Three daily Tehilim for Elul – English

From the second day of Rosh Chodesh Elul it is customary to recite three chapters of Tehillim a day. We start from the first chapter, each day moving forward another three chapters. The final chapters are recited on Yom Kippur. One is not to recite more than the allotted three chapters a day as part of this order. If one missed the three chapters of a given day, then he should first recite the current day’s three chapters and make up the chapters he missed on a later occasion.

 

This custom was told to Tzemach Tzedek by his grandfather the Alter Rebbe when he was nine years old. The Alter Rebbe told him “I received from my master the Maggid, who received from his master the Baal Shem Tov, who received from his known teacher [Achiya Hashiloni].” Thus the custom dates back to Achiya Hashiloni which was one of the Sages listed as part of the continuity of the Torah Shebaal Peh. [Rambam Hakdama]

1

rather, the teaching of the LORD is his delight, and he studies that teaching day and night.

He is like a tree planted beside streams of water, which yields its fruit in season, whose foliage never fades, and whatever it produces thrives.

Not so the wicked; rather, they are like chaff that wind blows away.

Therefore the wicked will not survive judgment, nor will sinners, in the assembly of the righteous.

For the LORD cherishes the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed.

2

kings of the earth take their stand, and regents intrigue together against the LORD and against His anointed?

“Let us break the cords of their yoke, shake off their ropes from us!”

He who is enthroned in heaven laughs; the Lord mocks at them.

Then He speaks to them in anger, terrifying them in His rage,

“But I have installed My king on Zion, My holy mountain!”

Let me tell of the decree: the LORD said to me, “You are My son, I have fathered you this day.

Ask it of Me, and I will make the nations your domain; your estate, the limits of the earth.

You can smash them with an iron mace, shatter them like potter’s ware.”

So now, O kings, be prudent; accept discipline, you rulers of the earth!

Serve the LORD in awe; tremble with fright,

pay homage in good faith, lest He be angered, and your way be doomed in the mere flash of His anger. Happy are all who take refuge in Him.

3

A psalm of David when he fled from his son Absalom.

O LORD, my foes are so many! Many are those who attack me;

many say of me, “There is no deliverance for him through God.”Selah.

But You, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, He who holds my head high.

I cry aloud to the LORD, and He answers me from His holy mountain. Selah.

I lie down and sleep and wake again, for the LORD sustains me.

I have no fear of the myriad forces arrayed against me on every side.

Rise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! For You slap all my enemies in the face; You break the teeth of the wicked.

Deliverance is the LORD’s; Your blessing be upon Your people! Selah.

4

Answer me when I call, O God, my vindicator! You freed me from distress; have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

You men, how long will my glory be mocked, will you love illusions, have recourse to frauds? Selah.

Know that the LORD singles out the faithful for Himself; the LORD hears when I call to Him.

So tremble, and sin no more; ponder it on your bed, and sigh.

Offer sacrifices in righteousness and trust in the LORD.

Many say, “O for good days!” Bestow Your favor on us, O LORD.

You put joy into my heart when their grain and wine show increase.

Safe and sound, I lie down and sleep, for You alone, O LORD, keep me secure.

5

Give ear to my speech, O LORD; consider my utterance.

Heed the sound of my cry, my king and God, for I pray to You.

Hear my voice, O LORD, at daybreak; at daybreak I plead before You, and wait.

For You are not a God who desires wickedness; evil cannot abide with You;

wanton men cannot endure in Your sight. You detest all evildoers;

You doom those who speak lies; murderous, deceitful men the LORD abhors.

But I, through Your abundant love, enter Your house; I bow down in awe at Your holy temple.

O LORD, lead me along Your righteous [path] because of my watchful foes; make Your way straight before me.

For there is no sincerity on their lips; their heart is [filled with] malice; their throat is an open grave; their tongue slippery.

Condemn them, O God; let them fall by their own devices; cast them out for their many crimes, for they defy You.

But let all who take refuge in You rejoice, ever jubilant as You shelter them; and let those who love Your name exult in You.

For You surely bless the righteous man, O LORD, encompassing him with favor like a shield.

6

O LORD, do not punish me in anger, do not chastise me in fury.

Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I languish; heal me, O LORD, for my bones shake with terror.

My whole being is stricken with terror, while You, LORD—O, how long!

O LORD, turn! Rescue me! Deliver me as befits Your faithfulness.

For there is no praise of You among the dead; in Sheol, who can acclaim You?

I am weary with groaning; every night I drench my bed, I melt my couch in tears.

My eyes are wasted by vexation, worn out because of all my foes.

Away from me, all you evildoers, for the LORD heeds the sound of my weeping.

The LORD heeds my plea, the LORD accepts my prayer.

All my enemies will be frustrated and stricken with terror; they will turn back in an instant, frustrated.

7

O LORD, my God, in You I seek refuge; deliver me from all my pursuers and save me,

lest, like a lion, they tear me apart, rending in pieces, and no one save me.

O LORD, my God, if I have done such things, if my hands bear the guilt of wrongdoing,

if I have dealt evil to my ally— I who rescued my foe without reward—

then let the enemy pursue and overtake me; let him trample my life to the ground, and lay my body in the dust. Selah.

Rise, O LORD, in Your anger; assert Yourself against the fury of my foes; bestir Yourself on my behalf; You have ordained judgment.

Let the assembly of peoples gather about You, with You enthroned above, on high.

The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, for the righteousness and blamelessness that are mine.

Let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; he who probes the mind and conscience is God the righteous.

I look to God to shield me; the deliverer of the upright.

God vindicates the righteous; God pronounces doom each day.

If one does not turn back, but whets his sword, bends his bow and aims it,

then against himself he readies deadly weapons, and makes his arrows sharp.

See, he hatches evil, conceives mischief, and gives birth to fraud.

He has dug a pit and deepened it, and will fall into the trap he made.

His mischief will recoil upon his own head; his lawlessness will come down upon his skull.

I will praise the LORD for His righteousness, and sing a hymn to the name of the LORD Most High.

8

O LORD, our Lord, How majestic is Your name throughout the earth, You who have covered the heavens with Your splendor!

From the mouths of infants and sucklings You have founded strength on account of Your foes, to put an end to enemy and avenger.

When I behold Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and stars that You set in place,

what is man that You have been mindful of him, mortal man that You have taken note of him,

that You have made him little less than divine, and adorned him with glory and majesty;

You have made him master over Your handiwork, laying the world at his feet,

sheep and oxen, all of them, and wild beasts, too;

the birds of the heavens, the fish of the sea, whatever travels the paths of the seas.

9

For the leader; ‘almuth labben. A psalm of David.

I will praise You, LORD, with all my heart; I will tell all Your wonders.

I will rejoice and exult in You, singing a hymn to Your name, O Most High.

When my enemies retreat, they stumble to their doom at Your presence.

For You uphold my right and claim, enthroned as righteous judge.

You blast the nations; You destroy the wicked; You blot out their name forever.

The enemy is no more— ruins everlasting; You have torn down their cities; their very names are lost.

But the LORD abides forever; He has set up His throne for judgment;

it is He who judges the world with righteousness, rules the peoples with equity.

The LORD is a haven for the oppressed, a haven in times of trouble.

Those who know Your name trust You, for You do not abandon those who turn to You, O LORD.

Sing a hymn to the LORD, who reigns in Zion; declare His deeds among the peoples.

For He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted; He who requites bloodshed is mindful of them.

Have mercy on me, O LORD; see my affliction at the hands of my foes, You who lift me from the gates of death,

so that in the gates of Fair Zion I might tell all Your praise, I might exult in Your deliverance.

The nations sink in the pit they have made; their own foot is caught in the net they have hidden.

The LORD has made Himself known: He works judgment; the wicked man is snared by his own devices. Higgaion.Selah.

Let the wicked be in Sheol, all the nations who ignore God!

Not always shall the needy be ignored, nor the hope of the afflicted forever lost.

Rise, O LORD! Let not men have power; let the nations be judged in Your presence.

10

The wicked in his arrogance hounds the lowly— may they be caught in the schemes they devise!

The wicked crows about his unbridled lusts; the grasping man reviles and scorns the LORD.

The wicked, arrogant as he is, in all his scheming [thinks], “He does not call to account; God does not care.”

His ways prosper at all times; Your judgments are far beyond him; he snorts at all his foes.

He thinks, “I shall not be shaken, through all time never be in trouble.”

His mouth is full of oaths, deceit, and fraud; mischief and evil are under his tongue.

He lurks in outlying places; from a covert he slays the innocent; his eyes spy out the hapless.

He waits in a covert like a lion in his lair; waits to seize the lowly; he seizes the lowly as he pulls his net shut;

he stoops, he crouches, and the hapless fall prey to his might.

He thinks, “God is not mindful, He hides His face, He never looks.”

Rise, O LORD! Strike at him, O God! Do not forget the lowly.

Why should the wicked man scorn God, thinking You do not call to account?

You do look! You take note of mischief and vexation! To requite is in Your power. To You the hapless can entrust himself; You have ever been the orphan’s help.

O break the power of the wicked and evil man, so that when You look for his wickedness You will find it no more.

The LORD is king for ever and ever; the nations will perish from His land.

You will listen to the entreaty of the lowly, O LORD, You will make their hearts firm; You will incline Your ear

to champion the orphan and the downtrodden, that men who are of the earth tyrannize no more.

11

For see, the wicked bend the bow, they set their arrow on the string to shoot from the shadows at the upright.

When the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous man do?”

The LORD is in His holy palace; the LORD—His throne is in heaven; His eyes behold, His gaze searches mankind.

The LORD seeks out the righteous man, but loathes the wicked one who loves injustice.

He will rain down upon the wicked blazing coals and sulfur; a scorching wind shall be their lot.

For the LORD is righteous; He loves righteous deeds; the upright shall behold His face.

12

Help, O LORD! For the faithful are no more; the loyal have vanished from among men.

Men speak lies to one another; their speech is smooth; they talk with duplicity.

