Psalms 1–5; Proverbs 1

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Psalms 1–5

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

Blessed is the man1

who awalks not in bthe counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in cthe way of sinners,

nor dsits in ethe seat of fscoffers;

but his gdelight is in the law2 of the Lord,

and on his hlaw he meditates day and night.

He is like ia tree

planted by jstreams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its kleaf does not wither.

lIn all that he does, he prospers.

The wicked are not so,

but are like mchaff that the wind drives away.

Therefore the wicked nwill not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in othe congregation of the righteous;

for the Lord pknows qthe way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed

rWhy do sthe nations rage3

and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and against his tAnointed, saying,

Let us uburst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.

He who vsits in the heavens wlaughs;

the Lord holds them in derision.

Then he will speak to them in his xwrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

As for me, I have yset my King

on zZion, my aholy hill.

I will tell of the decree:

The Lord said to me, bYou are my Son;

today I have begotten you.

Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage,

and cthe ends of the earth your possession.

You shall dbreak4 them with ea rod of iron

and dash them in pieces like fa potter’s vessel.

10  Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11  gServe the Lord with hfear,

and irejoice with htrembling.

12  jKiss kthe Son,

lest he be angry, and you perish in the way,

for his lwrath is quickly kindled.

mBlessed are all who take refuge in him.

Save Me, O My God

A Psalm of David, nwhen he fled from Absalom his son.

O Lord, ohow many are my foes!

Many are prising against me;

many are saying of my soul,

qThere is no salvation for him in God. Selah5

But you, O Lord, are ra shield sabout me,

my glory, and tthe lifter of my head.

I ucried aloud to the Lord,

and he vanswered me from his wholy hill. Selah

I xlay down and slept;

I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.

I ywill not be afraid of many thousands of people

who have zset themselves against me all around.

aArise, O Lord!

Save me, O my God!

For you bstrike all my enemies on the cheek;

you cbreak the teeth of the wicked.

dSalvation belongs to the Lord;

your blessing be on your people! Selah

Answer Me When I Call

To the echoirmaster: with estringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

Answer me when I call, O God of my frighteousness!

You have ggiven me relief when I was in distress.

Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

O men,6 how long shall my honor be turned into shame?

How long will you love vain words and seek after hlies? Selah

But know that the Lord has iset apart jthe godly for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

kBe angry,7 and do not sin;

lponder in your own hearts mon your beds, and be silent. Selah

Offer nright sacrifices,

and put your otrust in the Lord.

There are many who say, Who will show us some good?

pLift up qthe light of your face upon us, O Lord!

You have put rmore joy in my heart

than they have when their grain and wine abound.

In peace I will both slie down and sleep;

for you alone, O Lord, make me tdwell in safety.

Lead Me in Your Righteousness

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

Give ear to my words, O Lord;

consider my ugroaning.

Give attention to the sound of my cry,

my vKing and my God,

for wto you do I pray.

O Lord, in xthe morning you hear my voice;

in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you8 and ywatch.

For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

evil may not dwell with you.

The zboastful shall not astand before your eyes;

you bhate all evildoers.

You destroy those who speak clies;

the Lord abhors dthe bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,

will enter your house.

I will ebow down ftoward your gholy temple

in the fear of you.

hLead me, O Lord, in your righteousness

because of my enemies;

imake your way straight before me.

For there is no truth in their mouth;

their inmost self is jdestruction;

ktheir throat is lan open grave;

they mflatter with their tongue.

10  nMake them bear their guilt, O God;

let them ofall by their own counsels;

because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,

for they have rebelled against you.

11  But let all who ptake refuge in you qrejoice;

let them ever sing for joy,

and spread your protection over them,

that those who love your name may rexult in you.

12  For you sbless the righteous, O Lord;

you tcover him with favor as with ua shield.


Proverbs 1

The Beginning of Knowledge

aThe proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel:

To know wisdom and instruction,

to understand words of insight,

to receive instruction in wise dealing,

in brighteousness, justice, and equity;

to give prudence to cthe simple,

knowledge and ddiscretion to the youth

Let the wise hear and eincrease in learning,

and the one who understands obtain guidance,

to understand a proverb and a saying,

fthe words of the wise and their griddles.

hThe fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge;

fools despise wisdom and instruction.

The Enticement of Sinners

iHear, my son, your father’s instruction,

and forsake not your mother’s teaching,

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.

The Call of Wisdom

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.