The Psalms

BOOK I

Psalm 1

^1:1Blessed is the man who doesn't walk in the counsel of the wicked,
      Nor stand in the way of sinners,
      Nor sit in the seat of scoffers;

 ^1:2But his delight is in Yahweh's law;
      On his law he meditates day and night.

 ^1:3He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water,
      That brings forth its fruit in its season,
      Whose leaf also does not wither.
      Whatever he does shall prosper.

 ^1:4The wicked are not so,
      But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

 ^1:5Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment,
      Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

 ^1:6For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous,
      But the way of the wicked shall perish.

Psalm 2

^2:1Why do the nations rage,
      And the peoples plot a vain thing?

 ^2:2The kings of the earth take a stand,
      And the rulers take counsel together,
      Against Yahweh, and against his anointed, saying,

 ^2:3"Let's break their bonds apart,
      And cast away their cords from us."

 ^2:4He who sits in the heavens will laugh.
      The Lord will have them in derision.

 ^2:5Then he will speak to them in his anger,
      And terrify them in his wrath:

 ^2:6"Yet I have set my king on my holy hill of Zion."
      ^2:7I will tell of the decree.

 Yahweh said to me, "You are my son.
      Today I have become your father.

 ^2:8Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance,
      The uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.

 ^2:9You shall break them with a rod of iron.
      You shall dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel."

 ^2:10Now therefore be wise, you kings.
      Be instructed, you judges of the earth.

 ^2:11Serve Yahweh with fear,
      And rejoice with trembling.

 ^2:12Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,
      For his wrath will soon be kindled.
      Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.

Psalm 3

A Psalm by David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

 ^3:1Yahweh, how my adversaries have increased!
      Many are those who rise up against me.

 ^3:2Many there are who say of my soul,
      "There is no help for him in God."

 Selah.

 ^3:3But you, Yahweh, are a shield around me,
      My glory, and the one who lifts up my head.

 ^3:4I cry to Yahweh with my voice,
      And he answers me out of his holy hill.

 Selah.

 ^3:5I laid myself down and slept.
      I awakened; for Yahweh sustains me.

 ^3:6I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people
      Who have set themselves against me on every side.

 ^3:7Arise, Yahweh!
      Save me, my God!

 For you have struck all of my enemies on the cheek bone.
      You have broken the teeth of the wicked.

 ^3:8Salvation belongs to Yahweh.
      Your blessing be on your people.

 Selah.

Psalm 4

For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm by David.

 ^4:1Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness.
      Give me relief from my distress.
      Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

 ^4:2You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor?
      Will you love vanity, and seek after falsehood?

 Selah.

 ^4:3But know that Yahweh has set apart for himself him who is godly:
      Yahweh will hear when I call to him.

 ^4:4Stand in awe, and don't sin.
      Search your own heart on your bed, and be still.

 Selah.

 ^4:5Offer the sacrifices of righteousness.
      Put your trust in Yahweh.

 ^4:6Many say, "Who will show us any good?"
      Yahweh, let the light of your face shine on us.

 ^4:7You have put gladness in my heart,
      More than when their grain and their new wine are increased.

 ^4:8In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep,
      For you, Yahweh alone, make me live in safety.

Psalm 5

For the Chief Musician, with the flutes. A Psalm by David.

 ^5:1Give ear to my words, Yahweh.
      Consider my meditation.

 ^5:2Listen to the voice of my cry, my King and my God;
      For to you do I pray.

 ^5:3Yahweh, in the morning you shall hear my voice.
      In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly.

 ^5:4For you are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness.
      Evil can't live with you.

 ^5:5The arrogant shall not stand in your sight.
      You hate all workers of iniquity.

 ^5:6You will destroy those who speak lies.
      Yahweh abhors the blood-thirsty and deceitful man.

 ^5:7But as for me, in the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house:
      I will bow toward your holy temple in reverence of you.

 ^5:8Lead me, Yahweh, in your righteousness because of my enemies.
      Make your way straight before my face.

 ^5:9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth.
      Their heart is destruction.
      Their throat is an open tomb.
      They flatter with their tongue.

 ^5:10Hold them guilty, God.
      Let them fall by their own counsels;

 Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions,
      For they have rebelled against you.

 ^5:11But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice,
      Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them.

 Let them also who love your name be joyful in you.
      ^5:12For you will bless the righteous.

 Yahweh, you will surround him with favor as with a shield.

Psalm 6

For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments, upon the eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm by David.

 ^6:1Yahweh, don't rebuke me in your anger,
      Neither discipline me in your wrath.

 ^6:2Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am faint.
      Yahweh, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

 ^6:3My soul is also in great anguish.
      But you, Yahweh--how long?

 ^6:4Return, Yahweh. Deliver my soul,
      And save me for your loving kindness' sake.

 ^6:5For in death there is no memory of you.
      In Sheol, who shall give you thanks?

 ^6:6I am weary with my groaning;
      Every night I flood my bed;
      I drench my couch with my tears.

 ^6:7My eye wastes away because of grief;
      It grows old because of all my adversaries.

 ^6:8Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity,
      For Yahweh has heard the voice of my weeping.

 ^6:9Yahweh has heard my supplication.
      Yahweh accepts my prayer.

 ^6:10May all my enemies be ashamed and dismayed.
      They shall turn back, they shall be disgraced suddenly.

Psalm 7

A meditation by David, which he sang to Yahweh, concerning the words of Cush, the Benjamite.

 ^7:1Yahweh, my God, I take refuge in you.
      Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,

 ^7:2Lest they tear apart my soul like a lion,
      Ripping it in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

 ^7:3Yahweh, my God, if I have done this,
      If there is iniquity in my hands,

 ^7:4If I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me
      (Yes, I have delivered him who without cause was my adversary),
      ^7:5Let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it;

 Yes, let him tread my life down to the earth,
      And lay my glory in the dust.

 Selah.

 ^7:6Arise, Yahweh, in your anger.
      Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries.

 Awake for me. You have commanded judgment.
      ^7:7Let the congregation of the peoples surround you.
      Rule over them on high.

 ^7:8Yahweh administers judgment to the peoples.
      Judge me, Yahweh, according to my righteousness,
      And to my integrity that is in me.

 ^7:9Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
      But establish the righteous;
      Their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God.

 ^7:10My shield is with God,
      Who saves the upright in heart.

 ^7:11God is a righteous judge,
      Yes, a God who has indignation every day.

 ^7:12If a man doesn't relent, he will sharpen his sword;
      He has bent and strung his bow.

 ^7:13He has also prepared for himself the instruments of death.
      He makes ready his flaming arrows.

 ^7:14Behold, he travails with iniquity;
      Yes, he has conceived mischief,
      And brought forth falsehood.

 ^7:15He has dug a hole,
      And has fallen into the pit which he made.

 ^7:16The trouble he causes shall return to his own head.
      His violence shall come down on the crown of his own head.

 ^7:17I will give thanks to Yahweh according to his righteousness,
      And will sing praise to the name of Yahweh Most High.

Psalm 8

For the Chief Musician; on an instrument of Gath. A Psalm by David.

 ^8:1Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth,
      Who has set your glory above the heavens!

 ^8:2From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength,
      Because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.

 ^8:3When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,
      The moon and the stars, which you have ordained;

 ^8:4What is man, that you think of him?
      The son of man, that you care for him?

 ^8:5For you have made him a little lower than God,
      And crowned him with glory and honor.

 ^8:6You make him ruler over the works of your hands.
      You have put all things under his feet:

 ^8:7All sheep and oxen,
      Yes, and the animals of the field,
      ^8:8The birds of the sky, the fish of the sea,
      And whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

 ^8:9Yahweh, our Lord,
      How majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 9

For the Chief Musician. Set to "The Death of the Son." A Psalm by David.

 ^9:1I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart.
      I will tell of all your marvelous works.

 ^9:2I will be glad and rejoice in you.
      I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

 ^9:3When my enemies turn back,
      They stumble and perish in your presence.

 ^9:4For you have maintained my just cause.
      You sit on the throne judging righteously.

 ^9:5You have rebuked the nations.
      You have destroyed the wicked.
      You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

 ^9:6The enemy is overtaken by endless ruin.
      The very memory of the cities which you have overthrown has perished.

 ^9:7But Yahweh reigns forever.
      He has prepared his throne for judgment.

 ^9:8He will judge the world in righteousness.
      He will administer judgment to the peoples in uprightness.

 ^9:9Yahweh will also be a high tower for the oppressed;
      A high tower in times of trouble.

 ^9:10Those who know your name will put their trust in you,
      For you, Yahweh, have not forsaken those who seek you.

 ^9:11Sing praises to Yahweh, who dwells in Zion,
      And declare among the people what he has done.

 ^9:12For he who avenges blood remembers them.
      He doesn't forget the cry of the afflicted.

 ^9:13Have mercy on me, Yahweh.
      See my affliction by those who hate me,

 And lift me up from the gates of death;
      ^9:14That I may show forth all your praise.
      In the gates of the daughter of Zion, I will rejoice in your salvation.

 ^9:15The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made;
      In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.

 ^9:16Yahweh has made himself known.
      He has executed judgment.
      The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands.

 Meditation. Selah.

 ^9:17The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol,
      Even all the nations that forget God.

 ^9:18For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
      Nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

 ^9:19Arise, Yahweh! Don't let man prevail.
      Let the nations be judged in your sight.

 ^9:20Put them in fear, Yahweh.
      Let the nations know that they are only men.

 Selah.

Psalm 10

 ^10:1Why do you stand far off, Yahweh?
      Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

 ^10:2In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak;
      They are caught in the schemes that they devise.

 ^10:3For the wicked boasts of his heart's cravings,
      He blesses the greedy, and condemns Yahweh.

 ^10:4The wicked, in the pride of his face,
      Has no room in his thoughts for God.

 ^10:5His ways are prosperous at all times;
      He is haughty, and your laws are far from his sight:

 As for all his adversaries, he sneers at them.
      ^10:6He says in his heart, "I shall not be shaken;
      For generations I shall have no trouble."

 ^10:7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression.
      Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.

 ^10:8He lies in wait near the villages.
      From ambushes, he murders the innocent.

 His eyes are secretly set against the helpless.

 ^10:9He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush.
      He lies in wait to catch the helpless.
      He catches the helpless, when he draws him in his net.

 ^10:10The helpless are crushed, they collapse,
      They fall under his strength.

 ^10:11He says in his heart, "God has forgotten.
      He hides his face. He will never see it."

 ^10:12Arise, Yahweh!
      God, lift up your hand!
      Don't forget the helpless.

 ^10:13Why does the wicked person condemn God,
      And say in his heart, "God won't call me into account?"

 ^10:14But you do see trouble and grief;
      You consider it to take it into your hand.
      You help the victim and the fatherless.

 ^10:15Break the arm of the wicked.
      As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none.

 ^10:16Yahweh is King forever and ever!
      The nations will perish out of his land.

 ^10:17Yahweh, you have heard the desire of the humble.
      You will prepare their heart.
      You will cause your ear to hear,
      ^10:18To judge the fatherless and the oppressed,
      That man who is of the earth may terrify no more.

Psalm 11

For the Chief Musician. By David.

 ^11:1In Yahweh, I take refuge.
      How can you say to my soul, "Flee as a bird to your mountain!"

 ^11:2For, behold, the wicked bend their bows.
      They set their arrows on the strings,
      That they may shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.

 ^11:3If the foundations are destroyed,
      What can the righteous do?

 ^11:4Yahweh is in his holy temple.
      Yahweh is on his throne in heaven.

 His eyes observe.
      His eyes examine the children of men.

 ^11:5Yahweh examines the righteous,
      But the wicked and him who loves violence his soul hates.

 ^11:6On the wicked he will rain blazing coals;
      Fire, sulfur, and scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

 ^11:7For Yahweh is righteous.
      He loves righteousness.
      The upright shall see his face.

Psalm 12

For the Chief Musician; upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

 ^12:1Help, Yahweh; for the godly man ceases.
      For the faithful fail from among the children of men.

 ^12:2Everyone lies to his neighbor.
      They speak with flattering lips, and with a double heart.

 ^12:3May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips,
      And the tongue that boasts,

 ^12:4Who have said, "With our tongue we will prevail.
      Our lips are our own.
      Who is lord over us?"

 ^12:5"Because of the oppression of the weak and because of the groaning of the needy,
      I will now arise," says Yahweh;

 "I will set him in safety from those who malign him."

 ^12:6The words of Yahweh are flawless words,
      As silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.

 ^12:7You will keep them, Yahweh,
      You will preserve them from this generation forever.

 ^12:8The wicked walk on every side,
      When what is vile is exalted among the sons of men.

Psalm 13

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

 ^13:1How long, Yahweh? Will you forget me forever?
      How long will you hide your face from me?

 ^13:2How long shall I take counsel in my soul,
      Having sorrow in my heart every day?
      How long shall my enemy triumph over me?

 ^13:3Behold, and answer me, Yahweh, my God.
      Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death;
      ^13:4Lest my enemy say, "I have prevailed against him;"
      Lest my adversaries rejoice when I fall.

 ^13:5But I trust in your loving kindness.
      My heart rejoices in your salvation.

 ^13:6I will sing to Yahweh,
      Because he has been good to me.

Psalm 14

For the Chief Musician. By David.

 ^14:1The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God."
      They are corrupt.
      They have done abominable works.
      There is none who does good.

 ^14:2Yahweh looked down from heaven on the children of men,
      To see if there were any who did understand,
      Who did seek after God.

 ^14:3They have all gone aside.
      They have together become corrupt.
      There is none who does good, no, not one.

 ^14:4Have all the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
      Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
      And don't call on Yahweh?

 ^14:5There they were in great fear,
      For God is in the generation of the righteous.

 ^14:6You frustrate the plan of the poor,
      Because Yahweh is his refuge.

 ^14:7Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
      When Yahweh restores the fortunes of his people,
      Then Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.

Psalm 15

A Psalm by David.

 ^15:1Yahweh, who shall dwell in your sanctuary?
      Who shall live on your holy hill?

 ^15:2He who walks blamelessly does what is right,
      And speaks truth in his heart;

 ^15:3He who doesn't slander with his tongue,
      Nor does evil to his friend,
      Nor casts slurs against his fellow man;

 ^15:4In whose eyes a vile man is despised,
      But who honors those who fear Yahweh;
      He who keeps an oath even when it hurts, and doesn't change;

 ^15:5He who doesn't lend out his money for usury,
      Nor take a bribe against the innocent.

 He who does these things shall never be shaken.

