1  I was glad when they said to me,

^t“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

2  Our feet have been standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem!

3  ^uJerusalem—built as a city

that is ^vbound firmly together,

4  to which the tribes go up,

the tribes of the Lord,

^was was decreed for¹ Israel,

to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

5  There thrones for judgment were set,

the thrones of the house of David.

6  Pray for the peace of Jerusalem!

“May they be secure who love you!

7  Peace be within your walls

and security within your towers!”

8  For my brothers and companions’ sake

I will say, “Peace be within you!”

9  For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will seek your good.

1  ^bIf it had not been the Lord who was ^con our side—

^dlet Israel now say—

2  if it had not been the Lord who was on our side

when people rose up against us,

3  then they would have swallowed us up alive,

when their anger was kindled against us;

4  then the ^eflood would have swept us away,

the torrent would have gone over us;

5  then over us would have gone

the raging waters.

6  Blessed be the Lord,

who has not given us

as prey to their teeth!

7  We have escaped like a bird

from the snare of the fowlers;

the snare is broken,

and we have escaped!

8  ^fOur help is in the name of the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

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  Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when brothers ^odwell in unity!¹

2  It is like the precious ^poil on the head,

running down on the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down on the collar of his ^qrobes!

3  It is ^rlike the dew of Hermon,

which falls on the mountains of Zion!

For there ^sthe Lord has commanded the blessing,

life forevermore.

1  ^tI give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;

before the gods I sing your praise;

2  I bow down ^utoward your holy temple

and ^vgive thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,

for you have exalted above all things

your name and your word.¹

3  ^wOn the day I called, you answered me;

my strength of soul you increased.²

4  ^xAll the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,

for they have heard the words of your mouth,

5  and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

6  For though the Lord is ^yhigh, he regards the lowly,

^zbut the haughty he knows from afar.

7  ^aThough I walk in the midst of trouble,

you preserve my life;

you stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

and your right hand delivers me.

8  The Lord will ^bfulfill his purpose for me;

your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not ^cforsake the work of your hands.

1  O Lord, you have ^dsearched me and known me!

2  You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

you discern my thoughts from afar.

3  ^eYou search out my path and my lying down

and are ^facquainted with all my ways.

4  Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.

5  You hem me in, behind and before,

and lay your hand upon me.

6  ^gSuch knowledge is ^htoo wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

7  ⁱWhere shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I ^jflee from your presence?

8  ^kIf I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I ^lmake my bed in Sheol, ^myou are there!

9  If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10  even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

11  If I say, ⁿ“Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,”

12  ^oeven the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

13  For ^pyou formed my inward parts;

you ^qknitted me together in my mother’s womb.

14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.³

Wonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

15  My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in ^ryour book were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

17  How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!

^sHow vast is the sum of them!

18  If I would count them, they are more than the sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

19  Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!

O men of blood, depart from me!

20  They speak against you with malicious intent;

your enemies ^ttake your name in vain.⁴

21  ^uDo I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

22  I hate them with complete hatred;

I count them my enemies.

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart!

^vTry me and know my thoughts!⁵

24  And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and ^wlead me in the way everlasting!⁶

1  ^xDeliver me, O Lord, from evil men;

preserve me from violent men,

2  who plan evil things in their heart

and ^ystir up wars continually.

3  They make their tongue sharp as a serpent’s,

and ^zunder their lips is the venom of asps. Selah

4  Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;

preserve me from violent men,

who have planned to trip up my feet.

5  The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,

and with cords they have spread a net;⁷

beside the way they have set snares for me. Selah

6  ^aI say to the Lord, You are my God;

give ear to the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!

7  O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,

you have covered my head in the day of battle.

8  Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;

do not further their⁸ evil plot, or they will be exalted! Selah

9  As for the head of those who surround me,

^blet the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!

10  ^cLet burning coals fall upon them!

Let them be cast into fire,

into miry pits, no more to rise!

11  Let not the slanderer be established in the land;

let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

12  I know that ^dthe Lord will ^emaintain the cause of the afflicted,

and will execute justice for the needy.

13  Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;

^fthe upright shall dwell in your presence.