1  In the Lord I take refuge;

how can you say to my soul,

Flee like a bird to your mountain,

2  for behold, the wicked bend the bow;

they have fitted their arrow to the string

to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;

3  if the foundations are destroyed,

what can the righteous do?¹

4  ^lThe Lord is in his holy temple;

the Lord’s throne is in heaven;

his eyes see, his eyelids test the children of man.

5  The Lord tests the righteous,

but his soul ^mhates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

6  ⁿLet him rain coals on the wicked;

fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their ^ocup.

7  For the Lord is righteous;

he loves righteous deeds;

^pthe upright shall ^qbehold his face.

1  ^lBlessed is the one who considers the poor!¹

In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;

2  the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;

he is called blessed in the land;

you do not ^mgive him up to the will of his enemies.

3  The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;

in his illness you restore him to full health.²

4  As for me, I said, “O Lord, be gracious to me;

ⁿheal me,³ for ^oI have sinned against you!”

5  My enemies say of me in malice,

“When will he die, and his name perish?”

6  And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words,

while his heart gathers iniquity;

when he goes out, he tells it abroad.

7  All who hate me whisper together about me;

they imagine the worst for me.⁴

8  They say, “A deadly thing is poured out⁵ on him;

he will not rise again from where he lies.”

9  Even my close friend in whom I trusted,

^pwho ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

10  But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,

and raise me up, that I may repay them!

11  By this I know that you delight in me:

my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.

12  But you have upheld me because of my integrity,

and set me in your presence forever.

13  ^qBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

^rAmen and Amen.

1  ^dIn you, O Lord, do I take refuge;

^elet me never be put to shame!

2  ^fIn your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

incline your ear to me, and save me!

3  Be to me a ^grock of refuge,

to which I may continually come;

you have given the command to save me,

for you are my rock and my fortress.

4  Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.

5  For you, O Lord, are my hope,

my trust, O Lord, from my youth.

6  Upon you I have leaned from before my birth;

^hyou are he who took me from my mother’s womb.

My praise is ⁱcontinually of you.

7  I have been as a portent to many,

but you are my strong refuge.

8  My mouth is filled with your praise,

and with your glory all the day.

9  ^jDo not cast me off in the time of old age;

^kforsake me not when my strength is spent.

10  For my enemies speak concerning me;

those who ^lwatch for my life ^mconsult together

11  and ⁿsay, “God has forsaken him;

pursue and seize him,

for there is none to deliver him.”

12  O God, ^obe not far from me;

O my God, ^pmake haste to help me!

13  May my accusers be put to shame and consumed;

with scorn and disgrace may they be ^qcovered

who seek my hurt.

14  But I will hope continually

and will praise you yet more and more.

15  My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,

of your deeds of salvation all the day,

for ^rtheir number is past my knowledge.

16  With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;

I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.

17  O God, from my youth you have taught me,

and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

18  So ^seven to old age and gray hairs,

O God, do not forsake me,

until I proclaim your might to another generation,

your power to all those to come.

19  ^tYour righteousness, O God,

^ureaches the high heavens.

You who have done great things,

O God, ^vwho is like you?

20  ^wYou who have made me see many troubles and calamities

will ^xrevive me again;

from the depths of the earth

you will bring me up again.

21  You will increase my greatness

and comfort me again.

22  ^yI will also praise you with the harp

for your faithfulness, O my God;

I will sing praises to you with the lyre,

O Holy One of Israel.

23  My lips will shout for joy,

when I sing praises to you;

my soul also, which you have redeemed.

24  And my tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,

for they have been put to shame and disappointed

who sought to do me hurt.

1  I will sing of steadfast love and justice;

to you, O Lord, ^qI will make music.

2  I will ponder the way that is blameless.

Oh when will you come to me?

I will ^rwalk ^swith integrity of heart

within my house;

3  I will not set before my eyes

anything that is worthless.

I hate the work of those who fall away;

it shall not cling to me.

4  A ^tperverse heart shall be far from me;

I will know nothing of evil.

5  Whoever slanders his neighbor secretly

I will destroy.

^uWhoever has a haughty look and an arrogant heart

I will not endure.

6  I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,

that they may dwell with me;

he who walks in the way that is blameless

shall minister to me.

7  No one who practices deceit

shall dwell in my house;

no one who utters lies

shall continue before my eyes.

8  Morning by morning I will destroy

all the wicked in the land,

cutting off all the evildoers

from the ^vcity of the Lord.

1  O Lord, my heart is not lifted up;

my eyes are not raised too high;

I do not occupy myself with things

too great and ^qtoo marvelous for me.

2  But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned child with its mother;

like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3  ^rO Israel, hope in the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore.

1  ^uA false balance is an abomination to the Lord,

but a just weight is his delight.

2  ^vWhen pride comes, then comes disgrace,

but with the humble is wisdom.

3  ^wThe integrity of the upright guides them,

but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.

4  ^xRiches do not profit ^yin the day of wrath,

but righteousness delivers from death.

5  The righteousness of the blameless keeps his way straight,

but the wicked falls by his own wickedness.

6  The righteousness of the upright delivers them,

but the treacherous are taken captive by their lust.

7  When the wicked dies, ^zhis hope will perish,

and the expectation of wealth¹ perishes too.

8  ^aThe righteous is delivered from trouble,

and the wicked walks into it instead.

9  With his mouth the godless man would destroy his neighbor,

but by knowledge the righteous are delivered.

10  ^bWhen it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices,

and when the wicked perish there are shouts of gladness.

11  By the blessing of the upright a city is ^cexalted,

but by the mouth of the wicked it is overthrown.

12  ^dWhoever belittles his neighbor lacks sense,

but ^ea man of understanding remains silent.

13  ^fWhoever goes about ^gslandering reveals secrets,

but he who is trustworthy in spirit keeps a thing covered.

14  ^hWhere there is no guidance, a people falls,

but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.

15  Whoever ⁱputs up security for a stranger will surely suffer harm,

but he who hates striking hands in pledge is secure.

16  A gracious woman gets honor,

and violent men get riches.

17  A man who is kind benefits himself,

but a cruel man hurts himself.

18  ^jThe wicked earns deceptive wages,

but ^kone who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.

19  ^lWhoever is steadfast in righteousness will live,

but he who pursues evil will ^mdie.

20  Those of ⁿcrooked heart are an abomination to the Lord,

but those of blameless ways are his delight.

21  ^oBe assured, an evil person will not go unpunished,

but the offspring of the righteous will be delivered.

22  Like a gold ring in a pig’s snout

is a beautiful woman without discretion.

23  ^pThe desire of the righteous ends only in good,

the expectation of the wicked in wrath.

24  ^qOne gives freely, ^ryet grows all the richer;

another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.

25  Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,

and one who waters will himself be watered.

26  The people curse him who holds back grain,

but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.

27  Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor,²

but evil comes to him who searches for it.

28  Whoever ^strusts in his riches will fall,

but ^tthe righteous will flourish like a green leaf.

29  Whoever ^utroubles his own household will inherit the wind,

and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.

30  The fruit of the righteous is a ^vtree of life,

and whoever captures souls is wise.

31  ^wIf the righteous is repaid on earth,

how much more the wicked and the sinner!