1
Happy are those2
but their delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3
They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.
4
The wicked are not so,5
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6
for the LORD watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
1
Why do the nations conspire,2
The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the LORD and his anointed, saying,
3
‘Let us burst their bonds asunder,
and cast their cords from us.’
4
He who sits in the heavens laughs;5
Then he will speak to them in his wrath,
and terrify them in his fury, saying,
6
‘I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.’
7
I will tell of the decree of the LORD:8
Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,
and the ends of the earth your possession.
9
You shall break them with a rod of iron,
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’
10
Now therefore, O kings, be wise;11
Serve the LORD with fear,
with trembling
12
kiss his feet,
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
1
O LORD, how many are my foes!2
many are saying to me,
‘There is no help for you in God.’
3
But you, O LORD, are a shield around me,4
I cry aloud to the LORD,
and he answers me from his holy hill.
5
I lie down and sleep;6
I am not afraid of tens of thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7
Rise up, O LORD!8
Deliverance belongs to the LORD;1
Answer me when I call, O God of my right!2
How long, you people, shall my honour suffer shame?3
But know that the LORD has set apart the faithful for himself;
the LORD hears when I call to him.
4
When you are disturbed, do not sin;5
Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the LORD.
6
There are many who say, ‘O that we might see some good!7
You have put gladness in my heart
more than when their grain and wine abound.
8
I will both lie down and sleep in peace;1
Give ear to my words, O LORD;2
Listen to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.
3
O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.
4
For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;5
The boastful will not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.
6
You destroy those who speak lies;
the LORD abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.
7
But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,8
Lead me, O LORD, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.
9
For there is no truth in their mouths;10
Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of their many transgressions cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.
11
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;12
For you bless the righteous, O LORD;
you cover them with favour as with a shield.
1
O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger,2
Be gracious to me, O LORD, for I am languishing;
O LORD, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror.
3
My soul also is struck with terror,
while you, O LORD — how long?
4
Turn, O LORD, save my life;5
For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who can give you praise?
6
I am weary with my moaning;7
My eyes waste away because of grief;
they grow weak because of all my foes.
8
Depart from me, all you workers of evil,9
The LORD has heard my supplication;
the LORD accepts my prayer.
10
All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror;
they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame.
1
O LORD my God, in you I take refuge;2
or like a lion they will tear me apart;
they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.
3
O LORD my God, if I have done this,4
if I have repaid my ally with harm
or plundered my foe without cause,
5
then let the enemy pursue and overtake me,
trample my life to the ground,
and lay my soul in the dust.
6
Rise up, O LORD, in your anger;7
Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you,
and over it take your seat on high.
8
The LORD judges the peoples;
judge me, O LORD, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.
9
O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,10
God is my shield,
who saves the upright in heart.
11
God is a righteous judge,
and a God who has indignation every day.
12
If one does not repent, God will whet his sword;13
he has prepared his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.
14
See how they conceive evil,
and are pregnant with mischief,
and bring forth lies.
15
They make a pit, digging it out,
and fall into the hole that they have made.
16
Their mischief returns upon their own heads,
and on their own heads their violence descends.
17
I will give to the LORD the thanks due to his righteousness,1
O LORD, our Sovereign,2
Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3
When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,4
what are human beings that you are mindful of them,
mortals that you care for them?
5
Yet you have made them a little lower than God,6
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,
7
all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9
O LORD, our Sovereign,1
I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart;2
I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
3
When my enemies turned back,4
For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgement.
5
You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;6
The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;
their cities you have rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
7
But the LORD sits enthroned for ever,8
He judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with equity.
9
The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,10
And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.
11
Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion.12
For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13
Be gracious to me, O LORD.14
so that I may recount all your praises,
and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
rejoice in your deliverance.
15
The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;16
The LORD has made himself known, he has executed judgement;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.
17
The wicked shall depart to Sheol,18
For the needy shall not always be forgotten,19
Rise up, O LORD! Do not let mortals prevail;20
Put them in fear, O LORD;
let the nations know that they are only human.
1
Why, O LORD, do you stand far off?2
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor —
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.
3
For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,4
In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, ‘God will not seek it out’;
all their thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’
5
Their ways prosper at all times;6
They think in their heart, ‘We shall not be moved;
throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.’
7
Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;8
They sit in ambush in the villages;
in hiding-places they murder the innocent.
9
they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;
they lurk that they may seize the poor;
they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.
10
They stoop, they crouch,11
They think in their heart, ‘God has forgotten,
he has hidden his face, he will never see it.’
12
Rise up, O LORD; O God, lift up your hand;13
Why do the wicked renounce God,
and say in their hearts, ‘You will not call us to account’?
14
But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief,15
Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;16
The LORD is king for ever and ever;
the nations shall perish from his land.
17
O LORD, you will hear the desire of the meek;18
to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
so that those from earth may strike terror no more.
1
In the LORD I take refuge; how can you say to me,2
for look, the wicked bend the bow,
they have fitted their arrow to the string,
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.
3
If the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?’
4
The LORD is in his holy temple;5
The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked,
and his soul hates the lover of violence.
6
On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and sulphur;
a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.
7
For the LORD is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.
1
Help, O LORD, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;2
They utter lies to each other;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
3
May the LORD cut off all flattering lips,4
those who say, ‘With our tongues we will prevail;
our lips are our own — who is our master?’
5
‘Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,6
The promises of the LORD are promises that are pure,
silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
7
You, O LORD, will protect us;8
On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among humankind.
1
How long, O LORD? Will you forget me for ever?2
How long must I bear pain in my soul,
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3
Consider and answer me, O LORD my God!4
and my enemy will say, ‘I have prevailed’;
my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.
5
But I trusted in your steadfast love;6
I will sing to the LORD,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
1
Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’2
The LORD looks down from heaven on humankind3
They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse;4
Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers5
There they shall be in great terror,6
You would confound the plans of the poor,
but the LORD is their refuge.
7
O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!1
O LORD, who may abide in your tent?2
Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,3
who do not slander with their tongue,
and do no evil to their friends,
nor take up a reproach against their neighbours;
4
in whose eyes the wicked are despised,
but who honour those who fear the LORD;
who stand by their oath even to their hurt;
5
who do not lend money at interest,
and do not take a bribe against the innocent.
1
Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.2
I say to the LORD, ‘You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.’
3
As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble,4
Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;5
The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup;6
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.
7
I bless the LORD who gives me counsel;8
I keep the LORD always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
9
Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;10
For you do not give me up to Sheol,
or let your faithful one see the Pit.
11
You show me the path of life.1
Hear a just cause, O LORD; attend to my cry;2
From you let my vindication come;
let your eyes see the right.
3
If you try my heart, if you visit me by night,4
As for what others do, 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;7
Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O saviour of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.
8
Guard me as the apple of the eye;9
from the wicked who despoil me,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
10
They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
11
They track me down; now they surround me;
they set their eyes to cast me to the ground.
12
They are like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.
13
Rise up, O LORD, confront them, overthrow them!14
from mortals — by your hand, O LORD —
from mortals whose portion in life is in this world.
May their bellies be filled with what you have stored up for them;
may their children have more than enough;
may they leave something over to their little ones.
15
As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;1
I love you, O LORD, my strength.2
The LORD is my rock, 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;
so I shall be saved from my enemies.
4
The cords of death encompassed me;5
the cords of Sheol entangled me;
the snares of death confronted me.
6
In my distress I called upon the LORD;7
Then the earth reeled and rocked;8
Smoke went up from his nostrils,
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 upon the wings of the wind.
11
He made darkness his covering around him,
his canopy thick clouds dark with water.
12
Out of the brightness before him
there broke through his clouds
hailstones and coals of fire.
13
The LORD also thundered in the heavens,
and the Most High uttered his voice.
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 reached down from on high, he took me;17
He delivered 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 delivered me, because he delighted in me.
20
The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness;21
For I have kept the ways of the LORD,
and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22
For all his ordinances were before me,
and his statutes I did not put away from me.
23
I was blameless before him,
and I kept myself from guilt.
24
Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness,
according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
25
With the loyal you show yourself loyal;26
with the pure you show yourself pure;
and with the crooked you show yourself perverse.
27
For you deliver a humble people,
but the haughty eyes you bring down.
28
It is you who light my lamp;
the LORD, my God, lights up my darkness.
29
By you I can crush a troop,
and by my God I can leap over a wall.
30
This God — his way is perfect;
the promise of the LORD proves true;
he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.
31
For who is God except the LORD?32
the God who girded me with strength,
and made my way safe.
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 has supported me;
your help has made me great.
36
You gave me 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 until they were consumed.
38
I struck them down, so that they were not able to rise;
they fell under my feet.
39
For you girded me with strength for the battle;
you made my assailants sink under me.
40
You made my enemies turn their backs to me,
and those who hated me I destroyed.
41
They cried for help, but there was no one to save them;
they cried to the LORD, but he did not answer them.
42
I beat them fine, like dust before the wind;
I cast them out like the mire of the streets.
43
You delivered me from strife with the peoples;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 strongholds.
46
The LORD lives! Blessed be my rock,47
the God who gave me vengeance
and subdued peoples under me;
48
who delivered me from my enemies;
indeed, you exalted me above my adversaries;
you delivered me from the violent.
49
For this I will extol you, O LORD, among the nations,50
Great triumphs he gives to his king,
and shows steadfast love to his anointed,
to David and his descendants for ever.
1
The heavens are telling the glory of God;2
Day to day pours forth speech,
and night to night declares knowledge.
3
There is no speech, nor are there words;
their voice is not heard;
4
yet their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
5
which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,
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 nothing is hidden from its heat.
7
The law of the LORD is perfect,8
the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is clear,
enlightening the eyes;
9
the fear of the LORD is pure,
enduring for ever;
the ordinances 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;12
But who can detect their errors?
Clear me from hidden faults.
13
Keep back your servant also from the insolent;
do not let them 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 heart1
The LORD answer you in the day of trouble!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 favour your burnt sacrifices.
4
May he grant you your heart’s desire,5
May we shout for joy over your victory,
and in the name of our God set up our banners.
May the LORD fulfil all your petitions.
6
Now I know that the LORD will help his anointed;7
Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,
but our pride is in the name of the LORD our God.
8
They will collapse and fall,
but we shall rise and stand upright.
9
Give victory to the king, O LORD;1
In your strength the king rejoices, O LORD,2
You have given him his heart’s desire,
and have not withheld the request of his lips.
3
For you meet him with rich blessings;
you set a crown of fine gold on his head.
4
He asked you for life; you gave it to him —
length of days for ever and ever.
5
His glory is great through your help;
splendour and majesty you bestow on him.
6
You bestow on him blessings for ever;
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;9
You will make them like a fiery furnace
when you appear.
The LORD will swallow them up in his wrath,
and fire will consume them.
10
You will destroy their offspring from the earth,
and their children from among humankind.
11
If they plan evil against you,
if 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!1
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?2
O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.
3
Yet you are holy,4
In you our ancestors trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5
To you they cried, and were saved;
in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.
6
But I am a worm, and not human;7
All who see me mock at me;
they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;
8
‘Commit your cause to the LORD; let him deliver —
let him rescue the one in whom he delights!’
9
Yet it was you who took me from the womb;10
On you I was cast from my birth,
and since my mother bore me you have been my God.
11
Do not be far from me,
for trouble is near
and there is no one to help.
12
Many bulls encircle me,13
they open wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14
I am poured out like water,15
my mouth is dried up like a potsherd,
and my tongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16
For dogs are all around me;17
I can count all my bones.
They stare and gloat over me;
18
they divide my clothes among themselves,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
19
But you, O LORD, do not be far away!20
Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life from the power of the dog!
21
Save me from the mouth of the lion!
22
I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;
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;
stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24
For he did not despise or abhor
the affliction of the afflicted;
he did not hide his face from me,
but heard when I cried to him.
25
From you comes my praise in the great congregation;26
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the LORD.
May your hearts live for ever!
27
All the ends of the earth shall remember28
For dominion belongs to the LORD,
and he rules over the nations.
29
To him, indeed, shall all who sleep in the earth bow down;30
Posterity will serve him;
future generations will be told about the Lord,
31
and proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,
saying that he has done it.
1
The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.2
He makes me lie down in green pastures;
he leads me beside still waters;
3
he restores my soul.
He leads me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
4
Even though I walk through the darkest valley,5
You prepare a table before me6
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
my whole life long.
1
The earth is the LORD’s and all that is in it,2
for he has founded it on the seas,
and established it on the rivers.
3
Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD?4
Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
and do not swear deceitfully.
5
They will receive blessing from the LORD,
and vindication from the God of their salvation.
6
Such is the company of those who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
7
Lift up your heads, O gates!8
Who is the King of glory?
The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle.
9
Lift up your heads, O gates!
and be lifted 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.
1
To you, O LORD, I lift up my soul.2
O my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be put to shame;
do not let my enemies exult over me.
3
Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;
let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.
4
Make me to know your ways, O LORD;5
Lead me in your truth, and teach me,
for you are the God of my salvation;
for you I wait all day long.
6
Be mindful of your mercy, O LORD, and of your steadfast love,7
Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
according to your steadfast love remember me,
for your goodness’ sake, O LORD!
8
Good and upright is the LORD;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 decrees.
11
For your name’s sake, O LORD,12
Who are they that fear the LORD?
He will teach them the way that they should choose.
13
They will abide in prosperity,14
The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear him,
and he makes his covenant known to them.
15
My eyes are ever towards the LORD,
for he will pluck my feet out of the net.
16
Turn to me and be gracious to me,17
Relieve the troubles of my heart,
and bring me out of my distress.
18
Consider my affliction and my trouble,
and forgive all my sins.
19
Consider how many are my foes,20
O guard my life, and deliver me;
do not let me 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,1
Vindicate me, O LORD,2
Prove me, O LORD, and try me;
test my heart and mind.
3
For your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in faithfulness to you.
4
I do not sit with the worthless,5
I hate the company of evildoers,
and will not sit with the wicked.
6
I wash my hands in innocence,7
singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,
and telling all your wondrous deeds.
8
O LORD, I love the house in which you dwell,9
Do not sweep me away with sinners,
nor my life with the bloodthirsty,
10
those in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.
11
But as for me, I walk in my integrity;12
My foot stands on level ground;
in the great congregation I will bless the LORD.
1
The LORD is my light and my salvation;2
When evildoers assail me3
Though an army encamp against me,4
One thing I asked of the LORD,5
For he will hide me in his shelter6
Now my head is lifted up7
Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud,8
‘Come,’ my heart says, ‘seek his face!’
Your face, LORD, do I seek.
9
Do not hide your face from me.
10
If my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will take me up.
11
Teach me your way, O LORD,12
Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen against me,
and they are breathing out violence.
13
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the LORD14
Wait for the LORD;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the LORD!
1
To you, O LORD, I call;2
Hear the voice of my supplication,
as I cry to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
towards your most holy sanctuary.
3
Do not drag me away with the wicked,4
Repay them according to their work,
and according to the evil of their deeds;
repay 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 break them down and build them up no more.
6
Blessed be the LORD,7
The LORD is my strength and my shield;
in him my heart trusts;
so I am helped, and my heart exults,
and with my song I give thanks to him.
8
The LORD is the strength of his people;9
O save your people, and bless your heritage;
be their shepherd, and carry them for ever.
1
Ascribe to the LORD, O heavenly beings,2
Ascribe to the LORD the glory of his name;
worship the LORD in holy splendour.
3
The voice of the LORD is over the 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;6
He makes Lebanon 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 causes the oaks to whirl,10
The LORD sits enthroned over the flood;11
May the LORD give strength to his people!
May the LORD bless his people with peace!
1
I will extol you, O LORD, for you have drawn me up,2
O LORD my God, I cried to you for help,
and you have healed me.
3
O LORD, you brought up my soul from Sheol,
restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.
4
Sing praises to the LORD, O you his faithful ones,5
For his anger is but for a moment;
his favour is for a lifetime.
Weeping may linger for the night,
but joy comes with the morning.
6
As for me, I said in my prosperity,7
By your favour, O LORD,
you had established me as a strong mountain;
you hid your face;
I was dismayed.
8
To you, O LORD, I cried,9
‘What profit is there in my death,
if I go down to the Pit?
Will the dust praise you?
Will it tell of your faithfulness?
10
Hear, O LORD, and be gracious to me!
O LORD, be my helper!’
11
You have turned my mourning into dancing;12
so that my soul may praise you and not be silent.
O LORD my God, I will give thanks to you for ever.
1
In you, O LORD, I seek refuge;2
Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me.
3
You are indeed my rock and my fortress;4
take me out of the net that is 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
You hate those who pay regard to worthless idols,7
I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love,
because you have seen my affliction;
you have taken heed of my adversities,
8
and 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;10
For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my misery,
and my bones waste away.
11
I am the scorn of all my adversaries,12
I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.
13
For I hear the whispering of many —
terror all around! —
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.
14
But I trust in you, O LORD;15
My times are in your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.
16
Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your steadfast love.
17
Do not let me be put to shame, O LORD,
for I call on you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.
18
Let the lying lips be stilled
that speak insolently against the righteous
with pride and contempt.
19
O how abundant is your goodness20
In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from human plots;
you hold them safe under your shelter
from contentious tongues.
21
Blessed be the LORD,22
I had said in my alarm,
‘I am driven far from your sight.’
But you heard my supplications
when I cried out to you for help.
23
Love the LORD, all you his saints.24
Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
all you who wait for the LORD.
1
Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,2
Happy are those to whom the LORD imputes no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3
While I kept silence, my body wasted away4
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
5
Then I acknowledged my sin to you,6
Therefore let all who are faithful7
You are a hiding-place for me;
you preserve me from trouble;
you surround me with glad cries of deliverance.
8
I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;9
Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,
else it will not stay near you.
10
Many are the torments of the wicked,11
Be glad in the LORD and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.
1
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous.2
Praise the LORD with the lyre;
make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.
3
Sing to him a new song;
play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
4
For the word of the LORD is upright,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,7
He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
he put the deeps in storehouses.
8
Let all the earth fear the LORD;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;11
The counsel of the LORD stands for ever,
the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
12
Happy is the nation whose God is the LORD,
the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.
13
The LORD looks down from heaven;14
From where he sits enthroned he watches
all the inhabitants of the earth —
15
he who fashions the hearts of them all,
and observes all their deeds.
16
A king is not saved by his great army;
a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
17
The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
and by its great might it cannot save.
18
Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him,19
to deliver their soul from death,
and to keep them alive in famine.
20
Our soul waits for the LORD;21
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.
1
I will bless the LORD at all times;2
My soul makes its boast in the LORD;
let the humble hear and be glad.
3
O magnify the LORD with me,
and let us exalt his name together.
4
I sought the LORD, and he answered me,5
Look to him, and be radiant;
so your faces shall never be ashamed.
6
This poor soul cried, and was heard by the LORD,
and was saved from every trouble.
7
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him, and delivers them.
8
O taste and see that the LORD is good;
happy are those who take refuge in him.
9
O fear the LORD, you his holy ones,
for those who fear him have no want.
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;12
Which of you desires life,
and covets many days to enjoy good?
13
Keep your tongue from evil,
and your lips from speaking deceit.
14
Depart from evil, and do good;
seek peace, and pursue it.
15
The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous,16
The face of the LORD is against evildoers,
to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.
17
When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears,
and rescues them from all their troubles.
18
The LORD is near to the broken-hearted,
and saves the crushed in spirit.
19
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,20
He keeps all their bones;
not one of them will be broken.
21
Evil brings death to 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.
1
Contend, O LORD, with those who contend with me;2
Take hold of shield and buckler,
and rise up to help me!
3
Draw the spear and javelin
against my pursuers;
say to my soul,
‘I am your salvation.’
4
Let them be put to shame and dishonour5
Let them be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the LORD driving them on.
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;8
Let ruin come on them unawares.
And let the net that they hid ensnare them;
let them fall in it — to their ruin.
9
Then my soul shall rejoice in the LORD,10
All my bones shall say,
‘O LORD, who is like you?
You deliver the weak
from those too strong for them,
the weak and needy from those who despoil them.’
11
Malicious witnesses rise up;12
They repay me evil for good;
my soul is forlorn.
13
But as for me, when they were sick,
I wore sackcloth;
I afflicted myself with fasting.
I prayed with head bowed on my bosom,
14
as though I grieved for a friend or a brother;
I went about as one who laments for a mother,
bowed down and in mourning.
15
But at my stumbling they gathered in glee,16
they impiously mocked more and more,
gnashing at me with their teeth.
17
How long, O LORD, will you look on?18
Then I will thank you in the great congregation;
in the mighty throng I will praise you.
19
Do not let my treacherous enemies rejoice over me,20
For they do not speak peace,
but they conceive deceitful words
against those who are quiet in the land.
21
They open wide their mouths against me;
they say, ‘Aha, Aha,
our eyes have seen it.’
22
You have seen, O LORD; do not be silent!23
Wake up! Bestir yourself for my defence,
for my cause, my God and my Lord!
24
Vindicate me, O LORD, my God,
according to your righteousness,
and do not let them rejoice over me.
25
Do not let them say to themselves,
‘Aha, we have our heart’s desire.’
Do not let them say, ‘We have swallowed you up.’
26
Let all those who rejoice at my calamity27
Let those who desire my vindication28
Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness
and of your praise all day long.
1
Transgression speaks to the wicked2
For they flatter themselves in their own eyes
that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
3
The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;
they have ceased to act wisely and do good.
4
They plot mischief while on their beds;
they are set on a way that is not good;
they do not reject evil.
5
Your steadfast love, O LORD, extends to the heavens,6
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
your judgements are like the great deep;
you save humans and animals alike, O LORD.
7
How precious is your steadfast love, O God!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 we see light.
10
O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,11
Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me,
or the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12
There the evildoers lie prostrate;
they are thrust down, unable to rise.
1
Do not fret because of the wicked;2
for they will soon fade like the grass,
and wither like the green herb.
3
Trust in the LORD, and do good;4
Take delight in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5
Commit your way to the LORD;6
He will make your vindication shine like the light,
and the justice of your cause like the noonday.
7
Be still before the LORD, and wait patiently for him;8
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.9
For the wicked shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
10
Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;11
But the meek shall inherit the land,
and delight in abundant prosperity.
12
The wicked plot against the righteous,13
but the LORD laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that their day is coming.
14
The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows15
their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their bows shall be broken.
16
Better is a little that the righteous person has17
For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the LORD upholds the righteous.
18
The LORD knows the days of the blameless,19
they are not put to shame in evil times,
in the days of famine they have abundance.
20
But the wicked perish,21
The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,22
for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land,
but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
23
Our steps are made firm by the LORD,24
though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,
for the LORD holds us by the hand.
25
I have been young, and now am old,26
They are ever giving liberally and lending,
and their children become a blessing.
27
Depart from evil, and do good;28
For the LORD loves justice;
he will not forsake his faithful ones.
29
The righteous shall inherit the land,
and live in it for ever.
30
The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,31
The law of their God is in their hearts;
their steps do not slip.
32
The wicked watch for the righteous,33
The LORD will not abandon them to their power,
or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.
34
Wait for the LORD, and keep to his way,35
I have seen the wicked oppressing,36
Again I passed by, and they were no more;
though I sought them, they could not be found.
37
Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,38
But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.
39
The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD;40
The LORD helps them and rescues them;
he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
because they take refuge in him.
1
O LORD, do not rebuke me in your anger,2
For your arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand has come down on me.
3
There is no soundness in my flesh4
For my iniquities have gone over my head;
they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.
5
My wounds grow foul and fester6
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
all day long I go around mourning.
7
For my loins are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
8
I am utterly spent and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult of my heart.
9
O Lord, all my longing is known to you;10
My heart throbs, my strength fails me;
as for the light of my eyes — it also has gone from me.
11
My friends and companions stand aloof from my affliction,
and my neighbours stand far off.
12
Those who seek my life lay their snares;13
But I am like the deaf, I do not hear;14
Truly, I am like one who does not hear,
and in whose mouth is no retort.
15
But it is for you, O LORD, that I wait;16
For I pray, ‘Only do not let them rejoice over me,
those who boast against me when my foot slips.’
17
For I am ready to fall,18
I confess my iniquity;
I am sorry for my sin.
19
Those who are my foes without cause are mighty,
and many are those who hate me wrongfully.
20
Those who render me evil for good
are my adversaries because I follow after good.
21
Do not forsake me, O LORD;22
make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation.
1
I said, ‘I will guard my ways2
I was silent and still;
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse,
3
my heart became hot within me.
While I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
4
‘LORD, let me know my end,5
You have made my days a few handbreadths,
and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.
Surely everyone stands as a mere breath.
6
Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.
Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;
they heap up, and do not know who will gather.
7
‘And now, O Lord, what do I wait for?8
Deliver me from all my transgressions.
Do not make me the scorn of the fool.
9
I am silent; I do not open my mouth,
for it is you who have done it.
10
Remove your stroke from me;
I am worn down by the blows of your hand.
11
‘You chastise mortals12
‘Hear my prayer, O LORD,13
Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,
before I depart and am no more.’
1
I waited patiently for the LORD;2
He drew me up from the desolate pit,
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
Happy are those who make5
You have multiplied, O LORD my God,
your wondrous deeds and your thoughts towards us;
none can compare with you.
Were I to proclaim and tell of them,
they would be more than can be counted.
6
Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,7
Then I said, ‘Here I am;
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 deliverance10
I have not hidden your saving help 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
Do not, O LORD, withhold12
For evils have encompassed me
without number;
my iniquities have overtaken me,
until I cannot see;
they are more than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.
13
Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me;14
Let all those be put to shame and confusion
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be turned back and brought to dishonour
who desire my hurt.
15
Let those be appalled because of their shame
who say to me, ‘Aha, Aha!’
16
But may all who seek you17
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.
1
Happy are those who consider the poor;2
The LORD protects them and keeps them alive;
they are called happy in the land.
You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.
3
The LORD sustains them on their sickbed;
in their illness you heal all their infirmities.
4
As for me, I said, ‘O LORD, be gracious to me;5
My enemies wonder in malice
when I will die, and my name perish.
6
And when they come to see me, they utter empty words,
while their hearts gather mischief;
when they go out, they tell it abroad.
7
All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.
8
They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,9
Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,
who ate of my bread, has lifted the 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 are pleased with me;12
But you have upheld me because of my integrity,
and set me in your presence for ever.
13
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,1
As a deer longs for flowing streams,2
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
3
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while people say to me continually,
‘Where is your God?’
4
These things I remember,5
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my help
6
and my God.
7
Deep calls to deep
at the thunder of your cataracts;
all your waves and your billows
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,10
As with a deadly wound in my body,
my adversaries taunt me,
while they say to me continually,
‘Where is your God?’
11
Why are you cast down, O my soul,1
Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause2
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you cast me off?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because of the oppression of the enemy?
3
O send out your light and your truth;4
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy;
and I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God.
5
Why are you cast down, O my soul,1
We have heard with our ears, O God,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 give them victory;
but your right hand, and your arm,
and the light of your countenance,
for you delighted in them.
4
You are my King and my God;5
Through you we push down our foes;
through your name we tread down our assailants.
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 confusion those who hate us.
8
In God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name for ever.
9
Yet you have rejected us and abased us,10
You made us turn back from the foe,
and our enemies have taken spoil for themselves.
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 neighbours,14
You have made us a byword among the nations,
a laughing-stock among the peoples.
15
All day long my disgrace is before me,
and shame has covered my face
16
at the words of the taunters and revilers,
at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.
17
All this has come upon us,18
Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our steps departed from your way,
19
yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals,
and covered us with deep darkness.
20
If we had forgotten the name of our God,21
would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22
Because of you we are being killed all day long,
and accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
23
Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?24
Why do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25
For we sink down to the dust;
our bodies cling to the ground.
26
Rise up, come to our help.
Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.
1
My heart overflows with a goodly theme;2
You are the most handsome of men;3
Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,
in your glory and majesty.
4
In your majesty ride on victoriously5
Your arrows are sharp
in the heart of the king’s enemies;
the peoples fall under you.
6
Your throne, O God, endures for ever and ever.7
you love righteousness and hate 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 honour;
at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.
10
Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;11
and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your lord, bow to him;
12
the people of Tyre will seek your favour with gifts,
the richest of the people
13
with all kinds of wealth.
14
in many-coloured robes she is led to the king;
behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.
15
With joy and gladness they are led along
as they enter the palace of the king.
16
In the place of ancestors you, O king, shall have sons;17
I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations;
therefore the peoples will praise you for ever and ever.
1
God is our refuge and strength,2
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,
though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;
3
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble with its tumult.
4
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,5
God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved;
God will help it when the morning dawns.
6
The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
8
Come, behold the works of the LORD;9
He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;
he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;
he burns the shields with fire.
10
‘Be still, and know that I am God!
I am exalted among the nations,
I am exalted in the earth.’
11
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our refuge.
1
Clap your hands, all you peoples;2
For the LORD, the Most High, is awesome,
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.
5
God has gone up with a shout,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.
8
God is king over the nations;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.
1
Great is the LORD and greatly to be praised2
beautiful in elevation,
is the joy of all the earth,
Mount Zion, in the far north,
the city of the great King.
3
Within its citadels God
has shown himself a sure defence.
4
Then the kings assembled,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,
pains as of a woman in labour,
7
as when an east wind shatters
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 establishes for ever.
9
We ponder your steadfast love, O God,10
Your name, O God, like your praise,
reaches to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with victory.
11
Let Mount Zion be glad,
let the towns of Judah rejoice
because of your judgements.
12
Walk about Zion, go all around it,13
consider well its ramparts;
go through its citadels,
that you may tell the next generation
14
that this is God,
our God for ever and ever.
He will be our guide for ever.
1
Hear this, all you peoples;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 harp.
5
Why should I fear in times of trouble,6
those who trust in their wealth
and boast of the abundance of their riches?
7
Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life,
there is no price one can give to God for it.
8
For the ransom of life is costly,
and can never suffice,
9
that one should live on for ever
and never see the grave.
10
When we look at the wise, they die;11
Their graves are their homes for ever,
their dwelling-places to all generations,
though they named lands their own.
12
Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
they are like the animals that perish.
13
Such is the fate of the foolhardy,14
Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
straight to the grave they descend,
and their form shall waste away;
Sheol shall be their home.
15
But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
for he will receive me.
16
Do not be afraid when some become rich,17
For when they die they will carry nothing away;
their wealth will not go down after them.
18
Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy
— for you are praised when you do well for yourself —
19
they will go to the company of their ancestors,
who will never again see the light.
20
Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;
they are like the animals that perish.
1
The mighty one, God the LORD,2
Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
God shines forth.
3
Our God comes and does not keep silence,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.
7
‘Hear, O my people, and I will speak,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 wild animal of the forest is mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
11
I know all the birds of the air,
and all that moves in the field is mine.
12
‘If I were hungry, I would not tell you,13
Do I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
14
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and pay your vows to the Most High.
15
Call on me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.’
16
But to the wicked God says:17
For you hate discipline,
and you cast my words behind you.
18
You make friends with a thief when you see one,
and you keep company with adulterers.
19
‘You give your mouth free rein for evil,20
You sit and speak against your kin;
you slander your own mother’s child.
21
These things you have done and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one just like yourself.
But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.
22
‘Mark this, then, you who forget God,23
Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honour me;
to those who go the right way
I will show the salvation of God.’
1
Have mercy on me, O God,2
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.
3
For I know my transgressions,4
Against you, you alone, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgement.
5
Indeed, I was born guilty,
a sinner when my mother conceived me.
6
You desire truth in the inward being;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 crushed rejoice.
9
Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.
10
Create in me a clean heart, O God,11
Do not cast me away from your presence,
and do not take your holy spirit from me.
12
Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and sustain in me a willing spirit.
13
Then I will teach transgressors your ways,14
Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.
15
O Lord, open my lips,16
For you have no delight in sacrifice;
if I were to give a burnt-offering, you would not be pleased.
17
The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18
Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;19
then you will delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt-offerings and whole burnt-offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
1
Why do you boast, O mighty one,2
you are plotting destruction.
Your tongue is like a sharp razor,
you worker of treachery.
3
You love evil more than good,
and lying more than speaking the truth.
4
You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.
5
But God will break you down for ever;6
The righteous will see, and fear,
and will laugh at the evildoer, saying,
7
‘See the one who would not take
refuge in God,
but trusted in abundant riches,
and sought refuge in wealth!’
8
But I am like a green olive tree9
I will thank you for ever,
because of what you have done.
In the presence of the faithful
I will proclaim your name, for it is good.
1
Fools say in their hearts, ‘There is no God.’2
God looks down from heaven on humankind3
They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse;4
Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,5
There they shall be in great terror,6
O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!1
Save me, O God, by your name,2
Hear my prayer, O God;
give ear to the words of my mouth.
3
For the insolent have risen against me,4
But surely, God is my helper;5
He will repay my enemies for their evil.
In your faithfulness, put an end to them.
6
With a freewill-offering I will sacrifice to you;7
For he has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.
1
Give ear to my prayer, O God;2
Attend to me, and answer me;
I am troubled in my complaint.
I am distraught
3
by the noise of the enemy,
because of the clamour of the wicked.
For they bring trouble upon me,
and in anger they cherish enmity against me.
4
My heart is in anguish within me,5
Fear and trembling come upon me,
and horror overwhelms me.
6
And I say, ‘O that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest;
7
truly, I would flee far away;
I would lodge in the wilderness;
8
I would hurry to find a shelter for myself
from the raging wind and tempest.’
9
Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech;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 market-place.
12
It is not enemies who taunt me —13
But it is you, my equal,
my companion, my familiar friend,
14
with whom I kept pleasant company;
we walked in the house of God with the throng.
15
Let death come upon them;
let them go down alive to Sheol;
for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.
16
But I call upon God,17
Evening and morning and at noon
I utter my complaint and moan,
and he will hear my voice.
18
He will redeem me unharmed
from the battle that I wage,
for many are arrayed against me.
19
God, who is enthroned from of old,
20
My companion laid hands on a friend21
with speech smoother than butter,
but with a heart set on war;
with words that were softer than oil,
but in fact were drawn swords.
22
Cast your burden on the LORD,23
But you, O God, will cast them down1
Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;2
my enemies trample on me all day long,
for many fight against me.
O Most High,
3
when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
4
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I am not afraid;
what can flesh do to me?
5
All day long they seek to injure my cause;6
They stir up strife, they lurk,
they watch my steps.
As they hoped to have my life,
7
so repay them for their crime;
in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!
8
You have kept count of my tossings;9
Then my enemies will retreat
on the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me.
10
In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
11
in God I trust; I am not afraid.
What can a mere mortal do to me?
12
My vows to you I must perform, O God;13
For you have delivered my soul from death,
and my feet from falling,
so that I may walk before God
in the light of life.
1
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,2
I cry to God Most High,
to God who fulfils his purpose for me.
3
He will send from heaven and save me,
he will put to shame those who trample on me.
4
I lie down among lions5
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.6
They set a net for my steps;7
My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast.
I will sing and make melody.
8
Awake, my soul!
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 as high as the heavens;
your faithfulness extends to the clouds.
11
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.1
Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?2
No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;
your hands deal out violence on earth.
3
The wicked go astray from the womb;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;7
Let them vanish like water that runs away;
like grass let them be trodden down and wither.
8
Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime;
like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.
9
Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,
whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
10
The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done;11
People will say, ‘Surely there is a reward for the righteous;
surely there is a God who judges on earth.’
1
Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;2
Deliver me from those who work evil;
from the bloodthirsty save me.
3
Even now they lie in wait for my life;4
for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
5
You, LORD God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Awake to punish all the nations;
spare none of those who treacherously plot evil.
6
Each evening they come back,7
There they are, bellowing with their mouths,
with sharp words on their lips —
for ‘Who’, they think, ‘will hear us?’
8
But you laugh at them, O LORD;9
O my strength, I will watch for you;
for you, O God, are my fortress.
10
My God in his steadfast love will meet me;
my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
11
Do not kill them, or my people may forget;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 until they are no more.
Then it will be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob.
14
Each evening they come back,15
They roam about for food,
and growl if they do not get their fill.
16
But I will sing of your might;17
O my strength, I will sing praises to you,
for you, O God, are my fortress,
the God who shows me steadfast love.
1
O God, you have rejected us, broken our defences;2
You have caused the land to quake; you have torn it open;
repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.
3
You have made your people suffer hard things;
you have given us wine to drink that made us reel.
4
You have set up a banner for those who fear you,5
Give victory with your right hand, and answer us,
so that those whom you love may be rescued.
6
God has promised in his sanctuary:7
Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my sceptre.
8
Moab is my wash-basin;
on Edom I hurl my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.’
9
Who will bring me to the fortified city?10
Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
11
O grant us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
12
With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
1
Hear my cry, O God;2
From the end of the earth I call to you,
when my heart is faint.
3
for you are my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.
4
Let me abide in your tent for ever,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;7
May he be enthroned for ever before God;
appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!
8
So I will always sing praises to your name,1
For God alone my soul waits in silence;2
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall never be shaken.
3
How long will you assail a person,4
Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.
They take pleasure in falsehood;
they bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse.
5
For God alone my soul waits in silence,6
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7
On God rests my deliverance and my honour;
my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.
8
Trust in him at all times, O people;9
Those of low estate are but a breath,10
Put no confidence in extortion,
and set no vain hopes on robbery;
if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.
11
Once God has spoken;12
and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.
For you repay to all
according to their work.
1
O God, you are my God, I seek you,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;
I will lift up my hands and call on your name.
5
My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,6
when I think of you on 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 sing for joy.
8
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9
But those who seek to destroy my life10
they shall be given over to the power of the sword,
they shall be prey 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.
1
Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;2
Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,
from the scheming of evildoers,
3
who whet their tongues like swords,
who aim bitter words like arrows,
4
shooting from ambush at the blameless;
they shoot suddenly and without fear.
5
They hold fast to their evil purpose;
they talk of laying snares secretly,
thinking, ‘Who can see us?
6
Who can search out our crimes?
We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.’
For the human heart and mind are deep.
7
But God will shoot his arrow at them;8
Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin;
all who see them will shake with horror.
9
Then everyone will fear;
they will tell what God has brought about,
and ponder what he has done.
10
Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD1
Praise is due to you,2
O you who answer prayer!
To you all flesh shall come.
3
When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,
you forgive our transgressions.
4
Happy are those whom you choose and bring near
to live in your courts.
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
your holy temple.
5
By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,6
By your strength you established the mountains;
you are girded with might.
7
You silence the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples.
8
Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;
you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.
9
You visit the earth and water 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 richness.
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.
1
Make a joyful noise 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!
Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
4
All the earth worships you;
they sing praises to you,
sing praises to your name.’
5
Come and see what God has done:6
He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we rejoiced in him,
7
who rules by his might for ever,
whose eyes keep watch on the nations —
let the rebellious not exalt themselves.
8
Bless our God, O peoples,9
who has kept us 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 burdens on our backs;
12
you let people ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.
13
I will come into your house with burnt-offerings;14
those that my lips uttered
and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
15
I will offer to you burnt-offerings of fatlings,
with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats.
16
Come and hear, all you who fear God,17
I cried aloud to him,
and he was extolled with my tongue.
18
If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,
the Lord would not have listened.
19
But truly God has listened;
he has given heed to the words of my prayer.
20
Blessed be God,1
May God be gracious to us and bless us2
that your way may be known upon 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,5
Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.
6
The earth has yielded its increase;7
May God continue to bless us;
let all the ends of the earth revere him.
1
Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;2
As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
let the wicked perish before God.
3
But let the righteous be joyful;
let them exult before God;
let them be jubilant with joy.
4
Sing to God, sing praises to his name;5
Father of orphans and protector of widows6
God gives the desolate a home to live in;
he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious live in a parched land.
7
O God, when you went out before your people,8
the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain
at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
9
Rain in abundance, O God, you showered abroad;
you restored your heritage when it languished;
10
your flock found a dwelling in it;
in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.
11
The Lord gives the command;12
‘The kings of the armies, they flee, they flee!’
The women at home divide the spoil,
13
though they stay among the sheepfolds —
the wings of a dove covered with silver,
its pinions with green gold.
14
When the Almighty scattered kings there,
snow fell on Zalmon.
15
O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;16
Why do you look with envy, O many-peaked mountain,
at the mount that God desired for his abode,
where the LORD will reside for ever?
17
With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,18
You ascended the high mount,
leading captives in your train
and receiving gifts from people,
even from those who rebel against the LORD God’s abiding there.
19
Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears us up;
God is our salvation.
20
Our God is a God of salvation,
and to GOD, the Lord, belongs escape from death.
21
But God will shatter the heads of his enemies,22
The Lord said,
‘I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
23
so that you may bathe your feet in blood,
so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe.’
24
Your solemn processions are seen, O God,25
the singers in front, the musicians last,
between them girls playing tambourines:
26
‘Bless God in the great congregation,
the LORD, O you who are of Israel’s fountain!’
27
There is Benjamin, the least of them, in the lead,
the princes of Judah in a body,
the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.
28
Summon your might, O God;29
Because of your temple at Jerusalem
kings bear gifts to you.
30
Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.
Trample under foot those who lust after tribute;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
31
Let bronze be brought from Egypt;
let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out its hands to God.
32
Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;33
O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;
listen, 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 in his sanctuary,
the God of Israel;
he gives power and strength to his people.
1
Save me, O God,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;
my throat is parched.
My eyes grow dim
with waiting for my God.
4
More in number than the hairs of my head5
O God, you know my folly;
the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
6
Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me,7
It is for your sake that I have borne reproach,
that shame has covered my face.
8
I have become a stranger to my kindred,
an alien to my mother’s children.
9
It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;10
When I humbled my soul with fasting,
they insulted me for doing so.
11
When I made sackcloth my clothing,
I became a byword to them.
12
I am the subject of gossip for 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.14
rescue me
from sinking in the mire;
let me be delivered from my enemies
and from the deep waters.
15
Do not let 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;17
Do not hide your face from your servant,
for I am in distress — make haste to answer me.
18
Draw near to me, redeem me,
set me free because of my enemies.
19
You know the insults I receive,20
Insults 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 vinegar to drink.
22
Let their table be a trap for them,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 live in their tents.
26
For they persecute those whom you have struck down,
and those whom you have wounded, they attack still more.
