[44]

The pangs of death surrounded me, and the torrents of iniquity troubled me. The sorrows of hell encompassed me, and the snares of death overtook me. In my distress I called upon the Lord, and cried out unto my God.

*Pʿox* [antiphon]:

Thou hast girded me with strength for battle, and those that rose up against me hast thou cast down under me. Alleluia, alleluia. Thou hast put mine enemies to flight, and hast destroyed those who hate me. They cried out, and there was none to save them; they called unto the Lord, and he heard them not. I will crush them like dust before the wind, and tread them down like the mire of the streets. The Lord shall deliver me from the contention of the peoples, and shall establish me as head of the nations. A people whom I had not known served me, and at the hearing of the ear they obeyed me. The children of foreigners dealt falsely with me; the children of foreigners wasted away, and limped [away] from their paths. The Lord liveth, and blessed is God—