Psalm 69
Psalm 69 is the 69th psalm of the Book of Psalms, beginning in English in the King James Version: "Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul". It is subtitled: "To the chief musician, upon Shoshannim, a Psalm of David". The Book of Psalms is part of the third section of the Hebrew Bible, and a book of the Christian Old Testament. In the slightly different numbering system used in the Greek Septuagint version of the Bible and in the Latin Vulgate, this psalm is Psalm 68. In Latin, it is known as "Salvum me fac Deus". It has 36 verses.
Several verses from Psalm 69 are quoted in the New Testament. It forms a regular part of Jewish, Catholic, Lutheran, Anglican and other Protestant liturgies.
Uses
New Testament
This psalm is quoted or referred to in several places in the New Testament:- In John 2:17, when Jesus had expelled the money changers from the Temple, his disciples remembered the words of verse 9a: "zeal for Your house has eaten me up".
- In John 15:25, Jesus related his rejection by the Jews to fulfilment of the Jewish law: "This happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, 'They hated Me without a cause'."
- Jesus was given gall or vinegar to drink when he was crucified, recalling Psalm 69:3 and Psalm 69:21: "They also gave me gall for my food, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink."
- In Acts 1:20, referring to the Field of Blood where Judas Iscariot committed suicide: "For it is written in the Book of Psalms: 'Let his dwelling place be desolate, and let no one live in it'".
- Paul quotes verses 22–23 also quoting Psalm 109:8, in Romans 11:9–10: "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a stumbling block and a recompense to them. Let their eyes be darkened, so that they do not see, and bow down their back always."
- Paul quotes verse 9b in Romans 15:3: "Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, 'The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me'."
Judaism
- Verse 7 is found in the repetition of the Mussaf Amidah on Rosh Hashanah:
- Verse 14 is recited before the Torah service at Shabbat Minchah.
- Verses 14 and 32 are recited in the blessings before the Shema on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.
Eastern Orthodox Church
Book of Common Prayer
In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, Psalm 69 is appointed to be read on the evening of the 13th day of the month, as well as at Evensong on Good Friday.Musical settings
set Psalm 69 in a metred version in German, "Gott hilf mir, denn das Wasser dringt", SWV 166, as part of the Becker Psalter, first published in 1628.The King James Version of verse 20 of Psalm 69 is cited as text in the English-language oratorio "Messiah" by George Frideric Handel.
Royal National Lifeboat Institution
Verse 15, "Let not the deep swallow me up", is inscribed on the reverse side of the gallantry medal issued by the Royal National Lifeboat Institution, the lifeboat service of the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland.Text
