141  O Lord, I call upon you; ^thasten to me!

Give ear to my voice when I call to you!

2  Let ^umy prayer be counted as incense before you,

and ^vthe lifting up of my hands as ^wthe evening sacrifice!

3  ^xSet a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;

^ykeep watch over the door of my lips!

4  ^zDo not let my heart incline to any evil,

to busy myself with wicked deeds

in company with men who ^awork iniquity,

and ^blet me not eat of their delicacies!

5  ^cLet a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;

let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;

let my head not refuse it.

Yet ^dmy prayer is continually against their evil deeds.

6  When their judges are ^ethrown over the cliff,¹

then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.

7  As when one plows and breaks up the earth,

so shall our bones ^fbe scattered at the mouth of Sheol.²

8  But ^gmy eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;

^hin you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!³

9  Keep me from ⁱthe trap that they have laid for me

and from the snares of evildoers!

10  Let the wicked ^jfall into their own nets,

while I pass by safely.

142  With my voice I ^lcry out to the Lord;

with my voice I ^mplead for mercy to the Lord.

2  I ⁿpour out my complaint before him;

I tell my trouble before him.

3  When my spirit ^ofaints within me,

you know my way!

In the path where I walk

they have ^phidden a trap for me.

4  ^qLook to the ^rright and see:

^sthere is none who takes notice of me;

^tno refuge remains to me;

no one cares for my soul.

5  I cry to you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my ^urefuge,

my ^vportion in ^wthe land of the living.”

6  ^xAttend to my cry,

for ^yI am brought very low!

Deliver me from my persecutors,

^zfor they are too strong for me!

7  ^aBring me out of prison,

that I may give thanks to your name!

The righteous will surround me,

for you will ^bdeal bountifully with me.

143  Hear my prayer, O Lord;

^cgive ear to my pleas for mercy!

In your ^dfaithfulness answer me, in your ^drighteousness!

2  ^eEnter not into judgment with your servant,

for no one living is righteous ^fbefore you.

3  For the enemy has pursued my soul;

^ghe has crushed my life to the ground;

^hhe has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

4  Therefore my spirit ⁱfaints within me;

my heart within me is appalled.

5  ^jI remember the days of old;

^kI meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands.

6  ^lI stretch out my hands to you;

^mmy soul thirsts for you like ⁿa parched land. Selah

7  ^oAnswer me quickly, O Lord!

^pMy spirit fails!

^qHide not your face from me,

^rlest I be like those who go down to the pit.

8  ^sLet me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,

for in you I ^ttrust.

^uMake me know the way I should go,

^vfor to you I lift up my soul.

9  ^wDeliver me from my enemies, O Lord!

I have fled to you for refuge.¹

10  ^xTeach me to do your will,

for you are my God!

^yLet your good Spirit ^zlead me

on ^alevel ground!

11  ^bFor your name’s sake, O Lord, ^cpreserve my life!

In your righteousness ^dbring my soul out of trouble!

12  And in your steadfast love you will ^ecut off my enemies,

and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,

for I am your ^fservant.

144  Blessed be the Lord, my ^grock,

^hwho trains my hands for war,

and my fingers for battle;

2  he is my ⁱsteadfast love and my ^jfortress,

my ^kstronghold and my deliverer,

my ^lshield and he in whom I take refuge,

who ^msubdues peoples¹ under me.

3  O Lord, ⁿwhat is man that you ^oregard him,

or the son of man that you think of him?

4  ^pMan is like a breath;

his days are like ^qa passing ^rshadow.

5  ^sBow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!

^tTouch the mountains so that they smoke!

6  ^uFlash forth the lightning and scatter them;

^usend out your arrows and rout them!

7  ^vStretch out your hand from on high;

^wrescue me and deliver me from the many waters,

from the hand ^xof foreigners,

8  whose mouths speak ^ylies

and whose right hand is ^za right hand of falsehood.

9  I will sing ^aa new song to you, O God;

upon ^aa ten-stringed harp I will play to you,

10  who gives victory to kings,

who ^brescues David his servant from the cruel sword.

11  Rescue me and deliver me

from the hand ^xof foreigners,

whose mouths speak ^ylies

and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

12  May our sons in their youth

be like ^cplants full grown,

our daughters like ^dcorner pillars

cut for the structure of a palace;

13  ^emay our granaries be full,

^fproviding all kinds of produce;

may our sheep bring forth thousands

and ten thousands in our fields;

14  may our cattle be heavy with young,

suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;²

may there be no ^gcry of distress in our streets!

15  ^hBlessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!

ⁱBlessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

145  ^jI will extol you, my God and ^kKing,

and bless your name forever and ever.

2  Every day I will bless you

^land praise your name forever and ever.

3  ^mGreat is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and his ⁿgreatness is unsearchable.

4  ^oOne generation shall commend your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts.

5  On ^pthe glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

6  They shall speak of ^qthe might of your awesome deeds,

and I will declare your greatness.

7  They shall pour forth the fame of your ^rabundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8  The Lord is ^sgracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9  The Lord is ^tgood to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10  ^uAll your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your ^vsaints shall bless you!

11  They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom

and tell of your power,

12  to ^wmake known to the children of man your^{2 x}mighty deeds,

and ^ythe glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13  ^zYour kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The Lord is faithful in all his words

and kind in all his works.]³

14  The Lord ^aupholds all who are falling

and ^braises up all who are bowed down.

15  The eyes of all ^clook to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

16  You ^dopen your hand;

you ^esatisfy the desire of every living thing.

17  The Lord is ^frighteous in all his ways

and ^gkind in all his works.

18  The Lord is ^hnear to all who call on him,

to all who call on him ⁱin truth.

19  He ^jfulfills the desire of those who fear him;

he also ^khears their cry and saves them.

20  The Lord ^lpreserves all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21  My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and ^mlet all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.