Bible in 90 Days

24 ⁽⁰⁾ By David. A psalm:

⁽¹⁾ The earth is Adonai’s, with all that is in it,
the world and those who live there;
² for he set its foundations on the seas
and established it on the rivers.

³ Who may go up to the mountain of Adonai?
Who can stand in his holy place?
⁴ Those with clean hands and pure hearts,
who don’t make vanities the purpose of their lives
or swear oaths just to deceive.
⁵ They will receive a blessing from Adonai
and justice from God, who saves them.
⁶ Such is the character of those who seek him,
of Ya‘akov, who seeks your face. (Selah)

⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates!
Lift them up, everlasting doors,
so that the glorious king can enter!
⁸ Who is he, this glorious king?
Adonai, strong and mighty,
Adonai, mighty in battle.

⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates!
Lift them up, everlasting doors,
so that the glorious king can enter!
¹⁰ Who is he, this glorious king?
Adonai-Tzva’ot —
he is the glorious king. (Selah)
25 ⁽⁰⁾ By David:

⁽¹⁾ I lift my inner being to you, Adonai;
² I trust you, my God.
Don’t let me be disgraced,
don’t let my enemies gloat over me.
³ No one waiting for you will be disgraced;
disgrace awaits those who break faith for no reason.

⁴ Make me know your ways, Adonai,
teach me your paths.
⁵ Guide me in your truth, and teach me;
for you are the God who saves me,
my hope is in you all day long.
⁶ Remember your compassion and grace, Adonai;
for these are ages old.
⁷ Don’t remember my youthful sins or transgressions;
but remember me according to your grace
for the sake of your goodness, Adonai.

⁸ Adonai is good, and he is fair;
this is why he teaches sinners the way [to live],
⁹ leads the humble to do what is right
and teaches the humble [to live] his way.
¹⁰ All Adonai’s paths are grace and truth
to those who keep his covenant and instructions.
¹¹ For the sake of your name, Adonai,
forgive my wickedness, great though it is.

¹² Who is the person who fears Adonai?
He will teach him the way to choose.
¹³ He will remain prosperous,
and his descendants will inherit the land.
¹⁴ Adonai relates intimately with those who fear him;
he makes them know his covenant.

¹⁵ My eyes are always directed toward Adonai,
for he will free my feet from the net.
¹⁶ Turn to me, and show me your favor;
for I am alone and oppressed.
¹⁷ The troubles of my heart are growing and growing;
bring me out of my distress.
¹⁸ See my affliction and suffering,
and take all my sins away.

¹⁹ Consider my enemies, how many there are
and how cruelly they hate me.
²⁰ Protect me and rescue me;
don’t let me be disgraced,
for I take refuge in you.
²¹ Let integrity and uprightness preserve me,
because my hope is in you.

²² God! Redeem Isra’el
from all their troubles!

26 ⁽⁰⁾ By David:

⁽¹⁾ Vindicate me, Adonai,
for I have lived a blameless life;
unwaveringly I trust in Adonai.
² Examine me, Adonai, test me,
search my mind and heart.
³ For your grace is there before my eyes,
and I live my life by your truth.
⁴ I have not sat with worthless folks,
I won’t consort with hypocrites,
⁵ I hate the company of evildoers,
I will not sit with the wicked.

⁶ I will wash my hands in innocence
and walk around your altar, Adonai,
⁷ lifting my voice in thanks
and proclaiming all your wonders.
⁸ Adonai, I love the house where you live,
the place where your glory abides.

⁹ Don’t include me with sinners
or my life with the bloodthirsty.
¹⁰ In their hands are evil schemes;
their right hands are full of bribes.
¹¹ As for me, I will live a blameless life.
Redeem me and show me favor.
¹² My feet are planted on level ground;
in the assemblies I will bless Adonai.

27 ⁽⁰⁾ By David:

⁽¹⁾ Adonai is my light and salvation;
whom do I need to fear?
Adonai is the stronghold of my life;
of whom should I be afraid?
² When evildoers assailed me
to devour my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
they stumbled and fell.
³ If an army encamps against me,
my heart will not fear;
if war breaks out against me,
even then I will keep trusting.

⁴ Just one thing have I asked of Adonai;
only this will I seek:
to live in the house of Adonai
all the days of my life,
to see the beauty of Adonai
and visit in his temple.
⁵ For he will conceal me in his shelter
on the day of trouble,
he will hide me in the folds of his tent,
he will set me high on a rock.
⁶ Then my head will be lifted up
above my surrounding foes,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of joy;
I will sing, sing praises to Adonai.

⁷ Listen, Adonai, to my voice when I cry;
show favor to me; and answer me.
⁸ “My heart said of you, ‘Seek my face.’”
Your face, Adonai, I will seek.
⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
don’t turn your servant away in anger.
You are my help; don’t abandon me;
don’t leave me, God my savior.
¹⁰ Even though my father and mother have left me,
Adonai will care for me.
¹¹ Teach me your way, Adonai;
lead me on a level path
because of my enemies —
¹² don’t give me up to the whims of my foes;
for false witnesses have risen against me,
also those who are breathing violence.

¹³ If I hadn’t believed that I would see
Adonai’s goodness in the land of the living, . . .
¹⁴ Put your hope in Adonai, be strong,
and let your heart take courage!
Yes, put your hope in Adonai!
28 ⁽⁰⁾ By David:

⁽¹⁾ Adonai, I am calling to you;
my Rock, don’t be deaf to my cry.
For if you answer me with silence,
I will be like those who fall in a pit.
² Hear the sound of my prayers
when I cry to you,
when I lift my hands
toward your holy sanctuary.

³ Don’t drag me off with the wicked,
with those whose deeds are evil;
they speak words of peace to their fellowmen,
but evil is in their hearts.
⁴ Pay them back for their deeds,
as befits their evil acts;
repay them for what they have done,
give them what they deserve.
⁵ For they don’t understand the deeds of Adonai
or what he has done.
He will break them down;
he will not build them up.

⁶ Blessed be Adonai,
for he heard my voice as I prayed for mercy.
⁷ Adonai is my strength and shield;
in him my heart trusted, and I have been helped.
Therefore my heart is filled with joy,
and I will sing praises to him.

⁸ Adonai is strength for [his people],
a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.
⁹ Save your people! Bless your heritage!
Shepherd them, and carry them forever!

29 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm of David:

⁽¹⁾ Give Adonai his due, you who are godly;
give Adonai his due of glory and strength;
² give Adonai the glory due his name;
worship Adonai in holy splendor.

³ The voice of Adonai is over the waters;
the God of glory thunders,
Adonai over rushing waters,
⁴ the voice of Adonai in power,
the voice of Adonai in splendor.

⁵ The voice of Adonai cracks the cedars;
Adonai splinters the cedars of the L’vanon
⁶ and makes the L’vanon skip like a calf,
Siryon like a young wild ox.

⁷ The voice of Adonai flashes fiery flames;
⁸ the voice of Adonai rocks the desert,
Adonai convulses the Kadesh Desert.
⁹ The voice of Adonai causes deer to give birth
and strips the forests bare —
while in his temple, all cry, “Glory!”
¹⁰ Adonai sits enthroned above the flood!
Adonai sits enthroned as king forever!
¹¹ May Adonai give strength to his people!
May Adonai bless his people with shalom!

30 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm. A song for the dedication of the house. By David:

^2 (1) I will exalt you, Adonai, because you drew me up;
you didn’t let my enemies rejoice over me.
^3 (2) Adonai my God, I cried out to you,
and you provided healing for me.
^4 (3) Adonai, you lifted me up from Sh’ol;
you kept me alive when I was sinking into a pit.

^5 (4) Sing praise to Adonai, you faithful of his;
and give thanks on recalling his holiness.
^6 (5) For his anger is momentary,
but his favor lasts a lifetime.
Tears may linger for the night,
but with dawn come cries of joy.

^7 (6) Once I was prosperous and used to say,
that nothing could ever shake me —
^8 (7) when you showed me favor, Adonai,
I was firm as a mighty mountain.
But when you hid your face,
I was struck with terror.

^9 (8) I called to you, Adonai;
to Adonai I pleaded for mercy:
^10 (9) “What advantage is there in my death,
in my going down to the pit?
Can the dust praise you?
Can it proclaim your truth?
^11 (10) Hear me, Adonai, and show me your favor!
Adonai, be my helper!”

^12 (11) You turned my mourning into dancing!
You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
^13 (12) so that my well-being can praise you and not be silent;
Adonai my God, I will thank you forever!

31 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of David:

^2 (1) In you, Adonai, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame;
in your justice, save me!
^3 (2) Turn your ear toward me,
come quickly to my rescue,
be for me a rock of strength,
a fortress to keep me safe.
^4 (3) Since you are my rock and fortress,
lead me and guide me for your name’s sake.
^5 (4) Free me from the net they have hidden to catch me,
because you are my strength.
^6 (5) Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you will redeem me, Adonai, God of truth.

^7 (6) I hate those who serve worthless idols;
as for me, I trust in Adonai.
^8 (7) I will rejoice and be glad in your grace,
for you see my affliction,
you know how distressed I am.
^9 (8) You did not hand me over to the enemy;
you set my feet where I can move freely.

^10 (9) Show me favor, Adonai, for I am in trouble.
My eyes grow dim with anger,
my soul and body as well.
^11 (10) For my life is worn out with sorrow
and my years with sighing;
my strength gives out under my guilt,
and my bones are wasting away.

^12 (11) I am scorned by all my adversaries,
and even more by my neighbors;
even to acquaintances
I am an object of fear —
when they see me in the street,
they turn away from me.
^13 (12) Like a dead man, I have passed from their minds;
I have become like a broken pot.
^14 (13) All I hear is whispering,
terror is all around me;
they plot together against me,
scheming to take my life.

^15 (14) But I, I trust in you, Adonai;
I say, “You are my God.”
^16 (15) My times are in your hand;
rescue me from my enemies’ power,
from those who persecute me.

^17 (16) Make your face shine on your servant;
in your grace, save me.
^18 (17) Adonai, don’t let me be put to shame,
for I have called on you;
let the wicked be put to shame,
let them be silenced in Sh’ol.
^19 (18) May lying lips be struck dumb,
that speak insolently against the righteous
with such pride and contempt.

^20 (19) But oh, how great is your goodness,
which you have stored up for those who fear you,
which you do for those who take refuge in you,
before people’s very eyes!
^21 (20) In the shelter of your presence
you hide them from human plots,
you conceal them in your shelter,
safe from contentious tongues.

^22 (21) Blessed be Adonai!
For he has shown me his amazing grace
when I was in a city under siege.
^23 (22) As for me, in my alarm I said,
“I have been cut off from your sight!”
Nevertheless, you heard my pleas
when I cried out to you.

^24 (23) Love Adonai, you faithful of his.
Adonai preserves the loyal,
but the proud he repays in full.
^25 (24) Be strong, and fill your hearts with courage,
all of you who hope in Adonai.
32 ⁽⁰⁾ By David. A maskil:

⁽¹⁾ How blessed are those whose offense is forgiven,
those whose sin is covered!
² How blessed those to whom Adonai imputes no guilt,
in whose spirit is no deceit!

