Psalm 30–35

Psalm 30a

A psalm. A song. For the dedication of the temple.b Of David.

1 I will exaltt you, Lord,

for you lifted me out of the depthsu

and did not let my enemies gloat over me.v

2 Lord my God, I called to you for help,w

and you healed me.x

3 You, Lord, brought me up from the realm of the dead;y

you spared me from going down to the pit.z

4 Singa the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;b

praise his holy name.c

5 For his angerd lasts only a moment,e

but his favor lasts a lifetime;f

weepingg may stay for the night,

but rejoicing comes in the morning.h

6 When I felt secure, I said,

“I will never be shaken.”i

7 Lord, when you favored me,

you made my royal mountainc stand firm;

but when you hid your face,j

I was dismayed.

8 To you, Lord, I called;

to the Lord I cried for mercy:

9 “What is gained if I am silenced,

if I go down to the pit?k

Will the dust praise you?

Will it proclaim your faithfulness?l

10 Hear,m Lord, and be merciful to me;n

Lord, be my help.o”

11 You turned my wailingp into dancing;q

you removed my sackclothr and clothed me with joy,s

12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.

Lord my God, I will praiset you forever.u

Psalm 31a

31:1–4pp—Ps 71:1–3

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;v

let me never be put to shame;

deliver me in your righteousness.w

2 Turn your ear to me,x

come quickly to my rescue;y

be my rock of refuge,z

a strong fortress to save me.

3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,a

for the sake of your nameb lead and guide me.

4 Keep me free from the trapc that is set for me,

for you are my refuge.d

5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;e

deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.f

6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;g

as for me, I trust in the Lord.h

7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,

for you saw my afflictioni

and knew the anguishj of my soul.

8 You have not given me into the handsk of the enemy

but have set my feet in a spacious place.l

9 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;m

my eyes grow weak with sorrow,n

my soul and bodyo with grief.

10 My life is consumed by anguishp

and my years by groaning;q

my strength failsr because of my affliction,b s

and my bones grow weak.t

11 Because of all my enemies,u

I am the utter contemptv of my neighborsw

and an object of dread to my closest friends—

those who see me on the street flee from me.

12 I am forgotten as though I were dead;x

I have become like broken pottery.

13 For I hear many whispering,y

“Terror on every side!”z

They conspire against mea

and plot to take my life.b

14 But I trustc in you, Lord;

I say, “You are my God.”

15 My timesd are in your hands;

deliver me from the hands of my enemies,

from those who pursue me.

16 Let your face shinee on your servant;

save me in your unfailing love.f

17 Let me not be put to shame,g Lord,

for I have cried out to you;

but let the wicked be put to shame

and be silenth in the realm of the dead.

18 Let their lying lipsi be silenced,

for with pride and contempt

they speak arrogantlyj against the righteous.

19 How abundant are the good thingsk

that you have stored up for those who fear you,

that you bestow in the sight of all,l

on those who take refugem in you.

20 In the sheltern of your presence you hideo them

from all human intrigues;p

you keep them safe in your dwelling

from accusing tongues.

21 Praise be to the Lord,q

for he showed me the wonders of his lover

when I was in a city under siege.s

22 In my alarmt I said,

“I am cut offu from your sight!”

Yet you heard my cryv for mercy

when I called to you for help.

23 Love the Lord, all his faithful people!w

The Lord preserves those who are true to him,x

but the proud he pays backy in full.

24 Be strong and take heart,z

all you who hope in the Lord.

Psalm 32

Of David. A maskil.a

1 Blessed is the one

whose transgressions are forgiven,

whose sins are covered.a

2 Blessed is the one

whose sin the Lord does not count against themb

and in whose spirit is no deceit.c

3 When I kept silent,d

my bones wasted awaye

through my groaningf all day long.

4 For day and night

your hand was heavyg on me;

my strength was sappedh

as in the heat of summer.b

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you

and did not cover up my iniquity.i

I said, “I will confessj

my transgressionsk to the Lord.”

And you forgave

the guilt of my sin.l

6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you

while you may be found;m

surely the risingn of the mighty waterso

will not reach them.p

7 You are my hiding place;q

you will protect me from troubler

and surround me with songs of deliverance.s

8 I will instructt you and teach youu in the way you should go;

I will counsel you with my loving eye onv you.

9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,

which have no understanding

but must be controlled by bit and bridlew

or they will not come to you.

10 Many are the woes of the wicked,x

but the Lord’s unfailing love

surrounds the one who trustsy in him.

