49  ^gHear this, all peoples!

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

2  ^hboth low and high,

rich and poor together!

3  My mouth shall speak ⁱwisdom;

the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

4  I will incline my ear to ^ja proverb;

I will solve my ^kriddle to the music of the lyre.

5  ^lWhy should I fear in ^mtimes of trouble,

when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,

6  those who ⁿtrust in their wealth

and boast of the abundance of their riches?

7  Truly no man ^ocan ransom another,

or ^pgive to God ^qthe price of his life,

8  for ^rthe ransom of their life is costly

and can never suffice,

9  that he should live on forever

and ^snever see the pit.

10  For he sees ^tthat even the wise die;

^uthe fool and the stupid alike must perish

and ^vleave their wealth to others.

11  Their ^wgraves are their homes forever,¹

their dwelling places ^xto all generations,

though they ^ycalled lands by their own names.

12  Man in his pomp ^zwill not remain;

^ahe is like the beasts that perish.

13  This is the path of those who have ^bfoolish confidence;

yet after them people approve of their boasts.² Selah

14  Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

death shall be their shepherd,

and the upright ^cshall rule over them in the morning.

^dTheir form shall be consumed ^ein Sheol, with no place to dwell.

15  But God will ^fransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

for he will ^greceive me. Selah

16  Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,

when the glory of his house increases.

17  ^hFor when he dies he will ⁱcarry nothing away;

his glory will not go down after him.

18  For though, while he lives, he counts himself ^jblessed

—and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—

19  his soul will ^kgo to the generation of his fathers,

who will never again ^lsee light.

20  ^mMan in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

50  ^oThe Mighty One, God the Lord,

speaks and summons the earth

^pfrom the rising of the sun to its setting.

2  Out of Zion, ^qthe perfection of beauty,

^rGod shines forth.

3  Our God comes; he ^sdoes not keep silence;¹

before him is a devouring ^tfire,

around him a mighty tempest.

4  ^uHe calls to the heavens above

and to the earth, that he may judge his people:

5  “Gather to me my faithful ones,

who made ^va covenant with me by sacrifice!”

6  ^wThe heavens declare his righteousness,

for ^xGod himself is judge! Selah

7  ^y“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;

O Israel, I will testify against you.

^zI am God, your God.

8  Not for your sacrifices ^ado I rebuke you;

your burnt offerings are continually before me.

9  I will not accept a bull from your house

or goats from your folds.

10  For every beast of the forest is mine,

the cattle on a thousand hills.

11  ^bI know all the birds of the hills,

and all that moves in the field is mine.

12  “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

^cfor the world and its fullness are mine.

13  Do I eat the flesh of bulls

or drink the blood of goats?

14  ^dOffer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,²

and ^eperform your vows to the Most High,

15  and ^fcall upon me in the day of trouble;

I will ^gdeliver you, and you shall ^hglorify me.”

16  But to the wicked God says:

“What right have you to recite my statutes

or take my covenant on your lips?

17  ⁱFor you hate discipline,

^jand you cast my words behind you.

18  If you see a thief, ^kyou are pleased with him,

^land you keep company with adulterers.

19  “You give your mouth free rein for evil,

^mand your tongue frames deceit.

20  You sit and speak against your brother;

you slander your own mother’s son.

21  These things you have done, and I ⁿhave been silent;

you thought that I³ was one like yourself.

But now I ^orebuke you and ^play the charge before you.

22  “Mark this, then, you who ^qforget God,

lest I tear you apart, and there be ^rnone to deliver!

23  The one who ^soffers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;

to one who ^torders his way rightly

I will show the ^usalvation of God!”

51  ^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.

52  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.

53  ^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,²

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.