1  I will bless the Lord ^pat all times;

his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

2  My soul ^qmakes its boast in the Lord;

let the humble hear and ^rbe glad.

3  Oh, ^smagnify the Lord with me,

and let us exalt his name together!

4  I ^tsought the Lord, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

5  Those who look to him are ^uradiant,

and their faces shall never be ashamed.

6  ^vThis poor man cried, and the Lord heard him

and ^wsaved him out of all his troubles.

7  ^xThe angel of the Lord ^yencamps

around those who fear him, and delivers them.

8  Oh, ^ztaste and see that ^athe Lord is good!

^bBlessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

9  Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,

for those who fear him have no lack!

10  ^cThe young lions suffer want and hunger;

but those who ^dseek the Lord lack no good thing.

11  ^eCome, O children, listen to me;

^fI will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12  ^gWhat man is there who desires life

and loves many days, that he may ^hsee good?

13  ⁱKeep your tongue from evil

and your lips from ^jspeaking deceit.

14  ^kTurn away from evil and do good;

seek peace and ^lpursue it.

15  ^mThe eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

ⁿand his ears toward their cry.

16  ^oThe face of the Lord is against those who do evil,

to ^pcut off the memory of them from the earth.

17  ⁿWhen the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears

and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18  The Lord is near to ^qthe brokenhearted

and saves ^rthe crushed in spirit.

19  ^sMany are the afflictions of the righteous,

^tbut the Lord delivers him out of them all.

20  He keeps all his bones;

^unot one of them is broken.

21  ^vAffliction will slay the wicked,

and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

22  The Lord ^wredeems the life of his servants;

none of those who take refuge in him will be ^xcondemned.

1  Contend, O Lord, with those who ^ycontend with me;

^zfight against those who fight against me!

2  Take hold of ^ashield and buckler

and rise for my help!

3  Draw the spear and javelin²

against my pursuers!

Say to my soul,

“I am your salvation!”

4  ^bLet them be ^cput to shame and dishonor

who seek after my life!

Let them be ^dturned back and disappointed

who devise evil against me!

5  Let them be like ^echaff before the wind,

with the angel of the Lord driving them away!

6  Let their way be dark and ^fslippery,

with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

7  For ^gwithout cause ^hthey hid their net for me;

without cause they dug ⁱa pit for my life.³

8  Let ^jdestruction come upon him ^kwhen he does not know it!

And let the net that he hid ensnare him;

let him fall into it—to his destruction!

9  Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,

^lexulting in his salvation.

10  All my ^mbones shall say,

“O Lord, ⁿwho is like you,

delivering the poor

from him who is too strong for him,

the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

11  ^oMalicious⁴ witnesses rise up;

they ask me of things that I do not know.

12  ^pThey repay me evil for good;

my soul is bereft.⁵

13  But I, ^qwhen they were sick—

I ^rwore sackcloth;

I ^safflicted myself with fasting;

I prayed ^twith head bowed⁶ on my chest.

14  I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;

as one who laments his mother,

I ^ubowed down in mourning.

15  But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;

they gathered together against me;

^vwretches whom I did not know

tore at me without ceasing;

16  like profane mockers at a feast,⁷

they ^wgnash at me with their teeth.

17  How long, O Lord, will you ^xlook on?

Rescue me from their destruction,

^ymy precious life from the lions!

18  I will thank you in ^zthe great congregation;

in the mighty throng I will praise you.

19  ^aLet not those rejoice over me

who are ^bwrongfully my foes,

and let not those ^cwink the eye

who ^dhate me ^ewithout cause.

20  For they do not speak peace,

but against those who are quiet in the land

they devise words of deceit.

21  They ^fopen wide their mouths against me;

they say, ^g“Aha, Aha!

Our eyes have seen it!”

22  ^hYou have seen, O Lord; ⁱbe not silent!

O Lord, ^jbe not far from me!

23  Awake and ^krouse yourself for ^lmy vindication,

for my cause, my God and my Lord!

24  ^mVindicate me, O Lord, my God,

according to your righteousness,

and ⁿlet them not rejoice over me!

25  Let them not say in their hearts,

^o“Aha, our heart’s desire!”

Let them not say, ^p“We have swallowed him up.”

26  Let them be ^qput to shame and disappointed altogether

who rejoice at my calamity!

Let them be ^rclothed with shame and dishonor

who ^smagnify themselves against me!