27
Add guilt to their guilt;
may they have no acquittal from you.
28
Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;
let them not be enrolled among the righteous.
29
But I am lowly and in pain;
let your salvation, O God, protect me.
30
I will praise the name of God with a song;31
This will please the LORD more than an ox
or a bull with horns and hoofs.
32
Let the oppressed see it and be glad;
you who seek God, let your hearts revive.
33
For the LORD hears the needy,
and does not despise his own that are in bonds.
34
Let heaven and earth praise him,35
For God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah;
and his servants shall live there and possess it;
36
the children of his servants shall inherit it,
and those who love his name shall live in it.
1
Be pleased, O God, to deliver me.2
Let those be put to shame and confusion
who seek my life.
Let those be turned back and brought to dishonour
who desire to hurt me.
3
Let those who say, ‘Aha, Aha!’
turn back because of their shame.
4
Let all who seek you5
But I am poor and needy;
hasten to me, O God!
You are my help and my deliverer;
O LORD, do not delay!
1
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;2
In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;
incline your ear to me and save me.
3
Be to me a rock of refuge,
a strong fortress, to save me,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
4
Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,5
For you, O Lord, are my hope,
my trust, O LORD, from my youth.
6
Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you.
7
I have been like a portent to many,8
My mouth is filled with your praise,
and with your glory all day long.
9
Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
10
For my enemies speak concerning me,
and those who watch for my life consult together.
11
They say, ‘Pursue and seize that person
whom God has forsaken,
for there is no one to deliver.’
12
O God, do not be far from me;13
Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
let those who seek to hurt me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.
14
But I will hope continually,
and will praise you yet more and more.
15
My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all day long,
though their number is past my knowledge.
16
I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord GOD,
I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.
17
O God, from my youth you have taught me,18
So even to old age and grey hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might
to all the generations to come.
Your power
19
and your righteousness, O God,
reach the high heavens.
20
You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
21
You will increase my honour,
and comfort me once again.
22
I will also praise you with the harp23
My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have rescued.
24
All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help,
for those who tried to do me harm
have been put to shame, and disgraced.
1
Give the king your justice, O God,2
May he judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice.
3
May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness.
4
May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the needy,
and crush the oppressor.
5
May he live while the sun endures,6
May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,
like showers that water the earth.
7
In his days may righteousness flourish
and peace abound, until the moon is no more.
8
May he have dominion from sea to sea,9
May his foes bow down before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.
10
May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles
render him tribute,
may the kings of Sheba and Seba
bring gifts.
11
May all kings fall down before him,
all nations give him service.
12
For he delivers the needy when they call,13
He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
14
From oppression and violence he redeems their life;
and precious is their blood in his sight.
15
Long may he live!16
May there be abundance of grain in the land;
may it wave on the tops of the mountains;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people blossom in the cities
like the grass of the field.
17
May his name endure for ever,
his fame continue as long as the sun.
May all nations be blessed in him;
may they pronounce him happy.
18
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,19
Blessed be his glorious name for ever;
may his glory fill the whole earth.
20
The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.1
Truly God is good to the upright,2
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had nearly slipped.
3
For I was envious of the arrogant;
I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4
For they have no pain;5
They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not plagued like other people.
6
Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.
7
Their eyes swell out with fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8
They scoff and speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9
They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues range over the earth.
10
Therefore the people turn and praise them,11
And they say, ‘How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?’
12
Such are the wicked;
always at ease, they increase in riches.
13
All in vain I have kept my heart clean
and washed my hands in innocence.
14
For all day long I have been plagued,
and am punished every morning.
15
If I had said, ‘I will talk on in this way’,16
But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I perceived their end.
18
Truly you set them in slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19
How they are destroyed in a moment,
swept away utterly by terrors!
20
They are like a dream when one awakes;
on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21
When my soul was embittered,22
I was stupid and ignorant;
I was like a brute beast towards you.
23
Nevertheless I am continually with you;
you hold my right hand.
24
You guide me with your counsel,
and afterwards you will receive me with honour.
25
Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26
My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.
27
Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;28
But for me it is good to be near God;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
to tell of all your works.
1
O God, why do you cast us off for ever?2
Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago,
which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage.
Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.
3
Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.
4
Your foes have roared within your holy place;5
At the upper entrance they hacked
the wooden trellis with axes.
6
And then, with hatchets and hammers,
they smashed all its carved work.
7
They set your sanctuary on fire;
they desecrated the dwelling-place of your name,
bringing it to the ground.
8
They said to themselves, ‘We will utterly subdue them’;
they burned all the meeting-places of God in the land.
9
We do not see our emblems;10
How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name for ever?
11
Why do you hold back your hand;
why do you keep your hand in your bosom?
12
Yet God my King is from of old,13
You divided the sea by your might;
you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.
14
You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15
You cut openings for springs and torrents;
you dried up ever-flowing streams.
16
Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you established the luminaries and the sun.
17
You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;
you made summer and winter.
18
Remember this, O LORD, how the enemy scoffs,19
Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals;
do not forget the life of your poor for ever.
20
Have regard for your covenant,21
Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame;
let the poor and needy praise your name.
22
Rise up, O God, plead your cause;
remember how the impious scoff at you all day long.
23
Do not forget the clamour of your foes,
the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.
1
We give thanks to you, O God;2
At the set time that I appoint3
When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep its pillars steady.
4
I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast’,
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;
5
do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with insolent neck.’
6
For not from the east or from the west7
but it is God who executes judgement,
putting down one and lifting up another.
8
For in the hand of the LORD there is a cup
with foaming wine, well mixed;
he will pour a draught from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall drain it down to the dregs.
9
But I will rejoice for ever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10
All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,1
In Judah God is known,2
His abode has been established in Salem,
his dwelling-place in Zion.
3
There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.
4
Glorious are you, more majestic5
The stout-hearted were stripped of their spoil;
they sank into sleep;
none of the troops
was able to lift a hand.
6
At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both rider and horse lay stunned.
7
But you indeed are awesome!8
From the heavens you uttered judgement;
the earth feared and was still
9
when God rose up to establish judgement,
to save all the oppressed of the earth.
10
Human wrath serves only to praise you,11
Make vows to the LORD your God, and perform them;
let all who are around him bring gifts
to the one who is awesome,
12
who cuts off the spirit of princes,
who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.
1
I cry aloud to God,2
In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul refuses to be comforted.
3
I think of God, and I moan;
I meditate, and my spirit faints.
4
You keep my eyelids from closing;5
I consider the days of old,
and remember the years of long ago.
6
I commune with my heart in the night;
I meditate and search my spirit:
7
‘Will the Lord spurn for ever,
and never again be favourable?
8
Has his steadfast love ceased for ever?
Are his promises at an end for all time?
9
Has God forgotten to be gracious?
Has he in anger shut up his compassion?’
10
And I say, ‘It is my grief
that the right hand of the Most High has changed.’
11
I will call to mind the deeds of the LORD;12
I will meditate on all your work,
and muse on your mighty deeds.
13
Your way, O God, is holy.
What god is so great as our God?
14
You are the God who works wonders;
you have displayed your might among the peoples.
15
With your strong arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
16
When the waters saw you, O God,17
The clouds poured out water;
the skies thundered;
your arrows flashed on every side.
18
The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
your lightnings lit up the world;
the earth trembled and shook.
19
Your way was through the sea,
your path, through the mighty waters;
yet your footprints were unseen.
20
You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
1
Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;2
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3
things that we have heard and known,
that our ancestors have told us.
4
We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might,
and the wonders that he has done.
5
He established a decree in Jacob,6
that the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and rise up and tell them to their children,
7
so that they should set their hope in God,
and not forget the works of God,
but keep his commandments;
8
and that they should not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9
The Ephraimites, armed with the bow,10
They did not keep God’s covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11
They forgot what he had done,
and the miracles that he had shown them.
12
In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels
in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.
13
He divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters stand like a heap.
14
In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all night long with a fiery light.
15
He split rocks open in the wilderness,
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16
He made streams come out of the rock,
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17
Yet they sinned still more against him,18
They tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19
They spoke against God, saying,
‘Can God spread a table in the wilderness?
20
Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed out
and torrents overflowed,
can he also give bread,
or provide meat for his people?’
21
Therefore, when the LORD heard, he was full of rage;22
because they had no faith in God,
and did not trust his saving power.
23
Yet he commanded the skies above,
and opened the doors of heaven;
24
he rained down on them manna to eat,
and gave them the grain of heaven.
25
Mortals ate of the bread of angels;
he sent them food in abundance.
26
He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27
he rained flesh upon them like dust,
winged birds like the sand of the seas;
28
he let them fall within their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29
And they ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they craved.
30
But before they had satisfied their craving,
while the food was still in their mouths,
31
the anger of God rose against them
and he killed the strongest of them,
and laid low the flower of Israel.
32
In spite of all this they still sinned;33
So he made their days vanish like a breath,
and their years in terror.
34
When he killed them, they sought for him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35
They remembered that God was their rock,
the Most High God their redeemer.
36
But they flattered him with their mouths;
they lied to him with their tongues.
37
Their heart was not steadfast towards him;
they were not true to his covenant.
38
Yet he, being compassionate,
forgave their iniquity,
and did not destroy them;
often he restrained his anger,
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39
He remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that passes and does not come again.
40
How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the desert!
41
They tested God again and again,
and provoked the Holy One of Israel.
42
They did not keep in mind his power,
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe;
43
when he displayed his signs in Egypt,
and his miracles in the fields of Zoan.
44
He turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45
He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
46
He gave their crops to the caterpillar,
and the fruit of their labour to the locust.
47
He destroyed their vines with hail,
and their sycomores with frost.
48
He gave over their cattle to the hail,
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49
He let loose on them his fierce anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of destroying angels.
50
He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
51
He struck all the firstborn in Egypt,
the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham.
52
Then he led out his people like sheep,
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53
He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid;
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54
And he brought them to his holy hill,
to the mountain that his right hand had won.
55
He drove out nations before them;
he apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
56
Yet they tested the Most High God,57
but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors;
they twisted like a treacherous bow.
58
For they provoked him to anger with their high places;
they moved him to jealousy with their idols.
59
When God heard, he was full of wrath,
and he utterly rejected Israel.
60
He abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh,
the tent where he dwelt among mortals,
61
and delivered his power to captivity,
his glory to the hand of the foe.
62
He gave his people to the sword,
and vented his wrath on his heritage.
63
Fire devoured their young men,
and their girls had no marriage song.
64
Their priests fell by the sword,
and their widows made no lamentation.
65
Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
like a warrior shouting because of wine.
66
He put his adversaries to rout;
he put them to everlasting disgrace.
67
He rejected the tent of Joseph,68
but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loves.
69
He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,
like the earth, which he has founded for ever.
70
He chose his servant David,
and took him from the sheepfolds;
71
from tending the nursing ewes he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel, his inheritance.
72
With upright heart he tended them,
and guided them with skilful hand.
1
O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;2
They have given the bodies of your servants
to the birds of the air for food,
the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth.
3
They have poured out their blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there was no one to bury them.
4
We have become a taunt to our neighbours,
mocked and derided by those around us.
5
How long, O LORD? Will you be angry for ever?6
Pour out your anger on the nations
that do not know you,
and on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name.
7
For they have devoured Jacob
and laid waste his habitation.
8
Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors;9
Help us, O God of our salvation,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us, and forgive our sins,
for your name’s sake.
10
Why should the nations say,
‘Where is their God?’
Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants
be known among the nations before our eyes.
11
Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;12
Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbours
the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord!
13
Then we your people, the flock of your pasture,
will give thanks to you for ever;
from generation to generation we will recount your praise.
1
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,2
before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.
Stir up your might,
and come to save us!
3
Restore us, O God;4
O LORD God of hosts,5
You have fed them with the bread of tears,
and given them tears to drink in full measure.
6
You make us the scorn of our neighbours;
our enemies laugh among themselves.
7
Restore us, O God of hosts;8
You brought a vine out of Egypt;9
You cleared the ground for it;
it took deep root and filled the land.
10
The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
11
it sent out its branches to the sea,
and its shoots to the River.
12
Why then have you broken down its walls,
so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?
13
The boar from the forest ravages it,
and all that move in the field feed on it.
14
Turn again, O God of hosts;15
the stock that your right hand planted.
16
They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down;
may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.
17
But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,
the one whom you made strong for yourself.
18
Then we will never turn back from you;
give us life, and we will call on your name.
19
Restore us, O LORD God of hosts;1
Sing aloud to God our strength;2
Raise a song, sound the tambourine,
the sweet lyre with the harp.
3
Blow the trumpet at the new moon,
at the full moon, on our festal day.
4
For it is a statute for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5
He made it a decree in Joseph,
when he went out over the land of Egypt.
6
‘I relieved your shoulder of the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
7
In distress you called, and I rescued you;
I answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.
8
Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9
There shall be no strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a foreign god.
10
I am the LORD your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.
11
‘But my people did not listen to my voice;12
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to follow their own counsels.
13
O that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
14
Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,
and turn my hand against their foes.
15
Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him,
and their doom would last for ever.
16
I would feed you with the finest of the wheat,
and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.’
1
God has taken his place in the divine council;2
‘How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked?
3
Give justice to the weak and the orphan;
maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.
4
Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.’
5
They have neither knowledge nor understanding,6
I say, ‘You are gods,7
nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,
and fall like any prince.’
8
Rise up, O God, judge the earth;1
O God, do not keep silence;2
Even now your enemies are in tumult;
those who hate you have raised their heads.
3
They lay crafty plans against your people;
they consult together against those you protect.
4
They say, ‘Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Israel be remembered no more.’
5
They conspire with one accord;
against you they make a covenant —
6
the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,
7
Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;
8
Assyria also has joined them;
they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.
9
Do to them as you did to Midian,10
who were destroyed at En-dor,
who became dung for the ground.
11
Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12
who said, ‘Let us take the pastures of God
for our own possession.’
13
O my God, make them like whirling dust,14
As fire consumes the forest,
as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15
so pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your hurricane.
16
Fill their faces with shame,
so that they may seek your name, O LORD.
17
Let them be put to shame and dismayed for ever;
let them perish in disgrace.
18
Let them know that you alone,
whose name is the LORD,
are the Most High over all the earth.
