My Soul Thirsts for You
A Psalm of David.
1 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
cgive ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your dfaithfulness answer me, in your drighteousness!
2 eEnter not into judgment with your servant,
for no one living is righteous fbefore you.
3 For the enemy has pursued my soul;
ghe has crushed my life to the ground;
hhe has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.
4 Therefore my spirit ifaints within me;
my heart within me is appalled.
5 jI remember the days of old;
kI meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands.
6 lI stretch out my hands to you;
7 oAnswer me quickly, O Lord!
pMy spirit fails!
qHide not your face from me,
rlest I be like those who go down to the pit.
8 sLet me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,
for in you I ttrust.
uMake me know the way I should go,
vfor to you I lift up my soul.
9 wDeliver me from my enemies, O Lord!
I have fled to you for refuge.1
10 xTeach me to do your will,
for you are my God!
yLet your good Spirit zlead me
on alevel ground!
11 bFor your name’s sake, O Lord, cpreserve my life!
In your righteousness dbring my soul out of trouble!
12 And in your steadfast love you will ecut off my enemies,
and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,
for I am your fservant.
My Rock and My Fortress
Of David.
1 Blessed be the Lord, my grock,
hwho trains my hands for war,
and my fingers for battle;
2 he is my isteadfast love and my jfortress,
my kstronghold and my deliverer,
my lshield and he in whom I take refuge,
3 O Lord, nwhat is man that you oregard him,
or the son of man that you think of him?
4 pMan is like a breath;
5 sBow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!
tTouch the mountains so that they smoke!
6 uFlash forth the lightning and scatter them;
usend out your arrows and rout them!
7 vStretch out your hand from on high;
wrescue me and deliver me from the many waters,
from the hand xof foreigners,
8 whose mouths speak ylies
and whose right hand is za right hand of falsehood.
9 I will sing aa new song to you, O God;
upon aa ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
10 who gives victory to kings,
who brescues David his servant from the cruel sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me
from the hand xof foreigners,
whose mouths speak ylies
and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.
12 May our sons in their youth
be like cplants full grown,
our daughters like dcorner pillars
cut for the structure of a palace;
13 emay our granaries be full,
fproviding all kinds of produce;
may our sheep bring forth thousands
and ten thousands in our fields;
14 may our cattle be heavy with young,
suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;3
may there be no gcry of distress in our streets!
15 hBlessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!
iBlessed are the people whose God is the Lord!
Great Is the Lord
4 A Song of Praise. Of David.
1 jI will extol you, my God and kKing,
and bless your name forever and ever.
2 Every day I will bless you
land praise your name forever and ever.
3 mGreat is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and his ngreatness is unsearchable.
4 oOne generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
5 On pthe glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
6 They shall speak of qthe might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
7 They shall pour forth the fame of your rabundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
8 The Lord is sgracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 The Lord is tgood to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.
10 uAll your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,
and all your vsaints shall bless you!
11 They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom
and tell of your power,
12 to wmake known to the children of man your5 xmighty deeds,
and ythe glorious splendor of your kingdom.
13 zYour kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures throughout all generations.
[The Lord is faithful in all his words
and kind in all his works.6]
14 The Lord aupholds all who are falling
and braises up all who are bowed down.
15 The eyes of all clook to you,
and you give them their food in due season.
16 You dopen your hand;
you esatisfy the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is frighteous in all his ways
and gkind in all his works.
18 The Lord is hnear to all who call on him,
to all who call on him iin truth.
19 He jfulfills the desire of those who fear him;
he also khears their cry and saves them.
20 The Lord lpreserves all who love him,
but all the wicked he will destroy.
21 My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and mlet all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.
Put Not Your Trust in Princes
1 nPraise the Lord!
Praise the Lord, O my soul!
2 I will praise the Lord oas long as I live;
pI will sing praises to my God while I have my being.
3 qPut not your trust in princes,
rin a son of man, in whom there is sno salvation.
4 When this breath departs, he returns to the earth;
on that very day his plans perish.
5 uBlessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,
whose vhope is in the Lord his God,
6 wwho made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that is in them,
xwho keeps faith forever;
7 ywho executes justice for the oppressed,
zwho gives food to the hungry.
aThe Lord sets the prisoners free;
8 bthe Lord opens the eyes of the blind.
cThe Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;
dthe Lord loves the righteous.
9 eThe Lord watches over the sojourners;
fhe upholds the widow and the fatherless,
but gthe way of the wicked he brings to ruin.
10 hThe Lord will reign forever,
your God, O Zion, to all generations.
nPraise the Lord!
He Heals the Brokenhearted
1 iPraise the Lord!
For jit is good to sing praises to our God;
for kit is pleasant,7 and la song of praise is fitting.
2 The Lord mbuilds up Jerusalem;
he ngathers the outcasts of Israel.
