36  Transgression speaks to the wicked

deep in his heart;¹

^ythere is no fear of God

before his eyes.

2  ^zFor he flatters himself in his own eyes

that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

3  The words of his mouth are ^atrouble and deceit;

^bhe has ceased to act wisely and do good.

4  He ^cplots ^dtrouble while on his bed;

he sets himself in ^ea way that is not good;

^fhe does not reject evil.

5  Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

6  ^gYour righteousness is like the mountains of God;

^hyour judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you ⁱsave, O Lord.

7  ^jHow precious is your steadfast love, O God!

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

8  They feast on ^lthe abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from ^mthe river of ⁿyour delights.

9  For with you is ^othe fountain of life;

^pin your light do we see light.

10  Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who ^qknow you,

and your righteousness to ^rthe upright of heart!

11  Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12  There ^sthe evildoers lie fallen;

they are thrust down, ^tunable to rise.

37  ^uFret not yourself because of evildoers;

be not ^venvious of wrongdoers!

2  For they will soon ^wfade like ^xthe grass

and wither ^ylike the green herb.

3  ^zTrust in the Lord, and do good;

^adwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.²

4  ^bDelight yourself in the Lord,

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

5  ^dCommit your way to the Lord;

^ztrust in him, and he will act.

6  ^eHe will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as ^fthe noonday.

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

^hfret not yourself over the one who ⁱprospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

8  ^jRefrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

^hFret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

9  ^kFor the evildoers shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the Lord shall ^linherit the land.

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

though you look carefully at ⁿhis place, he will not be there.

11  But ^othe meek shall inherit the land

and delight themselves in ^pabundant peace.

12  The wicked ^qplots against the righteous

and ^rgnashes his teeth at him,

13  but the Lord ^slaughs at the wicked,

for he sees that his ^tday is coming.

14  The wicked draw the sword and ^ubend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose ^vway is upright;

15  their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their ^wbows shall be broken.

16  ^xBetter is the little that the righteous has

than the abundance of many wicked.

17  For ^ythe arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but the Lord ^zupholds the righteous.

18  The Lord ^aknows the days of the blameless,

and their ^bheritage will remain forever;

19  they are not put to shame in evil times;

in ^cthe days of famine they have abundance.

20  But the wicked will perish;

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

they vanish—like ^esmoke they vanish away.

21  The wicked borrows but does not pay back,

but the righteous ^fis generous and gives;

22  for those blessed by the Lord³ shall ^ginherit the land,

but those cursed by him ^hshall be cut off.

23  The ⁱsteps of a man are ^jestablished by the Lord,

when he delights in his way;

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

for the Lord ^lupholds his hand.

25  I have been young, and now am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or his children ^mbegging for bread.

26  He is ever ⁿlending generously,

and his children become a blessing.

27  ^oTurn away from evil and do good;

so shall you ^pdwell forever.

28  For the Lord ^qloves justice;

he will not forsake his ^rsaints.

They are preserved forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be ^scut off.

29  The righteous shall inherit the land

and ^pdwell upon it forever.

30  The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks justice.

31  ^tThe law of his God is in his heart;

his ^usteps do not slip.

32  The wicked ^vwatches for the righteous

and seeks to put him to death.

33  The Lord will not ^wabandon him to his power

or let him ^xbe condemned when he is brought to trial.

34  ^yWait for the Lord and keep his way,

and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

you will look on ^zwhen the wicked are cut off.

35  ^aI have seen a wicked, ruthless man,

spreading himself like ^ba green laurel tree.⁴

36  But he passed away,⁵ and behold, ^che 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 ^dpeace.

38  But ^etransgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

the future of the wicked ^fshall be cut off.

39  ^gThe salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in ^hthe time of trouble.

40  The Lord helps them and ⁱdelivers them;

^jhe delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they ^ktake refuge in him.

38  O Lord, ^mrebuke me not in your anger,

nor discipline me in your wrath!

2  For your ⁿarrows have sunk into me,

and your hand ^ohas come down on me.

3  There is ^pno soundness in my flesh

because of your indignation;

there is no health in my ^qbones

because of my sin.

4  For my ^riniquities 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 ^sutterly bowed down and ^tprostrate;

all the day I ^ugo about mourning.

7  For my sides are filled with burning,

and there is ^pno soundness in my flesh.

8  I am feeble and crushed;

I ^vgroan because of the tumult of my heart.