1
How lovely is your dwelling place,2
My soul longs, indeed it faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh sing for joy
to the living God.
3
Even the sparrow finds a home,4
Happy are those who live in your house,
ever singing your praise.
5
Happy are those whose strength is in you,6
As they go through the valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
7
They go from strength to strength;
the God of gods will be seen in Zion.
8
O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;9
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed.
10
For a day in your courts is better11
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
he bestows favour and honour.
No good thing does the LORD withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
12
O LORD of hosts,
happy is everyone who trusts in you.
1
LORD, you were favourable to your land;2
You forgave the iniquity of your people;
you pardoned all their sin.
3
You withdrew all your wrath;
you turned from your hot anger.
4
Restore us again, O God of our salvation,5
Will you be angry with us for ever?
Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
6
Will you not revive us again,
so that your people may rejoice in you?
7
Show us your steadfast love, O LORD,
and grant us your salvation.
8
Let me hear what God the LORD will speak,9
Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10
Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;11
Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,
and righteousness will look down from the sky.
12
The LORD will give what is good,
and our land will yield its increase.
13
Righteousness will go before him,
and will make a path for his steps.
1
Incline your ear, O LORD, and answer me,2
Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God;
3
be gracious to me, O Lord,
for to you do I cry all day long.
4
Gladden the soul of your servant,
for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.
5
For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.
6
Give ear, O LORD, to my prayer;
listen to my cry of supplication.
7
In the day of my trouble I call on you,
for you will answer me.
8
There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,9
All the nations you have made shall come
and bow down before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.
10
For you are great and do wondrous things;
you alone are God.
11
Teach me your way, O LORD,
that I may walk in your truth;
give me an undivided heart to revere your name.
12
I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
and I will glorify your name for ever.
13
For great is your steadfast love towards me;
you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.
14
O God, the insolent rise up against me;15
But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
16
Turn to me and be gracious to me;
give your strength to your servant;
save the child of your serving-maid.
17
Show me a sign of your favour,
so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,
because you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.
1
On the holy mount stands the city he founded;2
the LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwellings of Jacob.
3
Glorious things are spoken of you,
O city of God.
4
Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;5
And of Zion it shall be said,6
The LORD records, as he registers the peoples,
‘This one was born there.’
7
Singers and dancers alike say,1
O LORD, God of my salvation,2
let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry.
3
For my soul is full of troubles,4
I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;
I am like those who have no help,
5
like those forsaken among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.
6
You have put me in the depths of the Pit,
in the regions dark and deep.
7
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves.
8
You have caused my companions to shun me;9
my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call on you, O LORD;
I spread out my hands to you.
10
Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the shades rise up to praise you?
11
Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12
Are your wonders known in the darkness,
or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?
13
But I, O LORD, cry out to you;14
O LORD, why do you cast me off?
Why do you hide your face from me?
15
Wretched and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am desperate.
16
Your wrath has swept over me;
your dread assaults destroy me.
17
They surround me like a flood all day long;
from all sides they close in on me.
18
You have caused friend and neighbour to shun me;
my companions are in darkness.
1
I will sing of your steadfast love, O LORD, for ever;2
I declare that your steadfast love is established for ever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.
3
You said, ‘I have made a covenant with my chosen one,4
“I will establish your descendants for ever,
and build your throne for all generations.”’
5
Let the heavens praise your wonders, O LORD,6
For who in the skies can be compared to the LORD?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the LORD,
7
a God feared in the council of the holy ones,
great and awesome above all that are around him?
8
O LORD God of hosts,
who is as mighty as you, O LORD?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
9
You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.
10
You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11
The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it — you have founded them.
12
The north and the south — you created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.
13
You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.
14
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
15
Happy are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O LORD, in the light of your countenance;
16
they exult in your name all day long,
and extol your righteousness.
17
For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favour our horn is exalted.
18
For our shield belongs to the LORD,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19
Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said:20
I have found my servant David;
with my holy oil I have anointed him;
21
my hand shall always remain with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22
The enemy shall not outwit him,
the wicked shall not humble him.
23
I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
24
My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;
and in my name his horn shall be exalted.
25
I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26
He shall cry to me, “You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!”
27
I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.
28
For-ever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
and my covenant with him will stand firm.
29
I will establish his line for ever,
and his throne as long as the heavens endure.
30
If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my ordinances,
31
if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
32
then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with scourges;
33
but I will not remove from him my steadfast love,
or be false to my faithfulness.
34
I will not violate my covenant,
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
35
Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.
36
His line shall continue for ever,
and his throne endure before me like the sun.
37
It shall be established for ever like the moon,
an enduring witness in the skies.’
38
But now you have spurned and rejected him;39
You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
you have defiled his crown in the dust.
40
You have broken through all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
41
All who pass by plunder him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbours.
42
You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43
Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword,
and you have not supported him in battle.
44
You have removed the sceptre from his hand,
and hurled his throne to the ground.
45
You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame.
46
How long, O LORD? Will you hide yourself for ever?47
Remember how short my time is —
for what vanity you have created all mortals!
48
Who can live and never see death?
Who can escape the power of Sheol?
49
Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,50
Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted;
how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,
51
with which your enemies taunt, O LORD,
with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.
52
Blessed be the LORD for ever. Amen and Amen.1
Lord, you have been our dwelling-place2
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3
You turn us back to dust,4
For a thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday when it is past,
or like a watch in the night.
5
You sweep them away; they are like a dream,6
in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.
7
For we are consumed by your anger;8
You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your countenance.
9
For all our days pass away under your wrath;10
The days of our life are seventy years,
or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span is only toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.
11
Who considers the power of your anger?12
So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a wise heart.
13
Turn, O LORD! How long?14
Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
15
Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
and for as many years as we have seen evil.
16
Let your work be manifest to your servants,
and your glorious power to their children.
17
Let the favour of the Lord our God be upon us,
and prosper for us the work of our hands —
O prosper the work of our hands!
1
You who live in the shelter of the Most High,2
will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.’
3
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
4
he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
5
You will not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
6
or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or the destruction that wastes at noonday.
7
A thousand may fall at your side,8
You will only look with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9
Because you have made the LORD your refuge,10
no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.
11
For he will command his angels concerning you12
On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13
You will tread on the lion and the adder,
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.
14
Those who love me, I will deliver;15
When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble,
I will rescue them and honour them.
16
With long life I will satisfy them,
and show them my salvation.
1
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,2
to declare your steadfast love in the morning,
and your faithfulness by night,
3
to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.
4
For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
5
How great are your works, O LORD!6
The dullard cannot know,
the stupid cannot understand this:
7
though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction for ever,
8
but you, O LORD, are on high for ever.
9
For your enemies, O LORD,
for your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.
10
But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;11
My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.
12
The righteous flourish like the palm tree,13
They are planted in the house of the LORD;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
14
In old age they still produce fruit;
they are always green and full of sap,
15
showing that the LORD is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.
1
The LORD is king, he is robed in majesty;2
your throne is established from of old;
you are from everlasting.
3
The floods have lifted up, O LORD,4
More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
more majestic than the waves of the sea,
majestic on high is the LORD!
5
Your decrees are very sure;1
O LORD, you God of vengeance,2
Rise up, O judge of the earth;
give to the proud what they deserve!
3
O LORD, how long shall the wicked,
how long shall the wicked exult?
4
They pour out their arrogant words;5
They crush your people, O LORD,
and afflict your heritage.
6
They kill the widow and the stranger,
they murder the orphan,
7
and they say, ‘The LORD does not see;
the God of Jacob does not perceive.’
8
Understand, O dullest of the people;9
He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
10
He who disciplines the nations,
he who teaches knowledge to humankind,
does he not chastise?
11
The LORD knows our thoughts,
that they are but an empty breath.
12
Happy are those whom you discipline, O LORD,13
giving them respite from days of trouble,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.
14
For the LORD will not forsake his people;
he will not abandon his heritage;
15
for justice will return to the righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16
Who rises up for me against the wicked?17
If the LORD had not been my help,
my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.
18
When I thought, ‘My foot is slipping’,
your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up.
19
When the cares of my heart are many,
your consolations cheer my soul.
20
Can wicked rulers be allied with you,
those who contrive mischief by statute?
21
They band together against the life of the righteous,
and condemn the innocent to death.
22
But the LORD has become my stronghold,
and my God the rock of my refuge.
23
He will repay them for their iniquity
and wipe them out for their wickedness;
the LORD our God will wipe them out.
1
O come, let us sing to the LORD;2
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;
let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!
3
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
4
In his hand are the depths of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are his also.
5
The sea is his, for he made it,
and the dry land, which his hands have formed.
6
O come, let us worship and bow down,7
For he is our God,
and we are the people of his pasture,
and the sheep of his hand.
8
Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,
9
when your ancestors tested me,
and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.
10
For forty years I loathed that generation
and said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they do not regard my ways.’
11
Therefore in my anger I swore,
‘They shall not enter my rest.’
1
O sing to the LORD a new song;2
Sing to the LORD, bless his name;
tell of his salvation from day to day.
3
Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvellous works among all the peoples.
4
For great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
he is to be revered above all gods.
5
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
6
Honour and majesty are before him;
strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
7
Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the peoples,8
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering, and come into his courts.
9
Worship the LORD in holy splendour;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10
Say among the nations, ‘The LORD is king!11
Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12
let the field exult, and everything in it.
Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13
before the LORD; for he is coming,
for he is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with his truth.
1
The LORD is king! Let the earth rejoice;2
Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3
Fire goes before him,
and consumes his adversaries on every side.
4
His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5
The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6
The heavens proclaim his righteousness;7
All worshippers of images are put to shame,
those who make their boast in worthless idols;
all gods bow down before him.
8
Zion hears and is glad,
and the towns of Judah rejoice,
because of your judgements, O God.
9
For you, O LORD, are most high over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
10
The LORD loves those who hate evil;11
Light dawns for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
12
Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous,
and give thanks to his holy name!
1
O sing to the LORD a new song,2
The LORD has made known his victory;
he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.
3
He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness
to the house of Israel.
All the ends of the earth have seen
the victory of our God.
4
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;5
Sing praises to the LORD with the lyre,
with the lyre and the sound of melody.
6
With trumpets and the sound of the horn
make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD.
7
Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;8
Let the floods clap their hands;
let the hills sing together for joy
9
at the presence of the LORD, for he is coming
to judge the earth.
He will judge the world with righteousness,
and the peoples with equity.
1
The LORD is king; let the peoples tremble!2
The LORD is great in Zion;
he is exalted over all the peoples.
3
Let them praise your great and awesome name.
Holy is he!
4
Mighty King, lover of justice,
you have established equity;
you have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
5
Extol the LORD our God;
worship at his footstool.
Holy is he!
6
Moses and Aaron were among his priests,7
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
they kept his decrees,
and the statutes that he gave them.
8
O LORD our God, you answered them;9
Extol the LORD our God,
and worship at his holy mountain;
for the LORD our God is holy.
1
Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth.2
Worship the LORD with gladness;
come into his presence with singing.
3
Know that the LORD is God.4
Enter his gates with thanksgiving,5
For the LORD is good;1
I will sing of loyalty and of justice;2
I will study the way that is blameless.
When shall I attain it?
3
I will not set before my eyes
anything that is base.
4
Perverseness of heart shall be far from me;
I will know nothing of evil.
5
One who secretly slanders a neighbour6
I will look with favour on the faithful in the land,7
No one who practises deceit8
Morning by morning I will destroy1
Hear my prayer, O LORD;2
Do not hide your face from me
on the day of my distress.
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily on the day when I call.
3
For my days pass away like smoke,4
My heart is stricken and withered like grass;
I am too wasted to eat my bread.
5
Because of my loud groaning
my bones cling to my skin.
6
I am like an owl of the wilderness,
like a little owl of the waste places.
7
I lie awake;
I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.
8
All day long my enemies taunt me;
those who deride me use my name for a curse.
9
For I eat ashes like bread,
and mingle tears with my drink,
10
because of your indignation and anger;
for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.
11
My days are like an evening shadow;
I wither away like grass.
12
But you, O LORD, are enthroned for ever;13
You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,
for it is time to favour it;
the appointed time has come.
14
For your servants hold its stones dear,
and have pity on its dust.
15
The nations will fear the name of the LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory.
16
For the LORD will build up Zion;
he will appear in his glory.
17
He will regard the prayer of the destitute,
and will not despise their prayer.
18
Let this be recorded for a generation to come,19
that he looked down from his holy height,
from heaven the LORD looked at the earth,
20
to hear the groans of the prisoners,
to set free those who were doomed to die;
21
so that the name of the LORD may be declared in Zion,
and his praise in Jerusalem,
22
when peoples gather together,
and kingdoms, to worship the LORD.
23
He has broken my strength in mid-course;24
‘O my God,’ I say, ‘do not take me away
at the mid-point of my life,
you whose years endure
throughout all generations.’
25
Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,26
They will perish, but you endure;
they will all wear out like a garment.
You change them like clothing, and they pass away;
27
but you are the same, and your years have no end.
28
The children of your servants shall live secure;
their offspring shall be established in your presence.
1
Bless the LORD, O my soul,2
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and do not forget all his benefits —
3
who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4
who redeems your life from the Pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5
who satisfies you with good as long as you live
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6
The LORD works vindication7
He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9
He will not always accuse,
nor will he keep his anger for ever.
10
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him;
12
as far as the east is from the west,
so far he removes our transgressions from us.
13
As a father has compassion for his children,
so the LORD has compassion for those who fear him.
14
For he knows how we were made;
he remembers that we are dust.
15
As for mortals, their days are like grass;16
for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
17
But the steadfast love of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting
on those who fear him,
and his righteousness to children’s children,
18
to those who keep his covenant
and remember to do his commandments.
19
The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,20
Bless the LORD, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his bidding,
obedient to his spoken word.
21
Bless the LORD, all his hosts,
his ministers that do his will.
22
Bless the LORD, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul.
1
Bless the LORD, O my soul.2
wrapped in light as with a garment.
You stretch out the heavens like a tent,
3
you set the beams of your chambers on the waters,
you make the clouds your chariot,
you ride on the wings of the wind,
4
you make the winds your messengers,
fire and flame your ministers.
5
You set the earth on its foundations,6
You cover it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7
At your rebuke they flee;
at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.
