Bible in 90 Days

^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:

^2 (1) Shepherd of Isra’el, listen!
You who lead Yosef like a flock,
you whose throne is on the k’ruvim,
shine out!
^3 (2) Before Efrayim, Binyamin and M’nasheh,
rouse your power; and come to save us.
^4 (3) God, restore us!
Make your face shine, and we will be saved.

^5 (4) Adonai, God of armies, how long
will you be angry with your people’s prayers?
^6 (5) You have fed them tears as their bread
and made them drink tears in abundance.
^7 (6) You make our neighbors fight over us,
and our enemies mock us.
^8 (7) God of armies, restore us!
Make your face shine, and we will be saved.

^9 (8) You brought a vine out of Egypt,
you expelled the nations and planted it,
^10 (9) you cleared a space for it;
then it took root firmly and filled the land.
^11 (10) The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches;
^12 (11) It put out branches as far as the sea
and shoots to the [Euphrates] River.

^13 (12) Why did you break down [the vineyard’s] wall,
so that all passing by can pluck [its fruit]?
^14 (13) The boar from the forest tears it apart;
wild creatures from the fields feed on it.

^15 (14) God of armies, please come back!
Look from heaven, see, and tend this vine!
^16 (15) Protect what your right hand planted,
the son you made strong for yourself.
^17 (16) It is burned by fire, it is cut down;
they perish at your frown of rebuke.
^18 (17) Help the man at your right hand,
the son of man you made strong for yourself.

^19 (18) Then we won’t turn away from you —
if you revive us, we will call on your name.
^20 (19) Adonai, God of armies, restore us!
Make your face shine, and we will be saved.
81 ⁽⁰⁾ For the Leader. On the gittit. By Asaf:

^2 (1) Sing for joy to God our strength!
Shout to the God of Ya‘akov!
^3 (2) Start the music! Beat the drum!
Play the sweet lyre and the lute!
^4 (3) Sound the shofar at Rosh-Hodesh
and at full moon for the pilgrim feast,
^5 (4) because this is a law for Isra’el,
a ruling of the God of Ya‘akov.
^6 (5) He placed it as a testimony in Y’hosef
when he went out against the land of Egypt.

I heard an unfamiliar voice say,
^7 (6) “I lifted the load from his shoulder;
his hands were freed from the [laborer’s] basket.
^8 (7) You called out when you were in trouble,
and I rescued you;
I answered you from the thundercloud;
I tested you at the M’rivah Spring [by saying,] (Selah)

^9 (8) “‘Hear, my people, while I give you warning!
Isra’el, if you would only listen to me!
^10 (9) There is not to be with you any foreign god;
you are not to worship an alien god.
^11 (10) I am Adonai your God,
who brought you up from the land of Egypt.
Open your mouth, and I will fill it.’

^12 (11) “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Isra’el would have none of me.
^13 (12) So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
to live by their own plans.
^14 (13) How I wish my people would listen to me,
that Isra’el would live by my ways!
^15 (14) I would quickly subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes.
^16 (15) Those who hate Adonai would cringe before him,
while [Isra’el’s] time would last forever.
^17 (16) They would be fed with the finest wheat,
and I would satisfy you with honey from the rocks.”

82 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm of Asaf:

⁽¹⁾ Elohim [God] stands in the divine assembly;
there with the elohim [judges], he judges:
² “How long will you go on judging unfairly,
favoring the wicked? (Selah)
³ Give justice to the weak and fatherless!
Uphold the rights of the wretched and poor!
⁴ Rescue the destitute and needy;
deliver them from the power of the wicked!”

⁵ They don’t know, they don’t understand,
they wander about in darkness;
meanwhile, all the foundations of the earth
are being undermined.

⁶ “My decree is: ‘You are elohim [gods, judges],
sons of the Most High all of you.
⁷ Nevertheless, you will die like mortals;
like any prince, you will fall.’”

⁸ Rise up, Elohim, and judge the earth;
for all the nations are yours.

83 ⁽⁰⁾ A song. A psalm of Asaf:

^2 (1) God, don’t remain silent!
Don’t stay quiet, God, or still;
^3 (2) because here are your enemies, causing an uproar;
those who hate you are raising their heads,
^4 (3) craftily conspiring against your people,
consulting together against those you treasure.

