1  I love you, O Lord, my strength.

2  The Lord is my ⁱrock and my ^jfortress and my deliverer,

my God, my ⁱrock, in ^kwhom I take refuge,

my ^lshield, and ^mthe horn of my salvation, my ⁿstronghold.

3  I call upon the Lord, who is ^oworthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

4  ^pThe cords of death encompassed me;

^qthe torrents of destruction assailed me;¹

5  ^pthe cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

6  ^rIn my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I cried for help.

From his ^stemple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

7  Then the earth ^treeled and rocked;

the foundations also of the mountains trembled

and quaked, because he was angry.

8  Smoke went up from his nostrils,²

and devouring ^ufire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him.

9  He ^vbowed the heavens and ^wcame down;

^xthick darkness was under his feet.

10  He rode on a cherub and flew;

he came swiftly on ^zthe wings of the wind.

11  He made darkness his covering, his ^acanopy around him,

thick clouds ^bdark with water.

12  Out of the brightness before him

^chailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

13  The Lord also ^dthundered in the heavens,

and the Most High uttered his ^evoice,

hailstones and coals of fire.

14  And he sent out his ^farrows and scattered them;

he flashed forth lightnings and ^grouted them.

15  Then ^hthe channels of the sea were seen,

and the foundations of the world were laid bare

at your ⁱrebuke, O Lord,

at the blast of ^jthe breath of your nostrils.

16  He ^ksent from on high, he took me;

he ^ldrew me out of ^mmany waters.

17  He rescued me from my strong enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were ⁿtoo mighty for me.

18  They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the Lord was my support.

19  He brought me out into ^oa broad place;

he rescued me, because he ^pdelighted in me.

20  The Lord dealt with me ^qaccording to my righteousness;

according to ^rthe cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

21  For I have ^skept the ways of the Lord,

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

22  For ^tall his rules³ were before me,

and his statutes I did not put away from me.

23  I was ^ublameless before him,

and I kept myself from my guilt.

24  So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25  With ^vthe merciful you show yourself merciful;

with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

26  with the purified you show yourself pure;

and with ^wthe crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

27  For you save ^xa humble people,

but ^ythe haughty eyes you bring down.

28  For it is you who light my ^zlamp;

the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

29  For by you I can run against a troop,

and by my God I can ^aleap over ^ba wall.

30  This God—his way is ^cperfect;⁴

the word of the Lord ^dproves true;

he is ^ea shield for all those who ^ftake refuge in him.

31  For ^gwho is God, but the Lord?

And who is ^ha rock, except our God?—

32  the God who ⁱequipped me with strength

and made my way ^jblameless.

33  He made my feet like the feet of a ^kdeer

and set me secure on ^lthe heights.

34  He ^mtrains my hands for war,

so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35  You have given me the shield of your salvation,

and your right hand ⁿsupported me,

and your ^ogentleness made me great.

36  You ^pgave a wide place for my steps under me,

and my feet did not slip.

37  I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

and did not turn back till they were consumed.

38  I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;

they fell under my feet.

39  For you equipped me with strength for the battle;

you made those who rise against me sink under me.

40  You made my enemies ^qturn their backs to me,⁵

and those who hated me I destroyed.

41  ^rThey cried for help, but there was none to save;

they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

42  I beat them fine as ^sdust before the wind;

I cast them out like ^tthe mire of the streets.

43  You delivered me from ^ustrife with the people;

you made me ^vthe head of the nations;

^wpeople whom I had not known served me.

44  As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;

^xforeigners ^ycame cringing to me.

45  ^xForeigners lost heart

and ^zcame trembling out of their fortresses.

46  The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,

and exalted be the God of my salvation—

47  the God who gave me vengeance

and ^asubdued peoples under me,

48  who rescued me from my enemies;

yes, you ^bexalted me above those who rose against me;

you delivered me from ^cthe man of violence.

49  ^dFor this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,

and ^esing to your name.

50  Great ^fsalvation he brings to his king,

and shows steadfast love to his ^ganointed,

to ^hDavid and his offspring forever.

1  ^lGreat is the Lord and greatly to be praised

in ^mthe city of our God!

His ⁿholy mountain, 2 ^obeautiful in elevation,

is ^pthe joy of all the earth,

Mount Zion, in the far north,

^qthe city of the great King.

3  Within her citadels God

has made himself known as a fortress.

4  For behold, ^rthe 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  ^sTrembling took hold of them there,

anguish ^tas of a woman in labor.

7  By ^uthe east wind you ^vshattered

the ships of ^wTarshish.

8  As we have heard, so have we seen

in the city of the Lord of hosts,

in ^mthe city of our God,

which God will ^xestablish forever. Selah

9  We have thought on your ^ysteadfast love, O God,

in the midst of your temple.

10  As your ^zname, O God,

so your praise reaches to ^athe ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with righteousness.

11  Let Mount ^bZion be glad!

Let ^bthe daughters of Judah rejoice

because of your judgments!

