ESV: The Story of Redemption

Psalms 66–69

Psalms 66–69 (Listen)

How Awesome Are Your Deeds

To the choirmaster. A Song. A Psalm.

66   Shout for joy to God, all the earth;
2     sing the glory of his name;
    give to him glorious praise!
3   Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
    So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you.
4   All the earth worships you
    and sings praises to you;
    they sing praises to your name.” Selah

5   Come and see what God has done:
    he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
6   He turned the sea into dry land;
    they passed through the river on foot.
  There did we rejoice in him,
7     who rules by his might forever,
  whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
    let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

8   Bless our God, O peoples;
    let the sound of his praise be heard,
9   who has kept our soul among the living
    and has not let our feet slip.
10   For you, O God, have tested us;
    you have tried us as silver is tried.
11   You brought us into the net;
    you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
12   you let men ride over our heads;
    we went through fire and through water;
  yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

13   I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
    I will perform my vows to you,
14   that which my lips uttered
    and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15   I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
    with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
  I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

16   Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
17   I cried to him with my mouth,
    and high praise was onHebrew under">1 my tongue.Or and he was exalted with my tongue">2
18   If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
    the Lord would not have listened.
19   But truly God has listened;
    he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

20   Blessed be God,
    because he has not rejected my prayer
    or removed his steadfast love from me!

Make Your Face Shine upon Us

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

67   May God be gracious to us and bless us
    and make his face to shine upon us, Selah
2   that your way may be known on earth,
    your saving power among all nations.
3   Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

4   Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you judge the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
5   Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!

6   The earth has yielded its increase;
    God, our God, shall bless us.
7   God shall bless us;
    let all the ends of the earth fear him!

God Shall Scatter His Enemies

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

68   God shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;
    and those who hate him shall flee before him!
2   As smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;
    as wax melts before fire,
    so the wicked shall perish before God!
3   But the righteous shall be glad;
    they shall exult before God;
    they shall be jubilant with joy!

4   Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
    lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;
  his name is the LORD;
    exult before him!
5   Father of the fatherless and protector of widows
    is God in his holy habitation.
6   God settles the solitary in a home;
    he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
    but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

7   O God, when you went out before your people,
    when you marched through the wilderness, Selah
8   the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,
    before God, the One of Sinai,
    before God,Or before God, even Sinai before God">3 the God of Israel.
9   Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;
    you restored your inheritance as it languished;
10   your flockOr your congregation">4 found a dwelling in it;
    in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

11   The Lord gives the word;
    the women who announce the news are a great host:
12     “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”
  The women at home divide the spoil—
13     though you men lie among the sheepfolds—
  the wings of a dove covered with silver,
    its pinions with shimmering gold.
14   When the Almighty scatters kings there,
    let snow fall on Zalmon.

15   O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;
    O many-peakedOr hunch-backed; also verse 16">5 mountain, mountain of Bashan!
16   Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,
    at the mount that God desired for his abode,
    yes, where the LORD will dwell forever?
17   The chariots of God are twice ten thousand,
    thousands upon thousands;
    the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.
18   You ascended on high,
    leading a host of captives in your train
    and receiving gifts among men,
  even among the rebellious, that the LORD God may dwell there.

19   Blessed be the Lord,
    who daily bears us up;
    God is our salvation. Selah
20   Our God is a God of salvation,
    and to GOD, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.
21   But God will strike the heads of his enemies,
    the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.
22   The Lord said,
    “I will bring them back from Bashan,
  I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23   that you may strike your feet in their blood,
    that the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”

24   Your procession isOr has been">6 seen, O God,
    the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—
25   the singers in front, the musicians last,
    between them virgins playing tambourines:
26   “Bless God in the great congregation,
    the LORD, O youThe Hebrew for you is plural here">7 who are of Israel’s fountain!”
27   There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
    the princes of Judah in their throng,
    the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

28   Summon your power, O God,By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew Your God has summoned your power">8
    the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.
29   Because of your temple at Jerusalem
    kings shall bear gifts to you.
30   Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,
    the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
  Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;
    scatter the peoples who delight in war.The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain">9
31   Nobles shall come from Egypt;
    Cush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.

32   O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God;
    sing praises to the Lord, Selah
33   to him who rides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
    behold, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.
34   Ascribe power to God,
    whose majesty is over Israel,
    and whose power is in the skies.
35   Awesome is God from hisSeptuagint; Hebrew your">10 sanctuary;
    the God of Israel—he is the one who gives power and strength to his people.
  Blessed be God!

Save Me, O God

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. Of David.

69   Save me, O God!
    For the waters have come up to my neck.Or waters threaten my life">11
2   I sink in deep mire,
    where there is no foothold;
  I have come into deep waters,
    and the flood sweeps over me.
3   I am weary with my crying out;
    my throat is parched.
  My eyes grow dim
    with waiting for my God.

4   More in number than the hairs of my head
    are those who hate me without cause;
  mighty are those who would destroy me,
    those who attack me with lies.
  What I did not steal
    must I now restore?
5   O God, you know my folly;
    the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

6   Let not those who hope in you be put to shame through me,
    O Lord GOD of hosts;
  let not those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me,
    O God of Israel.
7   For it is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
    that dishonor has covered my face.
8   I have become a stranger to my brothers,
    an alien to my mother’s sons.

9   For zeal for your house has consumed me,
    and the reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.
10   When I wept and humbledHebrew lacks and humbled">12 my soul with fasting,
    it became my reproach.
11   When I made sackcloth my clothing,
    I became a byword to them.
12   I am the talk of those who sit in the gate,
    and the drunkards make songs about me.

13   But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD.
    At an acceptable time, O God,
    in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness.
14   Deliver me
    from sinking in the mire;
  let me be delivered from my enemies
    and from the deep waters.
15   Let not the flood sweep over me,
    or the deep swallow me up,
    or the pit close its mouth over me.

16   Answer me, O LORD, for your steadfast love is good;
    according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.
17   Hide not your face from your servant,
    for I am in distress; make haste to answer me.
18   Draw near to my soul, redeem me;
    ransom me because of my enemies!

19   You know my reproach,
    and my shame and my dishonor;
    my foes are all known to you.
20   Reproaches have broken my heart,
    so that I am in despair.
  I looked for pity, but there was none,
    and for comforters, but I found none.
21   They gave me poison for food,
    and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

22   Let their own table before them become a snare;
    and when they are at peace, let it become a trap.Hebrew; a slight revocalization yields (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome) a snare, and retribution and a trap">13
23   Let their eyes be darkened, so that they cannot see,
    and make their loins tremble continually.
24   Pour out your indignation upon them,
    and let your burning anger overtake them.
25   May their camp be a desolation;
    let no one dwell in their tents.
26   For they persecute him whom you have struck down,
    and they recount the pain of those you have wounded.
27   Add to them punishment upon punishment;
    may they have no acquittal from you.Hebrew may they not come into your righteousness">14
28   Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
    let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

29   But I am afflicted and in pain;
    let your salvation, O God, set me on high!

30   I will praise the name of God with a song;
    I will magnify him with thanksgiving.
31   This will please the LORD more than an ox
    or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32   When the humble see it they will be glad;
    you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33   For the LORD hears the needy
    and does not despise his own people who are prisoners.

34   Let heaven and earth praise him,
    the seas and everything that moves in them.
35   For God will save Zion
    and build up the cities of Judah,
  and people shall dwell there and possess it;
36     the offspring of his servants shall inherit it,
    and those who love his name shall dwell in it.

Footnotes

[2] 66:17 Or and he was exalted with my tongue

[3] 68:8 Or before God, even Sinai before God

[4] 68:10 Or your congregation

[5] 68:15 Or hunch-backed; also verse 16

[6] 68:24 Or has been

[7] 68:26 The Hebrew for you is plural here

[8] 68:28 By revocalization (compare Septuagint); Hebrew Your God has summoned your power

[9] 68:30 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain

[10] 68:35 Septuagint; Hebrew your

[11] 69:1 Or waters threaten my life

[12] 69:10 Hebrew lacks and humbled

[13] 69:22 Hebrew; a slight revocalization yields (compare Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome) a snare, and retribution and a trap

[14] 69:27 Hebrew may they not come into your righteousness

Psalms 58–65

Psalms 58–65 (Listen)

God Who Judges the Earth

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A MiktamProbably a musical or liturgical term">1 of David.

58   Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?Or you mighty lords (by revocalization; Hebrew in silence)">2
    Do you judge the children of man uprightly?
2   No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
    your hands deal out violence on earth.

3   The wicked are estranged from the womb;
    they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
4   They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
    like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
5   so that it does not hear the voice of charmers
    or of the cunning enchanter.

6   O God, break the teeth in their mouths;
    tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD!
7   Let them vanish like water that runs away;
    when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
8   Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime,
    like the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
9   Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
    whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain">3

10   The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
    he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
11   Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
    surely there is a God who judges on earth.”

