16  Preserve me, O God, for in you I ⁱtake refuge.

2  I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

^jI have no good apart from you.”

3  As for ^kthe saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,

in whom is all my delight.²

4  The sorrows of those who run after³ another god shall multiply;

their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

or ^ltake their names on my lips.

5  The Lord is ^mmy chosen portion and my ⁿcup;

you hold my ^olot.

6  ^pThe lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

7  I bless the Lord who ^qgives me counsel;

in ^rthe night also my ^sheart instructs me.⁴

8  ^tI have ^uset the Lord always before me;

because he is at my ^vright hand, I shall not be ^wshaken.

9  Therefore my heart is glad, and my ^xwhole being⁵ rejoices;

my flesh also dwells secure.

10  For you will not abandon my soul to ^ySheol,

^zor let your ^aholy one see ^bcorruption.⁶

11  You make known to me ^cthe path of life;

in your presence there is ^dfullness of joy;

at your right hand are ^epleasures forevermore.

17  Hear a just cause, O Lord; ^gattend to my cry!

Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!

2  From your presence ^hlet my vindication come!

Let your eyes behold the right!

3  You have ⁱtried my heart, you have ^jvisited me by ^knight,

you have ^ltested me, and you will find nothing;

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

4  With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

5  My steps have ^mheld fast to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

6  I ⁿcall upon you, for you will answer me, O God;

^oincline your ear to me; hear my words.

7  ^pWondrously show¹ your steadfast love,

O Savior of those who seek refuge

from ^qtheir adversaries at your right hand.

8  Keep me as ^rthe apple of your eye;

hide me in ^sthe shadow of your wings,

9  from the wicked who do me violence,

my deadly enemies who ^tsurround me.

10  ^uThey close their hearts to pity;

with their mouths they ^vspeak arrogantly.

11  They have now surrounded our ^wsteps;

they set their eyes to ^xcast us to the ground.

12  He is like a lion eager to tear,

as a young lion ^ylurking in ambush.

13  Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!

Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,

14  from men by your hand, O Lord,

from ^zmen of the world whose ^aportion is in this life.²

You fill their womb with treasure;³

they are satisfied with ^bchildren,

and they leave their abundance to their infants.

15  As for me, I shall ^cbehold your face in righteousness;

when I ^dawake, I shall be ^esatisfied with your likeness.

18  I love you, O Lord, my strength.

2  The Lord is my ⁱrock and my ^jfortress and my deliverer,

my God, my ⁱrock, in ^kwhom I take refuge,

my ^lshield, and ^mthe horn of my salvation, my ⁿstronghold.

3  I call upon the Lord, who is ^oworthy to be praised,

and I am saved from my enemies.

4  ^pThe cords of death encompassed me;

^qthe torrents of destruction assailed me;¹

5  ^pthe cords of Sheol entangled me;

the snares of death confronted me.

6  ^rIn my distress I called upon the Lord;

to my God I cried for help.

From his ^stemple he heard my voice,

and my cry to him reached his ears.

7  Then the earth ^treeled and rocked;

the foundations also of the mountains trembled

and quaked, because he was angry.

8  Smoke went up from his nostrils,²

and devouring ^ufire from his mouth;

glowing coals flamed forth from him.

9  He ^vbowed the heavens and ^wcame down;

^xthick darkness was under his feet.

10  He rode on a cherub and flew;

he came swiftly on ^zthe wings of the wind.

11  He made darkness his covering, his ^acanopy around him,

thick clouds ^bdark with water.

12  Out of the brightness before him

^chailstones and coals of fire broke through his clouds.

13  The Lord also ^dthundered in the heavens,

and the Most High uttered his ^evoice,

hailstones and coals of fire.

14  And he sent out his ^farrows and scattered them;

he flashed forth lightnings and ^grouted them.

15  Then ^hthe channels of the sea were seen,

and the foundations of the world were laid bare

at your ⁱrebuke, O Lord,

at the blast of ^jthe breath of your nostrils.

16  He ^ksent from on high, he took me;

he ^ldrew me out of ^mmany waters.

17  He rescued me from my strong enemy

and from those who hated me,

for they were ⁿtoo mighty for me.

18  They confronted me in the day of my calamity,

but the Lord was my support.

19  He brought me out into ^oa broad place;

he rescued me, because he ^pdelighted in me.

20  The Lord dealt with me ^qaccording to my righteousness;

according to ^rthe cleanness of my hands he rewarded me.

21  For I have ^skept the ways of the Lord,

and have not wickedly departed from my God.

22  For ^tall his rules³ were before me,

and his statutes I did not put away from me.

