32  ^tBlessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

whose sin is ^ucovered.

2  Blessed is the man against whom the Lord ^vcounts no iniquity,

and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

3  For when I kept silent, ^wmy bones wasted away

through my groaning all day long.

4  For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

my strength was dried up² as by the heat of summer. Selah

5  I acknowledged my sin to you,

and I did not cover my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

and you ^xforgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

6  Therefore let everyone who is godly

offer prayer to you ^yat a time when you may be found;

surely in the rush of great waters,

they shall not reach him.

7  You are a ^zhiding place for me;

you preserve me from trouble;

you surround me with shouts of deliverance. Selah

8  I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;

I will ^acounsel you ^bwith my eye upon you.

9  ^cBe not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

which must be curbed with bit and bridle,

or it will not stay near you.

10  Many are the sorrows of the wicked,

but steadfast love surrounds the one who ^dtrusts in the Lord.

11  Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,

and shout for joy, all you ^eupright in heart!

33  ^fShout for joy in the Lord, O you righteous!

^gPraise befits the upright.

2  Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre;

^hmake melody to him with the harp of ten strings!

3  Sing to him a new song;

play skillfully on the strings, with ⁱloud shouts.

4  For the word of the Lord is upright,

and all his work is done in faithfulness.

5  He loves righteousness and justice;

^jthe earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

6  ^kBy the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

7  ^lHe gathers the waters of the sea as a heap;

^mhe puts the deeps in storehouses.

8  ⁿLet all the earth fear the Lord;

let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!

9  For he spoke, and it came to be;

he commanded, and it stood firm.

10  ^oThe Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

^phe frustrates the plans of the peoples.

11  The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

the plans of his heart to all generations.

12  ^qBlessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

^rthe people whom he has ^schosen as his ^theritage!

13  The Lord looks down from heaven;

he sees all the children of man;

14  from where he sits enthroned he looks out

on all the inhabitants of the earth,

15  he who fashions the hearts of them all

and observes all their deeds.

16  The king is not saved by his great army;

a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

17  ^uThe war horse is a false hope for salvation,

and by its great might it cannot rescue.

18  Behold, the ^veye of the Lord is on those who fear him,

on those who ^whope in his steadfast love,

19  that he may deliver their soul from death

and keep them alive ^xin famine.

20  Our soul waits for the Lord;

he is our help and our ^yshield.

21  For our heart is ^zglad in him,

because we trust in his holy name.

22  Let your ^asteadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,

even as we hope in you.

34  I will bless the Lord at all times;

his praise shall ^ccontinually be in my mouth.

2  My soul makes its ^dboast in the Lord;

^elet the humble hear and be glad.

3  Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

and let us exalt his name together!

4  I sought the Lord, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

5  Those who look to him are radiant,

and their faces shall never be ashamed.

6  This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him

and saved him out of all his troubles.

7  The angel of the Lord encamps

^faround those who fear him, and delivers them.

8  Oh, ^gtaste and see that the Lord is good!

^hBlessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

9  Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,

for those who fear him ⁱhave no lack!

10  The young lions suffer want and hunger;

but those who seek the Lord lack ^jno good thing.

11  ^kCome, O children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12  ^lWhat man is there who desires life

and loves many days, that he may see good?

13  ^mKeep your tongue from evil

and your lips from speaking deceit.

14  ⁿTurn away from evil and do good;

seek peace and ^opursue it.

15  The ^peyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

and his ears toward their cry.

16  The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

17  When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears

and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18  The Lord is near to the ^qbrokenhearted

and saves the ^rcrushed in spirit.

19  Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

but the Lord ^sdelivers him out of them all.

20  He keeps all his bones;

^tnot one of them is broken.

21  Affliction will slay the wicked,

and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

22  The Lord redeems the life of his servants;

none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

35  ^uContend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;

fight against those who fight against me!

2  Take hold of shield and buckler

and rise for my help!

3  Draw the spear and javelin¹

against my pursuers!

Say to my soul,

“I am your salvation!”

4  ^vLet them be put to shame and dishonor

who seek after my life!

Let them be turned back and disappointed

who devise evil against me!

5  Let them be like chaff before the wind,

with the angel of the Lord driving them away!

6  Let their way be dark and slippery,

with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

7  For without cause they hid their net for me;

without cause they ^wdug a pit for my life.²

8  Let destruction come upon him when he does not know it!

And let the ^xnet that he hid ensnare him;

let him fall into it—to his destruction!

9  Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,

exulting in his salvation.

10  All my ^ybones shall say,

“O Lord, ^zwho is like you,

^adelivering the poor

from him who is too strong for him,

the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

11  ^bMalicious³ witnesses rise up;

they ask me of things that I do not know.

12  They ^crepay me evil for good;

my soul is bereft.⁴

13  But I, ^dwhen they were sick—

I wore sackcloth;

I afflicted myself with ^efasting;

I prayed with head bowed⁵ on my chest.

14  I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;

as one who laments his mother,

I bowed down in mourning.

15  But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;

they gathered together against me;

wretches whom I did not know

tore at me without ceasing;

16  like profane mockers at a feast,⁶

they gnash at me with their teeth.

17  How long, O Lord, will you look on?

Rescue me from their destruction,

my precious life from the ^flions!

18  I will thank you in the great congregation;

in the mighty throng I will praise you.

19  Let not those rejoice over me

who are wrongfully my foes,

and let not those ^gwink the eye

who ^hhate me ⁱwithout cause.

20  For they do not speak peace,

but against those who are quiet in the land

they devise words of deceit.

21  They ^jopen wide their mouths against me;

they say, ^k“Aha, Aha!

Our eyes have seen it!”

22  You have seen, O Lord; be not ^lsilent!

O Lord, ^mbe not far from me!

23  ⁿAwake and rouse yourself for my vindication,

for my cause, my God and my Lord!

24  ^oVindicate me, O Lord, my God,

according to your righteousness,

and let them not rejoice over me!

25  Let them not say in their hearts,

“Aha, our heart’s desire!”

Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”

26  Let them be put to shame and disappointed altogether

who rejoice at my calamity!

Let them be ^pclothed with shame and dishonor

who magnify themselves against me!

27  Let those who delight in my righteousness

shout for joy and be glad

and say evermore,

“Great is the Lord,

who delights in the welfare of his servant!”

28  Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness

and of your praise all the day long.

36  Transgression speaks to the wicked

deep in his heart;¹

^qthere is no fear of God

before his eyes.

2  For he flatters himself in his own eyes

that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

3  The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit;

he has ceased to act wisely and do good.

4  He ^rplots trouble while on his bed;

he sets himself in a way that is not good;

he does not reject evil.

5  Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends ^sto the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

6  ^tYour righteousness is like the mountains of God;

your judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you save, O Lord.

7  How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge ^uin the shadow of your wings.

8  They feast on the abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

9  For with you is ^vthe fountain of life;

in your light do we see light.

10  Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you,

and your righteousness to the upright of heart!

11  Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12  There the evildoers lie fallen;

they are thrust down, ^wunable to rise.