1  ^cAnswer me when I call, O God of ^dmy righteousness!

You have given me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

2  O men,¹ how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah

3  But know that the Lord has set apart the godly for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

4  ^eBe angry,² and do not sin;

ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. Selah

5  Offer right sacrifices,

and ^fput your trust in the Lord.

6  There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?

^gLift up the ^hlight of your face upon us, O Lord!”

7  You have put more joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

8  In peace I will both ⁱlie down and sleep;

for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

1  I will bless the Lord at all times;

his praise shall ^ccontinually be in my mouth.

2  My soul makes its ^dboast in the Lord;

^elet the humble hear and be glad.

3  Oh, magnify the Lord with me,

and let us exalt his name together!

4  I sought the Lord, and he answered me

and delivered me from all my fears.

5  Those who look to him are radiant,

and their faces shall never be ashamed.

6  This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him

and saved him out of all his troubles.

7  The angel of the Lord encamps

^faround those who fear him, and delivers them.

8  Oh, ^gtaste and see that the Lord is good!

^hBlessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

9  Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,

for those who fear him ⁱhave no lack!

10  The young lions suffer want and hunger;

but those who seek the Lord lack ^jno good thing.

11  ^kCome, O children, listen to me;

I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

12  ^lWhat man is there who desires life

and loves many days, that he may see good?

13  ^mKeep your tongue from evil

and your lips from speaking deceit.

14  ⁿTurn away from evil and do good;

seek peace and ^opursue it.

15  The ^peyes of the Lord are toward the righteous

and his ears toward their cry.

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

to cut off the memory of them from the earth.

17  When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears

and delivers them out of all their troubles.

18  The Lord is near to the ^qbrokenhearted

and saves the ^rcrushed in spirit.

19  Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

but the Lord ^sdelivers him out of them all.

20  He keeps all his bones;

^tnot one of them is broken.

21  Affliction will slay the wicked,

and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

22  The Lord redeems the life of his servants;

none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

1  Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;

preserve my life from dread of the enemy.

2  Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,

from the throng of evildoers,

3  who whet their tongues like swords,

who ^gaim bitter words like arrows,

4  shooting ^hfrom ambush at the blameless,

shooting at him suddenly and without fear.

5  They hold fast to their evil purpose;

they talk of laying snares secretly,

thinking, “Who can see them?”

6  They search out injustice,

saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”

For the inward mind and heart of a man are deep.

7  But God shoots his arrow at them;

they are wounded suddenly.

8  They are brought to ruin, ⁱwith their own tongues turned against them;

all who see them will ^jwag their heads.

9  Then all mankind fears;

they tell what God has brought about

and ponder what he has done.

10  Let the righteous one rejoice in the Lord

and take refuge in him!

Let all the ^kupright in heart exult!

1  O Lord, God of ^zvengeance,

O God of vengeance, ^ashine forth!

2  ^bRise up, O ^cjudge of the earth;

repay to the proud what they deserve!

3  O Lord, how long shall the wicked,

how long shall the wicked exult?

4  They pour out their arrogant words;

all the evildoers boast.

5  They crush your people, O Lord,

and afflict your heritage.

6  They kill the ^dwidow and the ^esojourner,

and murder the fatherless;

7  and they say, ^f“The Lord does not see;

the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

8  Understand, O dullest of the people!

Fools, when will you be wise?

9  He who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

10  He who disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?

He who teaches man knowledge—

11  ^gthe Lord—knows the thoughts of man,

that they are but a breath.¹

12  ^hBlessed is the man whom you discipline, O Lord,

and whom you teach out of your law,

13  to give him rest from days of trouble,

until a pit is dug for the wicked.

14  ⁱFor the Lord will not forsake his people;

he will not abandon his heritage;

15  for justice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16  Who ^jrises up for me against the wicked?

Who stands up for me against evildoers?

17  ^kIf the Lord had not been my help,

my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.

18  When I thought, “My foot ^lslips,”

your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.

19  When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.

20  Can wicked rulers be allied with you,

those who frame² injustice by statute?

21  They band together against the life of the righteous

and condemn the innocent to death.³

22  But the Lord has become my ^mstronghold,

and my God the ⁿrock of my refuge.

23  ^oHe will bring back on them their iniquity

and wipe them out for their wickedness;

the Lord our God will wipe them out.

1  ^bIf it had not been the Lord who was ^con our side—

^dlet Israel now say—

2  if it had not been the Lord who was on our side

when people rose up against us,

3  then they would have swallowed us up alive,

when their anger was kindled against us;

4  then the ^eflood would have swept us away,

the torrent would have gone over us;

5  then over us would have gone

the raging waters.

6  Blessed be the Lord,

who has not given us

as prey to their teeth!

7  We have escaped like a bird

from the snare of the fowlers;

the snare is broken,

and we have escaped!

8  ^fOur help is in the name of the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

1  Hear, O sons, a father’s ^rinstruction,

and be attentive, that you may gain¹ insight,

2  for I give you good precepts;

^sdo not forsake my teaching.

3  When I was a son with my father,

tender, the only one in the sight of my mother,

4  he taught me and said to me,

“Let your ^theart hold fast my words;

^ukeep my commandments, ^vand live.

5  ^wGet wisdom; get insight;

^xdo not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.

6  Do not forsake her, and she will keep you;

love her, and she will ^yguard you.

7  The ^zbeginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,

and whatever you get, get insight.

8  Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;

she will honor you if you embrace her.

9  She will place on your head a ^agraceful garland;

she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

10  Hear, my son, and ^baccept my words,

that the years of your life may be ^cmany.

11  I have taught you the way of wisdom;

I have led you in the ^dpaths of uprightness.

12  When you walk, your step will not be hampered,

and if you run, you will not stumble.

13  ^eKeep hold of ^finstruction; do not let go;

guard her, for she is your ^glife.

14  Do not enter the ^hpath of the wicked,

and do not walk in the way of the evil.

15  Avoid it; do not go on it;

turn away from it and pass on.

16  For ⁱthey cannot sleep unless they have done wrong;

they are robbed of sleep unless they have made someone stumble.

17  For they eat the bread of wickedness

and drink the wine of violence.

18  But the path of the righteous is ^jlike the light of dawn,

which shines brighter and brighter until ^kfull day.

19  The way of the wicked is like deep darkness;

they do not know over what they stumble.

20  My son, be ^lattentive to my words;

incline your ear to my sayings.

21  ^mLet them not escape from your sight;

keep them within your heart.

22  For they are life to those who find them,

and ⁿhealing to all their² flesh.

23  Keep your heart with all vigilance,

^ofor from it flow the springs of life.

24  Put away from you ^pcrooked speech,

and put devious talk far from you.

25  ^qLet your eyes look directly forward,

and your gaze be straight before you.

26  ^rPonder³ the path of your feet;

then all your ways will be sure.

27  Do not swerve ^sto the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil.