1  ^pMy heart is steadfast, O God!

I will sing and make melody with all my being!¹

2  Awake, O harp and lyre!

I will awake the dawn!

3  I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

I will sing praises to you among the nations.

4  For your steadfast love is great ^qabove the heavens;

your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

5  Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!

Let your glory be over all the earth!

6  ^rThat your beloved ones may be delivered,

give salvation by your right hand and answer me!

7  God has promised in his holiness:²

“With exultation I will divide up Shechem

and portion out the Valley of Succoth.

8  Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;

Ephraim is my helmet,

Judah my scepter.

9  Moab is my washbasin;

upon Edom I cast my shoe;

^sover Philistia I shout in triumph.”

10  Who will bring me to the fortified city?

Who will lead me to Edom?

11  Have you not rejected us, O God?

You do not go out, O God, with our armies.

12  Oh grant us help against the foe,

for vain is the salvation of man!

13  With God we shall do valiantly;

it is he who will tread down our foes.

1  ^tBe not silent, O ^uGod of my praise!

2  For wicked and ^vdeceitful mouths are opened against me,

speaking against me with lying tongues.

3  They encircle me with words of hate,

and attack me ^wwithout cause.

4  In return for my love they ^xaccuse me,

but I ^ygive myself to prayer.³

5  So they ^zreward me evil for good,

and hatred for my love.

6  ^aAppoint a wicked man ^bagainst him;

let an accuser stand ^cat his right hand.

7  When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;

let his ^dprayer be counted as sin!

8  May his ^edays be few;

may ^fanother take his ^goffice!

9  May his ^hchildren be fatherless

and his wife a widow!

10  May his children ⁱwander about and beg,

^jseeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!

11  May ^kthe creditor seize all that he has;

may ^kstrangers plunder the fruits of his toil!

12  Let there be none to ^lextend kindness to him,

nor any to ^mpity his fatherless children!

13  May his ⁿposterity be cut off;

may his ^oname be blotted out in the second generation!

14  May ^pthe iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,

and let not the sin of his mother be ^qblotted out!

15  ^rLet them be before the Lord continually,

that he may ^scut off the memory of them from the earth!

16  For he did not remember to show kindness,

but pursued ^tthe poor and needy

and ^uthe brokenhearted, to put them to death.

17  ^vHe loved to curse; let curses come⁴ upon him!

He did not delight in blessing; may it be far⁵ from him!

18  He ^wclothed himself with cursing as his coat;

may it ^xsoak⁶ into his body like water,

like oil into his bones!

19  May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,

like a belt that he puts on every day!

20  May this be the reward of my ^yaccusers from the Lord,

of those who speak evil against my life!

21  But you, O God my Lord,

deal on my behalf ^zfor your name’s sake;

because your ^asteadfast love is good, deliver me!

22  For I am ^bpoor and needy,

and my heart is stricken within me.

23  I am gone like ^ca shadow at evening;

I am ^dshaken off like a locust.

24  My knees are weak ^ethrough fasting;

my ^fbody has become gaunt, with no fat.

25  I am ^gan object of scorn to my accusers;

when they see me, they ^hwag their heads.

26  ⁱHelp me, O Lord my God!

Save me according to your steadfast love!

27  Let them ^jknow that this is your hand;

you, O Lord, have done it!

28  ^kLet them curse, but you will bless!

They arise and are put to shame, but ^lyour servant will be glad!

29  May my accusers be ^mclothed with dishonor;

may they ⁿbe wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

30  With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;

I will ^opraise him in the midst of the throng.

31  For he stands ^pat the right hand of the needy one,

to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

1  ^qThe Lord says to my Lord:

^r“Sit at my right hand,

^suntil I make your enemies your ^tfootstool.”

2  The Lord sends forth ^ufrom Zion

^vyour mighty scepter.

^wRule in the midst of your enemies!

3  ^xYour people will ^yoffer themselves freely

on the day of your ^zpower,⁷

in ^aholy garments;⁸

from the womb of the morning,

the dew of your youth will be yours.⁹

4  ^bThe Lord has ^csworn

and will ^dnot change his mind,

^e“You are ^fa priest ^gforever

after the order of ^hMelchizedek.”

5  The Lord is at your ⁱright hand;

he will ^jshatter kings on ^kthe day of his wrath.

6  He will ^lexecute judgment among the nations,

^mfilling them with corpses;

he will ⁿshatter chiefs¹⁰

over the wide earth.

7  He will ^odrink from the brook by the way;

therefore he will lift up his head.

1  ^bI give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;

before ^cthe gods I sing your praise;

2  I bow down ^dtoward your ^eholy temple

and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,

for you have exalted above all things

your name and your word.¹

3  On the day I called, you answered me;

my strength of soul you increased.²

4  ^fAll the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,

for they have heard the words of your mouth,

5  and they shall sing of ^gthe ways of the Lord,

for great is the glory of the Lord.

6  ^hFor though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,

but the haughty he knows from afar.

