Psalm 4–6

PSALM 4

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

¹Answer me when I call, O God of my right!

Thou hast given me room when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.

²O men, how long shall my honor suffer shame?

How long will you love vain words, and seek after lies? Selah

³But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

⁴Be angry, but sin not;

commune with your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

⁵Offer right sacrifices,

and put your trust in the Lord.

⁶There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!

Lift up the light of thy countenance upon us, O Lord!”

⁷Thou hast put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

⁸In peace I will both lie down and sleep;

for thou alone, O Lord, makest me dwell in safety.

PSALM 5

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

¹Give ear to my words, O Lord;

give heed to my groaning.

²Hearken to the sound of my cry,

my King and my God,

for to thee do I pray.

³O Lord, in the morning thou dost hear my voice;

in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for thee, and watch.

⁴For thou art not a God who delights in wickedness;

evil may not sojourn with thee.

⁵The boastful may not stand before thy eyes;

thou hatest all evildoers.

⁶Thou destroyest those who speak lies;

the Lord abhors bloodthirsty and deceitful men.

⁷But I through the abundance of thy steadfast love

will enter thy house,

I will worship toward thy holy temple

in the fear of thee.

⁸Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness

because of my enemies;

make thy way straight before me.

⁹For there is no truth in their mouth;

their heart is destruction,

their throat is an open sepulchre,

they flatter with their tongue.

¹⁰Make them bear their guilt, O God;

let them fall by their own counsels;

because of their many transgressions cast them out,

for they have rebelled against thee.

¹¹But let all who take refuge in thee rejoice,

let them ever sing for joy;

and do thou defend them,

that those who love thy name may exult in thee.

¹²For thou dost bless the righteous, O Lord;

thou dost cover him with favor as with a shield.

PSALM 6

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, rebuke me not in thy anger,

nor chasten me in thy wrath.

²Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;

O Lord, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

³My soul also is sorely troubled.

But thou, O Lord—how long?

⁴Turn, O Lord, save my life;

deliver me for the sake of thy steadfast love.

⁵For in death there is no remembrance of thee;

in Sheol who can give thee praise?

⁶I am weary with my moaning;

every night I flood my bed with tears;

I drench my couch with my weeping.

⁷My eye wastes away because of grief,

it grows weak because of all my foes.

⁸Depart from me, all you workers of evil;

for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.

⁹The Lord has heard my supplication;

the Lord accepts my prayer.

¹⁰All my enemies shall be ashamed and sorely troubled;

they shall turn back, and be put to shame in a moment.