11 Rejoice in the Lordz and be glad, you righteous;

sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Psalm 33

1 Sing joyfullya to the Lord, you righteous;

it is fittingb for the uprightc to praise him.

2 Praise the Lord with the harp;d

make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.e

3 Sing to him a new song;f

play skillfully, and shout for joy.g

4 For the word of the Lord is righth and true;i

he is faithfulj in all he does.

5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;k

the earth is full of his unfailing love.l

6 By the wordm of the Lord the heavens were made,n

their starry hosto by the breath of his mouth.

7 He gathers the watersp of the sea into jarsa;q

he puts the deep into storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;r

let all the people of the worlds revere him.t

9 For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded,u and it stood firm.

10 The Lord foilsv the plansw of the nations;x

he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.

11 But the plans of the Lord stand firmy forever,

the purposesz of his heart through all generations.

12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,a

the people he choseb for his inheritance.c

13 From heaven the Lord looks downd

and sees all mankind;e

14 from his dwelling placef he watches

all who live on earth—

15 he who formsg the hearts of all,

who considers everything they do.h

16 No king is saved by the size of his army;i

no warrior escapes by his great strength.

17 A horsej is a vain hope for deliverance;

despite all its great strength it cannot save.

18 But the eyesk of the Lord are on those who fear him,

on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,l

19 to deliver them from deathm

and keep them alive in famine.n

20 We waito in hope for the Lord;

he is our help and our shield.

21 In him our hearts rejoice,p

for we trust in his holy name.q

22 May your unfailing lover be with us, Lord,

even as we put our hope in you.

Psalm 34a,b

Of David. When he pretended to be insanes before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.

1 I will extol the Lord at all times;t

his praise will always be on my lips.

2 I will gloryu in the Lord;

let the afflicted hear and rejoice.v

3 Glorify the Lordw with me;

let us exaltx his name together.

4 I sought the Lord,y and he answered me;

he deliveredz me from all my fears.

5 Those who look to him are radiant;a

their faces are never covered with shame.b

6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;

he saved him out of all his troubles.c

7 The angel of the Lordd encamps around those who fear him,

and he deliverse them.

8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;f

blessed is the one who takes refugeg in him.

9 Fear the Lord,h you his holy people,

for those who fear him lack nothing.i

10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.j

11 Come, my children, listenk to me;

I will teach youl the fear of the Lord.m

12 Whoever of you loves lifen

and desires to see many good days,

13 keep your tongueo from evil

and your lips from telling lies.p

14 Turn from evil and do good;q

seek peacer and pursue it.

15 The eyes of the Lords are on the righteous,t

and his ears are attentiveu to their cry;

16 but the face of the Lord is againstv those who do evil,w

to blot out their namex from the earth.

17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hearsy them;

he delivers them from all their troubles.

18 The Lord is closez to the brokenhearteda

and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

19 The righteous person may have many troubles,b

but the Lord delivers him from them all;c

20 he protects all his bones,

not one of them will be broken.d

21 Evil will slay the wicked;e

the foes of the righteous will be condemned.

22 The Lord will rescuef his servants;

no one who takes refugeg in him will be condemned.

Psalm 35

Of David.

1 Contend,h Lord, with those who contend with me;

fighti against those who fight against me.

2 Take up shieldj and armor;

arisek and come to my aid.l

3 Brandish spearm and javelina n

against those who pursue me.

Say to me,

“I am your salvation.o”

4 May those who seek my lifep

be disgracedq and put to shame;r

may those who plot my ruin

be turned backs in dismay.

5 May they be like chafft before the wind,

with the angel of the Lordu driving them away;

6 may their path be dark and slippery,

with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

7 Since they hid their netv for me without causew

and without cause dug a pitx for me,

8 may ruin overtake them by surprise—y

may the net they hid entangle them,

may they fall into the pit,z to their ruin.

9 Then my soul will rejoicea in the Lord

and delight in his salvation.b

10 My whole being will exclaim,

“Who is like you,c Lord?

You rescue the poor from those too strongd for them,

the poor and needye from those who rob them.”

11 Ruthless witnessesf come forward;

they question me on things I know nothing about.

12 They repay me evil for goodg

and leave me like one bereaved.

13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackclothh

and humbled myself with fasting.i

When my prayers returned to me unanswered,

14 I went about mourningj

as though for my friend or brother.

I bowed my head in grief

as though weeping for my mother.

15 But …