³ When I kept silent, my bones wasted away
because of my groaning all day long;
⁴ day and night your hand was heavy on me;
the sap in me dried up as in a summer drought. (Selah)

⁵ When I acknowledged my sin to you,
when I stopped concealing my guilt,
and said, “I will confess my offenses to Adonai”;
then you, you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Selah)

⁶ This is what everyone faithful should pray
at a time when you can be found.
Then, when the floodwaters are raging,
they will not reach to him.

⁷ You are a hiding-place for me,
you will keep me from distress;
you will surround me
with songs of deliverance. (Selah)

⁸ “I will instruct and teach you
in this way that you are to go;
I will give you counsel;
my eyes will be watching you.”

⁹ Don’t be like a horse or mule
that has no understanding,
that has to be curbed with bit and bridle,
or else it won’t come near you.

¹⁰ Many are the torments of the wicked,
but grace surrounds those who trust in Adonai.
¹¹ Be glad in Adonai; rejoice, you righteous!
Shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

33 Rejoice in Adonai, you righteous!
Praise is well-suited to the upright.
² Give thanks to Adonai with the lyre,
sing praises to him with a ten-stringed harp.
³ Sing to him a new song,
make music at your best among shouts of joy.
⁴ For the word of Adonai is true,
and all his work is trustworthy.
⁵ He loves righteousness and justice;
the earth is full of the grace of Adonai.

⁶ By the word of Adonai the heavens were made,
and their whole host by a breath from his mouth.
⁷ He collects the sea waters together in a heap;
he puts the deeps in storehouses.

⁸ Let all the earth fear Adonai!
Let all living in the world stand in awe of him.
⁹ For he spoke, and there it was;
he commanded, and there it stood.

¹⁰ Adonai brings to nothing the plans of nations,
he foils the plans of the peoples.
¹¹ But the counsel of Adonai stands forever,
his heart’s plans are for all generations.
¹² How blessed is the nation whose God is Adonai,
the people he chose as his heritage!

¹³ Adonai looks out from heaven;
he sees every human being;
¹⁴ from the place where he lives
he watches everyone living on earth,
¹⁵ he who fashioned the hearts of them all
and understands all they do.

¹⁶ A king is not saved by the size of his army,
a strong man not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷ To rely on a horse for safety is vain,
nor does its great power assure escape.

¹⁸ But Adonai’s eyes watch over those who fear him,
over those who wait for his grace
¹⁹ to rescue them from death
and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ We are waiting for Adonai;
he is our help and shield.
²¹ For in him our hearts rejoice,
because we trust in his holy name.
²² May your mercy, Adonai, be over us,
because we put our hope in you.
34 ⁽⁰⁾ By David, when he pretended to be insane before Avimelekh, who then drove him away; so he left:

^2 (1) I will bless Adonai at all times;
his praise will always be in my mouth.
^3 (2) When I boast, it will be about Adonai;
the humble will hear of it and be glad.

^4 (3) Proclaim with me the greatness of Adonai;
let us exalt his name together.
^5 (4) I sought Adonai, and he answered me;
he rescued me from everything I feared.

^6 (5) They looked to him and grew radiant;
their faces will never blush for shame.
^7 (6) This poor man cried; Adonai heard
and saved him from all his troubles.
^8 (7) The angel of Adonai, who encamps
around those who fear him, delivers them.

^9 (8) Taste, and see that Adonai is good.
How blessed are those who take refuge in him!
^10 (9) Fear Adonai, you holy ones of his,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
^11 (10) Young lions can be needy, they can go hungry,
but those who seek Adonai lack nothing good.

^12 (11) Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of Adonai.
^13 (12) Which of you takes pleasure in living?
Who wants a long life to see good things?
^14 (13) [If you do,] keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceiving talk;
^15 (14) turn from evil, and do good;
seek peace, go after it!

^16 (15) The eyes of Adonai watch over the righteous,
and his ears are open to their cry.
^17 (16) But the face of Adonai opposes those who do evil,
to cut off all memory of them from the earth.

^18 (17) [The righteous] cried out, and Adonai heard,
and he saved them from all their troubles.
^19 (18) Adonai is near those with broken hearts;
he saves those whose spirit is crushed.
^20 (19) The righteous person suffers many evils,
but Adonai rescues him out of them all.
^21 (20) He protects all his bones;
not one of them gets broken.

^22 (21) Evil will kill the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
^23 (22) But Adonai redeems his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

35 ⁽⁰⁾ By David:

⁽¹⁾ Adonai, oppose those who oppose me;
fight against those who fight against me.
² Grasp your shield and protective gear,
and rise to my defense.
³ Brandish spear and battle-axe
against my pursuers;
let me hear you say,
“I am your salvation.”

⁴ May those who seek my life
be disgraced and put to confusion;
may those who are plotting harm for me
be repulsed and put to shame.
⁵ May they be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of Adonai to drive them on.
⁶ May their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of Adonai to pursue them.
⁷ For unprovoked, they hid their net over a pit;
unprovoked, they dug it for me.
⁸ May destruction come over him unawares.
May the net he concealed catch himself;
may he fall into it and be destroyed.

⁹ Then I will be joyful in Adonai,
I will rejoice in his salvation.
¹⁰ All my bones will say,
“Who is like you?
Who can rescue the weak
from those stronger than they,
the poor and needy
from those who exploit them?”

¹¹ Malicious witnesses come forward,
asking me things about which I know nothing.
¹² They repay me evil for good;
it makes me feel desolate as a parent bereaved.
¹³ But I, when they were ill, wore sackcloth;
I put myself out and fasted;
I can pray that what I prayed for them
might also happen to me.
¹⁴ I behaved as I would for my friend or my brother;
I bent down in sorrow as if mourning my mother.

¹⁵ But when I stumble, they gather in glee;
they gather against me and strike me unawares;
they tear me apart unceasingly.
¹⁶ With ungodly mocking and grimacing,
they grind their teeth at me.
¹⁷ Adonai, how much longer will you look on?
Rescue me from their assaults,
save the one life I have from the lions!

¹⁸ I will give you thanks in the great assembly,
I will give you praise among huge crowds of people.
¹⁹ Don’t let those who are wrongfully my enemies
gloat over me;
and those who hate me unprovoked —
don’t let them smirk at me.

²⁰ For they don’t speak words of peace
but devise ways to deceive
the peaceful of the land.
²¹ They shout to accuse me, “Aha! Aha!
we saw you with our own eyes!”
²² You saw them, Adonai; don’t stay silent.
Adonai, don’t stay far away from me.

²³ Wake up! Get up, my God, my Lord!
Defend me and my cause!
²⁴ Give judgment for me, Adonai, my God,
as your righteousness demands.

Don’t let them gloat over me.
²⁵ Don’t let them say to themselves,
“Aha! We got what we wanted!”
or say, “We swallowed them up!”
²⁶ May those who gloat over my distress
be disgraced and humiliated.
May those who aggrandize themselves at my expense
be covered with shame and confusion.

²⁷ But may those who delight in my righteousness
shout for joy and be glad!
Let them say always, “How great is Adonai,
who delights in the peace of his servant!”
²⁸ Then my tongue will tell of your righteousness
and praise you all day long.

36 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. By David, the servant of Adonai:

^2 (1) Crime speaks to the wicked.
I perceive this in my heart;
before his eyes there is no fear
of God.
^3 (2) For, the way he sees it,
crime makes his life easy —
that is, until his wrongs are discovered;
then, he is hated.
^4 (3) His words are wrong and deceitful;
he has stopped being wise and doing good.
^5 (4) He devises trouble as he lies in bed;
so set is he on his own bad way
that he doesn’t hate evil.

^6 (5) Adonai, in the heavens is your grace;
your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
^7 (6) Your righteousness is like the mountains of God,
your judgments are like the great deep.
You save man and beast, Adonai.
^8 (7) How precious, God, is your grace!
People take refuge in the shadow of your wings,
^9 (8) they feast on the rich bounty of your house,
and you have them drink from the stream of your delights.
^10 (9) For with you is the fountain of life;
in your light we see light.
^11 (10) Continue your grace to those who know you
and your righteousness to the upright in heart.
^12 (11) Don’t let the foot of the proud tread on me
or the hands of the wicked drive me away.
^13 (12) There they lie fallen, those evildoers,
flung down and unable to rise.

37 ⁽⁰⁾ By David:

⁽¹⁾ Don’t be upset by evildoers
or envious of those who do wrong,
² for soon they will wither like grass
and fade like the green in the fields.
³ Trust in Adonai, and do good;
settle in the land, and feed on faithfulness.
⁴ Then you will delight yourself in Adonai,
and he will give you your heart’s desire.

⁵ Commit your way to Adonai;
trust in him, and he will act.
⁶ He will make your vindication shine forth like light,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

⁷ Be still before Adonai;
wait patiently till he comes.
Don’t be upset by those whose way
succeeds because of their wicked plans.
⁸ Stop being angry, put aside rage,
and don’t be upset — it leads to evil.

⁹ For evildoers will be cut off,
but those hoping in Adonai will inherit the land.
¹⁰ Soon the wicked will be no more;
you will look for his place, and he won’t be there.
¹¹ But the meek will inherit the land
and delight themselves in abundant peace.

¹² The wicked plots against the righteous
and grinds his teeth at him;
¹³ but Adonai laughs at the wicked,
knowing his day will come.
¹⁴ The wicked have unsheathed their swords,
they have strung their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slaughter those whose way is upright.
¹⁵ But their swords will pierce their own hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better the little that the righteous has
than the wealth of all the wicked.
¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but Adonai upholds the righteous.
¹⁸ Adonai knows what the wholehearted suffer,
but their inheritance lasts forever.
¹⁹ They will not be distressed when times are hard;
when famine comes, they will have plenty.

²⁰ For the wicked will perish;
Adonai’s enemies will be like sheep fat,
ending up as smoke, finished.
²¹ The wicked borrows and doesn’t repay,
but the righteous is generous and gives.
²² For those blessed by [Adonai] will inherit the land,
but those cursed by him will be cut off.

²³ Adonai directs a person’s steps,
and he delights in his way.
²⁴ He may stumble, but he won’t fall headlong,
for Adonai holds him by the hand.

²⁵ I have been young; now I am old;
yet not once have I seen the righteous abandoned
or his descendants begging for bread.
²⁶ All day long he is generous and lends,
and his descendants are blessed.

²⁷ If you turn from evil and do good,
you will live safely forever.
²⁸ For Adonai loves justice
and will not abandon his faithful;
they are preserved forever.
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land
and live in it forever.
³⁰ The mouth of the righteous articulates wisdom,
his tongue speaks justice.
³¹ The Torah of his God is in his heart;
his footsteps do not falter.

³² The wicked keeps his eye on the righteous,
seeking a chance to kill him.
³³ But Adonai will not leave him in his power
or let him be condemned when judged.
³⁴ Put your hope in Adonai, keep to his way,
and he will raise you up to inherit the land.

