1  Hear a just cause, O Lord; ^vattend to my cry!

Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!

2  From your presence let my ^wvindication come!

Let your eyes behold the right!

3  You have tried my heart, you have ^xvisited me by night,

you have tested me, and you will find nothing;

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

4  With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

5  ^yMy steps have held fast to your paths;

my feet have not ^zslipped.

6  ^aI call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;

incline your ear to me; hear my words.

7  ^bWondrously show¹ your steadfast love,

O Savior of those who seek refuge

from their adversaries at your right hand.

8  Keep me as ^cthe apple of your eye;

^dhide me in the shadow of your wings,

9  from the wicked who do me violence,

my deadly enemies who surround me.

10  They close their hearts to pity;

with their mouths they speak arrogantly.

11  They have now surrounded our steps;

they set their eyes to cast us to the ground.

12  He is ^elike a lion eager to tear,

as a young lion lurking in ambush.

13  Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!

Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,

14  from men by your hand, O Lord,

from men of the world whose portion is in this life.²

You fill their womb with treasure;³

they are satisfied with children,

and they leave their abundance to their infants.

15  As for me, I shall ^fbehold your face in righteousness;

when I ^gawake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.

1  ^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.

1  O God, save me by your name,

and vindicate me by your might.

2  O God, hear my prayer;

give ear to the words of my mouth.

3  For ^rstrangers² have risen against me;

ruthless men seek my life;

they do not set God before themselves. Selah

4  Behold, God is my ^shelper;

the Lord is the upholder of my life.

5  ^tHe will return the evil to my enemies;

in your faithfulness ^uput an end to them.

6  With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;

^vI will give thanks to your name, O Lord, ^wfor it is good.

7  For he has ^xdelivered me from every trouble,

and my eye has ^ylooked in triumph on my enemies.

1  O God, you are my God; ^bearnestly I seek you;

^cmy soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

2  So I have ^dlooked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding your power and glory.

3  Because your steadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

4  So I will bless you as long as I live;

in your name I will lift up my hands.

5  My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

6  when I remember you upon my bed,

and meditate on you in the ^ewatches of the night;

7  for you have been my help,

and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

8  My soul clings to you;

your right hand upholds me.

9  But those who seek to destroy my life

shall go down into the depths of the earth;

10  they shall be given over to the power of the sword;

they shall be a portion for jackals.

11  But ^fthe king shall rejoice in God;

all who swear by him shall exult,

for the mouths of liars will be stopped.