1  Give ear to my words, O Lord;

consider my ^ugroaning.

2  Give attention to the sound of my cry,

my ^vKing and my God,

for ^wto you do I pray.

3  O Lord, in ^xthe morning you hear my voice;

in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you¹ and ^ywatch.

4  For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

evil may not dwell with you.

5  The ^zboastful shall not ^astand before your eyes;

you ^bhate all evildoers.

6  You destroy those who speak ^clies;

the Lord abhors ^dthe bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

7  But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,

will enter your house.

I will ^ebow down ^ftoward your ^gholy temple

in the fear of you.

8  ^hLead me, O Lord, in your righteousness

because of my enemies;

ⁱmake your way straight before me.

9  For there is no truth in their mouth;

their inmost self is ^jdestruction;

^ktheir throat is ^lan open grave;

they ^mflatter with their tongue.

10  ⁿMake them bear their guilt, O God;

let them ^ofall by their own counsels;

because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,

for they have rebelled against you.

11  But let all who ^ptake refuge in you ^qrejoice;

let them ever sing for joy,

and spread your protection over them,

that those who love your name may ^rexult in you.

12  For you ^sbless the righteous, O Lord;

you ^tcover him with favor as with ^ua shield.

1  O Lord, ^wrebuke me not in your anger,

nor ^xdiscipline me in your wrath.

2  Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;

^yheal me, O Lord, ^zfor my bones are troubled.

3  My ^asoul also is greatly troubled.

But you, O Lord—^bhow long?

4  Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;

save me for the sake of your steadfast love.

5  For in ^cdeath there is no remembrance of you;

in Sheol who will give you praise?

6  I am ^dweary with my ^emoaning;

every night I flood my bed with tears;

I drench my couch with my weeping.

7  My ^feye wastes away because of grief;

it grows weak because of all my foes.

8  ^gDepart from me, all you ^hworkers of evil,

for the Lord ⁱhas heard the sound of my weeping.

9  The Lord has heard my ^jplea;

the Lord accepts my prayer.

10  All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;

they shall ^kturn back and be put to shame in a moment.

1  In the Lord I take refuge;

how can you say to my soul,

^zFlee like a bird to your mountain,

2  for behold, the wicked ^abend the bow;

^bthey have fitted their arrow to the string

to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;

3  if ^cthe foundations are destroyed,

what can the righteous do?¹

4  ^dThe Lord is in his holy temple;

the Lord’s ^ethrone is in heaven;

his eyes see, his eyelids ^ftest the children of man.

5  The Lord ^gtests the righteous,

but ^hhis soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.

6  Let him rain coals on the wicked;

ⁱfire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be ^jthe portion of their cup.

7  For the Lord is righteous;

he ^kloves righteous deeds;

^lthe upright shall behold his face.

1  Save, O Lord, for ^mthe godly one is gone;

for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.

2  Everyone ⁿutters lies to his neighbor;

with ^oflattering lips and ^pa double heart they speak.

3  May the Lord cut off all ^oflattering lips,

the tongue that makes ^qgreat boasts,

4  those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,

our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

5  “Because ^rthe poor are plundered, because the needy groan,

^sI will now arise,” says the Lord;

“I will place him in the ^tsafety for which he longs.”

6  ^uThe words of the Lord are pure words,

like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

purified seven times.

7  You, O Lord, will keep them;

you will guard us² from this generation forever.

8  On every side the wicked prowl,

as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

1  Contend, O Lord, with those who ^ycontend with me;

^zfight against those who fight against me!

2  Take hold of ^ashield and buckler

and rise for my help!

3  Draw the spear and javelin¹

against my pursuers!

Say to my soul,

“I am your salvation!”

4  ^bLet them be ^cput to shame and dishonor

who seek after my life!

Let them be ^dturned back and disappointed

who devise evil against me!

5  Let them be like ^echaff before the wind,

with the angel of the Lord driving them away!

6  Let their way be dark and ^fslippery,

with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

7  For ^gwithout cause ^hthey hid their net for me;

without cause they dug ⁱa pit for my life.²

8  Let ^jdestruction come upon him ^kwhen he does not know it!

And let the net that he hid ensnare him;

let him fall into it—to his destruction!

9  Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,

^lexulting in his salvation.

10  All my ^mbones shall say,

“O Lord, ⁿwho is like you,

delivering the poor

from him who is too strong for him,

the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

11  ^oMalicious³ witnesses rise up;

they ask me of things that I do not know.

12  ^pThey repay me evil for good;

my soul is bereft.⁴

13  But I, ^qwhen they were sick—

I ^rwore sackcloth;

I ^safflicted myself with fasting;

I prayed ^twith head bowed⁵ on my chest.

14  I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;

as one who laments his mother,

I ^ubowed down in mourning.

15  But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;

they gathered together against me;

^vwretches whom I did not know

tore at me without ceasing;

16  like profane mockers at a feast,⁶

they ^wgnash at me with their teeth.