When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
³⁵ I have seen a wicked man wielding great power,
flourishing like a shade tree in its native soil.
³⁶ But I passed by again, and he was no longer there;
I looked for him, but he could not be found.

³⁷ Observe the pure person, consider the upright;
for the peaceful person will have posterity.
³⁸ But transgressors will all be destroyed;
the posterity of the wicked will be cut off.
³⁹ Adonai is the one who saves the righteous;
he is their stronghold in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ Adonai helps them and rescues them,
rescues them from the wicked and saves them;
because they take refuge in him.

38 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm of David, serving as a reminder:

^2 (1) Adonai, don’t rebuke me when you are angry
or discipline me when you are enraged,
^3 (2) for your arrows penetrate me deeply,
and your hand is pressing me down.

^4 (3) Your indignation left no part of me intact;
my sin made my whole body sick;
^5 (4) for my iniquities loom high over my head
as a heavy burden, too heavy for me.

^6 (5) I have stinking, festering wounds
because of my foolishness.
^7 (6) I am bent down, prostrate completely;
I go about mourning all day long.

^8 (7) For my insides burn with fever,
and my whole body is sick.
^9 (8) I am numb, completely crushed;
my anguished heart makes me groan aloud.

^10 (9) Adonai, all my longing is known to you;
my sighing is not hidden from you.
^11 (10) My heart is throbbing, my strength is gone,
and the light in my eyes has left me.

^12 (11) My friends and companions shun my disease;
even the closest keep their distance.
^13 (12) Those seeking my life lay snares for me,
those seeking to harm me speak of disaster
and think up deceptions all day long.

^14 (13) But I’m like a deaf man — I don’t hear it;
and, like a mute, I don’t say a word.
^15 (14) Yes, I’ve become like a man who doesn’t hear
and in whose mouth are no defenses.

^16 (15) For it is in you, Adonai, that I hope.
You will answer, Adonai my God.
^17 (16) I said, “Don’t let them gloat over me
or boast against me when my foot slips.”

^18 (17) For I am about to fall,
and my pain is always with me.
^19 (18) I acknowledge my guilt,
I am anxious because of my sin.

^20 (19) But my enemies are alive and well,
those who wrongfully hate me increase their numbers;
^21 (20) and, since they repay good with evil,
they oppose me because I pursue good.

^22 (21) Don’t abandon me, Adonai!
My God, don’t be far from me!
^23 (22) Come quickly to help me,
Adonai, my salvation!

39 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set in the style of Y’dutun. A psalm of David:

^2 (1) I said, “I will watch how I behave,
so that I won’t sin with my tongue;
I will put a muzzle on my mouth
whenever the wicked confront me.”

^3 (2) I was silent, said nothing, not even good;
but my pain kept being stirred up.
^4 (3) My heart grew hot within me;
whenever I thought of it, the fire burned.
Then, [at last,] I let my tongue speak:

^5 (4) “Make me grasp, Adonai, what my end must be,
what it means that my days are numbered;
let me know what a transient creature I am.
^6 (5) You have made my days like handbreadths;
for you, the length of my life is like nothing.”

Yes, everyone, no matter how firmly he stands,
is merely a puff of wind. (Selah)
^7 (6) Humans go about like shadows;
their turmoil is all for nothing.
They accumulate wealth, not knowing
who will enjoy its benefits.

^8 (7) Now, Adonai, what am I waiting for?
You are my only hope.
^9 (8) Rescue me from all my transgressions;
don’t make me the butt of fools.
^10 (9) I am silent, I keep my mouth shut,
because it is you who have done it.

^11 (10) Stop raining blows on me;
the pounding of your fist is wearing me down.
^12 (11) With rebukes you discipline people for their guilt;
like a moth, you destroy what makes them attractive;
yes, everyone is merely a puff of wind. (Selah)

^13 (12) Hear my prayer, Adonai, listen to my cry,
don’t be deaf to my weeping;
for with you, I am just a traveler
passing through, like all my ancestors.
^14 (13) Turn your gaze from me, so I can smile again
before I depart and cease to exist.

40 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of David:

^2 (1) I waited patiently for Adonai,
till he turned toward me and heard my cry.
^3 (2) He brought me up from the roaring pit,
up from the muddy ooze,
and set my feet on a rock,
making my footing firm.
^4 (3) He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will look on in awe
and put their trust in Adonai.

^5 (4) How blessed the man who trusts in Adonai
and does not look to the arrogant
or to those who rely on things that are false.

^6 (5) How much you have done, Adonai my God!
Your wonders and your thoughts toward us —
none can compare with you!
I would proclaim them, I would speak about them;
but there’s too much to tell!

^7 (6) Sacrifices and grain offerings you don’t want;
burnt offerings and sin offerings you don’t demand.
Instead, you have given me open ears;
^8 (7) so then I said, “Here I am! I’m coming!
In the scroll of a book it is written about me.
^9 (8) Doing your will, my God, is my joy;
your Torah is in my inmost being.
^10 (9) I have proclaimed what is right in the great assembly;
I did not restrain my lips, Adonai, as you know.
^11 (10) I did not hide your righteousness in my heart
but declared your faithfulness and salvation;
I did not conceal your grace and truth
from the great assembly.”

^12 (11) Adonai, don’t withhold your mercy from me.
Let your grace and truth preserve me always.
^13 (12) For numberless evils surround me;
my iniquities engulf me — I can’t even see;
there are more of them than hairs on my head,
so that my courage fails me.
^14 (13) Be pleased, Adonai, to rescue me!
Adonai, hurry and help me!
^15 (14) May those who seek to sweep me away
be disgraced and humiliated together.
May those who take pleasure in doing me harm
be turned back and put to confusion.
^16 (15) May those who jeer at me, “Aha! Aha!”
be aghast because of their shame.

^17 (16) But may all those who seek you
be glad and take joy in you.
May those who love your salvation say always,
“Adonai is great and glorious!”

^18 (17) But I am poor and needy;
may Adonai think of me.
You are my helper and rescuer;
my God, don’t delay!

41 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of David:

^2 (1) How blessed are those who care for the poor!
When calamity comes, Adonai will save them.
^3 (2) Adonai will preserve them, keep them alive,
and make them happy in the land.
You will not hand them over
to the whims of their enemies.
^4 (3) Adonai sustains them on their sickbed;
when they lie ill, you make them recover.
^5 (4) I said, “Adonai, have pity on me!
Heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
^6 (5) My enemies say the worst about me:
“When will he die and his name disappear?”
^7 (6) When they come to see me they speak insincerely,
their hearts meanwhile gathering falsehoods;
then they go out and spread bad reports.
^8 (7) All who hate me whisper together against me,
imagining the worst about me.
^9 (8) “A fatal disease has attached itself to him;
now that he lies ill, he will never get up.”
^10 (9) Even my close friend, on whom I relied,
who shared my table, has turned against me.

^11 (10) But you, Adonai, have pity on me,
put me on my feet, so I can pay them back.
^12 (11) I will know you are pleased with me
if my enemy doesn’t defeat me.
^13 (12) You uphold me because of my innocence
you establish me in your presence forever.

^14 (13) Blessed be Adonai the God of Isra’el
from eternity past to eternity future.

Amen. Amen.

^2 (1) Just as a deer longs for running streams,
God, I long for you.
^3 (2) I am thirsty for God, for the living God!
When can I come and appear before God?

^4 (3) My tears are my food, day and night,
while all day people ask me, “Where is your God?”
^5 (4) I recall, as my feelings well up within me,
how I’d go with the crowd to the house of God,
with sounds of joy and praise from the throngs
observing the festival.

^6 (5) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for the salvation that comes from his presence.
^7 (6) My God, when I feel so downcast,
I remind myself of you
from the land of Yarden, from the peaks of Hermon,
from the hill Mizar.
^8 (7) Deep is calling to deep
at the thunder of your waterfalls;
all your surging rapids and waves
are sweeping over me.
^9 (8) By day Adonai commands his grace,
and at night his song is with me
as a prayer to the God of my life.
^10 (9) I say to God my Rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go about mourning,
under pressure by the enemy?
^11 (10) My adversaries’ taunts make me feel
as if my bones were crushed,
as they ask me all day long,
‘Where is your God?’ ”

^12 (11) My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for being my Savior and God.

43 Judge me, God, and plead my cause
against a faithless nation.
Rescue me from those who deceive
and from those who are unjust.
² For you are the God of my strength;
why have you thrust me aside?
Why must I go about mourning,
under pressure by the enemy?
³ Send out your light and your truth;
let them be my guide;
let them lead me to your holy mountain,
to the places where you live.
⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my joy and delight;
I will praise you on the lyre,
God, my God.

⁵ My soul, why are you so downcast?
Why are you groaning inside me?
Hope in God, since I will praise him again
for being my Savior and God.
44 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. By the descendants of Korach. A maskil:

^2 (1) God, we heard it with our ears;
our fathers told us about it —
a deed which you did in their days,
back in days of old.
^3 (2) With your hand you drove out nations
to plant them in [the land],
you crushed peoples
to make room for them.

^4 (3) For not by their own swords
did they conquer the land,
nor did their own arm
give them victory;
rather, it was your right hand,
your arm and the light of your face;
because you favored them.
^5 (4) God, you are my king;
command complete victory for Ya‘akov.

^6 (5) Through you we pushed away our foes,
through your name we trampled down our assailants.
^7 (6) For I don’t rely on my bow,
nor can my sword give me victory.
^8 (7) No, you saved us from our adversaries;
you put to shame those who hate us.
^9 (8) We will boast in our God all day
and give thanks to your name forever. (Selah)

^10 (9) Yet now you have thrust us aside and disgraced us;
you don’t march out with our armies.
^11 (10) You make us retreat from the adversary,
and those who hate us plunder us at will.
^12 (11) You have handed us over like sheep to be eaten
and scattered us among the nations.
^13 (12) You sell your people for a pittance,
you don’t even profit on the sale.
^14 (13) You make us an object for our neighbors to mock,
one of scorn and derision to those around us.
^15 (14) You make us a byword among the nations;
the peoples jeer at us, shaking their heads.

^16 (15) All day long my disgrace is on my mind,
and shame has covered my face
^17 (16) at the sound of those who revile and insult,
at the sight of the enemy bent on revenge.
^18 (17) Though all this came on us, we did not forget you;
we have not been false to your covenant;
^19 (18) Our hearts have not turned back,
and our steps did not turn away from your path,
^20 (19) though you pressed us into a lair of jackals
and covered us with death-dark gloom.
^21 (20) If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
^22 (21) wouldn’t God have discovered this,
since he knows the secrets of the heart?
^23 (22) For your sake we are put to death all day long,
we are considered sheep to be slaughtered.

^24 (23) Wake up, Adonai! Why are you asleep?
Rouse yourself! Don’t thrust us off forever.
^25 (24) Why are you turning your face away,
forgetting our pain and misery?
^26 (25) For we are lying flat in the dust,
our bodies cling to the ground.
^27 (26) Get up, and come to help us!
For the sake of your grace, redeem us!