Deliver Me from My Enemies

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A MiktamProbably a musical or liturgical term">4 of David, when Saul sent men to watch his house in order to kill him.

59   Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;
    protect me from those who rise up against me;
2   deliver me from those who work evil,
    and save me from bloodthirsty men.

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,Hebrew lacks they think">5 “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 loveOr The God who shows me steadfast love">6 will meet me;
    God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

11   Kill them not, lest my people forget;
    make them totterOr wander">7 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.

He Will Tread Down Our Foes

To the choirmaster: according to Shushan Eduth. A MiktamProbably musical or liturgical terms">8 of David; for instruction; when he strove with Aram-naharaim and with Aram-zobah, and when Joab on his return struck down twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

60   O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;
    you have been angry; oh, restore us.
2   You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;
    repair its breaches, for it totters.
3   You have made your people see hard things;
    you have given us wine to drink that made us stagger.

4   You have set up a banner for those who fear you,
    that they may flee to it from the bow.Or that it may be displayed because of truth">9 Selah
5   That your beloved ones may be delivered,
    give salvation by your right hand and answer us!

6   God has spoken in his holiness:Or sanctuary">10
    “With exultation I will divide up Shechem
    and portion out the Vale of Succoth.
7   Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet;
    Judah is my scepter.
8   Moab is my washbasin;
    upon Edom I cast my shoe;
    over Philistia I shout in triumph.”Revocalization (compare Psalm 108:10); Masoretic Text over me, O Philistia, shout in triumph">11

9   Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
10   Have you not rejected us, O God?
    You do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
11   Oh, grant us help against the foe,
    for vain is the salvation of man!
12   With God we shall do valiantly;
    it is he who will tread down our foes.

Lead Me to the Rock

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. Of David.

61   Hear my cry, O God,
    listen to my prayer;
2   from the end of the earth I call to you
    when my heart is faint.
  Lead me to the rock
    that is higher than I,
3   for you have been my refuge,
    a strong tower against the enemy.

4   Let me dwell in your tent forever!
    Let me take refuge under the shelter of your wings! Selah
5   For you, O God, have heard my vows;
    you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

6   Prolong the life of the king;
    may his years endure to all generations!
7   May he be enthroned forever before God;
    appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!

8   So will I ever sing praises to your name,
    as I perform my vows day after day.

My Soul Waits for God Alone

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

62   For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.
2   He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

3   How long will all of you attack a man
    to batter him,
    like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4   They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
    They take pleasure in falsehood.
  They bless with their mouths,
    but inwardly they curse. Selah

5   For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
6   He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7   On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

8   Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us. Selah

9   Those of low estate are but a breath;
    those of high estate are a delusion;
  in the balances they go up;
    they are together lighter than a breath.
10   Put no trust in extortion;
    set no vain hopes on robbery;
    if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

11   Once God has spoken;
    twice have I heard this:
  that power belongs to God,
12     and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
  For you will render to a man
    according to his work.

My Soul Thirsts for You

A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.

63   O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
    my soul thirsts for you;
  my flesh faints for you,
    as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2   So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
    beholding your power and glory.
3   Because your steadfast love is better than life,
    my lips will praise you.
4   So I will bless you as long as I live;
    in your name I will lift up my hands.

5   My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6   when I remember you upon my bed,
    and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7   for you have been my help,
    and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8   My soul clings to you;
    your right hand upholds me.

9   But those who seek to destroy my life
    shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10   they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
    they shall be a portion for jackals.
11   But the king shall rejoice in God;
    all who swear by him shall exult,
    for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

Hide Me from the Wicked

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

64   Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
    preserve my life from dread of the enemy.
2   Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
    from the throng of evildoers,
3   who whet their tongues like swords,
    who aim bitter words like arrows,
4   shooting from ambush at the blameless,
    shooting at him suddenly and without fear.
5   They hold fast to their evil purpose;
    they talk of laying snares secretly,
  thinking, “Who can see them?”
6     They search out injustice,
  saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”
    For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.

7   But God shoots his arrow at them;
    they are wounded suddenly.
8   They are brought to ruin, with their own tongues turned against them;
    all who see them will wag their heads.
9   Then all mankind fears;
    they tell what God has brought about
    and ponder what he has done.

10   Let the righteous one rejoice in the LORD
    and take refuge in him!
  Let all the upright in heart exult!

O God of Our Salvation

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

65   Praise is due to you,Or Praise waits for you in silence">12 O God, in Zion,
    and to you shall vows be performed.
2   O you who hear prayer,
    to you shall all flesh come.
3   When iniquities prevail against me,
    you atone for our transgressions.
4   Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
    to dwell in your courts!
  We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
    the holiness of your temple!

5   By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
    O God of our salvation,
  the hope of all the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas;
6   the one who by his strength established the mountains,
    being girded with might;
7   who stills the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    the tumult of the peoples,
8   so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
  You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

9   You visit the earth and water it;Or and make it overflow">13
    you greatly enrich it;
  the river of God is full of water;
    you provide their grain,
    for so you have prepared it.
10   You water its furrows abundantly,
    settling its ridges,
  softening it with showers,
    and blessing its growth.
11   You crown the year with your bounty;
    your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
12   The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
    the hills gird themselves with joy,
13   the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
    the valleys deck themselves with grain,
    they shout and sing together for joy.

Footnotes

[2] 58:1 Or you mighty lords (by revocalization; Hebrew in silence)

[3] 58:9 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain

[4] 59:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term

[5] 59:7 Hebrew lacks they think

[6] 59:10 Or The God who shows me steadfast love

[7] 59:11 Or wander

[8] 60:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms

[9] 60:4 Or that it may be displayed because of truth

[10] 60:6 Or sanctuary

[11] 60:8 Revocalization (compare Psalm 108:10); Masoretic Text over me, O Philistia, shout in triumph

[12] 65:1 Or Praise waits for you in silence

[13] 65:9 Or and make it overflow

Psalms 51–57

Psalms 51–57 (Listen)

Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

51   Have mercy on me,Or Be gracious to me">1 O God,
    according to your steadfast love;
  according to your abundant mercy
    blot out my transgressions.
2   Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
    and cleanse me from my sin!

3   For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
4   Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil in your sight,
  so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
5   Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6   Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

7   Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8   Let me hear joy and gladness;
    let the bones that you have broken rejoice.
9   Hide your face from my sins,
    and blot out all my iniquities.
10   Create in me a clean heart, O God,
    and renew a rightOr steadfast">2 spirit within me.
11   Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not your Holy Spirit from me.
12   Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13   Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will return to you.
14   Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O God of my salvation,
    and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.
15   O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
16   For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17   The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18   Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19   then will you delight in right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

The Steadfast Love of God Endures

To the choirmaster. A MaskilProbably a musical or liturgical term">3 of David, when Doeg, the Edomite, came and told Saul, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

52   Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?
    The steadfast love of God endures all the day.
2   Your tongue plots destruction,
    like a sharp razor, you worker of deceit.
3   You love evil more than good,
    and lying more than speaking what is right. Selah
4   You love all words that devour,
    O deceitful tongue.

5   But God will break you down forever;
    he will snatch and tear you from your tent;
    he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah
6   The righteous shall see and fear,
    and shall laugh at him, saying,
7   “See the man who would not make
    God his refuge,
  but trusted in the abundance of his riches
    and sought refuge in his own destruction!”Or in his work of destruction">4

8   But I am like a green olive tree
    in the house of God.
  I trust in the steadfast love of God
    forever and ever.
9   I will thank you forever,
    because you have done it.
  I will wait for your name, for it is good,
    in the presence of the godly.

There Is None Who Does Good

To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A MaskilProbably musical or liturgical terms">5 of David.

53   The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
    They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
    there is none who does good.

2   God looks down from heaven
    on the children of man
  to see if there are any who understand,Or who act wisely">6
    who seek after God.

3   They have all fallen away;
    together they have become corrupt;
  there is none who does good,
    not even one.

4   Have those who work evil no knowledge,
    who eat up my people as they eat bread,
    and do not call upon God?

5   There they are, in great terror,
    where there is no terror!
  For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you;
    you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

6   Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
    When God restores the fortunes of his people,
    let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

The Lord Upholds My Life

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A MaskilProbably a musical or liturgical term">7 of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”

54   O God, save me by your name,
    and vindicate me by your might.
2   O God, hear my prayer;
    give ear to the words of my mouth.

3   For strangersSome Hebrew manuscripts and Targum insolent men (compare Psalm 86:14)">8 have risen against me;
    ruthless men seek my life;
    they do not set God before themselves. Selah

4   Behold, God is my helper;
    the Lord is the upholder of my life.
5   He will return the evil to my enemies;
    in your faithfulness put an end to them.

6   With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
    I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good.
7   For he has delivered me from every trouble,
    and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

Cast Your Burden on the Lord

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A MaskilProbably a musical or liturgical term">9 of David.

55   Give ear to my prayer, O God,
    and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
2   Attend to me, and answer me;
    I am restless in my complaint and I moan,
3   because of the noise of the enemy,
    because of the oppression of the wicked.
  For they drop trouble upon me,
    and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

4   My heart is in anguish within me;
    the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
5   Fear and trembling come upon me,
    and horror overwhelms me.
6   And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest;
7   yes, I would wander far away;
    I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
8   I would hurry to find a shelter
    from the raging wind and tempest.”

9   Destroy, O Lord, divide their tongues;
    for I see violence and strife in the city.
10   Day and night they go around it
    on its walls,
  and iniquity and trouble are within it;
11     ruin is in its midst;
  oppression and fraud
    do not depart from its marketplace.

12   For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
    then I could bear it;
  it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me—
    then I could hide from him.
13   But it is you, a man, my equal,
    my companion, my familiar friend.
14   We used to take sweet counsel together;
    within God’s house we walked in the throng.
15   Let death steal over them;
    let them go down to Sheol alive;
    for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

16   But I call to God,
    and the LORD will save me.
17   Evening and morning and at noon
    I utter my complaint and moan,
    and he hears my voice.
18   He redeems my soul in safety
    from the battle that I wage,
    for many are arrayed against me.
19   God will give ear and humble them,
    he who is enthroned from of old, Selah
  because they do not change
    and do not fear God.

20   My companionHebrew He">10 stretched out his hand against his friends;
    he violated his covenant.
21   His speech was smooth as butter,
    yet war was in his heart;
  his words were softer than oil,
    yet they were drawn swords.

22   Cast your burden on the LORD,
    and he will sustain you;
  he will never permit
    the righteous to be moved.

23   But you, O God, will cast them down
    into the pit of destruction;
  men of blood and treachery
    shall not live out half their days.
  But I will trust in you.

In God I Trust

To the choirmaster: according to The Dove on Far-off Terebinths. A MiktamProbably a musical or liturgical term">11 of David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

56   Be gracious to me, O God, for man tramples on me;
    all day long an attacker oppresses me;
2   my enemies trample on me all day long,
    for many attack me proudly.
3   When I am afraid,
    I put my trust in you.
4   In God, whose word I praise,
    in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can flesh do to me?

5   All day long they injure my cause;Or they twist my words">12
    all their thoughts are against me for evil.
6   They stir up strife, they lurk;
    they watch my steps,
    as they have waited for my life.
7   For their crime will they escape?
    In wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

8   You have kept count of my tossings;Or wanderings">13
    put my tears in your bottle.
    Are they not in your book?
9   Then my enemies will turn back
    in the day when I call.
    This I know, thatOr because">14 God is for me.
10   In God, whose word I praise,
    in the LORD, whose word I praise,
11   in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
    What can man do to me?

12   I must perform my vows to you, O God;
    I will render thank offerings to you.
13   For you have delivered my soul from death,
    yes, my feet from falling,
  that I may walk before God
    in the light of life.

Let Your Glory Be over All the Earth

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A MiktamProbably a musical or liturgical term">15 of David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

57   Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,
    for in you my soul takes refuge;
  in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,
    till the storms of destruction pass by.
2   I cry out to God Most High,
    to God who fulfills his purpose for me.
3   He will send from heaven and save me;
    he will put to shame him who tramples on me. Selah
  God will send out his steadfast love and his faithfulness!

4   My soul is in the midst of lions;
    I lie down amid fiery beasts—
  the children of man, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
    whose tongues are sharp swords.

5   Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!

6   They set a net for my steps;
    my soul was bowed down.
  They dug a pit in my way,
    but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
7   My heart is steadfast, O God,
    my heart is steadfast!
  I will sing and make melody!
8     Awake, my glory!Or my whole being">16
  Awake, O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn!
9   I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.
10   For your steadfast love is great to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the clouds.

11   Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!

Footnotes

[2] 51:10 Or steadfast

[3] 52:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term

[4] 52:7 Or in his work of destruction

[5] 53:1 Probably musical or liturgical terms

[6] 53:2 Or who act wisely

[7] 54:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term

[8] 54:3 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Targum insolent men (compare Psalm 86:14)

[9] 55:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term

[10] 55:20 Hebrew He

[11] 56:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term

[12] 56:5 Or they twist my words

[13] 56:8 Or wanderings

[14] 56:9 Or because

[15] 57:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term

[16] 57:8 Or my whole being

Psalms 46–50

Psalms 46–50 (Listen)

God Is Our Fortress

To the choirmaster. Of the Sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.Probably a musical or liturgical term">1 A Song.

46   God is our refuge and strength,
    a very presentOr well proved">2 help in trouble.
2   Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3   though its waters roar and foam,
    though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah

4   There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
    the holy habitation of the Most High.
5   God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
    God will help her when morning dawns.
6   The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
    he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7   The LORD of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

8   Come, behold the works of the LORD,
    how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9   He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
    he breaks the bow and shatters the spear;
    he burns the chariots with fire.
10   “Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth!”
11   The LORD of hosts is with us;
    the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

God Is King over All the Earth

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

47   Clap your hands, all peoples!
    Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
2   For the LORD, the Most High, is to be feared,
    a great king over all the earth.
3   He subdued peoples under us,
    and nations under our feet.
4   He chose our heritage for us,
    the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

5   God has gone up with a shout,
    the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6   Sing praises to God, sing praises!
    Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7   For God is the King of all the earth;
    sing praises with a psalm!Hebrew maskil">3

8   God reigns over the nations;
    God sits on his holy throne.
9   The princes of the peoples gather
    as the people of the God of Abraham.
  For the shields of the earth belong to God;
    he is highly exalted!

Zion, the City of Our God

A Song. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

48   Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised
    in the city of our God!
  His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation,
    is the joy of all the earth,
  Mount Zion, in the far north,
    the city of the great King.
3   Within her citadels God
    has made himself known as a fortress.

4   For behold, the kings assembled;
    they came on together.
5   As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;
    they were in panic; they took to flight.
6   Trembling took hold of them there,
    anguish as of a woman in labor.
7   By the east wind you shattered
    the ships of Tarshish.
8   As we have heard, so have we seen
    in the city of the LORD of hosts,
  in the city of our God,
    which God will establish forever. Selah

9   We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,
    in the midst of your temple.
10   As your name, O God,
    so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.
  Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11     Let Mount Zion be glad!
  Let the daughters of Judah rejoice
    because of your judgments!

12   Walk about Zion, go around her,
    number her towers,
13   consider well her ramparts,
    go through her citadels,
  that you may tell the next generation
14     that this is God,
  our God forever and ever.
    He will guide us forever.Septuagint; another reading is (compare Jerome, Syriac) He will guide us beyond death">4

Why Should I Fear in Times of Trouble?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

49   Hear this, all peoples!
    Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,
2   both low and high,
    rich and poor together!
3   My mouth shall speak wisdom;
    the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.
4   I will incline my ear to a proverb;
    I will solve my riddle to the music of the lyre.

5   Why should I fear in times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
6   those who trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7   Truly no man can ransom another,
    or give to God the price of his life,
8   for the ransom of their life is costly
    and can never suffice,
9   that he should live on forever
    and never see the pit.

10   For he sees that even the wise die;
    the fool and the stupid alike must perish
    and leave their wealth to others.
11   Their graves are their homes forever,Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Their inward thought was that their homes were forever">5
    their dwelling places to all generations,
    though they called lands by their own names.
12   Man in his pomp will not remain;
    he is like the beasts that perish.

13   This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;
    yet after them people approve of their boasts.Or and of those after them who approve of their boasts">6 Selah
14   Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    death shall be their shepherd,
  and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.
    Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
15   But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will receive me. Selah

16   Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
    when the glory of his house increases.
17   For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
    his glory will not go down after him.
18   For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed
    —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
19   his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,
    who will never again see light.
20   Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

God Himself Is Judge

A Psalm of Asaph.

50   The Mighty One, God the LORD,
    speaks and summons the earth
    from the rising of the sun to its setting.
2   Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
    God shines forth.

3   Our God comes; he does not keep silence;Or May our God come, and not keep silence">7
    before him is a devouring fire,
    around him a mighty tempest.
4   He calls to the heavens above
    and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
5   “Gather to me my faithful ones,
    who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
6   The heavens declare his righteousness,
    for God himself is judge! Selah

7   “Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
    O Israel, I will testify against you.
    I am God, your God.
8   Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;
    your burnt offerings are continually before me.
9   I will not accept a bull from your house
    or goats from your folds.
10   For every beast of the forest is mine,
    the cattle on a thousand hills.
11   I know all the birds of the hills,
    and all that moves in the field is mine.

