1  Give the king your ^rjustice, O God,

and your righteousness to the royal son!

2  May he ^sjudge your people with righteousness,

and your poor with justice!

3  Let the mountains bear ^tprosperity for the people,

and the hills, in righteousness!

4  May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,

give deliverance to the children of the needy,

and crush the oppressor!

5  May they fear you¹ while ^uthe sun endures,

and as long as the moon, ^vthroughout all generations!

6  May he be like ^wrain that falls on ^xthe mown grass,

like ^yshowers that water the earth!

7  In his days may ^zthe righteous flourish,

and ^apeace abound, till the moon be no more!

8  May he have dominion from ^bsea to sea,

and from ^bthe River² to the ^cends of the earth!

9  May desert tribes ^dbow down before him,

and his enemies ^elick the dust!

10  May the kings of ^fTarshish and of ^gthe coastlands

render him ^htribute;

may the kings of ⁱSheba and ^jSeba

bring gifts!

11  May all kings ^kfall down before him,

all nations serve him!

12  For he delivers ^lthe needy when he calls,

the poor and him who has no helper.

13  He has pity on the weak and the needy,

and saves the lives of the needy.

14  From oppression and violence he redeems their life,

and ^mprecious is their blood in his sight.

15  Long may he live;

may ⁿgold of Sheba be given to him!

May prayer be made ^ofor him continually,

and blessings invoked for him all the day!

16  May there be abundance of grain in the land;

on the tops of the mountains may it wave;

may its fruit be like Lebanon;

and may people ^pblossom in the cities

like the ^qgrass of the field!

17  ^rMay his name endure forever,

his fame continue as long as the sun!

^sMay people be blessed in him,

^tall nations call him blessed!

18  ^uBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

who alone does ^vwondrous things.

19  Blessed be his ^wglorious name forever;

may ^xthe whole earth be filled with his glory!

^yAmen and Amen!

20  ^zThe prayers of ^aDavid, the son of Jesse, are ended.

1  Unless the Lord builds the house,

those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord ^xwatches over the city,

the watchman stays awake in vain.

2  It is in vain that you rise up early

and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious ^ytoil;

for he gives to his ^zbeloved ^asleep.

3  Behold, ^bchildren are a heritage from the Lord,

^cthe fruit of the womb a reward.

4  Like arrows in the hand of ^da warrior

are the children¹ of one’s youth.

5  Blessed is the man

who fills his quiver with them!

He shall not be put to shame

when he speaks with his enemies ^ein the gate.²

2  To know wisdom and instruction,

to understand words of insight,

3  to receive instruction in wise dealing,

in ^brighteousness, justice, and equity;

4  to give prudence to ^cthe simple,

knowledge and ^ddiscretion to the youth—

5  Let the wise hear and ^eincrease in learning,

and the one who understands obtain guidance,

6  to understand a proverb and a saying,

^fthe words of the wise and their ^griddles.

7  ^hThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction.

8  ⁱHear, my son, your father’s instruction,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching,

9  for they are ^ja graceful garland for your head

and ^kpendants for your neck.

10  My son, if sinners ^lentice you,

do not consent.

11  If they say, “Come with us, ^mlet us lie in wait for blood;

ⁿlet us ambush the innocent without reason;

12  like Sheol let us ^oswallow them alive,

and whole, like ^pthose who go down to the pit;

13  we shall find all precious goods,

we shall fill our houses with plunder;

14  throw in your lot among us;

we will all have one purse”—

15  my son, ^qdo not walk in the way with them;

^rhold back your foot from their paths,

16  for ^stheir feet run to evil,

and they make haste to shed blood.

17  ^tFor in vain is a net spread

in the sight of any bird,

18  but these men ^ulie in wait for their own blood;

they ^uset an ambush for their own lives.

19  ^vSuch are the ways of everyone who is ^wgreedy for unjust gain;

^xit takes away the life of its possessors.

20  ^yWisdom cries aloud in the street,

in the markets she raises her voice;

21  at the head of the noisy streets she cries out;

at ^zthe entrance of the city gates she speaks:

22  “How long, O ^asimple ones, will you love being simple?

How long will ^bscoffers delight in their scoffing

and fools ^chate knowledge?

23  If you turn at my reproof,¹

behold, I will ^dpour out my spirit to you;

I will make my words known to you.

24  ^eBecause I have called and ^fyou refused to listen,

have ^gstretched out my hand and no one has heeded,

25  because you have ^hignored all my counsel

and ⁱwould have none of my reproof,

26  I also ^jwill laugh at your calamity;

I will mock when ^kterror strikes you,

27  when terror strikes you like ^la storm

and your calamity comes like a whirlwind,

when distress and anguish come upon you.

28  ^mThen they will call upon me, but I will not answer;

they will seek me diligently but will not find me.

29  Because they ^chated knowledge

and ⁿdid not choose the fear of the Lord,

30  ^hwould have none of my counsel

and ⁱdespised all my reproof,

31  therefore they shall eat ^othe fruit of their way,

and have ^ptheir fill of their own devices.

32  For the simple are killed by ^qtheir turning away,

and ^rthe complacency of fools destroys them;

33  but ^swhoever listens to me will dwell secure

and will be ^tat ease, without dread of disaster.”