May the LORD cut off all flattering lips, every tongue that speaks arrogance.

They say, “By our tongues we shall prevail; with lips such as ours, who can be our master?”

“Because of the groans of the plundered poor and needy, I will now act,” says the LORD. -“I will give help,” He affirms to him.

The words of the LORD are pure words, silver purged in an earthen crucible, refined sevenfold.

You, O LORD, will keep them, guarding each from this age evermore.

13

How long, O LORD; will You ignore me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long will I have cares on my mind, grief in my heart all day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand?

Look at me, answer me, O LORD, my God! Restore the luster to my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

lest my enemy say, “I have overcome him,” my foes exult when I totter.

But I trust in Your faithfulness, my heart will exult in Your deliverance. I will sing to the LORD, for He has been good to me.

14

The LORD looks down from heaven on mankind to find a man of understanding, a man mindful of God.

All have turned bad, altogether foul; there is none who does good, not even one.

Are they so witless, all those evildoers, who devour my people as they devour food, and do not invoke the LORD?

There they will be seized with fright, for God is present in the circle of the righteous.

You may set at naught the counsel of the lowly, but the LORD is his refuge.

15

He who lives without blame, who does what is right, and in his heart acknowledges the truth;

whose tongue is not given to evil; who has never done harm to his fellow, or borne reproach for [his acts toward] his neighbor;

for whom a contemptible man is abhorrent, but who honors those who fear the LORD; who stands by his oath even to his hurt;

who has never lent money at interest, or accepted a bribe against the innocent. The man who acts thus shall never be shaken.

16

I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord, my benefactor; there is none above You.”

As to the holy and mighty ones that are in the land, my whole desire concerning them is that

those who espouse another [god] may have many sorrows! I will have no part of their bloody libations; their names will not pass my lips.

The LORD is my allotted share and portion; You control my fate.

Delightful country has fallen to my lot; lovely indeed is my estate.

I bless the LORD who has guided me; my conscience admonishes me at night.

I am ever mindful of the LORD’s presence; He is at my right hand; I shall never be shaken.

So my heart rejoices, my whole being exults, and my body rests secure.

For You will not abandon me to Sheol, or let Your faithful one see the Pit.

17

My vindication will come from You; Your eyes will behold what is right.

You have visited me at night, probed my mind, You have tested me and found nothing amiss; I determined that my mouth should not transgress.

As for man’s dealings, in accord with the command of Your lips, I have kept in view the fate of the lawless.

My feet have held to Your paths; my legs have not given way.

I call on You; You will answer me, God; turn Your ear to me, hear what I say.

Display Your faithfulness in wondrous deeds, You who deliver with Your right hand those who seek refuge from assailants.

Guard me like the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings

from the wicked who despoil me, my mortal enemies who encircle me.

Their hearts are closed to pity; they mouth arrogance;

now they hem in our feet on every side; they set their eyes roaming over the land.

He is like a lion eager for prey, a king of beasts lying in wait.

Rise, O LORD! Go forth to meet him. Bring him down; rescue me from the wicked with Your sword,

from men, O LORD, with Your hand, from men whose share in life is fleeting. But as to Your treasured ones, fill their bellies. Their sons too shall be satisfied, and have something to leave over for their young.

18

For the leader. Of David, the servant of the LORD, who addressed the words of this song to the LORD after the LORD had saved him from the hands of all his enemies and from the clutches of Saul.

He said: I adore you, O LORD, my strength,

O LORD, my crag, my fortress, my rescuer, my God, my rock in whom I seek refuge, my shield, my mighty champion, my haven.

All praise! I called on the LORD and was delivered from my enemies.

Ropes of Death encompassed me; torrents of Belial terrified me;

ropes of Sheol encircled me; snares of Death confronted me.

In my distress I called on the LORD, cried out to my God; in His temple He heard my voice; my cry to Him reached His ears.

Then the earth rocked and quaked; the foundations of the mountains shook, rocked by His indignation;

smoke went up from His nostrils, from His mouth came devouring fire; live coals blazed forth from Him.

He bent the sky and came down, thick cloud beneath His feet.

He mounted a cherub and flew, gliding on the wings of the wind.

He made darkness His screen; dark thunderheads, dense clouds of the sky were His pavilion round about Him.

Out of the brilliance before Him, hail and fiery coals pierced His clouds.

Then the LORD thundered from heaven, the Most High gave forth His voice— hail and fiery coals.

He let fly His shafts and scattered them; He discharged lightning and routed them.

The ocean bed was exposed; the foundations of the world were laid bare by Your mighty roaring, O LORD, at the blast of the breath of Your nostrils.

He reached down from on high, He took me; He drew me out of the mighty waters;

He saved me from my fierce enemy, from foes too strong for me.

They confronted me on the day of my calamity, but the LORD was my support.

He brought me out to freedom; He rescued me because He was pleased with me.

The LORD rewarded me according to my merit; He requited the cleanness of my hands;

for I have kept to the ways of the LORD, and have not been guilty before my God;

for I am mindful of all His rules; I have not disregarded His laws.

I have been blameless toward Him, and have guarded myself against sinning;

and the LORD has requited me according to my merit, the cleanness of my hands in His sight.

With the loyal, You deal loyally; with the blameless man, blamelessly.

With the pure, You act purely, and with the perverse, You are wily.

It is You who deliver lowly folk, but haughty eyes You humble.

It is You who light my lamp; the LORD, my God, lights up my darkness.

With You, I can rush a barrier; with my God I can scale a wall;

the way of God is perfect; the word of the LORD is pure; He is a shield to all who seek refuge in Him.

Truly, who is a god except the LORD, who is a rock but our God?—

the God who girded me with might, who made my way perfect;

who made my legs like a deer’s, and let me stand firm on the heights;

who trained my hands for battle; my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

You have given me the shield of Your protection; Your right hand has sustained me, Your care has made me great.

You have let me stride on freely; my feet have not slipped.

I pursued my enemies and overtook them; I did not turn back till I destroyed them.

I struck them down, and they could rise no more; they lay fallen at my feet.

You have girded me with strength for battle, brought my adversaries low before me,

made my enemies turn tail before me; I wiped out my foes.

They cried out, but there was none to deliver; [cried] to the LORD, but He did not answer them.

I ground them fine as windswept dust; I trod them flat as dirt of the streets.

You have rescued me from the strife of people; You have set me at the head of nations; peoples I knew not must serve me.

At the mere report of me they are submissive; foreign peoples cower before me;

foreign peoples lose courage, and come trembling out of their strongholds.

The LORD lives! Blessed is my rock! Exalted be God, my deliverer,

the God who has vindicated me and made peoples subject to me,

who rescued me from my enemies, who raised me clear of my adversaries, saved me from lawless men.

For this I sing Your praise among the nations, LORD, and hymn Your name:

19

The heavens declare the glory of God, the sky proclaims His handiwork.

Day to day makes utterance, night to night speaks out.

There is no utterance, there are no words, whose sound goes unheard.

Their voice carries throughout the earth, their words to the end of the world. He placed in them a tent for the sun,

who is like a groom coming forth from the chamber, like a hero, eager to run his course.

His rising-place is at one end of heaven, and his circuit reaches the other; nothing escapes his heat.

The teaching of the LORD is perfect, renewing life; the decrees of the LORD are enduring, making the simple wise;

more desirable than gold, than much fine gold; sweeter than honey, than drippings of the comb.

Your servant pays them heed; in obeying them there is much reward.

Who can be aware of errors? Clear me of unperceived guilt,

and from willful sins keep Your servant; let them not dominate me; then shall I be blameless and clear of grave offense.

20

For the leader. A psalm of David.

May the LORD answer you in time of trouble, the name of Jacob’s God keep you safe.

May He send you help from the sanctuary, and sustain you from Zion.

May He receive the tokens of all your meal offerings, and approve your burnt offerings.Selah.

May He grant you your desire, and fulfill your every plan.

May we shout for joy in your victory, arrayed by standards in the name of our God. May the LORD fulfill your every wish.

They [call] on chariots, they [call] on horses, but we call on the name of the LORD our God.

They collapse and lie fallen, but we rally and gather strength.

O LORD, grant victory! May the King answer us when we call.

21

For the leader. A psalm of David.

O LORD, the king rejoices in Your strength; how greatly he exults in Your victory!

You have granted him the desire of his heart, have not denied the request of his lips. Selah.

You have proffered him blessings of good things, have set upon his head a crown of fine gold.

He asked You for life; You granted it; a long life, everlasting.

Great is his glory through Your victory; You have endowed him with splendor and majesty.

You have made him blessed forever, gladdened him with the joy of Your presence.

For the king trusts in the LORD; Through the faithfulness of the Most High he will not be shaken.

Your hand is equal to all Your enemies; Your right hand overpowers Your foes.

You set them ablaze like a furnace when You show Your presence. The LORD in anger destroys them; fire consumes them.

You wipe their offspring from the earth, their issue from among men.

For they schemed against You; they laid plans, but could not succeed.

For You make them turn back by Your bows aimed at their face.

22

For the leader; on ayyeleth ha-shaḥar. A psalm of David.

My God, my God, why have You abandoned me; why so far from delivering me and from my anguished roaring?

My God, I cry by day—You answer not; by night, and have no respite.

But You are the Holy One, enthroned, the Praise of Israel.

In You our fathers trusted; they trusted, and You rescued them.

To You they cried out and they escaped; in You they trusted and were not disappointed.

But I am a worm, less than human; scorned by men, despised by people.

All who see me mock me; they curl their lips, they shake their heads.

I became Your charge at birth; from my mother’s womb You have been my God.

Do not be far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help.

Many bulls surround me, mighty ones of Bashan encircle me.

They open their mouths at me like tearing, roaring lions.

My life ebbs away: all my bones are disjointed; my heart is like wax, melting within me;

my vigor dries up like a shard; my tongue cleaves to my palate; You commit me to the dust of death.

