Psalm 68:1–70:5

¹¹Let ^aGod arise, ²let His enemies be scattered,

And ³let those who hate Him flee before Him.

²As ^asmoke is driven away, so drive them away;

As ^bwax melts before the fire,

So let the ^cwicked perish before God.

³But let the ^arighteous be glad; let them exult before God;

And let them rejoice with gladness.

⁴Sing to God, ^asing praises to His name;

^1bLift up a song for Him who ^crides through the deserts,

Whose ^dname is ²Yah, and exult before Him.

⁵A ^afather of the fatherless and a ^bjudge ¹for the widows,

Is God in His ^choly habitation.

⁶God ^acauses the lonely to inhabit a home;

He ^bleads out the prisoners into prosperity,

Only ^cthe rebellious dwell in a parched land.

⁷O God, when You ^awent forth before Your people,

When You ^bmarched through the wasteland, ¹Selah.

⁸The ^aearth quaked;

The ^bheavens also dripped rain at the presence of God;

^1cSinai itself quaked at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

⁹You ^acaused abundant rain to sprinkle down, O God;

You established Your inheritance when it was ¹parched.

¹⁰Your creatures inhabited it;

You ^aestablished it in Your goodness for the poor, O God.

¹¹The Lord gives the word;

The ^awomen who proclaim the good news are a great host:

¹²“^aKings of armies retreat, they retreat,

And she who remains at home will ^bdivide the spoil!”

¹³If you men lie down ^aamong the ¹sheepfolds,

You all would be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,

And its pinions with glistening gold.

¹⁴When the Almighty ^adispersed the kings ¹there,

It was snowing in ^bZalmon.

¹⁵A ^1amountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;

A mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.

¹⁶Why do you look with envy, O mountains with many peaks,

At the mountain which God has ^aprized for His habitation?

Surely ^bYahweh will dwell there forever.

¹⁷The ^achariots of God are ¹myriads, ^bthousands upon thousands;

²The Lord is among them as at Sinai, in holiness.

¹⁸You have ^aascended on high, You have ^bled captive Your captives;

You have received gifts among men,

Even among the rebellious also, that Yah—God—may dwell there.

¹⁹Blessed be the Lord, who daily ^abears our burden,

^bThe God who is our salvation. Selah.

²⁰God is to us a ^aGod of ¹salvation;

And ^bto Yahweh the Lord belong escapes ²from death.

²¹Surely God will ^acrush the head of His enemies,

The hairy ¹skull of him who goes on in his guilty deeds.

²²The Lord ¹said, “^aI will bring them back from Bashan.

I will bring them back from the depths of the sea;

²³That ^1ayour foot may crush them in blood,

The tongue of your ^bdogs may have its portion from your enemies.”

²⁴They have seen ^aYour ¹procession, O God,

The ²procession of my God, my King, ^3binto the sanctuary.

²⁵The ^asingers went on, the musicians after them,

¹In the midst of the ^bmaidens beating tambourines.

^26aBless God in the congregations,

Yahweh, the ^bfountain of Israel.

²⁷There is ^aBenjamin, the ¹youngest, ²having dominion over them,

The princes of Judah in their throng,

The princes of ^bZebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

²⁸¹Your God has ^acommanded your strength;

Show Yourself strong, O God, ^bwho has worked ²on our behalf.

²⁹¹Because of Your temple at Jerusalem

^aKings will bring gifts to You.

³⁰Rebuke the ^abeast ¹in the reeds,

The herd of ^bbulls with the calves of the peoples,

Trampling under foot the pieces of silver;

He has ^ccast out the peoples who delight in war.

³¹Envoys will come out of ^aEgypt;

^1bEthiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

³²Sing to God, O ^akingdoms of the earth,

^bSing praises to the Lord, Selah.

³³To Him who ^arides upon the ^1bhighest heavens, which are from ancient times;

Behold, ^cHe gives forth His voice, a ^dvoice that is strong.

^34aAscribe strength to God;

His majesty is over Israel

And ^bHis strength is in the ¹skies.

³⁵¹O God, You are ^aawesome from Your ²sanctuary.

The God of Israel Himself ^bgives strength and might to the people.

^cBlessed be God!

PSALM 69

Save Me, O God

For the choir director. According to ^†Shoshannim. Of David.

¹Save me, O God,

For the ^awaters have ¹threatened my life.

²I have sunk in deep ^aclay, and there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters, and a ^1bflood overflows me.

