Psalm 9–10

Psalm 9

CELEBRATION OF GOD’S JUSTICE

For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A psalm of David.

¹I will thank the Lord with all my heart;

I will declare all your wondrous works.ⁱ

²I will rejoice and boast about you;^j

I will sing about your name, Most High.^k

³When my enemies retreat,

they stumble and perish before you.^l

⁴For you have upheld my just cause;^m

you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.ⁿ

⁵You have rebuked the nations:^o

You have destroyed the wicked;^p

you have erased their name forever and ever.^q

⁶The enemy has come to eternal ruin;

you have uprooted the cities,

and the very memory of them has perished.^r

⁷But the Lord sits enthroned forever;^s

he has established his throne for judgment.^t

⁸And he judges the world with righteousness;

he executes judgment on the nations with fairness.^u

⁹The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted,

a refuge in times of trouble.^v

¹⁰Those who know your name trust in you

because you have not abandoned

those who seek you, Lord.^w

¹¹Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;^x

proclaim his deeds among the nations.^y

¹²For the one who seeks an accounting

for bloodshed remembers them;^z

he does not forget the cry of the oppressed.^aa

¹³Be gracious to me, Lord;

consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.^ab

Lift me up from the gates of death,^ac

¹⁴so that I may declare all your praises.

I will rejoice in your salvation^ad

within the gates of Daughter Zion.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they made;

their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.^ae

¹⁶The Lord has made himself known;

he has executed justice,^af

snaring the wicked

by the work of their hands.^a

Higgaion. Selah

¹⁷The wicked will return to Sheol^b—

all the nations that forget God.^c

¹⁸For the needy will not always be forgotten;

the hope of the oppressed^A will not perish forever.^d

¹⁹Rise up, Lord! Do not let mere humans prevail;

let the nations be judged in your presence.^e

²⁰Put terror in them, Lord;^f

let the nations know they are only humans.^g

Selah

Psalm 10

NEED FOR GOD’S JUSTICE

¹Lord, why do you stand so far away?^h

Why do you hide in times of trouble?ⁱ

²In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims;

let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.^j

³For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;^k

the one who is greedy curses^D and despises the Lord.^l

⁴In all his scheming,

the wicked person arrogantly thinks,^A

“There’s no accountability,

since there’s no God.”^m

⁵His ways are always secure;^B

your lofty judgments have no effect on him;^C

he scoffs at all his adversaries.ⁿ

⁶He says to himself, “I will never be moved—

from generation to generation I will be without calamity.”^o

⁷Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;

trouble and malice are under his tongue.^p

⁸He waits in ambush near settlements;^q

he kills the innocent in secret places.

His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;^r

⁹he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.

He lurks in order to seize a victim;

he seizes a victim and drags him in his net.

¹⁰So he is oppressed and beaten down;

helpless people fall because of the wicked one’s strength.^s

¹¹He says to himself, “God has forgotten;

he hides his face and will never see.”^t

¹²Rise up, Lord God! Lift up your hand.^u

Do not forget the oppressed.^v

¹³Why has the wicked person despised God?

He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”^w

¹⁴But you yourself have seen trouble and grief,

observing it in order to take the matter into your hands.^x

The helpless one entrusts himself to you;

you are a helper of the fatherless.^y

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked, evil person,^z

until you look for his wickedness,

but it can’t be found.^aa

¹⁶The Lord is King forever and ever;^ab

the nations will perish from his land.^ac

¹⁷Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble;

you will strengthen their hearts.

You will listen carefully,^ad

¹⁸doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed

so that mere humans from the earth may terrify them no more.^ae