A Prayer for Help
1 Oppose those who oppose me, Lord,
and fight those who fight against me!
2 Take your shield and armor
and come to my rescue.
3 Lift up your spear and war ax
against those who pursue me.
Promise that you will save me.
4 May those who try to kill me
be defeated and disgraced!
May those who plot against me
be turned back and confused!
5 May they be like straw blown by the wind
as the angel of the Lord pursues them!
6 May their path be dark and slippery
while the angel of the Lord strikes them down!
7 Without any reason they laid a trap for me
and dug a deep hole to catch me.
8 But destruction will catch them before they know it;
they will be caught in their own trap
and fall to their destruction!
9 Then I will be glad because of the Lord;
I will be happy because he saved me.
10 With all my heart I will say to the Lord,
“There is no one like you.
You protect the weak from the strong,
the poor from the oppressor.”
11 Evil people testify against me
and accuse me of crimes I know nothing about.
12 They pay me back evil for good,
and I sink in despair.
13 But when they were sick, I dressed in mourning;
I deprived myself of food;
I prayed with my head bowed low,
14 as I would pray for a friend or a brother.
I went around bent over in mourning,
as one who mourns for his mother.
15 But when I was in trouble, they were all glad
and gathered around to make fun of me;
strangers beat me
and kept striking me.
16 Like those who would mock a cripple,
they glared at me with hate.
17 How much longer, Lord, will you just look on?
Rescue me from their attacks;
save my life from these lions!
18 Then I will thank you in the assembly of your people;
I will praise you before them all.
19 Don't let my enemies, those liars,
gloat over my defeat.
Don't let those who hate me for no reason
smirk with delight over my sorrow.
20 They do not speak in a friendly way;
instead they invent all kinds of lies about peace-loving people.
21 They accuse me, shouting,
“We saw what you did!”
22 But you, O Lord, have seen this.
So don't be silent, Lord;
don't keep yourself far away!
23 Rouse yourself, O Lord, and defend me;
rise up, my God, and plead my cause.
24 You are righteous, O Lord, so declare me innocent;
don't let my enemies gloat over me.
25 Don't let them say to themselves,
“We are rid of him!
That's just what we wanted!”
26 May those who gloat over my suffering
be completely defeated and confused;
may those who claim to be better than I am
be covered with shame and disgrace.
27 May those who want to see me acquitted
shout for joy and say again and again,
“How great is the Lord!
He is pleased with the success of his servant.”
28 Then I will proclaim your righteousness,
and I will praise you all day long.
Eindilo mokuxupifwa meembudi
Epsalme laDavid.
1 Omwene, va hokololifa ava tava shilafana naame,
kondja naava tava kondjifa nge!
2 Kufa oshikelelifo eshi shinini naashi shakula,
fikama u kwafe nge.
3 Yeda eonga, u idile ondjila yovataatai vange,
lombwela omwenyo wange u tye:
“Aame exupifo loye.”
4 Ava tava kongo omwenyo wange,
nava fifwe ohoni va lengaifwe!
Naava va dutila nge oshiponga,
nava shunifwe shanimanima,
nava pembifwe kohoni yavo.
5 Nava ningwe va fa olungu tali i omhepo,
nomweengeli wOmwene ne va undwileshi.
6 Ondjila yavo nai laulikwe, yo i kale nomufenhu,
nomweengeli wOmwene ne va taatae.
7 Osheshi vo ova tela nge omiyo oshimha meholeko,
nova fela nge elambo epwanga.
8 Ngeno na hangelelwe koshiponga ine shi shiiva,
a papale eshi e li melulo laye,
eli a tela nge meholeko,
e liyule ye mwene.
Omo na wile, a nyonauke po.
9 Opo nee omwenyo wange tau hafele mOmwene
nokunyakukilwa exupifo laye.
10 Nomakipa ange aeshe otaa ka tya:
“Omwene, olyelye e fike pwoove?
Ove ou ho xupifa omufininikwa
kwaau, e mu dule eenghono;
heeno, nomuhepekwa nohepele kwaau te mu lu.”
11 Otapa fikama eendobwedi doipupulu,
tava pula nge, eshi ndihe shii;
12 ouwa ou nde va ningila,
vo otave u pilulile nge owii;
omwenyo wange tau nyika oupongo.
13 Vo eshi va li tava vele,
onda li nda djala omudjalo woufiye,
ndele handi lidilike eendja,
nohandi va indilile, nde lituvikila komutwe.
14 Nda li nda kala handi nyika oufiye
ngaashi omunhu te u nyikile kaume kaye nomumwaina,
nongaashi ou ta lili eenghali daina
osho ame nda li handi nyongameke omutwe wange.
15 Ndele paife, ame eshi nda punduka,
otashi va hafifa,
ndele tave liongelele nge, ve lipaka kumwe
ngaashi ovakalakali ava ndihe va shii,
navo otava shashaula nge,
itava fuda po nande.
16 Ove li po ovadinifi vange novashadauli,
tava ulilile nge mo,
ndele tave likweshele nge nomayoo.
17 Omwene, fiyo onaini to shi tale ngaho hano?
Shila omwenyo wange momanyonauno avo,
u u vakule meenghoshona.
18 Opo nee nda hala, ndi ku fimaneke meongalo linene,
nda hala, ndi ku tange
moipafi yongudu inene yovanhu.
19 Ava tava twifa nge eemhata epwanga,
ino efa va yole nge,
ava tava tondo nge oshimha,
ino efa, va fiikile nge omesho.
20 Vo itava popi eendjovo tadi eta ombili,
ndelenee ava ve hole ombili moshilongo,
otave va dutile eendaka dowii;
21 ova akamekela nge omakanya, tava ti:
“Shalongo, shalongo,
eshi otwe shi mona nomesho etu.”
22 Omwene, Ove we shi mona,
ino kala wa mwena!
Omwene, ino kala kokule naame!
23 Penduka, Ove pashukile nge, u yukifile nge,
Kalunga, Omwene wange, popile nge!
24 Pe nge ouyuki pauyuki woye mwene,
Omwene, Kalunga kange,
ino va efela va hafele nge.
25 Ino efa, va popye momitima davo va tye:
“Shalongo shetu, shahaitana.”
Ove ino efa va tye:
“Otwe mu nyonauna po.”
26 Ava tava hafele oudjuu wange,
aveshe kumwe, va fifa ohoni,
va dinde omitwe,
ava tave lishiivile nge oukengeli,
va djaleka elengwa nodino.
27 Ava, va halela nge eyukifilo,
vo nava nyakukifwe va hafe, alushe vo va tye:
“Omwene, Oye omunene,
ou ta halele omupiya waye ouwa.”
28 Nelaka lange nali tange ouyuki woye
nehambelelo loye efiku alishe.
