Psalm 69

Psalm 69
"Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul."
A monk engulfed in water clings to the central curve of an initial S of the first verse.
Other name	Psalm 68 (Vulgate) "Salvum me fac Deus"
Language	Hebrew (original)

Angel Bearing a Sponge by Antonio Giorgetti, with the inscription "potaverunt me aceto" ("they gave me vinegar to drink", Psalms 69:22). It is located on the western side of the Ponte Sant'Angelo, in Rome.

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".^[1] It has 36 verses (37 in Hebrew verse numbering).^[2]

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.

Text[]

Hebrew Bible version[]

Following is the Hebrew text of Psalm 69:^[2]

King James Version[]

1. Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul.
2. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.
3. I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God.
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.
5. O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.
6. Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel.
7. Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face.
8. I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children.
9. For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.
10. When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach.
11. I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them.
12. They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.
13. But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time: O God, in the multitude of thy mercy hear me, in the truth of thy salvation.
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.
15. Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me.
16. Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies.
17. And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily.
18. Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies.
19. Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee.
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.
21. They gave me also gall for my meat; and in my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.
22. Let their table become a snare before them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap.
23. Let their eyes be darkened, that they see not; and make their loins continually to shake.
24. Pour out thine indignation upon them, and let thy wrathful anger take hold of them.
25. Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.
26. For they persecute him whom thou hast smitten; and they talk to the grief of those whom thou hast wounded.
27. Add iniquity unto their iniquity: and let them not come into thy righteousness.
28. Let them be blotted out of the book of the living, and not be written with the righteous.
29. But I am poor and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high.
30. I will praise the name of God with a song, and will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31. This also shall please the LORD better than an ox or bullock that hath horns and hoofs.
32. The humble shall see this, and be glad: and your heart shall live that seek God.
33. For the LORD heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.
34. Let the heaven and earth praise him, the seas, and every thing that moveth therein.
35. For God will save Zion, and will build the cities of Judah: that they may dwell there, and have it in possession.
36. The seed also of his servants shall inherit it: and they that love his name shall dwell therein.

Uses[]

Judaism[]

• Verse 7 is found in the repetition of the Mussaf Amidah on Rosh Hashanah:

"Because for Your sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face".^[3]

• Verses 14 and 32 are recited in the blessings before the Shema on the second day of Rosh Hashanah.^[4]

New Testament[]

This psalm is quoted or referred to in several places in the New Testament:

• In John 15:25,^[5] 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’." (Psalm 69:4 NKJV)

• In John 2:17,^[5] 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".^[6]
• Jesus was given gall or vinegar to drink when he was crucified (Matthew 27:34, 48; Mark 15:36; Luke 23:36; John 19:28, 29),^[5] recalling Psalm 69:3 ("my throat is dry") 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,^[5] 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’". (Psalm 69:25: NKJV)

• Paul quotes verses 22-23 also quoting Psalm 109:8, in Romans11:9-10:^[5]

"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:^[5]

"Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, 'The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me'."

Orthodox Christianity[]

The psalm is read during the Compline prayers.

Book of Common Prayer[]

In the Church of England's Book of Common Prayer, this psalm is appointed to be read on the evening of the 13th day of the month.^[7]

Music[]

The King James Version of verse 20 from this chapter is cited as text in the English-language oratorio "Messiah" by George Frideric Handel (HWV 56).^[8]

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.^[9]

See also[]

• Old Testament messianic prophecies quoted in the New Testament

References[]

External links[]

Wikisource has original text related to this article: Psalm 69

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Psalm 69.

• Pieces with text from Psalm 69: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
• Psalm 69: Free scores at the Choral Public Domain Library (ChoralWiki)
• Text of Psalm 69 according to the 1928 Psalter
• Psalms Chapter 69 text in Hebrew and English, mechon-mamre.org
• For the leader; according to “Lilies. / Of David. / Save me, God, / for the waters have reached my neck. text and footnotes, usccb.org United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
• Psalm 69:1 introduction and text, biblestudytools.com
• Psalm 69 – Rescued from Deep Waters enduringword.com
• Psalm 69 / Refrain: Hide not your face from your servant, O Lord. Church of England
• Psalm 69 at biblegateway.com