12   “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
    for the world and its fullness are mine.
13   Do I eat the flesh of bulls
    or drink the blood of goats?
14   Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,Or Make thanksgiving your sacrifice to God">8
    and perform your vows to the Most High,
15   and call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

16   But to the wicked God says:
    “What right have you to recite my statutes
    or take my covenant on your lips?
17   For you hate discipline,
    and you cast my words behind you.
18   If you see a thief, you are pleased with him,
    and you keep company with adulterers.

19   “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
    and your tongue frames deceit.
20   You sit and speak against your brother;
    you slander your own mother’s son.
21   These things you have done, and I have been silent;
    you thought that IOr that the I am">9 was one like yourself.
  But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

22   “Mark this, then, you who forget God,
    lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!
23   The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
    to one who orders his way rightly
    I will show the salvation of God!”

Footnotes

[2] 46:1 Or well proved

[3] 47:7 Hebrew maskil

[4] 48:14 Septuagint; another reading is (compare Jerome, Syriac) He will guide us beyond death

[5] 49:11 Septuagint, Syriac, Targum; Hebrew Their inward thought was that their homes were forever

[6] 49:13 Or and of those after them who approve of their boasts

[7] 50:3 Or May our God come, and not keep silence

[8] 50:14 Or Make thanksgiving your sacrifice to God

[9] 50:21 Or that the I am

Psalms 40–45

Psalms 40–45 (Listen)

My Help and My Deliverer

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

40   I waited patiently for the LORD;
    he inclined to me and heard my cry.
2   He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
    out of the miry bog,
  and set my feet upon a rock,
    making my steps secure.
3   He put a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
  Many will see and fear,
    and put their trust in the LORD.

4   Blessed is the man who makes
    the LORD his trust,
  who does not turn to the proud,
    to those who go astray after a lie!
5   You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
    your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with you!
  I will proclaim and tell of them,
    yet they are more than can be told.

6   In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
    but you have given me an open ear.Hebrew ears you have dug for me">1
  Burnt offering and sin offering
    you have not required.
7   Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
    in the scroll of the book it is written of me:
8   I delight to do your will, O my God;
    your law is within my heart.”

9   I have told the glad news of deliveranceHebrew righteousness; also verse 10">2
    in the great congregation;
  behold, I have not restrained my lips,
    as you know, O LORD.
10   I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
  I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.

11   As for you, O LORD, you will not restrain
    your mercy from me;
  your steadfast love and your faithfulness will
    ever preserve me!
12   For evils have encompassed me
    beyond number;
  my iniquities have overtaken me,
    and I cannot see;
  they are more than the hairs of my head;
    my heart fails me.

13   Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me!
    O LORD, make haste to help me!
14   Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
    who seek to snatch away my life;
  let those be turned back and brought to dishonor
    who delight in my hurt!
15   Let those be appalled because of their shame
    who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16   But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
  may those who love your salvation
    say continually, “Great is the LORD!”
17   As for me, I am poor and needy,
    but the Lord takes thought for me.
  You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God!

O Lord, Be Gracious to Me

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

41   Blessed is the one who considers the poor!Or weak">3
    In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;
2   the LORD protects him and keeps him alive;
    he is called blessed in the land;
    you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
3   The LORD sustains him on his sickbed;
    in his illness you restore him to full health.Hebrew you turn all his bed">4

4   As for me, I said, “O LORD, be gracious to me;
    heal me,Hebrew my soul">5 for I have sinned against you!”
5   My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
6   And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,
    while his heart gathers iniquity;
    when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
7   All who hate me whisper together about me;
    they imagine the worst for me.Or they devise evil against me">6

8   They say, “A deadly thing is poured outOr has fastened">7 on him;
    he will not rise again from where he lies.”
9   Even my close friend in whom I trusted,
    who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
10   But you, O LORD, be gracious to me,
    and raise me up, that I may repay them!

11   By this I know that you delight in me:
    my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
12   But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
    and set me in your presence forever.

13   Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting!
      Amen and Amen.

Book Two

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

To the choirmaster. A MaskilProbably a musical or liturgical term">8 of the Sons of Korah.

42   As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
2   My soul thirsts for God,
    for the living God.
  When shall I come and appear before God?Revocalization yields and see the face of God">9
3   My tears have been my food
    day and night,
  while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”
4   These things I remember,
    as I pour out my soul:
  how I would go with the throng
    and lead them in procession to the house of God
  with glad shouts and songs of praise,
    a multitude keeping festival.

5   Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvationHebrew the salvation of my face; also verse 11 and 43:5">10 6 and my God.

  My soul is cast down within me;
    therefore I remember you
  from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,
    from Mount Mizar.
7   Deep calls to deep
    at the roar of your waterfalls;
  all your breakers and your waves
    have gone over me.
8   By day the LORD commands his steadfast love,
    and at night his song is with me,
    a prayer to the God of my life.
9   I say to God, my rock:
    “Why have you forgotten me?
  Why do I go mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10   As with a deadly wound in my bones,
    my adversaries taunt me,
  while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”

11   Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.

Send Out Your Light and Your Truth

43   Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause
    against an ungodly people,
  from the deceitful and unjust man
    deliver me!
2   For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
    why have you rejected me?
  Why do I go about mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?

3   Send out your light and your truth;
    let them lead me;
  let them bring me to your holy hill
    and to your dwelling!
4   Then I will go to the altar of God,
    to God my exceeding joy,
  and I will praise you with the lyre,
    O God, my God.

5   Why are you cast down, O my soul,
    and why are you in turmoil within me?
  Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
    my salvation and my God.

Come to Our Help

To the choirmaster. A MaskilProbably a musical or liturgical term">11 of the Sons of Korah.

44   O God, we have heard with our ears,
    our fathers have told us,
  what deeds you performed in their days,
    in the days of old:
2   you with your own hand drove out the nations,
    but them you planted;
  you afflicted the peoples,
    but them you set free;
3   for not by their own sword did they win the land,
    nor did their own arm save them,
  but your right hand and your arm,
    and the light of your face,
    for you delighted in them.

4   You are my King, O God;
    ordain salvation for Jacob!
5   Through you we push down our foes;
    through your name we tread down those who rise up against us.
6   For not in my bow do I trust,
    nor can my sword save me.
7   But you have saved us from our foes
    and have put to shame those who hate us.
8   In God we have boasted continually,
    and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah

9   But you have rejected us and disgraced us
    and have not gone out with our armies.
10   You have made us turn back from the foe,
    and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
11   You have made us like sheep for slaughter
    and have scattered us among the nations.
12   You have sold your people for a trifle,
    demanding no high price for them.
13   You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
    the derision and scorn of those around us.
14   You have made us a byword among the nations,
    a laughingstockHebrew a shaking of the head">12 among the peoples.
15   All day long my disgrace is before me,
    and shame has covered my face
16   at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
    at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.

17   All this has come upon us,
    though we have not forgotten you,
    and we have not been false to your covenant.
18   Our heart has not turned back,
    nor have our steps departed from your way;
19   yet you have broken us in the place of jackals
    and covered us with the shadow of death.
20   If we had forgotten the name of our God
    or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
21   would not God discover this?
    For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22   Yet for your sake we are killed all the day long;
    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

23   Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
    Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever!
24   Why do you hide your face?
    Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25   For our soul is bowed down to the dust;
    our belly clings to the ground.
26   Rise up; come to our help!
    Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!

Your Throne, O God, Is Forever

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A MaskilProbably a musical or liturgical term">13 of the Sons of Korah; a love song.

45   My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
    I address my verses to the king;
    my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.

2   You are the most handsome of the sons of men;
    grace is poured upon your lips;
    therefore God has blessed you forever.
3   Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
    in your splendor and majesty!

4   In your majesty ride out victoriously
    for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
    let your right hand teach you awesome deeds!
5   Your arrows are sharp
    in the heart of the king’s enemies;
    the peoples fall under you.

6   Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
    The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
7     you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
  Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
    with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
8     your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.
  From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;
9     daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
    at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

10   Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:
    forget your people and your father’s house,
11     and the king will desire your beauty.
  Since he is your lord, bow to him.
12     The peopleHebrew daughter">14 of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,
    the richest of the people.Or The daughter of Tyre is here with gifts, the richest of people seek your favor">15

13   All glorious is the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.
14     In many-colored robes she is led to the king,
    with her virgin companions following behind her.
15   With joy and gladness they are led along
    as they enter the palace of the king.

16   In place of your fathers shall be your sons;
    you will make them princes in all the earth.
17   I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
    therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

Footnotes

[2] 40:9 Hebrew righteousness; also verse 10

[3] 41:1 Or weak

[4] 41:3 Hebrew you turn all his bed

[5] 41:4 Hebrew my soul

[6] 41:7 Or they devise evil against me

[7] 41:8 Or has fastened

[8] 42:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term

[9] 42:2 Revocalization yields and see the face of God

[10] 42:5 Hebrew the salvation of my face; also verse 11 and 43:5

[11] 44:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term

[12] 44:14 Hebrew a shaking of the head

[13] 45:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term

[14] 45:12 Hebrew daughter

[15] 45:12 Or The daughter of Tyre is here with gifts, the richest of people seek your favor

Psalms 36–39

Psalms 36–39 (Listen)

How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love

To the choirmaster. Of David, the servant of the LORD.