Dogs surround me; a pack of evil ones closes in on me, like lions [they maul] my hands and feet.

I take the count of all my bones while they look on and gloat.

They divide my clothes among themselves, casting lots for my garments.

Deliver me from a lion’s mouth; from the horns of wild oxen rescue me.

Then will I proclaim Your fame to my brethren, praise You in the congregation.

You who fear the LORD, praise Him! All you offspring of Jacob, honor Him! Be in dread of Him, all you offspring of Israel!

For He did not scorn, He did not spurn the plea of the lowly; He did not hide His face from him; when he cried out to Him, He listened.

Because of You I offer praise in the great congregation; I pay my vows in the presence of His worshipers.

for kingship is the LORD’s and He rules the nations.

All those in full vigor shall eat and prostrate themselves; all those at death’s door, whose spirits flag, shall bend the knee before Him.

Offspring shall serve Him; the Lord’s fame shall be proclaimed to the generation

to come; they shall tell of His beneficence to people yet to be born, for He has acted.

23

He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me to water in places of repose;

He renews my life; He guides me in right paths as befits His name.

Though I walk through a valley of deepest darkness, I fear no harm, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff—they comfort me.

You spread a table for me in full view of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my drink is abundant.

24

Of David. A psalm. The earth is the LORD’s and all that it holds, the world and its inhabitants.

For He founded it upon the ocean, set it on the nether-streams.

Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in His holy place?—

He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who has not taken a false oath by My life or sworn deceitfully.

He shall carry away a blessing from the LORD, a just reward from God, his deliverer.

Such is the circle of those who turn to Him, Jacob, who seek Your presence.Selah.

O gates, lift up your heads! Lift them up, you everlasting doors, so the King of glory may come in!

25

Of David. O LORD, I set my hope on You;

my God, in You I trust; may I not be disappointed, may my enemies not exult over me.

O let none who look to You be disappointed; let the faithless be disappointed, empty-handed.

Let me know Your paths, O LORD; teach me Your ways;

guide me in Your true way and teach me, for You are God, my deliverer; it is You I look to at all times.

O LORD, be mindful of Your compassion and Your faithfulness; they are old as time.

Be not mindful of my youthful sins and transgressions; in keeping with Your faithfulness consider what is in my favor, as befits Your goodness, O LORD.

All the LORD’s paths are steadfast love for those who keep the decrees of His covenant.

As befits Your name, O LORD, pardon my iniquity though it be great.

Whoever fears the LORD, he shall be shown what path to choose.

He shall live a happy life, and his children shall inherit the land.

The counsel of the LORD is for those who fear Him; to them He makes known His covenant.

My eyes are ever toward the LORD, for He will loose my feet from the net.

Turn to me, have mercy on me, for I am alone and afflicted.

My deep distress increases; deliver me from my straits.

Look at my affliction and suffering, and forgive all my sins.

See how numerous my enemies are, and how unjustly they hate me!

Protect me and save me; let me not be disappointed, for I have sought refuge in You.

May integrity and uprightness watch over me, for I look to You.

O God, redeem Israel from all its distress.

26

Probe me, O LORD, and try me, test my heart and mind;

for my eyes are on Your steadfast love; I have set my course by it.

I do not consort with scoundrels, or mix with hypocrites;

I detest the company of evil men, and do not consort with the wicked;

I wash my hands in innocence, and walk around Your altar, O LORD,

raising my voice in thanksgiving, and telling all Your wonders.

O LORD, I love Your temple abode, the dwelling-place of Your glory.

Do not sweep me away with sinners, or [snuff out] my life with murderers,

who have schemes at their fingertips, and hands full of bribes.

But I walk without blame; redeem me, have mercy on me!

My feet are on level ground. In assemblies I will bless the LORD.

27

Of David. The LORD is my light and my help; whom should I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life, whom should I dread?

When evil men assail me to devour my flesh— it is they, my foes and my enemies, who stumble and fall.

Should an army besiege me, my heart would have no fear; should war beset me, still would I be confident.

One thing I ask of the LORD, only that do I seek: to live in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD, to frequent His temple.

He will shelter me in His pavilion on an evil day, grant me the protection of His tent, raise me high upon a rock.

Now is my head high over my enemies roundabout; I sacrifice in His tent with shouts of joy, singing and chanting a hymn to the LORD.

Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; have mercy on me, answer me.

In Your behalf my heart says: “Seek My face!” O LORD, I seek Your face.

Do not hide Your face from me; do not thrust aside Your servant in anger; You have ever been my help. Do not forsake me, do not abandon me, O God, my deliverer.

Though my father and mother abandon me, the LORD will take me in.

Show me Your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my watchful foes.

Do not subject me to the will of my foes, for false witnesses and unjust accusers have appeared against me.

Had I not the assurance that I would enjoy the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living…

28

Listen to my plea for mercy when I cry out to You, when I lift my hands toward Your inner sanctuary.

Do not count me with the wicked and evildoers who profess goodwill toward their fellows while malice is in their heart.

Pay them according to their deeds, their malicious acts; according to their handiwork pay them, give them their deserts.

For they do not consider the LORD’s deeds, the work of His hands. May He tear them down, never to rebuild them!

Blessed is the LORD, for He listens to my plea for mercy.

The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him. I was helped, and my heart exulted, so I will glorify Him with my song.

The LORD is their strength; He is a stronghold for the deliverance of His anointed.

Deliver and bless Your very own people; tend them and sustain them forever.

29

The voice of the LORD is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the LORD, over the mighty waters.

The voice of the LORD is power; the voice of the LORD is majesty;

the voice of the LORD breaks cedars; the LORD shatters the cedars of Lebanon.

He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, Sirion, like a young wild ox.

The voice of the LORD kindles flames of fire;

the voice of the LORD convulses the wilderness; the LORD convulses the wilderness of Kadesh;

the voice of the LORD causes hinds to calve, and strips forests bare; while in His temple all say “Glory!”

The LORD sat enthroned at the Flood; the LORD sits enthroned, king forever.

May the LORD grant strength to His people; may the LORD bestow on His people wellbeing.

30

O LORD, my God, I cried out to You, and You healed me.

O LORD, You brought me up from Sheol, preserved me from going down into the Pit.

O you faithful of the LORD, sing to Him, and praise His holy name.

For He is angry but a moment, and when He is pleased there is life. One may lie down weeping at nightfall; but at dawn there are shouts of joy.

When I was untroubled, I thought, “I shall never be shaken,”

for You, O Lord, when You were pleased, made [me] firm as a mighty mountain. When You hid Your face, I was terrified.

I called to You, O LORD; to my Lord I made appeal,

“What is to be gained from my death, from my descent into the Pit? Can dust praise You? Can it declare Your faithfulness?

Hear, O LORD, and have mercy on me; O LORD, be my help!”

You turned my lament into dancing, you undid my sackcloth and girded me with joy,

that [my] whole being might sing hymns to You endlessly; O LORD my God, I will praise You forever.

31

I seek refuge in You, O LORD; may I never be disappointed; as You are righteous, rescue me.

Incline Your ear to me; be quick to save me; be a rock, a stronghold for me, a citadel, for my deliverance.

For You are my rock and my fortress; You lead me and guide me as befits Your name.

You free me from the net laid for me, for You are my stronghold.

Into Your hand I entrust my spirit; You redeem me, O LORD, faithful God.

I detest those who rely on empty folly, but I trust in the LORD.

Let me exult and rejoice in Your faithfulness when You notice my affliction, are mindful of my deep distress,

and do not hand me over to my enemy, but grant me relief.

Have mercy on me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes are wasted by vexation, my substance and body too.

My life is spent in sorrow, my years in groaning; my strength fails because of my iniquity, my limbs waste away.

I hear the whisperings of many, intrigue on every side, as they scheme together against me, plotting to take my life.

But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God!”

My fate is in Your hand; save me from the hand of my enemies and pursuers.

Show favor to Your servant; as You are faithful, deliver me.

O LORD, let me not be disappointed when I call You; let the wicked be disappointed; let them be silenced in Sheol;

let lying lips be stilled that speak haughtily against the righteous with arrogance and contempt.

How abundant is the good that You have in store for those who fear You, that You do in the full view of men for those who take refuge in You.

You grant them the protection of Your presence against scheming men; You shelter them in Your pavilion from contentious tongues.

So love the LORD, all you faithful; the LORD guards the loyal, and more than requites him who acts arrogantly.

Be strong and of good courage, all you who wait for the LORD.

32

Of David. A maskil. Happy is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered over.

Happy the man whom the LORD does not hold guilty, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

As long as I said nothing, my limbs wasted away from my anguished roaring all day long.

For night and day Your hand lay heavy on me; my vigor waned as in the summer drought.Selah.

Then I acknowledged my sin to You; I did not cover up my guilt; I resolved, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and You forgave the guilt of my sin.Selah.

Therefore let every faithful man pray to You upon discovering [his sin], that the rushing mighty waters not overtake him.

Be not like a senseless horse or mule whose movement must be curbed by bit and bridle; far be it from you!

Many are the torments of the wicked, but he who trusts in the LORD shall be surrounded with favor.

Rejoice in the LORD and exult, O you righteous; shout for joy, all upright men!

33

Sing forth, O you righteous, to the LORD; it is fit that the upright acclaim Him.

Praise the LORD with the lyre; with the ten-stringed harp sing to Him;

sing Him a new song; play sweetly with shouts of joy.

For the word of the LORD is right; His every deed is faithful.

He loves what is right and just; the earth is full of the LORD’s faithful care.

By the word of the LORD the heavens were made, by the breath of His mouth, all their host.

For He spoke, and it was; He commanded, and it endured.

The LORD frustrates the plans of nations, brings to naught the designs of peoples.

What the LORD plans endures forever, what He designs, for ages on end.

From His dwelling-place He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth—

He who fashions the hearts of them all, who discerns all their doings.

Kings are not delivered by a large force; warriors are not saved by great strength;

horses are a false hope for deliverance; for all their great power they provide no escape.

