Psalm 42–83

BOOK II

Psalms 42–72

Psalm 42^a,^b

For the director of music. A maskil^c of the Sons of Korah.

¹As the deer^f pants for streams of water,^g

so my soul pants^h for you, my God.

²My soul thirstsⁱ for God, for the living God.^j

When can I go^k and meet with God?

³My tears^l have been my food

day and night,

while people say to me all day long,

“Where is your God?”^m

⁴These things I remember

as I pour out my soul:ⁿ

how I used to go to the house of God^o

under the protection of the Mighty One^d

with shouts of joy^p and praise^q

among the festive throng.^r

⁵Why, my soul, are you downcast?^s

Why so disturbed^t within me?

Put your hope in God,^u

for I will yet praise^v him,

my Savior^w and my God.^x

⁶My soul is downcast within me;

therefore I will remember^y you

from the land of the Jordan,^z

the heights of Hermon^a—from Mount Mizar.

⁷Deep calls to deep^b

in the roar of your waterfalls;

all your waves and breakers

have swept over me.^c

⁸By day the Lord directs his love,^d

at night^e his song^f is with me—

a prayer to the God of my life.^g

⁹I say to God my Rock,^h

“Why have you forgottenⁱ me?

Why must I go about mourning,^j

oppressed^k by the enemy?”^l

¹⁰My bones suffer mortal agony^m

as my foes tauntⁿ me,

saying to me all day long,

“Where is your God?”^o

¹¹Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and my God.^p

Psalm 43^a

¹Vindicate me, my God,

and plead my cause^q

against an unfaithful nation.

Rescue me^r from those who are

deceitful and wicked.^s

²You are God my stronghold.

Why have you rejected^t me?

Why must I go about mourning,^u

oppressed by the enemy?^v

³Send me your light^w and your faithful care,^x

let them lead me;^y

let them bring me to your holy mountain,^z

to the place where you dwell.^a

⁴Then I will go^b to the altar^c of God,

to God, my joy^d and my delight.^e

I will praise you with the lyre,^f

O God, my God.

⁵Why, my soul, are you downcast?

Why so disturbed within me?

Put your hope in God,

for I will yet praise him,

my Savior and my God.^g

Psalm 44^a

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.^b

¹We have heard it with our ears,^h O God;

our ancestors have told usⁱ

what you did in their days,

in days long ago.^j

²With your hand you drove out^k the nations

and planted^l our ancestors;

you crushed^m the peoples

and made our ancestors flourish.ⁿ

³It was not by their sword^o that they won the land,

nor did their arm bring them victory;

it was your right hand,^p your arm,^q

and the light^r of your face, for you loved^s them.

⁴You are my King^t and my God,^u

who decrees^c victories^v for Jacob.

⁵Through you we push back^w our enemies;

through your name we trample^x our foes.

⁶I put no trust in my bow,^y

my sword does not bring me victory;

⁷but you give us victory^z over our enemies,

you put our adversaries to shame.^a

⁸In God we make our boast^b all day long,^c

and we will praise your name forever.^dd

⁹But now you have rejected^e and humbled us;^f

you no longer go out with our armies.^g

¹⁰You made us retreat^h before the enemy,

and our adversaries have plunderedⁱ us.

¹¹You gave us up to be devoured like sheep^j

and have scattered us among the nations.^k

¹²You sold your people for a pittance,^l

gaining nothing from their sale.

¹³You have made us a reproach^m to our neighbors,ⁿ

the scorn^o and derision^p of those around us.

¹⁴You have made us a byword^q among the nations;

the peoples shake their heads^r at us.

¹⁵I live in disgrace^s all day long,

and my face is covered with shame^t

¹⁶at the taunts^u of those who reproach and revile^v me,

because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.^w

¹⁷All this came upon us,

though we had not forgotten^x you;

we had not been false to your covenant.

¹⁸Our hearts had not turned^y back;

our feet had not strayed from your path.

¹⁹But you crushed^z us and made us a haunt for jackals;^a

you covered us over with deep darkness.^b

²⁰If we had forgotten^c the name of our God

or spread out our hands to a foreign god,^d

²¹would not God have discovered it,

since he knows the secrets of the heart?^e

²²Yet for your sake we face death all day long;

we are considered as sheep^f to be slaughtered.^g

²³Awake,^h Lord! Why do you sleep?ⁱ

Rouse yourself!^j Do not reject us forever.^k

²⁴Why do you hide your face^l

and forget^m our misery and oppression?ⁿ

²⁵We are brought down to the dust;^o

our bodies cling to the ground.

²⁶Rise up^p and help us;

rescue^q us because of your unfailing love.^r

Psalm 45^a

For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil.^b A wedding song.^s

¹My heart is stirred by a noble theme

as I recite my verses for the king;

my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

²You are the most excellent of men

and your lips have been anointed with grace,^t

since God has blessed you forever.^u

³Gird your sword^v on your side, you mighty one;^w

clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.^x

⁴In your majesty ride forth victoriously^y

in the cause of truth, humility and justice;^z

let your right hand^a achieve awesome deeds.^b

⁵Let your sharp arrows^c pierce the hearts^d of the king’s enemies;^e

let the nations fall beneath your feet.

