1  I love you, O Lord, my strength.

2  The Lord is my ⁱrock and my ^jfortress and my deliverer,

my God, my ⁱrock, in ^kwhom I take refuge,

my ^lshield, and ^mthe horn of my salvation, my ⁿstronghold.

3  I call upon the Lord, who is ^oworthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

4  ^pThe cords of death encompassed me;

^qthe torrents of destruction assailed me;¹

5  ^pthe cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

6  ^rIn my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I cried for help.

From his ^stemple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

7  Then the earth ^treeled and rocked;

the foundations also of the mountains trembled

and quaked, because he was angry.

8  Smoke went up from his nostrils,²

and devouring ^ufire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him.

9  He ^vbowed the heavens and ^wcame down;

^xthick darkness was under his feet.

10  He rode on a cherub and flew;

he came swiftly on ^zthe wings of the wind.

11  He made darkness his covering, his ^acanopy around him,

thick clouds ^bdark with water.

12  Out of the brightness before him

^chailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

13  The Lord also ^dthundered in the heavens,

and the Most High uttered his ^evoice,

hailstones and coals of fire.

14  And he sent out his ^farrows and scattered them;

he flashed forth lightnings and ^grouted them.

15  Then ^hthe channels of the sea were seen,

and the foundations of the world were laid bare

at your ⁱrebuke, O Lord,

at the blast of ^jthe breath of your nostrils.

16  He ^ksent from on high, he took me;

he ^ldrew me out of ^mmany waters.

17  He rescued me from my strong enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were ⁿtoo mighty for me.

18  They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the Lord was my support.

19  He brought me out into ^oa broad place;

he rescued me, because he ^pdelighted in me.

20  The Lord dealt with me ^qaccording to my righteousness;

according to ^rthe cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

21  For I have ^skept the ways of the Lord,

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

22  For ^tall his rules³ were before me,

and his statutes I did not put away from me.

23  I was ^ublameless before him,

and I kept myself from my guilt.

24  So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

16  ^eHe has made my teeth grind on gravel,

and ^fmade me cower in ashes;

17  my soul is bereft of peace;

I have forgotten what happiness¹ is;

18  ^gso I say, “My endurance has perished;

so has my hope from the Lord.”

19  ^hRemember my affliction and my wanderings,

^dthe wormwood and ⁱthe gall!

20  My soul continually remembers it

^jand is bowed down within me.

21  But this I call to mind,

and ^ktherefore I have hope:

22  ^lThe steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;²

^lhis mercies never come to an end;

23  they are new ^mevery morning;

ⁿgreat is your faithfulness.

24  ^o“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,

^k“therefore I will hope in him.”

25  The Lord is good to those who ^pwait for him,

to the soul who seeks him.

26  ^qIt is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the Lord.

27  ^rIt is good for a man that he bear

the yoke ^sin his youth.

28  Let him ^tsit alone in silence

when it is laid on him;

29  ^ulet him put his mouth in the dust—

there may yet be hope;

30  ^vlet him give his cheek to the one who strikes,

and let him be filled with insults.

31  ^wFor the Lord will not

cast off forever,

32  for, though he ^xcause grief, ^yhe will have compassion

^zaccording to the abundance of his steadfast love;

33  ^afor he does not afflict from his heart

or ^bgrieve the children of men.

34  To crush underfoot

all ^cthe prisoners of the earth,

35  ^dto deny a man justice

in the presence of the Most High,

36  to subvert a man in his lawsuit,

^dthe Lord does not approve.

37  ^eWho has spoken and it came to pass,

unless the Lord has commanded it?

38  ^fIs it not from the mouth of the Most High

that good and bad come?

39  ^gWhy should a living man complain,

a man, about the punishment of his sins?

40  Let us test and examine our ways,

^hand return to the Lord!

41  ⁱLet us lift up our hearts and hands

to God in heaven:

42  ^j“We have transgressed and ^krebelled,

and you have not forgiven.