1  Answer me when I call, O God of my ^frighteousness!

You have ^ggiven 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 ^hlies? Selah

3  But know that the Lord has ⁱset apart ^jthe godly for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

4  ^kBe angry,² and do not sin;

^lponder in your own hearts ^mon your beds, and be silent. Selah

5  Offer ⁿright sacrifices,

and put your ^otrust in the Lord.

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

^pLift up ^qthe light of your face upon us, O Lord!”

7  You have put ^rmore joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

8  In peace I will both ^slie down and sleep;

for you alone, O Lord, make me ^tdwell in safety.

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  Hear my voice, O God, in my ^mcomplaint;

preserve my life from dread of the enemy.

2  Hide me from ⁿthe secret plots of the wicked,

from the throng of evildoers,

3  who ^owhet their tongues like swords,

who ^paim bitter words like arrows,

4  shooting from ^qambush at the blameless,

shooting at him suddenly and ^rwithout fear.

5  They ^shold fast to their evil purpose;

they talk of ^tlaying snares secretly,

thinking, ^u“Who can see them?”

6  They search out injustice,

saying, “We have accomplished a diligent search.”

For ^vthe inward mind and heart of a man are deep.

7  ^wBut God shoots his arrow at them;

they are wounded suddenly.

8  They are brought to ruin, with their own ^xtongues turned against them;

all who ^ysee them will ^zwag their heads.

9  Then all mankind ^yfears;

they ^atell what God has brought about

and ponder what he has done.

10  Let ^bthe righteous one rejoice in the Lord

and ^ctake refuge in him!

Let all ^dthe upright in heart exult!

1  O Lord, God of ^pvengeance,

O God of vengeance, ^qshine forth!

2  ^rRise up, O ^sjudge of the earth;

repay to the ^tproud what they deserve!

3  O Lord, ^uhow long shall the wicked,

how long shall ^vthe wicked exult?

4  They pour out their ^warrogant words;

all ^xthe evildoers boast.

5  They ^ycrush your people, O Lord,

and afflict your heritage.

6  They kill ^zthe widow and the sojourner,

and murder ^zthe fatherless;

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

the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

8  ^bUnderstand, O dullest of the people!

Fools, when will you be wise?

9  ^cHe who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

10  He who ^ddisciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?

He who ^eteaches man knowledge—

11  ^fthe Lord—knows the thoughts of man,

that they are ^gbut a breath.¹

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

and whom you teach out of your law,

13  to give him ^jrest from ^kdays of trouble,

until ^la pit is dug for the wicked.

14  ^mFor the Lord will not forsake his ⁿpeople;

he will not abandon his ⁿheritage;

15  for ^ojustice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will ^pfollow it.

16  ^qWho rises up for me against the wicked?

Who stands up for me against evildoers?

17  ^rIf the Lord had not been my help,

my soul would soon have lived in the land of ^ssilence.

18  When I thought, ^t“My foot slips,”

your steadfast love, O Lord, ^uheld me up.

19  When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.

20  Can ^wwicked rulers be allied with you,

those who frame² injustice by ^xstatute?

21  They ^yband together against the life of the righteous

and condemn ^zthe innocent to death.³

22  But the Lord has become my ^astronghold,

and my God ^bthe rock of my ^crefuge.

23  He will bring back on them ^dtheir iniquity

and ^ewipe them out for their wickedness;

the Lord our God will wipe them out.

1  ^xIf it had not been the Lord who was on our side—

^ylet 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 ^zswallowed us up alive,

when their anger was kindled against us;

4  then ^athe flood would have ^bswept us away,

the torrent would have gone ^cover 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 ^dthe snare of the fowlers;

the snare is broken,

and we have escaped!

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

who made heaven and earth.

1  ^fHear, O sons, a father’s instruction,

and be attentive, that you may ^ggain¹ insight,

2  for I give you good ^hprecepts;

do not forsake my teaching.

3  When I was a son with my father,

ⁱtender, ^jthe only one in the sight of my mother,

4  he ^ktaught me and said to me,

^l“Let your heart hold fast my words;

^mkeep my commandments, and live.

5  ⁿGet wisdom; get ^ginsight;

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

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

^olove her, and she will guard you.

7  ^pThe beginning of wisdom is this: Get wisdom,

and whatever you get, get ^ginsight.

8  Prize her highly, and she will exalt you;

she will ^qhonor you ^rif you embrace her.

9  She will place on your head ^sa graceful garland;

she will bestow on you a beautiful crown.”

10  ^fHear, ^tmy son, and accept my words,

that ^uthe years of your life may be many.

11  I have ^vtaught you the way of wisdom;

I have led you in the paths of uprightness.

12  When you walk, ^wyour step will not be hampered,

and ^xif you run, you will not stumble.

13  ^yKeep hold of instruction; do not let go;

guard her, for she is your ^zlife.

14  ^aDo not enter the path 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 they ^bcannot 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

^cand drink the wine of violence.

18  But ^dthe path of the righteous is like ^ethe light of dawn,

which shines ^fbrighter and brighter until ^gfull day.

19  ^hThe way of the wicked is like deep ⁱdarkness;

they do not know over what they ^jstumble.

20  ^kMy son, be attentive to my words;

incline your ear to my sayings.

21  ^lLet them not escape from your sight;

^mkeep them within your heart.

22  For they are ⁿlife to those who find them,

and healing to all their² flesh.

23  Keep your heart with all vigilance,

for ^ofrom it flow ^pthe springs of life.

24  Put away from you ^qcrooked speech,

and put ^rdevious talk far from you.

25  ^sLet your eyes look directly forward,

and your gaze be straight before you.

26  ^tPonder³ the path of your feet;

^uthen all your ways will be sure.

27  ^vDo not swerve to the right or to the left;

turn your foot away from evil.