^5 (4) They say, “Come, let’s wipe them out as a nation;
let the name of Isra’el be remembered no more!”
^6 (5) With one mind they plot their schemes;
the covenant they have made is against you —
^7 (6) the tents of Edom and the Yishma‘elim,
Mo’av and the Hagrim,
^8 (7) G’val, ‘Amon and ‘Amalek,
P’leshet with those living in Tzor; (Selah)
^9 (8) Ashur too is allied with them,
to reinforce the descendants of Lot.

^10 (9) Do to them as you did to Midyan,
to Sisra and Yavin at Vadi Kishon —
^11 (10) they were destroyed at ‘Ein-Dor
and became manure for the ground.
^12 (11) Make their leaders like ‘Orev and Ze’ev,
all their princes like Zevach and Tzalmuna,
^13 (12) who said, “Let’s take possession
of God’s meadows for ourselves.”

^14 (13) My God, make them like whirling dust,
like chaff driven by the wind.
^15 (14) Like fire burning up the forest,
like a flame that sets the mountains ablaze,
^16 (15) drive them away with your storm,
terrify them with your tempest.
^17 (16) Fill their faces with shame,
so that they will seek your name, Adonai.
^18 (17) Let them be ashamed and fearful forever;
yes, let them perish in disgrace.
^19 (18) Let them know that you alone,
whose name is Adonai,
are the Most High over all the earth.

84 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. On the gittit. A psalm of the sons of Korach:

^2 (1) How deeply loved are your dwelling-places,
Adonai-Tzva’ot!
^3 (2) My soul yearns, yes, faints with longing
for the courtyards of Adonai;
my heart and body cry for joy
to the living God.

^4 (3) As the sparrow finds herself a home
and the swallow her nest, where she lays her young,
[so my resting-place is] by your altars,
Adonai-Tzva’ot, my king and my God.

^5 (4) How happy are those who live in your house;
they never cease to praise you! (Selah)
^6 (5) How happy the man whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are [pilgrim] highways.

^7 (6) Passing through the [dry] Baka Valley,
they make it a place of springs,
and the early rain clothes it with blessings.
^8 (7) They go from strength to strength
and appear before God in Tziyon.

^9 (8) Adonai, God of armies, hear my prayer;
listen, God of Ya‘akov. (Selah)
^10 (9) God, see our shield [the king];
look at the face of your anointed.
^11 (10) Better a day in your courtyards
than a thousand [days elsewhere].
Better just standing at the door of my God’s house
than living in the tents of the wicked.

^12 (11) For Adonai, God, is a sun and a shield;
Adonai bestows favor and honor;
he will not withhold anything good
from those whose lives are pure.

^13 (12) Adonai-Tzva’ot,
how happy is anyone who trusts in you!

85 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of the sons of Korach:

^2 (1) Adonai, you have shown favor to your land;
you have restored the fortunes of Ya‘akov,
^3 (2) taken away the guilt of your people,
pardoned all their sin, (Selah)
^4 (3) withdrawn all your wrath,
turned from your fierce anger.

^5 (4) Restore us, God of our salvation,
renounce your displeasure with us.
^6 (5) Are you to stay angry with us forever?
Will your fury last through all generations?

^7 (6) Won’t you revive us again,
so your people can rejoice in you?
^8 (7) Show us your grace, Adonai;
grant us your salvation.

^9 (8) I am listening. What will God, Adonai, say?
For he will speak peace to his people,
to his holy ones —
but only if they don’t relapse into folly.
^10 (9) His salvation is near for those who fear him,
so that glory will be in our land.
^11 (10) Grace and truth have met together;
justice and peace have kissed each other.
^12 (11) Truth springs up from the earth,
and justice looks down from heaven.
^13 (12) Adonai will also grant prosperity;
our land will yield its harvest.
^14 (13) Justice will walk before him
and make his footsteps a path.
86 ⁽⁰⁾ A prayer of David:

⁽¹⁾ Listen, Adonai, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
² Preserve my life, for I am faithful;
save your servant,
who puts his trust in you
because you are my God.
³ Take pity on me, Adonai,
for I cry to you all day.

⁴ Fill your servant’s heart with joy,
for to you, Adonai, I lift my heart.
⁵ Adonai, you are kind and forgiving,
full of grace toward all who call on you.
⁶ Listen, Adonai, to my prayer;
pay attention to my pleading cry.
⁷ On the day of my trouble I am calling on you,
for you will answer me.