3 He heals othe brokenhearted
and pbinds up their wounds.
4 He qdetermines the number of the stars;
he rgives to all of them their names.
5 sGreat is our Lord, and tabundant in power;
uhis understanding is beyond measure.
6 The Lord vlifts up the humble;8
he casts the wicked to the ground.
7 wSing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
make melody to our God on xthe lyre!
8 He covers the heavens with clouds;
he prepares yrain for the earth;
he makes zgrass grow on the hills.
9 He agives to the beasts their food,
and to bthe young ravens that cry.
10 His delight is not in cthe strength of the horse,
nor his pleasure in the legs of a man,
11 but the Lord dtakes pleasure in those who fear him,
in those who ehope in his steadfast love.
12 Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!
Praise your God, O Zion!
13 For he strengthens fthe bars of your gates;
he blesses your children within you.
14 He gmakes peace in your borders;
he hfills you with the ifinest of the wheat.
15 He jsends out his command to the earth;
his word runs swiftly.
16 He gives ksnow like wool;
he scatters lfrost like ashes.
17 He hurls down his crystals of mice like crumbs;
who can stand before his ncold?
18 He osends out his word, and melts them;
he makes his wind blow and the waters flow.
19 He declares his word to Jacob,
his pstatutes and rules9 to Israel.
20 He qhas not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules.10
rPraise the Lord!
Praise the Name of the Lord
1 rPraise the Lord!
Praise the Lord sfrom the heavens;
praise him tin the heights!
2 Praise him, all his angels;
praise him, all his uhosts!
3 Praise him, sun and moon,
praise him, all you shining stars!
4 Praise him, you vhighest heavens,
and you wwaters above the heavens!
5 xLet them praise the name of the Lord!
For yhe commanded and they were created.
6 And he zestablished them forever and ever;
7 Praise the Lord cfrom the earth,
you dgreat sea creatures and all deeps,
9 iMountains and all hills,
10 lBeasts and all livestock,
creeping things and mflying birds!
11 Kings of the earth and nall peoples,
princes and all rulers of the earth!
12 Young men and maidens together,
old men and children!
13 oLet them praise the name of the Lord,
for phis name alone is exalted;
qhis majesty is above earth and heaven.
14 He has rraised up a horn for his people,
spraise for all his saints,
for the people of Israel who are tnear to him.
uPraise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a New Song
1 uPraise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord va new song,
his praise in wthe assembly of the godly!
2 Let Israel xbe glad in yhis Maker;
let the children of Zion rejoice in their zKing!
3 Let them praise his name with adancing,
making melody to him with btambourine and clyre!
4 For the Lord dtakes pleasure in his people;
he eadorns the humble with salvation.
5 Let the godly exult in glory;
let them fsing for joy on their gbeds.
6 Let hthe high praises of God be in their throats
and itwo-edged swords in their hands,
7 to execute vengeance on the nations
and punishments on the peoples,
8 to bind their kings with jchains
and their nobles with fetters of iron,
9 to execute on them the judgment kwritten!
lThis is honor for all his godly ones.
uPraise the Lord!
Let Everything Praise the Lord
1 uPraise the Lord!
Praise God in his msanctuary;
praise him in nhis mighty heavens!12
2 Praise him for his omighty deeds;
praise him according to his excellent pgreatness!
3 Praise him with qtrumpet sound;
praise him with rlute and rharp!
4 Praise him with stambourine and sdance;
praise him with tstrings and upipe!
5 Praise him with sounding vcymbals;
praise him with loud clashing cymbals!
6 Let weverything that has breath praise the Lord!
xPraise the Lord!
The Beginning of Knowledge
1 aThe proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:
2 To know wisdom and instruction,
to understand words of insight,
3 to receive instruction in wise dealing,
in brighteousness, justice, and equity;
4 to give prudence to cthe simple,
knowledge and ddiscretion to the youth—
5 Let the wise hear and eincrease in learning,
and the one who understands obtain guidance,
6 to understand a proverb and a saying,
7 hThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;
fools despise wisdom and instruction.
The Enticement of Sinners
8 iHear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
9 for they are ja graceful garland for your head
and kpendants for your neck.
10 My son, if sinners lentice you,
do not consent.
11 If they say, “Come with us, mlet us lie in wait for blood;
nlet us ambush the innocent without reason;
12 like Sheol let us oswallow them alive,
and whole, like pthose who go down to the pit;
13 we shall find all precious goods,
we shall fill our houses with plunder;
14 throw in your lot among us;
we will all have one purse”—
15 my son, qdo not walk in the way with them;
rhold back your foot from their paths,
16 for stheir feet run to evil,
and they make haste to shed blood.
17 tFor in vain is a net spread
in the sight of any bird,
18 but these men ulie in wait for their own blood;
they uset an ambush for their own lives.
19 vSuch are the ways of everyone who is wgreedy for unjust gain;
xit takes away the life of its possessors.
The Call of Wisdom
20 yWisdom cries aloud in the street,
in the markets she raises her voice;
21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;
at zthe entrance of the city gates she speaks:
22 “How long, O asimple ones, will you love being simple?
How long will bscoffers delight in their scoffing
and fools chate knowledge?
23 If you turn at my reproof,1
behold, I will dpour out my spirit to you;
I will make my words known to you.
24 eBecause I have called and fyou refused to listen,
have gstretched out my hand and no one has heeded,
25 because you have hignored all my counsel
and iwould have none of my reproof,
26 I also jwill laugh at your calamity;
I will mock when kterror strikes you,
27 when terror strikes you like la storm
and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,
when distress and anguish come upon you.
28 mThen they will call upon me, but I will not answer;
they will seek me diligently but will not find me.
29 Because they chated knowledge
and ndid not choose the fear of the Lord,
30 hwould have none of my counsel
and idespised all my reproof,
31 therefore they shall eat othe fruit of their way,
and have ptheir fill of their own devices.
32 For the simple are killed by qtheir turning away,
and rthe complacency of fools destroys them;
33 but swhoever listens to me will dwell secure
and will be tat ease, without dread of disaster.”
The Value of Wisdom
1 uMy son, vif you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
2 making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
3 yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice wfor understanding,
4 if you seek it like xsilver
and search for it as for yhidden treasures,
5 then zyou will understand the fear of the Lord
and find the knowledge of God.
6 For athe Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
7 he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is ba shield to those who cwalk in integrity,
8 guarding the paths of justice
and dwatching over the way of his esaints.
9 fThen you will understand grighteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
10 for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
11 hdiscretion will iwatch over you,
understanding will guard you,
12 delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
13 who forsake the paths of uprightness
to jwalk in the ways of darkness,
14 who krejoice in doing evil
and ldelight in the perverseness of evil,
15 men whose mpaths are crooked,
16 So pyou will be delivered from the forbidden2 woman,
from qthe adulteress3 with rher smooth words,
17 who forsakes sthe companion of her youth
and forgets tthe covenant of her God;
18 ufor her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;4
19 none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.
20 So you will walk in the way of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
21 For the upright vwill inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
22 but the wicked will be wcut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be xrooted out of it.
Trust in the Lord with All Your Heart
1 yMy son, do not forget my teaching,
zbut let your heart keep my commandments,
2 for alength of days and years of life
and bpeace they will add to you.
3 Let not csteadfast love and dfaithfulness forsake you;
ebind them around your neck;
fwrite them on the tablet of your heart.
4 So you will gfind favor and hgood success5
in the sight of God and man.
5 iTrust in the Lord with all your heart,
and jdo not lean on your own understanding.
6 In all your ways kacknowledge him,
and he lwill make straight your paths.
7 mBe not wise in your own eyes;
nfear the Lord, and turn away from evil.
9 Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with qthe firstfruits of all your produce;
10 then your rbarns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.
11 sMy son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline
or be weary of his reproof,
12 for the Lord reproves him whom he loves,
as ta father the son in whom he delights.
Blessed Is the One Who Finds Wisdom
13 uBlessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who gets understanding,
14 vfor the gain from her is better than gain from silver
and her profit better than wgold.
15 She is more precious than xjewels,
and ynothing you desire can compare with her.
16 zLong life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are ariches and honor.
17 Her bways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
18 She is ca tree of life to those who dlay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called blessed.
19 eThe Lord by wisdom founded the earth;
by understanding ehe established the heavens;
20 by his knowledge fthe deeps broke open,
and gthe clouds drop down the dew.
21 My son, hdo not lose sight of these—
keep sound wisdom and discretion,
22 and they will be ilife for your soul
and jadornment for your neck.
23 kThen you will walk on your way securely,
land your foot will not stumble.
24 mIf you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, nyour sleep will be sweet.
25 oDo not be afraid of sudden terror
or of pthe ruin8 of the wicked, when it comes,
26 for the Lord will be your confidence
and will qkeep your foot from being caught.
27 rDo not withhold good from those to whom it is due,9
when it is in your power to do it.
28 sDo not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come again,
tomorrow I will give it”—when you have it with you.
29 tDo not plan evil against your neighbor,
who udwells trustingly beside you.
30 vDo not contend with a man for no reason,
when he has done you no harm.
31 wDo not envy xa man of violence
and do not choose any of his ways,
32 for ythe devious person is an abomination to the Lord,
but the upright are zin his confidence.
33 aThe Lord’s curse is on the house of the wicked,
but he bblesses the dwelling of the righteous.
34 Toward the cscorners he dis scornful,
ebut to the humble he gives favor.10
35 The wise will inherit honor,
but fools get11 disgrace.