17  How long, O Lord, will you ^xlook on?

Rescue me from their destruction,

^ymy precious life from the lions!

18  I will thank you in ^zthe great congregation;

in the mighty throng I will praise you.

19  ^aLet not those rejoice over me

who are ^bwrongfully my foes,

and let not those ^cwink the eye

who ^dhate me ^ewithout cause.

20  For they do not speak peace,

but against those who are quiet in the land

they devise words of deceit.

21  They ^fopen wide their mouths against me;

they say, ^g“Aha, Aha!

Our eyes have seen it!”

22  ^hYou have seen, O Lord; ⁱbe not silent!

O Lord, ^jbe not far from me!

23  Awake and ^krouse yourself for ^lmy vindication,

for my cause, my God and my Lord!

24  ^mVindicate me, O Lord, my God,

according to your righteousness,

and ⁿlet them not rejoice over me!

25  Let them not say in their hearts,

^o“Aha, our heart’s desire!”

Let them not say, ^p“We have swallowed him up.”

26  Let them be ^qput to shame and disappointed altogether

who rejoice at my calamity!

Let them be ^rclothed with shame and dishonor

who ^smagnify themselves against me!

27  Let those who delight in my righteousness

shout for joy and be glad

^tand say evermore,

^u“Great is the Lord,

who ^vdelights in the welfare of his servant!”

28  Then my ^wtongue shall tell of your righteousness

and of your praise all the day long.

1  ^uFret not yourself because of evildoers;

be not ^venvious of wrongdoers!

2  For they will soon ^wfade like ^xthe grass

and wither ^ylike the green herb.

3  ^zTrust in the Lord, and do good;

^adwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.²

4  ^bDelight yourself in the Lord,

and he will ^cgive you the desires of your heart.

5  ^dCommit your way to the Lord;

^ztrust in him, and he will act.

6  ^eHe will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as ^fthe noonday.

7  ^gBe still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

^hfret not yourself over the one who ⁱprospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

8  ^jRefrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

^hFret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

9  ^kFor the evildoers shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the Lord shall ^linherit the land.

10  In ^mjust a little while, the wicked will be no more;

though you look carefully at ⁿhis place, he will not be there.

11  But ^othe meek shall inherit the land

and delight themselves in ^pabundant peace.

12  The wicked ^qplots against the righteous

and ^rgnashes his teeth at him,

13  but the Lord ^slaughs at the wicked,

for he sees that his ^tday is coming.

14  The wicked draw the sword and ^ubend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose ^vway is upright;

15  their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their ^wbows shall be broken.

16  ^xBetter is the little that the righteous has

than the abundance of many wicked.

17  For ^ythe arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but the Lord ^zupholds the righteous.

18  The Lord ^aknows the days of the blameless,

and their ^bheritage will remain forever;

19  they are not put to shame in evil times;

in ^cthe days of famine they have abundance.

20  But the wicked will perish;

the enemies of the Lord are like ^dthe glory of the pastures;

they vanish—like ^esmoke they vanish away.

21  The wicked borrows but does not pay back,

but the righteous ^fis generous and gives;

22  for those blessed by the Lord³ shall ^ginherit the land,

but those cursed by him ^hshall be cut off.

23  The ⁱsteps of a man are ^jestablished by the Lord,

when he delights in his way;

24  ^kthough he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,

for the Lord ^lupholds his hand.

25  I have been young, and now am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or his children ^mbegging for bread.

26  He is ever ⁿlending generously,

and his children become a blessing.

27  ^oTurn away from evil and do good;

so shall you ^pdwell forever.

28  For the Lord ^qloves justice;

he will not forsake his ^rsaints.

They are preserved forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be ^scut off.

29  The righteous shall inherit the land

and ^pdwell upon it forever.

30  The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks justice.

31  ^tThe law of his God is in his heart;

his ^usteps do not slip.

32  The wicked ^vwatches for the righteous

and seeks to put him to death.

33  The Lord will not ^wabandon him to his power

or let him ^xbe condemned when he is brought to trial.

34  ^yWait for the Lord and keep his way,

and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

you will look on ^zwhen the wicked are cut off.

35  ^aI have seen a wicked, ruthless man,

spreading himself like ^ba green laurel tree.⁴

36  But he passed away,⁵ and behold, ^che was no more;

though I sought him, he could not be found.

37  Mark the blameless and behold the upright,

for there is a future for the man of ^dpeace.

38  But ^etransgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

the future of the wicked ^fshall be cut off.

39  ^gThe salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in ^hthe time of trouble.

40  The Lord helps them and ⁱdelivers them;

^jhe delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they ^ktake refuge in him.

1  I ^uwaited patiently for the Lord;

he inclined to me and ^vheard my cry.

2  He drew me up from ^wthe pit of destruction,

out of ^xthe miry bog,

and ^yset my feet upon a rock,

^zmaking my steps secure.