⁸ There is none like you among the gods, Adonai;
no deeds compare with yours.
⁹ All the nations you have made
will come and bow before you, Adonai;
they will honor your name.
¹⁰ For you are great, and you do wonders;
you alone are God.

¹¹ Adonai, teach me your way,
so that I can live by your truth;
make me single-hearted,
so that I can fear your name.
¹² I will thank you, Adonai my God,
with my whole heart;
and I will glorify your name forever.
¹³ For your grace toward me is so great!
You have rescued me from the lowest part of Sh’ol.

¹⁴ God, arrogant men are rising against me,
a gang of brutes is seeking my life,
and to you they pay no attention.
¹⁵ But you, Adonai,
are a merciful, compassionate God,
slow to anger
and rich in grace and truth.
¹⁶ Turn to me, and show me your favor;
strengthen your servant, save your slave-girl’s son.
¹⁷ Give me a sign of your favor,
so that those who hate me
will see it and be ashamed,
because you, Adonai,
have helped and comforted me.

87 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm of the sons of Korach. A song:

⁽¹⁾ On the holy mountains is [the city’s] foundation.
² Adonai loves the gates of Tziyon
more than all the dwellings in Ya‘akov.
³ Glorious things are said about you,
city of God. (Selah)

⁴ I count Rahav and Bavel
among those who know me;
Of P’leshet, Tzor and Ethiopia [they will say],
“This one was born there.”
⁵ But of Tziyon it will be said,
“This one and that was born in it,
for the Most High himself establishes it.”
⁶ When he registers the peoples, Adonai will record,
“This one was born there.” (Selah)

⁷ Singers and dancers alike say,
“For me, you are the source of everything.”

88 ⁽⁰⁾ A song. A psalm of the sons of Korach. For the leader. Set to “Sickness that Causes Suffering.” A maskil of Heiman the Ezrachi.

^2 (1) Adonai, God of my salvation,
when I cry out to you in the night,
^3 (2) let my prayer come before you,
turn your ear to my cry for help!
^4 (3) For I am oversupplied with troubles,
which have brought me to the brink of Sh’ol.
^5 (4) I am counted among those going down to the pit,
like a man who is beyond help,
^6 (5) left by myself among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave —
you no longer remember them;
they are cut off from your care.

^7 (6) You plunged me into the bottom of the pit,
into dark places, into the depths.
^8 (7) Your wrath lies heavily on me;
your waves crashing over me keep me down. (Selah)
^9 (8) You separated me from my close friends,
made me repulsive to them;
I am caged in, with no escape;
^10 (9) my eyes grow dim from suffering.

I call on you, Adonai, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
^11 (10) Will you perform wonders for the dead?
Can the ghosts of the dead rise up and praise you? (Selah)
^12 (11) Will your grace be declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
^13 (12) Will your wonders be known in the dark,
or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?

^14 (13) But I cry out to you, Adonai;
my prayer comes before you in the morning.
^15 (14) So why, Adonai, do you reject me?
Why do you hide your face from me?

^16 (15) Since my youth I have been miserable, close to death;
I am numb from bearing these terrors of yours.
^17 (16) Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me,
your terrors have shriveled me up.
^18 (17) They surge around me all day like a flood,
from all sides they close in on me.
^19 (18) You have made friends and companions shun me;
the people I know are hidden from me.

89 ⁽⁰⁾ A maskil of Eitan the Ezrachi:

^2 (1) I will sing about Adonai’s acts of grace forever,
with my mouth proclaim your faithfulness to all generations;
^3 (2) because I said, “Grace is built to last forever;
in the heavens themselves you established your faithfulness.”

^4 (3) You said, “I made a covenant with the one I chose,
I swore to my servant David,
^5 (4) ‘I will establish your dynasty forever,
build up your throne through all generations.’” (Selah)

^6 (5) Let the heavens praise your wonders, Adonai,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the angels.
^7 (6) For who in the skies can be compared with Adonai?
Which of these gods can rival Adonai,
^8 (7) a God dreaded in the great assembly of the holy ones
and feared by all around him?

^9 (8) Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot!
Who is as mighty as you, Yah?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.
^10 (9) You control the raging of the sea;
when its waves rear up, you calm them.
^11 (10) You crushed Rahav like a carcass;
with your strong arm you scattered your foes.
^12 (11) The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;
you founded the world and everything in it.
^13 (12) You created north and south;
Tavor and Hermon take joy in your name.