Psalm 72–83

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

¹Endow the king with your justice,^p O God,

the royal son with your righteousness.

²May he judge your people in righteousness,^q

your afflicted ones with justice.

³May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,

the hills the fruit of righteousness.

⁴May he defend the afflicted^r among the people

and save the children of the needy;^s

may he crush the oppressor.^t

⁵May he endure^au as long as the sun,

as long as the moon, through all generations.^v

⁶May he be like rain^w falling on a mown field,

like showers watering the earth.

⁷In his days may the righteous flourish^x

and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

⁸May he rule from sea to sea

and from the River^by to the ends of the earth.^z

⁹May the desert tribes bow before him

and his enemies lick the dust.

¹⁰May the kings of Tarshish^a and of distant shores^b

bring tribute to him.

May the kings of Sheba^c and Seba

present him gifts.^d

¹¹May all kings bow down^e to him

and all nations serve^f him.

¹²For he will deliver the needy who cry out,

the afflicted who have no one to help.

¹³He will take pity^g on the weak and the needy

and save the needy from death.

¹⁴He will rescue^h them from oppression and violence,

for preciousⁱ is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live!

May gold from Sheba^j be given him.

May people ever pray for him

and bless him all day long.^k

¹⁶May grain^l abound throughout the land;

on the tops of the hills may it sway.

May the crops^m flourish like Lebanonⁿ

and thrive^c like the grass of the field.^o

¹⁷May his name endure forever;^p

may it continue as long as the sun.^q

Then all nations will be blessed through him,^d

and they will call him blessed.^r

¹⁸Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,^s

who alone does marvelous deeds.^t

¹⁹Praise be to his glorious name^u forever;

may the whole earth be filled with his glory.^v

Amen and Amen.^w

²⁰This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.^x

BOOK III

Psalms 73–89

Psalm 73

A psalm of Asaph.

¹Surely God is good to Israel,

to those who are pure in heart.^y

²But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;^z

I had nearly lost my foothold.^a

³For I envied^b the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.^c

⁴They have no struggles;

their bodies are healthy and strong.^a

⁵They are free^d from common human burdens;

they are not plagued by human ills.

⁶Therefore pride^e is their necklace;^f

they clothe themselves with violence.^g

⁷From their callous hearts^h comes iniquity^b;

their evil imaginations have no limits.

⁸They scoff, and speak with malice;ⁱ

with arrogance^j they threaten oppression.^k

⁹Their mouths lay claim to heaven,

and their tongues take possession of the earth.

¹⁰Therefore their people turn to them

and drink up waters in abundance.^c

¹¹They say, “How would God know?

Does the Most High know anything?”

¹²This is what the wicked are like—

always free of care,^l they go on amassing wealth.^m

¹³Surely in vainⁿ I have kept my heart pure

and have washed my hands in innocence.^o

¹⁴All day long I have been afflicted,^p

and every morning brings new punishments.

¹⁵If I had spoken out like that,

I would have betrayed your children.

¹⁶When I tried to understand^q all this,

it troubled me deeply

¹⁷till I entered the sanctuary^r of God;

then I understood their final destiny.^s

¹⁸Surely you place them on slippery ground;^t

you cast them down to ruin.^u

¹⁹How suddenly^v are they destroyed,

completely swept away^w by terrors!

²⁰They are like a dream^x when one awakes;^y

when you arise, Lord,

you will despise them as fantasies.^z

²¹When my heart was grieved

and my spirit embittered,

²²I was senseless^a and ignorant;

I was a brute beast^b before you.

²³Yet I am always with you;

you hold me by my right hand.^c

²⁴You guide^d me with your counsel,^e

and afterward you will take me into glory.

²⁵Whom have I in heaven but you?^f

And earth has nothing I desire besides you.^g

²⁶My flesh and my heart^h may fail,ⁱ

but God is the strength^j of my heart

and my portion^k forever.

²⁷Those who are far from you will perish;^l

you destroy all who are unfaithful^m to you.

²⁸But as for me, it is good to be near God.ⁿ

I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;^o

I will tell of all your deeds.^p

Psalm 74

A maskil^a of Asaph.

¹O God, why have you rejected^q us forever?^r

Why does your anger smolder against the sheep of your pasture?^s

²Remember the nation you purchased^t long ago,^u

the people of your inheritance,^v whom you redeemed^w—

Mount Zion,^x where you dwelt.^y

³Turn your steps toward these everlasting ruins,^z

all this destruction the enemy has brought on the sanctuary.

⁴Your foes roared^a in the place where you met with us;

they set up their standards^b as signs.

⁵They behaved like men wielding axes

to cut through a thicket of trees.^c

⁶They smashed all the carved^d paneling

with their axes and hatchets.