36   Transgression speaks to the wicked
    deep in his heart;Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Jerome (compare Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts in my heart">1
  there is no fear of God
    before his eyes.
2   For he flatters himself in his own eyes
    that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3   The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;
    he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
4   He plots trouble while on his bed;
    he sets himself in a way that is not good;
    he does not reject evil.

5   Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the clouds.
6   Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
    your judgments are like the great deep;
    man and beast you save, O LORD.

7   How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
    The children of mankind take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8   They feast on the abundance of your house,
    and you give them drink from the river of your delights.
9   For with you is the fountain of life;
    in your light do we see light.

10   Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,
    and your righteousness to the upright of heart!
11   Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
    nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12   There the evildoers lie fallen;
    they are thrust down, unable to rise.

He Will Not Forsake His Saints

This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet">2 Of David.

37   Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
    be not envious of wrongdoers!
2   For they will soon fade like the grass
    and wither like the green herb.

3   Trust in the LORD, and do good;
    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture">3
4   Delight yourself in the LORD,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5   Commit your way to the LORD;
    trust in him, and he will act.
6   He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
    and your justice as the noonday.

7   Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
    over the man who carries out evil devices!

8   Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
    Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9   For the evildoers shall be cut off,
    but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.

10   In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
    though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
11   But the meek shall inherit the land
    and delight themselves in abundant peace.

12   The wicked plots against the righteous
    and gnashes his teeth at him,
13   but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
    for he sees that his day is coming.

14   The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
    to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose way is upright;
15   their sword shall enter their own heart,
    and their bows shall be broken.

16   Better is the little that the righteous has
    than the abundance of many wicked.
17   For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
    but the LORD upholds the righteous.

18   The LORD knows the days of the blameless,
    and their heritage will remain forever;
19   they are not put to shame in evil times;
    in the days of famine they have abundance.

20   But the wicked will perish;
    the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures;
    they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

21   The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
    but the righteous is generous and gives;
22   for those blessed by the LORDHEBREW BY HIM">4 shall inherit the land,
    but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

23   The steps of a man are established by the LORD,
    when he delights in his way;
24   though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
    for the LORD upholds his hand.

25   I have been young, and now am old,
    yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
    or his children begging for bread.
26   He is ever lending generously,
    and his children become a blessing.

27   Turn away from evil and do good;
    so shall you dwell forever.
28   For the LORD loves justice;
    he will not forsake his saints.
  They are preserved forever,
    but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
29   The righteous shall inherit the land
    and dwell upon it forever.

30   The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
    and his tongue speaks justice.
31   The law of his God is in his heart;
    his steps do not slip.

32   The wicked watches for the righteous
    and seeks to put him to death.
33   The LORD will not abandon him to his power
    or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.

34   Wait for the LORD and keep his way,
    and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
    you will look on when the wicked are cut off.

35   I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
    spreading himself like a green laurel tree.The identity of this tree is uncertain">5
36   But he passed away,Or But one passed by">6 and behold, he was no more;
    though I sought him, he could not be found.

37   Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
    for there is a future for the man of peace.
38   But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
    the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

39   The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;
    he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
40   The LORD helps them and delivers them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they take refuge in him.

Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord

A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.

38   O LORD, rebuke me not in your anger,
    nor discipline me in your wrath!
2   For your arrows have sunk into me,
    and your hand has come down on me.

3   There is no soundness in my flesh
    because of your indignation;
  there is no health in my bones
    because of my sin.
4   For my iniquities have gone over my head;
    like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

5   My wounds stink and fester
    because of my foolishness,
6   I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
    all the day I go about mourning.
7   For my sides are filled with burning,
    and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8   I am feeble and crushed;
    I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

9   O Lord, all my longing is before you;
    my sighing is not hidden from you.
10   My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
    and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
11   My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,
    and my nearest kin stand far off.

12   Those who seek my life lay their snares;
    those who seek my hurt speak of ruin
    and meditate treachery all day long.

13   But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
    like a mute man who does not open his mouth.
14   I have become like a man who does not hear,
    and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

15   But for you, O LORD, do I wait;
    it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
16   For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,
    who boast against me when my foot slips!”

17   For I am ready to fall,
    and my pain is ever before me.
18   I confess my iniquity;
    I am sorry for my sin.
19   But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
    and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20   Those who render me evil for good
    accuse me because I follow after good.

21   Do not forsake me, O LORD!
    O my God, be not far from me!
22   Make haste to help me,
    O Lord, my salvation!

What Is the Measure of My Days?

To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

39   I said, “I will guard my ways,
    that I may not sin with my tongue;
  I will guard my mouth with a muzzle,
    so long as the wicked are in my presence.”
2   I was mute and silent;
    I held my peace to no avail,
  and my distress grew worse.
3     My heart became hot within me.
  As I mused, the fire burned;
    then I spoke with my tongue:

4   “O LORD, make me know my end
    and what is the measure of my days;
    let me know how fleeting I am!
5   Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,
    and my lifetime is as nothing before you.
  Surely all mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah
6     Surely a man goes about as a shadow!
  Surely for nothingHebrew Surely as a breath">7 they are in turmoil;
    man heaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

7   “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
    My hope is in you.
8   Deliver me from all my transgressions.
    Do not make me the scorn of the fool!
9   I am mute; I do not open my mouth,
    for it is you who have done it.
10   Remove your stroke from me;
    I am spent by the hostility of your hand.
11   When you discipline a man
    with rebukes for sin,
  you consume like a moth what is dear to him;
    surely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

12   “Hear my prayer, O LORD,
    and give ear to my cry;
    hold not your peace at my tears!
  For I am a sojourner with you,
    a guest, like all my fathers.
13   Look away from me, that I may smile again,
    before I depart and am no more!”

Footnotes

[2] 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet

[3] 37:3 Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture

[4] 37:22 Hebrew by him

[5] 37:35 The identity of this tree is uncertain

[6] 37:36 Or But one passed by

[7] 39:6 Hebrew Surely as a breath

Psalms 32–35

Psalms 32–35 (Listen)

Blessed Are the Forgiven

A MaskilProbably a musical or liturgical term">1 of David.

32   Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
    whose sin is covered.
2   Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity,
    and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3   For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
    through my groaning all day long.
4   For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried upHebrew my vitality was changed">2 as by the heat of summer. Selah

5   I acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
  I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,”
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

6   Therefore let everyone who is godly
    offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found;
  surely in the rush of great waters,
    they shall not reach him.
7   You are a hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from trouble;
    you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

8   I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will counsel you with my eye upon you.
9   Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    which must be curbed with bit and bridle,
    or it will not stay near you.

10   Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the LORD.
11   Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, O righteous,
    and shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

The Steadfast Love of the Lord

33   Shout for joy in the LORD, O you righteous!
    Praise befits the upright.
2   Give thanks to the LORD with the lyre;
    make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!
3   Sing to him a new song;
    play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

4   For the word of the LORD is upright,
    and all his work is done in faithfulness.
5   He loves righteousness and justice;
    the earth is full of the steadfast love of the LORD.

6   By the word of the LORD the heavens were made,
    and by the breath of his mouth all their host.
7   He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;
    he puts the deeps in storehouses.

8   Let all the earth fear the LORD;
    let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
9   For he spoke, and it came to be;
    he commanded, and it stood firm.

10   The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
    he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11   The counsel of the LORD stands forever,
    the plans of his heart to all generations.
12   Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD,
    the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

13   The LORD looks down from heaven;
    he sees all the children of man;
14   from where he sits enthroned he looks out
    on all the inhabitants of the earth,
15   he who fashions the hearts of them all
    and observes all their deeds.
16   The king is not saved by his great army;
    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17   The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
    and by its great might it cannot rescue.

18   Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,
    on those who hope in his steadfast love,
19   that he may deliver their soul from death
    and keep them alive in famine.

20   Our soul waits for the LORD;
    he is our help and our shield.
21   For our heart is glad in him,
    because we trust in his holy name.
22   Let your steadfast love, O LORD, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.

Taste and See That the Lord Is Good

This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet">3 Of David, when he changed his behavior before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

34   I will bless the LORD at all times;
    his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2   My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
    let the humble hear and be glad.
3   Oh, magnify the LORD with me,
    and let us exalt his name together!

4   I sought the LORD, and he answered me
    and delivered me from all my fears.
5   Those who look to him are radiant,
    and their faces shall never be ashamed.
6   This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
    and saved him out of all his troubles.
7   The angel of the LORD encamps
    around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8   Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
    Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
9   Oh, fear the LORD, you his saints,
    for those who fear him have no lack!
10   The young lions suffer want and hunger;
    but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.

