Blessed Are the Forgiven
A Maskil1 of David.
1 jBlessed is the one whose ktransgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord lcounts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit mthere is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my nbones wasted away
through my ogroaning all day long.
4 For day and night your phand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up2 as by the heat of summer. Selah
5 I qacknowledged my sin to you,
and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I rwill confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah
6 Therefore let everyone who is sgodly
offer prayer to you at a time when you tmay be found;
surely in the rush of ugreat waters,
they shall not reach him.
7 You are a vhiding place for me;
you preserve me from wtrouble;
you surround me with xshouts of deliverance. Selah
8 I will yinstruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will zcounsel you with my eye upon you.
9 aBe not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed with bbit and bridle,
or it will not stay near you.
10 cMany are the sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love surrounds the one who dtrusts in the Lord.
11 eBe glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
Return to the Lord
12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
i“return to me with all your heart,
jwith fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
13 and krend your hearts and not lyour garments.”
Return to the Lord your God,
mfor he is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
nand he relents over disaster.
14 oWho knows whether he will not turn and relent,
and pleave a blessing behind him,
qa grain offering and a drink offering
for the Lord your God?
15 rBlow the trumpet in Zion;
sconsecrate a fast;
call a solemn assembly;
16 gather the people.
tConsecrate the congregation;
assemble the elders;
ugather the children,
even nursing infants.
vLet the bridegroom leave his room,
and the bride her chamber.
17 wBetween the xvestibule and the yaltar
zlet the priests, the ministers of the Lord, weep
and say, “Spare your people, O Lord,
and make not your heritage a reproach,
a byword among the nations.1
aWhy should they say among the peoples,
‘Where is their God?’”
5 For even qwhen we came into Macedonia, our bodies had no rest, but we were afflicted at every turn—rfighting without and fear within. 6 But sGod, who comforts the downcast, tcomforted us by the coming of Titus, 7 and not only by his coming but also by the comfort with which he was comforted by you, as he told us of your longing, your mourning, your zeal for me, so that I rejoiced still more. 8 For ueven if I made you grieve with my letter, I do not regret it—though vI did regret it, for I see that that letter grieved you, though only for a while. 9 As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but wbecause you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us.
10 For xgodly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas yworldly grief produces death. 11 For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, zwhat zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter. 12 So although I wrote to you, it was not for the sake of the one awho did the wrong, nor for the sake of the one who suffered the wrong, but in order that your earnestness for us might be revealed to you in the sight of God. 13 Therefore bwe are comforted.
And besides our own comfort, we rejoiced still more at the joy of Titus, because his spirit chas been refreshed by you all.
