1  ^eBlessed is the one who considers the poor!¹

^fIn the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;

2  the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;

he is called blessed in the land;

you ^gdo not give him up to the will of his enemies.

3  The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;

in his illness you restore him to full health.²

4  As for me, I said, “O Lord, ^hbe gracious to me;

ⁱheal me,³ for I have sinned against you!”

5  My enemies say of me in malice,

“When will he die, and his name perish?”

6  And when one comes to see me, ^jhe utters empty words,

while his heart gathers iniquity;

when he goes out, he tells it abroad.

7  All who hate me whisper together about me;

they imagine the worst for me.⁴

8  They say, “A deadly thing is poured out⁵ on him;

he will not rise again from where he lies.”

9  Even my ^kclose friend in whom I trusted,

who ^late my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

10  But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,

and raise me up, that I may repay them!

11  By this I know that ^myou delight in me:

my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.

12  But ⁿyou have upheld me because of ^omy integrity,

and ^pset me in your presence ^qforever.

13  ^rBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

Amen and Amen.

22  ⁱThe blessing of the Lord makes rich,

and he adds no sorrow with it.¹

23  Doing wrong is ^jlike a joke to a fool,

but ^kwisdom is pleasure to a man of understanding.

24  ^lWhat the wicked dreads ^mwill come upon him,

but ⁿthe desire of the righteous will be granted.

25  When ^othe tempest passes, the wicked is no more,

but ^pthe righteous is established forever.

26  Like vinegar to the teeth and smoke to the eyes,

so is the sluggard to those who send him.

27  ^qThe fear of the Lord prolongs life,

^rbut the years of the wicked will be short.

28  ^sThe hope of the righteous brings joy,

^tbut the expectation of the wicked will perish.

29  ^uThe way of the Lord is a stronghold to the blameless,

but destruction to evildoers.