11   Come, O children, listen to me;
    I will teach you the fear of the LORD.
12   What man is there who desires life
    and loves many days, that he may see good?
13   Keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from speaking deceit.
14   Turn away from evil and do good;
    seek peace and pursue it.

15   The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous
    and his ears toward their cry.
16   The face of the LORD is against those who do evil,
    to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17   When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears
    and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18   The LORD is near to the brokenhearted
    and saves the crushed in spirit.

19   Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
    but the LORD delivers him out of them all.
20   He keeps all his bones;
    not one of them is broken.
21   Affliction will slay the wicked,
    and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22   The LORD redeems the life of his servants;
    none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Great Is the Lord

Of David.

35   Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;
    fight against those who fight against me!
2   Take hold of shield and buckler
    and rise for my help!
3   Draw the spear and javelinOr and close the way">4
    against my pursuers!
  Say to my soul,
    “I am your salvation!”

4   Let them be put to shame and dishonor
    who seek after my life!
  Let them be turned back and disappointed
    who devise evil against me!
5   Let them be like chaff before the wind,
    with the angel of the LORD driving them away!
6   Let their way be dark and slippery,
    with the angel of the LORD pursuing them!

7   For without cause they hid their net for me;
    without cause they dug a pit for my life.The word pit is transposed from the preceding line; Hebrew For without cause they hid the pit of their net for me; without cause they dug for my life">5
8   Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!
  And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
    let him fall into it—to his destruction!

9   Then my soul will rejoice in the LORD,
    exulting in his salvation.
10   All my bones shall say,
    “O LORD, who is like you,
  delivering the poor
    from him who is too strong for him,
    the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

11   MaliciousOr Violent">6 witnesses rise up;
    they ask me of things that I do not know.
12   They repay me evil for good;
    my soul is bereft.Hebrew it is bereavement to my soul">7
13   But I, when they were sick—
    I wore sackcloth;
    I afflicted myself with fasting;
  I prayed with head bowedOr my prayer shall turn back">8 on my chest.
14     I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
  as one who laments his mother,
    I bowed down in mourning.

15   But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;
    they gathered together against me;
  wretches whom I did not know
    tore at me without ceasing;
16   like profane mockers at a feast,The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain">9
    they gnash at me with their teeth.

17   How long, O Lord, will you look on?
    Rescue me from their destruction,
    my precious life from the lions!
18   I will thank you in the great congregation;
    in the mighty throng I will praise you.

19   Let not those rejoice over me
    who are wrongfully my foes,
  and let not those wink the eye
    who hate me without cause.
20   For they do not speak peace,
    but against those who are quiet in the land
    they devise words of deceit.
21   They open wide their mouths against me;
    they say, “Aha, Aha!
    Our eyes have seen it!”

22   You have seen, O LORD; be not silent!
    O Lord, be not far from me!
23   Awake and rouse yourself for my vindication,
    for my cause, my God and my Lord!
24   Vindicate me, O LORD, my God,
    according to your righteousness,
    and let them not rejoice over me!
25   Let them not say in their hearts,
    “Aha, our heart’s desire!”
  Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”

26   Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether
    who rejoice at my calamity!
  Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor
    who magnify themselves against me!

27   Let those who delight in my righteousness
    shout for joy and be glad
    and say evermore,
  “Great is the LORD,
    who delights in the welfare of his servant!”
28   Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness
    and of your praise all the day long.

Footnotes

[2] 32:4 Hebrew my vitality was changed

[3] 34:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet

[4] 35:3 Or and close the way

[5] 35:7 The word pit is transposed from the preceding line; Hebrew For without cause they hid the pit of their net for me; without cause they dug for my life

[6] 35:11 Or Violent

[7] 35:12 Hebrew it is bereavement to my soul

[8] 35:13 Or my prayer shall turn back

[9] 35:16 The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain

Psalms 26–31

Psalms 26–31 (Listen)

I Will Bless the Lord

Of David.

26   Vindicate me, O LORD,
    for I have walked in my integrity,
    and I have trusted in the LORD without wavering.
2   Prove me, O LORD, and try me;
    test my heart and my mind.Hebrew test my kidneys and my heart">1
3   For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
    and I walk in your faithfulness.

4   I do not sit with men of falsehood,
    nor do I consort with hypocrites.
5   I hate the assembly of evildoers,
    and I will not sit with the wicked.

6   I wash my hands in innocence
    and go around your altar, O LORD,
7   proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
    and telling all your wondrous deeds.

8   O LORD, I love the habitation of your house
    and the place where your glory dwells.
9   Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
    nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10   in whose hands are evil devices,
    and whose right hands are full of bribes.

11   But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
    redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12   My foot stands on level ground;
    in the great assembly I will bless the LORD.

The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

27   The LORD is my light and my salvation;
    whom shall I fear?
  The LORD is the strongholdOr refuge">2 of my life;
    of whom shall I be afraid?

2   When evildoers assail me
    to eat up my flesh,
  my adversaries and foes,
    it is they who stumble and fall.

3   Though an army encamp against me,
    my heart shall not fear;
  though war arise against me,
    yetOr in this">3 I will be confident.

4   One thing have I asked of the LORD,
    that will I seek after:
  that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
    all the days of my life,
  to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
    and to inquireOr meditate">4 in his temple.

5   For he will hide me in his shelter
    in the day of trouble;
  he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
    he will lift me high upon a rock.

6   And now my head shall be lifted up
    above my enemies all around me,
  and I will offer in his tent
    sacrifices with shouts of joy;
  I will sing and make melody to the LORD.

7   Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me!
8   You have said, “SeekThe command (seek) is addressed to more than one person">5 my face.”
  My heart says to you,
    “Your face, LORD, do I seek.”The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain">6
9     Hide not your face from me.
  Turn not your servant away in anger,
    O you who have been my help.
  Cast me not off; forsake me not,
    O God of my salvation!
10   For my father and my mother have forsaken me,
    but the LORD will take me in.

11   Teach me your way, O LORD,
    and lead me on a level path
    because of my enemies.
12   Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
    for false witnesses have risen against me,
    and they breathe out violence.

13   I believe that I shall lookOther Hebrew manuscripts Oh! Had I not believed that I would look">7 upon the goodness of the LORD
    in the land of the living!
14   Wait for the LORD;
    be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the LORD!

The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield

Of David.

28   To you, O LORD, I call;
    my rock, be not deaf to me,
  lest, if you be silent to me,
    I become like those who go down to the pit.
2   Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
    when I cry to you for help,
  when I lift up my hands
    toward your most holy sanctuary.Hebrew your innermost sanctuary">8

3   Do not drag me off with the wicked,
    with the workers of evil,
  who speak peace with their neighbors
    while evil is in their hearts.
4   Give to them according to their work
    and according to the evil of their deeds;
  give to them according to the work of their hands;
    render them their due reward.
5   Because they do not regard the works of the LORD
    or the work of his hands,
  he will tear them down and build them up no more.

6   Blessed be the LORD!
    For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
7   The LORD is my strength and my shield;
    in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;
  my heart exults,
    and with my song I give thanks to him.

8   The LORD is the strength of his people;Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts is their strength">9
    he is the saving refuge of his anointed.
9   Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!
    Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Ascribe to the Lord Glory

A Psalm of David.

29   Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,Hebrew sons of God, or sons of might">10
    ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
2   Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
    worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.Or in holy attire">11

3   The voice of the LORD is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the LORD, over many waters.
4   The voice of the LORD is powerful;
    the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.

5   The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars;
    the LORD breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6   He makes Lebanon to skip like a calf,
    and Sirion like a young wild ox.

7   The voice of the LORD flashes forth flames of fire.
8   The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness;
    the LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9   The voice of the LORD makes the deer give birthRevocalization yields makes the oaks to shake">12
    and strips the forests bare,
    and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

10   The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;
    the LORD sits enthroned as king forever.
11   May the LORD give strength to his people!
    May the LORD blessOr The Lord will give . . . The Lord will bless">13 his people with peace!

Joy Comes with the Morning

A Psalm of David. A song at the dedication of the temple.

30   I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up
    and have not let my foes rejoice over me.
2   O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
    and you have healed me.
3   O LORD, you have brought up my soul from Sheol;
    you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.Or to life, that I should not go down to the pit">14

4   Sing praises to the LORD, O you his saints,
    and give thanks to his holy name.Hebrew to the memorial of his holiness (see Exodus 3:15)">15
5   For his anger is but for a moment,
    and his favor is for a lifetime.Or and in his favor is life">16
  Weeping may tarry for the night,
    but joy comes with the morning.

6   As for me, I said in my prosperity,
    “I shall never be moved.”
7   By your favor, O LORD,
    you made my mountain stand strong;
  you hid your face;
    I was dismayed.