45 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set to “Lilies.” By the descendants of Korach. A maskil. A lovesong:

^2 (1) My heart is stirred by a noble theme;
I address my verses to the king;
My tongue is the pen of an expert scribe.

^3 (2) You are the most handsome of men;
gracious speech flows from your lips.
For God has blessed you forever.
^4 (3) Warrior, strap your sword at your thigh;
[gird on] your splendor and majesty.
^5 (4) In your majesty, succeed, ride on
in the cause of truth, meekness and righteousness.
May your right hand teach you awesome things.
^6 (5) Your arrows are sharp. The people fall under you,
as they penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
^7 (6) Your throne, God, will last forever and ever;
you rule your kingdom with a scepter of equity.
^8 (7) You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of joy in preference to your companions.
^9 (8) Your robes are all fragrant with myrrh, aloes and cassia;
from ivory palaces stringed instruments bring you joy.
^10 (9) Daughters of kings are among your favorites;
at your right stands the queen in gold from Ofir.

^11 (10) Listen, daughter! Think, pay attention!
Forget your own people and your father’s house,
^12 (11) and the king will desire your beauty;
for he is your lord, so honor him.
^13 (12) Then the daughter of Tzor, the richest of peoples,
will court your favor with gifts.

^14 (13) Inside [the palace], the king’s daughter looks splendid,
attired in checker-work embroidered with gold.
^15 (14) In brocade, she will be led to the king,
to you, with the virgins in her retinue.
^16 (15) They will be led in with gladness and joy,
they will enter the king’s palace.
^17 (16) You will have sons to succeed your ancestors;
you will make them princes in all the land.
^18 (17) I will make your name known through all generations;
thus the peoples will praise you forever and ever.

46 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. By the descendants of Korach. On ‘alamot [high-pitched musical instruments?]. A song:

^2 (1) God is our refuge and strength,
an ever-present help in trouble.
^3 (2) Therefore we are unafraid,
even if the earth gives way,
even if the mountains tumble
into the depths of the sea,
^4 (3) even if its waters rage and foam,
and mountains shake at its turbulence. (Selah)

^5 (4) There is a river whose streams
gladden the city of God,
the holy habitation of ‘Elyon —
^6 (5) God is in the city.
It will not be moved —
when daybreak comes, God will help it.
^7 (6) Nations were in turmoil,
kingdoms were moved;
his voice thundered forth,
and the earth melted away.

^8 (7) Adonai-Tzva’ot is with us,
our fortress, the God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
^9 (8) Come and see the works of Adonai,
the astounding deeds he has done on the earth.
^10 (9) To the ends of the earth he makes wars cease —
he breaks the bow, snaps the spear,
burns the shields in the fire.
^11 (10) “Desist, and learn that I am God,
supreme over the nations,
supreme over the earth.”

^12 (11) Adonai-Tzva’ot is with us,
our fortress, the God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)

47 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of the descendants of Korach:

^2 (1) Clap your hands, all you peoples!
Shout to God with cries of joy!
^3 (2) For Adonai ‘Elyon is awesome,
a great king over all the earth.
^4 (3) He makes peoples subject to us,
puts nations under our feet.
^5 (4) He chooses our heritage for us,
the pride of Ya‘akov, whom he loves. (Selah)
^6 (5) God goes up to shouts of acclaim,
Adonai to a blast on the shofar.
^7 (6) Sing praises to God, sing praises!
Sing praises to our king, sing praises!
^8 (7) For God is king of all the earth;
sing praises in a maskil.
^9 (8) God rules the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
^10 (9) The leaders of the people gather together,
the people of the God of Avraham;
for the rulers of the earth belong to God,
who is exalted on high.

48 ⁽⁰⁾ A song. A psalm of the descendants of Korach:

^2 (1) Great is Adonai
and greatly to be praised,
in the city of our God,
his holy mountain,
^3 (2) beautiful in its elevation,
the joy of all the earth,
Mount Tziyon, in the far north,
the city of the great king.
^4 (3) In its citadels God
has been revealed as a strong defense.
^5 (4) For the kings met by agreement;
together they advanced.
^6 (5) They saw and were filled with consternation;
terrified, they took to flight.
^7 (6) Trembling took hold of them,
pains like those of a woman in labor,
^8 (7) as when the wind out of the east
wrecks the “Tarshish” ships.
^9 (8) We heard it, and now we see for ourselves
in the city of Adonai-Tzva’ot,
in the city of our God.
May God establish it forever. (Selah)

^10 (9) God, within your temple
we meditate on your grace.
^11 (10) God, your praise, like your name,
extends to the ends of the earth.
Your right hand is filled with righteousness.
^12 (11) Let Mount Tziyon rejoice,
let the daughters of Y’hudah be glad,
because of your judgment [on the enemy].

^13 (12) Walk through Tziyon, go all around it;
count how many towers it has.
^14 (13) Note its ramparts, pass through its citadels,
so that you can tell generations to come
^15 (14) that such is God, our God forever;
he will guide us eternally.

49 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of the descendants of Korach:

^2 (1) Hear this, all you peoples!
Listen, everyone living on earth,
^3 (2) regardless of whether low or high,
regardless of whether rich or poor!
^4 (3) My mouth is about to speak wisdom;
my heart’s deepest thoughts will give understanding.
^5 (4) I will listen with care to [God’s] parable,
I will set my enigma to the music of the lyre.

^6 (5) Why should I fear when the days bring trouble,
when the evil of my pursuers surrounds me,
^7 (6) the evil of those who rely on their wealth
and boast how rich they are?
^8 (7) No one can ever redeem his brother
or give God a ransom for him ,
^9 (8) because the price for him is too high
(leave the idea completely alone!)
^10 (9) to have him live on eternally
and never see the pit.
^11 (10) For he can see that wise men will die,
likewise the fool and the brute will perish
and leave their wealth to others.
^12 (11) They think their homes will last forever,
their dwellings through all generations;
they give their own names to their estates.
^13 (12) But people, even rich ones, will live only briefly;
then, like animals, they will die.
^14 (13) This is the manner of life of the foolish
and those who come after, approving their words. (Selah)
^15 (14) Like sheep, they are destined for Sh’ol;
death will be their shepherd.
The upright will rule them in the morning;
and their forms will waste away in Sh’ol,
until they need no dwelling.
^16 (15) But God will redeem me from Sh’ol’s control,
because he will receive me. (Selah)

^17 (16) Don’t be afraid when someone gets rich,
when the wealth of his family grows.
^18 (17) For when he dies, he won’t take it with him;
his wealth will not go down after him.
^19 (18) True, while he lived, he thought himself happy —
people praise you when you do well for yourself —
^20 (19) but he will join his ancestors’ generations
and never again see light.
^21 (20) People, even rich ones, can fail to grasp
that, like animals, they will die.

50 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm of Asaf:

⁽¹⁾ The Mighty One, God, Adonai, is speaking,
summoning the world from east to west.
² Out of Tziyon, the perfection of beauty,
God is shining forth.
³ Our God is coming and not staying silent.
With a fire devouring ahead of him
and a great storm raging around him,
⁴ he calls to the heavens above and to earth,
in order to judge his people.
⁵ “Gather to me my faithful,
those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

⁶ The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
for God himself is judge. (Selah)

⁷ “Listen, my people, I am speaking:
Isra’el, I am testifying against you,
I, God, your God.
⁸ I am not rebuking you for your sacrifices;
your burnt offerings are always before me.
⁹ I have no need for a bull from your farm
or for male goats from your pens;
¹⁰ for all forest creatures are mine already,
as are the animals on a thousand hills;
¹¹ I know all the birds in the mountains;
whatever moves in the fields is mine.
¹² If I were hungry, I would not tell you;
for the world is mine, and everything in it.
¹³ Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
¹⁴ Offer thanksgiving as your sacrifice to God,
pay your vows to the Most High,
¹⁵ and call on me when you are in trouble;
I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

¹⁶ But to the wicked God says:
“What right do you have to proclaim my laws
or take my covenant on your lips,
¹⁷ when you so hate to receive instruction
and fling my words behind you?
¹⁸ When you see a thief, you join up with him,
you throw in your lot with adulterers,
¹⁹ you give your mouth free rein for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit;
²⁰ you sit and speak against your kinsman,
you slander your own mother’s son.
²¹ When you do such things, should I stay silent?
You may have thought I was just like you;
but I will rebuke and indict you to your face.
²² Consider this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to save you.

²³ “Whoever offers thanksgiving
as his sacrifice honors me;
and to him who goes the right way
I will show the salvation of God.”
51 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of David, ² when Natan the prophet came to him after his affair with Bat-Sheva:

^3 (1) God, in your grace, have mercy on me;
in your great compassion, blot out my crimes.
^4 (2) Wash me completely from my guilt,
and cleanse me from my sin.
^5 (3) For I know my crimes,
my sin confronts me all the time.

^6 (4) Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil from your perspective;
so that you are right in accusing me
and justified in passing sentence.

^7 (5) True, I was born guilty,
was a sinner from the moment my mother conceived me.
^8 (6) Still, you want truth in the inner person;
so make me know wisdom in my inmost heart.

^9 (7) Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
^10 (8) Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness,
so that the bones you crushed can rejoice.
^11 (9) Turn away your face from my sins,
and blot out all my crimes.

^12 (10) Create in me a clean heart, God;
renew in me a resolute spirit.
^13 (11) Don’t thrust me away from your presence,
don’t take your Ruach Kodesh away from me.
^14 (12) Restore my joy in your salvation,
and let a willing spirit uphold me.
^15 (13) Then I will teach the wicked your ways,
and sinners will return to you.

^16 (14) Rescue me from the guilt of shedding blood,
God, God of my salvation!
Then my tongue will sing
about your righteousness —
^17 (15) Adonai, open my lips;
then my mouth will praise you.

^18 (16) For you don’t want sacrifices, or I would give them;
you don’t take pleasure in burnt offerings.
^19 (17) My sacrifice to God is a broken spirit;
God, you won’t spurn a broken, chastened heart.
^20 (18) In your good pleasure, make Tziyon prosper;
rebuild the walls of Yerushalayim.
^21 (19) Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then they will offer bulls on your altar.

52 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A maskil of David, ² when Do’eg from Edom came and told Sha’ul, “David has arrived at the house of Achimelekh”:

^3 (1) Why do you boast of your evil, you tyrant,
when God’s mercy is present every day?
^4 (2) Your tongue, as sharp as a razor,
plots destruction and works deception.

^5 (3) You love evil more than good,
lies rather than speaking uprightly. (Selah)
^6 (4) You love all words that eat people up,
you deceitful tongue!

^7 (5) This is why God will strike you down,
seize you, pluck you from your tent
and uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)

^8 (6) The righteous will see and be awestruck;
they will jeer at him, saying,
^9 (7) “This fellow would not make God his refuge,
but trusted in his own great wealth,
relying on his evil plots.”

^10 (8) But I am like a leafy olive tree
in the house of God;
I put my trust in the grace of God
forever and ever.

^11 (9) I will praise you forever for what you have done,
and I will put my hope in your name;
for this is what is good
in the presence of your faithful.

