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

^dsave me from all my pursuers and deliver me,

2  lest ^elike a lion they tear my soul apart,

rending it in pieces, with none to deliver.

3  O Lord my God, if I have done this,

if there is wrong in my hands,

4  ^fif I have repaid my friend² with evil

or plundered my enemy without cause,

5  let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,

and let him trample my life to the ground

and lay my glory ^gin the dust. Selah

6  Arise, O Lord, in your anger;

^hlift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;

ⁱawake 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 ^jjudges the peoples;

judge me, O Lord, ^kaccording 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 ^ltest the minds and hearts,³

O righteous God!

10  My ^mshield is with God,

who saves the upright in heart.

11  ⁿGod is a righteous judge,

and a God who feels indignation every day.

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

he has bent and readied his bow;

13  he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,

making his arrows fiery shafts.

14  Behold, the wicked man ^oconceives evil

and is pregnant with mischief

and gives birth to lies.

15  He makes a pit, digging it out,

and ^pfalls into the hole that he has made.

16  His mischief returns upon his own head,

and on his own skull his violence descends.

17  ^qI will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,

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

1  ^xFret not yourself because of evildoers;

be not ^yenvious of wrongdoers!

2  For they will soon fade ^zlike the grass

and wither like the green herb.

3  ^aTrust in the Lord, and ^bdo good;

dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.²

4  ^cDelight yourself in the Lord,

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

5  ^eCommit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

6  He will bring forth your righteousness ^fas the light,

and your justice as the ^gnoonday.

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

fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

8  ⁱRefrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

9  For the evildoers shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

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

^jthough you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.

11  But ^kthe meek shall inherit the land

and delight themselves in abundant peace.

12  The wicked plots against the righteous

and gnashes his teeth at him,

13  but the Lord ^llaughs at the wicked,

for he sees that his day is coming.

14  The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose way is upright;

15  their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their bows shall be broken.

16  ^mBetter is the little that the righteous has

than the abundance of many wicked.

17  For the arms of the wicked shall be ⁿbroken,

but the Lord upholds the righteous.

18  The Lord knows the days of the blameless,

and their heritage will remain forever;

19  they are not put to shame in evil times;

^oin the days of famine they have abundance.

20  But the wicked will perish;

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

they vanish—like ^psmoke they vanish away.

21  The wicked borrows but does not pay back,

but the righteous is generous and gives;

22  for those blessed by the Lord³ shall inherit the land,

but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

23  ^qThe steps of a man are established by the Lord,

when he ^rdelights in his way;

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

for the Lord upholds his hand.

25  I have been young, and now am old,

yet ^tI have not seen the righteous forsaken

or his children begging for bread.

26  He is ever ^ulending generously,

and his children become a blessing.

27  ^vTurn away from evil and do good;

so shall you dwell forever.

28  For the Lord loves justice;

he will not forsake his saints.

They are preserved forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

29  The righteous shall inherit the land

and dwell upon it forever.

30  ^wThe mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks justice.

31  The law of his God is in his heart;

his steps do not ^xslip.

32  The wicked watches for the righteous

and seeks to put him to death.

33  The Lord will not abandon him to his power

or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.

34  Wait for the Lord and keep his way,

and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

^yyou will look on when the wicked are cut off.

35  ^zI have seen a wicked, ruthless man,

spreading himself like a green laurel tree.⁴

36  ^aBut he passed away,⁵ and behold, he 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 peace.

38  But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

39  The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.

40  The Lord helps them and delivers them;

he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.

1  ^fMay God be gracious to us and bless us

and ^gmake his face to shine upon us, Selah

2  that your way may be known on earth,

your ^hsaving power among all nations.

3  Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let ⁱall the peoples praise you!

4  Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

for you ^jjudge the peoples with equity

and guide the nations upon earth. Selah

5  Let the peoples praise you, O God;

let all the peoples praise you!

6  ^kThe earth has yielded its increase;

God, our God, shall bless us.

7  God shall bless us;

^llet all the ends of the earth fear him!

1  The Lord ^ureigns, ^vlet the earth rejoice;

let the many coastlands be glad!

2  ^wClouds and thick darkness are all around him;

^xrighteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

3  ^yFire goes before him

and burns up his adversaries all around.

4  His ^zlightnings light up the world;

the earth sees and trembles.

5  The ^amountains melt like wax before the Lord,

before the ^bLord of all the earth.

6  The ^cheavens proclaim his righteousness,

and ^dall the peoples see his glory.

7  All worshipers of images are ^eput to shame,

who make their boast in worthless idols;

^fworship him, all you gods!

8  Zion hears and is ^gglad,

and the daughters of Judah rejoice,

because of your judgments, O Lord.

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

you are exalted far ⁱabove all gods.

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

He ^kpreserves the lives of his saints;

he delivers them from the hand of the wicked.

11  Light is sown¹ for the righteous,

and joy for the upright in heart.

12  Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

and ^lgive thanks to his holy name!

1  Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord watches 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 ^panxious toil;

for he gives to his beloved sleep.

3  Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,

the fruit of the womb a reward.

4  Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

are the children¹ of one’s youth.

5  Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!

He shall ^qnot be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.²

1  My son, keep my words

and ^ptreasure up my commandments with you;

2  ^qkeep my commandments ^rand live;

keep my teaching as ^sthe apple of your eye;

3  ^tbind them on your fingers;

write them on the tablet of your heart.

4  Say to wisdom, “You are ^umy sister,”

and call insight your intimate friend,

5  ^vto keep you from the forbidden¹ woman,

from the adulteress² with her smooth words.

6  For at the window of my house

I have looked out through my lattice,

7  and I have seen among the simple,

I have perceived among the youths,

a young man lacking sense,

8  passing along the street near her corner,

taking the road to ^wher house

9  in the ^xtwilight, in the evening,

at the time of night and darkness.

10  And behold, the woman meets him,

dressed as a prostitute, wily of heart.³

11  She is ^yloud and wayward;

her feet do not stay at home;

12  now in the street, now in the market,

and at every corner ^zshe lies in wait.

13  ^aShe seizes him and kisses him,

and with bold face she says to him,

14  “I had to offer ^bsacrifices,⁴

and today I have paid 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 coverings,

colored linens from Egyptian ^clinen;

17  I have ^dperfumed my bed with myrrh,

aloes, and cinnamon.

18  Come, let us take our ^efill 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 her ^gsmooth 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 a bird rushes into a snare;

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

24  And now, O sons, listen to me,

and be attentive to the words of my mouth.

25  ^hLet 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 a mighty throng.

27  ⁱHer house is the way to Sheol,

going down to the chambers of death.