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  ^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  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  Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when ^ebrothers dwell in unity!¹

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  ^bI give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;

before ^cthe gods I sing your praise;

2  I bow down ^dtoward your ^eholy temple

and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,

for you have exalted above all things

your name and your word.¹

3  On the day I called, you answered me;

my strength of soul you increased.²

4  ^fAll the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,

for they have heard the words of your mouth,

5  and they shall sing of ^gthe ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

6  ^hFor though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,

but the haughty he knows from afar.

7  ⁱThough I walk in the midst of trouble,

you ^jpreserve my life;

you ^kstretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

and your ^lright hand delivers me.

8  The Lord will ^mfulfill his purpose for me;

ⁿyour steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake ^othe work of your hands.

1  O Lord, you have ^psearched me and known me!

2  You ^qknow when I sit down and when I rise up;

you ^rdiscern my thoughts from afar.

3  You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

4  Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O Lord, ^syou know it altogether.

5  You ^them me in, behind and before,

and ^ulay your hand upon me.

6  ^vSuch knowledge is ^wtoo wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

7  ^xWhere shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where ^yshall I flee from your presence?

8  ^zIf I ascend to heaven, you are there!

^aIf I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

9  If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10  even there your hand shall ^blead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

11  If I say, ^c“Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,”

12  ^deven the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

13  For you ^eformed my inward parts;

you ^fknitted me together in my mother’s womb.

14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.³

^gWonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

15  ^hMy frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in ⁱthe depths of the earth.

16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your ^jbook were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

17  How precious to me are your ^kthoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18  ^lIf I would count them, they are more than ^mthe sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

19  Oh that you would ⁿslay the wicked, O God!

O ^omen of blood, ^pdepart from me!

20  They ^qspeak against you with malicious intent;

your enemies ^rtake your name in vain.⁴

21  ^sDo I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

And do I not ^tloathe those who ^urise up against you?

22  I hate them with complete hatred;

I count them my enemies.

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart!

^vTry me and know my thoughts!⁵

24  And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and ^wlead me in ^xthe way everlasting!⁶

1  ^yDeliver me, O Lord, from evil men;

preserve me from ^zviolent men,

2  who plan evil things in their heart

and ^astir up wars continually.

3  They make ^btheir tongue sharp as ^ca serpent’s,

and ^dunder their lips is the ^evenom of asps. Selah

4  Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;

preserve me from ^zviolent men,

who have planned to trip up my feet.

5  The arrogant have ^fhidden a trap for me,

and with cords they have spread ^ga net;⁷

beside the way they have set ^hsnares for me. Selah

6  ⁱI say to the Lord, You are my God;

give ear to ^jthe voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!

7  O Lord, my Lord, ^kthe strength of my salvation,

you have covered my head in the day of battle.

8  ^lGrant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;

do not further their⁸ evil plot, or ^mthey will be exalted! Selah

9  As for the head of those who surround me,

let ⁿthe mischief of their lips overwhelm them!

10  Let ^oburning coals fall upon them!

Let them be cast into fire,

into miry pits, no more to rise!

11  Let not the slanderer be established in the land;

let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

12  I know that the Lord will ^pmaintain the cause of the afflicted,

and ^qwill execute justice for the needy.

13  Surely ^rthe righteous shall give thanks to your name;

^sthe upright shall dwell in your presence.