53 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. On machalat. A maskil of David:

^2 (1) A brutish fool tells himself,
“There isn’t any God.”
Such people are depraved, all their deeds are vile,
not one of them does what is good.
^3 (2) God looks out from heaven
upon the human race
to see if even one is wise,
if even one seeks God.
^4 (3) Every one of them is unclean,
altogether corrupt;
not one of them does what is good,
not a single one.

^5 (4) Won’t these evildoers ever learn?
They devour my people
as if they were eating bread,
and they never call on God!
^6 (5) They will be gripped with terror,
even though now they are not afraid;
for God will scatter the bones
of him who is besieging you.
You are putting them to shame,
because God has rejected them.

^7 (6) If only salvation for Isra’el
would come out of Tziyon!
When God restores his people’s fortunes,
what joy for Ya‘akov! what gladness for Isra’el!

54 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David, ² when the Zifim came and told Sha’ul, “David is hiding with us”:

^3 (1) God, deliver me by your name;
in your power, vindicate me.
^4 (2) God, hear my prayer;
listen to the words from my mouth.
^5 (3) For foreigners are rising against me,
violent men are seeking my life;
they give no thought to God. (Selah)

^6 (4) But God is helping me;
Adonai is my support.
^7 (5) May he repay the evil
to those who are lying in wait for me.
In your faithfulness, destroy them!
^8 (6) Then I will generously sacrifice to you;
I will praise your name, Adonai,
because it is good,
^9 (7) because he rescued me from all trouble,
and my eyes look with triumph at my enemies.
55 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David:

^2 (1) Listen, God, to my prayer!
Don’t hide yourself from my plea!
^3 (2) Pay attention to me, and answer me!

I am panic-stricken as I make my complaint,
I shudder ^4 (3) at how the enemy shouts,
at how the wicked oppress;
for they keep heaping trouble on me
and angrily tormenting me.
^5 (4) My heart within me is pounding in anguish,
the terrors of death press down on me,
^6 (5) fear and trembling overwhelm me,
horror covers me.

^7 (6) I said, “I wish I had wings like a dove!
Then I could fly away and be at rest.
^8 (7) Yes, I would flee to a place far off,
I would stay in the desert. (Selah)
^9 (8) I would quickly find me a shelter
from the raging wind and storm.”

^10 (9) Confuse, Adonai, confound their speech!
For I see violence and fighting in the city.
^11 (10) Day and night they go about its walls;
within are malice and mischief.
^12 (11) Ruin is rife within it,
oppression and fraud never leave its streets.

^13 (12) For it was not an enemy who insulted me;
if it had been, I could have borne it.
It was not my adversary who treated me with scorn;
if it had been, I could have hidden myself.
^14 (13) But it was you, a man of my own kind,
my companion, whom I knew well.

^15 (14) We used to share our hearts with each other;
in the house of God we walked with the crowd.

^16 (15) May he put death on them;
let them go down alive to Sh’ol;
for evil is in their homes
and also in their hearts.

^17 (16) But I will call on God,
and Adonai will save me.
^18 (17) Evening, morning and noon I complain
and moan; but he hears my voice.
^19 (18) He redeems me and gives me peace,
so that no one can come near me.
For there were many who fought me.
^20 (19) God will hear and will humble them,
yes, he who has sat on his throne from the start. (Selah)
For they never change,
and they don’t fear God.

^21 (20) [My companion] attacked those
who were at peace with him;
he broke his solemn word.
^22 (21) What he said sounded smoother than butter,
but his heart was at war.
His words seemed more soothing than oil,
but in fact they were sharp swords.

^23 (22) Unload your burden on Adonai,
and he will sustain you.
He will never permit
the righteous to be moved.

^24 (23) But you will bring them down, God,
into the deepest pit.
Those men, so bloodthirsty and treacherous,
will not live out half their days.

But for my part, [Adonai,]
I put my trust in you.

56 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set to “The Silent Dove in the Distance.” By David; a mikhtam, when the P’lishtim captured him in Gat:

^2 (1) Show me favor, God;
for people are trampling me down —
all day they fight and press on me.
^3 (2) Those who are lying in wait for me
would trample on me all day.
For those fighting against me are many.

Most High, ^4 (3) when I am afraid,
I put my trust in you.
^5 (4) In God — I praise his word —
in God I trust; I have no fear;
what can human power do to me?
^6 (5) All day long they twist my words;
their only thought is to harm me.
^7 (6) They gather together and hide themselves,
spying on my movements, hoping to kill me.
^8 (7) Because of their crime, they cannot escape;
in anger, God, strike down the peoples.
^9 (8) You have kept count of my wanderings;
store my tears in your water-skin —
aren’t they already recorded in your book?
^10 (9) Then my enemies will turn back
on the day when I call;
this I know: that God is for me.

^11 (10) In God — I praise his word —
in Adonai — I praise his word —
^12 (11) in God I trust; I have no fear;
what can mere humans do to me?

^13 (12) God, I have made vows to you;
I will fulfill them with thank offerings to you.
^14 (13) For you rescued me from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling,
so that I can walk in God’s presence,
in the light of life.

57 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” By David, a mikhtam, when he fled from Sha’ul into the cave:

^2 (1) Show me favor, God, show me favor;
for in you I have taken refuge.
Yes, I will find refuge in the shadow of your wings
until the storms have passed.
^3 (2) I call to God, the Most High,
to God, who is accomplishing his purpose for me.

^4 (3) He will send from heaven and save me
when those who would trample me down mock me. (Selah)
God will send his grace and his truth.

^5 (4) I am surrounded by lions,
I am lying down among people breathing fire,
men whose teeth are spears and arrows
and their tongues sharp-edged swords.

^6 (5) Be exalted, God, above heaven!
May your glory be over all the earth!
^7 (6) They prepared a snare for my feet,
but I am bending over [to avoid it].
They dug a pit ahead of me,
but they fell into it themselves. (Selah)

^8 (7) My heart is steadfast, God, steadfast.
I will sing and make music.
^9 (8) Awake, my glory! Awake, lyre and lute!
I will awaken the dawn.

^10 (9) I will thank you, Adonai, among the peoples;
I will make music to you among the nations.
^11 (10) For your grace is great, all the way to heaven,
and your truth, all the way to the skies.

^12 (11) Be exalted, God, above heaven!
May your glory be over all the earth!

58 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” By David, a mikhtam:

^2 (1) [Rulers,] does your silence really speak justice?
Are you judging people fairly?
^3 (2) [No!] In your hearts you devise wrongs,
your hands dispense violence in the land.

^4 (3) From the womb, the wicked are estranged,
liars on the wrong path since birth.
^5 (4) Their venom is like snake’s venom;
they are like a serpent that stops its ears,
^6 (5) so as not to hear the voice of the charmer,
no matter how well he plays.

^7 (6) God, break their teeth in their mouth!
Shatter the fangs of these lions, Adonai!
^8 (7) May they vanish like water that drains away.
May their arrows be blunted when they aim their bows.
^9 (8) May they be like a slug that melts as it moves,
like a stillborn baby that never sees the sun.
^10 (9) Before your cook-pots feel the heat of the burning thorns,
may he blow them away, green and blazing alike.

^11 (10) The righteous will rejoice to see vengeance done,
they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked;
^12 (11) and people will say, “Yes, the righteous are rewarded;
there is, after all, a God who judges the earth.”
59 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” By David; a mikhtam, when Sha’ul sent men to keep watch on David’s house in order to kill him:

^2 (1) My God, rescue me from my enemies!
Lift me up, out of reach of my foes!
^3 (2) Rescue me from evildoers,
save me from bloodthirsty men.
^4 (3) For there they are, lying in wait to kill me.
Openly they gather themselves against me,
and not because I committed a crime
or sinned, Adonai.
^5 (4) For no fault of mine, they run and prepare.
Awaken to help me, and see!
^6 (5) You, Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot,
God of Isra’el,
arouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those wicked traitors. (Selah)

^7 (6) They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs
as they go around the city.
^8 (7) Look what pours out of their mouth,
what swords are on their lips,
[as they say to themselves,]
“No one is listening, anyway.”
^9 (8) But you, Adonai, laugh at them,
you mock all the nations.

^10 (9) My Strength, I will watch for you,
for God is my fortress.
^11 (10) God, who gives me grace, will come to me;
God will let me gaze in triumph at my foes.

^12 (11) Don’t kill them, or my people will forget;
instead, by your power, make them wander to and fro;
but bring them down, Adonai our Shield,
^13 (12) for the sins their mouths make with each word from their lips.
Let them be trapped by their pride
for the curses and falsehoods they utter.
^14 (13) Finish them off in wrath,
finish them off, put an end to them,
and let them know to the ends of the earth
that God is Ruler in Ya‘akov. (Selah)

^15 (14) They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs
as they go around the city.
^16 (15) They roam about, looking for food,
prowling all night if they don’t get their fill.
^17 (16) But as for me, I will sing of your strength;
in the morning I will sing aloud of your grace.
For you are my fortress,
a refuge when I am in trouble.
^18 (17) My Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for God is my fortress, God, who gives me grace.

60 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set to “Lily of Testimony.” A mikhtam of David for teaching about ² when he fought with Aram-Naharayim and with Aram-Tzovah, and Yo’av returned and killed 12,000 from Edom in the Salt Valley:

^3 (1) God, you rejected us; you crushed us;
you were angry; but now revive us.
^4 (2) You made the land shake, split it apart;
now repair the rifts, for it is collapsing.
^5 (3) You made your people suffer hard times,
had us drink a wine that made us stagger.

^6 (4) To those who fear you because of the truth
you gave a banner to rally around, (Selah)
^7 (5) so that those you love could be rescued;
so save with your right hand, and answer us!

^8 (6) God in his holiness spoke,
and I took joy [in his promise]:
“I will divide Sh’khem
and determine the shares in the Sukkot Valley.
^9 (7) Gil‘ad is mine and M’nasheh mine,
Efrayim my helmet, Y’hudah my scepter.
^10 (8) Mo’av is my washpot; on Edom I throw my shoe;
P’leshet, be crushed because of me!”

^11 (9) Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
^12 (10) God, have you rejected us?
You don’t go out with our armies, God.
^13 (11) Help us against our enemy,
for human help is worthless.
^14 (12) With God’s help we will fight valiantly,
for he will trample our enemies.

61 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. With stringed instruments. By David:

^2 (1) Hear my cry, God;
listen to my prayer.
^3 (2) From the end of the earth, with fainting heart,
I call out to you.
Set me down on a rock
far above where I am now.

^4 (3) For you have been a refuge for me,
a tower of strength in the face of the foe.
^5 (4) I will live in your tent forever
and find refuge in the shelter of your wings. (Selah)
^6 (5) For you, God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

^7 (6) Prolong the life of the king!
May his years go on for many generations.
^8 (7) May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever!
Appoint grace and truth to preserve him!
^9 (8) Then I will sing praise to your name forever,
as day after day I fulfill my vows.

