1  In my distress I called to the Lord,

and he answered me.

2  Deliver me, O Lord,

from lying lips,

from a deceitful tongue.

3  What shall be given to you,

ⁿand what more shall be done to you,

you deceitful tongue?

4  ^oA warrior’s ^psharp arrows,

with glowing ^qcoals of the broom tree!

5  Woe to me, that I sojourn in ^rMeshech,

that I dwell among ^sthe tents of ^tKedar!

6  Too long have I had my dwelling

among those who hate peace.

7  ^uI am for peace,

but when I speak, they are for war!

1  I ^vlift up my eyes to ^wthe hills.

From where does my help come?

2  ^xMy help comes from the Lord,

who ^ymade heaven and earth.

3  He will not ^zlet your foot be moved;

he who ^akeeps you will not slumber.

4  Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

5  The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your ^bshade on your ^cright hand.

6  ^dThe sun shall not ^estrike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

7  The Lord will ^akeep you from all evil;

he will ^akeep your life.

8  The Lord will keep

your ^fgoing out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.

1  I was glad when they said to me,

^g“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

2  Our feet have been standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem!

3  Jerusalem—^hbuilt as a city

that is ⁱbound firmly together,

4  to which the tribes ^jgo up,

the tribes of the Lord,

as was ^kdecreed for¹ Israel,

to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

5  There ^lthrones for judgment were set,

the thrones of the house of David.

6  ^mPray for the peace of Jerusalem!

“May they be secure who love you!

7  Peace be within your ⁿwalls

and security within your ⁿtowers!”

8  For my brothers and companions’ sake

I will say, ^o“Peace be within you!”

9  For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will ^pseek your good.

1  To you I ^qlift up my eyes,

O you who are ^renthroned in the heavens!

2  Behold, as the eyes of servants

look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maidservant

to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God,

till he has mercy upon us.

3  ^sHave mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,

for we have had more than enough of ^tcontempt.

4  Our soul has had more than enough

of ^uthe scorn of ^vthose who are at ease,

of the contempt of ^wthe proud.

1  ^xIf it had not been the Lord who was on our side—

^ylet Israel now say—

2  if it had not been the Lord who was on our side

when people rose up against us,

3  then they would have ^zswallowed us up alive,

when their anger was kindled against us;

4  then ^athe flood would have ^bswept us away,

the torrent would have gone ^cover us;

5  then over us would have gone

the raging waters.

6  Blessed be the Lord,

who has not given us

as prey to their teeth!

7  We have escaped like a bird

from ^dthe snare of the fowlers;

the snare is broken,

and we have escaped!

8  ^eOur help is in the name of the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

1  Those who ^ftrust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,

which ^gcannot be moved, but abides forever.

2  As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so ^hthe Lord surrounds his people,

from this time forth and forevermore.

3  For ⁱthe scepter of wickedness shall not ^jrest

on ^kthe land allotted to the righteous,

lest the righteous ^lstretch out

their hands to do wrong.

4  ^mDo good, O Lord, to those who are good,

and to those who are ⁿupright in their hearts!

5  But those who ^oturn aside to their ^pcrooked ways

the Lord will lead away with ^qevildoers!

^rPeace be upon Israel!

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.

1  Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord ^xwatches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

2  It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious ^ytoil;

for he gives to his ^zbeloved ^asleep.

3  Behold, ^bchildren are a heritage from the Lord,

^cthe fruit of the womb a reward.

4  Like arrows in the hand of ^da warrior

are the children² of one’s youth.

5  Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies ^ein the gate.³

1  ^fBlessed is everyone who fears the Lord,

who ^gwalks in his ways!

2  You ^hshall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;

you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

3  Your wife will be like ⁱa fruitful vine

within your house;

your children will be like ^jolive shoots

around your table.

4  Behold, thus shall the man be blessed

who fears the Lord.

5  ^kThe Lord bless you ^lfrom Zion!

May you see ^mthe prosperity of Jerusalem

all the days of your life!

6  May you see your ⁿchildren’s children!

^oPeace be upon Israel!

1  “Greatly⁴ have they ^pafflicted me ^qfrom my youth”—

^rlet Israel now say—

2  “Greatly have they ^pafflicted me ^qfrom my youth,

^syet they have not prevailed against me.

3  ^tThe plowers plowed ^uupon my back;

they made long their furrows.”

4  The Lord is righteous;

he has cut ^vthe cords of the wicked.

5  May all who hate Zion

be ^wput to shame and turned backward!

6  Let them be like ^xthe grass on the housetops,

which ^ywithers before it grows up,

7  with which the reaper does not fill his hand

nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

8  nor do those who pass by say,

^a“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!

We ^bbless you in the name of the Lord!”

1  Out of ^cthe depths I cry to you, O Lord!

2  O Lord, hear my voice!

^dLet your ears be attentive

to ^ethe voice of my pleas for mercy!

