1  ^oIn you, O Lord, do I ^ptake refuge;

^qlet me never be put to shame;

in your ^rrighteousness deliver me!

2  Incline your ear to me;

rescue me speedily!

Be ^sa rock of ^trefuge for me,

a strong fortress to save me!

3  For you are my rock and my fortress;

and for your ^uname’s sake you lead me and guide me;

4  you ^vtake me out of ^wthe net they have hidden for me,

for you are my ^xrefuge.

5  ^yInto your hand I commit my spirit;

you have redeemed me, O Lord, ^zfaithful God.

6  I ^ahate¹ those who pay ^bregard to worthless ^cidols,

but I trust in the Lord.

7  I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,

because you have seen my affliction;

you have ^dknown the distress of my soul,

8  and you have not ^edelivered me into the hand of the enemy;

you have set my feet in ^fa broad place.

9  Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am ^gin distress;

^hmy eye is wasted from grief;

my soul and my body also.

10  For my life is spent with sorrow,

and my years with sighing;

my strength fails because of my iniquity,

and ⁱmy bones waste away.

11  Because of all my adversaries I have become ^ja reproach,

especially to my ^kneighbors,

and an object of dread to my acquaintances;

those who see me in the street ^lflee from me.

12  I have been ^mforgotten like one who is dead;

I have become like ⁿa broken vessel.

13  For I ^ohear the whispering of many—

terror on every side!—

^pas they scheme together against me,

as they plot to take my life.

14  But I ^qtrust in you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my God.”

15  My ^rtimes are in your hand;

^srescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!

16  ^tMake your face shine on your servant;

save me in your steadfast love!

17  O Lord, ^ulet me not be put to shame,

for I call upon you;

let the wicked be put to shame;

let them go ^vsilently to Sheol.

18  Let the lying lips be mute,

which ^wspeak ^xinsolently against the righteous

in pride and contempt.

19  Oh, how abundant is your goodness,

which you have stored up for those who fear you

and worked for those who take refuge in you,

^yin the sight of the children of mankind!

20  In ^zthe cover of your presence you hide them

from the plots of men;

you ^astore them in your shelter

from the strife of tongues.

21  Blessed be the Lord,

for he has wondrously ^bshown his steadfast love to me

when I was in ^ca besieged city.

22  I had said in my ^dalarm,²

“I am ^ecut off from ^fyour sight.”

But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy

when I cried to you for help.

23  Love the Lord, all you his ^gsaints!

The Lord preserves the faithful

but abundantly ^hrepays the one who acts in pride.

24  ⁱBe strong, and let your heart take courage,

all you who wait for the Lord!

1  Contend, O Lord, with those who ^ycontend with me;

^zfight against those who fight against me!

2  Take hold of ^ashield and buckler

and rise for my help!

3  Draw the spear and javelin¹

against my pursuers!

Say to my soul,

“I am your salvation!”

4  ^bLet them be ^cput to shame and dishonor

who seek after my life!

Let them be ^dturned back and disappointed

who devise evil against me!

5  Let them be like ^echaff before the wind,

with the angel of the Lord driving them away!

6  Let their way be dark and ^fslippery,

with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

7  For ^gwithout cause ^hthey hid their net for me;

without cause they dug ⁱa pit for my life.²

8  Let ^jdestruction come upon him ^kwhen he does not know it!

And let the net that he hid ensnare him;

let him fall into it—to his destruction!

9  Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,

^lexulting in his salvation.

10  All my ^mbones shall say,

“O Lord, ⁿwho is like you,

delivering the poor

from him who is too strong for him,

the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

11  ^oMalicious³ witnesses rise up;

they ask me of things that I do not know.

12  ^pThey repay me evil for good;

my soul is bereft.⁴

13  But I, ^qwhen they were sick—

I ^rwore sackcloth;

I ^safflicted myself with fasting;

I prayed ^twith head bowed⁵ on my chest.

14  I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;

as one who laments his mother,

I ^ubowed down in mourning.

15  But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;

they gathered together against me;

^vwretches whom I did not know

tore at me without ceasing;

16  like profane mockers at a feast,⁶

they ^wgnash at me with their teeth.

17  How long, O Lord, will you ^xlook on?

Rescue me from their destruction,

^ymy precious life from the lions!

18  I will thank you in ^zthe great congregation;

in the mighty throng I will praise you.

19  ^aLet not those rejoice over me

who are ^bwrongfully my foes,

and let not those ^cwink the eye

who ^dhate me ^ewithout cause.

20  For they do not speak peace,

but against those who are quiet in the land

they devise words of deceit.

21  They ^fopen wide their mouths against me;

they say, ^g“Aha, Aha!

Our eyes have seen it!”

22  ^hYou have seen, O Lord; ⁱbe not silent!

O Lord, ^jbe not far from me!

23  Awake and ^krouse yourself for ^lmy vindication,

for my cause, my God and my Lord!

24  ^mVindicate me, O Lord, my God,

according to your righteousness,

and ⁿlet them not rejoice over me!

25  Let them not say in their hearts,

^o“Aha, our heart’s desire!”

Let them not say, ^p“We have swallowed him up.”

26  Let them be ^qput to shame and disappointed altogether

who rejoice at my calamity!

Let them be ^rclothed with shame and dishonor

who ^smagnify themselves against me!

27  Let those who delight in my righteousness

shout for joy and be glad

^tand say evermore,

^u“Great is the Lord,

who ^vdelights in the welfare of his servant!”

28  Then my ^wtongue shall tell of your righteousness

and of your praise all the day long.

1  Transgression speaks to the wicked

deep in his heart;⁷

^ythere is no fear of God

before his eyes.

2  ^zFor he flatters himself in his own eyes

that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

3  The words of his mouth are ^atrouble and deceit;

^bhe has ceased to act wisely and do good.

4  He ^cplots ^dtrouble while on his bed;

he sets himself in ^ea way that is not good;

^fhe does not reject evil.

5  Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

6  ^gYour righteousness is like the mountains of God;

^hyour judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you ⁱsave, O Lord.

7  ^jHow precious is your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge ^kin the shadow of your wings.

8  They feast on ^lthe abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from ^mthe river of ⁿyour delights.

9  For with you is ^othe fountain of life;

^pin your light do we see light.

10  Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who ^qknow you,

and your righteousness to ^rthe upright of heart!

11  Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12  There ^sthe evildoers lie fallen;

they are thrust down, ^tunable to rise.

1  ^uFret not yourself because of evildoers;

be not ^venvious of wrongdoers!

2  For they will soon ^wfade like ^xthe grass

and wither ^ylike the green herb.

3  ^zTrust in the Lord, and do good;

^adwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.⁹

4  ^bDelight yourself in the Lord,

and he will ^cgive you the desires of your heart.

5  ^dCommit your way to the Lord;

^ztrust in him, and he will act.

6  ^eHe will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as ^fthe noonday.

7  ^gBe still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

^hfret not yourself over the one who ⁱprospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

8  ^jRefrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

^hFret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

9  ^kFor the evildoers shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the Lord shall ^linherit the land.

10  In ^mjust a little while, the wicked will be no more;

though you look carefully at ⁿhis place, he will not be there.

11  But ^othe meek shall inherit the land

and delight themselves in ^pabundant peace.

12  The wicked ^qplots against the righteous

and ^rgnashes his teeth at him,

13  but the Lord ^slaughs at the wicked,

for he sees that his ^tday is coming.

14  The wicked draw the sword and ^ubend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose ^vway is upright;

15  their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their ^wbows shall be broken.

16  ^xBetter is the little that the righteous has

than the abundance of many wicked.

17  For ^ythe arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but the Lord ^zupholds the righteous.

18  The Lord ^aknows the days of the blameless,

and their ^bheritage will remain forever;

19  they are not put to shame in evil times;

in ^cthe days of famine they have abundance.

20  But the wicked will perish;

the enemies of the Lord are like ^dthe glory of the pastures;

they vanish—like ^esmoke they vanish away.

21  The wicked borrows but does not pay back,

but the righteous ^fis generous and gives;

22  for those blessed by the Lord¹⁰ shall ^ginherit the land,

but those cursed by him ^hshall be cut off.

23  The ⁱsteps of a man are ^jestablished by the Lord,

when he delights in his way;

24  ^kthough he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,

for the Lord ^lupholds his hand.

25  I have been young, and now am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or his children ^mbegging for bread.

26  He is ever ⁿlending generously,

and his children become a blessing.

27  ^oTurn away from evil and do good;

so shall you ^pdwell forever.

28  For the Lord ^qloves justice;

he will not forsake his ^rsaints.

They are preserved forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be ^scut off.

29  The righteous shall inherit the land

and ^pdwell upon it forever.

30  The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks justice.

31  ^tThe law of his God is in his heart;

his ^usteps do not slip.

32  The wicked ^vwatches for the righteous

and seeks to put him to death.

33  The Lord will not ^wabandon him to his power

or let him ^xbe condemned when he is brought to trial.

34  ^yWait for the Lord and keep his way,

and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

you will look on ^zwhen the wicked are cut off.

35  ^aI have seen a wicked, ruthless man,

spreading himself like ^ba green laurel tree.¹¹

36  But he passed away,¹² and behold, ^che was no more;

though I sought him, he could not be found.

37  Mark the blameless and behold the upright,

for there is a future for the man of ^dpeace.

38  But ^etransgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

the future of the wicked ^fshall be cut off.

39  ^gThe salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in ^hthe time of trouble.

40  The Lord helps them and ⁱdelivers them;

^jhe delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they ^ktake refuge in him.