23  I was ^ublameless before him,

and I kept myself from my guilt.

24  So the Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

25  With ^vthe merciful you show yourself merciful;

with the blameless man you show yourself blameless;

26  with the purified you show yourself pure;

and with ^wthe crooked you make yourself seem tortuous.

27  For you save ^xa humble people,

but ^ythe haughty eyes you bring down.

28  For it is you who light my ^zlamp;

the Lord my God lightens my darkness.

29  For by you I can run against a troop,

and by my God I can ^aleap over ^ba wall.

30  This God—his way is ^cperfect;⁴

the word of the Lord ^dproves true;

he is ^ea shield for all those who ^ftake refuge in him.

31  For ^gwho is God, but the Lord?

And who is ^ha rock, except our God?—

32  the God who ⁱequipped me with strength

and made my way ^jblameless.

33  He made my feet like the feet of a ^kdeer

and set me secure on ^lthe heights.

34  He ^mtrains my hands for war,

so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

35  You have given me the shield of your salvation,

and your right hand ⁿsupported me,

and your ^ogentleness made me great.

36  You ^pgave a wide place for my steps under me,

and my feet did not slip.

37  I pursued my enemies and overtook them,

and did not turn back till they were consumed.

38  I thrust them through, so that they were not able to rise;

they fell under my feet.

39  For you equipped me with strength for the battle;

you made those who rise against me sink under me.

40  You made my enemies ^qturn their backs to me,⁵

and those who hated me I destroyed.

41  ^rThey cried for help, but there was none to save;

they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

42  I beat them fine as ^sdust before the wind;

I cast them out like ^tthe mire of the streets.

43  You delivered me from ^ustrife with the people;

you made me ^vthe head of the nations;

^wpeople whom I had not known served me.

44  As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;

^xforeigners ^ycame cringing to me.

45  ^xForeigners lost heart

and ^zcame trembling out of their fortresses.

46  The Lord lives, and blessed be my rock,

and exalted be the God of my salvation—

47  the God who gave me vengeance

and ^asubdued peoples under me,

48  who rescued me from my enemies;

yes, you ^bexalted me above those who rose against me;

you delivered me from ^cthe man of violence.

49  ^dFor this I will praise you, O Lord, among the nations,

and ^esing to your name.

50  Great ^fsalvation he brings to his king,

and shows steadfast love to his ^ganointed,

to ^hDavid and his offspring forever.

19  ⁱThe heavens declare the glory of God,

and the sky above¹ proclaims his handiwork.

2  Day to day pours out speech,

and night to night reveals knowledge.

3  There is no speech, nor are there words,

whose voice is not heard.

4  ^jTheir ^kvoice² goes out through all the earth,

and their words to the end of the world.

In them he has set a tent for ^lthe sun,

5  ^mwhich comes out like ⁿa bridegroom leaving his chamber,

and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

6  Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

and its circuit to the end of them,

and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7  ^oThe law of the Lord is perfect,³

^previving the soul;

^qthe testimony of the Lord is ^rsure,

^smaking wise ^tthe simple;

8  ^uthe precepts of the Lord are right,

rejoicing the heart;

the commandment of the Lord is ^vpure,

^wenlightening the eyes;

9  the fear of the Lord is clean,

enduring forever;

the rules⁴ of the Lord are ^xtrue,

and righteous altogether.

10  More to be desired are they than ^ygold,

even much ^zfine gold;

^asweeter also than honey

and drippings of ^bthe honeycomb.

11  Moreover, by them is your servant warned;

^cin keeping them there is great reward.

12  ^dWho can discern his errors?

^eDeclare me innocent from ^fhidden faults.

13  ^gKeep back your servant also from ^hpresumptuous sins;

let them not have ⁱdominion over me!

Then I shall be blameless,

and innocent of great transgression.

14  Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

be acceptable in your sight,

O Lord, my ^jrock and my ^kredeemer.

20  May the Lord ^lanswer you in the day of trouble!

May ^mthe name of the God of Jacob ⁿprotect you!

2  May he send you help from ^othe sanctuary

and give you support from ^pZion!

3  May he ^qremember all your offerings

and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah

4  May he ^rgrant you your heart’s desire

and fulfill all your plans!

5  May we shout for joy over ^syour salvation,

and in the name of our God set up our ^tbanners!

May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!

6  Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;

he will answer him from his holy heaven

with ^uthe saving might of his right hand.

7  Some trust in ^vchariots and some in ^whorses,

^xbut we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

8  They collapse and fall,

but we rise and stand upright.

9  O Lord, save ^ythe king!

May he answer us when we call.