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

Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!

2  From your presence ^hlet my vindication come!

Let your eyes behold the right!

3  You have ⁱtried my heart, you have ^jvisited me by ^knight,

you have ^ltested 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  My steps have ^mheld fast to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

6  I ⁿcall upon you, for you will answer me, O God;

^oincline your ear to me; hear my words.

7  ^pWondrously show¹ your steadfast love,

O Savior of those who seek refuge

from ^qtheir adversaries at your right hand.

8  Keep me as ^rthe apple of your eye;

hide me in ^sthe shadow of your wings,

9  from the wicked who do me violence,

my deadly enemies who ^tsurround me.

10  ^uThey close their hearts to pity;

with their mouths they ^vspeak arrogantly.

11  They have now surrounded our ^wsteps;

they set their eyes to ^xcast us to the ground.

12  He is like a lion eager to tear,

as a young lion ^ylurking 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 ^zmen of the world whose ^aportion is in this life.²

You fill their womb with treasure;³

they are satisfied with ^bchildren,

and they leave their abundance to their infants.

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

when I ^dawake, I shall be ^esatisfied with your likeness.

1  ^xClap your hands, all peoples!

^yShout to God with loud songs of joy!

2  For the Lord, the Most High, ^zis to be feared,

^aa great king over all the earth.

3  He ^bsubdued peoples under us,

and nations under our feet.

4  He chose our ^cheritage for us,

^dthe pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

5  God ^ehas 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 ^fthe King of all the earth;

sing praises ^gwith a psalm!¹

8  God ^hreigns over the nations;

God sits on his holy throne.

9  ⁱThe princes of the peoples gather

as the people of the God of Abraham.

For ^jthe shields of the earth belong to God;

he is highly exalted!

1  I ^acry aloud to God,

aloud to God, and he will hear me.

2  ^bIn the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;

in ^cthe night my ^dhand is stretched out without wearying;

my soul ^erefuses to be comforted.

3  When I remember God, I ^fmoan;

when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

4  You hold my eyelids open;

I am so ^gtroubled that I cannot speak.

5  I consider ^hthe days of old,

the years long ago.

6  I said,¹ “Let me remember my ⁱsong in the night;

let me ^jmeditate in my heart.”

Then my spirit made a diligent search:

7  “Will the Lord ^kspurn forever,

and never again ^lbe favorable?

8  Has his steadfast love forever ceased?

Are his ^mpromises at an end for all time?

9  ⁿHas God forgotten to be gracious?

^oHas he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

10  Then I said, “I will appeal to this,

to the years of the ^pright hand of the Most High.”²

11  I will remember the deeds of the Lord;

yes, I will ^qremember your wonders of old.

12  I will ponder all your ^rwork,

and meditate on your ^smighty deeds.

13  Your way, O God, is ^tholy.

^uWhat god is great like our God?

14  You are the God who ^vworks wonders;

you have ^wmade known your might among the peoples.

15  You ^xwith your arm redeemed your people,

the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

16  When ^ythe waters saw you, O God,

when the waters saw you, they were afraid;

indeed, the deep trembled.

17  The clouds poured out water;

the skies ^zgave forth thunder;

your ^aarrows flashed on every side.

18  ^bThe crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;

^cyour lightnings lighted up the world;

the earth ^dtrembled and shook.

19  Your ^eway was through the sea,

your path through the great waters;

yet your footprints ^fwere unseen.³

20  You ^gled your people like a flock

by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

1  ^gOh give thanks to the Lord, ^hfor he is good,

for his steadfast love endures forever!

2  Let ⁱthe redeemed of the Lord say so,

whom he has ^jredeemed from trouble¹

3  and ^kgathered in from the lands,

from the east and from the west,

from the north and from the south.

4  Some ^lwandered in desert wastes,

finding no way ^mto a city to dwell in;

5  hungry and thirsty,

their soul ⁿfainted within them.

6  Then they ^ocried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

7  He led them by ^pa straight way

till they reached ^ma city to dwell in.

8  ^qLet them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

9  For he ^rsatisfies the longing soul,

^sand the hungry soul he fills with good things.

10  ^tSome sat in darkness and in ^uthe shadow of death,

prisoners in ^vaffliction and in irons,

11  for they ^whad rebelled against the words of God,

and ^xspurned the counsel of the Most High.

12  So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;

they fell down, ^ywith none to help.

13  ^zThen they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

14  He brought them out of ^adarkness and the shadow of death,

and ^bburst their bonds apart.

15  ^cLet them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

16  For he ^dshatters the doors of bronze

and cuts in two the bars of iron.

17  Some were ^efools through their sinful ways,

and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;

18  ^fthey loathed any kind of food,

and they ^gdrew near to ^hthe gates of death.

19  ⁱThen they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

20  He ^jsent out his word and ^khealed them,

and ^ldelivered them from their destruction.

21  ^mLet them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

22  And let them ⁿoffer sacrifices of thanksgiving,

and ^otell of his deeds in ^psongs of joy!

23  Some ^qwent down to the sea in ships,

doing business on the great waters;

24  they saw the deeds of the Lord,

his wondrous works in the deep.

25  For he ^rcommanded and ^sraised the stormy wind,

which lifted up the waves of the sea.

26  They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;

their courage ^tmelted away in their evil plight;

27  they reeled and ^ustaggered like drunken men

and ^vwere at their wits’ end.²

28  ^wThen they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

and he delivered them from their distress.

29  He ^xmade the storm be still,

and the waves of the sea were hushed.

30  Then they were glad that the waters³ were quiet,

and he brought them to their desired haven.

31  ^yLet them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

for his wondrous works to the children of man!

32  Let them ^zextol him in ^athe congregation of the people,

and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

33  He ^bturns rivers into a desert,

springs of water into thirsty ground,

34  ^ca fruitful land into a salty waste,

because of the evil of its inhabitants.

35  He ^dturns a desert into pools of water,

^ea parched land into springs of water.

36  And there he lets the hungry dwell,

and they establish ^fa city to live in;

37  they sow fields and plant vineyards

and get a fruitful yield.

38  ^gBy his blessing they multiply greatly,

and he does not let their livestock diminish.

39  When they are diminished and brought low

through oppression, evil, and sorrow,

40  ^hhe pours contempt on princes

and ⁱmakes them wander ^jin trackless wastes;

41  but ^khe raises up the needy out of affliction

and ^lmakes their families like flocks.

42  ^mThe upright see it and are glad,

and ⁿall wickedness shuts its mouth.

43  ^oWhoever is wise, let him attend to these things;

let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

1  By the waters of Babylon,

there we sat down and wept,

when we remembered Zion.

2  On the willows¹ there

we hung up our lyres.

3  For there our captors

required of us songs,

and our tormentors, mirth, saying,

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

4  ^sHow shall we sing the Lord’s song

in a foreign land?

5  If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

^tlet my right hand forget its skill!

6  Let my ^utongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

above my highest joy!

7  Remember, O Lord, against the ^vEdomites

^wthe day of Jerusalem,

how they said, ^x“Lay it bare, lay it bare,

down to its foundations!”

8  O daughter of Babylon, ^ydoomed to be destroyed,

blessed shall he be who ^zrepays you

with what you have done to us!

9  Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones

and ^adashes them against the rock!

1  ^mBetter is a dry morsel with quiet

than a house full of feasting¹ with strife.

2  A servant who deals wisely will rule over ⁿa son who acts shamefully

and ^owill share the inheritance as one of the brothers.

3  ^pThe crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

^qand the Lord tests hearts.

4  An evildoer listens to wicked lips,

and a liar gives ear to a mischievous tongue.

5  Whoever mocks the poor ^rinsults his Maker;

he who is ^sglad at calamity will not go ^tunpunished.

6  ^uGrandchildren are ^vthe crown of the aged,

and the glory of children is their fathers.

7  Fine speech is not ^wbecoming to a fool;

still less is ^xfalse speech to a prince.

8  ^yA bribe is like a magic² stone in the eyes of the one who gives it;

wherever he turns he prospers.

9  Whoever ^zcovers an offense seeks love,

but he who repeats a matter ^aseparates close friends.

10  A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding

than a hundred blows into a fool.

11  An evil man seeks only rebellion,

and ^ba cruel messenger will be sent against him.

12  Let a man meet ^ca she-bear robbed of her cubs

^drather than a fool in his folly.

13  If anyone ^ereturns evil for good,

^fevil will not depart from his house.

14  The beginning of strife is like letting out water,

so ^gquit before the quarrel breaks out.

15  He who ^hjustifies the wicked and he who ⁱcondemns the righteous

are both alike an abomination to the Lord.

16  Why should a fool have money in his hand ^jto buy wisdom

when he has no sense?

17  ^kA friend loves at all times,

and a brother is born for adversity.

18  One who lacks sense gives a pledge

and puts up security in the presence of his neighbor.

19  Whoever loves transgression loves strife;

he who ^lmakes his door high seeks destruction.

20  ^mA man of crooked heart does not discover good,

and one with a dishonest tongue falls into calamity.

21  He who ⁿsires a fool gets himself sorrow,

and the father of a fool has no joy.

22  ^oA joyful heart is good medicine,

but a crushed spirit ^pdries up the bones.

23  The wicked accepts ^qa bribe in secret³

to ^rpervert the ways of justice.

24  ^sThe discerning sets his face toward wisdom,

but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth.

25  ⁿA foolish son is a grief to his father

^tand bitterness to ^uher who bore him.

26  ^vTo impose a fine on a righteous man is not good,

nor to strike the noble for their uprightness.

27  Whoever ^wrestrains his words has knowledge,

and he who has a cool spirit is a man of understanding.

28  Even a fool ^xwho keeps silent is considered wise;

when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent.