1  To you, O Lord, I ^olift up my soul.

2  O my God, in you I ^ptrust;

^qlet me not be put to shame;

^rlet not my enemies exult over me.

3  Indeed, ^snone who wait for you shall be put to shame;

they shall be ashamed who are ^twantonly ^utreacherous.

4  ^vMake me to know your ways, O Lord;

teach me your paths.

5  Lead me in your ^wtruth and teach me,

for you are the God of my salvation;

for you I wait all the day long.

6  Remember your ^xmercy, O Lord, and your steadfast love,

^yfor they have been from of old.

7  Remember not ^zthe sins of my youth or my transgressions;

according to your ^asteadfast love remember me,

for the sake of your goodness, O Lord!

8  ^bGood and upright is the Lord;

therefore he ^cinstructs sinners in the way.

9  He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble his way.

10  All the paths of the Lord are ^dsteadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep his covenant and his testimonies.

11  For your ^ename’s sake, O Lord,

pardon my guilt, for it is ^fgreat.

12  Who is the man who fears the Lord?

Him ^cwill he instruct in the way that he should choose.

13  His soul shall ^gabide in well-being,

and his ^hoffspring ⁱshall inherit the land.

14  ^jThe friendship² of the Lord is for those who fear him,

and he makes known to them his covenant.

15  My ^keyes are ever toward the Lord,

for he will ^lpluck my feet out of the net.

16  ^mTurn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am lonely and afflicted.

17  The troubles of my heart are enlarged;

bring me out of my distresses.

18  ⁿConsider my affliction and my trouble,

and forgive all my sins.

19  Consider how many are my foes,

and with what violent hatred they hate me.

20  Oh, guard my soul, and deliver me!

^oLet me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

21  May integrity and uprightness preserve me,

for I wait for you.

22  ^pRedeem Israel, O God,

out of all his troubles.

1  “Behold, my eye has seen all this,

my ear has heard and understood it.

2  ^cWhat you know, I also know;

I am not inferior to you.

3  ^dBut I would speak to the Almighty,

and I desire to ^eargue my case with God.

4  As for you, ^fyou whitewash with lies;

^gworthless physicians are you all.

5  Oh that you would ^hkeep silent,

and it would be your wisdom!

6  Hear now my argument

and listen to the pleadings of my lips.

7  Will you ⁱspeak falsely for God

and speak ⁱdeceitfully for him?

8  Will you show partiality toward him?

Will you ^jplead the case for God?

9  Will it be well with you when he ^ksearches you out?

Or ^lcan you deceive him, as one deceives a man?

10  He will surely rebuke you

if in secret you show partiality.

11  Will not his ^mmajesty terrify you,

and the dread of him fall upon you?

12  Your maxims are proverbs of ⁿashes;

your defenses are defenses of clay.

13  “Let me have silence, and I will speak,

and let come on me what may.

14  Why should I take my flesh in my teeth

and ^oput my life in my hand?

15  ^pThough he slay me, I will ^qhope in him;¹

yet I will ^rargue my ways to his face.

16  This will be my salvation,

that the godless shall not come before him.

17  ^sKeep listening to my words,

and let my declaration be in your ears.

18  Behold, I have ^tprepared my case;

I know that I shall be in the right.

19  ^uWho is there who will contend with me?

For then I would be silent and die.

20  Only grant me two things,

then I will not ^vhide myself from your face:

21  ^wwithdraw your hand far from me,

and let not ^xdread of you terrify me.

22  ^yThen call, and I will answer;

or let me speak, and you reply to me.

23  How many are my iniquities and my sins?

^zMake me know my transgression and my sin.

24  Why ^ado you hide your face

and ^bcount me as your enemy?

25  Will you frighten ^ca driven leaf

and pursue dry ^dchaff?

26  For you ^ewrite bitter things against me

and make me inherit ^fthe iniquities of my youth.

27  You put my feet in ^gthe stocks

and ^hwatch all my paths;

you set a limit for² the soles of my feet.

28  Man³ wastes away like ⁱa rotten thing,

like a garment that is ^jmoth-eaten.

1  “Man who is ^kborn of a woman

is ^lfew of days and ^mfull of trouble.

2  He comes out like ⁿa flower and ^owithers;

he flees like ^pa shadow and continues not.

3  And do you ^qopen your eyes on such a one

and ^rbring me into judgment with you?

4  Who can bring ^sa clean thing out of an unclean?

There is not one.

5  Since his ^tdays are determined,

and ^uthe number of his months is with you,

and you have appointed his limits that he cannot pass,

6  ^vlook away from him and leave him alone,⁴

that he may enjoy, like ^wa hired hand, his day.

7  “For there is hope for a tree,

if it be cut down, that it will sprout again,

and that its shoots will not cease.

8  Though its root grow old in the earth,

and ^xits stump die in the soil,

9  yet at the scent of water it will bud

and put out ^ybranches like a young plant.

10  But a man dies and is laid low;

man breathes his last, and ^zwhere is he?

11  ^aAs waters fail from a lake

and a river wastes away and dries up,

12  so a man lies down and rises not again;

till ^bthe heavens are no more he will not awake

or be ^croused out of his sleep.

13  Oh that you would ^dhide me in ^eSheol,

that you would ^dconceal me ^funtil your wrath be past,

that you would appoint me a set time, and remember me!

14  If a man dies, shall he live again?

All the days of my ^gservice I would ^hwait,

till my renewal⁵ should come.

15  You would ⁱcall, and I would answer you;

you would long for the ^jwork of your hands.

16  For then you would ^knumber my steps;

you would not keep ^lwatch over my sin;

17  my transgression would be ^msealed up in a bag,

and you would cover over my iniquity.

18  “But the mountain falls and ⁿcrumbles away,

and ^othe rock is removed from its place;

19  the waters wear away the stones;

the torrents wash away the soil of the earth;

so you destroy the hope of man.

20  You prevail forever against him, and he passes;

you change his countenance, and send him away.

21  His sons come to honor, and he ^pdoes not know it;

they are brought low, and he perceives it not.

22  He feels only the pain of his own body,

and he mourns only for himself.”