The following table shows the Hebrew text of the Psalm with vowels, alongside the Koine Greek text in the Septuagint and the English translation from the King James Version. Note that the meaning can slightly differ between these versions, as the Septuagint and the Masoretic Text come from different textual traditions. In the Septuagint, this psalm is numbered Psalm 68.| # | Hebrew | English | Greek |
| Εἰς τὸ τέλος· ὑπὲρ τῶν ἀλλοιωθησομένων· τῷ Δαυΐδ. - | |||
| 1 | Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. | ΣΩΣΟΝ με, ὁ Θεός, ὅτι εἰσήλθοσαν ὕδατα ἕως ψυχῆς μου. | |
| 2 | I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. | ἐνεπάγην εἰς ἰλὺν βυθοῦ, καὶ οὐκ ἔστιν ὑπόστασις· ἦλθον εἰς τὰ βάθη τῆς θαλάσσης καὶ καταιγὶς κατεπόντισέ με. | |
| 3 | I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. | ἐκοπίασα κράζων, ἐβραγχίασεν ὁ λάρυγξ μου, ἐξέλιπον οἱ ὀφθαλμοί μου ἀπὸ τοῦ ἐλπίζειν με ἐπὶ τὸν Θεόν μου. | |
| 4 | They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away. | ἐπληθύνθησαν ὑπὲρ τὰς τρίχας τῆς κεφαλῆς μου οἱ μισοῦντές με δωρεάν, ἐκραταιώθησαν οἱ ἐχθροί μου οἱ ἐκδιώκοντές με ἀδίκως· ἃ οὐχ ἥρπαζον, τότε ἀπετίννυον. | |
| 5 | O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee. | ὁ Θεός, σὺ ἔγνως τὴν ἀφροσύνην μου καὶ αἱ πλημμέλειαί μου ἀπὸ σοῦ οὐκ ἀπεκρύβησαν. | |
| 6 | Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. | μὴ αἰσχυνθείησαν ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ οἱ ὑπομένοντές σε, Κύριε, Κύριε τῶν δυνάμεων, μὴ ἐντραπείησαν ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ οἱ ζητοῦντές σε, ὁ Θεὸς τοῦ ᾿Ισραήλ, | |
| 7 | Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. | ὅτι ἕνεκά σου ὑπήνεγκα ὀνειδισμόν, ἐκάλυψεν ἐντροπὴ τὸ πρόσωπόν μου. | |
| 8 | I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children. | ἀπηλλοτριωμένος ἐγενήθην τοῖς ἀδελφοῖς μου καὶ ξένος τοῖς υἱοῖς τῆς μητρός μου, | |
| 9 | For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. | ὅτι ὁ ζῆλος τοῦ οἴκου σου κατέφαγέ με, καὶ οἱ ὀνειδισμοὶ τῶν ὀνειδιζόντων σε ἐπέπεσον ἐπ᾿ ἐμέ. | |
| 10 | When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. | καὶ συνεκάλυψα ἐν νηστείᾳ τὴν ψυχήν μου, καὶ ἐγενήθη εἰς ὀνειδισμοὺς ἐμοί· | |
| 11 | I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. | καὶ ἐθέμην τὸ ἔνδυμά μου σάκκον, καὶ ἐγενόμην αὐτοῖς εἰς παραβολήν. | |
| 12 | They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards. | κατ᾿ ἐμοῦ ἠδολέσχουν οἱ καθήμενοι ἐν πύλαις, καὶ εἰς ἐμὲ ἔψαλλον οἱ πίνοντες οἶνον. | |
| 13 | But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation. | 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 | Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. | σῶσόν με ἀπὸ πηλοῦ, ἵνα μὴ ἐμπαγῶ· ῥυσθείην ἐκ τῶν μισούντων με καὶ ἐκ τῶν βαθέων τῶν ὑδάτων. | |
| 15 | Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. | μή με καταποντισάτω καταιγὶς ὕδατος, μηδὲ καταπιέτω με βυθός, μηδὲ συσχέτω ἐπ᾿ ἐμὲ φρέαρ τὸ στόμα αὐτοῦ. | |
| 16 | Hear me, O ; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. | εἰσάκουσόν μου, Κύριε, ὅτι χρηστὸν τὸ ἔλεός σου· κατὰ τὸ πλῆθος τῶν οἰκτιρμῶν σου ἐπίβλεψον ἐπ᾿ ἐμέ. | |
| 17 | And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. | μὴ ἀποστρέψῃς τὸ πρόσωπόν σου ἀπὸ τοῦ παιδός σου, ὅτι θλίβομαι, ταχὺ ἐπάκουσόν μου. | |
