1  ^wHave mercy on me,¹ O God,

according to your steadfast love;

according to your ^xabundant mercy

^yblot out my transgressions.

2  ^zWash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

and ^acleanse me from my sin!

3  ^bFor I know my transgressions,

and my sin is ever before me.

4  ^cAgainst you, you only, have I sinned

and done what is evil ^din your sight,

^eso that you may be justified in your words

and blameless in your judgment.

5  Behold, ^fI was brought forth in iniquity,

and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6  Behold, you delight in truth in ^gthe inward being,

and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

7  Purge me ^hwith hyssop, and I shall be clean;

^zwash me, and I shall be ⁱwhiter than snow.

8  Let me hear joy and gladness;

^jlet the bones ^kthat you have broken rejoice.

9  ^lHide your face from my sins,

and ^yblot out all my iniquities.

10  ^mCreate in me a ⁿclean heart, O God,

and ^orenew a right² spirit within me.

11  ^pCast me not away from your presence,

and take not ^qyour Holy Spirit from me.

12  Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13  Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

and sinners will ^rreturn to you.

14  Deliver me from ^sbloodguiltiness, O God,

O ^tGod of my salvation,

and ^umy tongue will sing aloud of your ^vrighteousness.

15  O Lord, open my lips,

and my mouth will declare your praise.

16  ^wFor you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;

you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

17  The sacrifices of God are ^xa broken spirit;

a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18  ^yDo good to Zion in your good pleasure;

^zbuild up the walls of Jerusalem;

19  then will you delight in ^aright sacrifices,

in burnt offerings and ^bwhole burnt offerings;

then bulls will be offered on your altar.

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!”⁴

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  ^qThe fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”

They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;

there is none who does good.

2  God looks down from heaven

on the children of man

to see if there are any who understand,⁶

who seek after God.

3  They have all fallen away;

together they have become corrupt;

there is none who does good,

not even one.

4  Have those who work evil no knowledge,

who eat up my people as they eat bread,

and do not call upon God?

5  There they are, in great terror,

^rwhere there is no terror!

For God ^sscatters the bones of him who encamps against you;

you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

6  Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!

When God restores the fortunes of his people,

let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

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 ^ystrangers⁸ 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  ^gGive ear to my prayer, O God,

and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!

2  Attend to me, and answer me;

I am restless ^hin my complaint and I ⁱmoan,

3  because of the noise of the enemy,

because of the oppression of the wicked.

For they ^jdrop trouble upon me,

and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

4  My heart is in anguish within me;

^kthe terrors of death have fallen upon me.

5  Fear and trembling come upon me,

and ^lhorror ^moverwhelms me.

6  And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest;

7  ⁿyes, I would wander far away;

I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah

8  I would hurry to find a shelter

from ^othe raging wind and tempest.”

9  Destroy, O Lord, ^pdivide their tongues;

for I see ^qviolence and strife in the city.

10  Day and night they go around it

on its walls,

and ^riniquity and trouble are within it;

11  ruin is in its midst;

^soppression and fraud

do not depart from its marketplace.

12  For it is not an enemy who taunts me—

then I could bear it;

it is not an adversary who ^tdeals insolently with me—

then I could hide from him.

13  ^uBut it is you, a man, my equal,

my companion, my familiar friend.

14  We used to take sweet counsel together;

within God’s house we walked in ^vthe throng.

15  Let death steal over them;

let them go down to Sheol ^walive;

for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

16  But I call to God,

and the Lord will save me.

17  ^xEvening and ^ymorning and at ^znoon

I ^autter my complaint and moan,

and he hears my voice.

18  He redeems my soul in safety

from the battle that I wage,

for ^bmany are arrayed against me.

19  God will give ear and humble them,

he who is ^centhroned from of old, Selah

because they do not ^dchange

and do not fear God.

20  My companion^{10 e}stretched out his hand against his friends;

he violated his covenant.

