³ I know about my wrongs.
    I can’t forget my sin.
⁴ You are the one I have sinned against.
    I have done what you say is wrong.
So you are right when you speak.
    You are fair when you judge me.
⁵ I was brought into this world in sin.
    In sin my mother gave birth to me.

⁶ You want me to be completely truthful.
    So teach me wisdom.
⁷ Take away my sin, and I will be clean.
    Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
⁸ Make me hear sounds of joy and gladness.
    Let the bones you crushed be happy again.
⁹ Turn your face from my sins.
    Wipe out all my guilt.

¹⁰ Create in me a pure heart, God.
    Make my spirit right again.
¹¹ Do not send me away from you.
    Do not take your Holy Spirit away from me.
¹² Give me back the joy that comes when you save me.
    Keep me strong by giving me a willing spirit.
¹³ Then I will teach your ways to those who do wrong.
    And sinners will turn back to you.

¹⁴ God, save me from the guilt of murder.
    God, you are the one who saves me.
    I will sing about your goodness.
¹⁵ Lord, let me speak
    so I may praise you.
¹⁶ You are not pleased by sacrifices.
    Otherwise, I would give them.
    You don’t want burnt offerings.
¹⁷ The sacrifice God wants is a willing spirit.
    God, you will not reject
    a heart that is broken and sorry for its sin.

¹⁸ Do whatever good you wish for Jerusalem.
    Rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then you will be pleased with right sacrifices and whole burnt offerings.
    And bulls will be offered on your altar.

⁴ Come into his city with songs of thanksgiving.
    Come into his courtyards with songs of praise.
    Thank him, and praise his name.
⁵ The Lord is good. His love continues forever.
    His loyalty continues from now on.

⁶ The Lord does what is right and fair
    for all who are wronged by others.
⁷ He showed his ways to Moses
    and his miracles to the people of Israel.
⁸ The Lord shows mercy and is kind.
    He does not become angry quickly, and he has great love.
⁹ He will not always scold us.
    He will not be angry forever.
¹⁰ He has not punished us as our sins should be punished.
    He has not repaid us for the evil we have done.
¹¹ As high as the sky is above the earth,
    so great is his love for those who respect him.
¹² He has taken our sins away from us
    as far as the east is from west.
¹³ The Lord has mercy on those who fear him,
    as a father has mercy on his children.
¹⁴ He knows how we were made.
    He remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵ Human life is like grass.
    We grow like a flower in the field.
¹⁶ After the wind blows, the flower is gone.
    There is no sign of where it was.
¹⁷ But the Lord’s love for those who fear him
    continues forever and ever.
    And his goodness continues to their grandchildren
¹⁸ and to those who keep his agreement
    and who remember to obey his orders.

¹⁹ The Lord has set his throne in heaven.
    And his kingdom rules over everything.
²⁰ You who are his angels, praise the Lord.
    You are the mighty warriors who do what he says.
    Listen to what he says.
²¹ You, his armies, praise the Lord.
    You are his servants who do what he wants.
²² Everything the Lord has made
    should praise him in all the places he rules.
My whole being, praise the Lord.

⁷ Where can I go to get away from your Spirit?
    Where can I run from you?
⁸ If I go up to the skies, you are there.
    If I lie down where the dead are, you are there.
⁹ If I rise with the sun in the east,
    and settle in the west beyond the sea,
¹⁰ even there you would guide me.
    With your right hand you would hold me.

¹¹ I could say, “The darkness will hide me.
    The light around me will turn into night.”
¹² But even the darkness is not dark to you.
    The night is as light as the day.
    Darkness and light are the same to you.

¹³ You made my whole being.
    You formed me in my mother’s body.
¹⁴ I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way.
    What you have done is wonderful.
    I know this very well.
¹⁵ You saw my bones being formed
    as I took shape in my mother’s body.
When I was put together there,
¹⁶     you saw my body as it was formed.
All the days planned for me
    were written in your book
    before I was one day old.

¹⁷ God, your thoughts are precious to me.
    They are so many!
¹⁸ If I could count them,
    they would be more than all the grains of sand.
When I wake up,
    I am still with you.

¹⁹ God, I wish you would kill the wicked!
    Get away from me, you murderers!
²⁰ These men say evil things about you.
    Your enemies use your name thoughtlessly.
²¹ Lord, I hate those who hate you.
    I hate those who rise up against you.
²² I feel only hate for them.
    They are my enemies.

²³ God, examine me and know my heart.
    Test me and know my thoughts.
²⁴ See if there is any bad thing in me.
    Lead me in the way you set long ago.