Truly the eye of the LORD is on those who fear Him, who wait for His faithful care

to save them from death, to sustain them in famine.

We set our hope on the LORD, He is our help and shield;

in Him our hearts rejoice, for in His holy name we trust.

May we enjoy, O LORD, Your faithful care, as we have put our hope in You.

34

I bless the LORD at all times; praise of Him is ever in my mouth.

I glory in the LORD; let the lowly hear it and rejoice.

Exalt the LORD with me; let us extol His name together.

I turned to the LORD, and He answered me; He saved me from all my terrors.

Men look to Him and are radiant; let their faces not be downcast.

Here was a lowly man who called, and the LORD listened, and delivered him from all his troubles.

The angel of the LORD camps around those who fear Him and rescues them.

Taste and see how good the LORD is; happy the man who takes refuge in Him!

Fear the LORD, you His consecrated ones, for those who fear Him lack nothing.

Lions have been reduced to starvation, but those who turn to the LORD shall not lack any good.

Guard your tongue from evil, your lips from deceitful speech.

Shun evil and do good, seek amity and pursue it.

The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, His ears attentive to their cry.

The face of the LORD is set against evildoers, to erase their names from the earth.

They cry out, and the LORD hears, and saves them from all their troubles.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted; those crushed in spirit He delivers.

Though the misfortunes of the righteous be many, the LORD will save him from them all,

Keeping all his bones intact, not one of them being broken.

One misfortune is the deathblow of the wicked; the foes of the righteous shall be ruined.

The LORD redeems the life of His servants; all who take refuge in Him shall not be ruined.

35

take up shield and buckler, and come to my defense;

ready the spear and javelin against my pursuers; tell me, “I am your deliverance.”

Let those who seek my life be frustrated and put to shame; let those who plan to harm me fall back in disgrace.

Let them be as chaff in the wind, the LORD’s angel driving them on.

Let their path be dark and slippery, with the LORD’s angel in pursuit.

For without cause they hid a net to trap me; without cause they dug a pit for me.

Let disaster overtake them unawares; let the net they hid catch them; let them fall into it when disaster [strikes].

Then shall I exult in the LORD, rejoice in His deliverance.

All my bones shall say, “LORD, who is like You? You save the poor from one stronger than he, the poor and needy from his despoiler.”

Malicious witnesses appear who question me about things I do not know.

I walked about as though it were my friend or my brother; I was bowed with gloom, like one mourning for his mother.

But when I stumble, they gleefully gather; wretches gather against me, I know not why; they tear at me without end.

With impious, mocking grimace they gnash their teeth at me.

O Lord, how long will You look on? Rescue me from their attacks, my precious life, from the lions,

that I may praise You in a great congregation, acclaim You in a mighty throng.

They open wide their mouths at me, saying, “Aha, aha, we have seen it!”

You have seen it, O LORD; do not hold aloof! O Lord, be not far from me!

Wake, rouse Yourself for my cause, for my claim, O my God and my Lord!

Take up my cause, O LORD my God, as You are beneficent, and let them not rejoice over me.

Let them not think, “Aha, just what we wished!” Let them not say, “We have destroyed him!”

May those who rejoice at my misfortune be frustrated and utterly disgraced; may those who vaunt themselves over me be clad in frustration and shame.

May those who desire my vindication sing forth joyously; may they always say, “Extolled be the LORD who desires the well-being of His servant,”

while my tongue shall recite Your beneficent acts, Your praises all day long.

36

For the leader. Of the servant of the LORD, of David.

I know what Transgression says to the wicked; he has no sense of the dread of God,

because its speech is seductive to him till his iniquity be found out and he be hated.

His words are evil and deceitful; he will not consider doing good.

In bed he plots mischief; he is set on a path of no good, he does not reject evil.

O LORD, Your faithfulness reaches to heaven; Your steadfastness to the sky;

Your beneficence is like the high mountains; Your justice like the great deep; man and beast You deliver, O LORD.

How precious is Your faithful care, O God! Mankind shelters in the shadow of Your wings.

They feast on the rich fare of Your house; You let them drink at Your refreshing stream.

With You is the fountain of life; by Your light do we see light.

Bestow Your faithful care on those devoted to You, and Your beneficence on upright men.

Let not the foot of the arrogant tread on me, or the hand of the wicked drive me away.

37

Of David. Do not be vexed by evil men; do not be incensed by wrongdoers;

for they soon wither like grass, like verdure fade away.

Trust in the LORD and do good, abide in the land and remain loyal.

Seek the favor of the LORD, and He will grant you the desires of your heart.

Leave all to the LORD; trust in Him; He will do it.

He will cause your vindication to shine forth like the light, the justice of your case, like the noonday sun.

Be patient and wait for the LORD, do not be vexed by the prospering man who carries out his schemes.

Give up anger, abandon fury, do not be vexed; it can only do harm.

For evil men will be cut off, but those who look to the LORD— they shall inherit the land.

The wicked man schemes against the righteous, and gnashes his teeth at him.

The Lord laughs at him, for He knows that his day will come.

The wicked draw their swords, bend their bows, to bring down the lowly and needy, to slaughter upright men.

Their swords shall pierce their own hearts, and their bows shall be broken.

Better the little that the righteous man has than the great abundance of the wicked.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD is the support of the righteous.

The LORD is concerned for the needs of the blameless; their portion lasts forever;

they shall not come to grief in bad times; in famine, they shall eat their fill.

But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the LORD shall be consumed, like meadow grass consumed in smoke.

The wicked man borrows and does not repay; the righteous is generous and keeps giving.

Those blessed by Him shall inherit the land, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

The steps of a man are made firm by the LORD, when He delights in his way.

Though he stumbles, he does not fall down, for the LORD gives him support.

Shun evil and do good, and you shall abide forever.

For the LORD loves what is right, He does not abandon His faithful ones. They are preserved forever, while the children of the wicked will be cut off.

The righteous shall inherit the land, and abide forever in it.

The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks what is right.

The teaching of his God is in his heart; his feet do not slip.

The wicked watches for the righteous, seeking to put him to death;

I saw a wicked man, powerful, well-rooted like a robust native tree.

Suddenly he vanished and was gone; I sought him, but he was not to be found.

Mark the blameless, note the upright, for there is a future for the man of integrity.

But transgressors shall be utterly destroyed, the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

The deliverance of the righteous comes from the LORD, their stronghold in time of trouble.

The LORD helps them and rescues them, rescues them from the wicked and delivers them, for they seek refuge in Him.

38

O LORD, do not punish me in wrath; do not chastise me in fury.

For Your arrows have struck me; Your blows have fallen upon me.

There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your rage, no wholeness in my bones because of my sin.

For my iniquities have overwhelmed me; they are like a heavy burden, more than I can bear.

My wounds stink and fester because of my folly.

I am all bent and bowed; I walk about in gloom all day long.

For my sinews are full of fever; there is no soundness in my flesh.

I am all benumbed and crushed; I roar because of the turmoil in my mind.

O Lord, You are aware of all my entreaties; my groaning is not hidden from You.

My mind reels; my strength fails me; my eyes too have lost their luster.

My friends and companions stand back from my affliction; my kinsmen stand far off.

I am like one who does not hear, who has no retort on his lips.

But I wait for You, O LORD; You will answer, O Lord, my God.

For I fear they will rejoice over me; when my foot gives way they will vaunt themselves against me.

For I am on the verge of collapse; my pain is always with me.

I acknowledge my iniquity; I am fearful over my sin;

for my mortal enemies are numerous; my treacherous foes are many.

Those who repay evil for good harass me for pursuing good.

Do not abandon me, O LORD; my God, be not far from me;

hasten to my aid, O Lord, my deliverance.

39

I resolved I would watch my step lest I offend by my speech; I would keep my mouth muzzled while the wicked man was in my presence.

I was dumb, silent; I was very still while my pain was intense.

My mind was in a rage, my thoughts were all aflame; I spoke out:

Tell me, O LORD, what my term is, what is the measure of my days; I would know how fleeting my life is.

You have made my life just handbreadths long; its span is as nothing in Your sight; no man endures any longer than a breath. Selah.

Man walks about as a mere shadow; mere futility is his hustle and bustle, amassing and not knowing who will gather in.

What, then, can I count on, O Lord? In You my hope lies.

Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the butt of the benighted.

I am dumb, I do not speak up, for it is Your doing.

Take away Your plague from me; I perish from Your blows.

40

For the leader. A psalm of David.

I put my hope in the LORD; He inclined toward me, and heeded my cry.

He lifted me out of the miry pit, the slimy clay, and set my feet on a rock, steadied my legs.

He put a new song into my mouth, a hymn to our God. May many see it and stand in awe, and trust in the LORD.

Happy is the man who makes the LORD his trust, who turns not to the arrogant or to followers of falsehood.

You, O LORD my God, have done many things; the wonders You have devised for us cannot be set out before You; I would rehearse the tale of them, but they are more than can be told.

You gave me to understand that You do not desire sacrifice and meal offering; You do not ask for burnt offering and sin offering.

Then I said, “See, I will bring a scroll recounting what befell me.”

To do what pleases You, my God, is my desire; Your teaching is in my inmost parts.

I proclaimed [Your] righteousness in a great congregation; see, I did not withhold my words; O LORD, You must know it.

For misfortunes without number envelop me; my iniquities have caught up with me; I cannot see; they are more than the hairs of my head; I am at my wits’ end.

O favor me, LORD, and save me; O LORD, hasten to my aid.

Let those who seek to destroy my life be frustrated and disgraced; let those who wish me harm fall back in shame.

Let those who say “Aha! Aha!” over me be desolate because of their frustration.

But let all who seek You be glad and rejoice in You; let those who are eager for Your deliverance always say, “Extolled be the LORD!”

But I am poor and needy; may the Lord devise [deliverance] for me. You are my help and my rescuer; my God, do not delay.

41

Happy is he who is thoughtful of the wretched; in bad times may the LORD keep him from harm.

