Psalms 1–2; Psalm 15; Psalms 22–24; Psalm 47; Psalm 68

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Psalms 1–2

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1  aBlessed is the man1

who walks not in the bcounsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2  but his cdelight is in the law2 of the Lord,

and on his law he dmeditates day and night.

3  eHe is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that fyields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he gprospers.

4  The wicked are not so,

but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

5  Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

6  for hthe Lord knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked will perish.

The Reign of the Lord’s Anointed

1  iWhy do the nations rage3

and the peoples plot in vain?

2  The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and against his jAnointed, saying,

3  “Let us burst their bonds apart

and cast away their cords from us.”

4  He who sits in the heavens klaughs;

the Lord holds them in derision.

5  Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

and terrify them in his fury, saying,

6  “As for me, I have set my King

on Zion, my holy hill.”

7  I will tell of the decree:

lThe Lord said to me, m“You are my nSon;

today I have begotten you.

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

and the oends of the earth your possession.

9  pYou shall break4 them with a qrod of iron

and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

10  Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

be warned, O rulers of the earth.

11  Serve the Lord with fear,

and rejoice with trembling.

12  rKiss the Son,

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

for his wrath is quickly kindled.

sBlessed are all who take refuge in him.


Psalm 15

Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill?

A Psalm of David.

1  O Lord, fwho shall gsojourn in your tent?

Who shall dwell on your holy hill?

2  He who hwalks blamelessly and does what is right

and speaks truth in his heart;

3  who idoes not slander with his tongue

and does no evil to his neighbor,

nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

4  in whose eyes a vile person is despised,

but who honors those who fear the Lord;

who swears to his own hurt and does not change;

5  who jdoes not put out his money at interest

and does not ktake a bribe against the innocent.

lHe who does these things shall never be moved.


Psalms 22–24

Why Have You Forsaken Me?

To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

1  dMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

eWhy are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

2  O my God, I cry by day, fbut you do not answer,

and by night, but I find no rest.

3  Yet you are holy,

enthroned on the praises1 of Israel.

4  In you our fathers trusted;

they trusted, and you delivered them.

5  To you they cried and were rescued;

gin you they trusted and were not put to shame.

6  But I am a worm and not a man,

scorned by mankind and hdespised by the people.

7  All who see me imock me;

they make mouths at me; they jwag their heads;

8  k“He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him;

let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”

9  Yet lyou are he who took me from the womb;

you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts.

10  On you was I cast from my birth,

and from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

11  mBe not far from me,

for trouble is near,

and there is nnone to help.

12  Many bulls encompass me;

strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

13  they open wide their mouths at me,

like a ravening and roaring olion.

14  I am poured out like water,

and all my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like wax;

it is melted within my breast;

15  my strength is dried up like a potsherd,

and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

you lay me in the dust of death.

16  For pdogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have qpierced my hands and feet2—

17  I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

18  rthey divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.

19  But you, O Lord, do not be far off!

O you my help, scome quickly to my aid!

20  Deliver my soul from the sword,

my precious life from the power of the dog!

21  Save me from the mouth of the tlion!

You have rescued3 me from the horns of the wild oxen!

22  uI will tell of your name to my brothers;

in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

23  You who fear the Lord, praise him!

All you offspring of Jacob, vglorify him,

and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!

24  For he has not despised or abhorred

the affliction of the afflicted,

and he has not hidden his face from him,

but has heard, when he cried to him.

25  From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

my vows I will wperform before those who fear him.

26  The afflicted4 shall eat and be satisfied;

those who seek him shall praise the Lord!

May your hearts live forever!

27  All the xends of the earth shall remember

and turn to the Lord,

and all the families of the nations

shall worship before you.

28  For kingship belongs to the Lord,

and he rules over the nations.

29  All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship;

before him shall bow all who go down yto the dust,

even the one who could not keep himself alive.

30  Posterity shall serve him;

it shall be ztold of the Lord to the coming generation;

31  they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people ayet unborn,

that he has done it.

The Lord Is My Shepherd

A Psalm of David.

1  The Lord is my bshepherd; cI shall not want.

2  He makes me lie down in dgreen pastures.

He eleads me beside still waters.5

3  He frestores my soul.

He gleads me in hpaths of righteousness6

ifor his name’s sake.

4  jEven though I walk through the valley of the kshadow of death,7

I will fear no evil,

for you are lwith me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5  You prepare a mtable before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6  Surely8 goodness and mercy9 shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall ndwell10 in the house of the Lord

forever.11

The King of Glory

A Psalm of David.

1  oThe earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,12

pthe world and those who dwell therein,

2  for he has founded it upon the seas

and established it upon the rivers.

3  qWho shall ascend the hill of the Lord?

And who shall stand in his holy place?

4  He who has rclean hands and a spure heart,

who does not lift up his soul to what is false

and does not swear deceitfully.

5  He will receive blessing from the Lord

and righteousness from the God of his salvation.

6  Such is the generation of those who seek him,

who tseek the face of the God of Jacob.13 Selah

7  Lift up your heads, O gates!

And be lifted up, O ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

8  Who is this King of glory?

The Lord, strong and mighty,

the Lord, umighty in battle!

9  Lift up your heads, O gates!

And lift them up, O ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

10  Who is this King of glory?

The Lord of hosts,

he is the King of glory! Selah


Psalm 47

God Is King over All the Earth

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of the Sons of Korah.

1  pClap your hands, all peoples!

qShout to God with loud songs of joy!

2  For the Lord, the Most High, is rto be feared,

a great king over all the earth.

3  sHe subdued peoples under us,

and nations under our feet.

4  He chose our heritage for us,

the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

5  God has gone up with a shout,

the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

6  Sing praises to God, sing praises!

Sing praises to our King, sing praises!

7  For God is the tKing of all the earth;

sing praises with a psalm!1

8  God ureigns over the nations;

God sits on his holy throne.

9  The princes of the peoples gather

as the people of the God of Abraham.

For the shields of the earth belong to God;

he is highly exalted!


Psalm 68

God Shall Scatter His Enemies

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. A Song.

1  mGod shall arise, his enemies shall be scattered;

and those who hate him shall flee before him!

2  nAs smoke is driven away, so you shall drive them away;

as wax melts before fire,

so the wicked shall perish before God!

3  But the righteous shall be glad;

they shall oexult before God;

they shall be jubilant with joy!

4  Sing to God, psing praises to his name;

lift up a song to him who rides through the deserts;

his name is the Lord;

exult before him!

5  qFather of the fatherless and protector of widows

is God in rhis holy habitation.

6  sGod settles the solitary in a home;

he tleads out the prisoners to prosperity,

but the rebellious dwell in a parched land.

7  O God, uwhen you went out before your people,

vwhen you marched through the wilderness, Selah

8  wthe earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain,

before God, the One of Sinai,

before God,1 the God of Israel.

9  Rain in abundance, O God, you shed abroad;

you restored your inheritance as it languished;

10  your flock2 found a dwelling in it;

in your goodness, O God, you provided for the needy.

11  The Lord gives the word;

xthe women who announce the news are a great host:

12  “The kings of the armies—they flee, they flee!”

The women at home divide the spoil—

13  though you men lie among the sheepfolds—

the wings of a dove covered with silver,

its pinions with shimmering gold.

14  When the Almighty scatters kings there,

let snow fall on Zalmon.

15  O mountain of God, mountain of Bashan;

O many-peaked3 mountain, mountain of Bashan!

16  Why do you look with hatred, O many-peaked mountain,

at the mount that yGod desired for his abode,

yes, where the Lord will dwell forever?

17  The zchariots of God are twice ten thousand,

thousands upon thousands;

the Lord is among them; Sinai is now in the sanctuary.

18  aYou ascended on high,

leading a host of captives in your train

and receiving gifts among men,

even among the rebellious, that the Lord God may dwell there.

19  Blessed be the Lord,

who daily bbears us up;

God is our salvation. Selah

20  Our God is a God of salvation,

and to God, the Lord, belong deliverances from death.

21  But God will cstrike the heads of his enemies,

the hairy crown of him who walks in his guilty ways.

22  The Lord said,

“I will bring them back from Bashan,

I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,

23  that you may strike your dfeet in their blood,

that ethe tongues of your dogs may have their portion from the foe.”

24  Your procession is4 seen, O God,

the procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary—

25  the singers in front, the musicians last,

between them virgins playing tambourines:

26  “Bless God in the great congregation,

the Lord, O you5 who are of Israel’s fountain!”

27  There is Benjamin, fthe least of them, in the lead,

the princes of Judah in their throng,

the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

28  Summon your power, O God,6

the power, O God, by which you have worked for us.

29  Because of your temple at Jerusalem

gkings shall bear hgifts to you.

30  Rebuke the beasts that dwell among the reeds,

the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.

Trample underfoot those who lust after tribute;

scatter the peoples who delight in war.7

31  Nobles shall come from Egypt;

iCush shall hasten to stretch out her hands to God.

32  O jkingdoms of the earth, sing to God;

sing praises to the Lord, Selah

33  to him who krides in the heavens, the ancient heavens;

behold, he sends out his voice, his lmighty voice.

34  mAscribe power to God,

whose majesty is over Israel,

and whose power is in the skies.

35  Awesome is God from his8 sanctuary;

the God of Israel—he is the one who ngives power and strength to his people.

Blessed be God!