8
They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys
to the place that you appointed for them.
9
You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.
10
You make springs gush forth in the valleys;11
giving drink to every wild animal;
the wild asses quench their thirst.
12
By the streams the birds of the air have their habitation;
they sing among the branches.
13
From your lofty abode you water the mountains;
the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.
14
You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,15
and wine to gladden the human heart,
oil to make the face shine,
and bread to strengthen the human heart.
16
The trees of the LORD are watered abundantly,
the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.
17
In them the birds build their nests;
the stork has its home in the fir trees.
18
The high mountains are for the wild goats;
the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.
19
You have made the moon to mark the seasons;
the sun knows its time for setting.
20
You make darkness, and it is night,
when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.
21
The young lions roar for their prey,
seeking their food from God.
22
When the sun rises, they withdraw
and lie down in their dens.
23
People go out to their work
and to their labour until the evening.
24
O LORD, how manifold are your works!25
Yonder is the sea, great and wide,
creeping things innumerable are there,
living things both small and great.
26
There go the ships,
and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.
27
These all look to you28
when you give to them, they gather it up;
when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.
29
When you hide your face, they are dismayed;
when you take away their breath, they die
and return to their dust.
30
When you send forth your spirit, they are created;
and you renew the face of the ground.
31
May the glory of the LORD endure for ever;32
who looks on the earth and it trembles,
who touches the mountains and they smoke.
33
I will sing to the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have being.
34
May my meditation be pleasing to him,
for I rejoice in the LORD.
35
Let sinners be consumed from the earth,
and let the wicked be no more.
Bless the LORD, O my soul.
Praise the LORD!
1
O give thanks to the LORD, call on his name,2
Sing to him, sing praises to him;
tell of all his wonderful works.
3
Glory in his holy name;
let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice.
4
Seek the LORD and his strength;
seek his presence continually.
5
Remember the wonderful works he has done,
his miracles, and the judgements he has uttered,
6
O offspring of his servant Abraham,
children of Jacob, his chosen ones.
7
He is the LORD our God;8
He is mindful of his covenant for ever,
of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,
9
the covenant that he made with Abraham,
his sworn promise to Isaac,
10
which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
to Israel as an everlasting covenant,
11
saying, ‘To you I will give the land of Canaan
as your portion for an inheritance.’
12
When they were few in number,13
wandering from nation to nation,
from one kingdom to another people,
14
he allowed no one to oppress them;
he rebuked kings on their account,
15
saying, ‘Do not touch my anointed ones;
do my prophets no harm.’
16
When he summoned famine against the land,17
he had sent a man ahead of them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.
18
His feet were hurt with fetters,
his neck was put in a collar of iron;
19
until what he had said came to pass,
the word of the LORD kept testing him.
20
The king sent and released him;
the ruler of the peoples set him free.
21
He made him lord of his house,
and ruler of all his possessions,
22
to instruct his officials at his pleasure,
and to teach his elders wisdom.
23
Then Israel came to Egypt;24
And the LORD made his people very fruitful,
and made them stronger than their foes,
25
whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,
to deal craftily with his servants.
26
He sent his servant Moses,27
They performed his signs among them,
and miracles in the land of Ham.
28
He sent darkness, and made the land dark;
they rebelled against his words.
29
He turned their waters into blood,
and caused their fish to die.
30
Their land swarmed with frogs,
even in the chambers of their kings.
31
He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,
and gnats throughout their country.
32
He gave them hail for rain,
and lightning that flashed through their land.
33
He struck their vines and fig trees,
and shattered the trees of their country.
34
He spoke, and the locusts came,
and young locusts without number;
35
they devoured all the vegetation in their land,
and ate up the fruit of their ground.
36
He struck down all the firstborn in their land,
the first issue of all their strength.
37
Then he brought Israel out with silver and gold,38
Egypt was glad when they departed,
for dread of them had fallen upon it.
39
He spread a cloud for a covering,
and fire to give light by night.
40
They asked, and he brought quails,
and gave them food from heaven in abundance.
41
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
42
For he remembered his holy promise,
and Abraham, his servant.
43
So he brought his people out with joy,44
He gave them the lands of the nations,
and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,
45
that they might keep his statutes
and observe his laws.
Praise the LORD!
1
Praise the LORD!2
Who can utter the mighty doings of the LORD,
or declare all his praise?
3
Happy are those who observe justice,
who do righteousness at all times.
4
Remember me, O LORD, when you show favour to your people;5
that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,
that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,
that I may glory in your heritage.
6
Both we and our ancestors have sinned;7
Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,
did not consider your wonderful works;
they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,
but rebelled against the Most High at the Red Sea.
8
Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,
so that he might make known his mighty power.
9
He rebuked the Red Sea, and it became dry;
he led them through the deep as through a desert.
10
So he saved them from the hand of the foe,
and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.
11
The waters covered their adversaries;
not one of them was left.
12
Then they believed his words;
they sang his praise.
13
But they soon forgot his works;14
But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,
and put God to the test in the desert;
15
he gave them what they asked,
but sent a wasting disease among them.
16
They were jealous of Moses in the camp,17
The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,
and covered the faction of Abiram.
18
Fire also broke out in their company;
the flame burned up the wicked.
19
They made a calf at Horeb20
They exchanged the glory of God
for the image of an ox that eats grass.
21
They forgot God, their Saviour,
who had done great things in Egypt,
22
wondrous works in the land of Ham,
and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.
23
Therefore he said he would destroy them —
had not Moses, his chosen one,
stood in the breach before him,
to turn away his wrath from destroying them.
24
Then they despised the pleasant land,25
They grumbled in their tents,
and did not obey the voice of the LORD.
26
Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them
that he would make them fall in the wilderness,
27
and would disperse their descendants among the nations,
scattering them over the lands.
28
Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor,29
they provoked the LORD to anger with their deeds,
and a plague broke out among them.
30
Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,
and the plague was stopped.
31
And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness
from generation to generation for ever.
32
They angered the LORD at the waters of Meribah,33
for they made his spirit bitter,
and he spoke words that were rash.
34
They did not destroy the peoples35
but they mingled with the nations
and learned to do as they did.
36
They served their idols,
which became a snare to them.
37
They sacrificed their sons
and their daughters to the demons;
38
they poured out innocent blood,
the blood of their sons and daughters,
whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;
and the land was polluted with blood.
39
Thus they became unclean by their acts,
and prostituted themselves in their doings.
40
Then the anger of the LORD was kindled against his people,41
he gave them into the hand of the nations,
so that those who hated them ruled over them.
42
Their enemies oppressed them,
and they were brought into subjection under their power.
43
Many times he delivered them,
but they were rebellious in their purposes,
and were brought low through their iniquity.
44
Nevertheless, he regarded their distress
when he heard their cry.
45
For their sake he remembered his covenant,
and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.
46
He caused them to be pitied
by all who held them captive.
47
Save us, O LORD our God,48
Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel,1
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;2
Let the redeemed of the LORD say so,
those he redeemed from trouble
3
and gathered in from the lands,
from the east and from the west,
from the north and from the south.
4
Some wandered in desert wastes,5
hungry and thirsty,
their soul fainted within them.
6
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress;
7
he led them by a straight way,
until they reached an inhabited town.
8
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
9
For he satisfies the thirsty,
and the hungry he fills with good things.
10
Some sat in darkness and in gloom,11
for they had rebelled against the words of God,
and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
12
Their hearts were bowed down with hard labour;
they fell down, with no one to help.
13
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;
14
he brought them out of darkness and gloom,
and broke their bonds asunder.
15
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
16
For he shatters the doors of bronze,
and cuts in two the bars of iron.
17
Some were sick through their sinful ways,18
they loathed any kind of food,
and they drew near to the gates of death.
19
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress;
20
he sent out his word and healed them,
and delivered them from destruction.
21
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
22
And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,
and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.
23
Some went down to the sea in ships,24
they saw the deeds of the LORD,
his wondrous works in the deep.
25
For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26
They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;
their courage melted away in their calamity;
27
they reeled and staggered like drunkards,
and were at their wits’ end.
28
Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out from their distress;
29
he made the storm be still,
and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30
Then they were glad because they had quiet,
and he brought them to their desired haven.
31
Let them thank the LORD for his steadfast love,
for his wonderful works to humankind.
32
Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
and praise him in the assembly of the elders.
33
He turns rivers into a desert,34
a fruitful land into a salty waste,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.
35
He turns a desert into pools of water,
a parched land into springs of water.
36
And there he lets the hungry live,
and they establish a town to live in;
37
they sow fields, and plant vineyards,
and get a fruitful yield.
38
By his blessing they multiply greatly,
and he does not let their cattle decrease.
39
When they are diminished and brought low40
he pours contempt on princes
and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
41
but he raises up the needy out of distress,
and makes their families like flocks.
42
The upright see it and are glad;
and all wickedness stops its mouth.
43
Let those who are wise give heed to these things,
and consider the steadfast love of the LORD.
1
My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;2
Awake, O harp and lyre!
I will awake the dawn.
3
I will give thanks to you, O LORD, among the peoples,
and I will sing praises to you among the nations.
4
For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
5
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,6
Give victory with your right hand, and answer me,
so that those whom you love may be rescued.
7
God has promised in his sanctuary:8
Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my sceptre.
9
Moab is my wash-basin;
on Edom I hurl my shoe;
over Philistia I shout in triumph.’
10
Who will bring me to the fortified city?11
Have you not rejected us, O God?
You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
12
O grant us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
13
With God we shall do valiantly;
it is he who will tread down our foes.
1
Do not be silent, O God of my praise.2
For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,
speaking against me with lying tongues.
3
They beset me with words of hate,
and attack me without cause.
4
In return for my love they accuse me,
even while I make prayer for them.
5
So they reward me evil for good,
and hatred for my love.
6
They say, ‘Appoint a wicked man against him;7
When he is tried, let him be found guilty;
let his prayer be counted as sin.
8
May his days be few;
may another seize his position.
9
May his children be orphans,
and his wife a widow.
10
May his children wander about and beg;
may they be driven out of the ruins they inhabit.
11
May the creditor seize all that he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil.
12
May there be no one to do him a kindness,
nor anyone to pity his orphaned children.
13
May his posterity be cut off;
may his name be blotted out in the second generation.
14
May the iniquity of his father be remembered before the LORD,
and do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out.
15
Let them be before the LORD continually,
and may his memory be cut off from the earth.
16
For he did not remember to show kindness,
but pursued the poor and needy
and the broken-hearted to their death.
17
He loved to curse; let curses come on him.
He did not like blessing; may it be far from him.
18
He clothed himself with cursing as his coat,
may it soak into his body like water,
like oil into his bones.
19
May it be like a garment that he wraps around himself,
like a belt that he wears every day.’
20
May that be the reward of my accusers from the LORD,21
But you, O LORD my Lord,
act on my behalf for your name’s sake;
because your steadfast love is good, deliver me.
22
For I am poor and needy,
and my heart is pierced within me.
23
I am gone like a shadow at evening;
I am shaken off like a locust.
24
My knees are weak through fasting;
my body has become gaunt.
25
I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
when they see me, they shake their heads.
26
Help me, O LORD my God!27
Let them know that this is your hand;
you, O LORD, have done it.
28
Let them curse, but you will bless.
Let my assailants be put to shame; may your servant be glad.
29
May my accusers be clothed with dishonour;
may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle.
30
With my mouth I will give great thanks to the LORD;
I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
31
For he stands at the right hand of the needy,
to save them from those who would condemn them to death.
1
The LORD says to my lord,2
The LORD sends out from Zion3
Your people will offer themselves willingly
on the day you lead your forces
on the holy mountains.
From the womb of the morning,
like dew, your youth will come to you.
4
The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind,
‘You are a priest for ever according to the order of Melchizedek.’
5
The Lord is at your right hand;6
He will execute judgement among the nations,
filling them with corpses;
he will shatter heads
over the wide earth.
7
He will drink from the stream by the path;
therefore he will lift up his head.
1
Praise the LORD!2
Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who delight in them.
3
Full of honour and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures for ever.
4
He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;
the LORD is gracious and merciful.
5
He provides food for those who fear him;
he is ever mindful of his covenant.
6
He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the heritage of the nations.
7
The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are trustworthy.
8
They are established for ever and ever,
to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.
9
He sent redemption to his people;
he has commanded his covenant for ever.
Holy and awesome is his name.
10
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practise it have a good understanding.
His praise endures for ever.
1
Praise the LORD!2
Their descendants will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3
Wealth and riches are in their houses,
and their righteousness endures for ever.
4
They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;
they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5
It is well with those who deal generously and lend,
who conduct their affairs with justice.
6
For the righteous will never be moved;
they will be remembered for ever.
7
They are not afraid of evil tidings;
their hearts are firm, secure in the LORD.
8
Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;
in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.
9
They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;
their righteousness endures for ever;
their horn is exalted in honour.
10
The wicked see it and are angry;
they gnash their teeth and melt away;
the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.
1
Praise the LORD!2
Blessed be the name of the LORD3
From the rising of the sun to its setting
the name of the LORD is to be praised.
4
The LORD is high above all nations,
and his glory above the heavens.
5
Who is like the LORD our God,6
who looks far down
on the heavens and the earth?
7
He raises the poor from the dust,
and lifts the needy from the ash heap,
8
to make them sit with princes,
with the princes of his people.
9
He gives the barren woman a home,
making her the joyous mother of children.
Praise the LORD!
1
When Israel went out from Egypt,2
Judah became God’s sanctuary,
Israel his dominion.
3
The sea looked and fled;4
The mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like lambs.
5
Why is it, O sea, that you flee?6
O mountains, that you skip like rams?
O hills, like lambs?
7
Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD,8
who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water.
1
Not to us, O LORD, not to us, but to your name give glory,2
Why should the nations say,
‘Where is their God?’
3
Our God is in the heavens;4
Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5
They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6
They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7
They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
they make no sound in their throats.
8
Those who make them are like them;
so are all who trust in them.
9
O Israel, trust in the LORD!10
O house of Aaron, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
11
You who fear the LORD, trust in the LORD!
He is their help and their shield.
12
The LORD has been mindful of us; he will bless us;13
he will bless those who fear the LORD,
both small and great.