May the LORD guard him and preserve him; and may he be thought happy in the land. Do not subject him to the will of his enemies.

The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed; You shall wholly transform his bed of suffering.

I said, “O LORD, have mercy on me, heal me, for I have sinned against You.”

My enemies speak evilly of me, “When will he die and his name perish?”

If one comes to visit, he speaks falsely; his mind stores up evil thoughts; once outside, he speaks them.

All my enemies whisper together against me, imagining the worst for me.

“Something baneful has settled in him; he’ll not rise from his bed again.”

My ally in whom I trusted, even he who shares my bread, has been utterly false to me.

But You, O LORD, have mercy on me; let me rise again and repay them.

Then shall I know that You are pleased with me: when my enemy cannot shout in triumph over me.

You will support me because of my integrity, and let me abide in Your presence forever.

Blessed is the LORD, God of Israel, from eternity to eternity. Amen and Amen.

42

Like a hind crying for water, my soul cries for You, O God;

my soul thirsts for God, the living God; O when will I come to appear before God!

My tears have been my food day and night; I am ever taunted with, “Where is your God?”

When I think of this, I pour out my soul: how I walked with the crowd, moved with them, the festive throng, to the House of God with joyous shouts of praise.

Why so downcast, my soul, why disquieted within me? Have hope in God; I will yet praise Him for His saving presence.

O my God, my soul is downcast; therefore I think of You in this land of Jordan and Hermon, in Mount Mizar,

where deep calls to deep in the roar of Your cataracts; all Your breakers and billows have swept over me.

By day may the LORD vouchsafe His faithful care, so that at night a song to Him may be with me, a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God, my rock, “Why have You forgotten me, why must I walk in gloom, oppressed by my enemy?”

43

For You are my God, my stronghold; why have You rejected me? Why must I walk in gloom, oppressed by the enemy?

Send forth Your light and Your truth; they will lead me; they will bring me to Your holy mountain, to Your dwelling-place,

that I may come to the altar of God, God, my delight, my joy; that I may praise You with the lyre, O God, my God.

44

For the leader. Of the Korahites. A maskil.

We have heard, O God, our fathers have told us the deeds You performed in their time, in days of old.

With Your hand You planted them, displacing nations; You brought misfortune on peoples, and drove them out.

It was not by their sword that they took the land, their arm did not give them victory, but Your right hand, Your arm, and Your goodwill, for You favored them.

You are my king, O God; decree victories for Jacob!

Through You we gore our foes; by Your name we trample our adversaries;

I do not trust in my bow; it is not my sword that gives me victory;

You give us victory over our foes; You thwart those who hate us.

In God we glory at all times, and praise Your name unceasingly.Selah.

Yet You have rejected and disgraced us; You do not go with our armies.

You make us retreat before our foe; our enemies plunder us at will.

You make us the butt of our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us.

You make us a byword among the nations, a laughingstock among the peoples.

I am always aware of my disgrace; I am wholly covered with shame

at the sound of taunting revilers, in the presence of the vengeful foe.

All this has come upon us, yet we have not forgotten You, or been false to Your covenant.

Our hearts have not gone astray, nor have our feet swerved from Your path,

God would surely search it out, for He knows the secrets of the heart.

It is for Your sake that we are slain all day long, that we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.

Rouse Yourself; why do You sleep, O Lord? Awaken, do not reject us forever!

Why do You hide Your face, ignoring our affliction and distress?

We lie prostrate in the dust; our body clings to the ground.

Arise and help us, redeem us, as befits Your faithfulness.

45

My heart is astir with gracious words; I speak my poem to a king; my tongue is the pen of an expert scribe.

You are fairer than all men; your speech is endowed with grace; rightly has God given you an eternal blessing.

Gird your sword upon your thigh, O hero, in your splendor and glory;

in your glory, win success; ride on in the cause of truth and meekness and right; and let your right hand lead you to awesome deeds.

Your arrows, sharpened, [pierce] the breast of the king’s enemies; peoples fall at your feet.

Your divine throne is everlasting; your royal scepter is a scepter of equity.

You love righteousness and hate wickedness; rightly has God, your God, chosen to anoint you with oil of gladness over all your peers.

All your robes [are fragrant] with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from ivoried palaces lutes entertain you.

Royal princesses are your favorites; the consort stands at your right hand, decked in gold of Ophir.

Take heed, lass, and note, incline your ear: forget your people and your father’s house,

and let the king be aroused by your beauty; since he is your lord, bow to him.

O Tyrian lass, the wealthiest people will court your favor with gifts,

goods of all sorts. The royal princess, her dress embroidered with golden mountings,

is led inside to the king; maidens in her train, her companions, are presented to you.

They are led in with joy and gladness; they enter the palace of the king.

Your sons will succeed your ancestors; you will appoint them princes throughout the land.

I commemorate your fame for all generations, so peoples will praise you forever and ever.

46

God is our refuge and stronghold, a help in trouble, very near.

Therefore we are not afraid though the earth reels, though mountains topple into the sea—

its waters rage and foam; in its swell mountains quake.Selah.

There is a river whose streams gladden God’s city, the holy dwelling-place of the Most High.

God is in its midst, it will not be toppled; by daybreak God will come to its aid.

Nations rage, kingdoms topple; at the sound of His thunder the earth dissolves.

The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our haven.Selah.

Come and see what the LORD has done, how He has wrought desolation on the earth.

He puts a stop to wars throughout the earth, breaking the bow, snapping the spear, consigning wagons to the flames.

“Desist! Realize that I am God! I dominate the nations; I dominate the earth.”

The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our haven.Selah.

47

All you peoples, clap your hands, raise a joyous shout for God.

For the LORD Most High is awesome, great king over all the earth;

He subjects peoples to us, sets nations at our feet.

He chose our heritage for us, the pride of Jacob whom He loved.Selah.

God ascends midst acclamation; the LORD, to the blasts of the horn.

Sing, O sing to God; sing, O sing to our king;

for God is king over all the earth; sing a hymn.

God reigns over the nations; God is seated on His holy throne.

48

The LORD is great and much acclaimed in the city of our God, His holy mountain—

fair-crested, joy of all the earth, Mount Zion, summit of Zaphon, city of the great king.

Through its citadels, God has made Himself known as a haven.

See, the kings joined forces; they advanced together.

At the mere sight of it they were stunned, they were terrified, they panicked;

they were seized there with a trembling, like a woman in the throes of labor,

In Your temple, God, we meditate upon Your faithful care.

The praise of You, God, like Your name, reaches to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is filled with beneficence.

Let Mount Zion rejoice! Let the towns of Judah exult, because of Your judgments.

Walk around Zion, circle it; count its towers,

take note of its ramparts; go through its citadels, that you may recount it to a future age.

For God—He is our God forever; He will lead us evermore.

49

For the leader. Of the Korahites. A psalm.

Hear this, all you peoples; give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

men of all estates, rich and poor alike.

My mouth utters wisdom, my speech is full of insight.

I will turn my attention to a theme, set forth my lesson to the music of a lyre.

In time of trouble, why should I fear the encompassing evil of those who would supplant me

men who trust in their riches, who glory in their great wealth?

Ah, it cannot redeem a man, or pay his ransom to God;

the price of life is too high; and so one ceases to be, forever.

Shall he live eternally, and never see the grave?

For one sees that the wise die, that the foolish and ignorant both perish, leaving their wealth to others.

Such is the fate of those who are self-confident, the end of those pleased with their own talk. Selah.

Sheeplike they head for Sheol, with Death as their shepherd. The upright shall rule over them at daybreak, and their form shall waste away in Sheol till its nobility be gone.

But God will redeem my life from the clutches of Sheol, for He will take me.Selah.

Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, when his household goods increase;

for when he dies he can take none of it along; his goods cannot follow him down.

Though he congratulates himself in his lifetime —“They must admit that you did well by yourself”—

yet he must join the company of his ancestors, who will never see daylight again.

Man does not understand honor; he is like the beasts that perish.

50

From Zion, perfect in beauty, God appeared

—let our God come and not fail to act! Devouring fire preceded Him; it stormed around Him fiercely.

He summoned the heavens above, and the earth, for the trial of His people.

“Bring in My devotees, who made a covenant with Me over sacrifice!”

Then the heavens proclaimed His righteousness, for He is a God who judges.Selah.

“Pay heed, My people, and I will speak, O Israel, and I will arraign you. I am God, your God.

I censure you not for your sacrifices, and your burnt offerings, made to Me daily;

I claim no bull from your estate, no he-goats from your pens.

For Mine is every animal of the forest, the beasts on a thousand mountains.

I know every bird of the mountains, the creatures of the field are subject to Me.

Were I hungry, I would not tell you, for Mine is the world and all it holds.

Call upon Me in time of trouble; I will rescue you, and you shall honor Me.”

And to the wicked, God said: “Who are you to recite My laws, and mouth the terms of My covenant,

seeing that you spurn My discipline, and brush My words aside?

When you see a thief, you fall in with him, and throw in your lot with adulterers;

you devote your mouth to evil, and yoke your tongue to deceit;

you are busy maligning your brother, defaming the son of your mother.

If I failed to act when you did these things, you would fancy that I was like you; so I censure you and confront you with charges.

Mark this, you who are unmindful of God, lest I tear you apart and no one save you.

He who sacrifices a thank offering honors Me, and to him who improves his way I will show the salvation of God.”

51

when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had come to Bathsheba.

Have mercy upon me, O God, as befits Your faithfulness; in keeping with Your abundant compassion, blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly of my iniquity, and purify me of my sin;

for I recognize my transgressions, and am ever conscious of my sin.

Against You alone have I sinned, and done what is evil in Your sight; so You are just in Your sentence, and right in Your judgment.

Indeed I was born with iniquity; with sin my mother conceived me.

Indeed You desire truth about that which is hidden; teach me wisdom about secret things.

Purge me with hyssop till I am pure; wash me till I am whiter than snow.