7  ⁱThough I walk in the midst of trouble,

you ^jpreserve my life;

you ^kstretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

and your ^lright hand delivers me.

8  The Lord will ^mfulfill his purpose for me;

ⁿyour steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

Do not forsake ^othe work of your hands.

1  O Lord, you have ^psearched me and known me!

2  You ^qknow when I sit down and when I rise up;

you ^rdiscern my thoughts from afar.

3  You search out my path and my lying down

and are acquainted with all my ways.

4  Even before a word is on my tongue,

behold, O Lord, ^syou know it altogether.

5  You ^them me in, behind and before,

and ^ulay your hand upon me.

6  ^vSuch knowledge is ^wtoo wonderful for me;

it is high; I cannot attain it.

7  ^xWhere shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where ^yshall I flee from your presence?

8  ^zIf I ascend to heaven, you are there!

^aIf I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

9  If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

10  even there your hand shall ^blead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

11  If I say, ^c“Surely the darkness shall cover me,

and the light about me be night,”

12  ^deven the darkness is not dark to you;

the night is bright as the day,

for darkness is as light with you.

13  For you ^eformed my inward parts;

you ^fknitted me together in my mother’s womb.

14  I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.³

^gWonderful are your works;

my soul knows it very well.

15  ^hMy frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

intricately woven in ⁱthe depths of the earth.

16  Your eyes saw my unformed substance;

in your ^jbook were written, every one of them,

the days that were formed for me,

when as yet there was none of them.

17  How precious to me are your ^kthoughts, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18  ^lIf I would count them, they are more than ^mthe sand.

I awake, and I am still with you.

19  Oh that you would ⁿslay the wicked, O God!

O ^omen of blood, ^pdepart from me!

20  They ^qspeak against you with malicious intent;

your enemies ^rtake your name in vain.⁴

21  ^sDo I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

And do I not ^tloathe those who ^urise up against you?

22  I hate them with complete hatred;

I count them my enemies.

23  Search me, O God, and know my heart!

^vTry me and know my thoughts!⁵

24  And see if there be any grievous way in me,

and ^wlead me in ^xthe way everlasting!⁶

1  ^yDeliver me, O Lord, from evil men;

preserve me from ^zviolent men,

2  who plan evil things in their heart

and ^astir up wars continually.

3  They make ^btheir tongue sharp as ^ca serpent’s,

and ^dunder their lips is the ^evenom of asps. Selah

4  Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;

preserve me from ^zviolent men,

who have planned to trip up my feet.

5  The arrogant have ^fhidden a trap for me,

and with cords they have spread ^ga net;⁷

beside the way they have set ^hsnares for me. Selah

6  ⁱI say to the Lord, You are my God;

give ear to ^jthe voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!

7  O Lord, my Lord, ^kthe strength of my salvation,

you have covered my head in the day of battle.

8  ^lGrant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;

do not further their⁸ evil plot, or ^mthey will be exalted! Selah

9  As for the head of those who surround me,

let ⁿthe mischief of their lips overwhelm them!

10  Let ^oburning coals fall upon them!

Let them be cast into fire,

into miry pits, no more to rise!

11  Let not the slanderer be established in the land;

let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

12  I know that the Lord will ^pmaintain the cause of the afflicted,

and ^qwill execute justice for the needy.

13  Surely ^rthe righteous shall give thanks to your name;

^sthe upright shall dwell in your presence.

1  O Lord, I call upon you; ^thasten to me!

Give ear to my voice when I call to you!

2  Let ^umy prayer be counted as incense before you,

and ^vthe lifting up of my hands as ^wthe evening sacrifice!

3  ^xSet a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;

^ykeep watch over the door of my lips!

4  ^zDo not let my heart incline to any evil,

to busy myself with wicked deeds

in company with men who ^awork iniquity,

and ^blet me not eat of their delicacies!

5  ^cLet a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;

let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;

let my head not refuse it.

Yet ^dmy prayer is continually against their evil deeds.

6  When their judges are ^ethrown over the cliff,⁹

then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.

7  As when one plows and breaks up the earth,

so shall our bones ^fbe scattered at the mouth of Sheol.¹⁰

8  But ^gmy eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;

^hin you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless!¹¹

9  Keep me from ⁱthe trap that they have laid for me

and from the snares of evildoers!

10  Let the wicked ^jfall into their own nets,

while I pass by safely.

1  With my voice I ^lcry out to the Lord;

with my voice I ^mplead for mercy to the Lord.

2  I ⁿpour out my complaint before him;

I tell my trouble before him.

3  When my spirit ^ofaints within me,

you know my way!

In the path where I walk

they have ^phidden a trap for me.

4  ^qLook to the ^rright and see:

^sthere is none who takes notice of me;

^tno refuge remains to me;

no one cares for my soul.

5  I cry to you, O Lord;

I say, “You are my ^urefuge,

my ^vportion in ^wthe land of the living.”