⁷They burned your sanctuary to the ground;

they defiled^e the dwelling place^f of your Name.^g

⁸They said in their hearts, “We will crush^h them completely!”

They burnedⁱ every place where God was worshiped in the land.

⁹We are given no signs from God;^j

no prophets^k are left,

and none of us knows how long this will be.

¹⁰How long^l will the enemy mock^m you, God?

Will the foe revileⁿ your name forever?

¹¹Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?^o

Take it from the folds of your garment^p and destroy them!

¹²But God is my King^q from long ago;

he brings salvation^r on the earth.

¹³It was you who split open the sea^s by your power;

you broke the heads of the monster^t in the waters.

¹⁴It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan^u

and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.^v

¹⁵It was you who opened up springs^w and streams;

you dried up^x the ever-flowing rivers.

¹⁶The day is yours, and yours also the night;

you established the sun and moon.^y

¹⁷It was you who set all the boundaries^z of the earth;

you made both summer and winter.^a

¹⁸Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,

how foolish people^b have reviled your name.

¹⁹Do not hand over the life of your dove^c to wild beasts;

do not forget the lives of your afflicted^d people forever.

²⁰Have regard for your covenant,^e

because haunts of violence fill the dark places^f of the land.

²¹Do not let the oppressed^g retreat in disgrace;

may the poor and needy^h praise your name.

²²Rise up,ⁱ O God, and defend your cause;

remember how fools^j mock you all day long.

²³Do not ignore the clamor^k of your adversaries,^l

the uproar^m of your enemies,ⁿ which rises continually.

Psalm 75^a

For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.

¹We praise you, God,

we praise you, for your Name is near;^o

people tell of your wonderful deeds.^p

²You say, “I choose the appointed time;^q

it is I who judge with equity.^r

³When the earth and all its people quake,^s

it is I who hold its pillars^t firm.^b

⁴To the arrogant^u I say, ‘Boast no more,’^v

and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.^cw

⁵Do not lift your horns against heaven;

do not speak so defiantly.^x’ ”

⁶No one from the east or the west

or from the desert can exalt themselves.

⁷It is God who judges:^y

He brings one down, he exalts another.^z

⁸In the hand of the Lord is a cup

full of foaming wine mixed^a with spices;

he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth

drink it down to its very dregs.^b

⁹As for me, I will declare^c this forever;

I will sing^d praise to the God of Jacob,^e

¹⁰who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,

but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”^f

Psalm 76^a

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.

¹God is renowned in Judah;

in Israel his name is great.^g

²His tent is in Salem,^h

his dwelling place in Zion.ⁱ

³There he broke the flashing arrows,^j

the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.^bk

⁴You are radiant with light,^l

more majestic than mountains rich with game.

⁵The valiant^m lie plundered,

they sleep their last sleep;ⁿ

not one of the warriors

can lift his hands.

⁶At your rebuke,^o God of Jacob,

both horse and chariot^p lie still.

⁷It is you alone who are to be feared.^q

Who can stand^r before you when you are angry?^s

⁸From heaven you pronounced judgment,

and the land feared^t and was quiet—

⁹when you, God, rose up to judge,^u

to save all the afflicted^v of the land.

¹⁰Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise,^w

and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.^c

¹¹Make vows to the Lord your God and fulfill them;^x

let all the neighboring lands

bring gifts^y to the One to be feared.

¹²He breaks the spirit of rulers;

he is feared by the kings of the earth.

Psalm 77^a

For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.

¹I cried out to God^z for help;

I cried out to God to hear me.

²When I was in distress,^a I sought the Lord;

at night^b I stretched out untiring hands,^c

and I would not be comforted.^d

³I remembered^e you, God, and I groaned;^f

I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.^bg

⁴You kept my eyes from closing;

I was too troubled to speak.^h

⁵I thought about the former days,ⁱ

the years of long ago;

⁶I remembered my songs in the night.

My heart meditated and my spirit asked:

⁷“Will the Lord reject forever?^j

Will he never show his favor^k again?

⁸Has his unfailing love^l vanished forever?

Has his promise^m failed for all time?

⁹Has God forgotten to be merciful?ⁿ

Has he in anger withheld his compassion?^o”

¹⁰Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:

the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.^p

¹¹I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will remember your miracles^q of long ago.

¹²I will consider^r all your works

and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”^s

¹³Your ways, God, are holy.

What god is as great as our God?^t

¹⁴You are the God who performs miracles;^u

you display your power among the peoples.

¹⁵With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,^v

the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

¹⁶The waters^w saw you, God,

the waters saw you and writhed;^x

the very depths were convulsed.

¹⁷The clouds poured down water,^y

the heavens resounded with thunder;^z

your arrows^a flashed back and forth.

¹⁸Your…