Psalm 7–12

Psalm 7

A shiggaion of David. He sang it to the Lord about Cush, who was from the tribe of Benjamin.

¹Lord my God, I go to you for safety.

Help me. Save me from all those who are chasing me.

²If you don’t, they will tear me apart as if they were lions.

They will rip me to pieces so that no one can save me.

³Lord my God, suppose I have done something wrong.

Suppose I am guilty.

⁴I have done evil to my friend.

Or I have robbed my enemy without any reason.

⁵If I have done any of those things, let my enemy chase me and catch me.

Let him walk all over me.

Let him bury me in the dust. Selah

⁶Lord, rise up in your anger.

Rise up against the great anger of my enemies.

My God, wake up. Command that the right thing be done.

⁷Let all the people of the earth gather around you.

Rule over them from your throne in heaven.

⁸Lord, judge all people.

Lord, judge me. But remember that I have done what is right.

Most High God, remember that I am honest.

⁹God, you always do what is right.

You look deep down inside the hearts and minds of people.

Bring to an end the terrible things sinful people do.

Make godly people safe.

¹⁰The Most High God is like a shield that keeps me safe.

He saves those whose hearts are honest.

¹¹God judges fairly.

He shows his anger every day.

¹²If evil people don’t change their ways,

God will sharpen his sword.

He will get his bow ready to use.

¹³He has prepared his deadly weapons.

He has made his flaming arrows ready.

¹⁴Anyone who is full of evil

plans trouble and ends up telling lies.

¹⁵Anyone who digs a hole and shovels it out

falls into the pit he has made.

¹⁶The trouble he causes comes back on him.

The terrible things he does come down on his own head.

¹⁷I will give thanks to the Lord because he does what is right.

I will sing praise to the Lord Most High.

Psalm 8

For the director of music. For gittith. A psalm of David.

¹Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in the whole earth!

You have made your glory

higher than the heavens.

²You have made sure that children

and infants praise you.

You have done it because of your enemies.

You have done it to put a stop to their talk.

³I think about the heavens.

I think about what your fingers have created.

I think about the moon and stars

that you have set in place.

⁴What is a human being that you think about him?

What is a son of man that you take care of him?

⁵You made him a little lower than the heavenly beings.

You placed on him a crown of glory and honor.

⁶You made human beings the rulers over all that your hands have created.

You put everything under their control.

⁷They rule over all flocks and herds

and over the wild animals.

⁸They rule over the birds of the air

and over the fish in the ocean.

They rule over everything that swims in the oceans.

⁹Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in the whole earth!

Psalm 9

For the director of music. A psalm of David to the tune of “The Death of the Son.”

¹Lord, I will praise you with all my heart.

I will tell about all of the miracles you have done.

²I will be glad and full of joy because of you.

Most High God, I will sing praise to you.

³My enemies turn back.

They fall down and die right in front of you.

⁴You have proved that I haven’t done anything wrong.

You have sat on your throne and judged fairly.

⁵You have punished the nations. You have destroyed evil people.

You have erased their names from your book for ever and ever.

⁶The enemy has been destroyed forever.

You have leveled their cities to the ground.

Even the memory of them is gone.

⁷The Lord rules forever.

He has set up his throne so that he can judge people.

⁸He will judge the world in keeping with what is right.

He will rule over all of its people fairly.

⁹The Lord is a place of safety for those who have been beaten down.

He keeps them safe in times of trouble.

¹⁰Lord, those who know you will trust in you.

You have never deserted those who look to you.

¹¹Sing praises to the Lord. He rules from his throne in Zion.

Tell among the nations what he has done.

¹²The One who pays back murderers remembers.

He doesn’t forget the cries of those who are hurting.

¹³Lord, see how badly my enemies treat me!

Show me your favor. Don’t let me go down to the gates of death.

¹⁴Then I can give praise to you

at the gates of the city of Zion.

There I will be full of joy

because you have saved me.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug.

Their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

¹⁶The Lord is known to be fair.

