Psalm 9:2–21:13
2 I will be glad and rejoiceg in you;
I will sing the praisesh of your name,i O Most High.
they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my rightj and my cause,k
sitting enthronedl as the righteous judge.m
5 You have rebuked the nationsn and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their nameo for ever and ever.
6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
you have uprooted their cities;p
even the memory of themq has perished.
7 The Lord reigns forever;r
he has established his thrones for judgment.
8 He rules the world in righteousnesst
and judges the peoples with equity.u
9 The Lord is a refugev for the oppressed,w
a stronghold in times of trouble.x
10 Those who know your namey trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsakenz those who seek you.a
11 Sing the praisesb of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;c
proclaim among the nationsd what he has done.e
12 For he who avenges bloodf remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.g
13 Lord, see how my enemiesh persecute me!
Have mercyi and lift me up from the gates of death,j
14 that I may declare your praisesk
in the gates of Daughter Zion,l
and there rejoice in your salvation.m
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;n
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.o
16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.c p
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,q
all the nations that forget God.r
18 But God will never forget the needy;
the hopes of the afflictedt will never perish.
19 Arise,u Lord, do not let mortals triumph;v
let the nations be judgedw in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror,x Lord;
let the nations know they are only mortal.y
Psalm 10a
1 Why, Lord, do you stand far off?z
Why do you hide yourselfa in times of trouble?
2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,b
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
3 He boastsc about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.d
4 In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.e
5 His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected byb him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
6 He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”f
7 His mouth is fullg of lies and threats;h
trouble and evil are under his tongue.i
8 He lies in waitj near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.k
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
9 like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;l
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.m
10 His victims are crushed,n they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;o
he covers his face and never sees.”p
12 Arise,q Lord! Lift up your hand,r O God.
Do not forget the helpless.s
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?t
Why does he say to himself,
“He won’t call me to account”?u
14 But you, God, see the troublev of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;w
you are the helperx of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;y
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.
16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;z
the nationsa will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;b
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,c
18 defending the fatherlessd and the oppressed,e
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.
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
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
“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.
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!
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;
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
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
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