3  If you, O Lord, should ^fmark iniquities,

O Lord, who could ^gstand?

4  But with you there is ^hforgiveness,

ⁱthat you may be feared.

5  I ^jwait for the Lord, ^kmy soul waits,

and ^lin his word I hope;

6  my soul ^mwaits for the Lord

more than ⁿwatchmen for ^othe morning,

more than watchmen for the morning.

7  O Israel, ^phope in the Lord!

For ^qwith the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with him is plentiful redemption.

8  And he will ^rredeem Israel

from all his iniquities.

1  O Lord, my heart is not ^slifted up;

my eyes are not ^traised too high;

I do not ^uoccupy myself with things

too great and ^vtoo marvelous for me.

2  But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned ^wchild with its mother;

like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3  ^xO Israel, hope in the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore.

1  Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor,

all ^ythe hardships he endured,

2  how he swore to the Lord

and ^zvowed to ^athe Mighty One of Jacob,

3  “I will not enter my house

or get into my bed,

4  I will not ^bgive sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

5  until I ^cfind a place for the Lord,

a dwelling place for ^athe Mighty One of Jacob.”

6  Behold, we heard of it in ^dEphrathah;

we found it in ^ethe fields of Jaar.

7  “Let us go to his dwelling place;

let us ^fworship at his ^gfootstool!”

8  ^hArise, O Lord, and go to your ⁱresting place,

you and the ark of your ^jmight.

9  Let your ^kpriests be ^lclothed with righteousness,

and let your ^msaints shout for joy.

10  For the sake of your servant David,

ⁿdo not turn away the face of ^oyour anointed one.

11  ^pThe Lord swore to David a sure oath

^qfrom which he will not turn back:

^r“One of the sons of your body⁵

I will set on your throne.

12  If your sons keep my covenant

and my testimonies that I shall teach them,

their sons also forever

shall ^ssit on your throne.”

13  For the Lord has ^tchosen Zion;

he has ^udesired it for his dwelling place:

14  “This is my ^vresting place forever;

here I will ^wdwell, for I have desired it.

15  I will abundantly ^xbless her provisions;

I will ^ysatisfy her poor with bread.

16  Her ^zpriests I will clothe with salvation,

and her ^zsaints will shout for joy.

17  There I will make ^aa horn to sprout for David;

I have prepared ^ba lamp for ^cmy anointed.

18  His enemies I will ^dclothe with shame,

but on him his crown will shine.”

1  Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when ^ebrothers dwell in unity!⁶

2  It is like the precious ^foil on ^gthe head,

running down on the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down on ^hthe collar of his robes!

3  It is like ⁱthe dew of ^jHermon,

which falls on ^kthe mountains of Zion!

For there the Lord ^lhas commanded the blessing,

life forevermore.

1  Come, bless the Lord, all you ^mservants of the Lord,

who ⁿstand ^oby night in the house of the Lord!

2  ^pLift up your hands to ^qthe holy place

and bless the Lord!

3  May the Lord ^rbless you ^sfrom Zion,

he who ^tmade heaven and earth!

1  ^uPraise the Lord!

Praise the name of the Lord,

give praise, O ^vservants of the Lord,

2  who ⁿstand in the house of the Lord,

in ^wthe courts of the house of our God!

3  Praise the Lord, for ^xthe Lord is good;

sing to his name, ^yfor it is pleasant!⁷

4  For the Lord has ^zchosen Jacob for himself,

Israel as his ^aown possession.

5  For I know that ^bthe Lord is great,

and that our Lord is above all gods.

6  ^cWhatever the Lord pleases, he does,

in heaven and on earth,

in the seas and all deeps.

7  ^dHe it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,

who ^emakes lightnings for the rain

and brings forth the wind from his ^fstorehouses.

8  He it was who ^gstruck down the firstborn of Egypt,

both of man and of beast;

9  who in your midst, O Egypt,

sent ^hsigns and wonders

against Pharaoh and all his servants;

10  ⁱwho struck down many nations

and killed mighty kings,

11  ^jSihon, king of the Amorites,

and ^kOg, king of Bashan,

and ^lall the kingdoms of Canaan,

12  and ^mgave their land as a heritage,

a heritage to his people Israel.

13  ⁿYour name, O Lord, endures forever,

^oyour renown,⁸ O Lord, throughout all ages.

14  ^pFor the Lord will vindicate his people

and ^qhave compassion on his servants.

15  ^rThe idols of the nations are silver and gold,

the work of human hands.

16  They have mouths, but do not speak;

they have eyes, but do not see;

17  they have ears, but do not hear,

nor is there any breath in their mouths.

18  Those who make them become like them,

so do all who trust in them.

19  ^sO house of Israel, bless the Lord!

O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!

20  O house of Levi, bless the Lord!

You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord!

21  Blessed be the Lord ^tfrom Zion,

he who ^udwells in Jerusalem!

^vPraise the Lord!