⁶Your throne, O God,^c will last for ever and ever;^f

a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

⁷You love righteousness^g and hate wickedness;^h

therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions

by anointingⁱ you with the oil of joy.^j

⁸All your robes are fragrant^k with myrrh^l and aloes^m and cassia;ⁿ

from palaces adorned with ivory^o

the music of the strings^p makes you glad.

⁹Daughters of kings^q are among your honored women;

at your right hand^r is the royal bride^s in gold of Ophir.^t

¹⁰Listen, daughter,^u and pay careful attention:^v

Forget your people^w and your father’s house.

¹¹Let the king be enthralled by your beauty;^x

honor^y him, for he is your lord.^z

¹²The city of Tyre^a will come with a gift,^db

people of wealth will seek your favor.

¹³All glorious^c is the princess within her chamber;

her gown is interwoven with gold.^d

¹⁴In embroidered garments^e she is led to the king;^f

her virgin companions^g follow her—

those brought to be with her.

¹⁵Led in with joy and gladness,^h

they enter the palace of the king.

¹⁶Your sons will take the place of your fathers;

you will make them princesⁱ throughout the land.

¹⁷I will perpetuate your memory through all generations;^j

therefore the nations will praise you^k for ever and ever.^l

Psalm 46^a

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth.^b A song.

¹God is our refuge^m and strength,ⁿ

an ever-present^o help^p in trouble.^q

²Therefore we will not fear,^r though the earth give way^s

and the mountains fall^t into the heart of the sea,^u

³though its waters roar^v and foam^w

and the mountains quake^x with their surging.^c

⁴There is a river^y whose streams^z make glad the city of God,^a

the holy place where the Most High^b dwells.^c

⁵God is within her,^d she will not fall;^e

God will help^f her at break of day.

⁶Nations^g are in uproar,^h kingdomsⁱ fall;

he lifts his voice,^j the earth melts.^k

⁷The Lord Almighty^l is with us;^m

the God of Jacobⁿ is our fortress.^o

⁸Come and see what the Lord has done,^p

the desolations^q he has brought on the earth.

⁹He makes wars^r cease

to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow^s and shatters the spear;

he burns the shields^d with fire.^t

¹⁰He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;^u

I will be exalted^v among the nations,

I will be exalted in the earth.”

¹¹The Lord Almighty is with us;

the God of Jacob^w is our fortress.^x

Psalm 47^a

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

¹Clap your hands,^y all you nations;

shout to God with cries of joy.^z

²For the Lord Most High^a is awesome,^b

the great King^c over all the earth.

³He subdued^d nations under us,

peoples under our feet.

⁴He chose our inheritance^e for us,

the pride of Jacob,^f whom he loved.^b

⁵God has ascended^g amid shouts of joy,^h

the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.ⁱ

⁶Sing praises^j to God, sing praises;

sing praises to our King, sing praises.

⁷For God is the King of all the earth;^k

sing to him a psalm^l of praise.

⁸God reigns^m over the nations;

God is seated on his holy throne.ⁿ

⁹The nobles of the nations assemble

as the people of the God of Abraham,

for the kings^c of the earth belong to God;^o

he is greatly exalted.^p

Psalm 48^a

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.

¹Great is the Lord,^q and most worthy of praise,^r

in the city of our God,^s his holy mountain.^t

²Beautiful^u in its loftiness,

the joy of the whole earth,

like the heights of Zaphon^bv is Mount Zion,^w

the city of the Great King.^x

³God is in her citadels;^y

he has shown himself to be her fortress.^z

⁴When the kings joined forces,

when they advanced together,^a

⁵they saw her and were astounded;

they fled in terror.^b

⁶Trembling seized^c them there,

pain like that of a woman in labor.^d

⁷You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish^e

shattered by an east wind.^f

⁸As we have heard,

so we have seen

in the city of the Lord Almighty,

in the city of our God:

God makes her secure

forever.^cg

⁹Within your temple, O God,

we meditate^h on your unfailing love.ⁱ

¹⁰Like your name,^j O God,

your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;^k

your right hand is filled with righteousness.

¹¹Mount Zion rejoices,

the villages of Judah are glad

because of your judgments.^l

¹²Walk about Zion, go around her,

count her towers,^m

¹³consider well her ramparts,ⁿ

view her citadels,^o

that you may tell of them

to the next generation.^p

¹⁴For this God is our God for ever and ever;

he will be our guide^q even to the end.

Psalm 49^a

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.

¹Hear^r this, all you peoples;^s

listen, all who live in this world,^t

²both low and high,^u

rich and poor alike:

³My mouth will speak words of wisdom;^v

the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.^w

⁴I will turn my ear to a proverb;^x

with the harp^y I will expound my riddle:^z

⁵Why should I fear^a when evil days come,

when wicked deceivers surround me—

⁶those who trust in their wealth^b

and boast^c of their great riches?^d

⁷No one can redeem the life of…