A Prayer against Israel's Enemies

1Israel, tell us how your enemies have persecuted you

ever since you were young.

2“Ever since I was young,

my enemies have persecuted me cruelly,

but they have not overcome me.

3They cut deep wounds in my back

and made it like a plowed field.

4But the Lord, the righteous one,

has freed me from slavery.”

5May everyone who hates Zion

be defeated and driven back.

6May they all be like grass growing on the housetops,

which dries up before it can grow;

7no one gathers it up

or carries it away in bundles.

8No one who passes by will say,

“May the Lord bless you!

We bless you in the name of the Lord.”