8   To you, O LORD, I cry,
    and to the Lord I plead for mercy:
9   “What profit is there in my death,Hebrew in my blood">17
    if I go down to the pit?Or to corruption">18
  Will the dust praise you?
    Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10   Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me!
    O LORD, be my helper!”

11   You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;
    you have loosed my sackcloth
    and clothed me with gladness,
12   that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
    O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Into Your Hand I Commit My Spirit

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

31   In you, O LORD, do I take refuge;
    let me never be put to shame;
    in your righteousness deliver me!
2   Incline your ear to me;
    rescue me speedily!
  Be a rock of refuge for me,
    a strong fortress to save me!

3   For you are my rock and my fortress;
    and for your name’s sake you lead me and guide me;
4   you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,
    for you are my refuge.
5   Into your hand I commit my spirit;
    you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.

6   I hateMasoretic Text; one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome You hate">19 those who pay regard to worthless idols,
    but I trust in the LORD.
7   I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,
    because you have seen my affliction;
    you have known the distress of my soul,
8   and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
    you have set my feet in a broad place.

9   Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am in distress;
    my eye is wasted from grief;
    my soul and my body also.
10   For my life is spent with sorrow,
    and my years with sighing;
  my strength fails because of my iniquity,
    and my bones waste away.

11   Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach,
    especially to my neighbors,
  and an object of dread to my acquaintances;
    those who see me in the street flee from me.
12   I have been forgotten like one who is dead;
    I have become like a broken vessel.
13   For I hear the whispering of many—
    terror on every side!—
  as they scheme together against me,
    as they plot to take my life.

14   But I trust in you, O LORD;
    I say, “You are my God.”
15   My times are in your hand;
    rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
16   Make your face shine on your servant;
    save me in your steadfast love!
17   O LORD, let me not be put to shame,
    for I call upon you;
  let the wicked be put to shame;
    let them go silently to Sheol.
18   Let the lying lips be mute,
    which speak insolently against the righteous
    in pride and contempt.

19   Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
    which you have stored up for those who fear you
  and worked for those who take refuge in you,
    in the sight of the children of mankind!
20   In the cover of your presence you hide them
    from the plots of men;
  you store them in your shelter
    from the strife of tongues.

21   Blessed be the LORD,
    for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
    when I was in a besieged city.
22   I had said in my alarm,Or in my haste">20
    “I am cut off from your sight.”
  But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
    when I cried to you for help.

23   Love the LORD, all you his saints!
    The LORD preserves the faithful
    but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.
24   Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
    all you who wait for the LORD!

Footnotes

[2] 27:1 Or refuge

[3] 27:3 Or in this

[4] 27:4 Or meditate

[5] 27:8 The command (seek) is addressed to more than one person

[6] 27:8 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain

[7] 27:13 Other Hebrew manuscripts Oh! Had I not believed that I would look

[8] 28:2 Hebrew your innermost sanctuary

[9] 28:8 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts is their strength

[10] 29:1 Hebrew sons of God, or sons of might

[11] 29:2 Or in holy attire

[12] 29:9 Revocalization yields makes the oaks to shake

[13] 29:11 Or The Lord will give . . . The Lord will bless

[14] 30:3 Or to life, that I should not go down to the pit

[15] 30:4 Hebrew to the memorial of his holiness (see Exodus 3:15)

[16] 30:5 Or and in his favor is life

[17] 30:9 Hebrew in my blood

[18] 30:9 Or to corruption

[19] 31:6 Masoretic Text; one Hebrew manuscript, Septuagint, Syriac, Jerome You hate

[20] 31:22 Or in my haste

Psalms 21–25

Psalms 21–25 (Listen)

The King Rejoices in the Lord’s Strength

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

21   O LORD, in your strength the king rejoices,
    and in your salvation how greatly he exults!
2   You have given him his heart’s desire
    and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3   For you meet him with rich blessings;
    you set a crown of fine gold upon his head.
4   He asked life of you; you gave it to him,
    length of days forever and ever.
5   His glory is great through your salvation;
    splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6   For you make him most blessed forever;Or make him a source of blessing forever">1
    you make him glad with the joy of your presence.
7   For the king trusts in the LORD,
    and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

8   Your hand will find out all your enemies;
    your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9   You will make them as a blazing oven
    when you appear.
  The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath,
    and fire will consume them.
10   You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
    and their offspring from among the children of man.
11   Though they plan evil against you,
    though they devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12   For you will put them to flight;
    you will aim at their faces with your bows.

13   Be exalted, O LORD, in your strength!
    We will sing and praise your power.

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

22   My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
2   O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer,
    and by night, but I find no rest.

3   Yet you are holy,
    enthroned on the praisesOr dwelling in the praises">2 of Israel.
4   In you our fathers trusted;
    they trusted, and you delivered them.
5   To you they cried and were rescued;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6   But I am a worm and not a man,
    scorned by mankind and despised by the people.
7   All who see me mock me;
    they make mouths at me; they wag their heads;
8   “He trusts in the LORD; let him deliver him;
    let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

9   Yet you are he who took me from the womb;
    you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.
10   On you was I cast from my birth,
    and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.
11   Be not far from me,
    for trouble is near,
    and there is none to help.

12   Many bulls encompass me;
    strong bulls of Bashan surround me;
13   they open wide their mouths at me,
    like a ravening and roaring lion.

14   I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint;
  my heart is like wax;
    it is melted within my breast;
15   my strength is dried up like a potsherd,
    and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
    you lay me in the dust of death.

16   For dogs encompass me;
    a company of evildoers encircles me;
  they have pierced my hands and feetSome Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts like a lion [they are at] my hands and feet">3—
17   I can count all my bones—
  they stare and gloat over me;
18   they divide my garments among them,
    and for my clothing they cast lots.

19   But you, O LORD, do not be far off!
    O you my help, come quickly to my aid!
20   Deliver my soul from the sword,
    my precious life from the power of the dog!
21     Save me from the mouth of the lion!
  You have rescuedHebrew answered">4 me from the horns of the wild oxen!

22   I will tell of your name to my brothers;
    in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23   You who fear the LORD, praise him!
    All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him,
    and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24   For he has not despised or abhorred
    the affliction of the afflicted,
  and he has not hidden his face from him,
    but has heard, when he cried to him.

25   From you comes my praise in the great congregation;
    my vows I will perform before those who fear him.
26   The afflictedOr The meek">5 shall eat and be satisfied;
    those who seek him shall praise the LORD!
    May your hearts live forever!

27   All the ends of the earth shall remember
    and turn to the LORD,
  and all the families of the nations
    shall worship before you.
28   For kingship belongs to the LORD,
    and he rules over the nations.

29   All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
    before him shall bow all who go down to the dust,
    even the one who could not keep himself alive.
30   Posterity shall serve him;
    it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation;
31   they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn,
    that he has done it.

The Lord Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

23   The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2     He makes me lie down in green pastures.
  He leads me beside still waters.Hebrew beside waters of rest">6
3     He restores my soul.
  He leads me in paths of righteousnessOr in right paths">7
    for his name’s sake.

4   Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,Or the valley of deep darkness">8
    I will fear no evil,
  for you are with me;
    your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

5   You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies;
  you anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
6   SurelyOr Only">9 goodness and mercyOr steadfast love">10 shall follow me
    all the days of my life,
  and I shall dwellOr shall return to dwell">11 in the house of the LORD
    forever.Hebrew for length of days">12

The King of Glory

A Psalm of David.

24   The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,Or and all that fills it">13
    the world and those who dwell therein,
2   for he has founded it upon the seas
    and established it upon the rivers.

3   Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?
    And who shall stand in his holy place?
4   He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not lift up his soul to what is false
    and does not swear deceitfully.
5   He will receive blessing from the LORD
    and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
6   Such is the generation of those who seek him,
    who seek the face of the God of Jacob.Septuagint, Syriac, and two Hebrew manuscripts; Masoretic Text who seek your face, Jacob">14 Selah

7   Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And be lifted up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
8   Who is this King of glory?
    The LORD, strong and mighty,
    the LORD, mighty in battle!
9   Lift up your heads, O gates!
    And lift them up, O ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
10   Who is this King of glory?
    The LORD of hosts,
    he is the King of glory! Selah

Teach Me Your Paths

This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet">15 Of David.

25   To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.
2   O my God, in you I trust;
    let me not be put to shame;
    let not my enemies exult over me.
3   Indeed, none who wait for you shall be put to shame;
    they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

4   Make me to know your ways, O LORD;
    teach me your paths.
5   Lead me in your truth and teach me,
    for you are the God of my salvation;
    for you I wait all the day long.

6   Remember your mercy, O LORD, and your steadfast love,
    for they have been from of old.
7   Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
    according to your steadfast love remember me,
    for the sake of your goodness, O LORD!

8   Good and upright is the LORD;
    therefore he instructs sinners in the way.
9   He leads the humble in what is right,
    and teaches the humble his way.
10   All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,
    for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

11   For your name’s sake, O LORD,
    pardon my guilt, for it is great.
12   Who is the man who fears the LORD?
    Him will he instruct in the way that he should choose.
13   His soul shall abide in well-being,
    and his offspring shall inherit the land.
14   The friendshipOr The secret counsel">16 of the LORD is for those who fear him,
    and he makes known to them his covenant.
15   My eyes are ever toward the LORD,
    for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

16   Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
17   The troubles of my heart are enlarged;
    bring me out of my distresses.
18   Consider my affliction and my trouble,
    and forgive all my sins.

19   Consider how many are my foes,
    and with what violent hatred they hate me.
20   Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!
    Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
21   May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
    for I wait for you.

22   Redeem Israel, O God,
    out of all his troubles.

Footnotes

[2] 22:3 Or dwelling in the praises

[3] 22:16 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Vulgate, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts like a lion [they are at] my hands and feet

[4] 22:21 Hebrew answered

[5] 22:26 Or The meek

[6] 23:2 Hebrew beside waters of rest

[7] 23:3 Or in right paths

[8] 23:4 Or the valley of deep darkness

[9] 23:6 Or Only

[10] 23:6 Or steadfast love

[11] 23:6 Or shall return to dwell

[12] 23:6 Hebrew for length of days

[13] 24:1 Or and all that fills it

[14] 24:6 Septuagint, Syriac, and two Hebrew manuscripts; Masoretic Text who seek your face, Jacob

[15] 25:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet

[16] 25:14 Or The secret counsel

Psalms 17–20

Psalms 17–20 (Listen)

In the Shadow of Your Wings

A Prayer of David.

17   Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry!
    Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!
2   From your presence let my vindication come!
    Let your eyes behold the right!

3   You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night,
    you have tested me, and you will find nothing;
    I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.
4   With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips
    I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5   My steps have held fast to your paths;
    my feet have not slipped.

6   I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
    incline your ear to me; hear my words.
7   Wondrously showOr Distinguish me by">1 your steadfast love,
    O Savior of those who seek refuge
    from their adversaries at your right hand.

8   Keep me as the apple of your eye;
    hide me in the shadow of your wings,
9   from the wicked who do me violence,
    my deadly enemies who surround me.

10   They close their hearts to pity;
    with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
11   They have now surrounded our steps;
    they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.
12   He is like a lion eager to tear,
    as a young lion lurking in ambush.

13   Arise, O LORD! Confront him, subdue him!
    Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,
14   from men by your hand, O LORD,
    from men of the world whose portion is in this life.Or from men whose portion in life is of the world">2
  You fill their womb with treasure;Or As for your treasured ones, you fill their womb">3
    they are satisfied with children,
    and they leave their abundance to their infants.

15   As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
    when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

The Lord Is My Rock and My Fortress

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD on the day when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

18   I love you, O LORD, my strength.
2   The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
    my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
    my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
3   I call upon the LORD, who is worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.

4   The cords of death encompassed me;
    the torrents of destruction assailed me;Or terrified me">4
5   the cords of Sheol entangled me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

6   In my distress I called upon the LORD;
    to my God I cried for help.
  From his temple he heard my voice,
    and my cry to him reached his ears.

7   Then the earth reeled and rocked;
    the foundations also of the mountains trembled
    and quaked, because he was angry.
8   Smoke went up from his nostrils,Or in his wrath">5
    and devouring fire from his mouth;
    glowing coals flamed forth from him.
9   He bowed the heavens and came down;
    thick darkness was under his feet.
10   He rode on a cherub and flew;
    he came swiftly on the wings of the wind.
11   He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him,
    thick clouds dark with water.
12   Out of the brightness before him
    hailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

13   The LORD also thundered in the heavens,
    and the Most High uttered his voice,
    hailstones and coals of fire.
14   And he sent out his arrows and scattered them;
    he flashed forth lightnings and routed them.
15   Then the channels of the sea were seen,
    and the foundations of the world were laid bare
  at your rebuke, O LORD,
    at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

16   He sent from on high, he took me;
    he drew me out of many waters.
17   He rescued me from my strong enemy
    and from those who hated me,
    for they were too mighty for me.
18   They confronted me in the day of my calamity,
    but the LORD was my support.
19   He brought me out into a broad place;
    he rescued me, because he delighted in me.

20   The LORD dealt with me according to my righteousness;
    according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.
21   For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
    and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22   For all his rulesOr just decrees">6 were before me,
    and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23   I was blameless before him,
    and I kept myself from my guilt.
24   So the LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
    according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25   With the merciful you show yourself merciful;
    with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;
26   with the purified you show yourself pure;
    and with the crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.
27   For you save a humble people,
    but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28   For it is you who light my lamp;
    the LORD my God lightens my darkness.
29   For by you I can run against a troop,
    and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30   This God—his way is perfect;Or blameless">7
    the word of the LORD proves true;
    he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.

31   For who is God, but the LORD?
    And who is a rock, except our God?—
32   the God who equipped me with strength
    and made my way blameless.
33   He made my feet like the feet of a deer
    and set me secure on the heights.
34   He trains my hands for war,
    so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
35   You have given me the shield of your salvation,
    and your right hand supported me,
    and your gentleness made me great.
36   You gave a wide place for my steps under me,
    and my feet did not slip.
37   I pursued my enemies and overtook them,
    and did not turn back till they were consumed.
38   I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;
    they fell under my feet.
39   For you equipped me with strength for the battle;
    you made those who rise against me sink under me.
40   You made my enemies turn their backs to me,Or You gave me my enemies’ necks">8
    and those who hated me I destroyed.
41   They cried for help, but there was none to save;
    they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
42   I beat them fine as dust before the wind;
    I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

43   You delivered me from strife with the people;
    you made me the head of the nations;
    people whom I had not known served me.
44   As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;
    foreigners came cringing to me.
45   Foreigners lost heart
    and came trembling out of their fortresses.

46   The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock,
    and exalted be the God of my salvation—
47   the God who gave me vengeance
    and subdued peoples under me,
48   who rescued me from my enemies;
    yes, you exalted me above those who rose against me;
    you delivered me from the man of violence.

49   For this I will praise you, O LORD, among the nations,
    and sing to your name.
50   Great salvation he brings to his king,
    and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
    to David and his offspring forever.

The Law of the Lord Is Perfect

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

19   The heavens declare the glory of God,
    and the sky aboveHebrew the expanse; compare Genesis 1:6–8">9 proclaims his handiwork.
2   Day to day pours out speech,
    and night to night reveals knowledge.
3   There is no speech, nor are there words,
    whose voice is not heard.
4   Their voiceOr Their measuring line">10 goes out through all the earth,
    and their words to the end of the world.
  In them he has set a tent for the sun,
5     which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
    and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.
6   Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
    and its circuit to the end of them,
    and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7   The law of the LORD is perfect,Or blameless">11
    reviving the soul;
  the testimony of the LORD is sure,
    making wise the simple;
8   the precepts of the LORD are right,
    rejoicing the heart;
  the commandment of the LORD is pure,
    enlightening the eyes;
9   the fear of the LORD is clean,
    enduring forever;
  the rulesOr just decrees">12 of the LORD are true,
    and righteous altogether.
10   More to be desired are they than gold,
    even much fine gold;
  sweeter also than honey
    and drippings of the honeycomb.
11   Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
    in keeping them there is great reward.

12   Who can discern his errors?
    Declare me innocent from hidden faults.
13   Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
    let them not have dominion over me!
  Then I shall be blameless,
    and innocent of great transgression.

14   Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
    be acceptable in your sight,
    O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

Trust in the Name of the Lord Our God

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

20   May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble!
    May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!
2   May he send you help from the sanctuary
    and give you support from Zion!
3   May he remember all your offerings
    and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

4   May he grant you your heart’s desire
    and fulfill all your plans!
5   May we shout for joy over your salvation,
    and in the name of our God set up our banners!
  May the LORD fulfill all your petitions!

6   Now I know that the LORD saves his anointed;
    he will answer him from his holy heaven
    with the saving might of his right hand.
7   Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
    but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
8   They collapse and fall,
    but we rise and stand upright.

9   O LORD, save the king!
    May he answer us when we call.

Footnotes

[2] 17:14 Or from men whose portion in life is of the world

[3] 17:14 Or As for your treasured ones, you fill their womb

[4] 18:4 Or terrified me

[5] 18:8 Or in his wrath

[6] 18:22 Or just decrees

[7] 18:30 Or blameless

[8] 18:40 Or You gave me my enemies’ necks

[9] 19:1 Hebrew the expanse; compare Genesis 1:6–8

[10] 19:4 Or Their measuring line

[11] 19:7 Or blameless

[12] 19:9 Or just decrees