Psalm 16

A Poem by David.

 ^16:1Preserve me, God, for in you do I take refuge.

 ^16:2My soul, you have said to Yahweh, "You are my Lord.
      Apart from you I have no good thing."

 ^16:3As for the saints who are in the earth,
      They are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.

 ^16:4Their sorrows shall be multiplied who give gifts to another god.
      Their drink-offerings of blood I will not offer,
      Nor take their names on my lips.

 ^16:5Yahweh assigned my portion and my cup.
      You made my lot secure.

 ^16:6The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places.
      Yes, I have a good inheritance.

 ^16:7I will bless Yahweh, who has given me counsel.
      Yes, my heart instructs me in the night seasons.

 ^16:8I have set Yahweh always before me.
      Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

 ^16:9Therefore my heart is glad, and my tongue rejoices.
      My body shall also dwell in safety.

 ^16:10For you will not leave my soul in Sheol,
      Neither will you allow your holy one to see corruption.

 ^16:11You will show me the path of life.
      In your presence is fullness of joy.

 In your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 17

A Prayer by David.

 ^17:1Hear, Yahweh, my righteous plea;
      Give ear to my prayer, that doesn't go out of deceitful lips.

 ^17:2Let my sentence come forth from your presence;
      Let your eyes look on equity.

 ^17:3You have proved my heart; you have visited me in the night;
      You have tried me, and found nothing;
      I have resolved that my mouth shall not disobey.

 ^17:4As for the works of men, by the word of your lips
      I have kept myself from the ways of the violent.

 ^17:5My steps have held fast to your paths,
      My feet have not slipped.

 ^17:6I have called on you, for you will answer me, God:
      Turn your ear to me.
      Hear my speech.

 ^17:7Show your marvelous loving kindness,
      You who save those who take refuge by your right hand from their enemies.

 ^17:8Keep me as the apple of your eye;
      Hide me under the shadow of your wings,

 ^17:9From the wicked who oppress me,
      My deadly enemies, who surround me.

 ^17:10They close up their callous hearts.
      With their mouth they speak proudly.

 ^17:11They have now surrounded us in our steps.
      They set their eyes to cast us down to the earth.

 ^17:12He is like a lion that is greedy of his prey,
      As it were a young lion lurking in secret places.

 ^17:13Arise, Yahweh,

 Confront him, cast him down.
      Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword;
      ^17:14From men by your hand, Yahweh,

 From men of the world, whose portion is in this life.

 You fill the belly of your cherished ones.
      Your sons have plenty,
      And they store up wealth for their children.

 ^17:15As for me, I shall see your face in righteousness;
      I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with seeing your form.

Psalm 18

For the Chief Musician. By David the servant of Yahweh, who spoke to Yahweh the words of this song in the day that Yahweh delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said,

 ^18:1I love you, Yahweh, my strength.

 ^18:2Yahweh 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 high tower.

 ^18:3I call on Yahweh, who is worthy to be praised;
      And I am saved from my enemies.

 ^18:4The cords of death surrounded me.
      The floods of ungodliness made me afraid.

 ^18:5The cords of Sheol were round about me;
      The snares of death came on me.

 ^18:6In my distress I called on Yahweh,
      And cried to my God.

 He heard my voice out of his temple,
      My cry before him came into his ears.

 ^18:7Then the earth shook and trembled.
      The foundations also of the mountains quaked and were shaken,
      Because he was angry.

 ^18:8Smoke went out of his nostrils.
      Consuming fire came out of his mouth.
      Coals were kindled by it.

 ^18:9He bowed the heavens also, and came down.
      Thick darkness was under his feet.

 ^18:10He rode on a cherub, and flew.
      Yes, he soared on the wings of the wind.

 ^18:11He made darkness his hiding-place, his pavilion around him,
      Darkness of waters, thick clouds of the skies.

 ^18:12At the brightness before him his thick clouds passed,
      Hailstones and coals of fire.

 ^18:13Yahweh also thundered in the sky,
      The Most High uttered his voice:
      Hailstones and coals of fire.

 ^18:14He sent out his arrows, and scattered them;
      Yes, great lightning bolts, and routed them.

 ^18:15Then the channels of waters appeared,
      The foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, Yahweh,
      At the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

 ^18:16He sent from on high.
      He took me.
      He drew me out of many waters.

 ^18:17He delivered me from my strong enemy,
      From those who hated me; for they were too mighty for me.

 ^18:18They came on me in the day of my calamity,
      But Yahweh was my support.

 ^18:19He brought me forth also into a large place.
      He delivered me, because he delighted in me.

 ^18:20Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness.
      According to the cleanness of my hands has he recompensed me.

 ^18:21For I have kept the ways of Yahweh,
      And have not wickedly departed from my God.

 ^18:22For all his ordinances were before me.
      I didn't put away his statutes from me.

 ^18:23I was also blameless with him.
      I kept myself from my iniquity.

 ^18:24Therefore Yahweh has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
      According to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.

 ^18:25With the merciful you will show yourself merciful.
      With the perfect man, you will show yourself perfect.

 ^18:26With the pure, you will show yourself pure.
      With the crooked you will show yourself shrewd.

 ^18:27For you will save the afflicted people,
      But the haughty eyes you will bring down.

 ^18:28For you will light my lamp, Yahweh.
      My God will light up my darkness.

 ^18:29For by you, I advance through a troop.
      By my God, I leap over a wall.

 ^18:30As for God, his way is perfect.
      The word of Yahweh is tried.
      He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him.

 ^18:31For who is God, except Yahweh?
      Who is a rock, besides our God,
      ^18:32The God who arms me with strength, and makes my way perfect?

 ^18:33He makes my feet like deer's feet,
      And sets me on my high places.

 ^18:34He teaches my hands to war;
      So that my arms bend a bow of bronze.

 ^18:35You have also given me the shield of your salvation.
      Your right hand sustains me.
      Your gentleness has made me great.

 ^18:36You have enlarged my steps under me,
      My feet have not slipped.

 ^18:37I will pursue my enemies, and overtake them.
      Neither will I turn again until they are consumed.

 ^18:38I will strike them through, so that they will not be able to rise.
      They shall fall under my feet.

 ^18:39For you have girded me with strength to the battle.
      You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

 ^18:40You have also made my enemies turn their backs to me,
      That I might cut off those who hate me.

 ^18:41They cried, but there was none to save;
      Even to Yahweh, but he didn't answer them.

 ^18:42Then I beat them small as the dust before the wind.
      I cast them out as the mire of the streets.

 ^18:43You have delivered me from the strivings of the people.
      You have made me the head of the nations.

 A people whom I have not known shall serve me.
      ^18:44As soon as they hear of me they shall obey me.
      The foreigners shall submit themselves to me.

 ^18:45The foreigners shall fade away,
      And shall come trembling out of their close places.

 ^18:46Yahweh lives; and blessed be my rock.
      Exalted be the God of my salvation,

 ^18:47Even the God who executes vengeance for me,
      And subdues peoples under me.

 ^18:48He rescues me from my enemies.
      Yes, you lift me up above those who rise up against me.
      You deliver me from the violent man.

 ^18:49Therefore I will give thanks to you, Yahweh, among the nations,
      And will sing praises to your name.

 ^18:50He gives great deliverance to his king,
      And shows loving kindness to his anointed,
      To David and to his seed, forevermore.

Psalm 19

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

 ^19:1The heavens declare the glory of God.
      The expanse shows his handiwork.

 ^19:2Day after day they pour forth speech,
      And night after night they display knowledge.

 ^19:3There is no speech nor language,
      Where their voice is not heard.

 ^19:4Their voice has gone out through all the earth,
      Their words to the end of the world.

 In them he has set a tent for the sun,
      ^19:5Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber,
      Like a strong man rejoicing to run his course.

 ^19:6His going forth is from the end of the heavens,
      His circuit to its ends;
      There is nothing hidden from its heat.

 ^19:7Yahweh's law is perfect, restoring the soul.
      Yahweh's testimony is sure, making wise the simple.

 ^19:8Yahweh's precepts are right, rejoicing the heart.
      Yahweh's commandment is pure, enlightening the eyes.

 ^19:9The fear of Yahweh is clean, enduring forever.
      Yahweh's ordinances are true, and righteous altogether.

 ^19:10More to be desired are they than gold, yes, than much fine gold;
      Sweeter also than honey and the extract of the honeycomb.

 ^19:11Moreover by them is your servant warned.
      In keeping them there is great reward.

 ^19:12Who can discern his errors?
      Forgive me from hidden errors.

 ^19:13Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins.
      Let them not have dominion over me.

 Then I will be upright,
      I will be blameless and innocent of great transgression.

 ^19:14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
      Be acceptable in your sight,
      Yahweh, my rock, and my redeemer.

Psalm 20

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

 ^20:1May Yahweh answer you in the day of trouble.
      May the name of the God of Jacob set you up on high,
      ^20:2Send you help from the sanctuary,
      Grant you support from Zion,
      ^20:3Remember all your offerings,
      And accept your burnt sacrifice.

 Selah.

 ^20:4May He grant you your heart's desire,
      And fulfill all your counsel.

 ^20:5We will triumph in your salvation.
      In the name of our God we will set up our banners:
      May Yahweh grant all your requests.

 ^20:6Now I know that Yahweh saves his anointed.
      He will answer him from his holy heaven,
      With the saving strength of his right hand.

 ^20:7Some trust in chariots, and some in horses,
      But we trust the name of Yahweh our God.

 ^20:8They are bowed down and fallen,
      But we rise up, and stand upright.

 ^20:9Save, Yahweh;
      Let the King answer us when we call!

Psalm 21

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

 ^21:1The king rejoices in your strength, Yahweh!
      How greatly he rejoices in your salvation!

 ^21:2You have given him his heart's desire,
      And have not withheld the request of his lips.

 Selah.

 ^21:3For you meet him with the blessings of goodness;
      You set a crown of fine gold on his head.

 ^21:4He asked life of you, you gave it to him,
      Even length of days forever and ever.

 ^21:5His glory is great in your salvation.
      You lay honor and majesty on him.

 ^21:6For you make him most blessed forever.
      You make him glad with joy in your presence.

 ^21:7For the king trusts in Yahweh.
      Through the loving kindness of the Most High, he shall not be moved.

 ^21:8Your hand will find out all of your enemies.
      Your right hand will find out those who hate you.

 ^21:9You will make them as a fiery furnace in the time of your anger.
      Yahweh will swallow them up in his wrath.
      The fire shall devour them.

 ^21:10You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
      Their posterity from among the children of men.

 ^21:11For they intended evil against you.
      They plotted evil against you which cannot succeed.

 ^21:12For you will make them turn their back,
      When you aim drawn bows at their face.

 ^21:13Be exalted, Yahweh, in your strength,
      So we will sing and praise your power.

Psalm 22

For the Chief Musician; set to "The Doe of the Morning." A Psalm by David.

 ^22:1My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
      Why are you so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?

 ^22:2My God, I cry in the daytime, but you don't answer;
      In the night season, and am not silent.

 ^22:3But you are holy,
      You who inhabit the praises of Israel.

 ^22:4Our fathers trusted in you.
      They trusted, and you delivered them.

 ^22:5They cried to you, and were delivered.
      They trusted in you, and were not disappointed.

 ^22:6But I am a worm, and no man;
      A reproach of men, and despised by the people.

 ^22:7All those who see me mock me.
      They insult me with their lips. They shake their heads, saying,
      ^22:8"He trusts in Yahweh;
      Let him deliver him;
      Let him rescue him, since he delights in him."

 ^22:9But you brought me out of the womb.
      You made me trust at my mother's breasts.

 ^22:10I was thrown on you from my mother's womb.
      You are my God since my mother bore me.

 ^22:11Don't be far from me, for trouble is near.
      For there is none to help.

 ^22:12Many bulls have surrounded me.
      Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.

 ^22:13They open their mouths wide against me,
      Lions tearing prey and roaring.

 ^22:14I am poured out like water.
      All my bones are out of joint.

 My heart is like wax;
      It is melted within me.

 ^22:15My strength is dried up like a potsherd.
      My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.

 You have brought me into the dust of death.

 ^22:16For dogs have surrounded me.
      A company of evil-doers have enclosed me.
      They pierced my hands and my feet.

 ^22:17I can count all of my bones.

 They look and stare at me.

 ^22:18They divide my garments among them.
      They cast lots for my clothing.

 ^22:19But don't be far off, Yahweh.
      You are my help: hurry to help me.

 ^22:20Deliver my soul from the sword,
      My precious life from the power of the dog.

 ^22:21Save me from the lion's mouth;
      Yes, from the horns of the wild oxen you have answered me.

 ^22:22I will declare your name to my brothers.
      In the midst of the assembly, I will praise you.

 ^22:23You who fear Yahweh, praise him!
      All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him!
      Stand in awe of him, all you descendants of Israel!

 ^22:24For he has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted,
      Neither has he hidden his face from him;
      But when he cried to him, he heard.

 ^22:25Of you comes my praise in the great assembly.
      I will pay my vows before those who fear him.

 ^22:26The humble shall eat and be satisfied.
      They shall praise Yahweh who seek after him.
      Let your hearts live forever.

 ^22:27All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to Yahweh.
      All the relatives of the nations shall worship before you.

 ^22:28For the kingdom is Yahweh's.
      He is the ruler over the nations.

 ^22:29All the rich ones of the earth shall eat and worship.
      All those who go down to the dust shall bow before him,
      Even he who can't keep his soul alive.

 ^22:30Posterity shall serve him.
      Future generations shall be told about the Lord.

 ^22:31They shall come and shall declare his righteousness to a people that shall be born,
      For he has done it.

Psalm 23

A Psalm by David.

 ^23:1Yahweh is my shepherd:
      I shall lack nothing.

 ^23:2He makes me lie down in green pastures.
      He leads me beside still waters.

 ^23:3He restores my soul.
      He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

 ^23:4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
      I will fear no evil, for you are with me.
      Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

 ^23:5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

 You anoint my head with oil.
      My cup runs over.

 ^23:6Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life,
      And I shall dwell in Yahweh's house forever.

Psalm 24

A Psalm by David.

 ^24:1The earth is Yahweh's, with its fullness;
      The world, and those who dwell therein.

 ^24:2For he has founded it on the seas,
      And established it on the floods.

 ^24:3Who may ascend to Yahweh's hill?
      Who may stand in his holy place?

 ^24:4He who has clean hands and a pure heart;
      Who has not lifted up his soul to falsehood,
      And has not sworn deceitfully.

