADONAI, for your grace is good; in your great mercy, turn to me.
Don’t hide your face from your servant, for I am in trouble; answer me quickly.
Come near to me, and redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies.
You know how I am insulted, shamed and disgraced;
before you stand all my foes.
Insults have broken my heart to the point that I could die.
I hoped that someone would show compassion,
but nobody did; and that there would be comforters,
but I found none.
They put poison in my food; in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
Let their dining table before them become a snare;
when they are at peace, let it become a trap;
let their eyes be darkened, so that they can’t see,
and let their bodies always be stumbling.
Pour out your fury on them, let your fierce anger overtake them.
Let the place where they live be desolate, with no one to live in their tents,
for persecuting someone you had already stricken, for adding to the pain of those you wounded.
Add guilt to their guilt, don’t let them enter your righteousness.
Erase them from the book of life, let them not be written with the righteous.
Meanwhile, I am afflicted and hurting; God, let your saving power raise me up.
I will praise God’s name with a song and extol him with thanksgiving.
This will please ADONAI more than a bull, with its horns and hoofs.
The afflicted will see it and rejoice; you seeking after God, let your heart revive.
For ADONAI pays attention to the needy and doesn’t scorn his captive people.
Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and whatever moves in them.
For God will save Tziyon, he will build the cities of Y’hudah.
[His people] will settle there and possess it.
The descendants of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will live there.
Psalm 122 CJB
A song of ascents. By David:
I was glad when they said to me, “The house of ADONAI! Let’s go!”
Our feet were already standing at your gates, Yerushalayim.
Yerushalayim, built as a city fostering friendship and unity.
The tribes have gone up there, the tribes of ADONAI,
as a witness to Isra’el, to give thanks to the name of ADONAI.
For there the thrones of justice were set up, the thrones of the house of David.
Pray for shalom in Yerushalayim; may those who love you prosper.
May shalom be within your ramparts, prosperity in your palaces.
For the sake of my family and friends, I say, “Shalom be within you!”
For the sake of the house of ADONAI our God, I will seek your well-being.