Evil people are trapped by what they have done. Higgaion. Selah

¹⁷Sinful people go down to the grave.

So do all the nations that forget God.

¹⁸But those who are in need will always be remembered.

The hope of those who are hurting will never die.

¹⁹Lord, rise up. Don’t let people win the battle.

Let the nations come to you and be judged.

²⁰Lord, strike them with terror.

Let the nations know they are only human. Selah

Psalm 10

¹Lord, why are you so far away?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

²An evil person is proud and hunts down those who are weak.

He catches weak people by making clever plans.

³He brags about what his heart longs for.

He speaks well of those who always want more.

He attacks the Lord with his words.

⁴Because he is proud, that evil person doesn’t turn to the Lord.

There is no room for God in any of his thoughts.

⁵Everything always goes well for him.

So he is proud.

He doesn’t want to have anything to do with God’s laws.

He makes fun of all of his enemies.

⁶He says to himself, “I will always be secure.

I will always be happy. I’ll never have any trouble.”

⁷His mouth is full of curses and lies and warnings.

With his tongue he speaks evil and makes trouble.

⁸Sinful people hide and wait near the villages.

From their hiding places they murder those who aren’t guilty of doing anything wrong.

They watch in secret for those they want to attack.

⁹They hide and wait like a lion in the bushes.

From their hiding places they wait to catch those who are helpless.

They catch them and drag them off in their nets.

¹⁰Those they have attacked are beaten up. They fall to the ground.

They fall because their attackers are too strong for them.

¹¹Sinful people say to themselves, “God doesn’t pay any attention.

He covers his face. He never sees us.”

¹²Lord, rise up! God, show your power!

Don’t forget those who are helpless.

¹³Why do sinful people attack you with their words?

Why do they say to themselves,

“He won’t hold us accountable”?

¹⁴God, you see trouble and sadness.

You take note of it. You do something about it.

So those who are attacked place themselves in your care.

You help children whose fathers have died.

¹⁵Take away the power of bad and sinful people.

Hold them accountable for the evil things they do.

Uncover all the evil they have done.

¹⁶The Lord is King for ever and ever.

The nations will disappear from his land.

¹⁷Lord, you hear the longings of those who are hurting.

You cheer them up and give them hope.

You listen to their cries.

¹⁸You stand up for those whose fathers have died

and for those who have been beaten down.

You do it so that no one made of dust

may terrify others anymore.

Psalm 11

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹I run to the Lord for safety.

So how can you say to me,

“Fly away like a bird to your mountain.

²Look! Evil people are bending their bows.

They are placing their arrows against the strings.

They are planning to shoot from the shadows

at those who have honest hearts.

³When law and order are being destroyed,

what can godly people do?”

⁴The Lord is in his holy temple.

The Lord is on his throne in heaven.

He watches all people.

His eyes study them.

⁵The Lord watches over those who do what is right.

But he hates sinful people and those who love to hurt others.

⁶He will pour out flaming coals and burning sulfur

on those who do what is wrong.

A hot and dry wind will destroy them.

⁷The Lord always does what is right.

So he loves it when people do what is fair.

Those who are honest will enjoy his blessing.

Psalm 12

For the director of music. For sheminith. A psalm of David.

¹Help, Lord! Those who do what is right are gone.

Those who are faithful have disappeared from the earth.

²Everyone tells lies to his neighbors.

With his lips he praises others, but he doesn’t really mean it.

³May the Lord cut off all lips that don’t mean what they say.

May he cut out every tongue that brags.

⁴They say, “We will win the battle with our tongues.

Our lips belong to us. No one else is in charge of us.”

⁵The Lord says, “The weak are beaten down.

Those who are in need groan.

So I will stand up to help them.

I will keep them safe from those who tell lies about them.”

⁶The words of the Lord are perfect.

They are like silver made pure in a clay furnace.

They are like silver made pure seven times over.

⁷Lord, you will keep us safe.

You will always keep sinners from hurting us.

⁸Proud and sinful people walk around openly

when the evil they do is praised by others.