 ^24:5He shall receive a blessing from Yahweh,
      Righteousness from the God of his salvation.

 ^24:6This is the generation of those who seek Him,
      Who seek your face--even Jacob.

 Selah.

 ^24:7Lift up your heads, you gates;
      Be lifted up, you everlasting doors:
      The King of glory will come in.

 ^24:8Who is the King of glory?
      Yahweh strong and mighty,
      Yahweh mighty in battle.

 ^24:9Lift up your heads, you gates;
      Yes, lift them up, you everlasting doors:
      The King of glory will come in.

 ^24:10Who is this King of glory?
      Yahweh of Armies,
      He is the King of glory.

 Selah.

Psalm 25

By David.

 ^25:1To you, Yahweh, do I lift up my soul.

 ^25:2My God, I have trusted in you,
      Don't let me be shamed.
      Don't let my enemies triumph over me.

 ^25:3Yes, no one who waits for you shall be shamed.
      They shall be shamed who deal treacherously without cause.

 ^25:4Show me your ways, Yahweh.
      Teach me your paths.

 ^25:5Guide me in your truth, and teach me,
      For you are the God of my salvation,
      I wait for you all day long.

 ^25:6Yahweh, remember your tender mercies and your loving kindness,
      For they are from old times.

 ^25:7Don't remember the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions.
      Remember me according to your loving kindness,
      For your goodness' sake, Yahweh.

 ^25:8Good and upright is Yahweh,
      Therefore he will instruct sinners in the way.

 ^25:9He will guide the humble in justice.
      He will teach the humble his way.

 ^25:10All the paths of Yahweh are loving kindness and truth
      To such as keep his covenant and his testimonies.

 ^25:11For your name's sake, Yahweh,
      Pardon my iniquity, for it is great.

 ^25:12What man is he who fears Yahweh?
      He shall instruct him in the way that he shall choose.

 ^25:13His soul shall dwell at ease.
      His seed shall inherit the land.

 ^25:14The friendship of Yahweh is with those who fear him.
      He will show them his covenant.

 ^25:15My eyes are ever on Yahweh,
      For he will pluck my feet out of the net.

 ^25:16Turn to me, and have mercy on me,
      For I am desolate and afflicted.

 ^25:17The troubles of my heart are enlarged.
      Oh bring me out of my distresses.

 ^25:18Consider my affliction and my travail.
      Forgive all my sins.

 ^25:19Consider my enemies, for they are many.
      They hate me with cruel hatred.

 ^25:20Oh keep my soul, and deliver me.
      Let me not be disappointed, for I take refuge in you.

 ^25:21Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
      For I wait for you.

 ^25:22Redeem Israel, God,
      Out all of his troubles.

Psalm 26

By David.

 ^26:1Judge me, Yahweh, for I have walked in my integrity.
      I have trusted also in Yahweh without wavering.

 ^26:2Examine me, Yahweh, and prove me.
      Try my heart and my mind.

 ^26:3For your loving kindness is before my eyes.
      I have walked in your truth.

 ^26:4I have not sat with deceitful men,
      Neither will I go in with hypocrites.

 ^26:5I hate the assembly of evil-doers,
      And will not sit with the wicked.

 ^26:6I will wash my hands in innocence,
      So I will go about your altar, Yahweh;
      ^26:7That I may make the voice of thanksgiving to be heard,
      And tell of all your wondrous works.

 ^26:8Yahweh, I love the habitation of your house,
      The place where your glory dwells.

 ^26:9Don't gather my soul with sinners,
      Nor my life with bloodthirsty men;
      ^26:10In whose hands is wickedness,
      Their right hand is full of bribes.

 ^26:11But as for me, I will walk in my integrity.
      Redeem me, and be merciful to me.

 ^26:12My foot stands in an even place.
      In the congregations I will bless Yahweh.

Psalm 27

By David.

 ^27:1Yahweh is my light and my salvation.
      Whom shall I fear?

 Yahweh is the strength of my life.
      Of whom shall I be afraid?

 ^27:2When evil-doers came at me to eat up my flesh,
      Even my adversaries and my foes, they stumbled and fell.

 ^27:3Though a host should encamp against me,
      My heart shall not fear.

 Though war should rise against me,
      Even then I will be confident.

 ^27:4One thing I have asked of Yahweh, that I will seek after,
      That I may dwell in the house of Yahweh all the days of my life,
      To see Yahweh's beauty,
      And to inquire in his temple.

 ^27:5For in the day of trouble he will keep me secretly in his pavilion.
      In the covert of his tent he will hide me.
      He will lift me up on a rock.

 ^27:6Now my head will be lifted up above my enemies around me.

 I will offer sacrifices of joy in his tent.
      I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to Yahweh.

 ^27:7Hear, Yahweh, when I cry with my voice.
      Have mercy also on me, and answer me.

 ^27:8When you said, "Seek my face,"
      My heart said to you, "I will seek your face, Yahweh."

 ^27:9Don't hide your face from me.
      Don't put your servant away in anger.

 You have been my help.
      Don't abandon me,
      Neither forsake me, God of my salvation.

 ^27:10When my father and my mother forsake me,
      Then Yahweh will take me up.

 ^27:11Teach me your way, Yahweh.
      Lead me in a straight path, because of my enemies.

 ^27:12Don't deliver me over to the desire of my adversaries,
      For false witnesses have risen up against me,
      Such as breathe out cruelty.

 ^27:13I am still confident of this:
      I will see the goodness of Yahweh in the land of the living.

 ^27:14Wait for Yahweh.
      Be strong, and let your heart take courage.

 Yes, wait for Yahweh.

Psalm 28

By David.

 ^28:1To you, Yahweh, I call.
      My rock, don't be deaf to me;
      Lest, if you are silent to me,
      I would become like those who go down into the pit.

 ^28:2Hear the voice of my petitions, when I cry to you,
      When I lift up my hands toward your Most Holy Place.

 ^28:3Don't draw me away with the wicked,
      With the workers of iniquity who speak peace with their neighbors,
      But mischief is in their hearts.

 ^28:4Give them according to their work, and according to the wickedness of their doings.
      Give them according to the operation of their hands.
      Bring back on them what they deserve.

 ^28:5Because they don't regard the works of Yahweh,
      Nor the operation of his hands,
      He will break them down and not build them up.

 ^28:6Blessed be Yahweh,
      Because he has heard the voice of my petitions.

 ^28:7Yahweh is my strength and my shield.
      My heart has trusted in him, and I am helped.

 Therefore my heart greatly rejoices.
      With my song I will thank him.

 ^28:8Yahweh is their strength.
      He is a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.

 ^28:9Save your people,
      And bless your inheritance.

 Be their shepherd also,
      And bear them up forever.

Psalm 29

A Psalm by David.

 ^29:1Ascribe to Yahweh, you sons of the mighty,
      Ascribe to Yahweh glory and strength.

 ^29:2Ascribe to Yahweh the glory due to his name.
      Worship Yahweh in holy array.

 ^29:3Yahweh's voice is on the waters.
      The God of glory thunders, even Yahweh on many waters.

 ^29:4Yahweh's voice is powerful.
      Yahweh's voice is full of majesty.

 ^29:5The voice of Yahweh breaks the cedars.
      Yes, Yahweh breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.

 ^29:6He makes them also to skip like a calf;
      Lebanon and Sirion like a young, wild ox.

 ^29:7Yahweh's voice strikes with flashes of lightning.
      ^29:8Yahweh's voice shakes the wilderness.
      Yahweh shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

 ^29:9Yahweh's voice makes the deer calve,
      And strips the forests bare.
      In his temple everything says, "Glory!"

 ^29:10Yahweh sat enthroned at the Flood.
      Yes, Yahweh sits as King forever.

 ^29:11Yahweh will give strength to his people.
      Yahweh will bless his people with peace.

Psalm 30

A Psalm. A Song for the Dedication of the Temple. By David.

 ^30:1I will extol you, Yahweh, for you have raised me up,
      And have not made my foes to rejoice over me.

 ^30:2Yahweh my God, I cried to you,

 And you have healed me.

 ^30:3Yahweh, you have brought up my soul from Sheol.
      You have kept me alive, that I should not go down to the pit.

 ^30:4Sing praise to Yahweh, you saints of his.
      Give thanks to his holy name.

 ^30:5For his anger is but for a moment;
      His favor is for a lifetime.

 Weeping may stay for the night,
      But joy comes in the morning.

 ^30:6As for me, I said in my prosperity,
      "I shall never be moved."

 ^30:7You, Yahweh, when you favored me, made my mountain to stand strong.
      But when you hid your face, I was troubled.

 ^30:8I cried to you, Yahweh.
      To Yahweh I made supplication:

 ^30:9"What profit is there in my destruction, if I go down to the pit?
      Shall the dust praise you?
      Shall it declare your truth?

 ^30:10Hear, Yahweh, and have mercy on me.
      Yahweh, be my helper."

 ^30:11You have turned my mourning into dancing for me.
      You have removed my sackcloth, and clothed me with gladness,
      ^30:12To the end that my heart may sing praise to you, and not be silent.

 Yahweh my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

Psalm 31

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

 ^31:1In you, Yahweh, I take refuge.
      Let me never be disappointed:
      Deliver me in your righteousness.

 ^31:2Bow down your ear to me.
      Deliver me speedily.

 Be to me a strong rock,
      A house of defense to save me.

 ^31:3For you are my rock and my fortress,
      Therefore for your name's sake lead me and guide me.

 ^31:4Pluck me out of the net that they have laid secretly for me,
      For you are my stronghold.

 ^31:5Into your hand I commend my spirit.
      You redeem me, Yahweh, God of truth.

 ^31:6I hate those who regard lying vanities,
      But I trust in Yahweh.

 ^31:7I will be glad and rejoice in your loving kindness,
      For you have seen my affliction.
      You have known my soul in adversities.

 ^31:8You have not shut me up into the hand of the enemy.
      You have set my feet in a large place.

 ^31:9Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am in distress.
      My eye, my soul, and my body waste away with grief.

 ^31:10For my life is spent with sorrow,
      My years with sighing.

 My strength fails because of my iniquity.
      My bones are wasted away.

 ^31:11Because of all my adversaries I have become utterly contemptible to my neighbors,
      A fear to my acquaintances.
      Those who saw me on the street fled from me.

 ^31:12I am forgotten from their hearts like a dead man.
      I am like broken pottery.

 ^31:13For I have heard the slander of many, terror on every side,
      While they conspire together against me,
      They plot to take away my life.

 ^31:14But I trust in you, Yahweh.
      I said, "You are my God."

 ^31:15My times are in your hand.
      Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.

 ^31:16Make your face to shine on your servant.
      Save me in your loving kindness.

 ^31:17Let me not be disappointed, Yahweh, for I have called on you.
      Let the wicked be disappointed. Let them be silent in Sheol.

 ^31:18Let the lying lips be mute,
      Which speak against the righteous insolently, with pride and contempt.

 ^31:19Oh how great is your goodness,
      Which you have laid up for those who fear you,
      Which you have worked for those who take refuge in you,
      Before the sons of men!

 ^31:20In the shelter of your presence you will hide them from the plotting of man.
      You will keep them secretly in a dwelling away from the strife of tongues.

 ^31:21Praise be to Yahweh,
      For he has shown me his marvelous loving kindness in a strong city.

 ^31:22As for me, I said in my haste, "I am cut off from before your eyes."
      Nevertheless you heard the voice of my petitions when I cried to you.

 ^31:23Oh love Yahweh, all you his saints!
      Yahweh preserves the faithful,

 And pays back him who deals proudly in full.

 ^31:24Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
      All you who hope in Yahweh.

Psalm 32

By David. A contemplative psalm.

 ^32:1Blessed is he whose disobedience is forgiven,
      Whose sin is covered.

 ^32:2Blessed is the man to whom Yahweh doesn't impute iniquity,
      In whose spirit there is no deceit.

 ^32:3When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

 ^32:4For day and night your hand was heavy on me.
      My strength was sapped in the heat of summer.

 Selah.

 ^32:5I acknowledged my sin to you.
      I didn't hide my iniquity.

 I said, I will confess my transgressions to Yahweh,
      And you forgave the iniquity of my sin.

 Selah.

 ^32:6For this, let everyone who is godly pray to you in a time when you may be found.
      Surely when the great waters overflow, they shall not reach to him.

 ^32:7You are my hiding place.
      You will preserve me from trouble.
      You will surround me with songs of deliverance.

 Selah.

 ^32:8I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you shall go.
      I will counsel you with my eye on you.

 ^32:9Don't be like the horse, or like the mule, which have no understanding,
      Who are controlled by bit and bridle, or else they will not come near to you.

 ^32:10Many sorrows shall be to the wicked,
      But he who trusts in Yahweh, loving kindness shall surround him.

 ^32:11Be glad in Yahweh, and rejoice, you righteous!
      Shout for joy, all you who are upright in heart!

Psalm 33

 ^33:1Rejoice in Yahweh, you righteous!
      Praise is fitting for the upright.

 ^33:2Give thanks to Yahweh with the lyre.
      Sing praises to him with the harp of ten strings.

 ^33:3Sing to him a new song.
      Play skillfully with a shout of joy!

 ^33:4For the word of Yahweh is right.
      All his work is done in faithfulness.

 ^33:5He loves righteousness and justice.
      The earth is full of the loving kindness of Yahweh.

 ^33:6By Yahweh's word the heavens were made;
      All their host by the breath of his mouth.

 ^33:7He gathers the waters of the sea together as a heap.
      He lays up the deeps in storehouses.

 ^33:8Let all the earth fear Yahweh.
      Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

 ^33:9For he spoke, and it was done.
      He commanded, and it stood firm.

 ^33:10Yahweh brings the counsel of the nations to nothing.
      He makes the thoughts of the peoples to be of no effect.

 ^33:11The counsel of Yahweh stands fast forever,
      The thoughts of his heart to all generations.

 ^33:12Blessed is the nation whose God is Yahweh,
      The people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.

 ^33:13Yahweh looks from heaven.
      He sees all the sons of men.

 ^33:14From the place of his habitation he looks out on all the inhabitants of the earth,
      ^33:15He who fashions all of their hearts;
      And he considers all of their works.

 ^33:16There is no king saved by the multitude of a host.
      A mighty man is not delivered by great strength.

 ^33:17A horse is a vain thing for safety,
      Neither does he deliver any by his great power.

 ^33:18Behold, Yahweh's eye is on those who fear him,
      On those who hope in his loving kindness;
      ^33:19To deliver their soul from death,
      To keep them alive in famine.