6  ^xAttend to my cry,

for ^yI am brought very low!

Deliver me from my persecutors,

^zfor they are too strong for me!

7  ^aBring me out of prison,

that I may give thanks to your name!

The righteous will surround me,

for you will ^bdeal bountifully with me.

1  Hear my prayer, O Lord;

^cgive ear to my pleas for mercy!

In your ^dfaithfulness answer me, in your ^drighteousness!

2  ^eEnter not into judgment with your servant,

for no one living is righteous ^fbefore you.

3  For the enemy has pursued my soul;

^ghe has crushed my life to the ground;

^hhe has made me sit in darkness like those long dead.

4  Therefore my spirit ⁱfaints within me;

my heart within me is appalled.

5  ^jI remember the days of old;

^kI meditate on all that you have done;

I ponder the work of your hands.

6  ^lI stretch out my hands to you;

^mmy soul thirsts for you like ⁿa parched land. Selah

7  ^oAnswer me quickly, O Lord!

^pMy spirit fails!

^qHide not your face from me,

^rlest I be like those who go down to the pit.

8  ^sLet me hear in the morning of your steadfast love,

for in you I ^ttrust.

^uMake me know the way I should go,

^vfor to you I lift up my soul.

9  ^wDeliver me from my enemies, O Lord!

I have fled to you for refuge.¹³

10  ^xTeach me to do your will,

for you are my God!

^yLet your good Spirit ^zlead me

on ^alevel ground!

11  ^bFor your name’s sake, O Lord, ^cpreserve my life!

In your righteousness ^dbring my soul out of trouble!

12  And in your steadfast love you will ^ecut off my enemies,

and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul,

for I am your ^fservant.

1  Blessed be the Lord, my ^grock,

^hwho trains my hands for war,

and my fingers for battle;

2  he is my ⁱsteadfast love and my ^jfortress,

my ^kstronghold and my deliverer,

my ^lshield and he in whom I take refuge,

who ^msubdues peoples¹⁴ under me.

3  O Lord, ⁿwhat is man that you ^oregard him,

or the son of man that you think of him?

4  ^pMan is like a breath;

his days are like ^qa passing ^rshadow.

5  ^sBow your heavens, O Lord, and come down!

^tTouch the mountains so that they smoke!

6  ^uFlash forth the lightning and scatter them;

^usend out your arrows and rout them!

7  ^vStretch out your hand from on high;

^wrescue me and deliver me from the many waters,

from the hand ^xof foreigners,

8  whose mouths speak ^ylies

and whose right hand is ^za right hand of falsehood.

9  I will sing ^aa new song to you, O God;

upon ^aa ten-stringed harp I will play to you,

10  who gives victory to kings,

who ^brescues David his servant from the cruel sword.

11  Rescue me and deliver me

from the hand ^xof foreigners,

whose mouths speak ^ylies

and whose right hand is a right hand of falsehood.

12  May our sons in their youth

be like ^cplants full grown,

our daughters like ^dcorner pillars

cut for the structure of a palace;

13  ^emay our granaries be full,

^fproviding all kinds of produce;

may our sheep bring forth thousands

and ten thousands in our fields;

14  may our cattle be heavy with young,

suffering no mishap or failure in bearing;¹⁵

may there be no ^gcry of distress in our streets!

15  ^hBlessed are the people to whom such blessings fall!

ⁱBlessed are the people whose God is the Lord!

1  ^jI will extol you, my God and ^kKing,

and bless your name forever and ever.

2  Every day I will bless you

^land praise your name forever and ever.

3  ^mGreat is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

and his ⁿgreatness is unsearchable.

4  ^oOne generation shall commend your works to another,

and shall declare your mighty acts.

5  On ^pthe glorious splendor of your majesty,

and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

6  They shall speak of ^qthe might of your awesome deeds,

and I will declare your greatness.

7  They shall pour forth the fame of your ^rabundant goodness

and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

8  The Lord is ^sgracious and merciful,

slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

9  The Lord is ^tgood to all,

and his mercy is over all that he has made.

10  ^uAll your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

and all your ^vsaints shall bless you!

11  They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom

and tell of your power,

12  to ^wmake known to the children of man your^{17 x}mighty deeds,

and ^ythe glorious splendor of your kingdom.

13  ^zYour kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

[The Lord is faithful in all his words

and kind in all his works.]¹⁸

14  The Lord ^aupholds all who are falling

and ^braises up all who are bowed down.

15  The eyes of all ^clook to you,

and you give them their food in due season.

16  You ^dopen your hand;

you ^esatisfy the desire of every living thing.

17  The Lord is ^frighteous in all his ways

and ^gkind in all his works.

18  The Lord is ^hnear to all who call on him,

to all who call on him ⁱin truth.

19  He ^jfulfills the desire of those who fear him;

he also ^khears their cry and saves them.

20  The Lord ^lpreserves all who love him,

but all the wicked he will destroy.

21  My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

and ^mlet all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.