1  ^mThe Mighty One, God the Lord,

speaks and summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to its setting.

1  Truly God is good to Israel,

to those who are ^zpure in heart.

2  But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

my steps had nearly ^aslipped.

3  ^bFor I was ^cenvious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4  For they have no pangs until death;

their bodies are fat and sleek.

5  They are not in trouble as others are;

they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

6  Therefore pride is their necklace;

violence covers them ^das a garment.

7  Their eyes swell out through ^efatness;

their hearts overflow with follies.

8  They scoff and speak with malice;

loftily they threaten oppression.

9  They set their mouths against the heavens,

and their tongue struts through the earth.

10  Therefore his people turn back to them,

and find no fault in them.¹

11  And they say, ^f“How can God know?

Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

12  Behold, these are the wicked;

always at ease, they increase in riches.

13  All in vain have I kept my heart clean

and washed my hands ^gin innocence.

14  For all the day long I have been stricken

and rebuked every morning.

15  If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

16  But when I thought how to understand this,

it seemed to me a wearisome task,

17  until I went into the sanctuary of God;

then I discerned their end.

18  Truly you set them in slippery places;

you make them fall to ruin.

19  How they are destroyed in a moment,

swept away utterly by terrors!

20  ^hLike a dream when one ⁱawakes,

O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

21  When my soul was embittered,

when I was pricked in heart,

22  I was brutish and ignorant;

I was ^jlike a beast toward you.

23  Nevertheless, I am continually with you;

you hold my right hand.

24  You guide me with your ^kcounsel,

and afterward you will ^lreceive me to glory.

25  Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26  My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength² of my heart and ^mmy portion forever.

27  For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;

you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

28  But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

that I may ⁿtell of all your works.

1  O God, why do you ^pcast us off forever?

Why does your anger smoke against the ^qsheep of your pasture?

2  Remember your congregation, which you have ^rpurchased of old,

which you have redeemed to be the ^stribe of your heritage!

Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.

3  Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;

the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

4  Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place;

they set up their own signs for signs.

5  They were like those who swing axes

in a forest of trees.⁴

6  And all its ^tcarved wood

they broke down with hatchets and hammers.

7  They ^uset your sanctuary on fire;

they profaned the dwelling place of your name,

bringing it down to the ground.

8  They said to themselves, ^v“We will utterly subdue them”;

they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

9  ^wWe do not see our signs;

there is no longer any prophet,

and there is none among us who knows how long.

10  ^xHow long, O God, is the foe to scoff?

Is the enemy to revile your name forever?

11  Why do you ^yhold back your hand, your right hand?

Take it from the fold of your garment⁵ and destroy them!

12  Yet God my King is from of old,

working salvation in the midst of the earth.

13  ^zYou divided the sea by your might;

you broke the heads of the sea monsters⁶ on the waters.

14  You crushed the heads of ^aLeviathan;

you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

15  ^bYou split open springs and brooks;

^cyou dried up ever-flowing streams.

16  ^dYours is the day, yours also the night;

^eyou have established the heavenly lights and the sun.

17  ^fYou have fixed all the boundaries of the earth;

you have made summer and winter.

18  Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,

and a foolish people reviles your name.

19  Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts;

^gdo not forget the life of your poor forever.

20  ^hHave regard for ⁱthe covenant,

for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

21  Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame;

let the poor and needy praise your name.

22  Arise, O God, defend your cause;

^jremember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!

23  Do not forget the clamor of your foes,

the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

1  ^kWe give thanks to you, O God;

we give thanks, for your name is near.

We⁷ recount your wondrous deeds.

2  “At the set time that I appoint

I will judge with equity.

3  When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants,

it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah

4  I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’

and ^lto the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;

5  do not lift up your horn on high,

or speak with haughty neck.’”

6  For not from the east or from the west

and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,

7  but it is ^mGod who executes judgment,

ⁿputting down one and lifting up another.

8  For in the hand of the Lord there is a ^ocup

with foaming wine, well mixed,

and he pours out from it,

and all the wicked of the earth

shall ^pdrain it down to the dregs.

9  But I will declare it forever;

I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

10  All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,

but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

1  In Judah God is known;

^qhis name is great in Israel.

2  His abode has been established in ^rSalem,

his dwelling place in Zion.

3  There he broke the flashing arrows,

the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah

4  Glorious are you, more majestic

than the mountains full of prey.

5  The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;

they sank into sleep;

all the men of war

were unable to use their hands.

6  At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,

both rider and horse lay stunned.

7  But you, you are ^sto be feared!

^tWho can stand before you

when once your anger is roused?

8  From the heavens you uttered judgment;

the earth feared and was still,

9  when God arose to establish judgment,

to save all the humble of the earth. Selah

10  Surely the wrath of man shall praise you;

the remnant⁸ of wrath you will put on like a belt.

11  Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them;

let all around him bring ^ugifts

to him who is to be feared,

12  who cuts off the spirit of princes,

who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

1  I ^wcry aloud to God,

aloud to God, and he will hear me.

2  In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;

in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;

my soul refuses to be comforted.

3  When I remember God, I moan;

when I meditate, ^xmy spirit faints. Selah

4  You hold my eyelids open;

I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

5  I consider the ^ydays of old,

the years long ago.

6  I said,⁹ “Let me remember my song in the ^znight;

let me meditate in my heart.”

Then my spirit made a diligent search:

7  “Will the Lord spurn forever,

and never again be favorable?

8  Has his steadfast love forever ceased?

Are his promises at an end for all time?

9  Has God forgotten to be gracious?

Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

10  Then I said, “I will appeal to this,

to ^athe years of the right hand of the Most High.”¹⁰

11  I will ^bremember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

12  I will ponder all your work,

and ^cmeditate on your mighty deeds.

13  Your way, O God, is holy.

^dWhat god is great like our God?

14  You are the God who works wonders;

you have ^emade known your might among the peoples.

15  You with your arm ^fredeemed your people,

the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

16  ^gWhen the waters ^hsaw you, O God,

when the waters saw you, they were afraid;

indeed, the deep trembled.

17  ⁱThe clouds poured out water;

the skies gave forth thunder;

your ^jarrows flashed on every side.

18  The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;

your lightnings lighted up the world;

^kthe earth trembled and shook.

19  Your ^lway was through the sea,

your path through the great waters;

yet your footprints were unseen.¹¹

20  You ^mled your people like a ⁿflock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

1  Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;

incline your ears to the words of my mouth!

2  ^pI will open my mouth in a ^qparable;

I will utter dark sayings from of old,

3  things that we have heard and known,

that ^rour fathers have told us.

4  ^sWe will not hide them from their children,

but ^ttell to the coming generation

the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,

and the wonders that he has done.

5  He established a ^utestimony in Jacob

^vand appointed a law in Israel,

which he commanded our fathers

to teach to their children,

6  that the next generation might know them,

the children ^wyet unborn,

and arise and ^xtell them to their children,

7  so that they should set their hope in God

and not ^yforget the works of God,

but keep his commandments;

8  and that they should not be ^zlike their fathers,

a ^astubborn and ^brebellious generation,

a generation whose heart was not steadfast,

whose spirit was not faithful to God.

9  The Ephraimites, armed with¹³ the bow,

turned back on the day of battle.

10  They did not ^ckeep God’s covenant,

but refused to walk according to his law.

11  They forgot his works

and the wonders that he had shown them.

12  ^dIn the sight of their fathers he performed wonders

in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.

13  ^eHe divided the sea and let them pass through it,

and made the waters stand like a heap.

14  ^fIn the daytime he led them with a cloud,

and all the night with a fiery light.

15  ^gHe split rocks in the wilderness

and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.

16  He made streams come out of the rock

and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

17  Yet they sinned still more against him,

rebelling against the Most High in the desert.

18  They ^htested God in their heart

by demanding the food they ⁱcraved.

19  ^jThey spoke against God, saying,

“Can God spread a table in the wilderness?

20  He struck the rock so that water gushed out

and streams overflowed.

Can he also give bread

or provide meat for his people?”

21  ^kTherefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;

a fire was kindled against Jacob;

his anger rose against Israel,

22  because ^lthey did not believe in God

and did not trust his saving power.

23  Yet he commanded the skies above

and ^mopened the doors of heaven,

24  and ⁿhe rained down on them manna to eat

and ^ogave them the grain of heaven.

25  Man ate of the bread of the angels;

he sent them food in abundance.

26  ^pHe caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,

and by his power he led out the south wind;

27  he rained meat on them like dust,

winged birds like the sand of the seas;

28  he let them fall in the midst of their camp,

all around their dwellings.

29  And they ate and were well filled,

for ^qhe gave them what they craved.

30  ^rBut before they had satisfied their craving,

while the food was still in their mouths,

31  the anger of God rose against them,

and he killed the strongest of them

and laid low the young men of Israel.

32  ^sIn spite of all this, they still sinned;

^tdespite his wonders, they did not believe.

33  So he made their days vanish like¹⁴ a breath,¹⁵

and their years in terror.

34  When he killed them, they sought him;

they repented and sought God earnestly.

35  They remembered that God was their rock,

the Most High God their ^uredeemer.

36  But they flattered him with their mouths;

they lied to him with their tongues.