Let me hear tidings of joy and gladness; let the bones You have crushed exult.

Do not cast me out of Your presence, or take Your holy spirit away from me.

Let me again rejoice in Your help; let a vigorous spirit sustain me.

I will teach transgressors Your ways, that sinners may return to You.

Save me from bloodguilt, O God, God, my deliverer, that I may sing forth Your beneficence.

O Lord, open my lips, and let my mouth declare Your praise.

You do not want me to bring sacrifices; You do not desire burnt offerings;

True sacrifice to God is a contrite spirit; God, You will not despise a contrite and crushed heart.

May it please You to make Zion prosper; rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

Then You will want sacrifices offered in righteousness, burnt and whole offerings; then bulls will be offered on Your altar.

52

when Doeg the Edomite came and informed Saul, telling him, “David came to Ahimelech’s house.”

Why do you boast of your evil, brave fellow? God’s faithfulness never ceases.

Your tongue devises mischief, like a sharpened razor that works treacherously.

You prefer evil to good, the lie, to speaking truthfully.Selah.

You love all pernicious words, treacherous speech.

So God will tear you down for good, will break you and pluck you from your tent, and root you out of the land of the living. Selah.

The righteous, seeing it, will be awestruck; they will jibe at him, saying,

“Here was a fellow who did not make God his refuge, but trusted in his great wealth, relied upon his mischief.”

But I am like a thriving olive tree in God’s house; I trust in the faithfulness of God forever and ever.

I praise You forever, for You have acted; I declare that Your name is good in the presence of Your faithful ones.

53

The benighted man thinks, “God does not care.” Man’s wrongdoing is corrupt and loathsome; no one does good.

God looks down from heaven on mankind to find a man of understanding, a man mindful of God.

Everyone is dross, altogether foul; there is none who does good, not even one.

Are they so witless, those evildoers, who devour my people as they devour food, and do not invoke God?

There they will be seized with fright —never was there such a fright— for God has scattered the bones of your besiegers; you have put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

O that the deliverance of Israel might come from Zion! When God restores the fortunes of His people, Jacob will exult, Israel will rejoice.

54

when the Ziphites came and told Saul, “Know, David is in hiding among us.”

O God, deliver me by Your name; by Your power vindicate me.

O God, hear my prayer; give ear to the words of my mouth.

For strangers have risen against me, and ruthless men seek my life; they are unmindful of God.Selah.

See, God is my helper; the Lord is my support.

He will repay the evil of my watchful foes; by Your faithfulness, destroy them!

Then I will offer You a freewill sacrifice; I will praise Your name, LORD, for it is good,

55

For the leader; with instrumental music. A maskil of David.

Give ear, O God, to my prayer; do not ignore my plea;

pay heed to me and answer me. I am tossed about, complaining and moaning

at the clamor of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked; for they bring evil upon me and furiously harass me.

My heart is convulsed within me; terrors of death assail me.

Fear and trembling invade me; I am clothed with horror.

I said, “O that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and find rest;

surely, I would flee far off; I would lodge in the wilderness;selah

I would soon find me a refuge from the sweeping wind, from the tempest.”

O Lord, confound their speech, confuse it! For I see lawlessness and strife in the city;

day and night they make their rounds on its walls; evil and mischief are inside it.

Malice is within it; fraud and deceit never leave its square.

It is not an enemy who reviles me —I could bear that; it is not my foe who vaunts himself against me —I could hide from him;

but it is you, my equal, my companion, my friend;

sweet was our fellowship; we walked together in God’s house.

Let Him incite death against them; may they go down alive into Sheol! For where they dwell, there evil is.

As for me, I call to God; the LORD will deliver me.

Evening, morning, and noon, I complain and moan, and He hears my voice.

He redeems me unharmed from the battle against me; it is as though many are on my side.

God who has reigned from the first, who will have no successor, hears and humbles those who have no fear of God.Selah.

He harmed his ally, he broke his pact;

his talk was smoother than butter, yet his mind was on war; his words were more soothing than oil, yet they were drawn swords.

Cast your burden on the LORD and He will sustain you; He will never let the righteous man collapse.

56

Have mercy on me, O God, for men persecute me; all day long my adversary oppresses me.

My watchful foes persecute me all day long; many are my adversaries, O Exalted One.

When I am afraid, I trust in You,

in God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can mortals do to me?

All day long they cause me grief in my affairs, they plan only evil against me.

They plot, they lie in ambush; they watch my every move, hoping for my death.

Cast them out for their evil; subdue peoples in Your anger, O God.

You keep count of my wanderings; put my tears into Your flask, into Your record.

Then my enemies will retreat when I call on You; this I know, that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise, in the LORD, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; I am not afraid; what can man do to me?

I must pay my vows to You, O God; I will render thank offerings to You.

57

Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for I seek refuge in You, I seek refuge in the shadow of Your wings, until danger passes.

I call to God Most High, to God who is good to me.

He will reach down from heaven and deliver me: God will send down His steadfast love; my persecutor reviles.Selah.

As for me, I lie down among man-eating lions whose teeth are spears and arrows, whose tongue is a sharp sword.

Exalt Yourself over the heavens, O God, let Your glory be over all the earth!

They prepared a net for my feet to ensnare me; they dug a pit for me, but they fell into it.Selah.

My heart is firm, O God; my heart is firm; I will sing, I will chant a hymn.

Awake, O my soul! Awake, O harp and lyre! I will wake the dawn.

I will praise You among the peoples, O Lord; I will sing a hymn to You among the nations;

for Your faithfulness is as high as heaven; Your steadfastness reaches to the sky.

58

For the leader; al tashḥeth. Of David. A michtam.

O mighty ones, do you really decree what is just? Do you judge mankind with equity?

In your minds you devise wrongdoing in the land; with your hands you deal out lawlessness.

The wicked are defiant from birth; the liars go astray from the womb.

Their venom is like that of a snake, a deaf viper that stops its ears

so as not to hear the voice of charmers or the expert mutterer of spells.

O God, smash their teeth in their mouth; shatter the fangs of lions, O LORD;

let them melt, let them vanish like water; let Him aim His arrows that they be cut down;

like a snail that melts away as it moves; like a woman’s stillbirth, may they never see the sun!

Before the thorns grow into a bramble, may He whirl them away alive in fury.

The righteous man will rejoice when he sees revenge; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.

59

Save me from my enemies, O my God; secure me against my assailants.

Save me from evildoers; deliver me from murderers.

For see, they lie in wait for me; fierce men plot against me for no offense of mine, for no transgression, O LORD;

for no guilt of mine do they rush to array themselves against me. Look, rouse Yourself on my behalf!

You, O LORD God of hosts, God of Israel, bestir Yourself to bring all nations to account; have no mercy on any treacherous villain. Selah.

They come each evening growling like dogs, roaming the city.

They rave with their mouths, sharp words are on their lips; [they think,] “Who hears?”

But You, O LORD, laugh at them; You mock all the nations.

O my strength, I wait for You; for God is my haven.

My faithful God will come to aid me; God will let me gloat over my watchful foes.

Do not kill them lest my people be unmindful; with Your power make wanderers of them; bring them low, O our shield, the Lord,

because of their sinful mouths, the words on their lips. Let them be trapped by their pride, and by the imprecations and lies they utter.

In Your fury put an end to them; put an end to them that they be no more; that it may be known to the ends of the earth that God does rule over Jacob.Selah.

They come each evening growling like dogs, roaming the city.

They wander in search of food; and whine if they are not satisfied.

But I will sing of Your strength, extol each morning Your faithfulness; for You have been my haven, a refuge in time of trouble.

O my strength, to You I sing hymns; for God is my haven, my faithful God.

60

when he fought with Aram-Naharaim and Aram-Zobah, and Joab returned and defeated Edom—[an army] of twelve thousand men—in the Valley of Salt.

O God, You have rejected us, You have made a breach in us; You have been angry; restore us!

You have made the land quake; You have torn it open. Mend its fissures, for it is collapsing.

You have made Your people suffer hardship; You have given us wine that makes us reel.

Give those who fear You because of Your truth a banner for rallying.Selah.

That those whom You love might be rescued, deliver with Your right hand and answer me.

God promised in His sanctuary that I would exultingly divide up Shechem, and measure the Valley of Sukkoth;

Gilead and Manasseh would be mine, Ephraim my chief stronghold, Judah my scepter;

Moab would be my washbasin; on Edom I would cast my shoe; acclaim me, O Philistia!

Would that I were brought to the bastion! Would that I were led to Edom!

But You have rejected us, O God; God, You do not march with our armies.

Grant us Your aid against the foe, for the help of man is worthless.

With God we shall triumph; He will trample our foes.

61

Hear my cry, O God, heed my prayer.

From the end of the earth I call to You; when my heart is faint, You lead me to a rock that is high above me.

For You have been my refuge, a tower of strength against the enemy.

O that I might dwell in Your tent forever, take refuge under Your protecting wings. Selah.

O God, You have heard my vows; grant the request of those who fear Your name.

Add days to the days of the king; may his years extend through generations;

may he dwell in God’s presence forever; appoint steadfast love to guard him.

So I will sing hymns to Your name forever, as I fulfill my vows day after day.

62

Truly my soul waits quietly for God; my deliverance comes from Him.

Truly He is my rock and deliverance, my haven; I shall never be shaken.

How long will all of you attack a man, to crush him, as though he were a leaning wall, a tottering fence?

They lay plans to topple him from his rank; they delight in falsehood; they bless with their mouths, while inwardly they curse.Selah.

Truly, wait quietly for God, O my soul, for my hope comes from Him.

He is my rock and deliverance, my haven; I shall not be shaken.

I rely on God, my deliverance and glory, my rock of strength; in God is my refuge.

Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts before Him; God is our refuge. Selah.

Men are mere breath; mortals, illusion; placed on a scale all together, they weigh even less than a breath.

Do not trust in violence, or put false hopes in robbery; if force bears fruit pay it no mind.

