Psalm 1; Psalm 31; Psalm 61; Psalm 91; Psalm 121; Proverbs 1

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Psalm 1

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

Blessed is the man1

who awalks not in bthe counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in cthe way of sinners,

nor dsits in ethe seat of fscoffers;

but his gdelight is in the law2 of the Lord,

and on his hlaw he meditates day and night.

He is like ia tree

planted by jstreams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its kleaf does not wither.

lIn all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,

but are like mchaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked nwill not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in othe congregation of the righteous;

for the Lord pknows qthe way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.


Psalm 31

Into Your Hand I Commit My Spirit

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

oIn you, O Lord, do I ptake refuge;

qlet me never be put to shame;

in your rrighteousness deliver me!

Incline your ear to me;

rescue me speedily!

Be sa rock of trefuge for me,

a strong fortress to save me!

For you are my rock and my fortress;

and for your uname’s sake you lead me and guide me;

you vtake me out of wthe net they have hidden for me,

for you are my xrefuge.

yInto your hand I commit my spirit;

you have redeemed me, O Lord, zfaithful God.

I ahate1 those who pay bregard to worthless cidols,

but I trust in the Lord.

I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,

because you have seen my affliction;

you have dknown the distress of my soul,

and you have not edelivered me into the hand of the enemy;

you have set my feet in fa broad place.

Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am gin distress;

hmy eye is wasted from grief;

my soul and my body also.

10  For my life is spent with sorrow,

and my years with sighing;

my strength fails because of my iniquity,

and imy bones waste away.

11  Because of all my adversaries I have become ja reproach,

especially to my kneighbors,

and an object of dread to my acquaintances;

those who see me in the street lflee from me.

12  I have been mforgotten like one who is dead;

I have become like na broken vessel.

13  For I ohear the whispering of many

terror on every side!

pas they scheme together against me,

as they plot to take my life.

14  But I qtrust in you, O Lord;

I say, You are my God.

15  My rtimes are in your hand;

srescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!

16  tMake your face shine on your servant;

save me in your steadfast love!

17  O Lord, ulet me not be put to shame,

for I call upon you;

let the wicked be put to shame;

let them go vsilently to Sheol.

18  Let the lying lips be mute,

which wspeak xinsolently against the righteous

in pride and contempt.

19  Oh, how abundant is your goodness,

which you have stored up for those who fear you

and worked for those who take refuge in you,

yin the sight of the children of mankind!

20  In zthe cover of your presence you hide them

from the plots of men;

you astore them in your shelter

from the strife of tongues.

21  Blessed be the Lord,

for he has wondrously bshown his steadfast love to me

when I was in ca besieged city.

22  I had said in my dalarm,2

I am ecut off from fyour sight.

But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy

when I cried to you for help.

23  Love the Lord, all you his gsaints!

The Lord preserves the faithful

but abundantly hrepays the one who acts in pride.

24  iBe strong, and let your heart take courage,

all you who wait for the Lord!


Psalm 61

Lead Me to the Rock

To the choirmaster: with lstringed instruments. Of David.

Hear my cry, O God,

mlisten to my prayer;

from the end of the earth I call to you

when my heart is nfaint.

Lead me to othe rock

that is higher than I,

for you have been pmy refuge,

a strong qtower against the enemy.

Let me rdwell in your tent forever!

Let me take refuge under sthe shelter of your wings! Selah

For you, O God, have heard my vows;

you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

tProlong uthe life of the king;

may his years endure to all generations!

May he be enthroned forever before God;

appoint vsteadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!

So will I ever sing praises to your name,

as I wperform my vows day after day.


Psalm 91

My Refuge and My Fortress

He who dwells in athe shelter of the Most High

will abide in bthe shadow of the Almighty.

I will say1 to the Lord, My crefuge and my dfortress,

my God, in whom I etrust.

For he will deliver you from fthe snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence.

He will gcover you with his pinions,

and under his hwings you will ifind refuge;

his jfaithfulness is ka shield and buckler.

lYou will not fear mthe terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

You will only look with your eyes

and nsee the recompense of the wicked.

Because you have made the Lord your odwelling place

the Most High, who is my crefuge2

10  pno evil shall be allowed to befall you,

qno plague come near your tent.

11  rFor he will command his sangels concerning you

to tguard you in all your ways.

12  On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you ustrike your foot against a stone.

13  You will tread on vthe lion and the wadder;

the young lion and xthe serpent you will ytrample underfoot.

14  Because he zholds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;

I will protect him, because he aknows my name.

15  When he bcalls to me, I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and chonor him.

16  With dlong life I will satisfy him

and eshow him my salvation.


Psalm 121

My Help Comes from the Lord

A Song of mAscents.

I vlift up my eyes to wthe hills.

From where does my help come?

xMy help comes from the Lord,

who ymade heaven and earth.

He will not zlet your foot be moved;

he who akeeps you will not slumber.

Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your bshade on your cright hand.

dThe sun shall not estrike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

The Lord will akeep you from all evil;

he will akeep your life.

The Lord will keep

your fgoing out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.


Proverbs 1

The Beginning of Knowledge

aThe proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

To know wisdom and instruction,

to understand words of insight,

to receive instruction in wise dealing,

in brighteousness, justice, and equity;

to give prudence to cthe simple,

knowledge and ddiscretion to the youth

Let the wise hear and eincrease in learning,

and the one who understands obtain guidance,

to understand a proverb and a saying,

fthe words of the wise and their griddles.

hThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners

iHear, my son, your father’s instruction,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching,

for they are ja graceful garland for your head

and kpendants for your neck.

10  My son, if sinners lentice you,

do not consent.

11  If they say, Come with us, mlet us lie in wait for blood;

nlet us ambush the innocent without reason;

12  like Sheol let us oswallow them alive,

and whole, like pthose who go down to the pit;

13  we shall find all precious goods,

we shall fill our houses with plunder;

14  throw in your lot among us;

we will all have one purse

15  my son, qdo not walk in the way with them;

rhold back your foot from their paths,

16  for stheir feet run to evil,

and they make haste to shed blood.

17  tFor in vain is a net spread

in the sight of any bird,

18  but these men ulie in wait for their own blood;

they uset an ambush for their own lives.

19  vSuch are the ways of everyone who is wgreedy for unjust gain;

xit takes away the life of its possessors.

The Call of Wisdom

20  yWisdom cries aloud in the street,

in the markets she raises her voice;

21  at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

at zthe entrance of the city gates she speaks:

22  How long, O asimple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will bscoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools chate knowledge?

23  If you turn at my reproof,1

behold, I will dpour out my spirit to you;

I will make my words known to you.

24  eBecause I have called and fyou refused to listen,

have gstretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

25  because you have hignored all my counsel

and iwould have none of my reproof,

26  I also jwill laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when kterror strikes you,

27  when terror strikes you like la storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

28  mThen they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

29  Because they chated knowledge

and ndid not choose the fear of the Lord,

30  hwould have none of my counsel

and idespised all my reproof,

31  therefore they shall eat othe fruit of their way,

and have ptheir fill of their own devices.

32  For the simple are killed by qtheir turning away,

and rthe complacency of fools destroys them;

33  but swhoever listens to me will dwell secure

and will be tat ease, without dread of disaster.