Psalm 51–100

Psalm 51

For the choir director; a psalm by David when the prophet Nathan came to him after David’s adultery with Bathsheba. 

¹Have pity on me, O God, in keeping with your mercy. 

In keeping with your unlimited compassion, wipe out my rebellious acts. 

²Wash me thoroughly from my guilt, 

and cleanse me from my sin. 

³I admit that I am rebellious. 

My sin is always in front of me. 

⁴I have sinned against you, especially you. 

I have done what you consider evil. 

So you hand down justice when you speak, 

and you are blameless when you judge. 

⁵Indeed, I was born guilty. 

I was a sinner when my mother conceived me. 

⁶Yet, you desire truth and sincerity. 

Deep down inside me you teach me wisdom. 

⁷Purify me from sin with hyssop,^band I will be clean.^c

Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 

⁸Let me hear ⸤sounds of⸥ joy and gladness. 

Let the bones that you have broken dance. 

⁹Hide your face from my sins, 

and wipe out all that I have done wrong. 

¹⁰Create a clean heart in me, O God, 

and renew a faithful spirit within me. 

¹¹Do not force me away from your presence, 

and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. 

¹²Restore the joy of your salvation to me, 

and provide me with a spirit of willing obedience. 

¹³⸤Then⸥ I will teach your ways to those who are rebellious, 

and sinners will return to you. 

¹⁴Rescue me from the guilt of murder, 

O God, my savior. 

Let my tongue sing joyfully about your righteousness! 

¹⁵O Lord, open my lips, 

and my mouth will tell about your praise. 

¹⁶You are not happy with any sacrifice. 

Otherwise, I would offer one ⸤to you⸥. 

You are not pleased with burnt offerings. 

¹⁷The sacrifice pleasing to God is a broken spirit. 

O God, you do not despise a broken and sorrowful heart. 

¹⁸Favor Zion with your goodness. 

Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. 

¹⁹Then you will be pleased with sacrifices offered in the right spirit— 

with burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings. 

Young bulls will be offered on your altar. 

Psalm 52

For the choir director; a maskil; a psalm by David when Doeg (who was from Edom) told Saul that David had come to Ahimelech’s home. 

¹Why do you brag about the evil you’ve done, you hero? 

The mercy of God lasts all day long! 

²Your tongue makes up threats. 

It’s like a sharp razor, you master of deceit. 

³You prefer evil to good. 

You prefer lying to speaking the truth. 

Selah 

⁴You love every destructive accusation, you deceitful tongue! 

⁵But God will ruin you forever. 

He will grab you and drag you out of your tent. 

He will pull your roots out of this world of the living. 

Selah 

⁶Righteous people will see ⸤this⸥ and be struck with fear. 

They will laugh at you and say, 

⁷“Look at this person who refused to make God his fortress! 

Instead, he trusted his great wealth 

and became strong through his greed.” 

⁸But I am like a large olive tree in God’s house. 

I trust the mercy of God forever and ever. 

⁹I will give thanks to you forever 

for what you have done. 

In the presence of your godly people, 

I will wait with hope in your good name. 

Psalm 53^a

For the choir director; according to mahalath,^ba maskil by David. 

¹Godless fools say in their hearts, 

“There is no God.” 

They are corrupt. 

They do disgusting things. 

There is no one who does good things. 

²God looks down from heaven on Adam’s descendants 

to see if there is anyone who acts wisely, 

if there is anyone who seeks help from God. 

³Everyone has fallen away. 

Together they have become rotten to the core. 

No one, not even one person, does good things. 

⁴Are all those troublemakers, 

those who devour my people as if they were devouring food, 

so ignorant that they do not call on God? 

⁵There they are—panic-stricken— 

⸤but⸥ there was no reason to panic, 

because God has scattered the bones 

of those who set up camp against you. 

You put them to shame. 

After all, God has rejected them. 

⁶If only salvation for Israel would come from Zion! 

When God restores the fortunes of his people, 

Jacob will rejoice. 

Israel will be glad. 

Psalm 54

For the choir director; on stringed instruments; a maskil by David when people from the city of Ziph told Saul that David was hiding among them. 

¹O God, save me by your name, 

and defend me with your might. 

²O God, hear my prayer, 

and open your ears to the words from my mouth. 

³Strangers have attacked me. 

Ruthless people seek my life. 

They do not think about God. 

Selah 

⁴God is my helper! 

The Lord is the provider for my life. 

⁵My enemies spy on me. 

Pay them back with evil. 

Destroy them with your truth! 

⁶I will make a sacrifice to you along with a freewill offering. 

I will give thanks to your good name, O Lord. 

⁷Your name rescues me from every trouble. 

My eyes will gloat over my enemies. 

Psalm 55

For the choir director; on stringed instruments; a maskil by David. 

¹Open your ears to my prayer, O God. 

Do not hide from my plea for mercy. 

²Pay attention to me, and answer me. 

My thoughts are restless, and I am confused 

³because my enemy shouts at me 

and a wicked person persecutes me. 

They bring misery crashing down on me, 

and they attack me out of anger. 

⁴My heart is in turmoil. 

The terrors of death have seized me. 

⁵Fear and trembling have overcome me. 

