Psalm 6:title–17:15
An Appeal for Forgiveness and Deliverance
6 For the music director; with stringed instruments, on the Sheminith.a
A psalm of David.b
1 O Yahweh, do not rebuke me in your anger,
and do not discipline me in your wrath.
2 Be gracious to me, O Yahweh, because I am feeble.
Heal me, O Yahweh, for my bones are terrified.
3 My soul is also very terrified.
But you, O Yahweh, how long?
4 Turn, O Yahweh; deliver my life.c
Save me for the sake of your steadfast love.d
5 For there is no remembrance of you in death.
In Sheol, who will give thanks to you?
6 I am weary with my groaning;
⌊I flood⌋e my bed every night.
With my tears ⌊I drench⌋f my couch.
7 My eye wastes away because of vexation;
it grows old because of all my oppressors.
8 Depart from me, all workers of evil,
for Yahweh has heard the sound of my weeping.
Yahweh has accepted my prayer.
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and shall be very terrified.
They shall turn back; they shall suddenly be ashamed.
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
7 A Shiggaiona of David which he sang to Yahweh
on account of Cush, a Benjaminite.b
1 O Yahweh, my God, in you I have taken refuge.
Save me from all who pursue me, and deliver me.
2 Or else he will tear me apart like a lion,
ripping to pieces, with none to deliver.
3 O Yahweh, my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid ⌊my ally⌋c with harm,
or if I have plundered my enemy without cause,
5 let the enemy of my soul pursue,
and overtake and trample my life into the ground,
and lay my honor in the dust. Selah
6 Rise up, O Yahweh, in your anger,
and lift yourself up against the wrathd of my oppressors,
and awake for me,
since you have commanded judgment.
7 And let the assembly of peoples surround you,
and over it return on high.
O Yahweh, vindicate me
according to my innocencee and according to my integrity within me.
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous,
and test the hearts and innermost being, O righteous God.
who saves the upright of heart.
and a God who has indignation every day.
12 If hef does not repent, heg will sharpen his sword.
He has bent his bow and he has ⌊strung⌋h it.
13 And he has prepared for him weapons of death.
He has made his arrows fiery shafts.
14 See, hei travails withj evil.
He is pregnant with trouble,
and he gives birth to deception.
15 He makes a pit and digs it out,
then falls in the trap he has made.
16 His trouble comes back on his head,
and his violence comes down on his skull.
17 I will thank Yahweh according to his righteousness,
and I will sing praise to the name of Yahweh, the Most High.
8 For the music director, on the Gittith.a A psalm of David.b
1 Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth,
who put your splendor above the heavens.
2 From the mouth of children and infants you have foundedc strength
on account of your enemies,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars which you set in place—
4 what is a human being that you think of him?
and a child of humankind that you care for him?
5 And you made him a little lower than heavenly beings,d
and with glory and with majesty you crowned him.
6 You make him over the works of your hands;
all things you have placed under his feet:
7 sheep and cattle, all of them,
and also the wild animals of the field,
8 the birds of the sky and the fish of the sea,
everything that passes along the paths of seas.
how majestic is your name in all of the earth!
9 For the music director, according to Muth-labben.a A psalm of David.b
1 I will thank Yahweh with all my heart.
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you.
I will sing the praise of your name, O Most High.
they will stumble and perish because of your presence.
4 For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne judging correctly.
5 You have rebuked the nations;
you have destroyed the wicked.
Their name you have blotted out
forever and ever.
6 The enemies are destroyed in ruins forever,
and you have uprooted their cities;
their very memory has perished.
7 But Yahweh sits enthroned forever.
He has established his throne for judgment.
8 And he will judge the world with righteousness.
He will judge the peoples with equity.
9 And Yahweh will be a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of distress.
10 And those who know your name will trust in you,
for you do not forsake those who seek you, O Yahweh.
11 Sing praises to Yahweh who sits enthronedc in Zion.
Tell his deeds among the peoples,
12 for he who ⌊avenges bloodshed⌋d remembers them.
He does not forget the distressed cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O Yahweh.
See my suffering from those who hate me,
you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 so that I may tell of all your praises.
In the gates of the daughter of Zion
let me rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have fallen in the pit that they made;
their foot is caught in the net that they hid.
16 Yahweh has made himself known;
he has executed judgment.
The wicked is snared by the work of his hands. Higgaione Selah
17 The wicked shall turn back to Sheol,
all the nations forgetting God,
18 for the needy shall not always be forgotten;
the hope of the poor shall never perish.
19 Rise up, O Yahweh, let not humanse prevail;
let the nations be judged before you.
20 O Yahweh, put them in fear.
Let the nations know they are merely human. Selah
A Prayer for God to Throw down the Wicked
10 Why, O Yahweh, do you stand far off?
Why do you hidea during times of distress?
2 In arrogance the wicked persecutesb the poor.
Let them be caught in the schemes that they devised,
3 for the wicked boasts about the desire of his ⌊heart⌋,c
and the one greedy for gain curses and treats Yahweh with contempt.
4 ⌊With bald-faced pride⌋d the wicked will not seek God.
There is no God in any of his thoughts.
5 His wayse endure at all times.f
Your judgments are aloof from him.
As for all his enemies, he scoffs at them.
6 He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved
⌊throughout all generations⌋,g during which I will have no trouble.”
7 His mouth is filled with cursing,
with deceits and oppression;
under his tongue are trouble and evil.
8 He sits in ambush in villages;
in the hiding places he kills the innocent.
His eyes ⌊lurk⌋h for the helpless.
9 He lies in ambush ⌊secretly⌋,i like a lion in a thicket.
He lies in ambush to seize the poor;
he seizes the poor by catching him in his net.
10 He is crushed;j he is bowed down;k
sol the helpless hostm falls by his ⌊might⌋.n
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten.
He has hidden his face.
He never sees.”
O God, lift up your hand.
Do not forget the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked treat God with contempt?
He says in his heart, “You will not call me to account.”
14 But you have seen; indeed you have noted trouble and grief
to take it into your hand.
The helpless abandons himself upon you;
you have been the helper for the orphan.
15 Break the arm of the wicked,
and as for the evil man—
seek out his wickedness until you find none.
16 Yahweh is king forever and ever;
the nations have perished from his land.
17 The longing of the afflicted you have heard, O Yahweh.
You will make their heart secure. You will ⌊listen attentively⌋o
18 to render judgment for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that a mere mortal from the earth will no longer cause terror.
Confidence in Yahweh’s Righteousness
11 For the music director. Of David.a
1 In Yahweh I have taken refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
“Flee to your mountain like a bird”?
2 For look: The wicked ⌊string the bow⌋.b
They have fitted their arrow to the string,
to shoot from the darkness
at the upright of heart.
3 When the foundations are destroyed
what can the righteous do?c
4 Yahweh is in his holy temple;
Yahweh is in the heavens on his throne.
His eyelids see;
they test the children of humankind.
but the wicked and the lover of violence
his soul hates.
6 He will rain coalsd on the wicked.
Burning sulfur and scorching wind
will be the portion of their cup.
he loves righteous deeds.
The upright shall see his face.
Human Faithlessness and God’s Faithfulness
12 For the music director; on the Sheminith.a A psalm of David.b
1 Save, O Yahweh, for the pious have ceased to be;
for the faithful have vanished
from among the children of humankind.
2 They speak falseness ⌊to each other⌋.c
With flattering lips,
with ⌊a double heart⌋d they speak.
3 May Yahweh cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue speaking great boasts—
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail.
Our lips are on our side.
Who is master over us?”
5 “Because of the oppression of the afflicted,
because of the groaning of the poor,
now I will rise up,” Yahweh says.
“I shall put them in the safety for which theye long.”
6 The words of Yahweh are pure words
like silver refined in the crucible on the ground,
refined seven times.
7 You, O Yahweh, will protect them.
You will preserve himf
from this generation always.
when vileness is exalted among the children of humankind.
Trust in the Salvation of Yahweh
13 For the music director. A psalm of David.a
1 How long, O Yahweh? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take counselb in my soul,
and sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?
3 Considerc and answer me, O Yahweh my God.
Give light to my eyes
lest I sleep the sleep of death,
4 and lest my enemy should say, “I have overcome him,”
lest my enemies rejoice because I am shaken.
5 But as for me, I have trusted in your steadfast love.d
My heart will rejoice in your deliverance.
6e I …