Book One
The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked
who walks not in the bcounsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;
2 but his cdelight is in the law2 of the Lord,
and on his law he dmeditates day and night.
3 eHe is like a tree
planted by streams of water
that fyields its fruit in its season,
and its leaf does not wither.
In all that he does, he gprospers.
4 The wicked are not so,
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
6 for hthe Lord knows the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.
The Lord Is My Shepherd
A Psalm of David.
1 The Lord is my bshepherd; cI shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in dgreen pastures.
He eleads me beside still waters.1
3 He frestores my soul.
He gleads me in hpaths of righteousness2
ifor his name’s sake.
4 jEven though I walk through the valley of the kshadow of death,3
I will fear no evil,
for you are lwith me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a mtable before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely4 goodness and mercy5 shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall ndwell6 in the house of the Lord
forever.7
Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
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.1
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.2
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!3
24 And see if there be any grievous way in me,