 ^33:20Our soul has waited for Yahweh.
      He is our help and our shield.

 ^33:21For our heart rejoices in him,
      Because we have trusted in his holy name.

 ^33:22Let your loving kindness be on us, Yahweh,
      Since we have hoped in you.

Psalm 34

By David; when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.

 ^34:1I will bless Yahweh at all times.
      His praise will always be in my mouth.

 ^34:2My soul shall boast in Yahweh.
      The humble shall hear of it, and be glad.

 ^34:3Oh magnify Yahweh with me.
      Let us exalt his name together.

 ^34:4I sought Yahweh, and he answered me,
      And delivered me from all my fears.

 ^34:5They looked to him, and were radiant.
      Their faces shall never be covered with shame.

 ^34:6This poor man cried, and Yahweh heard him,
      And saved him out of all his troubles.

 ^34:7The angel of Yahweh encamps round about those who fear him,
      And delivers them.

 ^34:8Oh taste and see that Yahweh is good.
      Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.

 ^34:9Oh fear Yahweh, you his saints,
      For there is no lack with those who fear him.

 ^34:10The young lions do lack, and suffer hunger,
      But those who seek Yahweh shall not lack any good thing.

 ^34:11Come, you children, listen to me.
      I will teach you the fear of Yahweh.

 ^34:12Who is someone who desires life,
      And loves many days, that he may see good?

 ^34:13Keep your tongue from evil,
      And your lips from speaking lies.

 ^34:14Depart from evil, and do good.
      Seek peace, and pursue it.

 ^34:15Yahweh's eyes are toward the righteous.
      His ears listen to their cry.

 ^34:16Yahweh's face is against those who do evil,
      To cut off the memory of them from the earth.

 ^34:17The righteous cry, and Yahweh hears,
      And delivers them out of all their troubles.

 ^34:18Yahweh is near to those who have a broken heart,
      And saves those who have a crushed spirit.

 ^34:19Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
      But Yahweh delivers him out of them all.

 ^34:20He protects all of his bones.
      Not one of them is broken.

 ^34:21Evil shall kill the wicked.
      Those who hate the righteous shall be condemned.

 ^34:22Yahweh redeems the soul of his servants.
      None of those who take refuge in him shall be condemned.

Psalm 35

By David.

 ^35:1Contend, Yahweh, with those who contend with me.
      Fight against those who fight against me.

 ^35:2Take hold of shield and buckler,
      And stand up for my help.

 ^35:3Brandish the spear and block those who pursue me.
      Tell my soul, "I am your salvation."

 ^35:4Let those who seek after my soul be disappointed and brought to dishonor.
      Let those who plot my ruin be turned back and confounded.

 ^35:5Let them be as chaff before the wind,
      Yahweh's angel driving them on.

 ^35:6Let their way be dark and slippery,
      Yahweh's angel pursuing them.

 ^35:7For without cause they have hidden their net in a pit for me.
      Without cause they have dug a pit for my soul.

 ^35:8Let destruction come on him unawares.
      Let his net that he has hidden catch himself.
      Let him fall into that destruction.

 ^35:9My soul shall be joyful in Yahweh.
      It shall rejoice in his salvation.

 ^35:10All my bones shall say, "Yahweh, who is like you,
      Who delivers the poor from him who is too strong for him,
      Yes, the poor and the needy from him who robs him?"

 ^35:11Unrighteous witnesses rise up.
      They ask me about things that I don't know about.

 ^35:12They reward me evil for good,
      To the bereaving of my soul.

 ^35:13But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth.
      I afflicted my soul with fasting.
      My prayer returned into my own bosom.

 ^35:14I behaved myself as though it had been my friend or my brother.
      I bowed down mourning, as one who mourns his mother.

 ^35:15But in my adversity, they rejoiced, and gathered themselves together.
      The attackers gathered themselves together against me, and I didn't know it.
      They tore at me, and didn't cease.

 ^35:16Like the profane mockers in feasts,
      They gnashed their teeth at me.

 ^35:17Lord, how long will you look on?
      Rescue my soul from their destruction,
      My precious life from the lions.

 ^35:18I will give you thanks in the great assembly.
      I will praise you among many people.

 ^35:19Don't let those who are my enemies wrongfully rejoice over me;
      Neither let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.

 ^35:20For they don't speak peace,
      But they devise deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.

 ^35:21Yes, they opened their mouth wide against me.
      They said, "Aha! Aha! Our eye has seen it!"

 ^35:22You have seen it, Yahweh. Don't keep silent.
      Lord, don't be far from me.

 ^35:23Wake up! Rise up to defend me, my God!
      My Lord, contend for me!

 ^35:24Vindicate me, Yahweh my God, according to your righteousness;
      Don't let them gloat over me.

 ^35:25Don't let them say in their heart, "Aha! That's the way we want it!"
      Don't let them say, "We have swallowed him up!"

 ^35:26Let them be disappointed and confounded together who rejoice at my calamity.
      Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor who magnify themselves against me.

 ^35:27Let them shout for joy and be glad, who favor my righteous cause.
      Yes, let them say continually, "Yahweh be magnified,
      Who has pleasure in the prosperity of his servant!"

 ^35:28My tongue shall talk about your righteousness and about your praise all day long.

Psalm 36

For the Chief Musician. By David, the servant of Yahweh.

 ^36:1An oracle is within my heart about the disobedience of the wicked:
      "There is no fear of God before his eyes."

 ^36:2For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
      Too much to detect and hate his sin.

 ^36:3The words of his mouth are iniquity and deceit.
      He has ceased to be wise and to do good.

 ^36:4He plots iniquity on his bed.
      He sets himself in a way that is not good;
      He doesn't abhor evil.

 ^36:5Your loving kindness, Yahweh, is in the heavens.
      Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

 ^36:6Your righteousness is like the mountains of God.
      Your judgments are like a great deep.
      Yahweh, you preserve man and animal.

 ^36:7How precious is your loving kindness, God!
      The children of men take refuge under the shadow of your wings.

 ^36:8They shall be abundantly satisfied with the abundance of your house.
      You will make them drink of the river of your pleasures.

 ^36:9For with you is the spring of life.
      In your light shall we see light.

 ^36:10Oh continue your loving kindness to those who know you,
      Your righteousness to the upright in heart.

 ^36:11Don't let the foot of pride come against me.
      Don't let the hand of the wicked drive me away.

 ^36:12There the workers of iniquity are fallen.
      They are thrust down, and shall not be able to rise.

Psalm 37

By David.

 ^37:1Don't fret because of evil-doers,
      Neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness.

 ^37:2For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
      And wither like the green herb.

 ^37:3Trust in Yahweh, and do good.
      Dwell in the land, and enjoy safe pasture.

 ^37:4Also delight yourself in Yahweh,
      And he will give you the desires of your heart.

 ^37:5Commit your way to Yahweh.
      Trust also in him, and he will do this:

 ^37:6He will make your righteousness go forth as the light,
      And your justice as the noon day sun.

 ^37:7Rest in Yahweh, and wait patiently for him.
      Don't fret because of him who prospers in his way,
      Because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.

 ^37:8Cease from anger, and forsake wrath.
      Don't fret, it leads only to evildoing.

 ^37:9For evildoers shall be cut off,
      But those who wait for Yahweh shall inherit the land.

 ^37:10For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more.
      Yes, though you look for his place, he isn't there.

 ^37:11But the humble shall inherit the land,
      And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

 ^37:12The wicked plots against the just,
      And gnashes at him with his teeth.

 ^37:13The Lord will laugh at him,
      For he sees that his day is coming.

 ^37:14The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow,
      To cast down the poor and needy,
      To kill those who are upright in the way.

 ^37:15Their sword shall enter into their own heart.
      Their bows shall be broken.

 ^37:16Better is a little that the righteous has,
      Than the abundance of many wicked.

 ^37:17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
      But Yahweh upholds the righteous.

 ^37:18Yahweh knows the days of the perfect.
      Their inheritance shall be forever.

 ^37:19They shall not be disappointed in the time of evil.
      In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

 ^37:20But the wicked shall perish.
      The enemies of Yahweh shall be like the beauty of the fields.
      They will vanish--
      Vanish like smoke.

 ^37:21The wicked borrow, and don't pay back,
      But the righteous give generously.

 ^37:22For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land.
      Those who are cursed by him shall be cut off.

 ^37:23A man's goings are established by Yahweh.
      He delights in his way.

 ^37:24Though he stumble, he shall not fall,
      For Yahweh holds him up with his hand.

 ^37:25I have been young, and now am old,
      Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,
      Nor his children begging for bread.

 ^37:26All day long he deals graciously, and lends.
      His seed is blessed.

 ^37:27Depart from evil, and do good;
      Live securely forever.

 ^37:28For Yahweh loves justice,
      And doesn't forsake his saints.
      They are preserved forever,
      But the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

 ^37:29The righteous shall inherit the land,
      And live in it forever.

 ^37:30The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom.
      His tongue speaks justice.

 ^37:31The law of his God is in his heart.
      None of his steps shall slide.

 ^37:32The wicked watches the righteous,
      And seeks to kill him.

 ^37:33Yahweh will not leave him in his hand,
      Nor condemn him when he is judged.

 ^37:34Wait for Yahweh, and keep his way,
      And he will exalt you to inherit the land.
      When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

 ^37:35I have seen the wicked in great power,
      Spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.

 ^37:36But he passed away, and, behold, he was not.
      Yes, I sought him, but he could not be found.

 ^37:37Mark the perfect man, and see the upright,
      For there is a future for the man of peace.

 ^37:38As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together.
      The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

 ^37:39But the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh.
      He is their stronghold in the time of trouble.

 ^37:40Yahweh helps them, and rescues them.
      He rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
      Because they have taken refuge in him.

Psalm 38

A Psalm by David, for a memorial.

 ^38:1Yahweh, don't rebuke me in your wrath,
      Neither chasten me in your hot displeasure.

 ^38:2For your arrows have pierced me,
      Your hand presses hard on me.

 ^38:3There is no soundness in my flesh because of your indignation,
      Neither is there any health in my bones because of my sin.

 ^38:4For my iniquities have gone over my head.
      As a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

 ^38:5My wounds are loathsome and corrupt,
      Because of my foolishness.

 ^38:6I am pained and bowed down greatly.
      I go mourning all day long.

 ^38:7For my loins are filled with burning.
      There is no soundness in my flesh.

 ^38:8I am faint and severely bruised.
      I have groaned by reason of the anguish of my heart.

 ^38:9Lord, all my desire is before you.
      My groaning is not hidden from you.

 ^38:10My heart throbs.
      My strength fails me.
      As for the light of my eyes, it has also left me.

 ^38:11My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my plague.
      My kinsmen stand far away.

 ^38:12They also who seek after my life lay snares.
      Those who seek my hurt speak mischievous things,
      And meditate deceits all day long.

 ^38:13But I, as a deaf man, don't hear.
      I am as a mute man who doesn't open his mouth.

 ^38:14Yes, I am as a man who doesn't hear,
      In whose mouth are no reproofs.

 ^38:15For in you, Yahweh, do I hope.
      You will answer, Lord my God.

 ^38:16For I said, "Don't let them gloat over me,
      Or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips."

 ^38:17For I am ready to fall.
      My pain is continually before me.

 ^38:18For I will declare my iniquity.
      I will be sorry for my sin.

 ^38:19But my enemies are vigorous and many.
      Those who hate me without reason are numerous.

 ^38:20They who also render evil for good are adversaries to me,
      Because I follow what is good.

 ^38:21Don't forsake me, Yahweh.
      My God, don't be far from me.

 ^38:22Hurry to help me,
      Lord, my salvation.

Psalm 39

For the Chief Musician. For Jeduthun. A Psalm by David.

 ^39:1I said, "I will watch my ways, so that I don't sin with my tongue.
      I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked is before me."

 ^39:2I was mute with silence.
      I held my peace, even from good.
      My sorrow was stirred.

 ^39:3My heart was hot within me.
      While I meditated, the fire burned:

 I spoke with my tongue:
      ^39:4"Yahweh, show me my end,
      What is the measure of my days.
      Let me know how frail I am.

 ^39:5Behold, you have made my days handbreadths.
      My lifetime is as nothing before you.

 Surely every man stands as a breath."

 Selah.

 ^39:6"Surely every man walks like a shadow.
      Surely they busy themselves in vain.
      He heaps up, and doesn't know who shall gather.

 ^39:7Now, Lord, what do I wait for?
      My hope is in you.

 ^39:8Deliver me from all my transgressions.
      Don't make me the reproach of the foolish.

 ^39:9I was mute.
      I didn't open my mouth,
      Because you did it.

 ^39:10Remove your scourge away from me.
      I am overcome by the blow of your hand.

 ^39:11When you rebuke and correct man for iniquity,
      You consume his wealth like a moth.

 Surely every man is but a breath."

 Selah.

 ^39:12"Hear my prayer, Yahweh, and give ear to my cry.
      Don't be silent at my tears.

 For I am a stranger with you,
      A foreigner, as all my fathers were.

 ^39:13Oh spare me, that I may recover strength,
      Before I go away, and be no more."

Psalm 40

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

 ^40:1I waited patiently for Yahweh.
      He turned to me, and heard my cry.

 ^40:2He brought me up also out of a horrible pit,
      Out of the miry clay.

 He set my feet on a rock,
      And gave me a firm place to stand.

 ^40:3He has put a new song in my mouth, even praise to our God.
      Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in Yahweh.

 ^40:4Blessed is the man who makes Yahweh his trust,
      And doesn't respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

 ^40:5Many, Yahweh, my God, are the wonderful works which you have done,
      And your thoughts which are toward us.

 They can't be set in order to you;
      If I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered.

 ^40:6Sacrifice and offering you didn't desire.
      You have opened my ears:
      Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required.

 ^40:7Then I said, "Behold, I have come.
      It is written about me in the book in the scroll.

 ^40:8I delight to do your will, my God.
      Yes, your law is within my heart."

 ^40:9I have proclaimed glad news of righteousness in the great assembly.
      Behold, I will not seal my lips, Yahweh, you know.

 ^40:10I have not hidden your righteousness within my heart.
      I have declared your faithfulness and your salvation.
      I have not concealed your loving kindness and your truth from the great assembly.

 ^40:11Don't withhold your tender mercies from me, Yahweh.
      Let your loving kindness and your truth continually preserve me.

 ^40:12For innumerable evils have surrounded me.
      My iniquities have overtaken me, so that I am not able to look up.

 They are more than the hairs of my head.
      My heart has failed me.

