1  I love you, O Lord, my strength.

2  The Lord is my ⁱrock and my ^jfortress and my deliverer,

my God, my ⁱrock, in ^kwhom I take refuge,

my ^lshield, and ^mthe horn of my salvation, my ⁿstronghold.

3  I call upon the Lord, who is ^oworthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

4  ^pThe cords of death encompassed me;

^qthe torrents of destruction assailed me;¹

5  ^pthe cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

6  ^rIn my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I cried for help.

From his ^stemple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

7  Then the earth ^treeled and rocked;

the foundations also of the mountains trembled

and quaked, because he was angry.

8  Smoke went up from his nostrils,²

and devouring ^ufire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him.

9  He ^vbowed the heavens and ^wcame down;

^xthick darkness was under his feet.

10  He rode on a cherub and flew;

he came swiftly on ^zthe wings of the wind.

11  He made darkness his covering, his ^acanopy around him,

thick clouds ^bdark with water.

12  Out of the brightness before him

^chailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

13  The Lord also ^dthundered in the heavens,

and the Most High uttered his ^evoice,

hailstones and coals of fire.

14  And he sent out his ^farrows and scattered them;

he flashed forth lightnings and ^grouted them.

15  Then ^hthe channels of the sea were seen,

and the foundations of the world were laid bare

at your ⁱrebuke, O Lord,

at the blast of ^jthe breath of your nostrils.

16  He ^ksent from on high, he took me;

he ^ldrew me out of ^mmany waters.

17  He rescued me from my strong enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were ⁿtoo mighty for me.

18  They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the Lord was my support.

19  He brought me out into ^oa broad place;

he rescued me, because he ^pdelighted in me.

20  The Lord dealt with me ^qaccording to my righteousness;

according to ^rthe cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

21  For I have ^skept the ways of the Lord,

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

22  For ^tall his rules³ were before me,

and his statutes I did not put away from me.

23  I was ^ublameless before him,

and I kept myself from my guilt.

24  So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25  With ^vthe merciful you show yourself merciful;

with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

26  with the purified you show yourself pure;

and with ^wthe crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

27  For you save ^xa humble people,

but ^ythe haughty eyes you bring down.

28  For it is you who light my ^zlamp;

the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

29  For by you I can run against a troop,

and by my God I can ^aleap over ^ba wall.

30  This God—his way is ^cperfect;⁴

the word of the Lord ^dproves true;

he is ^ea shield for all those who ^ftake refuge in him.

31  For ^gwho is God, but the Lord?

And who is ^ha rock, except our God?—

32  the God who ⁱequipped me with strength

and made my way ^jblameless.

33  He made my feet like the feet of a ^kdeer

and set me secure on ^lthe heights.

34  He ^mtrains my hands for war,

so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35  You have given me the shield of your salvation,

and your right hand ⁿsupported me,

and your ^ogentleness made me great.

36  You ^pgave a wide place for my steps under me,

and my feet did not slip.

37  I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

and did not turn back till they were consumed.

38  I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;

they fell under my feet.

39  For you equipped me with strength for the battle;

you made those who rise against me sink under me.

40  You made my enemies ^qturn their backs to me,⁵

and those who hated me I destroyed.

41  ^rThey cried for help, but there was none to save;

they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

42  I beat them fine as ^sdust before the wind;

I cast them out like ^tthe mire of the streets.

43  You delivered me from ^ustrife with the people;

you made me ^vthe head of the nations;

^wpeople whom I had not known served me.

44  As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;

^xforeigners ^ycame cringing to me.

45  ^xForeigners lost heart

and ^zcame trembling out of their fortresses.

46  The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,

and exalted be the God of my salvation—

47  the God who gave me vengeance

and ^asubdued peoples under me,

48  who rescued me from my enemies;

yes, you ^bexalted me above those who rose against me;

you delivered me from ^cthe man of violence.

49  ^dFor this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,

and ^esing to your name.

50  Great ^fsalvation he brings to his king,

and shows steadfast love to his ^ganointed,

to ^hDavid and his offspring forever.

1  ^zHe who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,

will suddenly be ^abroken ^bbeyond healing.

2  When ^cthe righteous increase, the people rejoice,

but when ^dthe wicked rule, the people groan.

3  He who ^eloves wisdom makes his father glad,

but ^fa companion of prostitutes ^gsquanders his wealth.

4  By justice a king ^hbuilds up the land,

but he who exacts gifts¹ tears it down.

5  ⁱA man who flatters his neighbor

spreads ^ja net for his feet.

6  An evil man is ^kensnared in his transgression,

but a righteous man ^lsings and rejoices.

7  A righteous man ^mknows the rights of the poor;

a wicked man does not ⁿunderstand such knowledge.

8  ^oScoffers set a city aflame,

but the wise turn away wrath.

9  If a wise man has an argument with a fool,

the fool only rages and laughs, and there is ^pno quiet.

10  Bloodthirsty men ^qhate one who is blameless

and seek the life of the upright.²

11  A fool gives full vent to his spirit,

but a wise man quietly holds it back.

12  If a ruler listens to falsehood,

all his officials will be wicked.

13  The poor man and the oppressor ^rmeet together;

the Lord ^sgives light to the eyes of both.

14  If a king ^tfaithfully judges the poor,

his throne will ^ube established forever.

15  ^vThe rod and reproof give wisdom,

but a child left to himself ^wbrings shame to his mother.

16  When the wicked increase, transgression increases,

but ^xthe righteous will look upon their downfall.

17  ^yDiscipline your son, and he will give you rest;

he will give delight to your heart.

18  Where ^zthere is no prophetic vision the people ^acast off restraint,³

but blessed is he who ^bkeeps the law.

19  By mere words a servant is not disciplined,

for though he understands, he will not respond.

20  Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?

^cThere is more hope for a fool than for him.

21  Whoever pampers his servant from childhood

will in the end find him his heir.⁴

22  ^dA man of wrath stirs up strife,

and one given to anger causes much transgression.

23  ^eOne’s pride will bring him low,

^fbut he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.

24  The partner of a thief ^ghates his own life;

^hhe hears the curse, but discloses nothing.

25  ⁱThe fear of man lays a snare,

but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.

26  Many ^jseek the face of a ruler,

but it is from the Lord that a man ^kgets justice.

27  ^lAn unjust man is an abomination to the righteous,

but one whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked.