PSALM 147

1 Praise the Lord!

For it is good to sing praises to our God;

for he is gracious, and a song of praise is seemly.

2 The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

he gathers the outcasts of Israel.

3 He heals the brokenhearted,

and binds up their wounds.

4 He determines the number of the stars,

he gives to all of them their names.

5 Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;

his understanding is beyond measure.

6 The Lord lifts up the downtrodden,

he casts the wicked to the ground.

7 Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

make melody to our God upon the lyre!

8 He covers the heavens with clouds,

he prepares rain for the earth,

he makes grass grow upon the hills.

9 He gives to the beasts their food,

and to the young ravens which cry.

10 His delight is not in the strength of the horse,

nor his pleasure in the legs of a man;

11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,

in those who hope in his steadfast love.

12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!

13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates;

he blesses your sons within you.

14 He makes peace in your borders;

he fills you with the finest of the wheat.

15 He sends forth his command to the earth;

his word runs swiftly.

16 He gives snow like wool;

he scatters hoarfrost like ashes.

17 He casts forth his ice like morsels;

who can stand before his cold?

18 He sends forth his word, and melts them;

he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.

19 He declares his word to Jacob,

his statutes and ordinances to Israel.

20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;

they do not know his ordinances.

Praise the Lord!

PSALM 12

To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

1 Help, Lord; for there is no longer any that is godly;

for the faithful have vanished from among the sons of men.

2 Every one utters lies to his neighbor;

with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,

the tongue that makes great boasts,

4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,

our lips are with us; who is our master?”

5 “Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,

I will now arise,” says the Lord;

“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

6 The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,

silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times.

7 Do thou, O Lord, protect us,

guard us ever from this generation.

8 On every side the wicked prowl,

as vileness is exalted among the sons of men.

PSALM 13

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 How long, O Lord? Wilt thou forget me for ever?

How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

2 How long must I bear pain* in my soul,

and have sorrow in my heart all the day?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;

lighten my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

4 lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him”;

lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.

5 But I have trusted in thy steadfast love;

my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

6 I will sing to the Lord,

because he has dealt bountifully with me.

PSALM 14

To the choirmaster. Of David.

1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds,

there is none that does good.

2 The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men,

to see if there are any that act wisely,

that seek after God.

3 They have all gone astray, they are all alike corrupt;

there is none that does good,

no, not one.

4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers

who eat up my people as they eat bread,

and do not call upon the Lord?

5 There they shall be in great terror,

for God is with the generation of the righteous.

6 You would confound the plans of the poor,

but the Lord is his refuge.

7 O that deliverance for Israel would come out of Zion!

When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,

Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad.

PSALM 15

A Psalm of David.

1 O Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tent?

Who shall dwell on thy holy hill?

2 He who walks blamelessly, and does what is right,

and speaks truth from his heart;

3 who does not slander with his tongue,

and does no evil to his friend,

nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;

4 in whose eyes a reprobate is despised,

but who honors those who fear the Lord;

who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

5 who does not put out his money at interest,

and does not take a bribe against the innocent.

He who does these things shall never be moved.

PSALM 19

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1 The heavens are telling the glory of God;

and the firmament proclaims his handiwork.

2 Day to day pours forth speech,

and night to night declares knowledge.

3 There is no speech, nor are there words;

their voice is not heard;

4 yet their voice* goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.

In them he has set a tent for the sun,

5 which comes forth like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,

and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

and its circuit to the end of them;

and there is nothing hid from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect,

reviving the soul;

the testimony of the Lord is sure,

making wise the simple;

8 the precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is pure,

enlightening the eyes;

9 the fear of the Lord is clean,

enduring for ever;

the ordinances of the Lord are true,

and righteous altogether.

10 More to be desired are they than gold,

even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey

and drippings of the honeycomb.

11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned;

in keeping them there is great reward.

12 But who can discern his errors?

Clear thou me from hidden faults.

13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;

let them not have dominion over me!

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in thy sight,

O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.