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.

37  ^xFret not yourself because of evildoers;

be not ^yenvious of wrongdoers!

2  For they will soon fade ^zlike the grass

and wither like the green herb.

3  ^aTrust in the Lord, and ^bdo good;

dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.²

4  ^cDelight yourself in the Lord,

and he will ^dgive you the desires of your heart.

5  ^eCommit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

6  He will bring forth your righteousness ^fas the light,

and your justice as the ^gnoonday.

7  ^hBe still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

8  ⁱRefrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

9  For the evildoers shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

10  In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;

^jthough you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.

11  But ^kthe meek shall inherit the land

and delight themselves in abundant peace.

12  The wicked plots against the righteous

and gnashes his teeth at him,

13  but the Lord ^llaughs at the wicked,

for he sees that his day is coming.

14  The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose way is upright;

15  their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their bows shall be broken.

16  ^mBetter is the little that the righteous has

than the abundance of many wicked.

17  For the arms of the wicked shall be ⁿbroken,

but the Lord upholds the righteous.

18  The Lord knows the days of the blameless,

and their heritage will remain forever;

19  they are not put to shame in evil times;

^oin the days of famine they have abundance.

20  But the wicked will perish;

the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;

they vanish—like ^psmoke they vanish away.

21  The wicked borrows but does not pay back,

but the righteous is generous and gives;

22  for those blessed by the Lord³ shall inherit the land,

but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

23  ^qThe steps of a man are established by the Lord,

when he ^rdelights in his way;

24  ^sthough he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,

for the Lord upholds his hand.

25  I have been young, and now am old,

yet ^tI have not seen the righteous forsaken

or his children begging for bread.

26  He is ever ^ulending generously,

and his children become a blessing.

27  ^vTurn away from evil and do good;

so shall you dwell forever.

28  For the Lord loves justice;

he will not forsake his saints.

They are preserved forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

29  The righteous shall inherit the land

and dwell upon it forever.

30  ^wThe mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks justice.

31  The law of his God is in his heart;

his steps do not ^xslip.

32  The wicked watches for the righteous

and seeks to put him to death.

33  The Lord will not abandon him to his power

or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.

34  Wait for the Lord and keep his way,

and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

^yyou will look on when the wicked are cut off.

35  ^zI have seen a wicked, ruthless man,

spreading himself like a green laurel tree.⁴

36  ^aBut he passed away,⁵ and behold, he was no more;

though I sought him, he could not be found.

37  Mark the blameless and behold the upright,

for there is a future for the man of peace.

38  But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

39  The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.

40  The Lord helps them and delivers them;

he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.

38  ^cO Lord, rebuke me not in your anger,

nor discipline me in your wrath!

2  For your ^darrows have sunk into me,

and your hand has come down on me.

3  There is no soundness in my flesh

because of your indignation;

there is no health in my bones

because of my sin.

4  For ^emy iniquities have gone over my head;

like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

5  My wounds stink and fester

because of my foolishness,

6  I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;

all the day I ^fgo about mourning.

7  For my sides are filled with burning,

and there is no soundness in my flesh.

8  I am feeble and crushed;

I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

9  O Lord, all my longing is before you;

my sighing is not hidden from you.

10  My heart throbs; my strength fails me,

and ^gthe light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.

11  My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,

and ^hmy nearest kin stand far off.

12  Those who seek my life lay their snares;

those who seek my hurt speak of ruin

and meditate treachery all day long.

13  But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,

like a ⁱmute man who does not open his mouth.

14  I have become like a man who does not hear,

and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

15  But for you, O Lord, do I wait;

it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

16  For I said, “Only let them not rejoice over me,

who boast against me when my foot slips!”

17  For I am ready to fall,

and my pain is ever before me.

18  I confess my iniquity;

I am sorry for my sin.

19  But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,

and many are those who hate me wrongfully.

20  Those who ^jrender me evil for good

accuse me because I follow after good.

21  ^kDo not forsake me, O Lord!

O my God, ^lbe not far from me!

22  ^mMake haste to help me,

O Lord, my salvation!