Psalms 37

A Psalm of David, in commemoration of the Sabbath.

O Lord, do not rebuke me in your fury, nor chastise me in your wrath.

For your arrows have been driven into me, and your hand has been confirmed over me.

There is no health in my flesh before the face of your wrath. There is no peace for my bones before the face of my sins.

For my iniquities have walked over my head, and they have been like a heavy burden weighing upon me.

My sores have putrefied and been corrupted before the face of my foolishness.

I have become miserable, and I have been bent down, even to the end. I have walked with contrition all day long.

For my loins have been filled with illusions, and there is no health in my flesh.

I have been afflicted and greatly humbled. I bellowed from the groaning of my heart.

O Lord, all my desire is before you, and my groaning before you has not been hidden.

My heart has been disturbed. My strength has abandoned me, and the light of my eyes has abandoned me, and it is not with me.

My friends and my neighbors have drawn near and stood against me. And those who were next to me stood far apart. And those who sought my soul used violence.

And those who sought evil accusations against me were speaking emptiness. And they practiced deceitfulness all day long.

But, like someone deaf, I did not hear. And I was like someone mute, not opening his mouth.

And I became like a man who does not hear, and who has no reproofs in his mouth.

For in you, Lord, I have hoped. You will listen to me, O Lord my God.

For I said, "Lest at any time, my enemies might rejoice over me," and, "While my feet are being shaken, they have spoken great things against me."

For I have been prepared for scourges, and my sorrow is ever before me.

For I will announce my iniquity, and I will think about my sin.

But my enemies live, and they have been stronger than me. And those who have wrongfully hated me have been multiplied.

Those who render evil for good have dragged me down, because I followed goodness.

Do not forsake me, O Lord my God. Do not depart from me.

Be attentive to my help, O Lord, the God of my salvation.