1  Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?²

Do you judge the children of man uprightly?

2  No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;

your hands ^jdeal out violence on earth.

3  The wicked are ^kestranged from the womb;

they go astray from birth, speaking lies.

4  ^lThey have venom like the venom of a serpent,

like the deaf adder that stops its ear,

5  so that it ^mdoes not hear the voice of charmers

or of the cunning enchanter.

6  O God, ⁿbreak the teeth in their mouths;

tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!

7  Let them ^ovanish like water that runs away;

when he ^paims his arrows, let them be blunted.

8  Let them be like the snail ^othat dissolves into slime,

like ^qthe stillborn child who never sees the sun.

9  Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of ^rthorns,

whether green or ablaze, may he ^ssweep them away!³

10  ^tThe righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;

he will ^ubathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.

11  Mankind will say, “Surely there is ^va reward for the righteous;

surely there is a God who ^wjudges on earth.”

1  ^aDeliver me from my enemies, O my God;

^bprotect me from those who ^crise up against me;

2  deliver me from ^dthose who work evil,

and save me from ^ebloodthirsty men.

3  For behold, they ^flie in wait for my life;

fierce men ^gstir up strife against me.

^hFor no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,

4  for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

ⁱAwake, come to meet me, and see!

5  You, ^jLord God of hosts, are God of Israel.

Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;

spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

6  Each evening they ^kcome back,

howling like dogs

and prowling about the city.

7  There they are, ^lbellowing with their mouths

with ^mswords in their lips—

for ⁿ“Who,” they think,⁵ “will hear us?”

8  But you, O Lord, ^olaugh at them;

you hold all the nations in derision.

9  O my Strength, I will watch for you,

for you, O God, are ^pmy fortress.

10  ^qMy God in his steadfast love^{6 r}will meet me;

God will let me ^slook in triumph on my enemies.

11  Kill them not, lest my people forget;

make them totter⁷ by your power and ^tbring them down,

O Lord, our ^ushield!

12  For ^vthe sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,

let them be trapped in their pride.

For the cursing and lies that they utter,

13  ^wconsume them in wrath;

consume them till they are no more,

that they may ^xknow that God rules over Jacob

to ^ythe ends of the earth. Selah

14  ^zEach evening they come back,

howling like dogs

and prowling about the city.

15  They ^awander about for food

and growl if they do not get their fill.

16  But I will sing of your strength;

I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.

For you have been to me ^ba fortress

and ^ca refuge in ^dthe day of my distress.

17  O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,

for you, O God, ^bare my fortress,

^ethe God who shows me steadfast love.

1  O God, ^jyou have rejected us, ^kbroken our defenses;

you have been angry; ^loh, restore us.

2  You have made the land to quake; you have torn it open;

^mrepair its breaches, for it totters.

3  ⁿYou have made your people see hard things;

^oyou have given us ^pwine to drink that made us stagger.

4  You have set up ^qa banner for those who fear you,

that they may flee to it ^rfrom the bow.⁹ Selah

5  ^sThat your ^tbeloved ones may be delivered,

give salvation by your right hand and answer us!

6  God has spoken ^uin his holiness:¹⁰

“With exultation ^vI will divide up ^wShechem

and portion out the Vale of ^xSuccoth.

7  ^yGilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;

^zEphraim is ^amy helmet;

Judah is my ^bscepter.

8  ^cMoab is my washbasin;

upon Edom I ^dcast my shoe;

over ^ePhilistia I shout in triumph.”¹¹

9  Who will bring me to the fortified city?

^fWho will lead me to Edom?

10  Have you not ^grejected us, O God?

You ^hdo not go forth, O God, with our armies.

11  Oh, grant us help against the foe,

for ⁱvain is the salvation of man!

12  With God we shall ^jdo valiantly;

it is he who will ^ktread down our foes.