62 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set in the style of Y’dutun. A psalm of David:

^2 (1) My soul waits in silence for God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
^3 (2) He alone is my rock and salvation,
my stronghold; I won’t be greatly moved.

^4 (3) How long will you assail a person
in order to murder him, all of you,
as if he were a sagging wall
or a shaky fence?

^5 (4) They only want to shake him from his height,
they take delight in lying —
with their mouths they bless,
but inwardly they curse. (Selah)

^6 (5) My soul, wait in silence for God alone,
because my hope comes from him.
^7 (6) He alone is my rock and salvation,
my stronghold; I won’t be moved.

^8 (7) My safety and honor rest on God.
My strong rock and refuge are in God.
^9 (8) Trust in him, people, at all times;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. (Selah)
^10 (9) Ordinary folks are merely a breath
and important people a sham;
if you lay them on a balance-scale, they go up —
both together are lighter than nothing.
^11 (10) Don’t put your trust in extortion,
don’t put false hopes in robbery;
even if wealth increases,
don’t set your heart on it.

^12 (11) God has spoken once, I have heard it twice:
strength belongs to God.
^13 (12) Also to you, Adonai, belongs grace;
for you reward all as their deeds deserve.

63 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm of David, when he was in the desert of Y’hudah:

^2 (1) O God, you are my God;
I will seek you eagerly.
My heart thirsts for you,
my body longs for you
in a land parched and exhausted,
where no water can be found.
^3 (2) I used to contemplate you in the sanctuary,
seeing your power and glory;
^4 (3) for your grace is better than life.
My lips will worship you.
^5 (4) Yes, I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
^6 (5) I am as satisfied as with rich food;
my mouth praises you with joy on my lips
^7 (6) when I remember you on my bed
and meditate on you in the night watches.

^8 (7) For you have been my help;
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice;
^9 (8) my heart clings to you;
your right hand supports me.

^10 (9) But those who seek to destroy my life —
may they go to the lowest parts of the earth.
^11 (10) May they be given over to the power of the sword;
may they become prey for jackals.

^12 (11) But the king will rejoice in God.
Everyone who swears by him will exult,
for the mouths of liars will be silenced.
64 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of David:

^2 (1) Hear my voice, God, as I plead:
preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
^3 (2) Hide me from the secret intrigues of the wicked
and the open insurrection of evildoers.
^4 (3) They sharpen their tongues like a sword;
they aim their arrows, poisoned words,
^5 (4) in order to shoot from cover at the innocent,
shooting suddenly and fearing nothing.
^6 (5) They support each other’s evil plans;
they talk of hiding snares
and ask, “Who would see them?”
^7 (6) They search for ways to commit crimes,
bringing their diligent search to completion
when each of them has thought it through
in the depth of his heart.

^8 (7) Suddenly God shoots them down with an arrow,
leaving them with wounds;
^9 (8) their own tongues make them stumble.
All who see them shake their heads.
^10 (9) Everyone is awestruck —
they acknowledge that it is God at work,
they understand what he has done.
^11 (10) The righteous will rejoice in Adonai;
they will take refuge in him;
all the upright in heart will exult.

65 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of David. A song:

^2 (1) To you, God, in Tziyon, silence is praise;
and vows to you are to be fulfilled.
^3 (2) You who listen to prayer,
to you all living creatures come.
^4 (3) When deeds of wickedness overwhelm me,
you will atone for our crimes.

^5 (4) How blessed are those you choose and bring near,
so that they can remain in your courtyards!
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the Holy Place of your temple.
^6 (5) It is just that you answer us with awesome deeds,
God of our salvation,
you in whom all put their trust,
to the ends of the earth and on distant seas.
^7 (6) By your strength you set up the mountains.
You are clothed with power.
^8 (7) You still the roaring of the seas,
their crashing waves, and the peoples’ turmoil.
^9 (8) This is why those living at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your signs.
The places where the sun rises and sets
you cause to sing for joy.

^10 (9) You care for the earth and water it,
you enrich it greatly;
with the river of God, full of water,
you provide them grain and prepare the ground.
^11 (10) Soaking its furrows and settling its soil,
you soften it with showers and bless its growth.
^12 (11) You crown the year with your goodness,
your tracks overflow with richness.
^13 (12) The desert pastures drip water,
the hills are wrapped with joy,
^14 (13) the meadows are clothed with flocks
and the valleys blanketed with grain,
so they shout for joy and break into song.

66 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A song. A psalm:

⁽¹⁾ Shout to God, all the earth!
² Sing the glory of his name,
make his praise glorious.
³ Tell God, “How awesome are your deeds!
At your great power, your enemies cringe.
⁴ All the earth bows down to you,
sings praises to you, sings praises to your name.” (Selah)

⁵ Come and see what God has done,
his awesome dealings with humankind.
⁶ He turned the sea into dry land.
They passed through the river on foot;
there we rejoiced in him.
⁷ With his power he rules forever;
his eyes keep watch on the nations.
Let no rebel arise to challenge him. (Selah)

⁸ Bless our God, you peoples!
Let the sound of his praise be heard!
⁹ He preserves our lives
and keeps our feet from stumbling.
¹⁰ For you, God, have tested us,
refined us as silver is refined.
¹¹ You brought us into the net
and bound our bodies fast.
¹² You made men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water.
But you brought us out
to a place of plenty.

¹³ I will come into your house with burnt offerings,
I will fulfill my vows to you,
¹⁴ those my lips pronounced and my mouth spoke
when I was in distress.
¹⁵ I will offer you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
along with the sweet smoke of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats. (Selah)

¹⁶ Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.
¹⁷ I cried out to him with my mouth,
his praise was on my tongue.
¹⁸ Had I cherished evil thoughts,
Adonai would not have listened.
¹⁹ But in fact, God did listen;
he paid attention to my prayer.
²⁰ Blessed be God, who did not reject my prayer
or turn his grace away from me.

67 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song:

^2 (1) God, be gracious to us, and bless us.
May he make his face shine toward us, (Selah)
^3 (2) so that your way may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.

^4 (3) Let the peoples give thanks to you, God;
let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.
^5 (4) Let the nations be glad and shout for joy,
for you will judge the peoples fairly
and guide the nations on earth. (Selah)

^6 (5) Let the peoples give thanks to you, God;
let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.
^7 (6) The earth has yielded its harvest;
may God, our God, bless us.
^8 (7) May God continue to bless us,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
68 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of David. A song:

^2 (1) Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee from his presence.
^3 (2) Drive them away as smoke is driven away;
like wax melting in the presence of a fire,
let the wicked perish in the presence of God.
^4 (3) But let the righteous rejoice and be glad in God’s presence;
yes, let them exult and rejoice.

^5 (4) Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
extol him who rides on the clouds
by his name, Yah;
and be glad in his presence.

^6 (5) God in his holy dwelling,
is a father to orphans and defender of widows.
^7 (6) God gives homes to those who are alone
and leads prisoners out into prosperity.
But rebels must live in a parched wasteland.

^8 (7) God, when you went out at the head of your people,
when you marched out through the wilderness, (Selah)
^9 (8) the earth quaked, and rain poured from the sky,
at the presence of God.
Even Sinai [shook] at the presence of God,
the God of Isra’el.
^10 (9) You rained down showers in plenty, God;
when your heritage was weary, you restored it.
^11 (10) Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, God, you provided for the poor.

^12 (11) Adonai gives the command;
the women with the good news are a mighty army.
^13 (12) Kings and their armies are fleeing, fleeing,
while the women at home divide the spoil.
^14 (13) Even if you lie among the animal stalls,
there are wings of a dove covered with silver
and its plumes with green gold.
^15 (14) When Shaddai scatters kings there,
snow falls on Tzalmon.

^16 (15) You mighty mountain, Mount Bashan!
You rugged mountain, Mount Bashan!
^17 (16) You rugged mountain, why look with envy
at the mountain God wants for his place to live?
Truly, Adonai will live there forever.
^18 (17) God’s chariots are myriads, repeated thousands;
Adonai is among them as in Sinai, in holiness.
^19 (18) After you went up into the heights,
you led captivity captive,
you took gifts among mankind,
yes, even among the rebels,
so that Yah, God, might live there.

^20 (19) Blessed be Adonai!
Every day he bears our burden,
does God, our salvation. (Selah)
^21 (20) Our God is a God who saves;
from Adonai Adonai comes escape from death.
^22 (21) God will surely crush the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crowns of those who continue in their guilt.
^23 (22) Adonai said, “I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will fetch [those rebels] even from the depths of the sea;
^24 (23) so that you can wash your feet in their blood,
and your dogs’ tongues too can get their share from your foes.

^25 (24) They see your processions, God,
the processions of my God, my king, in holiness.
^26 (25) The singers are in front, the musicians last,
in the middle are girls playing tambourines.
^27 (26) “In choruses, bless God, Adonai,
you whose source is Isra’el.”
^28 (27) There is Binyamin, the youngest, at the head;
the princes of Y’hudah, crowding along;
the princes of Z’vulun; the princes of Naftali.

^29 (28) God, summon your strength!
Use your strength, God, as you did for us before,
^30 (29) from your temple in Yerushalayim,
where kings will bring tribute to you.
^31 (30) Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds,
that herd of bulls with their calves, the peoples,
who ingratiate themselves with bars of silver;
let him scatter the peoples who take pleasure in fighting.
^32 (31) Let envoys come from Egypt,
Let Ethiopia stretch out its hands to God.

^33 (32) Sing to God, kingdoms of the earth!
Sing praises to Adonai, (Selah)
^34 (33) to him who rides on the most ancient heavens.
Listen, as he utters his voice, a mighty voice!
^35 (34) Acknowledge that strength belongs to God,
with his majesty over Isra’el and his strength in the skies.
^36 (35) How awe-inspiring you are, God,
from your holy places,
the God of Isra’el, who gives strength
and power to the people.
Blessed be God!

69 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set to “Lilies.” By David:

^2 (1) Save me, God!
For the water threatens my life.
^3 (2) I am sinking down in the mud,
and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep water;
the flood is sweeping over me.
^4 (3) I am exhausted from crying,
my throat is dry and sore,
my eyes are worn out
with looking for my God.

^5 (4) Those who hate me for no reason
outnumber the hairs on my head.
My persecutors are powerful,
my enemies accuse me falsely.
Am I expected to return
things I didn’t steal?

^6 (5) God, you know how foolish I am;
my guilt is not hidden from you.
^7 (6) Let those who put their hope in you,
Adonai Elohim-Tzva’ot,
not be put to shame through me;
let those who are seeking you,
God of Isra’el,
not be disgraced through me.

^8 (7) For your sake I suffer insults,
shame covers my face.
^9 (8) I am estranged from my brothers,
an alien to my mother’s children,
^10 (9) because zeal for your house is eating me up,
and on me are falling the insults
of those insulting you.
^11 (10) I weep bitterly, and I fast,
but that too occasions insults.
^12 (11) I clothe myself with sackcloth
and become an object of scorn,
^13 (12) the gossip of those sitting by the town gate,
the theme of drunkards’ songs.