One thing God has spoken; two things have I heard: that might belongs to God,

and faithfulness is Yours, O Lord, to reward each man according to his deeds.

63

A psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.

God, You are my God; I search for You, my soul thirsts for You, my body yearns for You, as a parched and thirsty land that has no water.

I shall behold You in the sanctuary, and see Your might and glory,

Truly Your faithfulness is better than life; my lips declare Your praise.

I bless You all my life; I lift up my hands, invoking Your name.

I am sated as with a rich feast, I sing praises with joyful lips

when I call You to mind upon my bed, when I think of You in the watches of the night;

for You are my help, and in the shadow of Your wings I shout for joy.

My soul is attached to You; Your right hand supports me.

May those who seek to destroy my life enter the depths of the earth.

May they be gutted by the sword; may they be prey to jackals.

64

Hear my voice, O God, when I plead; guard my life from the enemy’s terror.

Hide me from a band of evil men, from a crowd of evildoers,

who whet their tongues like swords; they aim their arrows—cruel words—

to shoot from hiding at the blameless man; they shoot him suddenly and without fear.

They arm themselves with an evil word; when they speak, it is to conceal traps; they think, “Who will see them?”

Let the wrongdoings they have concealed, each one inside him, his secret thoughts, be wholly exposed.

God shall shoot them with arrows; they shall be struck down suddenly.

Their tongue shall be their downfall; all who see them shall recoil in horror;

all men shall stand in awe; they shall proclaim the work of God and His deed which they perceived.

The righteous shall rejoice in the LORD, and take refuge in Him; all the upright shall exult.

65

For the leader. A psalm of David. A song.

Praise befits You in Zion, O God; vows are paid to You;

all mankind comes to You, You who hear prayer.

When all manner of sins overwhelm me, it is You who forgive our iniquities.

Happy is the man You choose and bring near to dwell in Your courts; may we be sated with the blessings of Your house, Your holy temple.

Answer us with victory through awesome deeds, O God, our deliverer, in whom all the ends of the earth and the distant seas put their trust;

who by His power fixed the mountains firmly, who is girded with might,

who stills the raging seas, the raging waves, and tumultuous peoples.

Those who live at the ends of the earth are awed by Your signs; You make the lands of sunrise and sunset shout for joy.

You take care of the earth and irrigate it; You enrich it greatly, with the channel of God full of water; You provide grain for men; for so do You prepare it.

Saturating its furrows, leveling its ridges, You soften it with showers, You bless its growth.

You crown the year with Your bounty; fatness is distilled in Your paths;

the pasturelands distill it; the hills are girded with joy.

66

sing the glory of His name, make glorious His praise.

Say to God, “How awesome are Your deeds, Your enemies cower before Your great strength;

all the earth bows to You, and sings hymns to You; all sing hymns to Your name.”Selah.

Come and see the works of God, who is held in awe by men for His acts.

He turned the sea into dry land; they crossed the river on foot; we therefore rejoice in Him.

He rules forever in His might; His eyes scan the nations; let the rebellious not assert themselves.Selah.

O peoples, bless our God, celebrate His praises;

who has granted us life, and has not let our feet slip.

You have tried us, O God, refining us, as one refines silver.

You have caught us in a net, caught us in trammels.

You have let men ride over us; we have endured fire and water, and You have brought us through to prosperity.

I enter Your house with burnt offerings, I pay my vows to You,

[vows] that my lips pronounced, that my mouth uttered in my distress.

I offer up fatlings to You, with the odor of burning rams; I sacrifice bulls and he-goats.Selah.

Come and hear, all God-fearing men, as I tell what He did for me.

I called aloud to Him, glorification on my tongue.

Had I an evil thought in my mind, the Lord would not have listened.

But God did listen; He paid heed to my prayer.

67

For the leader; with instrumental music. A psalm. A song.

May God be gracious to us and bless us; may He show us favor,selah

that Your way be known on earth, Your deliverance among all nations.

Peoples will praise You, O God; all peoples will praise You.

Nations will exult and shout for joy, for You rule the peoples with equity, You guide the nations of the earth.Selah.

The peoples will praise You, O God; all peoples will praise You.

May the earth yield its produce; may God, our God, bless us.

68

For the leader. Of David. A psalm. A song.

God will arise, His enemies shall be scattered, His foes shall flee before Him.

Disperse them as smoke is dispersed; as wax melts at fire, so the wicked shall perish before God.

But the righteous shall rejoice; they shall exult in the presence of God; they shall be exceedingly joyful.

Sing to God, chant hymns to His name; extol Him who rides the clouds; the LORD is His name. Exult in His presence—

the father of orphans, the champion of widows, God, in His holy habitation.

God restores the lonely to their homes, sets free the imprisoned, safe and sound, while the rebellious must live in a parched land.

O God, when You went at the head of Your army, when You marched through the desert, selah

the earth trembled, the sky rained because of God, yon Sinai, because of God, the God of Israel.

You released a bountiful rain, O God; when Your own land languished, You sustained it.

Your tribe dwells there; O God, in Your goodness You provide for the needy.

The Lord gives a command; the women who bring the news are a great host:

“The kings and their armies are in headlong flight; housewives are sharing in the spoils;

even for those of you who lie among the sheepfolds there are wings of a dove sheathed in silver, its pinions in fine gold.”

When Shaddai scattered the kings, it seemed like a snowstorm in Zalmon.

O majestic mountain, Mount Bashan; O jagged mountain, Mount Bashan;

why so hostile, O jagged mountains, toward the mountain God desired as His dwelling? The LORD shall abide there forever.

God’s chariots are myriads upon myriads, thousands upon thousands; the Lord is among them as in Sinai in holiness.

You went up to the heights, having taken captives, having received tribute of men, even of those who rebel against the LORD God’s abiding there.

Blessed is the Lord. Day by day He supports us, God, our deliverance. Selah.

God is for us a God of deliverance; GOD the Lord provides an escape from death.

God will smash the heads of His enemies, the hairy crown of him who walks about in his guilt.

The Lord said, “I will retrieve from Bashan, I will retrieve from the depths of the sea;

that your feet may wade through blood; that the tongue of your dogs may have its portion of your enemies.”

Men see Your processions, O God, the processions of my God, my king, into the sanctuary.

First come singers, then musicians, amidst maidens playing timbrels.

In assemblies bless God, the LORD, O you who are from the fountain of Israel.

There is little Benjamin who rules them, the princes of Judah who command them, the princes of Zebulun and Naphtali.

Your God has ordained strength for you, the strength, O God, which You displayed for us

from Your temple above Jerusalem. The kings bring You tribute.

Blast the beast of the marsh, the herd of bulls among the peoples, the calves, till they come cringing with pieces of silver. Scatter the peoples who delight in wars!

Tribute-bearers shall come from Egypt; Cush shall hasten its gifts to God.

O kingdoms of the earth, sing to God; chant hymns to the Lord, selah

to Him who rides the ancient highest heavens, who thunders forth with His mighty voice.

Ascribe might to God, whose majesty is over Israel, whose might is in the skies.

69

Deliver me, O God, for the waters have reached my neck;

I am sinking into the slimy deep and find no foothold; I have come into the watery depths; the flood sweeps me away.

I am weary with calling; my throat is dry; my eyes fail while I wait for God.

More numerous than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without reason; many are those who would destroy me, my treacherous enemies. Must I restore what I have not stolen?

God, You know my folly; my guilty deeds are not hidden from You.

Let those who look to You, O Lord, God of hosts, not be disappointed on my account; let those who seek You, O God of Israel, not be shamed because of me.

It is for Your sake that I have been reviled, that shame covers my face;

I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my kin.

My zeal for Your house has been my undoing; the reproaches of those who revile You have fallen upon me.

When I wept and fasted, I was reviled for it.

I made sackcloth my garment; I became a byword among them.

Those who sit in the gate talk about me; I am the taunt of drunkards.

As for me, may my prayer come to You, O LORD, at a favorable moment; O God, in Your abundant faithfulness, answer me with Your sure deliverance.

Rescue me from the mire; let me not sink; let me be rescued from my enemies, and from the watery depths.

Let the floodwaters not sweep me away; let the deep not swallow me; let the mouth of the Pit not close over me.

Come near to me and redeem me; free me from my enemies.

You know my reproach, my shame, my disgrace; You are aware of all my foes.

Reproach breaks my heart, I am in despair; I hope for consolation, but there is none, for comforters, but find none.

They give me gall for food, vinegar to quench my thirst.

May their table be a trap for them, a snare for their allies.

May their eyes grow dim so that they cannot see; may their loins collapse continually.

Pour out Your wrath on them; may Your blazing anger overtake them;

may their encampments be desolate; may their tents stand empty.

For they persecute those You have struck; they talk about the pain of those You have felled.

Add that to their guilt; let them have no share of Your beneficence;

may they be erased from the book of life, and not be inscribed with the righteous.

But I am lowly and in pain; Your help, O God, keeps me safe.

I will extol God’s name with song, and exalt Him with praise.

That will please the LORD more than oxen, than bulls with horns and hooves.

The lowly will see and rejoice; you who are mindful of God, take heart!

For the LORD listens to the needy, and does not spurn His captives.

Heaven and earth shall extol Him, the seas, and all that moves in them.

For God will deliver Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah; they shall live there and inherit it;

the offspring of His servants shall possess it; those who cherish His name shall dwell there.

70

For the leader. Of David. Lehazkir. Meaning of Heb. uncertain.

Hasten, O God, to save me;
O LORD, to aid me!

Let those who seek my life
be frustrated and disgraced;
let those who wish me harm,
fall back in shame.

Let those who say, “Aha! Aha!”
turn back because of their frustration.

But let all who seek You be glad and rejoice in You;
let those who are eager for Your deliverance always say,
“Extolled be God!”

71

I seek refuge in You, O LORD;
may I never be disappointed.

As You are beneficent, save me and rescue me;
incline Your ear to me and deliver me.

