1  Why, O Lord, do you stand ^kfar away?

Why ^ldo you hide yourself in ^mtimes of trouble?

2  In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;

let them ⁿbe caught in the schemes that they have devised.

3  For the wicked ^oboasts of the desires of his soul,

and the one greedy for gain ^pcurses¹ and ^qrenounces the Lord.

4  In the pride of his face² the wicked does not ^qseek him;³

all his thoughts are, ^r“There is no God.”

5  His ways prosper at all times;

your judgments are on high, ^sout of his sight;

as for all his foes, he ^tpuffs at them.

6  He ^usays in his heart, “I shall not be moved;

throughout all generations I ^vshall not meet adversity.”

7  ^wHis mouth is filled with cursing and ^xdeceit and ^yoppression;

^zunder his tongue are ^amischief and ^biniquity.

8  He sits in ambush in the villages;

in ^chiding places he murders the innocent.

His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

9  he lurks in ambush like ^da lion in his ^ethicket;

he ^flurks that he may seize the poor;

he seizes the poor when he draws him into his ^gnet.

10  The helpless are crushed, sink down,

and fall by his might.

11  He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,

he has ^hhidden his face, he ⁱwill never see it.”

12  ^jArise, O Lord; O God, ^klift up your hand;

^lforget not the afflicted.

13  Why does the wicked ^mrenounce God

and say in his heart, “You will not ⁿcall to account”?

14  But you do see, for you ^onote mischief and vexation,

that you may take it into your hands;

to you the helpless ^pcommits himself;

you have been ^qthe helper of the fatherless.

15  ^rBreak the arm of the wicked and evildoer;

^scall his wickedness to account till you find none.

16  ^tThe Lord is king forever and ever;

the ^unations perish from his land.

17  O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;

you will ^vstrengthen their heart; you will incline your ear

18  to ^wdo justice to the fatherless and ^xthe oppressed,

so that ^yman who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

1  In the Lord I take refuge;

how can you say to my soul,

^z“Flee 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?”⁴

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 us⁶ from this generation forever.

8  On every side the wicked prowl,

as vileness is exalted among the children of man.