21  His ^fspeech was ^gsmooth as butter,

yet war was in his heart;

his words were softer than oil,

yet they were ^hdrawn swords.

22  ⁱCast your burden on the Lord,

and he will sustain you;

^jhe will never permit

the righteous to be moved.

23  But you, O God, ^kwill cast them down

into ^lthe pit of destruction;

men of ^mblood and treachery

shall not ⁿlive out half their days.

But I will ^otrust in you.

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;¹²

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;¹³

^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^{14 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,

whose ^wtongues are sharp swords.

5  ^xBe exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let your glory be over all the earth!

6  They set ^ya net for my steps;

my soul was ^zbowed down.

They ^adug a pit in my way,

but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah

7  ^bMy heart is ^csteadfast, O God,

my heart is steadfast!

I will sing and make melody!

8  ^dAwake, ^emy glory!¹⁶

Awake, ^fO harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn!

9  I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations.

10  For your ^gsteadfast love is great to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

11  ^xBe exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let your glory be over all the earth!

1  Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?¹⁸

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!¹⁹

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,²¹ “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^{22 r}will meet me;

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

11  Kill them not, lest my people forget;

make them totter²³ 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.²⁵ 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:²⁶

“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.”²⁷

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.

1  Hear my cry, O God,

^mlisten to my prayer;

2  from the end of the earth I call to you

when my heart is ⁿfaint.

Lead me to ^othe rock

that is higher than I,

3  for you have been ^pmy refuge,

a strong ^qtower against the enemy.

4  Let me ^rdwell in your tent forever!

Let me take refuge under ^sthe shelter of your wings! Selah

5  For you, O God, have heard my vows;

you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

6  ^tProlong ^uthe life of the king;

may his years endure to all generations!

7  May he be enthroned forever before God;

appoint ^vsteadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!

8  So will I ever sing praises to your name,

as I ^wperform my vows day after day.

1  For God alone ^ymy soul ^zwaits in silence;

from him comes my salvation.

2  ^aHe alone is my rock and my salvation,

my ^bfortress; ^cI shall not be greatly shaken.

3  How long will all of you attack a man

to batter him,

like ^da leaning wall, a tottering fence?

4  They only plan to thrust him down from his ^ehigh position.

They take pleasure in falsehood.

^fThey bless with their mouths,

but inwardly they curse. Selah

5  For God alone, O ^ymy soul, wait in silence,

for my hope is from him.

6  ^aHe only is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

7  On God rests my ^gsalvation and my glory;

my mighty rock, ^hmy refuge is God.

8  ⁱTrust in him at all times, O people;

^jpour out your heart before him;

God is ^ha refuge for us. Selah

9  ^kThose of low estate are but a breath;

those of high estate ^lare a delusion;

in the balances they go up;

^kthey are together lighter than a breath.

10  Put no trust in extortion;

^mset no vain hopes on robbery;

ⁿif riches increase, set not your heart on them.

11  ^oOnce God has spoken;

^otwice have I heard this:

that ^ppower belongs to God,

12  and that to you, O Lord, ^qbelongs steadfast love.

For you will ^rrender to a man

according to his work.

1  O God, you are my God; ^tearnestly I seek you;

^umy soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

as in ^va dry and weary land where there is no water.

2  So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

beholding ^wyour power and glory.

3  Because your ^xsteadfast love is better than life,

my lips will praise you.

4  So I will bless you ^yas long as I live;

in your ^zname I will ^alift up my hands.

5  My soul will be ^bsatisfied as with fat and rich food,

and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,

6  when I remember you ^cupon my bed,

and meditate on you in ^cthe watches of the night;

7  for you have been my help,

and in ^dthe shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.

8  My soul ^eclings to you;

your right hand ^fupholds me.

9  But those who seek to destroy my life

^gshall go down into ^hthe depths of the earth;

10  they shall be given over to the power of the sword;