Psalm 33–34

PSALM 33

¹Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous!

Praise befits the upright.

²Praise the Lord with the lyre,

make melody to him with the harp of ten strings!

³Sing to him a new song,

play skilfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴For the word of the Lord is upright;

and all his work is done in faithfulness.

⁵He loves righteousness and justice;

the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

⁶By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and all their host by the breath of his mouth.

⁷He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;

he put the deeps in storehouses.

⁸Let all the earth fear the Lord,

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

⁹For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood forth.

¹⁰The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nought;

he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

¹¹The counsel of the Lord stands for ever,

the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

¹²Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

the people whom he has chosen as his heritage!

¹³The Lord looks down from heaven,

he sees all the sons of men;

¹⁴from where he sits enthroned he looks forth

on all the inhabitants of the earth,

¹⁵he who fashions the hearts of them all,

and observes all their deeds.

¹⁶A king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

¹⁷The war horse is a vain hope for victory,

and by its great might it cannot save.

¹⁸Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,

on those who hope in his steadfast love,

¹⁹that he may deliver their soul from death,

and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰Our soul waits for the Lord;

he is our help and shield.

²¹Yea, our heart is glad in him,

because we trust in his holy name.

²²Let thy steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,

even as we hope in thee.

PSALM 34

A Psalm of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

¹I will bless the Lord at all times;

his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

²My soul makes its boast in the Lord;

let the afflicted hear and be glad.

³O magnify the Lord with me,

and let us exalt his name together!

⁴I sought the Lord, and he answered me,

and delivered me from all my fears.

⁵Look to him, and be radiant;

so your faces shall never be ashamed.

⁶This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him,

and saved him out of all his troubles.

⁷The angel of the Lord encamps

around those who fear him, and delivers them.

⁸O taste and see that the Lord is good!

Happy is the man who takes refuge in him!

⁹O fear the Lord, you his saints,

for those who fear him have no want!

¹⁰The young lions suffer want and hunger;

but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

¹¹Come, O sons, listen to me,

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

¹²What man is there who desires life,

and covets many days, that he may enjoy good?

¹³Keep your tongue from evil,

and your lips from speaking deceit.

¹⁴Depart from evil, and do good;

seek peace, and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,

and his ears toward their cry.

¹⁶The face of the Lord is against evildoers,

to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

¹⁷When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,

and delivers them out of all their troubles.

¹⁸The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,

and saves the crushed in spirit.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous;

but the Lord delivers him out of them all.

²⁰He keeps all his bones;

not one of them is broken.

²¹Evil shall slay the wicked;

and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

²²The Lord redeems the life of his servants;

none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.