7  Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,

and grant us your salvation.

8  ^wLet me hear what God the Lord will speak,

for he will ^xspeak peace to his people, to his ^ysaints;

but let them not ^zturn back to ^afolly.

9  Surely his ^bsalvation is near to those who fear him,

that ^cglory may dwell in our land.

10  ^dSteadfast love and faithfulness meet;

^erighteousness and peace kiss each other.

11  Faithfulness springs up from the ground,

and righteousness looks down from the sky.

12  Yes, ^fthe Lord will give what is good,

and our land ^gwill yield its increase.

13  ^hRighteousness will go before him

and make his footsteps a way.

The man declares, I am weary, O God;

I am weary, O God, and worn out.²

2  Surely I am too ^mstupid to be a man.

I have not the understanding of a man.

3  I have not learned wisdom,

nor have I knowledge of ⁿthe Holy One.

4  Who has ^oascended to heaven and come down?

Who has ^pgathered the wind in his fists?

Who has ^qwrapped up the waters in a garment?

Who has established all ^rthe ends of the earth?

^sWhat is his name, and what is his son’s name?

Surely you know!

5  ^tEvery word of God proves true;

he is ^ua shield to those who take refuge in him.

6  ^vDo not add to his words,

lest he rebuke you and you be found a liar.

7  Two things I ask of you;

deny them not to me ^wbefore I die:

8  Remove far from me falsehood and lying;

give me neither poverty nor riches;

feed me with the food that is ^xneedful for me,

9  lest I be ^yfull and ^zdeny you

and say, ^a“Who is the Lord?”

or lest I be poor and steal

^band profane the name of my God.

18  ^kThree things are ^rtoo wonderful for me;

^kfour I do not understand:

19  the way of an eagle in the sky,

the way of a serpent on a rock,

the way of a ship on the high seas,

and the way of a man with a virgin.

20  This is the way of an adulteress:

she eats and wipes her mouth

and says, “I have done no wrong.”

21  Under ^kthree things ^sthe earth trembles;

under ^kfour it cannot bear up:

22  ^ta slave when he becomes king,

and a fool when he is ^ufilled with food;

23  ^van unloved woman when she ^wgets a husband,

and a maidservant when she displaces her mistress.

24  ^kFour things on earth are small,

but they are exceedingly wise:

25  ^xthe ants are a people not strong,

yet they provide their food in the summer;

26  ^ythe rock badgers are a people not mighty,

yet they make their homes in the cliffs;

27  the locusts have no ^zking,

yet all of them march in ^arank;

28  the lizard you can take in your hands,

yet it is in kings’ palaces.

29  ^bThree things are stately in their tread;

^bfour are stately in their stride:

30  the lion, which is mightiest among beasts

and ^cdoes not turn back before any;

31  the ^dstrutting rooster,¹ the he-goat,

and a king whose army is with him.²

32  If you have been foolish, exalting yourself,

or if you have been devising evil,

^eput your hand on your mouth.

33  For pressing milk produces curds,

pressing the nose produces blood,

and pressing anger produces strife.