3  He put ^aa new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God.

Many will ^bsee and fear,

and put their trust in the Lord.

4  Blessed is the man who ^cmakes

the Lord his trust,

who does not turn to the proud,

to those who ^dgo astray after a lie!

5  You have multiplied, O Lord my God,

your ^ewondrous deeds and your ^fthoughts toward us;

none can compare with you!

I will proclaim and tell of them,

yet they are ^gmore than can be told.

6  ^hIn sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,

but you have given me an open ⁱear.¹

Burnt offering and sin offering

you have not required.

7  Then I said, “Behold, I have come;

in the scroll of the book it is written ^jof me:

8  ^kI delight to do your will, O my God;

your law is ^lwithin my heart.”

9  I have told the glad news of deliverance²

in ^mthe great congregation;

behold, I have not ⁿrestrained my lips,

^oas you know, O Lord.

10  I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;

I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;

I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness

from the great congregation.

11  As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain

your mercy from me;

your ^psteadfast love and your faithfulness will

ever preserve me!

12  For evils have ^qencompassed me

beyond number;

my ^riniquities have overtaken me,

and I cannot ^ssee;

they are ^tmore than the hairs of my head;

my heart ^ufails me.

13  ^vBe pleased, O Lord, to ^wdeliver me!

O Lord, ^xmake haste to help me!

14  ^yLet those be put to shame and disappointed altogether

who seek to snatch away my life;

let those be ^zturned back and brought to dishonor

who delight in my hurt!

15  Let those be appalled because of their shame

who ^asay to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16  But may all who seek you

rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation

^bsay continually, “Great is the Lord!”

17  As for me, I am ^cpoor and needy,

but ^dthe Lord takes thought for me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

do not delay, O my God!

1  Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man?

The steadfast love of God endures all the day.

2  Your ^dtongue plots destruction,

like ^ea sharp razor, you ^fworker of deceit.

3  You love evil more than good,

and ^glying more than speaking what is right. Selah

4  You love all words that devour,

O deceitful tongue.

5  But God will break you down forever;

he will snatch and ^htear you from your tent;

he will uproot you from ⁱthe land of the living. Selah

6  The righteous shall ^jsee and fear,

and shall ^klaugh at him, saying,

7  “See the man who would not make

God his refuge,

but ^ltrusted in the abundance of his riches

and sought refuge in his own destruction!”²

8  But I am like ^ma green olive tree

in the house of God.

I trust in the steadfast love of God

forever and ever.

9  I will thank you forever,

because you have done it.

I will wait for your name, ⁿfor it is good,

in the presence of the ^ogodly.

1  O God, save me by your ^vname,

and vindicate me by your might.

2  O God, ^whear my prayer;

give ear to the words of my mouth.

3  ^xFor ^ystrangers² have risen against me;

ruthless men ^zseek my life;

they do not set God before themselves. Selah

4  Behold, ^aGod is my helper;

the Lord is the upholder of my life.

5  He will return the evil to my enemies;

in your ^bfaithfulness ^cput an end to them.

6  With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;

I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, ^dfor it is good.

7  For he has delivered me from every trouble,

and my eye has ^elooked in triumph on my enemies.

1  ^rBe gracious to me, O God, for man ^stramples on me;

all day long an attacker oppresses me;

2  my enemies trample on me all day long,

for many attack me proudly.

3  When I am afraid,

I ^tput my trust in you.

4  In God, whose word I praise,

in God I trust; ^uI shall not be afraid.

What can flesh do to me?

5  All day long they injure my cause;²

all their thoughts are against me for evil.

6  They ^vstir up strife, they ^wlurk;

they ^xwatch my steps,

as they have waited for my life.

7  For their crime will they escape?

^yIn wrath ^zcast down the peoples, O God!

8  You have kept count of my tossings;³

^aput my tears in your bottle.

^bAre they not in your book?

9  Then my enemies will turn back

^cin the day when I call.

This I know, that^{4 d}God is for me.

10  In God, whose word I praise,

in the Lord, whose word I praise,

11  in God I trust; ^uI shall not be afraid.

What can man do to me?

12  I must perform my ^evows to you, O God;

I will ^erender thank offerings to you.

13  ^fFor you have delivered my soul from death,

yes, my feet from falling,

^gthat I may walk before God

^hin the light of life.

1  ^lBe merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,

for in you my soul ^mtakes refuge;

in ⁿthe shadow of your wings I will take refuge,

^otill the storms of destruction pass by.

2  I cry out to God Most High,

to God who ^pfulfills his purpose for me.

3  ^qHe will send from heaven and save me;

he will put to shame ^rhim who tramples on me. Selah

^sGod will send out ^this steadfast love and his faithfulness!

4  My soul is in the midst of ^ulions;

I lie down amid fiery beasts—

the children of man, whose ^vteeth are spears and arrows,