 ^40:13Be pleased, Yahweh, to deliver me.
      Hurry to help me, Yahweh.

 ^40:14Let them be disappointed and confounded together who seek after my soul to destroy it.
      Let them be turned backward and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt.

 ^40:15Let them be desolate by reason of their shame that tell me, "Aha! Aha!"

 ^40:16Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.
      Let such as love your salvation say continually, "Let Yahweh be exalted!"

 ^40:17But I am poor and needy;
      May the Lord think about me.

 You are my help and my deliverer.
      Don't delay, my God.

Psalm 41

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

 ^41:1Blessed is he who considers the poor:
      Yahweh will deliver him in the day of evil.

 ^41:2Yahweh will preserve him, and keep him alive,
      He shall be blessed on the earth,
      And he will not surrender him to the will of his enemies.

 ^41:3Yahweh will sustain him on his sickbed,
      And restore him from his bed of illness.

 ^41:4I said, "Yahweh, have mercy on me!
      Heal me, for I have sinned against you."

 ^41:5My enemies speak evil against me:
      "When will he die, and his name perish?"

 ^41:6If he comes to see me, he speaks falsehood.
      His heart gathers iniquity to itself.
      When he goes abroad, he tells it.

 ^41:7All who hate me whisper together against me.
      They imagine the worst for me.

 ^41:8"An evil disease," they say, "has afflicted him.
      Now that he lies he shall rise up no more."

 ^41:9Yes, my own familiar friend, in whom I trusted,
      Who ate bread with me,
      Has lifted up his heel against me.

 ^41:10But you, Yahweh, have mercy on me, and raise me up,
      That I may repay them.

 ^41:11By this I know that you delight in me,
      Because my enemy doesn't triumph over me.

 ^41:12As for me, you uphold me in my integrity,
      And set me in your presence forever.

 ^41:13Blessed be Yahweh, the God of Israel,
      From everlasting and to everlasting!

 Amen and amen.

BOOK II

Psalm 42

For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by the sons of Korah.

 ^42:1As the deer pants for the water brooks,
      So my soul pants after you, God.

 ^42:2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
      When shall I come and appear before God?

 ^42:3My tears have been my food day and night,
      While they continually ask me, "Where is your God?"

 ^42:4These things I remember, and pour out my soul within me,
      How I used to go with the crowd, and led them to the house of God,
      With the voice of joy and praise, a multitude keeping a holy day.

 ^42:5Why are you in despair, my soul?
      Why are you disturbed within me?

 Hope in God!
      For I shall still praise him for the saving help of his presence.

 ^42:6My God, my soul is in despair within me.
      Therefore I remember you from the land of the Jordan,
      The heights of Hermon, from the hill Mizar.

 ^42:7Deep calls to deep at the noise of your waterfalls.
      All your waves and your billows have swept over me.

 ^42:8Yahweh will command his loving kindness in the daytime.
      In the night his song shall be with me:
      A prayer to the God of my life.

 ^42:9I will ask God, my rock, "Why have you forgotten me?
      Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?"

 ^42:10As with a sword in my bones, my adversaries reproach me,
      While they continually ask me, "Where is your God?"

 ^42:11Why are you in despair, my soul?
      Why are you disturbed within me?

 Hope in God! For I shall still praise him,
      The saving help of my countenance, and my God.

Psalm 43

 ^43:1Vindicate me, God, and plead my cause against an ungodly nation.
      Oh, deliver me from deceitful and wicked men.

 ^43:2For you are the God of my strength. Why have you rejected me?
      Why do I go mourning because of the oppression of the enemy?

 ^43:3Oh, send out your light and your truth.
      Let them lead me.
      Let them bring me to your holy hill,
      To your tents.

 ^43:4Then I will go to the altar of God,
      To God, my exceeding joy.

 I will praise you on the harp, God, my God.

 ^43:5Why are you in despair, my soul?
      Why are you disturbed within me?

 Hope in God!
      For I shall still praise him:
      My Savior, my helper, and my God.

Psalm 44

For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. A contemplative psalm.

 ^44:1We have heard with our ears, God;
      Our fathers have told us,
      What work you did in their days,
      In the days of old.

 ^44:2You drove out the nations with your hand,
      But you planted them.

 You afflicted the peoples,
      But you spread them abroad.

 ^44:3For they didn't get the land in possession by their own sword,
      Neither did their own arm save them;

 But your right hand, and your arm, and the light of your face,
      Because you were favorable to them.

 ^44:4You are my King, God.
      Command victories for Jacob!

 ^44:5Through you, will we push down our adversaries.
      Through your name, will we tread them under who rise up against us.

 ^44:6For I will not trust in my bow,
      Neither shall my sword save me.

 ^44:7But you have saved us from our adversaries,
      And have shamed those who hate us.

 ^44:8In God we have made our boast all day long,
      We will give thanks to your name forever.

 Selah.

 ^44:9But now you rejected us, and brought us to dishonor,
      And don't go out with our armies.

 ^44:10You make us turn back from the adversary.
      Those who hate us take spoil for themselves.

 ^44:11You have made us like sheep for food,
      And have scattered us among the nations.

 ^44:12You sell your people for nothing,
      And have gained nothing from their sale.

 ^44:13You make us a reproach to our neighbors,
      A scoffing and a derision to those who are around us.

 ^44:14You make us a byword among the nations,
      A shaking of the head among the peoples.

 ^44:15All day long my dishonor is before me,
      And shame covers my face,
      ^44:16At the taunt of one who reproaches and verbally abuses,
      Because of the enemy and the avenger.

 ^44:17All this has come on us,
      Yet have we not forgotten you,
      Neither have we been false to your covenant.

 ^44:18Our heart has not turned back,
      Neither have our steps strayed from your path,
      ^44:19Though you have crushed us in the haunt of jackals,
      And covered us with the shadow of death.

 ^44:20If we have forgotten the name of our God,
      Or spread forth our hands to a strange god;
      ^44:21Won't God search this out?
      For he knows the secrets of the heart.

 ^44:22Yes, for your sake we are killed all day long.
      We are regarded as sheep for the slaughter.

 ^44:23Wake up!
      Why do you sleep, Lord?

 Arise!
      Don't reject us forever.

 ^44:24Why do you hide your face,
      And forget our affliction and our oppression?

 ^44:25For our soul is bowed down to the dust.
      Our body cleaves to the earth.

 ^44:26Rise up to help us.
      Redeem us for your loving kindness' sake.

Psalm 45

For the Chief Musician. Set to "The Lilies." A contemplation by the sons of Korah. A wedding song.

 ^45:1My heart overflows with a noble theme.
      I recite my verses for the king.
      My tongue is like the pen of a skillful writer.

 ^45:2You are the most excellent of the sons of men.
      Grace has anointed your lips,
      Therefore God has blessed you forever.

 ^45:3Gird your sword on your thigh, mighty one:
      Your splendor and your majesty.

 ^45:4In your majesty ride on victoriously on behalf of truth, humility, and righteousness.
      Let your right hand display awesome deeds.

 ^45:5Your arrows are sharp.
      The nations fall under you, with arrows in the heart of the king's enemies.

 ^45:6Your throne, God, is forever and ever.
      A scepter of equity is the scepter of your kingdom.

 ^45:7You have loved righteousness, and hated wickedness.
      Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows.

 ^45:8All your garments smell like myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
      Out of ivory palaces stringed instruments have made you glad.

 ^45:9Kings' daughters are among your honorable women.
      At your right hand the queen stands in gold of Ophir.

 ^45:10Listen, daughter, consider, and turn your ear.
      Forget your own people, and also your father's house.
      ^45:11So the king will desire your beauty,
      Honor him, for he is your lord.

 ^45:12The daughter of Tyre comes with a gift.
      The rich among the people entreat your favor.

 ^45:13The princess inside is all glorious.
      Her clothing is interwoven with gold.

 ^45:14She shall be led to the king in embroidered work.
      The virgins, her companions who follow her, shall be brought to you.

 ^45:15With gladness and rejoicing they shall be led.
      They shall enter into the king's palace.

 ^45:16Your sons will take the place of your fathers.
      You shall make them princes in all the earth.

 ^45:17I will make your name to be remembered in all generations.
      Therefore the peoples shall give you thanks forever and ever.

Psalm 46

For the Chief Musician. By the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth.

 ^46:1God is our refuge and strength,
      A very present help in trouble.

 ^46:2Therefore we won't be afraid, though the earth changes,
      Though the mountains are shaken into the heart of the seas;
      ^46:3Though the waters of it roar and are troubled,
      Though the mountains tremble with their swelling.

 Selah.

 ^46:4There is a river, the streams of which make the city of God glad,
      The holy place of the tents of the Most High.

 ^46:5God is in her midst. She shall not be moved.
      God will help her at dawn.

 ^46:6The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved.
      He lifted his voice, and the earth melted.

 ^46:7Yahweh of Armies is with us.
      The God of Jacob is our refuge.

 Selah.

 ^46:8Come, see Yahweh's works,
      What desolations he has made in the earth.

 ^46:9He makes wars cease to the end of the earth.
      He breaks the bow, and shatters the spear.
      He burns the chariots in the fire.

 ^46:10"Be still, and know that I am God.
      I will be exalted among the nations.
      I will be exalted in the earth."

 ^46:11Yahweh of Armies is with us.
      The God of Jacob is our refuge.

 Selah.

Psalm 47

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah.

 ^47:1Oh clap your hands, all you nations.
      Shout to God with the voice of triumph!

 ^47:2For Yahweh Most High is awesome.
      He is a great King over all the earth.

 ^47:3He subdues nations under us,
      And peoples under our feet.

 ^47:4He chooses our inheritance for us,
      The glory of Jacob whom he loved.

 Selah.

 ^47:5God has gone up with a shout,
      Yahweh with the sound of a trumpet.

 ^47:6Sing praise to God, sing praises.
      Sing praises to our King, sing praises.

 ^47:7For God is the King of all the earth.
      Sing praises with understanding.

 ^47:8God reigns over the nations.
      God sits on his holy throne.

 ^47:9The princes of the peoples are gathered together,

 The people of the God of Abraham.
      For the shields of the earth belong to God.
      He is greatly exalted!

Psalm 48

A Song. A Psalm by the sons of Korah.

 ^48:1Great is Yahweh, and greatly to be praised,
      In the city of our God, in his holy mountain.

 ^48:2Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth,
      Is Mount Zion, on the north sides,
      The city of the great King.

 ^48:3God has shown himself in her citadels as a refuge.

 ^48:4For, behold, the kings assembled themselves,
      They passed by together.

 ^48:5They saw it, then they were amazed.
      They were dismayed,
      They hurried away.

 ^48:6Trembling took hold of them there,
      Pain, as of a woman in travail.

 ^48:7With the east wind, you break the ships of Tarshish.

 ^48:8As we have heard, so we have seen,
      In the city of Yahweh of Armies, in the city of our God.

 God will establish it forever.

 Selah.

 ^48:9We have thought about your loving kindness, God,
      In the midst of your temple.

 ^48:10As is your name, God,
      So is your praise to the ends of the earth.
      Your right hand is full of righteousness.

 ^48:11Let Mount Zion be glad!
      Let the daughters of Judah rejoice,
      Because of your judgments.

 ^48:12Walk about Zion, and go around her.
      Number its towers;

 ^48:13Mark well her bulwarks.
      Consider her palaces,
      That you may tell it to the next generation.

 ^48:14For this God is our God forever and ever.
      He will be our guide even to death.

Psalm 49

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah.

 ^49:1Hear this, all you peoples.
      Listen, all you inhabitants of the world,
      ^49:2Both low and high,
      Rich and poor together.

 ^49:3My mouth will speak words of wisdom.
      My heart shall utter understanding.

 ^49:4I will incline my ear to a proverb.
      I will open my riddle on the harp.

 ^49:5Why should I fear in the days of evil,
      When iniquity at my heels surrounds me?

 ^49:6Those who trust in their wealth,
      And boast in the multitude of their riches--
      ^49:7None of them can by any means redeem his brother,
      Nor give God a ransom for him.

 ^49:8For the redemption of their life is costly,
      No payment is ever enough,
      ^49:9That he should live on forever,
      That he should not see corruption.

 ^49:10For he sees that wise men die;
      Likewise the fool and the senseless perish,
      And leave their wealth to others.

 ^49:11Their inward thought is that their houses will endure forever,
      And their dwelling places to all generations.
      They name their lands after themselves.

 ^49:12But man, despite his riches, doesn't endure.
      He is like the animals that perish.

 ^49:13This is the destiny of those who are foolish,
      And of those who approve their sayings.

 Selah.

 ^49:14They are appointed as a flock for Sheol.
      Death shall be their shepherd.

 The upright shall have dominion over them in the morning.
      Their beauty shall decay in Sheol,
      Far from their mansion.

 ^49:15But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol,
      For he will receive me.

 Selah.

 ^49:16Don't be afraid when a man is made rich,
      When the glory of his house is increased.

 ^49:17For when he dies he shall carry nothing away.
      His glory shall not descend after him.

 ^49:18Though while he lived he blessed his soul--
      And men praise you when you do well for yourself--
      ^49:19He shall go to the generation of his fathers.
      They shall never see the light.

 ^49:20A man who has riches without understanding,
      Is like the animals that perish.

Psalm 50

A Psalm by Asaph.

 ^50:1The Mighty One, God, Yahweh, speaks,
      And calls the earth from sunrise to sunset.

 ^50:2Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,
      God shines forth.

 ^50:3Our God comes, and does not keep silent.
      A fire devours before him.
      It is very tempestuous around him.

 ^50:4He calls to the heavens above,
      To the earth, that he may judge his people:

 ^50:5"Gather my saints together to me,
      Those who have made a covenant with me by sacrifice."

 ^50:6The heavens shall declare his righteousness,
      For God himself is judge.

 Selah.

 ^50:7"Hear, my people, and I will speak;
      Israel, and I will testify against you.

 I am God, your God.

 ^50:8I don't rebuke you for your sacrifices.
      Your burnt offerings are continually before me.

 ^50:9I have no need for a bull from your stall,
      Nor male goats from your pens.

 ^50:10For every animal of the forest is mine,
      And the cattle on a thousand hills.

 ^50:11I know all the birds of the mountains.
      The wild animals of the field are mine.

 ^50:12If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
      For the world is mine, and all that is in it.

 ^50:13Will I eat the flesh of bulls,
      Or drink the blood of goats?

 ^50:14Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving.
      Pay your vows to the Most High.

 ^50:15Call on me in the day of trouble.
      I will deliver you, and you will honor me."

 ^50:16But to the wicked God says,
      "What right do you have to declare my statutes,
      That you have taken my covenant on your lips,
      ^50:17Seeing you hate instruction,
      And throw my words behind you?

 ^50:18When you saw a thief, you consented with him,
      And have participated with adulterers.

 ^50:19"You give your mouth to evil.
      You harnesses your tongue for deceit.

 ^50:20You sit and speak against your brother.
      You slander your own mother's son.

 ^50:21You have done these things, and I kept silent.
      You thought that the "I AM" was just like you.
      I will rebuke you, and accuse you in front of your eyes.

 ^50:22"Now consider this, you who forget God,
      Lest I tear you into pieces, and there be none to deliver.

 ^50:23Whoever offers the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies me,
      And prepares his way so that I will show God's salvation to him."

Psalm 51

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

 ^51:1Have mercy on me, God, according to your loving kindness.
      According to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions.

 ^51:2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity.
      Cleanse me from my sin.

 ^51:3For I know my transgressions.
      My sin is constantly before me.

 ^51:4Against you, and you only, have I sinned,
      And done that which is evil in your sight;

 That you may be proved right when you speak,
      And justified when you judge.

 ^51:5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity.
      In sin my mother conceived me.

 ^51:6Behold, you desire truth in the inward parts.
      You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.

 ^51:7Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean.
      Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

 ^51:8Let me hear joy and gladness,
      That the bones which you have broken may rejoice.

 ^51:9Hide your face from my sins,
      And blot out all of my iniquities.

 ^51:10Create in me a clean heart, O God.
      Renew a right spirit within me.

 ^51:11Don't throw me from your presence,
      And don't take your holy Spirit from me.

 ^51:12Restore to me the joy of your salvation.
      Uphold me with a willing spirit.

 ^51:13Then I will teach transgressors your ways.
      Sinners shall be converted to you.

 ^51:14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation.
      My tongue shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

 ^51:15Lord, open my lips.
      My mouth shall declare your praise.

 ^51:16For you don't delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it.
      You have no pleasure in burnt offering.

 ^51:17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.
      A broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

 ^51:18Do well in your good pleasure to Zion.
      Build the walls of Jerusalem.

 ^51:19Then you will delight in the sacrifices of righteousness,
      In burnt offerings and in whole burnt offerings.

 Then they will offer bulls on your altar.

Psalm 52

For the Chief Musician. A contemplation by David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, "David has come to Abimelech's house."

 ^52:1Why do you boast of mischief, mighty man?
      God's loving kindness endures continually.

 ^52:2Your tongue plots destruction,
      Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

 ^52:3You love evil more than good,
      Lying rather than speaking the truth.

 Selah.

 ^52:4You love all devouring words,
      You deceitful tongue.

 ^52:5God will likewise destroy you forever.
      He will take you up, and pluck you out of your tent,
      And root you out of the land of the living.

 Selah.

 ^52:6The righteous also will see it, and fear,
      And laugh at him, saying,

 ^52:7"Behold, this is the man who didn't make God his strength,
      But trusted in the abundance of his riches,
      And strengthened himself in his wickedness."

 ^52:8But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in God's house.
      I trust in God's loving kindness forever and ever.

 ^52:9I will give you thanks forever, because you have done it.
      I will hope in your name, for it is good,
      In the presence of your saints.

Psalm 53

For the Chief Musician. To the tune of "Mahalath." A contemplation by David.

 ^53:1The fool has said in his heart, "There is no God."
      They are corrupt, and have done abominable iniquity.
      There is no one who does good.

 ^53:2God looks down from heaven on the children of men,
      To see if there are any who understood,
      Who seek after God.

 ^53:3Every one of them has gone back.
      They have become filthy together.
      There is no one who does good, no, not one.

 ^53:4Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge,
      Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
      And don't call on God?

 ^53:5There they were in great fear, where no fear was,
      For God has scattered the bones of him who encamps against you.

 You have put them to shame,
      Because God has rejected them.

 ^53:6Oh that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
      When God brings back the captivity of his people,
      Then Jacob shall rejoice.
      Israel shall be glad.

Psalm 54

For the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A contemplation by David, when the Ziphites came and said to Saul, "Isn't David hiding himself among us?"

 ^54:1Save me, God, by your name.
      Vindicate me in your might.

 ^54:2Hear my prayer, God.
      Listen to the words of my mouth.

 ^54:3For strangers have risen up against me.
      Violent men have sought after my soul.
      They haven't set God before them.

 Selah.

 ^54:4Behold, God is my helper.
      The Lord is the one who sustains my soul.

 ^54:5He will repay the evil to my enemies.
      Destroy them in your truth.

 ^54:6With a free will offering, I will sacrifice to you.
      I will give thanks to your name, Yahweh, for it is good.

 ^54:7For he has delivered me out of all trouble.
      My eye has seen triumph over my enemies.

Psalm 55

For the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A contemplation by David.

 ^55:1Listen to my prayer, God.
      Don't hide yourself from my supplication.

 ^55:2Attend to me, and answer me.
      I am restless in my complaint, and moan,
      ^55:3Because of the voice of the enemy,
      Because of the oppression of the wicked.

 For they bring suffering on me.
      In anger they hold a grudge against me.

 ^55:4My heart is severely pained within me.
      The terrors of death have fallen on me.

 ^55:5Fearfulness and trembling have come on me.
      Horror has overwhelmed me.

 ^55:6I said, "Oh that I had wings like a dove!
      Then I would fly away, and be at rest.

 ^55:7Behold, then I would wander far off.
      I would lodge in the wilderness."

 Selah.

 ^55:8"I would hurry to a shelter from the stormy wind and tempest."

 ^55:9Confuse them, Lord, and confound their language,
      For I have seen violence and strife in the city.

 ^55:10Day and night they prowl around on its walls.
      Malice and abuse are also within her.

 ^55:11Destructive forces are within her.
      Threats and lies don't depart from her streets.

 ^55:12For it was not an enemy who insulted me,
      Then I could have endured it.

 Neither was it he who hated me who raised himself up against me,
      Then I would have hid myself from him.

 ^55:13But it was you, a man like me,
      My companion, and my familiar friend.

 ^55:14We took sweet fellowship together.
      We walked in God's house with company.

 ^55:15Let death come suddenly on them.
      Let them go down alive into Sheol.
      For wickedness is in their dwelling, in the midst of them.

 ^55:16As for me, I will call on God.
      Yahweh will save me.

 ^55:17Evening, morning, and at noon, I will cry out in distress.
      He will hear my voice.

 ^55:18He has redeemed my soul in peace from the battle that was against me,
      Although there are many who oppose me.

 ^55:19God, who is enthroned forever,
      Will hear, and answer them.

 Selah.

 They never change,
      Who don't fear God.

 ^55:20He raises his hands against his friends.
      He has violated his covenant.

 ^55:21His mouth was smooth as butter,
      But his heart was war.

 His words were softer than oil,
      Yet they were drawn swords.

 ^55:22Cast your burden on Yahweh, and he will sustain you.
      He will never allow the righteous to be moved.

 ^55:23But you, God, will bring them down into the pit of destruction.
      Bloodthirsty and deceitful men shall not live out half their days,
      But I will trust in you.

Psalm 56

For the Chief Musician. To the tune of "Silent Dove in Distant Lands." A poem by David, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

 ^56:1Be merciful to me, God, for man wants to swallow me up.
      All day long, he attacks and oppresses me.

 ^56:2My enemies want to swallow me up all day long,
      For they are many who fight proudly against me.

 ^56:3When I am afraid,
      I will put my trust in you.

 ^56:4In God, I praise his word.
      In God, I put my trust.

 I will not be afraid.
      What can flesh do to me?

 ^56:5All day long they twist my words.
      All their thoughts are against me for evil.

 ^56:6They conspire and lurk,
      Watching my steps, they are eager to take my life.

 ^56:7Shall they escape by iniquity?
      In anger cast down the peoples, God.

 ^56:8You number my wanderings.
      You put my tears into your bottle.
      Aren't they in your book?

 ^56:9Then my enemies shall turn back in the day that I call.
      I know this, that God is for me.

 ^56:10In God, I will praise his word.
      In Yahweh, I will praise his word.

 ^56:11I have put my trust in God.
      I will not be afraid.
      What can man do to me?

 ^56:12Your vows are on me, God.
      I will give thank offerings to you.

 ^56:13For you have delivered my soul from death,
      And prevented my feet from falling,
      That I may walk before God in the light of the living.

Psalm 57

For the Chief Musician. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." A poem by David, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

 ^57:1Be merciful to me, God, be merciful to me,
      For my soul takes refuge in you.

 Yes, in the shadow of your wings, I will take refuge,
      Until disaster has passed.

 ^57:2I cry out to God Most High,

 To God who accomplishes my requests for me.

 ^57:3He will send from heaven, and save me,
      He rebukes the one who is pursuing me.

 Selah.

 God will send out his loving kindness and his truth.

 ^57:4My soul is among lions.
      I lie among those who are set on fire,
      Even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows,
      And their tongue a sharp sword.

 ^57:5Be exalted, God, above the heavens!
      Let your glory be above all the earth!

 ^57:6They have prepared a net for my steps.
      My soul is bowed down.

 They dig a pit before me.
      They fall into the midst of it themselves.

 Selah.

 ^57:7My heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast.
      I will sing, yes, I will sing praises.

 ^57:8Wake up, my glory! Wake up, psaltery and harp!
      I will wake up the dawn.

 ^57:9I will give thanks to you, Lord, among the peoples.
      I will sing praises to you among the nations.

 ^57:10For your great loving kindness reaches to the heavens,
      And your truth to the skies.

 ^57:11Be exalted, God, above the heavens.
      Let your glory be over all the earth.

Psalm 58

For the Chief Musician. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." A poem by David.

 ^58:1Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones?
      Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?

 ^58:2No, in your heart you plot injustice.
      You measure out the violence of your hands in the earth.

 ^58:3The wicked go astray from the womb.
      They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.

 ^58:4Their poison is like the poison of a snake;
      Like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,
      ^58:5Which doesn't listen to the voice of charmers,
      No matter how skillful the charmer may be.

 ^58:6Break their teeth, God, in their mouth.
      Break out the great teeth of the young lions, Yahweh.

 ^58:7Let them vanish as water that flows away.
      When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.

 ^58:8Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away,
      Like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.

 ^58:9Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns,
      He will sweep away the green and the burning alike.

 ^58:10The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance.
      He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked;

 ^58:11So that men shall say, "Most assuredly there is a reward for the righteous.
      Most assuredly there is a God who judges the earth."

Psalm 59

For the Chief Musician. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." A poem by David, when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.

 ^59:1Deliver me from my enemies, my God.
      Set me on high from those who rise up against me.

 ^59:2Deliver me from the workers of iniquity.
      Save me from the bloodthirsty men.

 ^59:3For, behold, they lie in wait for my soul.
      The mighty gather themselves together against me,
      Not for my disobedience, nor for my sin, Yahweh.

 ^59:4I have done no wrong, yet they are ready to attack me.
      Rise up, behold, and help me!

 ^59:5You, Yahweh God of hosts, the God of Israel,
      Rouse yourself to punish the nations.
      Show no mercy to the wicked traitors.

 Selah.

 ^59:6They return at evening, howling like dogs,
      And prowl around the city.

 ^59:7Behold, they spew with their mouth.
      Swords are in their lips,
      "For," they say, "who hears us?"

 ^59:8But you, Yahweh, laugh at them.
      You scoff at all the nations.

 ^59:9Oh, my Strength, I watch for you,
      For God is my high tower.

 ^59:10My God will go before me with his loving kindness.
      God will let me look at my enemies in triumph.

 ^59:11Don't kill them, or my people may forget.
      Scatter them by your power, and bring them down, Lord our shield.

 ^59:12For the sin of their mouth, and the words of their lips,
      Let them be caught in their pride,
      For the curses and lies which they utter.

 ^59:13Consume them in wrath.
      Consume them, and they will be no more.

 Let them know that God rules in Jacob,
      To the ends of the earth.

 Selah.

 ^59:14At evening let them return.
      Let them howl like a dog, and go around the city.

 ^59:15They shall wander up and down for food,
      And wait all night if they aren't satisfied.

 ^59:16But I will sing of your strength.
      Yes, I will sing aloud of your loving kindness in the morning.

 For you have been my high tower,
      A refuge in the day of my distress.

 ^59:17To you, my strength, I will sing praises.
      For God is my high tower, the God of my mercy.

Psalm 60

For the Chief Musician. To the tune of "The Lily of the Covenant." A teaching poem by David, when he fought with Aram Naharaim and with Aram Zobah, and Joab returned, and killed twelve thousand of Edom in the Valley of Salt.

 ^60:1God, you have rejected us.
      You have broken us down.

 You have been angry.
      Restore us, again.

 ^60:2You have made the land tremble.
      You have torn it.

 Mend its fractures,
      For it quakes.

 ^60:3You have shown your people hard things.
      You have made us drink the wine that makes us stagger.

 ^60:4You have given a banner to those who fear you,
      That it may be displayed because of the truth.

 Selah.

 ^60:5So that your beloved may be delivered,
      Save with your right hand, and answer us.

 ^60:6God has spoken from his sanctuary:
      "I will triumph.
      I will divide Shechem,
      And measure out the valley of Succoth.

 ^60:7Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine.
      Ephraim also is the defense of my head.
      Judah is my scepter.

 ^60:8Moab is my wash basin.
      I will throw my shoe on Edom.
      I shout in triumph over Philistia."

 ^60:9Who will bring me into the strong city?
      Who has led me to Edom?

 ^60:10Haven't you, God, rejected us?
      You don't go out with our armies, God.

 ^60:11Give us help against the adversary,
      For the help of man is vain.

 ^60:12Through God we shall do valiantly,
      For it is he who will tread down our adversaries.

Psalm 61

For the Chief Musician. For a stringed instrument. By David.

 ^61:1Hear my cry, God.
      Listen to my prayer.

 ^61:2From the end of the earth, I will call to you, when my heart is overwhelmed.
      Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

 ^61:3For you have been a refuge for me,
      A strong tower from the enemy.

 ^61:4I will dwell in your tent forever.
      I will take refuge in the shelter of your wings.

 Selah.

 ^61:5For you, God, have heard my vows.
      You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

 ^61:6You will prolong the king's life;
      His years shall be for generations.

 ^61:7He shall be enthroned in God's presence forever.
      Appoint your loving kindness and truth, that they may preserve him.

