1  ^qVindicate me, O Lord,

for I have ^rwalked in my integrity,

and I have ^strusted in the Lord without wavering.

2  ^tProve me, O Lord, and try me;

test my heart and ^umy mind.¹

3  For your ^vsteadfast love is before my eyes,

and I ^wwalk in your ^vfaithfulness.

4  I do not ^xsit with men of ^yfalsehood,

nor do I consort with hypocrites.

5  I ^zhate the assembly of evildoers,

and I will not sit with the wicked.

6  I ^awash my hands in innocence

and go around your altar, O Lord,

7  proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,

and telling all your ^bwondrous deeds.

8  O Lord, I ^clove the habitation of your house

and the place where your glory dwells.

9  ^dDo not sweep my soul away with sinners,

nor my life with bloodthirsty men,

10  in whose hands are evil devices,

and whose right hands are full of ^ebribes.

11  But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;

redeem me, and be gracious to me.

12  My foot stands on ^flevel ground;

in ^gthe great assembly I will bless the Lord.

1  When the Lord ^srestored the fortunes of Zion,

we were like those who ^tdream.

2  Then our ^umouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then they said among the nations,

^v“The Lord has done great things for them.”

3  The Lord has done great things for us;

we are glad.

4  Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like streams in the Negeb!

5  ^wThose who sow in tears

shall reap with shouts of joy!

6  He who goes out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

bringing his sheaves with him.

13  ^kSing for joy, O heavens, and exult, O earth;

break forth, O mountains, into singing!

For the Lord ^lhas comforted his people

and will have compassion on his afflicted.

14  But Zion said, ^m“The Lord has forsaken me;

my Lord has forgotten me.”

15  ⁿ“Can a woman forget her nursing child,

that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb?

Even these may forget,

yet I will not forget you.

16  Behold, ^oI have engraved you on the palms of my hands;

your walls are continually before me.

17  Your builders make haste;¹

^pyour destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you.

18  ^qLift up your eyes around and see;

they all gather, they come to you.

^rAs I live, declares the Lord,

^syou shall put them all on as an ornament;

you shall bind them on as a bride does.

19  “Surely your waste and your desolate places

and your devastated land—

^tsurely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants,

and those who swallowed you up will be far away.

20  ^uThe children of your bereavement

will yet say in your ears:

^t‘The place is too narrow for me;

make room for me to dwell in.’

21  Then you will say in your heart:

‘Who has borne me these?

^uI was bereaved and barren,

exiled and put away,

but who has brought up these?

Behold, I was left alone;

from where have these come?’”

22  Thus says the Lord God:

“Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations,

^vand raise my signal to the peoples;

^wand they shall bring your sons in their arms,²

and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders.

23  ^xKings shall be your foster fathers,

and their queens your nursing mothers.

^yWith their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you,

and ^zlick the dust of your feet.

Then you will know that I am the Lord;

^athose who wait for me ^bshall not be put to shame.”