12  Walk about Zion, go around her,

number her towers,

13  consider well her ^cramparts,

go through her citadels,

^dthat you may tell the next generation

14  that this is God,

our God forever and ever.

He will ^eguide us forever.¹

1  ⁱGive ear, O my people, to my teaching;

incline your ears to the words of my mouth!

2  ^jI will open my mouth ^kin a parable;

I will utter dark sayings from of old,

3  things that we have heard and known,

that our ^lfathers have told us.

4  We will not ^mhide them from their children,

but ⁿtell to the coming generation

the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,

and ^othe wonders that he has done.

5  He established ^pa testimony in ^qJacob

and appointed a law in ^qIsrael,

which he commanded our fathers

to teach to their children,

6  that ^rthe next generation might know them,

the children yet unborn,

and arise and tell them to their children,

7  so that they should set their hope in God

and not forget ^sthe works of God,

but ^tkeep his commandments;

8  and that they should not be ^ulike their fathers,

^va stubborn and rebellious generation,

a generation ^wwhose heart was not steadfast,

whose spirit was not faithful to God.

9  The Ephraimites, armed with² the bow,

^xturned back on the day of battle.

10  They ^ydid not keep God’s covenant,

but refused to walk according to his law.

11  They ^zforgot his works

and ^athe wonders that he had shown them.

12  In the sight of their fathers ^bhe performed wonders

in the land of Egypt, in ^cthe fields of Zoan.

13  He ^ddivided the sea and let them pass through it,

and made the waters ^estand like a heap.

14  ^fIn the daytime he led them with a cloud,

and all the night with a fiery light.

15  He ^gsplit rocks in the wilderness

and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.

16  He made streams come out of ^hthe rock

and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

17  Yet they sinned still more against him,

ⁱrebelling against the Most High in the desert.

18  They ^jtested God in their heart

by demanding the food they craved.

19  They spoke against God, saying,

^k“Can God ^lspread a table in the wilderness?

20  ^mHe struck the rock so that water gushed out

and streams overflowed.

Can he also give bread

or provide meat for his people?”

21  Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;

ⁿa fire was kindled against Jacob;

his anger rose against Israel,

22  because they ^odid not believe in God

and did not trust his saving power.

23  Yet he commanded the skies above

and ^popened the doors of heaven,

24  and he ^qrained down on them manna to eat

and gave them ^rthe grain of heaven.

25  Man ate of the bread of ^sthe angels;

he sent them food ^tin abundance.

26  He ^ucaused the east wind to blow in the heavens,

and by his power he led out the south wind;

27  he rained meat on them like ^vdust,

winged birds like ^wthe sand of the seas;

28  he ^xlet them fall in the midst of their camp,

all around their dwellings.

29  And they ^yate and were well filled,

for he gave them what they ^zcraved.

30  But before they had satisfied their craving,

^awhile the food was still in their mouths,

31  the anger of God rose against them,

and he killed ^bthe strongest of them

and laid low ^cthe young men of Israel.

32  In spite of all this, they ^dstill sinned;

^edespite his wonders, they did not believe.

33  So he made ^ftheir days ^gvanish like³ a breath,⁴

and their years in terror.

34  When he killed them, they ^hsought him;

they repented and sought God earnestly.

35  They remembered that God was their ⁱrock,

the Most High God their ^jredeemer.

36  But they ^kflattered him with their mouths;

they ^llied to him with their tongues.

37  Their ^mheart was not ⁿsteadfast toward him;

they were not faithful to his covenant.

38  Yet he, being ^ocompassionate,

^patoned for their iniquity

and did not destroy them;

he restrained his anger often

and did not stir up all his wrath.

39  He ^qremembered that they were but ^rflesh,

^sa wind that passes and comes not again.

40  How often they ^trebelled against him in the wilderness

and ^ugrieved him in ^vthe desert!

41  They ^wtested God again and again

and provoked ^xthe Holy One of Israel.

42  They ^ydid not remember his power⁵

or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,

43  ^zwhen he performed his ^asigns in Egypt

and his ^bmarvels in ^cthe fields of Zoan.

44  He ^dturned their rivers to blood,

so that they could not drink of their streams.

45  He sent among them swarms of ^eflies, which devoured them,

and ^ffrogs, which destroyed them.

46  He gave their crops to ^gthe destroying locust

and the fruit of their labor to the locust.

47  He destroyed their vines with ^hhail

and their sycamores with frost.

48  He gave over their ⁱcattle to the hail

and their flocks to thunderbolts.

49  He let loose on them his burning anger,

wrath, indignation, and distress,

a company of ^jdestroying angels.

50  He made a path for his anger;

he did not spare them from death,

but gave their lives over to the plague.

51  He struck down every ^kfirstborn in Egypt,

the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of ^lHam.

52  Then he led out his people ^mlike sheep

and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

53  ⁿHe led them in safety, so that they ^owere not afraid,

but ^pthe sea overwhelmed their enemies.