37  Their heart was not steadfast toward him;

they were not faithful to his covenant.

38  Yet he, being compassionate,

^vatoned for their iniquity

and did not destroy them;

he restrained his anger often

and did not stir up all his wrath.

39  He ^wremembered that they were but ^xflesh,

a ^ywind that passes and comes not again.

40  How often they ^zrebelled against him in the wilderness

and grieved him in the desert!

41  They tested God again and again

and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

42  They did not remember his power¹⁶

or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,

43  ^awhen he performed his signs in Egypt

and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.

44  ^bHe turned their rivers to blood,

so that they could not drink of their streams.

45  ^cHe sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,

and ^dfrogs, which destroyed them.

46  ^eHe gave their crops to the destroying locust

and the fruit of their labor to the locust.

47  ^fHe destroyed their vines with hail

and their sycamores with frost.

48  ^gHe gave over their cattle to the hail

and their flocks to thunderbolts.

49  He let loose on them his burning anger,

wrath, indignation, and distress,

a company of destroying angels.

50  He made a path for his anger;

he did not spare them from death,

but gave their lives over to the plague.

51  ^hHe struck down every firstborn in Egypt,

ⁱthe firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.

52  Then he led out his people like sheep

and ^jguided them in the wilderness like a flock.

53  He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid,

^kbut the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

54  And he ^lbrought them to his holy land,

^mto the mountain which his right hand had won.

55  He ⁿdrove out nations before them;

^ohe apportioned them for a possession

and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

56  Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God

and did not keep his testimonies,

57  but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;

they twisted ^plike a deceitful bow.

58  ^qFor they provoked him to anger with their high places;

they moved him to jealousy with their idols.

59  When God heard, he was full of wrath,

and he utterly ^rrejected Israel.

60  ^sHe forsook his dwelling at Shiloh,

the tent where he dwelt among mankind,

61  and delivered his ^tpower to captivity,

^uhis glory to the hand of the foe.

62  He gave his people over to the sword

and vented his wrath on his heritage.

63  Fire devoured their young men,

and their young women had no marriage song.

64  Their ^vpriests fell by the sword,

and their ^wwidows made no lamentation.

65  Then the Lord ^xawoke as from sleep,

like a strong man shouting because of wine.

66  And he put his adversaries to rout;

he put them to everlasting shame.

67  He rejected the tent of Joseph;

he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,

68  but he chose the tribe of Judah,

Mount Zion, ^ywhich he loves.

69  He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,

like the earth, which he has founded forever.

70  He ^zchose David his servant

and took him ^afrom the sheepfolds;

71  from following the nursing ewes he brought him

to ^bshepherd Jacob his people,

Israel his inheritance.

72  ^cWith upright heart he shepherded them

and guided them with his skillful hand.

1  O God, ^dthe nations have come into your inheritance;

they have defiled your holy temple;

they have laid Jerusalem in ^eruins.

2  They have given the ^fbodies of your servants

to the birds of the heavens for food,

the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.

3  They have poured out their blood like water

all around Jerusalem,

and there was ^gno one to bury them.

4  We have become a taunt to our neighbors,

^hmocked and derided by those around us.

5  ⁱHow long, O Lord? ^jWill you be angry forever?

Will your jealousy burn like fire?

6  ^kPour out your anger on the nations

that do not know you,

and on the kingdoms

that do not call upon your name!

7  ^lFor they have devoured Jacob

and laid waste his habitation.

8  Do not ^mremember against us our former iniquities;¹⁷

let your compassion come speedily ⁿto meet us,

for we are brought very low.

9  ^oHelp us, O God of our salvation,

for the glory of your name;

deliver us, and ^patone for our sins,

^qfor your name’s sake!

10  Why should the nations say,

^r“Where is their God?”

Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants

be known among the nations before our eyes!

11  ^sLet the groans of the prisoners come before you;

according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!

12  Return ^tsevenfold into the lap of our neighbors

the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!

13  But we your people, the ^usheep of your pasture,

^vwill give thanks to you forever;

from generation to generation we will recount your ^wpraise.

1  Give ear, O ^xShepherd of Israel,

you who ^ylead Joseph like a flock.

You who are ^zenthroned upon the cherubim, ^ashine forth.

2  Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,

stir up your might

and come to save us!

3  Restore us,¹⁸ O God;

^blet your face shine, that we may be saved!

4  O Lord God of hosts,

how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?

5  ^cYou have fed them with the bread of tears

and given them ^dtears to drink in full measure.

6  You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,

and our enemies laugh among themselves.

7  Restore us, O God of hosts;

let your face shine, that we may be saved!

8  You brought a ^evine out of Egypt;