 ^61:8So I will sing praise to your name forever,
      That I may fulfill my vows daily.

Psalm 62

For the Chief Musician. To Jeduthan. A Psalm by David.

 ^62:1My soul rests in God alone.
      My salvation is from him.

 ^62:2He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress--
      I will never be greatly shaken.

 ^62:3How long will you assault a man,
      Would all of you throw him down,
      Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

 ^62:4They fully intend to throw him down from his lofty place.
      They delight in lies.
      They bless with their mouth, but they curse inwardly.

 Selah.

 ^62:5My soul, wait in silence for God alone,
      For my expectation is from him.

 ^62:6He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress.
      I will not be shaken.

 ^62:7With God is my salvation and my honor.
      The rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God.

 ^62:8Trust in him at all times, you people.
      Pour out your heart before him.
      God is a refuge for us.

 Selah.

 ^62:9Surely men of low degree are just a breath,
      And men of high degree are a lie.

 In the balances they will go up.
      They are together lighter than a breath.

 ^62:10Don't trust in oppression.
      Don't become vain in robbery.

 If riches increase,
      Don't set your heart on them.

 ^62:11God has spoken once,
      Twice I have heard this,
      That power belongs to God.

 ^62:12Also to you, Lord, belongs loving kindness,
      For you reward every man according to his work.

Psalm 63

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

 ^63:1God, you are my God.
      I will earnestly seek you.

 My soul thirsts for you,
      My flesh longs for you,
      In a dry and weary land, where there is no water.

 ^63:2So I have seen you in the sanctuary,
      Watching your power and your glory.

 ^63:3Because your loving kindness is better than life,
      My lips shall praise you.

 ^63:4So I will bless you while I live.
      I will lift up my hands in your name.

 ^63:5My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food.
      My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,
      ^63:6When I remember you on my bed,
      And think about you in the night watches.

 ^63:7For you have been my help.
      I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.

 ^63:8My soul stays close to you.
      Your right hand holds me up.

 ^63:9But those who seek my soul, to destroy it,
      Shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

 ^63:10They shall be given over to the power of the sword.
      They shall be jackal food.

 ^63:11But the king shall rejoice in God.
      Everyone who swears by him will praise him,
      For the mouth of those who speak lies shall be silenced.

Psalm 64

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David.

 ^64:1Hear my voice, God, in my complaint.
      Preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

 ^64:2Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
      From the noisy crowd of the ones doing evil;

 ^64:3Who sharpen their tongue like a sword,
      And aim their arrows, deadly words,
      ^64:4To shoot innocent men from ambushes.
      They shoot at him suddenly and fearlessly.

 ^64:5They encourage themselves in evil plans.
      They talk about laying snares secretly.
      They say, "Who will see them?"

 ^64:6They plot injustice, saying, "We have made a perfect plan!"
      Surely man's mind and heart are cunning.

 ^64:7But God will shoot at them.
      They will be suddenly struck down with an arrow.

 ^64:8Their own tongues shall ruin them.
      All who see them will shake their heads.

 ^64:9All mankind shall be afraid.
      They shall declare the work of God,
      And shall wisely ponder what he has done.

 ^64:10The righteous shall be glad in Yahweh,
      And shall take refuge in him.
      All the upright in heart shall praise him!

Psalm 65

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. A song.

 ^65:1Praise waits for you, God, in Zion.
      To you shall vows be performed.

 ^65:2You who hear prayer,
      To you all men will come.

 ^65:3Sins overwhelmed me,
      But you atoned for our transgressions.

 ^65:4Blessed is one whom you choose, and cause to come near,
      That he may live in your courts.
      We will be filled with the goodness of your house,
      Your holy temple.

 ^65:5By awesome deeds of righteousness, you answer us,
      God of our salvation.

 You who are the hope of all the ends of the earth,
      Of those who are far away on the sea;

 ^65:6Who by his power forms the mountains,
      Having armed yourself with strength;

 ^65:7Who stills the roaring of the seas,
      The roaring of their waves,
      And the turmoil of the nations.

 ^65:8They also who dwell in far-away places are afraid at your wonders.
      You call the morning's dawn and the evening with songs of joy.

 ^65:9You visit the earth, and water it.
      You greatly enrich it.

 The river of God is full of water.
      You provide them grain, for so you have ordained it.

 ^65:10You drench its furrows.
      You level its ridges.
      You soften it with showers.
      You bless it with a crop.

 ^65:11You crown the year with your bounty.
      Your carts overflow with abundance.

 ^65:12The wilderness grasslands overflow.
      The hills are clothed with gladness.

 ^65:13The pastures are covered with flocks.
      The valleys also are clothed with grain.

 They shout for joy!
      They also sing.

Psalm 66

For the Chief Musician. A song. A Psalm.

 ^66:1Make a joyful shout to God, all the earth!
      ^66:2Sing to the glory of his name!
      Offer glory and praise!

 ^66:3Tell God, "How awesome are your deeds!
      Through the greatness of your power, your enemies submit themselves to you.

 ^66:4All the earth will worship you,
      And will sing to you;
      They will sing to your name."

 Selah.

 ^66:5Come, and see God's deeds--
      Awesome work on behalf of the children of men.

 ^66:6He turned the sea into dry land.
      They went through the river on foot.
      There, we rejoiced in him.

 ^66:7He rules by his might forever.
      His eyes watch the nations.
      Don't let the rebellious rise up against him.

 Selah.

 ^66:8Praise our God, you peoples!
      Make the sound of his praise heard,

 ^66:9Who preserves our life among the living,
      And doesn't allow our feet to be moved.

 ^66:10For you, God, have tested us.
      You have refined us, as silver is refined.

 ^66:11You brought us into prison.
      You laid a burden on our backs.

 ^66:12You allowed men to ride over our heads.
      We went through fire and through water,
      But you brought us to the place of abundance.

 ^66:13I will come into your temple with burnt offerings.
      I will pay my vows to you, ^66:14which my lips promised,
      And my mouth spoke, when I was in distress.

 ^66:15I will offer to you burnt offerings of fat animals,
      With the offering of rams,
      I will offer bulls with goats.

 Selah.

 ^66:16Come, and hear, all you who fear God.
      I will declare what he has done for my soul.

 ^66:17I cried to him with my mouth.
      He was extolled with my tongue.

 ^66:18If I cherished sin in my heart,
      The Lord wouldn't have listened.

 ^66:19But most assuredly, God has listened.
      He has heard the voice of my prayer.

 ^66:20Blessed be God, who has not turned away my prayer,
      Nor his loving kindness from me.

Psalm 67

For the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm. A song.

 ^67:1May God be merciful to us, bless us,
      And cause his face to shine on us.

 Selah.

 ^67:2That your way may be known on earth,
      And your salvation among all nations,

 ^67:3Let the peoples praise you, God.
      Let all the peoples praise you.

 ^67:4Oh let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
      For you will judge the peoples with equity,
      And govern the nations on earth.

 Selah.

 ^67:5Let the peoples praise you, God.
      Let all the peoples praise you.

 ^67:6The earth has yielded its increase.
      God, even our own God, will bless us.

 ^67:7God will bless us.
      All the ends of the earth shall fear him.

Psalm 68

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by David. A song.

 ^68:1Let God arise!
      Let his enemies be scattered!
      Let them who hate him also flee before him.

 ^68:2As smoke is driven away,
      So drive them away.

 As wax melts before the fire,
      So let the wicked perish at the presence of God.

 ^68:3But let the righteous be glad.
      Let them rejoice before God.
      Yes, let them rejoice with gladness.

 ^68:4Sing to God! Sing praises to his name!
      Extol him who rides on the clouds:

 To Yah, his name!
      Rejoice before him!

 ^68:5A father of the fatherless, and a defender of the widows,
      Is God in his holy habitation.

 ^68:6God sets the lonely in families.

 He brings out the prisoners with singing,
      But the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land.

 ^68:7God, when you went forth before your people,
      When you marched through the wilderness...

 Selah.

 ^68:8The earth trembled.
      The sky also poured down rain at the presence of the God of Sinai--
      At the presence of God, the God of Israel.

 ^68:9You, God, sent a plentiful rain.
      You confirmed your inheritance, when it was weary.

 ^68:10Your congregation lived therein.
      You, God, prepared your goodness for the poor.

 ^68:11The Lord announced the word.
      The ones who proclaim it are a great company.

 ^68:12"Kings of armies flee! They flee!"
      She who waits at home divides the spoil,
      ^68:13While you sleep among the campfires,
      The wings of a dove sheathed with silver,
      Her feathers with shining gold.

 ^68:14When the Almighty scattered kings in her,
      It snowed on Zalmon.

 ^68:15The mountains of Bashan are majestic mountains.
      The mountains of Bashan are rugged.

 ^68:16Why do you look in envy, you rugged mountains,
      At the mountain where God chooses to reign?
      Yes, Yahweh will dwell there forever.

 ^68:17The chariots of God are tens of thousands and thousands of thousands.
      The Lord is among them, from Sinai, into the sanctuary.

 ^68:18You have ascended on high.
      You have led away captives.

 You have received gifts among men,
      Yes, among the rebellious also, that Yah God might dwell there.

 ^68:19Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burdens,
      Even the God who is our salvation.

 Selah.

 ^68:20God is to us a God of deliverance.
      To Yahweh, the Lord, belongs escape from death.

 ^68:21But God will strike through the head of his enemies,
      The hairy scalp of such a one as still continues in his guiltiness.

 ^68:22The Lord said, "I will bring you again from Bashan,
      I will bring you again from the depths of the sea;

 ^68:23That you may crush them, dipping your foot in blood,
      That the tongues of your dogs may have their portion from your enemies."

 ^68:24They have seen your processions, God,
      Even the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.

 ^68:25The singers went before, the minstrels followed after,
      In the midst of the ladies playing with tambourines,

 ^68:26"Bless God in the congregations,
      Even the Lord in the assembly of Israel!"

 ^68:27There is little Benjamin, their ruler,
      The princes of Judah, their council,
      The princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.

 ^68:28Your God has commanded your strength.
      Strengthen, God, that which you have done for us.

 ^68:29Because of your temple at Jerusalem,
      Kings shall bring presents to you.

 ^68:30Rebuke the wild animal of the reeds,
      The multitude of the bulls, with the calves of the peoples.

 Being humbled, may it bring bars of silver.
      Scatter the nations that delight in war.

 ^68:31Princes shall come out of Egypt.
      Ethiopia shall hurry to stretch out her hands to God.

 ^68:32Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth!
      Sing praises to the Lord!

 Selah.

 ^68:33To him who rides on the heaven of heavens, which are of old;
      Behold, he utters his voice, a mighty voice.

 ^68:34Ascribe strength to God!
      His excellency is over Israel,
      His strength is in the skies.

 ^68:35You are awesome, God, in your sanctuaries.
      The God of Israel gives strength and power to his people.
      Praise be to God!

Psalm 69

For the Chief Musician. To the tune of "Lilies." By David.

 ^69:1Save me, God,
      For the waters have come up to my neck!

 ^69:2I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold.
      I have come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.

 ^69:3I am weary with my crying.
      My throat is dry.
      My eyes fail, looking for my God.

 ^69:4Those who hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of my head.
      Those who want to cut me off, being my enemies wrongfully, are mighty.
      I have to restore what I didn't take away.

 ^69:5God, you know my foolishness.
      My sins aren't hidden from you.

 ^69:6Don't let those who wait for you be shamed through me, Lord Yahweh of Armies.
      Don't let those who seek you be brought to dishonor through me, God of Israel.

 ^69:7Because for your sake, I have borne reproach.
      Shame has covered my face.

 ^69:8I have become a stranger to my brothers,
      An alien to my mother's children.

 ^69:9For the zeal of your house consumes me.
      The reproaches of those who reproach you have fallen on me.

 ^69:10When I wept and I fasted,
      That was to my reproach.

 ^69:11When I made sackcloth my clothing,
      I became a byword to them.

 ^69:12Those who sit in the gate talk about me.
      I am the song of the drunkards.

 ^69:13But as for me, my prayer is to you, Yahweh, in an acceptable time.
      God, in the abundance of your loving kindness, answer me in the truth of your salvation.

 ^69:14Deliver me out of the mire, and don't let me sink.
      Let me be delivered from those who hate me, and out of the deep waters.

 ^69:15Don't let the flood waters overwhelm me,
      Neither let the deep swallow me up.
      Don't let the pit shut its mouth on me.

 ^69:16Answer me, Yahweh, for your loving kindness is good.
      According to the multitude of your tender mercies, turn to me.

 ^69:17Don't hide your face from your servant,
      For I am in distress.
      Answer me speedily!

 ^69:18Draw near to my soul, and redeem it.
      Ransom me because of my enemies.

 ^69:19You know my reproach, my shame, and my dishonor.
      My adversaries are all before you.

 ^69:20Reproach has broken my heart, and I am full of heaviness.
      I looked for some to take pity, but there was none;
      For comforters, but I found none.

 ^69:21They also gave me gall for my food.
      In my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.

 ^69:22Let their table before them become a snare.
      May it become a retribution and a trap.

 ^69:23Let their eyes be darkened, so that they can't see.
      Let their backs be continually bent.

 ^69:24Pour out your indignation on them.
      Let the fierceness of your anger overtake them.

 ^69:25Let their habitation be desolate.
      Let no one dwell in their tents.

 ^69:26For they persecute him whom you have wounded.
      They tell of the sorrow of those whom you have hurt.

 ^69:27Charge them with crime upon crime.
      Don't let them come into your righteousness.

 ^69:28Let them be blotted out of the book of life,
      And not be written with the righteous.

 ^69:29But I am in pain and distress.
      Let your salvation, God, protect me.

 ^69:30I will praise the name of God with a song,
      And will magnify him with thanksgiving.

 ^69:31It will please Yahweh better than an ox,
      Or a bull that has horns and hoofs.

 ^69:32The humble have seen it, and are glad.
      You who seek after God, let your heart live.

 ^69:33For Yahweh hears the needy,
      And doesn't despise his captive people.

 ^69:34Let heaven and earth praise him;
      The seas, and everything that moves therein!

 ^69:35For God will save Zion, and build the cities of Judah.
      They shall settle there, and own it.

 ^69:36The children also of his servants shall inherit it.
      Those who love his name shall dwell therein.

Psalm 70

For the Chief Musician. By David. A reminder.

 ^70:1Hurry, God, to deliver me.
      Come quickly to help me, Yahweh.