^14 (13) As for me, Adonai, let my prayer to you
come at an acceptable time;
In your great grace, God, answer me
with the truth of your salvation.
^15 (14) Rescue me from the mud!
Don’t let me sink!
Let me be rescued from those who hate me
and from the deep water.
^16 (15) Don’t let the floodwaters overwhelm me,
don’t let the deep swallow me up,
don’t let the pit close its mouth over me.

^17 (16) Answer me, Adonai, for your grace is good;
in your great mercy, turn to me.
^18 (17) Don’t hide your face from your servant,
for I am in trouble; answer me quickly.
^19 (18) Come near to me, and redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies.

^20 (19) You know how I am insulted,
shamed and disgraced;
before you stand all my foes.
^21 (20) Insults have broken my heart
to the point that I could die.
I hoped that someone would show compassion,
but nobody did;
and that there would be comforters,
but I found none.
^22 (21) They put poison in my food;
in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
^23 (22) Let their dining table
before them become a snare;
when they are at peace,
let it become a trap;
^24 (23) let their eyes be darkened,
so that they can’t see,
and let their bodies
always be stumbling.
^25 (24) Pour out your fury on them,
let your fierce anger overtake them.
^26 (25) Let the place where they live be desolate,
with no one to live in their tents,
^27 (26) for persecuting someone you had already stricken,
for adding to the pain of those you wounded.
^28 (27) Add guilt to their guilt,
don’t let them enter your righteousness.
^29 (28) Erase them from the book of life,
let them not be written with the righteous.

^30 (29) Meanwhile, I am afflicted and hurting;
God, let your saving power raise me up.
^31 (30) I will praise God’s name with a song
and extol him with thanksgiving.

^32 (31) This will please Adonai more than a bull,
with its horns and hoofs.
^33 (32) The afflicted will see it and rejoice;
you seeking after God, let your heart revive.
^34 (33) For Adonai pays attention to the needy
and doesn’t scorn his captive people.

^35 (34) Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them.
^36 (35) For God will save Tziyon,
he will build the cities of Y’hudah.
[His people] will settle there and possess it.
^37 (36) The descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will live there.

70 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. By David. As a reminder:

^2 (1) God, rescue me!
Adonai, hurry and help me!

^3 (2) May those who seek my life
be disgraced and humiliated.
May those who take pleasure in doing me harm
be turned back and put to confusion.
^4 (3) May those who jeer, “Aha! Aha!”
withdraw because of their shame.

^5 (4) But may all those who seek you
be glad and take joy in you.
May those who love your salvation say always,
“God is great and glorious!”

^6 (5) But I am poor and needy;
God, hurry for me.
You are my helper and rescuer;
Adonai, don’t delay!
71 In you, Adonai, I have taken refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
² In your righteousness, rescue me;
and help me to escape.
Turn your ear toward me,
and deliver me.

³ Be for me a sheltering rock,
where I can always come.
You have determined to save me,
because you are my bedrock and stronghold.

⁴ My God, help me escape from the power of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless.
⁵ For you are my hope, Adonai Elohim,
in whom I have trusted since I was young.
⁶ From birth I have relied on you;
it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.

⁷ To many, I am an amazing example;
but you are strong protection for me.
⁸ My mouth is full of praise for you,
filled with your glory all day long.

⁹ Don’t reject me when I grow old;
when my strength fails, don’t abandon me.
¹⁰ For my enemies are talking about me,
those seeking my life are plotting together.
¹¹ They say, “God has abandoned him;
go after him, and seize him,
because no one will save him.”
¹² God, don’t distance yourself from me!
My God, hurry to help me!
¹³ May those who are opposed to me
be put to shame and ruin;
may those who seek to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.

¹⁴ But I, I will always hope
and keep adding to your praise.
¹⁵ All day long my mouth will tell
of your righteous deeds and acts of salvation,
though their number is past my knowing.
¹⁶ I will come in the power of Adonai Elohim
and recall your righteousness, yours alone.
¹⁷ God, you have taught me since I was young,
and I still proclaim your wonderful works.
¹⁸ So now that I’m old, and my hair is gray,
don’t abandon me, God, till I have proclaimed
your strength to the next generation,
your power to all who will come,
¹⁹ your righteousness too, God,
which reaches to the heights.
God, you have done great things;
who is there like you?
²⁰ You have made me see much trouble and hardship,
but you will revive me again
and bring me up from the depths of the earth.
²¹ You will increase my honor;
turn and comfort me.

²² As for me, I will praise you with a lyre
for your faithfulness, my God.
I will sing praises to you with a lute,
Holy One of Isra’el.
²³ My lips will shout for joy;
I will sing your praise, because you have redeemed me.
²⁴ All day long my tongue
will speak of your righteousness.
For those who are seeking to harm me
will be put to shame and disgraced.

72 ⁽⁰⁾ By Shlomo:

⁽¹⁾ God, give the king your fairness in judgment,
endow this son of kings with your righteousness,
² so that he can govern your people rightly
and your poor with justice.
³ May mountains and hills provide your people
with peace through righteousness.
⁴ May he defend the oppressed among the people,
save the needy and crush the oppressor.

⁵ May they fear you as long as the sun endures
and as long as the moon, through all generations.
⁶ May he be like rain falling on mown grass,
like showers watering the land.
⁷ In his days, let the righteous flourish
and peace abound, till the moon is no more.
⁸ May his empire stretch from sea to sea,
from the [Euphrates] River to the ends of the earth.
⁹ May desert-dwellers bow before him;
may his enemies lick the dust.
¹⁰ The kings of Tarshish and the coasts will pay him tribute;
the kings of Sh’va and S’va will offer gifts.
¹¹ Yes, all kings will prostrate themselves before him;
all nations will serve him.

¹² For he will rescue the needy when they cry,
the poor too and those with none to help them.
¹³ He will have pity on the poor and needy;
and the lives of the needy he will save.
¹⁴ He will redeem them from oppression and violence;
their blood will be precious in his view.

¹⁵ May [the king] live long!
May they give him gold from the land of Sh’va!
May they pray for him continually;
yes, bless him all day long.
¹⁶ May there be an abundance of grain in the land,
all the way to the tops of the mountains.
May its crops rustle like the L’vanon.
May people blossom in the city like the grasses in the fields.
¹⁷ May his name endure forever,
his name, Yinnon, as long as the sun.^[a]
May people bless themselves in him,
may all nations call him happy.

¹⁸ Blessed be Adonai, God,
the God of Isra’el,
who alone works wonders.
¹⁹ Blessed be his glorious name forever,
and may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen. Amen.

²⁰ This completes the prayers of David the son of Yishai.

⁽¹⁾ How good God is to Isra’el,
to those who are pure in heart!
² But as for me, I lost my balance,
my feet nearly slipped,
³ when I grew envious of the arrogant
and saw how the wicked prosper.
⁴ For when their death comes, it is painless;
and meanwhile, their bodies are healthy;
⁵ they don’t have ordinary people’s troubles,
they aren’t plagued like others.

⁶ So for them, pride is a necklace;
and violence clothes them like a robe.
⁷ Their eyes peep out through folds of fat;
evil thoughts overflow from their hearts.
⁸ They scoff and speak with malice,
they loftily utter threats.
⁹ They set their mouths against heaven;
their tongues swagger through the earth.

¹⁰ Therefore his people return here
and [thoughtlessly] suck up that whole cup of water.
¹¹ Then they ask, “How does God know?
Does the Most High really have knowledge?”

¹² Yes, this is what the wicked are like;
those free of misfortune keep increasing their wealth.
¹³ It’s all for nothing that I’ve kept my heart clean
and washed my hands, staying free of guilt;
¹⁴ for all day long I am plagued;
my punishment comes every morning.

¹⁵ If I had said, “I will talk like them,”
I would have betrayed a generation of your children.
¹⁶ When I tried to understand all this,
I found it too hard for me —
¹⁷ until I went into the sanctuaries of God
and grasped what their destiny would be.
¹⁸ Indeed, you place them on a slippery slope
and make them fall to their ruin.

¹⁹ How suddenly they are destroyed,
swept away by terrors!
²⁰ They are like a dream when one awakens;
Adonai, when you rouse yourself,
you will despise their phantoms.

²¹ When I had a sour attitude
and felt stung by pained emotions,
²² I was too stupid to understand;
I was like a brute beast with you.
²³ Nevertheless, I am always with you;
you hold my right hand.
²⁴ You will guide me with your advice;
and afterwards, you will receive me with honor.

²⁵ Whom do I have in heaven but you?
And with you, I lack nothing on earth.
²⁶ My mind and body may fail; but God
is the rock for my mind and my portion forever.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;
you destroy all who adulterously leave you.
²⁸ But for me, the nearness of God is my good;
I have made Adonai Elohim my refuge,
so that I can tell of all your works.

74 ⁽⁰⁾ A maskil of Asaf:

⁽¹⁾ Why have you rejected us forever, God,
with your anger smoking against the sheep you once pastured?
² Remember your community, which you acquired long ago,
the tribe you redeemed to be your very own.
Remember Mount Tziyon, where you came to live.
³ Hurry your steps to these endless ruins,
to the sanctuary devastated by the enemy.

⁴ The roar of your foes filled your meeting-place;
they raised their own banners as a sign of their conquest.
⁵ The place seemed like a thicket of trees
when lumbermen hack away with their axes.
⁶ With hatchet and hammer they banged away,
smashing all the carved woodwork.
⁷ They set your sanctuary on fire,
tore down and profaned the abode of your name.
⁸ They said to themselves, “We will oppress them completely.”
They have burned down all God’s meeting-places in the land.

⁹ We see no signs, there is no prophet any more;
none of us knows how long it will last.
¹⁰ How much longer, God, will the foe jeer at us?
Will the enemy insult your name forever?
¹¹ Why do you hold back your hand?
Draw your right hand from your coat, and finish them off!

¹² God has been my king from earliest times,
acting to save throughout all the earth.
¹³ By your strength you split the sea in two,
in the water you smashed sea monsters’ heads,
¹⁴ you crushed the heads of Livyatan
and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.
¹⁵ You cut channels for springs and streams,
you dried up rivers that had never failed.
¹⁶ The day is yours, and the night is yours;
it was you who established light and sun.
¹⁷ It was you who fixed all the limits of the earth,
you made summer and winter.

¹⁸ Remember how the enemy scoffs at Adonai,
how a brutish people insults your name.
¹⁹ Don’t hand over the soul of your dove to wild beasts,
don’t forget forever the life of your poor.

²⁰ Look to the covenant, for the land’s dark places
are full of the haunts of violence.
²¹ Don’t let the oppressed retreat in confusion;
let the poor and needy praise your name.

²² Arise, God, and defend your cause;
remember how brutish men insult you all day.
²³ Don’t forget what your foes are saying,
the ever-rising uproar of your adversaries.

75 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy!” A psalm of Asaf. A song:

^2 (1) We give thanks to you, God, we give thanks;
your name is near, people tell of your wonders.

^3 (2) “At the time of my own choice,
I will dispense justice fairly.
^4 (3) When the earth quakes, with all living on it,
it is I who hold its support-pillars firm.” (Selah)

^5 (4) To the boastful I say, “Do not boast!”
and to the wicked, “Don’t flaunt your strength!
^6 (5) Don’t flaunt your strength so proudly;
don’t speak arrogantly, with your nose in the air!
^7 (6) For you will not be raised to power
by those in the east, the west or the desert;
^8 (7) since God is the judge; and it is he
who puts down one and lifts up another.
^9 (8) In Adonai’s hand there is a cup of wine,
foaming, richly spiced;
when he pours it out, all the wicked of the earth
will drain it, drinking it to the dregs.”
^10 (9) But I will always speak out,
singing praises to the God of Ya‘akov.
^11 (10) I will break down the strength of the wicked,
but the strength of the righteous will be raised up.

76 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. With string music. A psalm of Asaf. A song:

^2 (1) In Y’hudah God is known;
his name is great in Isra’el.
^3 (2) His tent is in Shalem,
his place is in Tziyon.
^4 (3) There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. (Selah)

^5 (4) You are glorious, majestic,
more so than mountains of prey.
^6 (5) The bravest have been stripped of their spoil
and now are sleeping their final sleep;
not one of these courageous men
finds strength to raise his hands.
^7 (6) At your rebuke, God of Ya‘akov,
riders and horses lie stunned.

^8 (7) You are fearsome! When once you are angry,
who can stand in your presence?
^9 (8) You pronounce sentence from heaven;
the earth grows silent with fear
^10 (9) when God arises to judge,
to save all the humble of the earth. (Selah)

^11 (10) Human wrath serves only to praise you;
what remains of this wrath you wear as an ornament.
^12 (11) Make vows to Adonai your God, and keep them;
all who are around him must bring presents to the one who should be feared.
^13 (12) He curbs the spirit of princes;
he is fearsome to the kings of the earth.

77 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. For Y’dutun. A psalm of Asaf:

^2 (1) I cry aloud to God,
aloud to God; and he hears me.
^3 (2) On the day of my distress I am seeking Adonai;
my hands are lifted up;
my tears flow all night without ceasing;
my heart refuses comfort.
^4 (3) When remembering God, I moan;
when I ponder, my spirit fails. (Selah)

^5 (4) You hold my eyelids [and keep me from sleeping];
I am too troubled to speak.
^6 (5) I think about the days of old,
the years of long ago;
^7 (6) in the night I remember my song,
I commune with myself, my spirit inquires:
^8 (7) “Will Adonai reject forever?
will he never show his favor again?
^9 (8) Has his grace permanently disappeared?
Is his word to all generations done away?
^10 (9) Has God forgotten to be compassionate?
Has he in anger withheld his mercy?” (Selah)
^11 (10) Then I add, “That’s my weakness —
[supposing] the Most High’s right hand could change.”

^12 (11) So I will remind myself of Yah’s doings;
yes, I will remember your wonders of old.
^13 (12) I will meditate on your work
and think about what you have done.

^14 (13) God, your way is in holiness.
What god is as great as God?

^15 (14) You are the God who does wonders,
you revealed your strength to the peoples.
^16 (15) With your arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Ya‘akov and Yosef. (Selah)

^17 (16) The water saw you, God;
the water saw you and writhed in anguish,
agitated to its depths.
^18 (17) The clouds poured water, the skies thundered,
and your arrows flashed here and there.
^19 (18) The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind,
the lightning flashes lit up the world,
the earth trembled and shook.

^20 (19) Your way went through the sea,
your path through the turbulent waters;
but your footsteps could not be traced.
^21 (20) You led your people like a flock
under the care of Moshe and Aharon.
78 ⁽⁰⁾ A maskil of Asaf:

⁽¹⁾ Listen, my people, to my teaching;
turn your ears to the words from my mouth.
² I will speak to you in parables
and explain mysteries from days of old.

³ The things which we have heard and known,
and which our fathers told us
⁴ we will not hide from their descendants;
we will tell the generation to come
the praises of Adonai and his strength,
the wonders that he has performed.

⁵ He raised up a testimony in Ya‘akov
and established a Torah in Isra’el.
He commanded our ancestors
to make this known to their children,
⁶ so that the next generation would know it,
the children not yet born,
who would themselves arise
and tell their own children,
⁷ who could then put their confidence in God,
not forgetting God’s deeds,
but obeying his mitzvot.
⁸ Then they would not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn, rebellious generation,
a generation with unprepared hearts,
with spirits unfaithful to God.

⁹ The people of Efrayim, though armed with bows and arrows,
turned their backs on the day of battle.
¹⁰ They did not keep the covenant of God
and refused to live by his Torah.
¹¹ They forgot what he had done,
his wonders which he had shown them.

¹² He had done wonderful things
in the presence of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt,
in the region of Tzo‘an.
¹³ He split the sea and made them pass through,
he made the waters stand up like a wall.
¹⁴ He also led them by day with a cloud
and all night long with light from a fire.
¹⁵ He broke apart the rocks in the desert
and let them drink as if from boundless depths;
¹⁶ yes, he brought streams out of the rock,
making the water flow down like rivers.

¹⁷ Yet they sinned still more against him,
rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High;
¹⁸ in their hearts they tested God
by demanding food that would satisfy their cravings.
¹⁹ Yes, they spoke against God by asking,
“Can God spread a table in the desert?
²⁰ True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out,
until the vadis overflowed;
but what about bread? Can he give that?
Can he provide meat for his people?”

²¹ Therefore, when Adonai heard, he was angry;
fire blazed up against Ya‘akov;
his anger mounted against Isra’el;
²² because they had no faith in God,
no trust in his power to save.

²³ So he commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven.
²⁴ He rained down man on them as food;
he gave them grain from heaven —
²⁵ mortals ate the bread of angels;
he provided for them to the full.

²⁶ He stirred up the east wind in heaven,
brought on the south wind by his power,
²⁷ and rained down meat on them like dust,
birds flying thick as the sand on the seashore.
²⁸ He let them fall in the middle of their camp,
all around their tents.
²⁹ So they ate till they were satisfied;
he gave them what they craved.
³⁰ They were still fulfilling their craving,
the food was still in their mouths,
³¹ when the anger of God rose up against them
and slaughtered their strongest men,
laying low the young men of Isra’el.

³² Still, they kept on sinning
and put no faith in his wonders.
³³ Therefore, he ended their days in futility
and their years in terror.
³⁴ When he brought death among them, they would seek him;
they would repent and seek God eagerly,
³⁵ remembering that God was their Rock,
El ‘Elyon their Redeemer.

³⁶ But they tried to deceive him with their words,
they lied to him with their tongues;
³⁷ for their hearts were not right with him,
and they were unfaithful to his covenant.
³⁸ Yet he, because he is full of compassion,
forgave their sin and did not destroy;
many times he turned away his anger
and didn’t rouse all his wrath.
³⁹ So he remembered that they were but flesh,
a wind that blows past and does not return.

⁴⁰ How often they rebelled against him in the desert
and grieved him in the wastelands!
⁴¹ Repeatedly they challenged God
and pained the Holy One of Isra’el.
⁴² They didn’t remember how he used his hand
on the day he redeemed them from their enemy,
⁴³ how he displayed his signs in Egypt,
his wonders in the region of Tzo‘an.

⁴⁴ He turned their rivers into blood,
so they couldn’t drink from their streams.
⁴⁵ He sent swarms of flies, which devoured them,
and frogs, which destroyed them.
⁴⁶ He gave their harvest to shearer-worms,
the fruit of their labor to locusts.
⁴⁷ He destroyed their vineyards with hail
and their sycamore-figs with frost.
⁴⁸ Their cattle too he gave over to the hail
and their flocks to lightning bolts.

⁴⁹ He sent over them his fierce anger,
fury, indignation and trouble,
with a company of destroying angels
⁵⁰ to clear a path for his wrath.
He did not spare them from death,
but gave them over to the plague,
⁵¹ striking all the firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.

⁵² But his own people he led out like sheep,
guiding them like a flock in the desert.
⁵³ He led them safely, and they weren’t afraid,
even when the sea overwhelmed their foes.
⁵⁴ He brought them to his holy land,
to the hill-country won by his right hand.
⁵⁵ He expelled nations before them,
apportioned them property to inherit
and made Isra’el’s tribes live in their tents.

⁵⁶ Yet they tested El ‘Elyon
and rebelled against him,
refusing to obey his instructions.
⁵⁷ They turned away and were faithless, like their fathers;
they were unreliable, like a bow without tension.
⁵⁸ They provoked him with their high places
and made him jealous with their idols.

⁵⁹ God heard, and he was angry;
he came to detest Isra’el completely.
⁶⁰ He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh,
the tent he had made where he could live among people.
⁶¹ He gave his strength into exile,
his pride to the power of the foe.
⁶² He gave his people over to the sword
and grew angry with his own heritage.
⁶³ Fire consumed their young men,
their virgins had no wedding-song,
⁶⁴ their cohanim fell by the sword,
and their widows could not weep.

⁶⁵ Then Adonai awoke, as if from sleep,
like a warrior shouting for joy from wine.
⁶⁶ He struck his foes, driving them back
and putting them to perpetual shame.

⁶⁷ Rejecting the tents of Yosef
and passing over the tribe of Efrayim,
⁶⁸ he chose the tribe of Y’hudah,
Mount Tziyon, which he loved.
⁶⁹ He built his sanctuary like the heights;
like the earth, he made it to last forever.

⁷⁰ He chose David to be his servant,
taking him from the sheep-yards;
⁷¹ from tending nursing ewes he brought him
to shepherd Ya‘akov his people,
Isra’el his heritage.
⁷² With upright heart he shepherded them
and guided them with skillful hands.
79 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm of Asaf:

⁽¹⁾ God, the pagans have entered your heritage.
They have defiled your holy temple
and turned Yerushalayim into rubble.
² They have given the corpses of your servants
as food for the birds in the air,
yes, the flesh of those faithful to you
for the wild animals of the earth.
³ All around Yerushalayim
they have shed their blood like water,
and no one is left to bury them.
⁴ We suffer the taunts of our neighbors,
we are mocked and scorned by those around us.

⁵ How long, Adonai?
Will you be angry forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?

⁶ Pour out your wrath on the nations that don’t know you,
on the kingdoms that don’t call out your name;
⁷ for they have devoured Ya‘akov
and left his home a waste.

⁸ Don’t count past iniquities against us,
but let your compassion come quickly to meet us,
for we have been brought very low.
⁹ Help us, God of our salvation,
for the sake of the glory of your name.
Deliver us, forgive our sins,
for your name’s sake.
¹⁰ Why should the nations ask,
“Where is their God?”

Let the vengeance taken on your servants’ shed blood
be known among the nations before our eyes.
¹¹ Let the groaning of the captives come before you;
by your great strength save those condemned to death.

¹² Repay our neighbors sevenfold where they can feel it
for the insults they inflicted on you, Adonai.

¹³ Then we, your people and the flock in your pasture,
will give you thanks forever.
From generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
80 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set to “Lilies.” A testimony. A psalm of Asaf: