1  ^vGreat is the Lord and greatly to be praised

in the city of our God!

His holy mountain, 2 beautiful in elevation,

is ^wthe joy of all the earth,

Mount Zion, in the far north,

the city of the great King.

3  Within her citadels God

has made himself known as a fortress.

4  For behold, the kings assembled;

they came on together.

5  As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;

they were in panic; they took to flight.

6  Trembling took hold of them there,

anguish as of a woman in labor.

7  By the ^xeast wind you shattered

the ships of Tarshish.

8  As we have heard, so have we seen

in the ^ycity of the Lord of hosts,

in the city of our God,

which God will establish forever. Selah

9  We have thought on your steadfast love, O God,

in the midst of your temple.

10  ^zAs your name, O God,

so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with righteousness.

11  Let Mount Zion be ^aglad!

Let the daughters of Judah rejoice

because of your judgments!

12  Walk about Zion, go around her,

number her towers,

13  consider well her ramparts,

go through her citadels,

that you may ^btell the next generation

14  that this is God,

our God forever and ever.

He will guide us forever.¹

1  Hear this, all peoples!

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

2  both ^clow and high,

rich and poor together!

3  My mouth shall speak wisdom;

the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

4  I will incline my ear to a proverb;

I will solve my ^driddle to the music of the lyre.

5  Why should I fear in times of trouble,

when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,

6  those who trust in their wealth

and boast of the abundance of their riches?

7  Truly no man can ransom another,

or give to God the price of his life,

8  for the ransom of their life is costly

and can never suffice,

9  that he should live on forever

and never see the pit.

10  For he sees that ^eeven the wise die;

the fool and the stupid alike must perish

and leave their wealth to others.

11  Their graves are their homes forever,²

their dwelling places to all generations,

though they called lands by their own names.

12  Man in his pomp will not remain;

he is ^flike the beasts that perish.

13  This is the path of those who have foolish confidence;

yet after them people approve of their boasts.³ Selah

14  Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

death shall be their shepherd,

and the upright shall rule over them in the morning.

Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.

15  But God will ^gransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

for he will ^hreceive me. Selah

16  ⁱBe not afraid when a man becomes rich,

when the glory of his house increases.

17  For when he dies ^jhe will carry nothing away;

his glory will not go down after him.

18  For though, while he lives, ^khe counts himself blessed—

and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—

19  his soul will go to the generation of his fathers,

who will never again see ^llight.

20  Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

1  How lovely is your ^wdwelling place,

O Lord of hosts!

2  ^xMy soul longs, yes, faints

for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and flesh sing for joy

to the living God.

3  Even the sparrow finds a home,

and the swallow a nest for herself,

where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O Lord of hosts,

^ymy King and my God.

4  ^zBlessed are those who dwell in your house,

ever singing your praise! Selah

5  Blessed are those whose strength is in you,

in whose heart are the highways to Zion.²

6  As they go through the Valley of Baca

they make it a place of springs;

the early rain also covers it with pools.

7  They go from strength to strength;

each one ^aappears before God in Zion.

8  O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah

9  Behold our shield, O God;

look on the face of your ^banointed!

10  ^cFor a day in your courts is better

than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

11  For the Lord God is a ^dsun and ^eshield;

the Lord bestows favor and honor.

^fNo good thing does he withhold

from those who walk uprightly.

12  O Lord of hosts,

blessed is the one who ^gtrusts in you!

1  Lord, you were favorable to your land;

you ^hrestored the fortunes of Jacob.

2  You ⁱforgave the iniquity of your people;

you ^jcovered all their sin. Selah

3  You withdrew all your wrath;

you turned from your hot anger.

4  ^kRestore us again, O God of our salvation,

and put away your indignation toward us!

5  ^lWill you be angry with us forever?

Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

6  Will you not ^mrevive us again,

that your people may rejoice in you?

7  Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,

and grant us your salvation.

8  Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,

for he will ⁿspeak peace to his people, to his saints;

but let them not turn back to folly.

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

that ^pglory may dwell in our land.

10  Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;

righteousness and peace kiss each other.

11  Faithfulness springs up from the ground,

and righteousness looks down from the sky.

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

and ^rour land will yield its increase.

13  Righteousness will go before him

and make his footsteps a way.

1  On the ^mholy mount stands the city he ⁿfounded;

2  the Lord ^oloves the gates of Zion

more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.

3  Glorious things of you are spoken,

O ^pcity of God. Selah

4  Among those who know me I mention ^qRahab and Babylon;

behold, Philistia and Tyre, with Cush¹—

“This one was born there,” they say.

5  And of Zion it shall be said,

“This one and that one were born in her”;

for the Most High himself will ^restablish her.

6  The Lord records as he registers the peoples,

“This one was born there.” Selah

7  Singers and dancers alike say,

“All my springs are in you.”