1  The Lord is my ^hlight and my ⁱsalvation;

^jwhom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold¹ of my life;

of whom shall I be afraid?

2  When evildoers assail me

to ^keat up my flesh,

my adversaries and foes,

it is they who stumble and fall.

3  ^lThough an army encamp against me,

my heart shall not fear;

though war arise against me,

yet² I will be confident.

4  ^mOne thing have I asked of the Lord,

that will I seek after:

that I may ⁿdwell in the house of the Lord

all the days of my life,

to gaze upon ^othe beauty of the Lord

and to inquire³ in his temple.

5  For he will ^phide me in his shelter

in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

he will ^qlift me high upon a rock.

6  And now my ^rhead shall be lifted up

above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

sacrifices with shouts of ^sjoy;

^tI will sing and make melody to the Lord.

7  ^uHear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;

be gracious to me and answer me!

8  You have said, ^v“Seek⁴ my face.”

My heart says to you,

“Your face, Lord, do I seek.”⁵

9  ^wHide not your face from me.

Turn not your servant away in anger,

O you who have been my help.

Cast me not off; forsake me not,

^xO God of my salvation!

10  For ^ymy father and my mother have forsaken me,

but the Lord will ^ztake me in.

11  ^aTeach me your way, O Lord,

and lead me on ^ba level path

because of my enemies.

12  ^cGive me not up to the will of my adversaries;

for ^dfalse witnesses have risen against me,

and they ^ebreathe out violence.

13  I believe that I shall look⁶ upon ^fthe goodness of the Lord

in ^gthe land of the living!

14  ^hWait for the Lord;

ⁱbe strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the Lord!

1  ^lBe merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,

for in you my soul ^mtakes refuge;

in ⁿthe shadow of your wings I will take refuge,

^otill the storms of destruction pass by.

2  I cry out to God Most High,

to God who ^pfulfills his purpose for me.

3  ^qHe will send from heaven and save me;

he will put to shame ^rhim who tramples on me. Selah

^sGod will send out ^this steadfast love and his faithfulness!

4  My soul is in the midst of ^ulions;

I lie down amid fiery beasts—

the children of man, whose ^vteeth are spears and arrows,

whose ^wtongues are sharp swords.

5  ^xBe exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let your glory be over all the earth!

6  They set ^ya net for my steps;

my soul was ^zbowed down.

They ^adug a pit in my way,

but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah

7  ^bMy heart is ^csteadfast, O God,

my heart is steadfast!

I will sing and make melody!

8  ^dAwake, ^emy glory!²

Awake, ^fO harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn!

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

I will sing praises to you among the nations.

10  For your ^gsteadfast love is great to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

11  ^xBe exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let your glory be over all the earth!

1  On ^mthe holy mount ⁿstands the city he founded;

2  the Lord ^oloves the gates of Zion

more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.

3  ^pGlorious things of you are spoken,

O ^qcity of God. Selah

4  Among those who ^rknow me I mention ^sRahab and Babylon;

behold, Philistia and Tyre, with ^tCush¹—

“This one was born there,” they say.

5  And of Zion it shall be said,

“This one and that one were born in her”;

for the Most High himself will ^uestablish her.

6  The Lord records as he ^vregisters the peoples,

“This one was born there.” Selah

7  ^wSingers and ^xdancers alike say,

“All my ^ysprings are in you.”

1  ^cPraise the Lord, all nations!

Extol him, all peoples!

2  For ^dgreat is his steadfast love toward us,

and ^ethe faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.

^bPraise the Lord!

1  ⁱPraise the Lord!

For ^jit is good to sing praises to our God;

for ^kit is pleasant,¹ and ^la song of praise is fitting.

2  The Lord ^mbuilds up Jerusalem;

he ⁿgathers the outcasts of Israel.

3  He heals ^othe brokenhearted

and ^pbinds up their wounds.

4  He ^qdetermines the number of the stars;

he ^rgives to all of them their names.

5  ^sGreat is our Lord, and ^tabundant in power;

^uhis understanding is beyond measure.

6  The Lord ^vlifts up the humble;²

he casts the wicked to the ground.

7  ^wSing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

make melody to our God on ^xthe lyre!

8  He covers the heavens with clouds;

he prepares ^yrain for the earth;

he makes ^zgrass grow on the hills.

9  He ^agives to the beasts their food,

and to ^bthe young ravens that cry.

10  His delight is not in ^cthe strength of the horse,

nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,

11  but the Lord ^dtakes pleasure in those who fear him,

in those who ^ehope in his steadfast love.

12  Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!

Praise your God, O Zion!

13  For he strengthens ^fthe bars of your gates;

he blesses your children within you.

14  He ^gmakes peace in your borders;

he ^hfills you with the ⁱfinest of the wheat.

15  He ^jsends out his command to the earth;

his word runs swiftly.

16  He gives ^ksnow like wool;

he scatters ^lfrost like ashes.

17  He hurls down his crystals of ^mice like crumbs;

who can stand before his ⁿcold?

18  He ^osends out his word, and melts them;

he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.

19  He declares his word to Jacob,

his ^pstatutes and rules³ to Israel.

20  He ^qhas not dealt thus with any other nation;

they do not know his rules.⁴

^rPraise the Lord!

1  Do not boast about tomorrow,

^yfor you do not know what a day may bring.

2  Let ^zanother praise you, and not your own mouth;

a stranger, and not your own lips.

3  A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,

but ^aa fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

4  Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,

but who can stand before ^bjealousy?

5  ^cBetter is open rebuke

than hidden love.

6  Faithful are ^dthe wounds of a friend;

profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

7  One who is full loathes ^ehoney,

but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.

8  Like ^fa bird that strays from its nest

is a man who strays from his home.

9  ^gOil and perfume make the heart glad,

and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.¹

10  Do not forsake your friend and ^hyour father’s friend,

and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.

ⁱBetter is a neighbor who is near

than a brother who is far away.

11  ^jBe wise, ^kmy son, and ^lmake my heart glad,

that I may ^manswer him who reproaches me.

12  ⁿThe prudent sees danger and hides himself,

but ^othe simple go on and suffer for it.

13  ^pTake a man’s garment when he has put up security for a stranger,

and hold it in pledge when he puts up security for an adulteress.²

14  Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice,

rising early in the morning,

will be counted as cursing.

15  ^qA continual dripping on a rainy day

and a quarrelsome wife are alike;

16  to restrain her is to restrain the wind

or to grasp³ oil in one’s right hand.

17  Iron sharpens iron,

and one man sharpens another.⁴

18  ^rWhoever tends a fig tree will eat its fruit,

and he who ^sguards his master will be honored.

19  As in water face reflects face,

so the heart of man reflects the man.

20  ^tSheol and Abaddon are ^unever satisfied,

and ^vnever satisfied are the eyes of man.

21  ^wThe crucible is for silver, and the furnace is for gold,

and a man is tested by his praise.

22  ^xCrush a fool in a mortar with a pestle

along with crushed grain,

yet his folly will not depart from him.

23  ^yKnow well the condition of your flocks,

and ^ygive attention to your herds,

24  for ^zriches do not last forever;

and does a crown endure to all generations?

25  ^aWhen the grass is gone and the new growth appears

and the vegetation of the mountains is gathered,

26  ^bthe lambs will provide your clothing,

and the goats the price of a field.

27  ^bThere will be enough goats’ milk for your food,

for the food of your household

and maintenance for your girls.