Psalm 11

For the director of music. Of David.

1 In the Lord I take refuge.f

How then can you say to me:

“Fleeg like a bird to your mountain.h

2 For look, the wicked bend their bows;i

they set their arrowsj against the strings

to shoot from the shadowsk

at the upright in heart.l

3 When the foundationsm are being destroyed,

what can the righteous do?”

4 The Lord is in his holy temple;n

the Lord is on his heavenly throne.o

He observes everyone on earth;p

his eyes examineq them.

5 The Lord examines the righteous,r

but the wicked, those who love violence,

he hates with a passion.s

6 On the wicked he will rain

fiery coals and burning sulfur;t

a scorching windu will be their lot.

7 For the Lord is righteous,v

he loves justice;w

the uprightx will see his face.y

Psalm 12a

For the director of music. According to sheminith.b A psalm of David.

1 Help, Lord, for no one is faithful anymore;z

those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

2 Everyone liesa to their neighbor;

they flatter with their lips

but harbor deception in their hearts.b

3 May the Lord silence all flattering lipsc

and every boastful tongue—d

4 those who say,

“By our tongues we will prevail;e

our own lips will defend us—who is lord over us?”

5 “Because the poor are plunderedf and the needy groan,g

I will now arise,h” says the Lord.

“I will protect themi from those who malign them.”

6 And the words of the Lord are flawless,j

like silver purifiedk in a crucible,l

like goldc refined seven times.

7 You, Lord, will keep the needy safem

and will protect us forever from the wicked,n

8 who freely struto about

when what is vile is honored by the human race.

Psalm 13a

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 How long,p Lord? Will you forget meq forever?

How long will you hide your facer from me?

2 How long must I wrestle with my thoughtss

and day after day have sorrow in my heart?

How long will my enemy triumph over me?t

3 Look on meu and answer,v Lord my God.

Give light to my eyes,w or I will sleep in death,x

4 and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,y”

and my foes will rejoice when I fall.z

5 But I trust in your unfailing love;a

my heart rejoices in your salvation.b

6 I will singc the Lord’s praise,

for he has been good to me.

Psalm 14

14:1–7pp—Ps 53:1–6

For the director of music. Of David.

1 The foola says in his heart,

“There is no God.”d

They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;

there is no one who does good.

2 The Lord looks down from heavene

on all mankind

to see if there are any who understand,f

any who seek God.g

3 All have turned away,h all have become corrupt;i

there is no one who does good,j

not even one.k

4 Do all these evildoers know nothing?l

They devour my peoplem as though eating bread;

they never call on the Lord.n

5 But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,

for God is present in the company of the righteous.

6 You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,

but the Lord is their refuge.o

7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!p

When the Lord restoresq his people,

let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Psalm 15

A psalm of David.

1 Lord, who may dwellr in your sacred tent?s

Who may live on your holy mountain?t

2 The one whose walk is blameless,u

who does what is righteous,

who speaks the truthv from their heart;

3 whose tongue utters no slander,w

who does no wrong to a neighbor,

and casts no slur on others;

4 who despises a vile person

but honorsx those who fear the Lord;

who keeps an oathy even when it hurts,

and does not change their mind;

5 who lends money to the poor without interest;z

who does not accept a bribea against the innocent.

Whoever does these things

will never be shaken.b

Psalm 16

A miktama of David.

1 Keep me safe,c my God,

for in you I take refuge.d

2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;e

apart from you I have no good thing.”f

3 I say of the holy peopleg who are in the land,h

“They are the noble ones in whom is all my delight.”

4 Those who run after other godsi will sufferj more and more.

I will not pour out libations of blood to such gods

or take up their namesk on my lips.

5 Lord, you alone are my portionl and my cup;m

you make my lotn secure.

6 The boundary lineso have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.p

7 I will praise the Lord, who counsels me;q

even at nightr my heart instructs me.

8 I keep my eyes always on the Lord.

With him at my right hand,s I will not be shaken.t

9 Therefore my heart is gladu and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,v

10 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,w

nor will you let your faithfulb onex see decay.y

11 You make known to me the path of life;z

you will fill me with joy in your presence,a

with eternal pleasuresb at your right hand.c

Psalm 17

A prayer of David.

1 Hear me,d Lord, my plea is just;

listen to my cry.e

Hearf my prayer—

it does not rise from deceitful lips.g

2 Let my vindicationh come from you;

may your eyes see what is right.i

3 Though you probe my heart,j

though you examine me at night and test me,k

you will find that I have planned no evil;l

my mouth has not transgressed.m

4 Though people tried to bribe me,

I have kept myself from the ways of the violent

through what your lips have commanded.

5 My steps have held to your paths;n

my feet have not stumbled.o

6 I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;p

turn your ear to meq and hear my prayer.r

7 Show me the wonders of your great love,s

you who save by your right handt

those who take refugeu in you from their foes.

8 Keep mev as the apple of your eye;w

hide mex in the shadow of your wingsy

9 from the wicked who are out to destroy me,

from my mortal enemies who surround me.z

10 They close up their callous hearts,a

and their mouths speak with arrogance.b

11 They have tracked me down, they now surround me,c

with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.

12 They are like a liond hungry for prey,e

like a fierce lion crouching in cover.

13 Rise up,f Lord, confront them, bring them down;g

with your sword rescue me from the wicked.

14 By your hand save me from such people, Lord,

from those of this worldh whose reward is in this life.i

May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;

may their children gorge themselves on it,

and may there be leftoversj for their little ones.

15 As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face;

when I awake,k I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.l

Psalm 18a

18:Title–50pp—2Sa 22:1–51

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the Lord. He sang to the Lord the words of this song when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:

1 I love you, Lord, my strength.m

2 The Lord is my rock,n my fortresso and my deliverer;p

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,q

my shieldb r and the hornc of my salvation,s my stronghold.

3 I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,t

and I have been saved from my enemies.u

4 The cords of deathv entangled me;

the torrentsw of destruction overwhelmed me.

5 The cords of the grave coiled around me;

the snares of deathx confronted me.

6 In my distressy I called to the Lord;z

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;a

my cry cameb before him, into his ears.

7 The earth trembledc and quaked,d

and the foundations of the mountains shook;e

they trembled because he was angry.f

8 Smoke rose from his nostrils;g

consuming fireh came from his mouth,

burning coalsi blazed out of it.

9 He parted the heavens and came down;j

dark cloudsk were under his feet.

10 He mounted the cherubiml and flew;

he soaredm on the wings of the wind.n

11 He made darkness his covering,o his canopyp around him—

the dark rain clouds of the sky.

12 Out of the brightness of his presenceq clouds advanced,

with hailstonesr and bolts of lightning.s

13 The Lord thunderedt from heaven;

the voice of the Most High resounded.d

14 He shot his arrowsu and scattered the enemy,

with great bolts of lightningv he routed them.w

15 The valleys of the sea were exposed

and the foundationsx of the earth laid bare

at your rebuke,y Lord,

at the blast of breath from your nostrils.z

16 He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

he drew me out of deep waters.a

17 He rescued me from my powerful enemy,b

from my foes, who were too strong for me.c

18 They confronted me in the day of my disaster,d

but the Lord was my support.e

19 He brought me out into a spacious place;f

he rescued me because he delighted in me.g

20 The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;h

according to the cleanness of my handsi he has rewarded me.j

21 For I have kept the ways of the Lord;k

I am not guilty of turningl from my God.

22 All his laws are before me;m

I have not turned away from his decrees.

23 I have been blamelessn before him

and have kept myself from sin.

24 The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,o

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25 To the faithfulp you show yourself faithful,q

to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

26 to the purer you show yourself pure,

but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.s

27 You save the humblet

but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.u

28 You, Lord, keep my lampv burning;

my God turns my darkness into light.w

29 With your helpx I can advance against a troope;

with my God I can scale a wall.

30 As for God, his way is perfect:y

The Lord’s word is flawless;z

he shieldsa all who take refugeb in him.

31 For who is God besides the Lord?c

And who is the Rockd except our God?

32 It is God who arms me with strengthe

and keeps my way secure.f

33 He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;g

he causes me to stand on the heights.h

34 He trains my hands for battle;i

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35 You make your saving help my shield,

and your right hand sustainsj me;

your help has made me great.

36 You provide a broad pathk for my feet,

so that my ankles do not give way.l

37 I pursued my enemiesm and overtook them;

I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

38 I crushed themn so that