14
May the LORD give you increase,15
May you be blessed by the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
16
The heavens are the LORD’s heavens,17
The dead do not praise the LORD,
nor do any that go down into silence.
18
But we will bless the LORD
from this time on and for evermore.
Praise the LORD!
1
I love the LORD, because he has heard2
Because he inclined his ear to me,
therefore I will call on him as long as I live.
3
The snares of death encompassed me;
the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;
I suffered distress and anguish.
4
Then I called on the name of the LORD:
‘O LORD, I pray, save my life!’
5
Gracious is the LORD, and righteous;6
The LORD protects the simple;
when I was brought low, he saved me.
7
Return, O my soul, to your rest,
for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.
8
For you have delivered my soul from death,9
I walk before the LORD
in the land of the living.
10
I kept my faith, even when I said,
‘I am greatly afflicted’;
11
I said in my consternation,
‘Everyone is a liar.’
12
What shall I return to the LORD13
I will lift up the cup of salvation
and call on the name of the LORD,
14
I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people.
15
Precious in the sight of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
16
O LORD, I am your servant;
I am your servant, the child of your serving-maid.
You have loosed my bonds.
17
I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
and call on the name of the LORD.
18
I will pay my vows to the LORD
in the presence of all his people,
19
in the courts of the house of the LORD,
in your midst, O Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!
1
Praise the LORD, all you nations!2
For great is his steadfast love towards us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures for ever.
Praise the LORD!
1
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;2
Let Israel say,3
Let the house of Aaron say,
‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’
4
Let those who fear the LORD say,
‘His steadfast love endures for ever.’
5
Out of my distress I called on the LORD;6
With the LORD on my side I do not fear.
What can mortals do to me?
7
The LORD is on my side to help me;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.
8
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to put confidence in mortals.
9
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to put confidence in princes.
10
All nations surrounded me;11
They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
12
They surrounded me like bees;
they blazed like a fire of thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off!
13
I was pushed hard, so that I was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
14
The LORD is my strength and my might;
he has become my salvation.
15
There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:16
the right hand of the LORD is exalted;
the right hand of the LORD does valiantly.’
17
I shall not die, but I shall live,
and recount the deeds of the LORD.
18
The LORD has punished me severely,
but he did not give me over to death.
19
Open to me the gates of righteousness,20
This is the gate of the LORD;21
I thank you that you have answered me22
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the chief cornerstone.
23
This is the LORD’s doing;
it is marvellous in our eyes.
24
This is the day that the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
25
Save us, we beseech you, O LORD!
O LORD, we beseech you, give us success!
26
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the LORD.27
The LORD is God,
and he has given us light.
Bind the festal procession with branches,
up to the horns of the altar.
28
You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;29
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,1
Happy are those whose way is blameless,2
Happy are those who keep his decrees,
who seek him with their whole heart,
3
who also do no wrong,
but walk in his ways.
4
You have commanded your precepts
to be kept diligently.
5
O that my ways may be steadfast
in keeping your statutes!
6
Then I shall not be put to shame,
having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.
7
I will praise you with an upright heart,
when I learn your righteous ordinances.
8
I will observe your statutes;
do not utterly forsake me.
9
How can young people keep their way pure?10
With my whole heart I seek you;
do not let me stray from your commandments.
11
I treasure your word in my heart,
so that I may not sin against you.
12
Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes.
13
With my lips I declare
all the ordinances of your mouth.
14
I delight in the way of your decrees
as much as in all riches.
15
I will meditate on your precepts,
and fix my eyes on your ways.
16
I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.
17
Deal bountifully with your servant,18
Open my eyes, so that I may behold
wondrous things out of your law.
19
I live as an alien in the land;
do not hide your commandments from me.
20
My soul is consumed with longing
for your ordinances at all times.
21
You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,
who wander from your commandments;
22
take away from me their scorn and contempt,
for I have kept your decrees.
23
Even though princes sit plotting against me,
your servant will meditate on your statutes.
24
Your decrees are my delight,
they are my counsellors.
25
My soul clings to the dust;26
When I told of my ways, you answered me;
teach me your statutes.
27
Make me understand the way of your precepts,
and I will meditate on your wondrous works.
28
My soul melts away for sorrow;
strengthen me according to your word.
29
Put false ways far from me;
and graciously teach me your law.
30
I have chosen the way of faithfulness;
I set your ordinances before me.
31
I cling to your decrees, O LORD;
let me not be put to shame.
32
I run the way of your commandments,
for you enlarge my understanding.
33
Teach me, O LORD, the way of your statutes,34
Give me understanding, that I may keep your law
and observe it with my whole heart.
35
Lead me in the path of your commandments,
for I delight in it.
36
Turn my heart to your decrees,
and not to selfish gain.
37
Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;
give me life in your ways.
38
Confirm to your servant your promise,
which is for those who fear you.
39
Turn away the disgrace that I dread,
for your ordinances are good.
40
See, I have longed for your precepts;
in your righteousness give me life.
41
Let your steadfast love come to me, O LORD,42
Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me,
for I trust in your word.
43
Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,
for my hope is in your ordinances.
44
I will keep your law continually,
for ever and ever.
45
I shall walk at liberty,
for I have sought your precepts.
46
I will also speak of your decrees before kings,
and shall not be put to shame;
47
I find my delight in your commandments,
because I love them.
48
I revere your commandments, which I love,
and I will meditate on your statutes.
49
Remember your word to your servant,50
This is my comfort in my distress,
that your promise gives me life.
51
The arrogant utterly deride me,
but I do not turn away from your law.
52
When I think of your ordinances from of old,
I take comfort, O LORD.
53
Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,
those who forsake your law.
54
Your statutes have been my songs
wherever I make my home.
55
I remember your name in the night, O LORD,
and keep your law.
56
This blessing has fallen to me,
for I have kept your precepts.
57
The LORD is my portion;58
I implore your favour with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to your promise.
59
When I think of your ways,
I turn my feet to your decrees;
60
I hurry and do not delay
to keep your commandments.
61
Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,
I do not forget your law.
62
At midnight I rise to praise you,
because of your righteous ordinances.
63
I am a companion of all who fear you,
of those who keep your precepts.
64
The earth, O LORD, is full of your steadfast love;
teach me your statutes.
65
You have dealt well with your servant,66
Teach me good judgement and knowledge,
for I believe in your commandments.
67
Before I was humbled I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
68
You are good and do good;
teach me your statutes.
69
The arrogant smear me with lies,
but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.
70
Their hearts are fat and gross,
but I delight in your law.
71
It is good for me that I was humbled,
so that I might learn your statutes.
72
The law of your mouth is better to me
than thousands of gold and silver pieces.
73
Your hands have made and fashioned me;74
Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,
because I have hoped in your word.
75
I know, O LORD, that your judgements are right,
and that in faithfulness you have humbled me.
76
Let your steadfast love become my comfort
according to your promise to your servant.
77
Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;
for your law is my delight.
78
Let the arrogant be put to shame,
because they have subverted me with guile;
as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.
79
Let those who fear you turn to me,
so that they may know your decrees.
80
May my heart be blameless in your statutes,
so that I may not be put to shame.
81
My soul languishes for your salvation;82
My eyes fail with watching for your promise;
I ask, ‘When will you comfort me?’
83
For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,
yet I have not forgotten your statutes.
84
How long must your servant endure?
When will you judge those who persecute me?
85
The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me;
they flout your law.
86
All your commandments are enduring;
I am persecuted without cause; help me!
87
They have almost made an end of me on earth;
but I have not forsaken your precepts.
88
In your steadfast love spare my life,
so that I may keep the decrees of your mouth.
89
The LORD exists for ever;90
Your faithfulness endures to all generations;
you have established the earth, and it stands fast.
91
By your appointment they stand today,
for all things are your servants.
92
If your law had not been my delight,
I would have perished in my misery.
93
I will never forget your precepts,
for by them you have given me life.
94
I am yours; save me,
for I have sought your precepts.
95
The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,
but I consider your decrees.
96
I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but your commandment is exceedingly broad.
97
Oh, how I love your law!98
Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,
for it is always with me.
99
I have more understanding than all my teachers,
for your decrees are my meditation.
100
I understand more than the aged,
for I keep your precepts.
101
I hold back my feet from every evil way,
in order to keep your word.
102
I do not turn away from your ordinances,
for you have taught me.
103
How sweet are your words to my taste,
sweeter than honey to my mouth!
104
Through your precepts I get understanding;
therefore I hate every false way.
105
Your word is a lamp to my feet106
I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,
to observe your righteous ordinances.
107
I am severely afflicted;
give me life, O LORD, according to your word.
108
Accept my offerings of praise, O LORD,
and teach me your ordinances.
109
I hold my life in my hand continually,
but I do not forget your law.
110
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
but I do not stray from your precepts.
111
Your decrees are my heritage for ever;
they are the joy of my heart.
112
I incline my heart to perform your statutes
for ever, to the end.
113
I hate the double-minded,114
You are my hiding-place and my shield;
I hope in your word.
115
Go away from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commandments of my God.
116
Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,
and let me not be put to shame in my hope.
117
Hold me up, that I may be safe
and have regard for your statutes continually.
118
You spurn all who go astray from your statutes;
for their cunning is in vain.
119
All the wicked of the earth you count as dross;
therefore I love your decrees.
120
My flesh trembles for fear of you,
and I am afraid of your judgements.
121
I have done what is just and right;122
Guarantee your servant’s well-being;
do not let the godless oppress me.
123
My eyes fail from watching for your salvation,
and for the fulfilment of your righteous promise.
124
Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,
and teach me your statutes.
125
I am your servant; give me understanding,
so that I may know your decrees.
126
It is time for the LORD to act,
for your law has been broken.
127
Truly I love your commandments
more than gold, more than fine gold.
128
Truly I direct my steps by all your precepts;
I hate every false way.
129
Your decrees are wonderful;130
The unfolding of your words gives light;
it imparts understanding to the simple.
131
With open mouth I pant,
because I long for your commandments.
132
Turn to me and be gracious to me,
as is your custom towards those who love your name.
133
Keep my steps steady according to your promise,
and never let iniquity have dominion over me.
134
Redeem me from human oppression,
that I may keep your precepts.
135
Make your face shine upon your servant,
and teach me your statutes.
136
My eyes shed streams of tears
because your law is not kept.
137
You are righteous, O LORD,138
You have appointed your decrees in righteousness
and in all faithfulness.
139
My zeal consumes me
because my foes forget your words.
140
Your promise is well tried,
and your servant loves it.
141
I am small and despised,
yet I do not forget your precepts.
142
Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
and your law is the truth.
143
Trouble and anguish have come upon me,
but your commandments are my delight.
144
Your decrees are righteous for ever;
give me understanding that I may live.
145
With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O LORD.146
I cry to you; save me,
that I may observe your decrees.
147
I rise before dawn and cry for help;
I put my hope in your words.
148
My eyes are awake before each watch of the night,
that I may meditate on your promise.
149
In your steadfast love hear my voice;
O LORD, in your justice preserve my life.
150
Those who persecute me with evil purpose draw near;
they are far from your law.
151
Yet you are near, O LORD,
and all your commandments are true.
152
Long ago I learned from your decrees
that you have established them for ever.
153
Look on my misery and rescue me,154
Plead my cause and redeem me;
give me life according to your promise.
155
Salvation is far from the wicked,
for they do not seek your statutes.
156
Great is your mercy, O LORD;
give me life according to your justice.
157
Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,
yet I do not swerve from your decrees.
158
I look at the faithless with disgust,
because they do not keep your commands.
159
Consider how I love your precepts;
preserve my life according to your steadfast love.
160
The sum of your word is truth;
and every one of your righteous ordinances endures for ever.
161
Princes persecute me without cause,162
I rejoice at your word
like one who finds great spoil.
163
I hate and abhor falsehood,
but I love your law.
164
Seven times a day I praise you
for your righteous ordinances.
165
Great peace have those who love your law;
nothing can make them stumble.
166
I hope for your salvation, O LORD,
and I fulfil your commandments.
167
My soul keeps your decrees;
I love them exceedingly.
168
I keep your precepts and decrees,
for all my ways are before you.
169
Let my cry come before you, O LORD;170
Let my supplication come before you;
deliver me according to your promise.
171
My lips will pour forth praise,
because you teach me your statutes.
172
My tongue will sing of your promise,
for all your commandments are right.
173
Let your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen your precepts.
174
I long for your salvation, O LORD,
and your law is my delight.
175
Let me live that I may praise you,
and let your ordinances help me.
176
I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant,
for I do not forget your commandments.
1
In my distress I cry to the LORD,2
‘Deliver me, O LORD,
from lying lips,
from a deceitful tongue.’
3
What shall be given to you?4
A warrior’s sharp arrows,
with glowing coals of the broom tree!
5
Woe is me, that I am an alien in Meshech,6
Too long have I had my dwelling
among those who hate peace.
7
I am for peace;
but when I speak,
they are for war.
1
I lift up my eyes to the hills —2
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
3
He will not let your foot be moved;4
He who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
5
The LORD is your keeper;6
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
7
The LORD will keep you from all evil;8
The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time on and for evermore.
1
I was glad when they said to me,2
Our feet are standing
within your gates, O Jerusalem.
3
Jerusalem — built as a city4
To it the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD,
as was decreed for Israel,
to give thanks to the name of the LORD.
5
For there the thrones for judgement were set up,
the thrones of the house of David.
6
Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:7
Peace be within your walls,
and security within your towers.’
8
For the sake of my relatives and friends
I will say, ‘Peace be within you.’
9
For the sake of the house of the LORD our God,
I will seek your good.
1
To you I lift up my eyes,2
As the eyes of servants
look to the hand of their master,
as the eyes of a maid
to the hand of her mistress,
so our eyes look to the LORD our God,
until he has mercy upon us.
3
Have mercy upon us, O LORD, have mercy upon us,4
Our soul has had more than its fill
of the scorn of those who are at ease,
of the contempt of the proud.
1
If it had not been the LORD who was on our side2
if it had not been the LORD who was on our side,
when our enemies attacked us,
3
then they would have swallowed us up alive,
when their anger was kindled against us;
4
then the flood would have swept us away,
the torrent would have gone over us;
5
then over us would have gone
the raging waters.
6
Blessed be the LORD,7
We have escaped like a bird
from the snare of the fowlers;
the snare is broken,
and we have escaped.
