Psalm 13–19

Psalm 13

For the choir director; a psalm by David. 

¹How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? 

How long will you hide your face from me? 

²How long must I make decisions alone 

with sorrow in my heart day after day? 

How long will my enemy triumph over me? 

³Look at me! Answer me, O Lord my God! 

Light up my eyes, 

or else I will die 

⁴and my enemy will say, “I have overpowered him.” 

My opponents will rejoice because I have been shaken. 

⁵But I trust your mercy. 

My heart finds joy in your salvation. 

⁶I will sing to the Lord because he has been good to me. 

Psalm 14^a

For the choir director; 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. 

²The Lord 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 turned 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 the Lord? 

⁵There they are—panic-stricken 

because God is with the person who is righteous. 

⁶They put the advice of oppressed people to shame 

because the Lord is their refuge. 

⁷If only salvation for Israel would come from Zion! 

When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, 

Jacob will rejoice. 

Israel will be glad. 

Psalm 15

A psalm by David. 

¹O Lord, who may stay in your tent? 

Who may live on your holy mountain? 

²The one who walks with integrity, 

does what is righteous, 

and speaks the truth within his heart. 

³The one who does not slander with his tongue, 

do evil to a friend, 

or bring disgrace on his neighbor. 

⁴The one who despises those rejected by God 

but honors those who fear the Lord. 

The one who makes a promise and does not break it, 

even though he is hurt by it. 

⁵The one who does not collect interest on a loan 

or take a bribe against an innocent person. 

Whoever does these things will never be shaken. 

Psalm 16

A miktam^aby David. 

¹Protect me, O God, because I take refuge in you. 

²I said to the Lord, 

“You are my Lord. Without you, I have nothing good.” 

³Those who lead holy lives on earth 

are the noble ones who fill me with joy. 

⁴Those who quickly chase after other gods multiply their sorrows. 

I will not pour out their sacrificial offerings of blood 

or use my lips to speak their names. 

⁵The Lord is my inheritance and my cup. 

You are the one who determines my destiny. 

⁶Your boundary lines mark out pleasant places for me. 

Indeed, my inheritance is something beautiful. 

⁷I will praise the Lord, who advises me. 

My conscience warns me at night. 

⁸I always keep the Lord in front of me. 

When he is by my side, I cannot be moved. 

⁹That is why my heart is glad and my soul rejoices. 

My body rests securely 

¹⁰because you do not abandon my soul to the grave 

or allow your holy one to decay. 

¹¹You make the path of life known to me. 

Complete joy is in your presence. 

Pleasures are by your side forever. 

Psalm 17

A prayer by David. 

¹Hear my plea for justice, O Lord. 

Pay attention to my cry. 

Open your ears to my prayer, 

⸤which comes⸥ from lips free from deceit. 

²Let the verdict of my innocence come directly from you. 

Let your eyes observe what is fair. 

³You have probed my heart. 

You have confronted me at night. 

You have tested me like silver, 

but you found nothing wrong. 

I have determined that my mouth will not sin. 

⁴I have avoided cruelty because of your word. 

In spite of what others have done, 

⁵my steps have remained firmly in your paths. 

My feet have not slipped. 

⁶I have called on you because you answer me, O God. 

Turn your ear toward me. 

Hear what I have to say. 

⁷Reveal your miraculous deeds of mercy, 

O Savior of those who find refuge by your side 

from those who attack them. 

⁸Guard me as if I were the pupil in your eye. 

Hide me in the shadow of your wings. 

⁹Hide me from wicked people who violently attack me, 

from my deadly enemies who surround me. 

¹⁰They have shut out all feeling. 

Their mouths have spoken arrogantly. 

¹¹They have tracked me down. 

They have surrounded me. 

They have focused their attention on throwing me to the ground. 

¹²Each one of them is like a lion eager to tear ⸤its prey⸥ apart 

and like a young lion crouching in hiding places. 

¹³Arise, O Lord; confront them! 

Bring them to their knees! 

With your sword rescue my life from wicked people. 

¹⁴With your power rescue me from mortals, O Lord, 

from mortals who enjoy their inheritance only in this life. 

You fill their bellies with your treasure. 

Their children are satisfied ⸤with it⸥, 

and they leave what remains to their children. 

¹⁵I will see your face when I am declared innocent. 

When I wake up, I will be satisfied ⸤with seeing⸥ you. 

Psalm 18^a

For the choir director; by David, the servant of the Lord. He sang this song to the Lord when the Lord rescued him from all his enemies, especially from Saul. He said, 

¹I love you, O Lord, my strength. 

²The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my Savior, 

my God, my rock in whom I take refuge, 

my shield, and the strength of my salvation, 

my stronghold. 

³The Lord should be praised. 

I called on him, and I was saved from my enemies. 

⁴The ropes of death had become tangled around me. 

The torrents of destruction had overwhelmed me. 

⁵The ropes of the grave had surrounded me. 

The clutches of death had confronted me. 

⁶I called on the Lord in my distress. 

I cried to my God for help. 

He heard my voice from his temple, 

and my cry for help reached his ears. 

⁷Then the earth shook and quaked. 

Even the foundations of the mountains trembled. 

They shook violently because he was angry. 

⁸Smoke went up from his nostrils, 

and a raging fire came out of his mouth. 

Glowing coals flared up from it. 

⁹He spread apart the heavens 

and came down with a dark cloud under his feet. 

¹⁰He rode on one of the angels^bas he flew, 

and he soared on the wings of the wind. 

¹¹He made the darkness his hiding place, 

the dark rain clouds his covering. 

¹²Out of the brightness in front of him, 

those rain clouds passed by with hailstones and lightning. 

¹³The Lord thundered in the heavens. 

The Most High made his voice heard with hailstones and lightning. 

¹⁴He shot his arrows and scattered them. 

He flashed streaks of lightning and threw them into confusion. 

¹⁵Then the ocean floor could be seen. 

The foundations of the earth were laid bare 

at your stern warning, O Lord, 

at the blast of the breath from your nostrils. 

¹⁶He reached down from high above and took hold of me. 

He pulled me out of the raging water. 

¹⁷He rescued me from my strong enemy 

and from those who hated me, 

because they were too strong for me. 

¹⁸On the day when I faced disaster, they confronted me, 

but the Lord came to my defense. 

¹⁹He brought me out to a wide-open place. 

He rescued me because he was pleased with me. 

²⁰The Lord rewarded me 

because of my righteousness, 

because my hands are clean. 

He paid me back 

²¹because I have kept the ways of the Lord 

and I have not wickedly turned away from my God, 

²²because all his judgments are in front of me 

and I have not turned away from his laws. 

²³I was innocent as far as he was concerned. 

I have kept myself from guilt. 

²⁴The Lord paid me back 

because of my righteousness, 

because he can see that my hands are clean. 

²⁵⸤In dealing⸥ with faithful people you are faithful, 

with innocent people you are innocent, 

²⁶with pure people you are pure. 

⸤In dealing⸥ with devious people you are clever. 

²⁷You save humble people, 

but you bring down a conceited look. 

²⁸O Lord, you light my lamp. 

My God turns my darkness into light. 

²⁹With you I can attack a line of soldiers. 

With my God I can break through barricades. 

³⁰God’s way is perfect! 

The promise of the Lord has proven to be true. 

He is a shield to all those who take refuge in him. 

³¹Who is God but the Lord? 

Who is a rock except our God? 

³²God arms me with strength 

and makes my way perfect. 

³³He makes my feet like those of a deer 

and gives me sure footing on high places. 

³⁴He trains my hands for battle 

so that my arms can bend an ⸤archer’s⸥ bow of bronze. 

³⁵You have given me the shield of your salvation. 

Your right hand supports me. 

Your gentleness makes me great. 

³⁶You make a wide path for me to walk on 

so that my feet do not slip. 

³⁷I chased my enemies and caught up with them. 

I did not return until I had ended their lives. 

³⁸I wounded them so badly that they were unable to get up. 

They fell under my feet. 

³⁹You armed me with strength for battle. 

You made my opponents bow at my feet. 

⁴⁰You made my enemies turn their backs to me, 

and I destroyed those who hated me. 

⁴¹They cried out for help, but there was no one to save them. 

They cried out to the Lord, but he did not answer them. 

⁴²I beat them into a powder as fine as the dust blown by the wind. 

I threw them out as though they were dirt on the streets. 

⁴³You rescued me from my conflicts with the people. 

You made me the leader of nations. 

A people I did not know will serve me: 

⁴⁴As soon as they hear of me, they will obey me. 

Foreigners will cringe in front of me. 

⁴⁵Foreigners will lose heart, 

and they will tremble when they come out of their fortifications. 

⁴⁶The Lord lives! 

Thanks be to my rock! 

May God my Savior be honored. 

⁴⁷God gives me vengeance! 

He brings people under my authority. 

⁴⁸He saves me from my enemies. 

You lift me up above my opponents. 

You rescue me from violent people. 

⁴⁹That is why I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the nations 

and make music to praise your name. 

⁵⁰He gives great victories to his king. 

He shows mercy to his anointed, 

to David, and to his descendant^cforever. 

Psalm 19

For the choir director; a psalm by David. 

¹The heavens declare the glory of God, 

and the sky displays what his hands have made. 

²One day tells a story to the next. 

One night shares knowledge with the next 

³without talking, 

without words, 

without their voices being heard. 

⁴⸤Yet,⸥ their…