Psalm 51–55

Psalm 51^a

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.^c

¹Have mercy^d on me, O God,

according to your unfailing love;^e

according to your great compassion^f

blot out^g my transgressions.^h

²Wash awayⁱ all my iniquity

and cleanse^j me from my sin.

³For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.^k

⁴Against you, you only, have I sinned^l

and done what is evil in your sight;^m

so you are right in your verdict

and justified when you judge.ⁿ

⁵Surely I was sinful^o at birth,^p

sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

⁶Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;

you taught me wisdom^q in that secret place.^r

⁷Cleanse^s me with hyssop,^t and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.^u

⁸Let me hear joy and gladness;^v

let the bones^w you have crushed rejoice.

⁹Hide your face from my sins^x

and blot out^y all my iniquity.

¹⁰Create in me a pure heart,^z O God,

and renew a steadfast spirit within me.^a

¹¹Do not cast me^b from your presence^c

or take your Holy Spirit^d from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation^e

and grant me a willing spirit,^f to sustain me.^g

¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways,^h

so that sinnersⁱ will turn back to you.^j

¹⁴Deliver me^k from the guilt of bloodshed,^l O God,

you who are God my Savior,^m

and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.ⁿ

¹⁵Open my lips, Lord,^o

and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶You do not delight in sacrifice,^p or I would bring it;

you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

¹⁷My sacrifice,^q O God, is^b a broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart^r

you, God, will not despise.

¹⁸May it please you to prosper Zion,^s

to build up the walls of Jerusalem.^t

¹⁹Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous,^u

in burnt offerings^v offered whole;

then bulls^w will be offered on your altar.

Psalm 52^a

For the director of music. A maskil^b of David. When Doeg the Edomite^x had gone to Saul and told him: “David has gone to the house of Ahimelek.”

¹Why do you boast of evil, you mighty hero?

Why do you boast^y all day long,^z

you who are a disgrace in the eyes of God?

²You who practice deceit,^a

your tongue plots destruction;^b

it is like a sharpened razor.^c

³You love evil^d rather than good,

falsehood^e rather than speaking the truth.^c

⁴You love every harmful word,

you deceitful tongue!^f

⁵Surely God will bring you down to everlasting ruin:

He will snatch you up and pluck^g you from your tent;

he will uproot^h you from the land of the living.ⁱ

⁶The righteous will see and fear;

they will laugh^j at you, saying,

⁷“Here now is the man

who did not make God his stronghold^k

but trusted in his great wealth^l

and grew strong by destroying others!”

⁸But I am like an olive tree^m

flourishing in the house of God;

I trustⁿ in God’s unfailing love

for ever and ever.

⁹For what you have done I will always praise you^o

in the presence of your faithful people.^p

And I will hope in your name,^q

for your name is good.^r

Psalm 53^a

53:1–6pp—Ps 14:1–7

For the director of music. According to mahalath.^b A maskil^c of David.

¹The fool^s says in his heart,

“There is no God.”^t

They are corrupt, and their ways are vile;

there is no one who does good.

²God looks down from heaven^u

on all mankind

to see if there are any who understand,^v

any who seek God.^w

³Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt;

there is no one who does good,

not even one.^x

⁴Do all these evildoers know nothing?

They devour my people as though eating bread;

they never call on God.

⁵But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,

where there was nothing to dread.^y

God scattered the bones^z of those who attacked you;^a

you put them to shame,^b for God despised them.^c

⁶Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When God restores his people,

let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Psalm 54^a

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil^b of David. When the Ziphites^d had gone to Saul and said, “Is not David hiding among us?”

¹Save me^e, O God, by your name;^f

vindicate me by your might.^g

²Hear my prayer, O God;^h

listen to the words of my mouth.

³Arrogant foes are attacking me;ⁱ

ruthless people^j are trying to kill me^k—

people without regard for God.^cl

⁴Surely God is my help;^m

the Lord is the one who sustains me.ⁿ

⁵Let evil recoil^o on those who slander me;

in your faithfulness^p destroy them.

⁶I will sacrifice a freewill offering^q to you;

I will praise^r your name, Lord, for it is good.^s

⁷You have delivered me^t from all my troubles,

and my eyes have looked in triumph on my foes.^u

Psalm 55^a

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil^b of David.

¹Listen to my prayer, O God,

do not ignore my plea;^v

²hear me and answer me.^w

My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught^x

³because of what my enemy is saying,

because of the threats of the wicked;

for they bring down suffering on me^y

and assail^z me in their anger.^a

⁴My heart is in anguish^b within me;

the terrors^c of death have fallen on me.

⁵Fear and trembling^d have beset me;

horror^e has overwhelmed me.

⁶I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest.

⁷I would flee far away

and stay in the desert;^cf

⁸I would hurry to my place of shelter,^g

far from the tempest and storm.^h”

⁹Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,ⁱ

for I see violence and strife^j in the city.^k

¹⁰Day and night they prowl^l about on its walls;

malice and abuse are within it.

¹¹Destructive forces^m are at work in the city;

threats and liesⁿ never leave its streets.

¹²If an enemy were insulting me,

I could endure it;

if a foe were rising against me,

I could hide.

¹³But it is you, a man like myself,

my companion, my close friend,^o

¹⁴with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship^p

at the house of God,^q

as we walked about

among the worshipers.

¹⁵Let death take my enemies by surprise;^r

let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,^s

for evil finds lodging among them.

¹⁶As for me, I call to God,

and the Lord saves me.

¹⁷Evening,^t morning^u and noon^v

I cry out in distress,

and he hears my voice.

¹⁸He rescues me unharmed

from the battle waged against me,

even though many oppose me.

¹⁹God, who is enthroned from of old,^w

who does not change—

he will hear^x them and humble them,

because they have no fear of God.^y

²⁰My companion attacks his friends;^z

he violates his covenant.^a

²¹His talk is smooth as butter,^b

yet war is in his heart;

his words are more soothing than oil,^c

yet they are drawn swords.^d

²²Cast your cares on the Lord

and he will sustain you;^e

he will never let

the righteous be shaken.^f

²³But you, God, will bring down the wicked

into the pit^g of decay;

the bloodthirsty and deceitful^h

will not live out half their days.ⁱ

But as for me, I trust in you.^j