³ For behold, they lie in wait for my life;
    fierce men stir up strife against me.
For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
⁴     for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
Awake, come to meet me, and see!
⁵     You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
    spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

⁶ Each evening they come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
⁷ There they are, bellowing with their mouths
    with swords in their lips—
    for “Who,” they think,^[b] “will hear us?”

⁸ But you, O Lord, laugh at them;
    you hold all the nations in derision.
⁹ O my Strength, I will watch for you,
    for you, O God, are my fortress.
¹⁰ My God in his steadfast love^[c] will meet me;
    God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

¹¹ Kill them not, lest my people forget;
    make them totter^[d] by your power and bring them down,
    O Lord, our shield!
¹² For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
    let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
¹³     consume them in wrath;
    consume them till they are no more,
that they may know that God rules over Jacob
    to the ends of the earth. Selah

¹⁴ Each evening they come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
¹⁵ They wander about for food
    and growl if they do not get their fill.

¹⁶ But I will sing of your strength;
    I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me a fortress
    and a refuge in the day of my distress.
¹⁷ O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
    for you, O God, are my fortress,
    the God who shows me steadfast love.