27  Let those who delight in my righteousness

shout for joy and be glad

^tand say evermore,

^u“Great is the Lord,

who ^vdelights in the welfare of his servant!”

28  Then my ^wtongue shall tell of your righteousness

and of your praise all the day long.

1  Transgression speaks to the wicked

deep in his heart;⁸

^ythere is no fear of God

before his eyes.

2  ^zFor he flatters himself in his own eyes

that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

3  The words of his mouth are ^atrouble and deceit;

^bhe has ceased to act wisely and do good.

4  He ^cplots ^dtrouble while on his bed;

he sets himself in ^ea way that is not good;

^fhe does not reject evil.

5  Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

6  ^gYour righteousness is like the mountains of God;

^hyour judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you ⁱsave, O Lord.

7  ^jHow precious is your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge ^kin the shadow of your wings.

8  They feast on ^lthe abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from ^mthe river of ⁿyour delights.

9  For with you is ^othe fountain of life;

^pin your light do we see light.

10  Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who ^qknow you,

and your righteousness to ^rthe upright of heart!

11  Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12  There ^sthe evildoers lie fallen;

they are thrust down, ^tunable to rise.

1  ^uFret not yourself because of evildoers;

be not ^venvious of wrongdoers!

2  For they will soon ^wfade like ^xthe grass

and wither ^ylike the green herb.

3  ^zTrust in the Lord, and do good;

^adwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.¹⁰

4  ^bDelight yourself in the Lord,

and he will ^cgive you the desires of your heart.

5  ^dCommit your way to the Lord;

^ztrust in him, and he will act.

6  ^eHe will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as ^fthe noonday.

7  ^gBe still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

^hfret not yourself over the one who ⁱprospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

8  ^jRefrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

^hFret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

9  ^kFor the evildoers shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the Lord shall ^linherit the land.

10  In ^mjust a little while, the wicked will be no more;

though you look carefully at ⁿhis place, he will not be there.

11  But ^othe meek shall inherit the land

and delight themselves in ^pabundant peace.

12  The wicked ^qplots against the righteous

and ^rgnashes his teeth at him,

13  but the Lord ^slaughs at the wicked,

for he sees that his ^tday is coming.

14  The wicked draw the sword and ^ubend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose ^vway is upright;

15  their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their ^wbows shall be broken.

16  ^xBetter is the little that the righteous has

than the abundance of many wicked.

17  For ^ythe arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but the Lord ^zupholds the righteous.

18  The Lord ^aknows the days of the blameless,

and their ^bheritage will remain forever;

19  they are not put to shame in evil times;

in ^cthe days of famine they have abundance.

20  But the wicked will perish;

the enemies of the Lord are like ^dthe glory of the pastures;

they vanish—like ^esmoke they vanish away.

21  The wicked borrows but does not pay back,

but the righteous ^fis generous and gives;

22  for those blessed by the Lord¹¹ shall ^ginherit the land,

but those cursed by him ^hshall be cut off.

23  The ⁱsteps of a man are ^jestablished by the Lord,

when he delights in his way;

24  ^kthough he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,

for the Lord ^lupholds his hand.

25  I have been young, and now am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or his children ^mbegging for bread.

26  He is ever ⁿlending generously,

and his children become a blessing.

27  ^oTurn away from evil and do good;

so shall you ^pdwell forever.

28  For the Lord ^qloves justice;

he will not forsake his ^rsaints.

They are preserved forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be ^scut off.

29  The righteous shall inherit the land

and ^pdwell upon it forever.

30  The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks justice.

31  ^tThe law of his God is in his heart;

his ^usteps do not slip.

32  The wicked ^vwatches for the righteous

and seeks to put him to death.

33  The Lord will not ^wabandon him to his power

or let him ^xbe condemned when he is brought to trial.

34  ^yWait for the Lord and keep his way,

and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

you will look on ^zwhen the wicked are cut off.

35  ^aI have seen a wicked, ruthless man,

spreading himself like ^ba green laurel tree.¹²

36  But he passed away,¹³ and behold, ^che was no more;

though I sought him, he could not be found.

37  Mark the blameless and behold the upright,

for there is a future for the man of ^dpeace.

38  But ^etransgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

the future of the wicked ^fshall be cut off.

39  ^gThe salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in ^hthe time of trouble.

40  The Lord helps them and ⁱdelivers them;

^jhe delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they ^ktake refuge in him.