³I am ^aweary with my calling out; my throat is parched;

My ^beyes fail while I wait for my God.

⁴Those ^awho hate me without cause are more than the hairs of my head;

Those who would ¹destroy me ^bare powerful, being wrongfully my enemies;

^cWhat I did not steal, I then have to restore.

⁵O God, it is You who knows ^amy folly,

And ^1ball my guilt is not hidden from You.

⁶May those who hope for You not ^abe ashamed through me, O Lord Yahweh of hosts;

May those who seek You not be dishonored through me, O God of Israel,

⁷Because ^afor Your sake I have borne reproach;

^bDishonor has covered my face.

⁸I have become ^aestranged ¹from my brothers

And a foreigner to my mother’s sons.

⁹For ^azeal for Your house has consumed me,

And ^bthe reproaches of those who reproach You have fallen on me.

¹⁰When I wept ^ain my soul with fasting,

It became my reproach.

¹¹When I made ^asackcloth my clothing,

I became ^ba byword to them.

¹²Those who ^adwell at the gate moan about me,

And I am ^bthe drunkards’ songs.

¹³But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Yahweh, ^aat an acceptable time;

O God, in the ^babundance of Your lovingkindness,

Answer me with the truth of Your salvation.

¹⁴Deliver me from the ^amire and do not let me sink;

May I be ^bdelivered from ¹my foes and from the ^2cdeep waters.

¹⁵May the ^1aflood of water not overflow me

Nor the deep swallow me up,

Nor the ^bpit shut its mouth on me.

¹⁶Answer me, O Yahweh, for ^aYour lovingkindness is good;

^bAccording to the abundance of Your compassion, ^cturn to me,

¹⁷And ^ado not hide Your face from Your slave,

For I am ^bin distress; answer me quickly.

¹⁸Oh draw near to my soul and ^aredeem it;

^bRansom me because of my enemies!

¹⁹You know my ^areproach and my shame and my dishonor;

All my adversaries are ¹before You.

²⁰Reproach has ^abroken my heart and I am so sick.

And ^bI hoped for sympathy, but there was none,

And for ^ccomforters, but I found none.

²¹They also gave me ^1agall ²for my food

And for my thirst they ^bgave me vinegar to drink.

²²May ^atheir table before them become a snare;

And ^1bwhen they are in peace, may it become a trap.

²³May their ^aeyes darken so that they cannot see,

And make their ^bloins quake continually.

^24aPour out Your indignation on them,

And may Your burning anger overtake them.

²⁵May their ^1acamp be desolate;

May none dwell in their tents.

²⁶For they have ^apersecuted him whom ^bYou Yourself have struck down,

And they recount the pain of those whom ^cYou have ¹wounded.

²⁷Add ^ainiquity to their iniquity,

And ^bmay they not come into ^cYour righteousness.

²⁸May they be ^ablotted out of the ^bbook of life

And may they not be ^1crecorded with the righteous.

²⁹But I am ^aafflicted and in pain;

¹May Your salvation, O God, ^bset me securely on high.

³⁰I will ^apraise the name of God with song

And ^bmagnify Him with ^cthanksgiving.

³¹And this will ^aplease Yahweh better than an ox

Or a young bull with horns and hoofs.

³²The ^ahumble ¹see it and are glad;

You who seek God, ^blet your heart ²revive.

³³For ^aYahweh hears the needy

And ^bdoes not despise His who are prisoners.

³⁴Let ^aheaven and earth praise Him,

The seas and ^beverything that moves in them.

³⁵For God will ^asave Zion and ^bbuild the cities of Judah,

That they may dwell there and ^cpossess it.

³⁶The ^aseed of His slaves will inherit it,

And those who love His name ^bwill dwell in it.

PSALM 70

O Yahweh, Do Not Delay

For the choir director. Of David. To bring to remembrance.

^1aO God, hasten to deliver me;

O Yahweh, hasten to my help!

^2aLet those be ashamed and humiliated

Who seek my ¹life;

Let those be turned back and dishonored

Who delight in ²evil against me.

^3aLet those ¹turn back because of their shame

Who say, “Aha, aha!”

⁴Let those be joyful and glad in You

All who seek You

And let them say continually,

“Let God be magnified,”

Those who love Your salvation.

⁵But ^aI am afflicted and needy;

^bHasten to me, O God!

You are my help and my protector;

O Yahweh, do not delay.