Horror has overwhelmed me. 

⁶I said, “If only I had wings like a dove— 

I would fly away and find rest. 

⁷Indeed, I would run far away. 

I would stay in the desert. 

Selah 

⁸I would hurry to find shelter 

from the raging wind and storm.” 

⁹Completely confuse their language, O Lord, 

because I see violence and conflict in the city. 

¹⁰Day and night they go around on ⸤top of⸥ the city walls. 

Trouble and misery are everywhere. 

¹¹Destruction is everywhere. 

Oppression and fraud never leave the streets.^a

¹²If an enemy had insulted me, 

then I could bear it. 

If someone who hated me had attacked me, 

then I could hide from him. 

¹³But it is you, my equal, 

my best friend, 

one I knew so well! 

¹⁴We used to talk to each other in complete confidence 

and walk into God’s house with the festival crowds. 

¹⁵Let death suddenly take ⸤wicked people⸥! 

Let them go into the grave while they are still alive, 

because evil lives in their homes as well as in their hearts. 

¹⁶But I call on God, 

and the Lord saves me. 

¹⁷Morning, noon, and night I complain and groan, 

and he listens to my voice. 

¹⁸With ⸤his⸥ peace, he will rescue my soul 

from the war waged against me, 

because there are many ⸤soldiers fighting⸥ against me. 

¹⁹God will listen. 

The one who has sat enthroned from the beginning 

will deal with them. 

Selah 

They never change. They never fear God. 

²⁰⸤My best friend⸥ has betrayed his friends. 

He has broken his solemn promise. 

²¹His speech is smoother than butter, 

but there is war in his heart. 

His words are more soothing than oil, 

but they are like swords ready to attack. 

²²Turn your burdens over to the Lord, 

and he will take care of you. 

He will never let the righteous person stumble. 

²³But you, O God, will throw ⸤wicked people⸥ into the deepest pit. 

Bloodthirsty and deceitful people will not live out half their days. 

But I will trust you. 

Psalm 56

For the choir director; according to yonath elem rechokim;^aa miktam by David when the Philistines captured him in Gath. 

¹Have pity on me, O God, because people are harassing me. 

All day long warriors oppress me. 

²All day long my enemies spy on me. 

They harass me. 

There are so many fighting against me. 

³Even when I am afraid, I still trust you. 

⁴I praise God’s word. 

I trust God. 

I am not afraid. 

What can mere flesh ⸤and blood⸥ do to me? 

⁵All day long my enemies twist my words. 

Their every thought is an evil plan against me. 

⁶They attack, and then they hide. 

They watch my every step as they wait to take my life. 

⁷With the wrong they do, can they escape? 

O God, angrily make the nations fall. 

⁸(You have kept a record of my wanderings. 

Put my tears in your bottle. 

They are already in your book.) 

⁹Then my enemies will retreat when I call ⸤to you⸥. 

This I know: God is on my side. 

¹⁰I praise God’s word. 

I praise the Lord’s word. 

¹¹I trust God. 

I am not afraid. 

What can mortals do to me? 

¹²I am bound by my vows to you, O God. 

I will keep my vows by offering songs of thanksgiving to you. 

¹³You have rescued me from death. 

You have kept my feet from stumbling 

so that I could walk in your presence, in the light of life. 

Psalm 57

For the choir director; al tashcheth;^aa miktam by David when he fled from Saul into the cave. 

¹Have pity on me, O God. Have pity on me, 

because my soul takes refuge in you. 

I will take refuge in the shadow of your wings 

until destructive storms pass by. 

²I call to God Most High, 

to the God who does everything for me. 

³He sends his help from heaven and saves me. 

He disgraces the one who is harassing me. 

Selah 

God sends his mercy and his truth! 

⁴My soul is surrounded by lions. 

I must lie down with man-eating lions. 

Their teeth are spears and arrows. 

Their tongues are sharp swords. 

⁵May you be honored above the heavens, O God. 

Let your glory extend over the whole earth. 

⁶⸤My enemies⸥ spread out a net to catch me. 

(My soul is bowed down.) 

They dug a pit to trap me, 

but then they fell into it. 

Selah 

⁷My heart is confident, O God. 

My heart is confident. 

I want to sing and make music.^c

⁸Wake up, my soul!^d

Wake up, harp and lyre! 

I want to wake up at dawn. 

⁹I want to give thanks to you among the people, O Lord. 

I want to make music to praise you among the nations 

¹⁰because your mercy is as high as the heavens. 

Your truth reaches the skies. 

¹¹May you be honored above the heavens, O God. 

Let your glory extend over the whole earth. 

Psalm 58

For the choir director; al tashcheth; a miktam by David. 

¹Do you rulers really give fair verdicts? 

Do you judge Adam’s descendants fairly? 

²No, you invent new crimes on earth, 

and your hands spread violence. 

³⸤Even⸥ inside the womb wicked people are strangers ⸤to God⸥. 

From their birth liars go astray. 

⁴They have poisonous venom like snakes. 

They are like a deaf cobra that shuts its ears 

⁵so that it cannot hear the voice of a snake charmer 

or of anyone trained to cast spells. 

⁶O God, knock the teeth out of…