Psalm 20–22

Psalm 20^a

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹May the Lord answer you when you are in distress;^a

may the name of the God of Jacob^b protect you.^c

²May he send you help^d from the sanctuary^e

and grant you support^f from Zion.^g

³May he remember^h all your sacrifices

and accept your burnt offerings.^bi

⁴May he give you the desire of your heart^j

and make all your plans succeed.^k

⁵May we shout for joy^l over your victory

and lift up our banners^m in the name of our God.

May the Lord grant all your requests.ⁿ

⁶Now this I know:

The Lord gives victory to his anointed.^o

He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary

with the victorious power of his right hand.^p

⁷Some trust in chariots^q and some in horses,^r

but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.^s

⁸They are brought to their knees and fall,^t

but we rise up^u and stand firm.^v

⁹Lord, give victory to the king!

Answer us^w when we call!

Psalm 21^a

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.^x

How great is his joy in the victories you give!^y

²You have granted him his heart’s desire^z

and have not withheld the request of his lips.^b

³You came to greet him with rich blessings

and placed a crown of pure gold^a on his head.^b

⁴He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—

length of days, for ever and ever.^c

⁵Through the victories^d you gave, his glory is great;

you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.^e

⁶Surely you have granted him unending blessings

and made him glad with the joy^f of your presence.^g

⁷For the king trusts in the Lord;^h

through the unfailing loveⁱ of the Most High^j

he will not be shaken.^k

⁸Your hand will lay hold^l on all your enemies;

your right hand will seize your foes.

⁹When you appear for battle,

you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace.

The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,

and his fire will consume them.^m

¹⁰You will destroy their descendants from the earth,

their posterity from mankind.ⁿ

¹¹Though they plot evil^o against you

and devise wicked schemes,^p they cannot succeed.

¹²You will make them turn their backs^q

when you aim at them with drawn bow.

¹³Be exalted^r in your strength, Lord;^s

we will sing and praise your might.

Psalm 22^a

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

¹My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?^t

Why are you so far^u from saving me,

so far from my cries of anguish?^v

²My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,^w

by night,^x but I find no rest.^b

³Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;^y

you are the one Israel praises.^cz

⁴In you our ancestors put their trust;

they trusted and you delivered them.^a

⁵To you they cried out^b and were saved;

in you they trusted^c and were not put to shame.^d

⁶But I am a worm^e and not a man,

scorned by everyone,^f despised^g by the people.

⁷All who see me mock me;^h

they hurl insults,ⁱ shaking their heads.^j

⁸“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,

“let the Lord rescue him.^k

Let him deliver him,^l

since he delights^m in him.”

⁹Yet you brought me out of the womb;ⁿ

you made me trust^o in you, even at my mother’s breast.

¹⁰From birth^p I was cast on you;

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

¹¹Do not be far from me,^q

for trouble is near^r

and there is no one to help.^s

¹²Many bulls^t surround me;^u

strong bulls of Bashan^v encircle me.

¹³Roaring lions^w that tear their prey^x

open their mouths wide^y against me.

¹⁴I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint.^z

My heart has turned to wax;^a

it has melted^b within me.

¹⁵My mouth^d is dried up like a potsherd,^c

and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;^d

you lay me in the dust^e of death.

¹⁶Dogs^f surround me,

a pack of villains encircles me;

they pierce^eg my hands and my feet.

¹⁷All my bones are on display;

people stare^h and gloat over me.ⁱ

¹⁸They divide my clothes among them

and cast lots^j for my garment.^k

¹⁹But you, Lord, do not be far from me.^l

You are my strength;^m come quicklyⁿ to help me.^o

²⁰Deliver me from the sword,^p

my precious life^q from the power of the dogs.^r

²¹Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;^s

save me from the horns of the wild oxen.^t

²²I will declare your name to my people;

in the assembly^u I will praise you.^v

²³You who fear the Lord, praise him!^w

All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!^x

Revere him,^y all you descendants of Israel!

²⁴For he has not despised^z or scorned

the suffering of the afflicted one;^a

he has not hidden his face^b from him

but has listened to his cry for help.^c

²⁵From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;^d

before those who fear you^f I will fulfill my vows.^e

²⁶The poor will eat^f and be satisfied;

those who seek the Lord will praise him—^g

may your hearts live forever!

²⁷All the ends of the earth^h

will remember and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

will bow down before him,ⁱ

²⁸for dominion belongs to the Lord^j

and he rules over the nations.

²⁹All the rich^k of the earth will feast and worship;^l

all who go down to the dust^m will kneel before him—

those who cannot keep themselves alive.ⁿ

³⁰Posterity^o will serve him;

future generations^p will be told about the Lord.

³¹They will proclaim his righteousness,^q

declaring to a people yet unborn:^r

He has done it!^s