54  And he brought them to his ^qholy land,

^rto the mountain which his right hand had ^swon.

55  He ^tdrove out nations before them;

he ^uapportioned them for a possession

and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

56  Yet they ^vtested and ^wrebelled against the Most High God

and did not keep his testimonies,

57  but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers;

they twisted like ^xa deceitful bow.

58  For they ^yprovoked him to anger with their ^zhigh places;

they ^amoved him to jealousy with their ^bidols.

59  When God heard, he was full of ^cwrath,

and he utterly rejected Israel.

60  He ^dforsook his dwelling at ^eShiloh,

the tent where he dwelt among mankind,

61  and delivered his ^fpower to captivity,

his ^gglory to the hand of the foe.

62  He ^hgave his people over to the sword

and ⁱvented his wrath on his heritage.

63  ^jFire devoured their young men,

and their young women had no ^kmarriage song.

64  Their ^lpriests fell by the sword,

and their ^mwidows made no lamentation.

65  Then the Lord ⁿawoke as from sleep,

like a strong man shouting because of wine.

66  And he ^oput his adversaries to rout;

he put them to everlasting shame.

67  He rejected the tent of ^pJoseph;

he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,

68  but he chose the tribe of Judah,

Mount Zion, which he ^qloves.

69  He ^rbuilt his sanctuary like the high heavens,

like the earth, which he has founded forever.

70  He ^schose David his servant

and took him from the sheepfolds;

71  from ^tfollowing the nursing ewes he brought him

to ^ushepherd Jacob his people,

Israel his ^vinheritance.

72  With ^wupright heart he shepherded them

and ^xguided them with his skillful hand.

1  ^pMy heart is steadfast, O God!

I will sing and make melody with all my being!¹

2  Awake, O harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn!

3  I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations.

4  For your steadfast love is great ^qabove the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

5  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let your glory be over all the earth!

6  ^rThat your beloved ones may be delivered,

give salvation by your right hand and answer me!

7  God has promised in his holiness:²

“With exultation I will divide up Shechem

and portion out the Valley of Succoth.

8  Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;

Ephraim is my helmet,

Judah my scepter.

9  Moab is my washbasin;

upon Edom I cast my shoe;

^sover Philistia I shout in triumph.”

10  Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

11  Have you not rejected us, O God?

You do not go out, O God, with our armies.

12  Oh grant us help against the foe,

for vain is the salvation of man!

13  With God we shall do valiantly;

it is he who will tread down our foes.

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

before ^cthe gods I sing your praise;

2  I bow down ^dtoward your ^eholy temple

and give 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  On the day I called, you answered me;

my strength of soul you increased.²

4  ^fAll 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 ^gthe ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

6  ^hFor though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,

but the haughty he knows from afar.

7  ⁱThough I walk in the midst of trouble,

you ^jpreserve my life;

you ^kstretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

and your ^lright hand delivers me.

8  The Lord will ^mfulfill his purpose for me;

ⁿyour steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake ^othe work of your hands.

1  Whoever ^yisolates himself seeks his own desire;

he breaks out against all sound judgment.

2  A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,

but only ^zin expressing his opinion.

3  When wickedness comes, contempt comes also,

and with dishonor comes disgrace.

4  The words of a man’s mouth are ^adeep waters;

the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.

5  It is not good to ^bbe partial to¹ the wicked

or to ^cdeprive the righteous of justice.

6  A fool’s lips walk into a fight,

and his mouth invites ^da beating.

7  ^eA fool’s mouth is his ruin,

and his lips are a snare to his soul.

8  ^fThe words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels;

they go down into ^gthe inner parts of the body.

9  Whoever is slack in his work

is a ^hbrother to him who destroys.

10  ⁱThe name of the Lord is ^ja strong tower;

the righteous man runs into it and ^kis safe.

11  ^lA rich man’s wealth is his strong city,

and like a high wall in his imagination.

12  ^mBefore destruction a man’s heart is haughty,

but ⁿhumility comes before honor.

13  If one gives an answer ^obefore he hears,

it is his folly and shame.

14  A man’s spirit will endure sickness,

but ^pa crushed spirit who can bear?

15  An intelligent heart acquires knowledge,

and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.

16  A man’s ^qgift makes room for him

and brings him before the great.

17  The one who states his case first seems right,

until the other comes and examines him.

18  ^rThe lot puts an end to quarrels

and decides between powerful contenders.

19  A brother offended is more unyielding than a strong city,

and quarreling is like the bars of a castle.

20  ^sFrom the fruit of a man’s mouth his stomach is satisfied;

he is satisfied by the yield of his lips.

21  ^tDeath and life are in the power of the tongue,

and those who love it will eat its fruits.

22  He who finds ^ua wife finds ^va good thing

and ^wobtains favor ^xfrom the Lord.

23  The poor use entreaties,

but ^ythe rich answer roughly.

24  A man of many companions may come to ruin,

but ^zthere is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.