 ^70:2Let them be disappointed and confounded who seek my soul.
      Let those who desire my ruin be turned back in disgrace.

 ^70:3Let them be turned because of their shame
      Who say, "Aha! Aha!"

 ^70:4Let all those who seek you rejoice and be glad in you.
      Let those who love your salvation continually say,
      "Let God be exalted!"

 ^70:5But I am poor and needy.
      Come to me quickly, God.

 You are my help and my deliverer.
      Yahweh, don't delay.

Psalm 71

 ^71:1In you, Yahweh, I take refuge.
      Never let me be disappointed.

 ^71:2Deliver me in your righteousness, and rescue me.
      Turn your ear to me, and save me.

 ^71:3Be to me a rock of refuge to which I may always go.
      Give the command to save me,
      For you are my rock and my fortress.

 ^71:4Rescue me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
      From the hand of the unrighteous and cruel man.

 ^71:5For you are my hope, Lord Yahweh;
      My confidence from my youth.

 ^71:6I have relied on you from the womb.
      You are he who took me out of my mother's womb.
      I will always praise you.

 ^71:7I am a marvel to many,
      But you are my strong refuge.

 ^71:8My mouth shall be filled with your praise,
      With your honor all the day.

 ^71:9Don't reject me in my old age.
      Don't forsake me when my strength fails.

 ^71:10For my enemies talk about me.
      Those who watch for my soul conspire together,
      ^71:11Saying, "God has forsaken him.
      Pursue and take him, for no one will rescue him."

 ^71:12God, don't be far from me.
      My God, hurry to help me.

 ^71:13Let my accusers be disappointed and consumed.
      Let them be covered with disgrace and scorn who want to harm me.

 ^71:14But I will always hope,
      And will add to all of your praise.

 ^71:15My mouth will tell about your righteousness,
      And of your salvation all day,
      Though I don't know its full measure.

 ^71:16I will come with the mighty acts of the Lord Yahweh.
      I will make mention of your righteousness, even of yours alone.

 ^71:17God, you have taught me from my youth.
      Until now, I have declared your wondrous works.

 ^71:18Yes, even when I am old and gray-haired, God, don't forsake me,
      Until I have declared your strength to the next generation,
      Your might to everyone who is to come.

 ^71:19Your righteousness also, God, reaches to the heavens;
      You have done great things.
      God, who is like you?

 ^71:20You, who have shown us many and bitter troubles,
      You will let me live.
      You will bring us up again from the depths of the earth.

 ^71:21Increase my honor,
      And comfort me again.

 ^71:22I will also praise you with the harp for your faithfulness, my God.
      I sing praises to you with the lyre, Holy One of Israel.

 ^71:23My lips shall shout for joy!
      My soul, which you have redeemed, sings praises to you!

 ^71:24My tongue will also talk about your righteousness all day long,
      For they are disappointed, and they are confounded,
      who want to harm me.

Psalm 72

By Solomon.

 ^72:1God, give the king your justice;
      Your righteousness to the royal son.

 ^72:2He will judge your people with righteousness,
      And your poor with justice.

 ^72:3The mountains shall bring prosperity to the people.
      The hills bring the fruit of righteousness.

 ^72:4He will judge the poor of the people.
      He will save the children of the needy,
      And will break the oppressor in pieces.

 ^72:5They shall fear you while the sun endures;
      And as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

 ^72:6He will come down like rain on the mown grass,
      As showers that water the earth.

 ^72:7In his days, the righteous shall flourish,
      And abundance of peace, until the moon is no more.

 ^72:8He shall have dominion also from sea to sea,
      From the River to the ends of the earth.

 ^72:9Those who dwell in the wilderness shall bow before him.
      His enemies shall lick the dust.

 ^72:10The kings of Tarshish and of the isles will bring tribute.
      The kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer gifts.

 ^72:11Yes, all kings shall fall down before him.
      All nations shall serve him.

 ^72:12For he will deliver the needy when he cries;
      The poor, who has no helper.

 ^72:13He will have pity on the poor and needy.
      He will save the souls of the needy.

 ^72:14He will redeem their soul from oppression and violence.
      Their blood will be precious in his sight.

 ^72:15They shall live, and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba.
      Men shall pray for him continually.
      They shall bless him all day long.

 ^72:16There shall be abundance of grain throughout the land.
      Its fruit sways like Lebanon.
      Let it flourish, thriving like the grass of the field.

 ^72:17His name endures forever.
      His name continues as long as the sun.

 Men shall be blessed by him.
      All nations will call him blessed.

 ^72:18Praise be to Yahweh God, the God of Israel,
      Who alone does marvelous deeds.

 ^72:19Blessed be his glorious name forever!
      Let the whole earth be filled with his glory!

 Amen and amen.

 ^72:20This ends the prayers by David, the son of Jesse.

BOOK III

Psalm 73

A Psalm by Asaph.

 ^73:1Surely God is good to Israel,
      To those who are pure in heart.

 ^73:2But as for me, my feet were almost gone.
      My steps had nearly slipped.

 ^73:3For I was envious of the arrogant,
      When I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

 ^73:4For there are no struggles in their death,
      But their strength is firm.

 ^73:5They are free from burdens of men,
      Neither are they plagued like other men.

 ^73:6Therefore pride is like a chain around their neck.
      Violence covers them like a garment.

 ^73:7Their eyes bulge with fat.
      Their minds pass the limits of conceit.

 ^73:8They scoff and speak with malice.
      In arrogance, they threaten oppression.

 ^73:9They have set their mouth in the heavens.
      Their tongue walks through the earth.

 ^73:10Therefore their people return to them,
      And they drink up waters of abundance.

 ^73:11They say, "How does God know?
      Is there knowledge in the Most High?"

 ^73:12Behold, these are the wicked.
      Being always at ease, they increase in riches.

 ^73:13Surely in vain I have cleansed my heart,
      And washed my hands in innocence,

 ^73:14For all day long have I been plagued,
      And punished every morning.

 ^73:15If I had said, "I will speak thus;"
      Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

 ^73:16When I tried to understand this,
      It was too painful for me;

 ^73:17Until I entered God's sanctuary,
      And considered their latter end.

 ^73:18Surely you set them in slippery places.
      You throw them down to destruction.

 ^73:19How they are suddenly destroyed!
      They are completely swept away with terrors.

 ^73:20As a dream when one wakes up,
      So, Lord, when you awake, you will despise their fantasies.

 ^73:21For my soul was grieved.
      I was embittered in my heart.

 ^73:22I was so senseless and ignorant.
      I was a brute beast before you.

 ^73:23Nevertheless, I am continually with you.
      You have held my right hand.

 ^73:24You will guide me with your counsel,
      And afterward receive me to glory.

 ^73:25Who do I have in heaven?
      There is no one on earth who I desire besides you.

 ^73:26My flesh and my heart fails,
      But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

 ^73:27For, behold, those who are far from you shall perish.
      You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to you.

 ^73:28But it is good for me to come close to God.
      I have made the Lord Yahweh my refuge,
      That I may tell of all your works.

Psalm 74

A contemplation by Asaph.

 ^74:1God, why have you rejected us forever?
      Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?

 ^74:2Remember your congregation, which you purchased of old,
      Which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance;
      Mount Zion, in which you have lived.

 ^74:3Lift up your feet to the perpetual ruins,
      All the evil that the enemy has done in the sanctuary.

 ^74:4Your adversaries have roared in the midst of your assembly.
      They have set up their standards as signs.

 ^74:5They behaved like men wielding axes,
      Cutting through a thicket of trees.

 ^74:6Now all its carved work
      They break down with hatchet and hammers.

 ^74:7They have burned your sanctuary to the ground.
      They have profaned the dwelling-place of your Name.

 ^74:8They said in their heart, "We will crush them completely."
      They have burned up all the places in the land where God was worshiped.

 ^74:9We see no miraculous signs.
      There is no longer any prophet,
      Neither is there among us anyone who knows how long.

 ^74:10How long, God, shall the adversary reproach?
      Shall the enemy blaspheme your name forever?

 ^74:11Why do you draw back your hand, even your right hand?
      Take it out of your pocket and consume them!

 ^74:12Yet God is my King of old,
      Working salvation in the midst of the earth.

 ^74:13You divided the sea by your strength.
      You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

 ^74:14You broke the heads of Leviathan in pieces.
      You gave him as food to people and desert creatures.

 ^74:15You opened up spring and stream.
      You dried up mighty rivers.

 ^74:16The day is yours, the night is also yours.
      You have prepared the light and the sun.

 ^74:17You have set all the boundaries of the earth.
      You have made summer and winter.

 ^74:18Remember this, that the enemy has mocked you, Yahweh.
      Foolish people have blasphemed your name.

 ^74:19Don't deliver the soul of your dove to wild beasts.
      Don't forget the life of your poor forever.

 ^74:20Honor your covenant,
      For haunts of violence fill the dark places of the earth.

 ^74:21Don't let the oppressed return ashamed.
      Let the poor and needy praise your name.

 ^74:22Arise, God! Plead your own cause.
      Remember how the foolish man mocks you all day.

 ^74:23Don't forget the voice of your adversaries.
      The tumult of those who rise up against you ascends continually.

Psalm 75

For the Chief Musician. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." A Psalm by Asaph. A song.

 ^75:1We give thanks to you, God,
      We give thanks, for your Name is near.
      Men tell about your wondrous works.

 ^75:2When I choose the appointed time,
      I will judge blamelessly.

 ^75:3The earth and all its inhabitants quake.
      I firmly hold its pillars.

 Selah.

 ^75:4I said to the arrogant, "Don't boast;"
      To the wicked, "Don't lift up the horn.

 ^75:5Don't lift up your horn on high.
      Don't speak with a stiff neck."

 ^75:6For neither from the east, nor from the west,
      Nor yet from the south, comes exaltation.

 ^75:7But God is the judge.
      He puts down one, and lifts up another.

 ^75:8For in the hand of Yahweh there is a cup,
      Full of foaming wine mixed with spices.

 He pours it out.
      Indeed the wicked of the earth drink and drink it to its very dregs.

 ^75:9But I will declare this forever:
      I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

 ^75:10I will cut off all the horns of the wicked,
      But the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

Psalm 76

For the Chief Musician. On stringed instruments. A Psalm by Asaph. A song.

 ^76:1In Judah, God is known.
      His name is great in Israel.

 ^76:2His tent is also in Salem;
      His dwelling place in Zion.

 ^76:3There he broke the flaming arrows of the bow,
      The shield, and the sword, and the weapons of war.

 Selah.

 ^76:4Glorious are you, and excellent,
      More than mountains of game.

 ^76:5Valiant men lie plundered,
      They have slept their last sleep.
      None of the men of war can lift their hands.

 ^76:6At your rebuke, God of Jacob,
      Both chariot and horse are cast into a deep sleep.

 ^76:7You, even you, are to be feared.
      Who can stand in your sight when you are angry?

 ^76:8You pronounced judgment from heaven.
      The earth feared, and was silent,
      ^76:9When God arose to judgment,
      To save all the afflicted ones of the earth.

 Selah.

 ^76:10Surely the wrath of man praises you.
      The survivors of your wrath are restrained.

 ^76:11Make vows to Yahweh your God, and fulfill them!
      Let all of his neighbors bring presents to him who is to be feared.

 ^76:12He will cut off the spirit of princes.
      He is feared by the kings of the earth.

Psalm 77

For the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm by Asaph.

 ^77:1My cry goes to God!
      Indeed, I cry to God for help,
      And for him to listen to me.

 ^77:2In the day of my trouble I sought the Lord.
      My hand was stretched out in the night, and didn't get tired.
      My soul refused to be comforted.

 ^77:3I remember God, and I groan.
      I complain, and my spirit is overwhelmed.

 Selah.

 ^77:4You hold my eyelids open.
      I am so troubled that I can't speak.

 ^77:5I have considered the days of old,
      The years of ancient times.

 ^77:6I remember my song in the night.
      I consider in my own heart;
      My spirit diligently inquires:

 ^77:7"Will the Lord reject us forever?
      Will he be favorable no more?

 ^77:8Has his loving kindness vanished forever?
      Does his promise fail for generations?

 ^77:9Has God forgotten to be gracious?
      Has he, in anger, withheld his compassion?"

 Selah.

 ^77:10Then I thought, "I will appeal to this:
      The years of the right hand of the Most High."

 ^77:11I will remember Yah's deeds;
      For I will remember your wonders of old.

 ^77:12I will also meditate on all your work,
      And consider your doings.

 ^77:13Your way, God, is in the sanctuary.
      What god is great like God?

 ^77:14You are the God who does wonders.
      You have made your strength known among the peoples.

 ^77:15You have redeemed your people with your arm,
      The sons of Jacob and Joseph.

 Selah.

 ^77:16The waters saw you, God.
      The waters saw you, and they writhed.
      The depths also convulsed.

 ^77:17The clouds poured out water.
      The skies resounded with thunder.
      Your arrows also flashed around.

 ^77:18The voice of your thunder was in the whirlwind.
      The lightnings lit up the world.
      The earth trembled and shook.

 ^77:19Your way was through the sea;
      Your paths through the great waters.
      Your footsteps were not known.

 ^77:20You led your people like a flock,
      By the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Psalm 78

A contemplation by Asaph.

 ^78:1Hear my law, my people.
      Turn your ears to the words of my mouth.

 ^78:2I will open my mouth in a parable.
      I will utter dark sayings of old,

 ^78:3Which we have heard and known,
      And our fathers have told us.

 ^78:4We will not hide them from their children,
      Telling to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh,
      His strength, and his wondrous works that he has done.

 ^78:5For he established a testimony in Jacob,
      And appointed a law in Israel,
      Which he commanded our fathers,
      That they should make them known to their children;

 ^78:6That the generation to come might know, even the children who should be born;
      Who should arise and tell their children,

 ^78:7That they might set their hope in God,
      And not forget the works of God,
      But keep his commandments,

 ^78:8And might not be as their fathers,
      A stubborn and rebellious generation,
      A generation that didn't make their hearts loyal,
      Whose spirit was not steadfast with God.

 ^78:9The children of Ephraim, being armed and carrying bows,
      Turned back in the day of battle.

 ^78:10They didn't keep God's covenant,
      And refused to walk in his law.

 ^78:11They forgot his doings,
      His wondrous works that he had shown them.

 ^78:12He did marvelous things in the sight of their fathers,
      In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan.

 ^78:13He split the sea, and caused them to pass through;
      He made the waters stand as a heap.

 ^78:14In the daytime he also led them with a cloud,
      And all night with a light of fire.