Be a sheltering rock for me to which I may always repair;
decree my deliverance,
for You are my rock and my fortress.

My God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked,
from the grasp of the unjust and the lawless.

For You are my hope,
O Lord GOD,
my trust from my youth.

While yet unborn, I depended on You;
in the womb of my mother, You were my support; Meaning of Heb. uncertain.
I sing Your praises always.

I have become an example for many,
since You are my mighty refuge.

My mouth is full of praise to You,
glorifying You all day long.

Do not cast me off in old age;
when my strength fails, do not forsake me!

For my enemies talk against me;
those who wait for me are of one mind,

saying, “God has forsaken him;
chase him and catch him,
for no one will save him!”

O God, be not far from me;
my God, hasten to my aid!

Let my accusers perish in frustration;
let those who seek my ruin be clothed in reproach and disgrace!

As for me, I will hope always,
and add to the many praises of You.

My mouth tells of Your beneficence,
of Your deliverance all day long,
though I know not how to tell it.

I come with praise of Your mighty acts, O Lord GOD;
I celebrate Your beneficence, Yours alone.

You have let me experience it, God, from my youth;
until now I have proclaimed Your wondrous deeds,

and even in hoary old age do not forsake me, God,
until I proclaim Your strength to the next generation,
Your mighty acts, to all who are to come,

Your beneficence, high as the heavens, O God,
You who have done great things;
O God, who is Your peer!

You who have made me undergo many troubles and misfortunes
will revive me again,
and raise me up from the depths of the earth.

You will grant me much greatness,
You will turn and comfort me.

Then I will acclaim You to the music of the lyre
for Your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing a hymn to You with a harp,
O Holy One of Israel.

My lips shall be jubilant, as I sing a hymn to You,
my whole being, which You have redeemed.

72

Of Solomon.

O God, endow the king with Your judgments,
the king’s son with Your righteousness;

that he may judge Your people rightly,
Your lowly ones, justly.

Let the mountains produce well-being for the people,
the hills, the reward of justice.

Let him champion the lowly among the people,
deliver the needy folk,
and crush those who wrong them.

Let them fear You as long as the sun shines,
while the moon lasts, generations on end.

Let him be like rain that falls on a mown field,
like a downpour of rain on the ground,

that the righteous may flourish in his time,
and well-being abound, till the moon is no more.

Let him rule from sea to sea,
from the river to the ends of the earth.

Let desert-dwellers kneel before him,
and his enemies lick the dust.

Let kings of Tarshish and the islands pay tribute,
kings of Sheba and Seba offer gifts.

Let all kings bow to him,
and all nations serve him.

For he saves the needy who cry out,
the lowly who have no helper.

So let him live, and receive gold of Sheba;
let prayers for him be said always,
blessings on him invoked at all times.

Meaning of some Heb. phrases in these verses uncertain.Let abundant grain be in the land, to the tops of the mountains;
let his crops thrive like the forest of Lebanon;
and let men sprout up in towns like country grass.

Blessed is His glorious name forever;
His glory fills the whole world.
Amen and Amen.

73

As for me, my feet had almost strayed,
my steps were nearly led off course,

for I envied the wanton;
I saw the wicked at ease.

Death has no pangs for them;
their body is healthy.

They have no part in the travail of men;
they are not afflicted like the rest of mankind.

So pride adorns their necks,
lawlessness enwraps them as a mantle.

Meaning of Heb. uncertain.Fat shuts out their eyes;
their fancies are extravagant.

They scoff and plan evil;
from their eminence they plan wrongdoing.

They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues range over the earth.

Meaning of Heb. uncertain.So they pound His people again and again,
until they are drained of their very last tear.

Then they say, “How could God know?
Is there knowledge with the Most High?”

Such are the wicked;
ever tranquil, they amass wealth.

It was for nothing that I kept my heart pure
and washed my hands in innocence,

seeing that I have been constantly afflicted,
that each morning brings new punishments.

Had I decided to say these things,
I should have been false to the circle of Your disciples.

So I applied myself to understand this,
but it seemed a hopeless task

till I entered God’s sanctuary
and reflected on their fate.

You surround them with flattery;
You make them fall through blandishments.

How suddenly are they ruined,
wholly swept away by terrors.

Meaning of Heb. uncertain.When You are aroused You despise their image,
as one does a dream after waking, O Lord.

My mind was stripped of its reason,
Lit. “I was pierced through in my kidneys.”my feelings were numbed.

I was a dolt, without knowledge;
I was brutish toward You.

Yet I was always with You,
You held my right hand;

You guided me by Your counsel
Meaning of Heb. uncertain; others “And afterward receive me with glory.”and led me toward honor.

Whom else have I in heaven?
And having You, I want no one on earth.

My body and mind fail;
but God is the stay Lit. “rock.” of my mind, my portion forever.

Those who keep far from You perish;
You annihilate all who are untrue to You.

As for me, nearness to God is good;
I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
that I may recount all Your works.

74

Remember the community You made Yours long ago,
Your very own tribe that You redeemed,
Mount Zion, where You dwell.

Lit. “Lift up Your feet.”Bestir Yourself because of the Meaning of Heb. uncertain.perpetual tumult,

all the outrages of the enemy in the sanctuary.

Your foes roar inside Your meeting-place;
they take their signs for true signs.

Meaning of Heb. uncertain.It is like men wielding axes
against a gnarled tree;

with hatchet and pike
they hacked away at its carved work. 

They made Your sanctuary go up in flames;
they brought low in dishonor the dwelling-place of Your presence.

They resolved, “Let us destroy them altogether!”
They burned all God’s tabernacles in the land.

No signs appear for us;
there is no longer any prophet;
no one among us knows for how long.

Till when, O God, will the foe blaspheme,
will the enemy forever revile Your name?

Why do You hold back Your hand, Your right hand?
Meaning of Heb. uncertain.Draw it out of Your bosom!

O God, my King from of old,
who brings deliverance throughout the land;

it was You who drove back the sea with Your might,
who smashed the heads of the monsters in the waters;

it was You who crushed the heads of Leviathan,
who left him as food for Or “seafaring men”; meaning of Heb. uncertain.the denizens of the desert;

it was You who released springs and torrents,
who made mighty rivers run dry;

the day is Yours, the night also;
it was You who set in place the orb of the sun;

You fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
summer and winter—You made them.

Be mindful of how the enemy blasphemes the LORD,
how base people revile Your name.

Do not deliver Your dove to the wild beast;
do not ignore forever the band of Your lowly ones.

Look to the covenant!
For the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of lawlessness.

Let not the downtrodden turn away disappointed;
let the poor and needy praise Your name.

Rise, O God, champion Your cause;
be mindful that You are blasphemed by base men all day long.

Do not ignore the shouts of Your foes,
the din of Your adversaries that ascends all the time.

75

For the leader; al tashḥeth.
A psalm of Asaph, a song.

We praise You, O God;
we praise You;
Your presence is near;
men tell of Your wondrous deeds.

“At the time I choose,
I will give judgment equitably.

Earth and all its inhabitants dissolve;
it is I who keep its pillars firm. Selah.

To wanton men I say, ‘Do not be wanton!’
to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns!’”

Do not lift your horns up high
Lit. “with arrogant neck you speak.”in vainglorious bluster.

For what lifts a man comes not from the east
or the west or the wilderness; Reading midba¯r with many mss.

for God it is who gives judgment;
He brings down one man, He lifts up another.

There is a cup in the LORD’s hand
with foaming wine fully mixed;
from this He pours;
all the wicked of the earth drink,
draining it to the very dregs.

As for me, I will declare forever,
I will sing a hymn to the God of Jacob.

76
77
78
79
80
81

82

How long will you judge perversely,
showing favor to the wicked? Selah.

Judge the wretched and the orphan,
vindicate the lowly and the poor,

rescue the wretched and the needy;
save them from the hand of the wicked.

They neither know nor understand,
they go about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth totter.

I had taken you for divine beings,
sons of the Most High, all of you;

but you shall die as men do,
fall like any prince.

Arise, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are Your possession.

83

A song, a psalm of Asaph.

O God, do not be silent;
do not hold aloof;
do not be quiet, O God!

For Your enemies rage,
Your foes Lit. “lift up the head.”assert themselves.

Unanimous in their counsel
they have made an alliance against You—

the clans of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
Moab and the Hagrites,

Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek,
Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;

Assyria too joins forces with them;
they give support to the sons of Lot. Selah.

Deal with them as You did with Midian,
with Sisera, with Jabin,
at the brook Kishon—

who said, “Let us take the meadows of God as our possession.”

O my God, make them like thistledown,
like stubble driven by the wind.

As a fire burns a forest,
as flames scorch the hills,

pursue them with Your tempest,
terrify them with Your storm.

Cover Lit. “Fill.” their faces with shame
so that they seek Your name, O LORD.

May they be frustrated and terrified,
disgraced and doomed forever.

May they know
that Your name, Yours alone, is the LORD,
supreme over all the earth.

84

For the leader; on the gittith. Of the Korahites. A psalm.

How lovely is Your dwelling-place,
O LORD of hosts.

I long, I yearn for the courts of the LORD;
my body and soul shout for joy to the living God.

Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself
in which to set her young,
near Your altar, O LORD of hosts,
my king and my God.

Happy are those who dwell in Your house;
they forever praise You. Selah.

Happy is the man who finds refuge in You,
whose mind is on the [pilgrim] highways.

They pass through the Valley of Baca,
Meaning of Heb. uncertain.regarding it as a place of springs,
as if the early rain had covered it with blessing.

They go from Others “strength to strength.”rampart to rampart,
appearing before God in Zion.

O LORD, God of hosts,
hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.

O God, behold our shield,
look upon the face of Your anointed.

Better one day in Your courts than a thousand [anywhere else];
I would rather stand at the threshold of God’s house
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

For the LORD God is sun Or “bulwark,” with Targum; cf. Isa. 54.12. and shield;
the LORD bestows grace and glory;
He does not withhold His bounty from those who live without blame.