9  O Lord, all my longing is before you;

my ^wsighing is not hidden from you.

10  My heart throbs; my strength fails me,

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

11  My ^yfriends and companions ^zstand aloof from my ^aplague,

and my nearest kin ^bstand far off.

12  Those who seek my life ^clay their snares;

those who seek my hurt ^dspeak of ruin

and meditate ^etreachery all day long.

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

like ^fa mute man who does not open his mouth.

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

and in whose mouth are no ^grebukes.

15  But for ^hyou, O Lord, do I wait;

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

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

who ^jboast against me when my ^kfoot slips!”

17  For I am ^lready to fall,

and my pain is ever before me.

18  I ^mconfess my iniquity;

I am ⁿsorry for my sin.

19  But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,

and many are those who hate me ^owrongfully.

20  Those who ^prender me evil for good

^qaccuse me because I ^rfollow after good.

21  Do not forsake me, O Lord!

O my God, be not ^sfar from me!

22  ^tMake haste to help me,

O Lord, my ^usalvation!

39  I said, “I will ^wguard my ways,

that I ^xmay not sin with my tongue;

I will ^yguard my mouth with a muzzle,

so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

2  I was ^zmute and silent;

I held my peace to no avail,

and my distress grew worse.

3  My ^aheart became hot within me.

As I mused, the fire burned;

then I spoke with my tongue:

4  “O Lord, ^bmake me know my end

and what is the measure of my days;

let me know how fleeting I am!

5  Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,

and ^cmy lifetime is as nothing before you.

Surely ^dall mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

6  Surely a man ^egoes about as a shadow!

Surely for nothing¹ they are in turmoil;

man ^fheaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

7  “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?

^gMy hope is in you.

8  Deliver me from all my transgressions.

^hDo not make me the scorn of the fool!

9  ⁱI am mute; I do not open my mouth,

^jfor it is you who have done it.

10  ^kRemove your stroke from me;

I am spent by the hostility of your hand.

11  When you discipline a man

with ^lrebukes for sin,

you ^mconsume like a ⁿmoth what is dear to him;

^osurely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

12  ^p“Hear my prayer, O Lord,

and give ear to my cry;

hold not your peace at my tears!

For I am ^qa sojourner with you,

^qa guest, like all my fathers.

13  ^rLook away from me, that I may smile again,

^sbefore I depart and ^tam no more!”

40  I ^uwaited patiently for the Lord;

he inclined to me and ^vheard my cry.

2  He drew me up from ^wthe pit of destruction,

out of ^xthe miry bog,

and ^yset my feet upon a rock,

^zmaking my steps secure.

3  He put ^aa new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God.

Many will ^bsee and fear,

and put their trust in the Lord.

4  Blessed is the man who ^cmakes

the Lord his trust,

who does not turn to the proud,

to those who ^dgo astray after a lie!

5  You have multiplied, O Lord my God,

your ^ewondrous deeds and your ^fthoughts toward us;

none can compare with you!

I will proclaim and tell of them,

yet they are ^gmore than can be told.

6  ^hIn sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,

but you have given me an open ⁱear.¹

Burnt offering and sin offering

you have not required.

7  Then I said, “Behold, I have come;

in the scroll of the book it is written ^jof me:

8  ^kI delight to do your will, O my God;

your law is ^lwithin my heart.”

9  I have told the glad news of deliverance²

in ^mthe great congregation;

behold, I have not ⁿrestrained my lips,

^oas you know, O Lord.

10  I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;

I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;

I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness

from the great congregation.

11  As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain

your mercy from me;

your ^psteadfast love and your faithfulness will

ever preserve me!

12  For evils have ^qencompassed me

beyond number;

my ^riniquities have overtaken me,

and I cannot ^ssee;

they are ^tmore than the hairs of my head;

my heart ^ufails me.

13  ^vBe pleased, O Lord, to ^wdeliver me!

O Lord, ^xmake haste to help me!

14  ^yLet those be put to shame and disappointed altogether

who seek to snatch away my life;

let those be ^zturned back and brought to dishonor

who delight in my hurt!

15  Let those be appalled because of their shame

who ^asay to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16  But may all who seek you

rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation

^bsay continually, “Great is the Lord!”

17  As for me, I am ^cpoor and needy,

but ^dthe Lord takes thought for me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

do not delay, O my God!