8
Our help is in the name of the LORD,1
Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion,2
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
so the LORD surrounds his people,
from this time on and for evermore.
3
For the sceptre of wickedness shall not rest
on the land allotted to the righteous,
so that the righteous may not stretch out
their hands to do wrong.
4
Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,
and to those who are upright in their hearts.
5
But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways
the LORD will lead away with evildoers.
Peace be upon Israel!
1
When the LORD restored the fortunes of Zion,2
Then our mouth was filled with laughter,
and our tongue with shouts of joy;
then it was said among the nations,
‘The LORD has done great things for them.’
3
The LORD has done great things for us,
and we rejoiced.
4
Restore our fortunes, O LORD,5
May those who sow in tears
reap with shouts of joy.
6
Those who go out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
carrying their sheaves.
1
Unless the LORD builds the house,2
It is in vain that you rise up early
and go late to rest,
eating the bread of anxious toil;
for he gives sleep to his beloved.
3
Sons are indeed a heritage from the LORD,4
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the sons of one’s youth.
5
Happy is the man who has
his quiver full of them.
He shall not be put to shame
when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.
1
Happy is everyone who fears the LORD,2
You shall eat the fruit of the labour of your hands;
you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.
3
Your wife will be like a fruitful vine4
Thus shall the man be blessed
who fears the LORD.
5
The LORD bless you from Zion.6
May you see your children’s children.
Peace be upon Israel!
1
‘Often have they attacked me from my youth’2
‘often have they attacked me from my youth,
yet they have not prevailed against me.
3
Those who plough ploughed on my back;
they made their furrows long.’
4
The LORD is righteous;
he has cut the cords of the wicked.
5
May all who hate Zion
be put to shame and turned back.
6
Let them be like the grass on the housetops
that withers before it grows up,
7
with which reapers do not fill their hands
or binders of sheaves their arms,
8
while those who pass by do not say,
‘The blessing of the LORD be upon you!
We bless you in the name of the LORD!’
1
Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD.2
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
3
If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities,4
But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
5
I wait for the LORD, my soul waits,6
my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
7
O Israel, hope in the LORD!8
It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
1
O LORD, my heart is not lifted up,2
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.
3
O Israel, hope in the LORD1
O LORD, remember in David’s favour2
how he swore to the LORD
and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
3
‘I will not enter my house
or get into my bed;
4
I will not give sleep to my eyes
or slumber to my eyelids,
5
until I find a place for the LORD,
a dwelling-place for the Mighty One of Jacob.’
6
We heard of it in Ephrathah;7
‘Let us go to his dwelling-place;
let us worship at his footstool.’
8
Rise up, O LORD, and go to your resting-place,9
Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,
and let your faithful shout for joy.
10
For your servant David’s sake
do not turn away the face of your anointed one.
11
The LORD swore to David a sure oath12
If your sons keep my covenant
and my decrees that I shall teach them,
their sons also, for evermore,
shall sit on your throne.’
13
For the LORD has chosen Zion;14
‘This is my resting-place for ever;
here I will reside, for I have desired it.
15
I will abundantly bless its provisions;
I will satisfy its poor with bread.
16
Its priests I will clothe with salvation,
and its faithful will shout for joy.
17
There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;
I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.
18
His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,
but on him, his crown will gleam.’
1
How very good and pleasant it is2
It is like the precious oil on the head,
running down upon the beard,
on the beard of Aaron,
running down over the collar of his robes.
3
It is like the dew of Hermon,
which falls on the mountains of Zion.
For there the LORD ordained his blessing,
life for evermore.
1
Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD,2
Lift up your hands to the holy place,
and bless the LORD.
3
May the LORD, maker of heaven and earth,1
Praise the LORD!2
you that stand in the house of the LORD,
in the courts of the house of our God.
3
Praise the LORD, for the LORD is good;
sing to his name, for he is gracious.
4
For the LORD has chosen Jacob for himself,
Israel as his own possession.
5
For I know that the LORD is great;6
Whatever the LORD pleases he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.
7
He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth;
he makes lightnings for the rain
and brings out the wind from his storehouses.
8
He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,9
he sent signs and wonders
into your midst, O Egypt,
against Pharaoh and all his servants.
10
He struck down many nations
and killed mighty kings —
11
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
and Og, king of Bashan,
and all the kingdoms of Canaan —
12
and gave their land as a heritage,
a heritage to his people Israel.
13
Your name, O LORD, endures for ever,14
For the LORD will vindicate his people,
and have compassion on his servants.
15
The idols of the nations are silver and gold,16
They have mouths, but they do not speak;
they have eyes, but they do not see;
17
they have ears, but they do not hear,
and there is no breath in their mouths.
18
Those who make them
and all who trust them
shall become like them.
19
O house of Israel, bless the LORD!20
O house of Levi, bless the LORD!
You that fear the LORD, bless the LORD!
21
Blessed be the LORD from Zion,
he who resides in Jerusalem.
Praise the LORD!
1
O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good,2
O give thanks to the God of gods,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
3
O give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
4
who alone does great wonders,5
who by understanding made the heavens,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
6
who spread out the earth on the waters,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
7
who made the great lights,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
8
the sun to rule over the day,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
9
the moon and stars to rule over the night,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
10
who struck Egypt through their firstborn,11
and brought Israel out from among them,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
12
with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
13
who divided the Red Sea in two,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
14
and made Israel pass through the midst of it,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
15
but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
16
who led his people through the wilderness,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
17
who struck down great kings,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
18
and killed famous kings,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
19
Sihon, king of the Amorites,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
20
and Og, king of Bashan,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
21
and gave their land as a heritage,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
22
a heritage to his servant Israel,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
23
It is he who remembered us in our low estate,24
and rescued us from our foes,
for his steadfast love endures for ever;
25
who gives food to all flesh,
for his steadfast love endures for ever.
26
O give thanks to the God of heaven,1
By the rivers of Babylon —2
On the willows there
we hung up our harps.
3
For there our captors
asked us for songs,
and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,
‘Sing us one of the songs of Zion!’
4
How could we sing the LORD’s song5
If I forget you, O Jerusalem,
let my right hand wither!
6
Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,
if I do not remember you,
if I do not set Jerusalem
above my highest joy.
7
Remember, O LORD, against the Edomites8
O daughter Babylon, you devastator!
Happy shall they be who pay you back
what you have done to us!
9
Happy shall they be who take your little ones
and dash them against the rock!
1
I give you thanks, O LORD, with my whole heart;2
I bow down towards your holy temple
and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness;
for you have exalted your name and your word
above everything.
3
On the day I called, you answered me,
you increased my strength of soul.
4
All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O LORD,5
They shall sing of the ways of the LORD,
for great is the glory of the LORD.
6
For though the LORD is high, he regards the lowly;
but the haughty he perceives from far away.
7
Though I walk in the midst of trouble,8
The LORD will fulfil his purpose for me;
your steadfast love, O LORD, endures for ever.
Do not forsake the work of your hands.
1
O LORD, you have searched me and known me.2
You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from far away.
3
You search out my path and my lying down,
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4
Even before a word is on my tongue,
O LORD, you know it completely.
5
You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is so high that I cannot attain it.
7
Where can I go from your spirit?8
If I ascend to heaven, you are there;
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
9
If I take the wings of the morning
and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,
10
even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me fast.
11
If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light around me become night’,
12
even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is as bright as the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13
For it was you who formed my inward parts;14
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
15
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
17
How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18
I try to count them — they are more than the sand;
I come to the end — I am still with you.
19
O that you would kill the wicked, O God,20
those who speak of you maliciously,
and lift themselves up against you for evil!
21
Do I not hate those who hate you, O LORD?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22
I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
23
Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my thoughts.
24
See if there is any wicked way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
1
Deliver me, O LORD, from evildoers;2
who plan evil things in their minds
and stir up wars continually.
3
They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,
and under their lips is the venom of vipers.
4
Guard me, O LORD, from the hands of the wicked;5
The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,
and with cords they have spread a net;
along the road they have set snares for me.
6
I say to the LORD, ‘You are my God;7
O LORD, my Lord, my strong deliverer,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8
Do not grant, O LORD, the desires of the wicked;
do not further their evil plot.
9
Those who surround me lift up their heads;10
Let burning coals fall on them!
Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!
11
Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;
let evil speedily hunt down the violent!
12
I know that the LORD maintains the cause of the needy,13
Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
the upright shall live in your presence.
1
I call upon you, O LORD; come quickly to me;2
Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.
3
Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD;4
Do not turn my heart to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with those who work iniquity;
do not let me eat of their delicacies.
5
Let the righteous strike me;6
When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,
then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.
7
Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land,
so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.
8
But my eyes are turned towards you, O GOD, my Lord;9
Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me,
and from the snares of evildoers.
10
Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
while I alone escape.
1
With my voice I cry to the LORD;2
I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him.
3
When my spirit is faint,
you know my way.
4
Look on my right hand and see —
there is no one who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me;
no one cares for me.
5
I cry to you, O LORD;6
Give heed to my cry,
for I am brought very low.
7
Bring me out of prison,
so that I may give thanks to your name.
The righteous will surround me,
for you will deal bountifully with me.
1
Hear my prayer, O LORD;2
Do not enter into judgement with your servant,
for no one living is righteous before you.
3
For the enemy has pursued me,4
Therefore my spirit faints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.
5
I remember the days of old,6
I stretch out my hands to you;
my soul thirsts for you like a parched land.
7
Answer me quickly, O LORD;8
Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,
for in you I put my trust.
Teach me the way I should go,
for to you I lift up my soul.
9
Save me, O LORD, from my enemies;10
Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.
Let your good spirit lead me
on a level path.
11
For your name’s sake, O LORD, preserve my life.12
In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,
and destroy all my adversaries,
for I am your servant.
1
Blessed be the LORD, my rock,2
my rock and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues the peoples under me.
3
O LORD, what are human beings that you regard them,4
They are like a breath;
their days are like a passing shadow.
5
Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down;6
Make the lightning flash and scatter them;
send out your arrows and rout them.
7
Stretch out your hand from on high;
set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters,
from the hand of aliens,
8
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hands are false.
9
I will sing a new song to you, O God;10
the one who gives victory to kings,
who rescues his servant David.
11
Rescue me from the cruel sword,
and deliver me from the hand of aliens,
whose mouths speak lies,
and whose right hands are false.
12
May our sons in their youth13
May our barns be filled
with produce of every kind;
may our sheep increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields,
14
and may our cattle be heavy with young.
May there be no breach in the walls, no exile,
and no cry of distress in our streets.
15
Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall;1
I will extol you, my God and King,2
Every day I will bless you,
and praise your name for ever and ever.
3
Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised;
his greatness is unsearchable.
4
One generation shall laud your works to another,5
On the glorious splendour of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6
The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,
and I will declare your greatness.
7
They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8
The LORD is gracious and merciful,9
The LORD is good to all,
and his compassion is over all that he has made.
10
All your works shall give thanks to you, O LORD,11
They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,
and tell of your power,
12
to make known to all people your mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendour of your kingdom.
13
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
14
The LORD upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
15
The eyes of all look to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
16
You open your hand,
satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17
The LORD is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
18
The LORD is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
19
He fulfils the desire of all who fear him;
he also hears their cry, and saves them.
20
The LORD watches over all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21
My mouth will speak the praise of the LORD,1
Praise the LORD!2
I will praise the LORD as long as I live;
I will sing praises to my God all my life long.
3
Do not put your trust in princes,4
When their breath departs, they return to the earth;
on that very day their plans perish.
5
Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,6
who made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them;
who keeps faith for ever;
7
who executes justice for the oppressed;
who gives food to the hungry.
8
the LORD opens the eyes of the blind.
The LORD lifts up those who are bowed down;
the LORD loves the righteous.
9
The LORD watches over the strangers;
he upholds the orphan and the widow,
but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10
The LORD will reign for ever,1
Praise the LORD!2
The LORD builds up Jerusalem;
he gathers the outcasts of Israel.
3
He heals the broken-hearted,
and binds up their wounds.
4
He determines the number of the stars;
he gives to all of them their names.
5
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
6
The LORD lifts up the downtrodden;
he casts the wicked to the ground.
7
Sing to the LORD with thanksgiving;8
He covers the heavens with clouds,
prepares rain for the earth,
makes grass grow on the hills.
9
He gives to the animals their food,
and to the young ravens when they cry.
10
His delight is not in the strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;
11
but the LORD takes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who hope in his steadfast love.
12
Praise the LORD, O Jerusalem!13
For he strengthens the bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
14
He grants peace within your borders;
he fills you with the finest of wheat.
15
He sends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16
He gives snow like wool;
he scatters frost like ashes.
17
He hurls down hail like crumbs —
who can stand before his cold?
18
He sends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.
19
He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and ordinances to Israel.
20
He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his ordinances.
Praise the LORD!
1
Praise the LORD!2
Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his host!
3
Praise him, sun and moon;4
Praise him, you highest heavens,
and you waters above the heavens!
5
Let them praise the name of the LORD,6
He established them for ever and ever;
he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.
7
Praise the LORD from the earth,8
fire and hail, snow and frost,
stormy wind fulfilling his command!
9
Mountains and all hills,10
Wild animals and all cattle,
creeping things and flying birds!
11
Kings of the earth and all peoples,12
Young men and women alike,
old and young together!
13
Let them praise the name of the LORD,14
He has raised up a horn for his people,
praise for all his faithful,
for the people of Israel who are close to him.
Praise the LORD!
1
Praise the LORD!2
Let Israel be glad in its Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.
3
Let them praise his name with dancing,
making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.
4
For the LORD takes pleasure in his people;
he adorns the humble with victory.
5
Let the faithful exult in glory;
let them sing for joy on their couches.
6
Let the high praises of God be in their throats
and two-edged swords in their hands,
7
to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishment on the peoples,
8
to bind their kings with fetters
and their nobles with chains of iron,
9
to execute on them the judgement decreed.
This is glory for all his faithful ones.
Praise the LORD!
1
Praise the LORD!2
Praise him for his mighty deeds;
praise him according to his surpassing greatness!
3
Praise him with trumpet sound;4
Praise him with tambourine and dance;
praise him with strings and pipe!
5
Praise him with clanging cymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6
Let everything that breathes praise the LORD!
Praise the LORD!