1  O Lord my God, in you do I ^mtake refuge;

ⁿsave me from all my pursuers and deliver me,

2  lest like ^oa lion they tear my soul apart,

rending it in pieces, with ^pnone to deliver.

3  O Lord my God, ^qif I have done this,

if there is ^rwrong in my hands,

4  if I have repaid ^smy friend² with evil

or ^tplundered my enemy without cause,

5  let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,

and let him ^utrample my life to the ground

and lay my glory in the dust. Selah

6  ^vArise, O Lord, in your anger;

^wlift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;

^xawake for me; you have appointed a judgment.

7  Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;

over it return on high.

8  The Lord ^yjudges the peoples;

^zjudge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness

and according to the integrity that is in me.

9  Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,

and may you establish the righteous—

you who ^atest ^bthe minds and hearts,³

O righteous God!

10  My shield is ^cwith God,

who saves ^dthe upright in heart.

11  God is ^ea righteous judge,

and a God who feels ^findignation every day.

12  If a man⁴ does not repent, God⁵ will ^gwhet his sword;

he has ^hbent and ⁱreadied his bow;

13  he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,

making his ^jarrows ^kfiery shafts.

14  Behold, the wicked man ^lconceives evil

and is ^lpregnant with mischief

and gives birth to lies.

15  He makes ^ma pit, digging it out,

and falls into the hole that he has made.

16  His ⁿmischief returns upon his own head,

and on his own skull his violence descends.

17  I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,

and I will ^osing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

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.²

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 Lord³ 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.⁴

36  But he passed away,⁵ 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.

1  May God ^wbe gracious to us and bless us

and make his face to ^xshine upon us, Selah

2  that ^yyour way may be known on earth,

your ^zsaving power among all nations.

3  ^aLet the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

4  Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you ^bjudge the peoples with equity

and guide the nations upon earth. Selah

5  ^aLet the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

6  The earth has ^cyielded its increase;

God, our God, shall bless us.

7  God shall bless us;

let ^dall the ends of the earth fear him!

1  ^xThe Lord reigns, ^ylet the earth rejoice;

let the many ^zcoastlands be glad!

2  ^aClouds and thick darkness are all around him;

^brighteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

3  ^cFire goes before him

and burns up his adversaries all around.

4  His ^dlightnings light up the world;

the earth sees and ^etrembles.

5  The mountains ^fmelt like ^gwax before the Lord,

before ^hthe Lord of all the earth.

6  ⁱThe heavens proclaim his righteousness,

and all ^jthe peoples see his glory.

7  All worshipers of images are ^kput to shame,

who make their boast in ^lworthless idols;

^mworship him, all you gods!

8  Zion hears and ⁿis glad,

and the daughters of Judah rejoice,

because of your judgments, O Lord.

9  For you, O Lord, are ^omost high over all the earth;

you are exalted far above ^pall gods.

10  O you who love the Lord, ^qhate evil!

He ^rpreserves the lives of his ^ssaints;

he ^tdelivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11  ^uLight ^vis sown¹ for the righteous,

and joy for the upright in heart.

12  ^wRejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

and ^xgive thanks to his holy name!

1  Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord ^xwatches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

2  It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious ^ytoil;

for he gives to his ^zbeloved ^asleep.

3  Behold, ^bchildren are a heritage from the Lord,

^cthe fruit of the womb a reward.

4  Like arrows in the hand of ^da warrior

are the children¹ of one’s youth.

5  Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies ^ein the gate.²

1  ^hMy son, keep my words

and ^htreasure up my commandments with you;

2  ⁱkeep my commandments and live;

keep my teaching as ^jthe apple of your eye;

3  ^kbind them on your fingers;

^kwrite them on the tablet of your heart.

4  Say to wisdom, “You are my sister,”

and call insight your intimate friend,

5  to keep you from ^lthe forbidden¹ woman,

from ^lthe adulteress² with her smooth words.

6  For at ^mthe window of my house

I have looked out through my lattice,

7  and I have seen among ⁿthe simple,

I have perceived among the youths,

a young man ^olacking sense,

8  passing along the street ^pnear her corner,

taking the road to her house

9  in ^qthe twilight, in the evening,

at ^rthe time of night and darkness.

10  And behold, the woman meets him,

^sdressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.³

11  She is ^tloud and ^uwayward;

^vher feet do not stay at home;

12  now in the street, now in the market,

and ^wat every corner she ^xlies in wait.

13  She seizes him and kisses him,

and with ^ybold face she says to him,

14  “I had to ^zoffer sacrifices,⁴

and today I have ^apaid my vows;

15  so now I have come out to meet you,

to seek you eagerly, and I have found you.

16  I have spread my couch with ^bcoverings,

colored linens from ^cEgyptian linen;

17  I have perfumed my bed with ^dmyrrh,

aloes, and ^ecinnamon.

18  Come, let us take our fill of love till morning;

let us delight ourselves with love.

19  For ^fmy husband is not at home;

he has gone on a long journey;

20  he took a bag of money with him;

at full moon he will come home.”

21  With much seductive speech she persuades him;

with ^gher smooth talk she compels him.

22  All at once he follows her,

as an ox goes to the slaughter,

or as a stag is caught fast⁵

23  till an arrow pierces its liver;

as ^ha bird rushes into a snare;

he does not know that it will cost him his life.

24  And ⁱnow, O sons, listen to me,

and be attentive to the words of my mouth.

25  Let not your heart turn aside to her ways;

do not stray into her paths,

26  for many a victim has she laid low,

and all her slain are ^ja mighty throng.

27  Her house is ^kthe way to Sheol,

going down to the chambers of death.