| 18 | Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies. | πρόσχες τῇ ψυχῇ μου καὶ λύτρωσαι αὐτήν, ἕνεκα τῶν ἐχθρῶν μου ῥῦσαί με. | |
| 19 | Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. | σὺ γὰρ γινώσκεις τὸν ὀνειδισμόν μου καὶ τὴν αἰσχύνην μου καὶ τὴν ἐντροπήν μου· ἐναντίον σου πάντες οἱ θλίβοντές με. | |
| 20 | Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none. | ὀνειδισμὸν προσεδόκησεν ἡ ψυχή μου καὶ ταλαιπωρίαν, καὶ ὑπέμεινα συλλυπούμενον, καὶ οὐχ ὑπῆρξε, καὶ παρακαλοῦντας, καὶ οὐχ εὗρον. | |
| 21 | They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink. | καὶ ἔδωκαν εἰς τὸ βρῶμά μου χολὴν καὶ εἰς τὴν δίψαν μου ἐπότισάν με ὄξος. | |
| 22 | Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap. | γενηθήτω ἡ τράπεζα αὐτῶν ἐνώπιον αὐτῶν εἰς παγίδα καὶ εἰς ἀνταπόδοσιν καὶ εἰς σκάνδαλον. | |
| 23 | Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake. | σκοτισθήτωσαν οἱ ὀφθαλμοὶ αὐτῶν τοῦ μὴ βλέπειν, καὶ τὸν νῶτον αὐτῶν διαπαντὸς σύγκαμψον. | |
| 24 | Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them. | ἔκχεον ἐπ᾿ αὐτοὺς τὴν ὀργήν σου, καὶ ὁ θυμὸς τῆς ὀργῆς σου καταλάβοι αὐτούς. | |
| 25 | Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents. | γενηθήτω ἡ ἔπαυλις αὐτῶν ἠρημωμένη, καὶ ἐν τοῖς σκηνώμασιν αὐτῶν μὴ ἔστω ὁ κατοικῶν· | |
| 26 | For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded. | ὅτι ὃν σὺ ἐπάταξας, αὐτοὶ κατεδίωξαν, καὶ ἐπὶ τὸ ἄλγος τῶν τραυμάτων μου προσέθηκαν. | |
| 27 | Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness. | πρόσθες ἀνομίαν ἐπὶ τῇ ἀνομίᾳ αὐτῶν, καὶ μὴ εἰσελθέτωσαν ἐν δικαιοσύνῃ σου· | |
| 28 | Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous. | ἐξαλειφθήτωσαν ἐκ βίβλου ζώντων καὶ μετὰ δικαίων μὴ γραφήτωσαν. | |
| 29 | But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high. | πτωχὸς καὶ ἀλγῶν εἰμι ἐγώ· ἡ σωτηρία σου, ὁ Θεός, ἀντιλάβοιτό μου. | |
| 30 | I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving. | αἰνέσω τὸ ὄνομα τοῦ Θεοῦ μου μετ᾿ ᾠδῆς, μεγαλυνῶ αὐτὸν ἐν αἰνέσει, | |
| 31 | This also shall please the better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs. | καὶ ἀρέσει τῷ Θεῷ ὑπὲρ μόσχον νέον κέρατα ἐκφέροντα καὶ ὁπλάς. | |
| 32 | The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God. | ἰδέτωσαν πτωχοὶ καὶ εὐφρανθήτωσαν· ἐκζητήσατε τὸν Θεόν, καὶ ζήσεται ἡ ψυχὴ ὑμῶν, | |
| 33 | For the heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners. | ὅτι εἰσήκουσε τῶν πενήτων ὁ Κύριος καὶ τοὺς πεπεδημένους αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἐξουδένωσεν. | |
| 34 | Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein. | αἰνεσάτωσαν αὐτὸν οἱ οὐρανοὶ καὶ ἡ γῆ, θάλασσα καὶ πάντα τὰ ἕρποντα ἐν αὐτῇ. | |
| 35 | For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession. | ὅτι ὁ Θεὸς σώσει τὴν Σιών, καὶ οἰκοδομηθήσονται αἱ πόλεις τῆς ᾿Ιουδαίας, καὶ κατοικήσουσιν ἐκεῖ καὶ κληρονομήσουσιν αὐτήν· | |
| 36 | The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein. | καὶ τὸ σπέρμα τῶν δούλων αὐτοῦ καθέξουσιν αὐτήν, καὶ οἱ ἀγαπῶντες τὸ ὄνομά σου κατασκηνώσουσιν ἐν αὐτῇ. |