1  ⁱPraise the Lord!

^jOh give thanks to the Lord, ^kfor he is good,

^lfor his steadfast love endures forever!

2  Who can utter the mighty deeds of the Lord,

or declare all his praise?

3  Blessed are they who observe justice,

who ^mdo righteousness at all times!

4  ⁿRemember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;

help me when you save them,¹

5  that I may look upon the prosperity of your ^ochosen ones,

that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

that I may glory with your inheritance.

6  ^pBoth we and ^qour fathers have sinned;

we have committed iniquity; we have done wickedness.

7  Our fathers, when they were in Egypt,

did not consider your wondrous works;

they ^rdid not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,

but ^srebelled by the sea, at the Red Sea.

8  Yet he saved them ^tfor his name’s sake,

^uthat he might make known his mighty power.

9  He ^vrebuked the Red Sea, and it ^wbecame dry,

and he ^xled them through the deep as through a desert.

10  So he ^ysaved them from the hand of the foe

and ^zredeemed them from the power of the enemy.

11  And ^athe waters covered their adversaries;

not one of them was left.

12  Then ^bthey believed his words;

they ^csang his praise.

13  But they soon ^dforgot his works;

they did not wait for ^ehis counsel.

14  But they had ^fa wanton craving in the wilderness,

and ^gput God to the test in the desert;

15  he ^hgave them what they asked,

but sent ⁱa wasting disease among them.

16  When men in the camp ^jwere jealous of Moses

and Aaron, ^kthe holy one of the Lord,

17  ^lthe earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

and covered the company of Abiram.

18  ^mFire also broke out in their company;

the flame burned up the wicked.

161  ^rPrinces persecute me ^swithout cause,

but my heart ^tstands in awe of your words.

162  I ^trejoice at your word

like one who ^ufinds great spoil.

163  I hate and abhor falsehood,

but I love ^vyour law.

164  Seven times a day I praise you

for your ^qrighteous rules.

165  Great ^wpeace have those who love your law;

^xnothing can make them stumble.

166  I ^yhope for your salvation, O Lord,

and I do your commandments.

167  My soul keeps your testimonies;

I ^vlove them exceedingly.

168  I keep your precepts and testimonies,

^zfor all my ways are before you.

169  Let my ^acry come before you, O Lord;

^bgive me understanding ^caccording to your word!

170  Let my plea come before you;

^ddeliver me according to your word.

171  My lips will ^epour forth praise,

for you ^fteach me your statutes.

172  My tongue will sing of your word,

for ^gall your commandments are right.

173  Let your hand be ready to help me,

for I have ^hchosen your precepts.

174  I ⁱlong for your salvation, O Lord,

and your law is my ^jdelight.

175  Let my soul live and praise you,

and let your rules help me.

176  I have ^kgone astray like a lost sheep; seek your servant,

for I do not ^lforget your commandments.

2  “How long will you torment me

and break me in pieces with words?

3  These ^wten times you have cast reproach upon me;

are you not ashamed to wrong me?

4  And even if it be true that I have erred,

my error remains with myself.

5  If indeed you ^xmagnify yourselves against me

and make my disgrace an argument against me,

6  know then that God has ^yput me in the wrong

and closed his net about me.

7  Behold, I ^zcry out, ‘Violence!’ but I am not answered;

I call for help, but there is no justice.

8  He has ^awalled up my way, so that I cannot pass,

and he has set darkness upon my paths.

9  He has ^bstripped from me my glory

and taken the ^ccrown from my head.

10  He breaks me down on every side, and I ^dam gone,

and my hope has he pulled up like a tree.

11  He has kindled his wrath against me

and ^ecounts me as his adversary.

12  His ^ftroops come on together;

they have ^gcast up their siege ramp¹ against me

and encamp around my tent.

13  “He has put my ^hbrothers far from me,

and ⁱthose who knew me are wholly estranged from me.

14  My relatives ^jhave failed me,

my close ^kfriends have forgotten me.

15  The guests ^lin my house and my maidservants count me as a stranger;

I have become a foreigner in their eyes.

16  I call to my servant, but he gives me no answer;

I must plead with him with my mouth for mercy.

17  My breath is strange to my ^mwife,

and I am a stench to the children of ⁿmy own mother.

18  Even young ^ochildren despise me;

when I rise they talk against me.

19  All my ^pintimate friends abhor me,

and those whom I loved have turned against me.

20  My ^qbones stick to my skin and to my flesh,

and I have escaped by the skin of my teeth.

21  Have mercy on me, have mercy on me, O you my friends,

for the hand of God has ^rtouched me!

22  Why do you, like God, ^spursue me?

Why are you not satisfied with my flesh?

23  “Oh that my words were written!

Oh that they were ^tinscribed in a book!

24  Oh that with an iron ^upen and lead

they were engraved in the rock forever!

25  For I ^vknow that my ^wRedeemer lives,

and at the last he will stand upon the ^xearth.²

26  And after my skin has been thus destroyed,

yet in³ my flesh I shall ^ysee God,

27  whom I shall see for myself,

and my eyes shall behold, and not ^zanother.

My heart ^afaints within me!