39  I said, “I will ^wguard my ways,

that I ^xmay not sin with my tongue;

I will ^yguard my mouth with a muzzle,

so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

2  I was ^zmute and silent;

I held my peace to no avail,

and my distress grew worse.

3  My ^aheart became hot within me.

As I mused, the fire burned;

then I spoke with my tongue:

4  “O Lord, ^bmake me know my end

and what is the measure of my days;

let me know how fleeting I am!

5  Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,

and ^cmy lifetime is as nothing before you.

Surely ^dall mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

6  Surely a man ^egoes about as a shadow!

Surely for nothing¹ they are in turmoil;

man ^fheaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

7  “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?

^gMy hope is in you.

8  Deliver me from all my transgressions.

^hDo not make me the scorn of the fool!

9  ⁱI am mute; I do not open my mouth,

^jfor it is you who have done it.

10  ^kRemove your stroke from me;

I am spent by the hostility of your hand.

11  When you discipline a man

with ^lrebukes for sin,

you ^mconsume like a ⁿmoth what is dear to him;

^osurely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

12  ^p“Hear my prayer, O Lord,

and give ear to my cry;

hold not your peace at my tears!

For I am ^qa sojourner with you,

^qa guest, like all my fathers.

13  ^rLook away from me, that I may smile again,

^sbefore I depart and ^tam no more!”

40  I ^uwaited patiently for the Lord;

he inclined to me and ^vheard my cry.

2  He drew me up from ^wthe pit of destruction,

out of ^xthe miry bog,

and ^yset my feet upon a rock,

^zmaking my steps secure.

3  He put ^aa new song in my mouth,

a song of praise to our God.

Many will ^bsee and fear,

and put their trust in the Lord.

4  Blessed is the man who ^cmakes

the Lord his trust,

who does not turn to the proud,

to those who ^dgo astray after a lie!

5  You have multiplied, O Lord my God,

your ^ewondrous deeds and your ^fthoughts toward us;

none can compare with you!

I will proclaim and tell of them,

yet they are ^gmore than can be told.

6  ^hIn sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,

but you have given me an open ⁱear.¹

Burnt offering and sin offering

you have not required.

7  Then I said, “Behold, I have come;

in the scroll of the book it is written ^jof me:

8  ^kI delight to do your will, O my God;

your law is ^lwithin my heart.”

9  I have told the glad news of deliverance²

in ^mthe great congregation;

behold, I have not ⁿrestrained my lips,

^oas you know, O Lord.

10  I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;

I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;

I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness

from the great congregation.

11  As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain

your mercy from me;

your ^psteadfast love and your faithfulness will

ever preserve me!

12  For evils have ^qencompassed me

beyond number;

my ^riniquities have overtaken me,

and I cannot ^ssee;

they are ^tmore than the hairs of my head;

my heart ^ufails me.

13  ^vBe pleased, O Lord, to ^wdeliver me!

O Lord, ^xmake haste to help me!

14  ^yLet those be put to shame and disappointed altogether

who seek to snatch away my life;

let those be ^zturned back and brought to dishonor

who delight in my hurt!

15  Let those be appalled because of their shame

who ^asay to me, “Aha, Aha!”

16  But may all who seek you

rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation

^bsay continually, “Great is the Lord!”

17  As for me, I am ^cpoor and needy,

but ^dthe Lord takes thought for me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

do not delay, O my God!

41  ^eBlessed is the one who considers the poor!¹

^fIn the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;

2  the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;

he is called blessed in the land;

you ^gdo not give him up to the will of his enemies.

3  The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;

in his illness you restore him to full health.²

4  As for me, I said, “O Lord, ^hbe gracious to me;

ⁱheal me,³ for I have sinned against you!”

5  My enemies say of me in malice,

“When will he die, and his name perish?”

6  And when one comes to see me, ^jhe utters empty words,

while his heart gathers iniquity;

when he goes out, he tells it abroad.

7  All who hate me whisper together about me;

they imagine the worst for me.⁴

8  They say, “A deadly thing is poured out⁵ on him;

he will not rise again from where he lies.”

9  Even my ^kclose friend in whom I trusted,

who ^late my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

10  But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,

and raise me up, that I may repay them!

11  By this I know that ^myou delight in me:

my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.

12  But ⁿyou have upheld me because of ^omy integrity,

and ^pset me in your presence ^qforever.

13  ^rBlessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

from everlasting to everlasting!

Amen and Amen.

42  ^tAs a deer pants for flowing streams,

so pants my soul for you, O God.

2  ^uMy soul thirsts for God,

for ^vthe living God.

When shall I come and ^wappear before God?²

3  ^xMy tears have been my food

day and night,

^ywhile they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

4  These things I remember,

as I ^zpour out my soul:

^ahow I would go ^bwith the throng

and lead them in procession to the house of God

with glad shouts and songs of praise,

^ca multitude keeping festival.

5  ^dWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you ^ein turmoil within me?

^fHope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation³ 6 and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;

therefore I ^gremember you

^hfrom the land of Jordan and of ⁱHermon,

from Mount Mizar.

7  Deep calls to deep

at the roar of your waterfalls;

^jall your breakers and your ^kwaves

have gone over me.

8  By day the Lord ^lcommands his steadfast love,

and at ^mnight his song is with me,

a prayer to the God of my life.

9  I say to God, ⁿmy rock:

“Why have you forgotten me?

^oWhy do I go mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?”

10  As with a deadly wound in my bones,

my adversaries taunt me,

^pwhile they say to me all the day long,

“Where is your God?”

11  ^qWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.

43  ^rVindicate me, O God, and ^sdefend my cause

against an ungodly people,

from ^tthe deceitful and unjust man

deliver me!

2  For you are ^uthe God in whom I take refuge;

why have you ^vrejected me?

Why do I ^wgo about mourning

because of the oppression of the enemy?

3  ^xSend out your light and your truth;

let them lead me;

let them bring me to your ^yholy hill

and to your ^zdwelling!

4  Then I will go to the altar of God,

to God my exceeding joy,

and I will praise you with the lyre,

O God, my God.

5  ^aWhy are you cast down, O my soul,

and why are you in turmoil within me?

^bHope in God; for I shall again praise him,

my salvation and my God.