47  ^pClap your hands, all peoples!

^qShout to God with loud songs of joy!

2  For the Lord, the Most High, is ^rto be feared,

a great king over all the earth.

3  ^sHe subdued peoples under us,

and nations under our feet.

4  He chose our heritage for us,

the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

5  God has gone up with a shout,

the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

6  Sing praises to God, sing praises!

Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

7  For God is the ^tKing of all the earth;

sing praises with a psalm!¹

8  God ^ureigns over the nations;

God sits on his holy throne.

9  The princes of the peoples gather

as the people of the God of Abraham.

For the shields of the earth belong to God;

he is highly exalted!

48  ^vGreat is the Lord and greatly to be praised

in the city of our God!

His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation,

is ^wthe joy of all the earth,

Mount Zion, in the far north,

the city of the great King.

3  Within her citadels God

has made himself known as a fortress.

4  For behold, the kings assembled;

they came on together.

5  As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;

they were in panic; they took to flight.

6  Trembling took hold of them there,

anguish as of a woman in labor.

7  By the ^xeast wind you shattered

the ships of Tarshish.

8  As we have heard, so have we seen

in the ^ycity of the Lord of hosts,

in the city of our God,

which God will establish forever. Selah

9  We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,

in the midst of your temple.

10  ^zAs your name, O God,

so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with righteousness.

11  Let Mount Zion be ^aglad!

Let the daughters of Judah rejoice

because of your judgments!

12  Walk about Zion, go around her,

number her towers,

13  consider well her ramparts,

go through her citadels,

that you may ^btell the next generation

14  that this is God,

our God forever and ever.

He will guide us forever.¹

49  Hear this, all peoples!

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

2  both ^clow and high,

rich and poor together!

3  My mouth shall speak wisdom;

the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

4  I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will solve my ^driddle to the music of the lyre.

5  Why should I fear in times of trouble,

when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,

6  those who trust in their wealth

and boast of the abundance of their riches?

7  Truly no man can ransom another,

or give to God the price of his life,

8  for the ransom of their life is costly

and can never suffice,

9  that he should live on forever

and never see the pit.

10  For he sees that ^eeven the wise die;

the fool and the stupid alike must perish

and leave their wealth to others.

11  Their graves are their homes forever,¹

their dwelling places to all generations,

though they called lands by their own names.

12  Man in his pomp will not remain;

he is ^flike the beasts that perish.

13  This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;

yet after them people approve of their boasts.² Selah

14  Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

death shall be their shepherd,

and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.

Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.

15  But God will ^gransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

for he will ^hreceive me. Selah

16  ⁱBe not afraid when a man becomes rich,

when the glory of his house increases.

17  For when he dies ^jhe will carry nothing away;

his glory will not go down after him.

18  For though, while he lives, ^khe counts himself blessed—

and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—

19  his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,

who will never again see ^llight.

20  Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

50  ^mThe Mighty One, God the Lord,

speaks and summons the earth

from the rising of the sun to its setting.

2  Out of Zion, the ⁿperfection of beauty,

God ^oshines forth.

3  Our God comes; he does not ^pkeep silence;¹

^qbefore him is a ^rdevouring fire,

around him a mighty tempest.

4  He ^scalls to the heavens above

and to the earth, that he may judge his people:

5  “Gather to me my ^tfaithful ones,

^uwho made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”

6  The ^vheavens declare his righteousness,

for ^wGod himself is judge! Selah

7  “Hear, O my people, and I will speak;

O Israel, I will testify against you.

^xI am God, your God.

8  ^yNot for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;

your burnt offerings are continually before me.

9  I will not accept a bull from your house

or goats from your folds.

10  For ^zevery beast of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.

11  ^aI know all the birds of the hills,

and all that moves in the field is mine.

12  “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

for ^bthe world and its fullness are mine.

13  Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

14  Offer to God a ^csacrifice of thanksgiving,²

and perform your vows to the Most High,

15  and call upon me in the day of trouble;

I will deliver you, and you shall ^dglorify me.”

16  But to the wicked God says:

“What right have you to recite my statutes

or take my covenant on your lips?

17  For you hate discipline,

and you ^ecast my words behind you.

18  If you see a thief, ^fyou are pleased with him,

and you keep company with adulterers.

19  “You give your mouth free rein for evil,

and your tongue frames deceit.

20  You sit and speak against your brother;

you slander your own mother’s son.

21  These things you have done, and I have been silent;

you thought that I³ was one like yourself.

But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you.

22  “Mark this, then, you who ^gforget God,

lest I tear you apart, and there be none to deliver!

23  The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;

to one who orders his way rightly

I will ^hshow the salvation of God!”

51  ^jHave mercy on me,¹ O God,

^kaccording to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

^lblot out my transgressions.

2  ^mWash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and ⁿcleanse me from my sin!

3  For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

4  ^oAgainst you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil in your sight,

^pso that you may be justified in your words

and blameless in your judgment.

5  Behold, I was ^qbrought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6  Behold, you delight in truth ^rin the inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

7  Purge me with ^shyssop, and I shall be clean;

wash me, and I shall be ^twhiter than snow.

8  Let me hear joy and gladness;

let the bones that you have broken ^urejoice.

9  Hide your face from my sins,

and blot out all my iniquities.

10  Create in me a clean heart, O God,

and renew a right² spirit within me.

11  ^vCast me not away from your presence,

and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

12  Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13  Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will return to you.

14  Deliver me from ^wbloodguiltiness, O God,

O God of my salvation,

and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

15  O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

16  For ^xyou will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

17  The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;

a ^ybroken and ^zcontrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18  ^aDo good to Zion in your good pleasure;

^bbuild up the walls of Jerusalem;

19  then will you delight in right sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.