Psalm 20–22

PSALM 20

Prayer for Victory over Enemies.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

¹May the Lord answer you ^ain the day of trouble!

May the ^bname of the ^cGod of Jacob set you securely on high!

²May He send you help ^afrom the sanctuary

And ^bsupport you from Zion!

³May He ^aremember all your meal offerings

And ^bfind your burnt offering ¹acceptable!

²Selah.

⁴May He grant you your ^aheart’s desire

And ^bfulfill all your ¹counsel!

⁵¹We will ^asing for joy over your ²victory,

And in the name of our God we will ^bset up our banners.

May the Lord ^cfulfill all your petitions.

⁶Now ^aI know that the Lord saves His anointed;

He will ^banswer him from His holy heaven

With the ^1csaving strength of His right hand.

⁷Some ¹boast in chariots and some in ^ahorses,

But ^bwe ²will boast in the name of the Lord, our God.

⁸They have ^abowed down and fallen,

But we have ^brisen and stood upright.

^91aSave, O Lord;

May the ^bKing answer us in the day we call.

PSALM 21

Praise for Deliverance.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, in Your strength the king will ^abe glad,

And in Your ¹salvation how greatly he will rejoice!

²You have ^agiven him his heart’s desire,

And You have not withheld the request of his lips.

¹Selah.

³For You ^ameet him with the blessings of good things;

You set a ^bcrown of fine gold on his head.

⁴He asked life of You,

You ^agave it to him,

^bLength of days forever and ever.

⁵His ^aglory is great through Your ¹salvation,

^bSplendor and majesty You place upon him.

⁶For You make him ¹most ^ablessed forever;

You make him joyful ^bwith gladness in Your presence.

⁷For the king ^atrusts in the Lord,

And through the lovingkindness of the Most High ^bhe will not be shaken.

⁸Your hand will ^afind out all your enemies;

Your right hand will find out those who hate you.

⁹You will make them ^aas a fiery oven in the time ¹of your anger;

The Lord will ^bswallow them up in His wrath,

And ^cfire will devour them.

¹⁰Their ¹offspring You will destroy from the earth,

And their ^2adescendants from among the sons of men.

¹¹Though they ^1aintended evil against You

And ^bdevised a plot,

They will not succeed.

¹²For You will ^amake them turn their back;

You will ¹aim ^bwith Your bowstrings at their faces.

¹³Be exalted, O Lord, in Your strength;

We will ^asing and praise Your power.

PSALM 22

A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.

For the choir director; upon ^†Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David.

^1aMy God, my God, why have You forsaken me?

^1bFar from my deliverance are the words of my ^2cgroaning.

²O my God, I ^acry by day, but You do not answer;

And by night, but ¹I have no rest.

³Yet ^aYou are holy,

O You who ¹are enthroned upon ^bthe praises of Israel.

⁴In You our fathers ^atrusted;

They trusted and You ^bdelivered them.

⁵To You they cried out and were delivered;

^aIn You they trusted and were not ¹disappointed.

⁶But I am a ^aworm and not a man,

A ^breproach of men and ^cdespised by the people.

⁷All who see me ^1asneer at me;

They ²separate with the lip, they ^bwag the head, saying,

⁸“¹Commit yourself to the Lord; ^alet Him deliver him;

Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”

⁹Yet You are He who ^abrought me forth from the womb;

You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.

¹⁰Upon You I was cast ^afrom ¹birth;

You have been my God from my mother’s womb.

^11aBe not far from me, for ¹trouble is near;

For there is ^bnone to help.

¹²Many ^abulls have surrounded me;

Strong bulls of ^bBashan have encircled me.

¹³They ^aopen wide their mouth at me,

As a ravening and a roaring ^blion.

¹⁴I am ^apoured out like water,

And all my ^bbones are out of joint;

My ^cheart is like wax;

It is melted within ¹me.

¹⁵My ^astrength is dried up like a potsherd,

And ^bmy tongue cleaves to my jaws;

And You ^clay me ¹in the dust of death.

¹⁶For ^adogs have surrounded me;

¹A band of evildoers has encompassed me;

²They ^bpierced my hands and my feet.

¹⁷I can count all my bones.

^aThey look, they stare at me;

¹⁸They ^adivide my garments among them,

And for my clothing they cast lots.

¹⁹But You, O Lord, ^abe not far off;

O You my help, ^bhasten to my assistance.

²⁰Deliver my ¹soul from ^athe sword,

My ^bonly life from the ²power of the dog.

²¹Save me from the ^alion’s mouth;

From the horns of the ^bwild oxen You ^canswer me.

²²I will ^atell of Your name to my brethren;

In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

^23aYou who fear the Lord, praise Him;

All you ¹descendants of Jacob, ^bglorify Him,

And ^cstand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.

²⁴For He has ^anot despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;

Nor has He ^bhidden His face from him;

But ^cwhen he cried to Him for help, He heard.

²⁵From You comes ^amy praise in the great assembly;

I shall ^bpay my vows before those who fear Him.

²⁶The ¹afflicted will eat and ^abe satisfied;

Those who seek Him will ^bpraise the Lord.

Let your ^cheart live forever!

²⁷All the ^aends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,

And all the ^bfamilies of the nations will worship before ¹You.

²⁸For the ^akingdom is the Lord’s

And He ^brules over the nations.

²⁹All the ^1aprosperous of the earth will eat and worship,

All those who ^bgo down to the dust will bow before Him,

Even he who ^2ccannot keep his soul alive.

^301aPosterity will serve Him;

It will be told of the Lord to ^bthe coming generation.

³¹They will come and ^awill declare His righteousness

To a people ^bwho will be born, that He has performed it.