Psalm 13–15

A Prayer for God to Be Near

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

13How long will you forget me, Lord? Forever?

How long will you hide from me?

²How long must I worry

and feel sad in my heart all day?

How long will my enemy win over me?

³Lord, look at me.

Answer me, my God;

tell me, or I will die.

⁴Otherwise my enemy will say, “I have won!”

Those against me will rejoice that I’ve been defeated.

⁵I trust in your love.

My heart is happy because you saved me.

⁶I sing to the Lord

because he has taken care of me.

The Unbelieving Fool

For the director of music. Of David.

14Fools say to themselves,

“There is no God.”

Fools are evil and do terrible things;

there is no one who does anything good.

²The Lord looked down from heaven on all people

to see if anyone understood,

if anyone was looking to God for help.

³But all have turned away.

Together, everyone has become evil.

There is no one who does anything good,

not even one.

⁴Don’t the wicked understand?

They destroy my people as if they were eating bread.

They do not ask the Lord for help.

⁵But the wicked are filled with terror,

because God is with those who do what is right.

⁶The wicked upset the plans of the poor,

but the Lord will protect them.

⁷I pray that victory will come to Israel from Mount Zion!

May the Lord bring them back.

Then the people of Jacob will rejoice,

and the people of Israel will be glad.

What the Lord Demands

A psalm of David.

15Lord, who may enter your Holy Tent?

Who may live on your holy mountain?

²Only those who are innocent

and who do what is right.

Such people speak the truth from their hearts

³and do not tell lies about others.

They do no wrong to their neighbors

and do not gossip.

⁴They do not respect hateful people

but honor those who honor the Lord.

They keep their promises to their neighbors,

even when it hurts.

⁵They do not charge interest on money they lend

and do not take money to hurt innocent people.

Whoever does all these things will never be destroyed.