27  ^wThe Lord is my light and my salvation;

^xwhom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold¹ of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

2  When evildoers assail me

to eat up my flesh,

my adversaries and foes,

it is they who stumble and fall.

3  Though an army encamp against me,

^ymy heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me,

yet² I will be confident.

4  One thing have I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after:

^zthat I may ^adwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to ^bgaze upon the beauty of the Lord

and to inquire³ in his temple.

5  For he will hide me in his ^cshelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will lift me high ^dupon a rock.

6  And now my ^ehead shall be lifted up

above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

sacrifices with ^fshouts of joy;

^gI will sing and make melody to the Lord.

7  ^hHear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;

be gracious to me and ⁱanswer me!

8  You have said, ^j“Seek⁴ my face.”

My heart says to you,

“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”⁵

9  ^kHide not your face from me.

Turn not your servant away in anger,

O you who have been my help.

Cast me not off; ^lforsake me not,

O God of my salvation!

10  For my father and my mother have forsaken me,

but the Lord will take me in.

11  ^mTeach me your way, O Lord,

and ⁿlead me on a level path

because of my enemies.

12  ^oGive me not up to the will of my adversaries;

for ^pfalse witnesses have risen against me,

and they breathe out violence.

13  I believe that I shall look⁶ upon the goodness of the Lord

in the land of the living!

14  Wait for the Lord;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!

28  To you, O Lord, I call;

my rock, be not deaf to me,

lest, if you be ^qsilent to me,

I become like ^rthose who go down to the pit.

2  Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,

when I cry to you for help,

when I lift up my hands

^stoward your most holy sanctuary.¹

3  ^tDo not drag me off with the wicked,

with the workers of evil,

who speak peace with their neighbors

^uwhile evil is in their hearts.

4  Give to them ^vaccording to their work

and according to the evil of their deeds;

give to them according to the work of their hands;

render them their due reward.

5  Because they do not regard the works of the Lord

or the work of his hands,

he will tear them down and build them up no more.

6  Blessed be the Lord!

For he has heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.

7  The Lord is my strength and my ^wshield;

in him my heart trusts, and I am helped;

^xmy heart exults,

and with my song I give thanks to him.

8  The Lord is the strength of his people;²

he is the saving refuge of ^yhis anointed.

9  Oh, save your people and bless your heritage!

Be their ^zshepherd and carry them forever.

29  ^aAscribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,¹

ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

2  Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness.²

3  The voice of the Lord is over the waters;

the God of glory ^bthunders,

the Lord, over many waters.

4  The voice of the Lord is ^cpowerful;

the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

5  The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;

the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

6  He makes Lebanon to ^dskip like a calf,

and ^eSirion like a young wild ox.

7  The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.

8  The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;

the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9  The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth³

and strips the forests bare,

and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

10  The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;

the Lord sits enthroned as ^fking forever.

11  May the Lord ^ggive strength to his people!

May the Lord bless⁴ his people with peace!

30  ⁱI will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up

and have not let my foes rejoice over me.

2  O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,

and you have ^jhealed me.

3  O Lord, you have ^kbrought up my soul from Sheol;

you restored me to life from among those who go down to the pit.¹

4  Sing praises to the Lord, O you his saints,

and ^lgive thanks to his holy name.²

5  For his anger is but for a moment,

and his favor is for a lifetime.³

Weeping may tarry for the night,

but joy comes with the morning.

6  As for me, I said in my prosperity,

“I shall never be moved.”

7  By your favor, O Lord,

you made my mountain stand strong;

you ^mhid your face;

I was dismayed.

8  To you, O Lord, I cry,

and to the Lord I ⁿplead for mercy:

9  “What profit is there in my death,⁴

if I go down to the pit?⁵

^oWill the dust praise you?

Will it tell of your faithfulness?

10  ^pHear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!

O Lord, be my helper!”

11  You have turned for me my mourning into dancing;

you have loosed my sackcloth

and clothed me with gladness,

12  that my glory may sing your praise and not be silent.

O Lord my God, ^qI will give thanks to you forever!

31  ^rIn you, O Lord, do I take refuge;

let me never be put to shame;

^sin your righteousness deliver me!

2  Incline your ear to me;

rescue me speedily!

Be a ^trock of refuge for me,

a strong fortress to save me!

3  For you are my rock and my fortress;

and ^ufor your name’s sake you lead me and guide me;

4  ^vyou take me out of the net they have hidden for me,

for you are my refuge.

5  ^wInto your hand I commit my spirit;

you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

6  ^xI hate¹ those who pay regard to worthless idols,

but I trust in the Lord.

7  I will rejoice and be ^yglad in your steadfast love,

because you have seen my affliction;

you have known the distress of my soul,

8  and you have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;

you have set my feet in a ^zbroad place.

9  Be gracious to me, O Lord, for ^aI am in distress;

^bmy eye is wasted from grief;

my soul and my body also.

10  For my life is spent with sorrow,

and my years with ^csighing;

my strength fails because of my iniquity,

and ^dmy bones waste away.

11  Because of all my adversaries I have become a reproach,

especially to my neighbors,

and an object of dread to my ^eacquaintances;

those who see me in the street flee from me.

12  ^fI have been forgotten like one who is dead;

I have become ^glike a broken vessel.

13  For ^hI hear the whispering of many—

terror on every side!—

as they scheme together against me,

as they plot to take my life.

14  But I trust in you, O Lord;

ⁱI say, “You are my God.”

15  My times are in your hand;

rescue me ^jfrom the hand of my enemies and ^kfrom my persecutors!

16  ^lMake your face shine on your servant;

save me in your steadfast love!

17  O Lord, let me not be put to shame,

for I call upon you;

let the wicked be put to shame;

let them go silently to Sheol.

18  Let the lying lips be mute,

which speak insolently against the righteous

in pride and contempt.

19  Oh, how abundant is your goodness,

which you have stored up for those who fear you

and worked for those who take refuge in you,

in the sight of the children of mankind!

20  In the ^mcover of your presence you hide them

from the plots of men;

you store them in your ⁿshelter

from the strife of tongues.

21  Blessed be the Lord,

for he has ^owondrously shown his steadfast love to me

when I was in a besieged city.

22  ^pI had said in my alarm,²

^q“I am cut off from your sight.”

But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy

when I cried to you for help.

23  Love the Lord, all you his saints!

The Lord preserves the faithful

but abundantly repays the one who acts in pride.

24  Be strong, and let your heart take courage,

all you who ^rwait for the Lord!