1  In my distress I called to the Lord,

and he answered me.

2  Deliver me, O Lord,

from lying lips,

from a deceitful tongue.

3  What shall be given to you,

ⁿand what more shall be done to you,

you deceitful tongue?

4  ^oA warrior’s ^psharp arrows,

with glowing ^qcoals of the broom tree!

5  Woe to me, that I sojourn in ^rMeshech,

that I dwell among ^sthe tents of ^tKedar!

6  Too long have I had my dwelling

among those who hate peace.

7  ^uI am for peace,

but when I speak, they are for war!

1  I ^vlift up my eyes to ^wthe hills.

From where does my help come?

2  ^xMy help comes from the Lord,

who ^ymade heaven and earth.

3  He will not ^zlet your foot be moved;

he who ^akeeps you will not slumber.

4  Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

5  The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your ^bshade on your ^cright hand.

6  ^dThe sun shall not ^estrike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

7  The Lord will ^akeep you from all evil;

he will ^akeep your life.

8  The Lord will keep

your ^fgoing out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.

1  I was glad when they said to me,

^g“Let us go to the house of the Lord!”

2  Our feet have been standing

within your gates, O Jerusalem!

3  Jerusalem—^hbuilt as a city

that is ⁱbound firmly together,

4  to which the tribes ^jgo up,

the tribes of the Lord,

as was ^kdecreed for¹ Israel,

to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

5  There ^lthrones for judgment were set,

the thrones of the house of David.

6  ^mPray for the peace of Jerusalem!

“May they be secure who love you!

7  Peace be within your ⁿwalls

and security within your ⁿtowers!”

8  For my brothers and companions’ sake

I will say, ^o“Peace be within you!”

9  For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,

I will ^pseek your good.

1  To you I ^qlift up my eyes,

O you who are ^renthroned in the heavens!

2  Behold, as the eyes of servants

look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maidservant

to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God,

till he has mercy upon us.

3  ^sHave mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,

for we have had more than enough of ^tcontempt.

4  Our soul has had more than enough

of ^uthe scorn of ^vthose who are at ease,

of the contempt of ^wthe proud.

1  ^xIf it had not been the Lord who was on our side—

^ylet Israel now say—

2  if it had not been the Lord who was on our side

when people rose up against us,

3  then they would have ^zswallowed us up alive,

when their anger was kindled against us;

4  then ^athe flood would have ^bswept us away,

the torrent would have gone ^cover us;

5  then over us would have gone

the raging waters.

6  Blessed be the Lord,

who has not given us

as prey to their teeth!

7  We have escaped like a bird

from ^dthe snare of the fowlers;

the snare is broken,

and we have escaped!

8  ^eOur help is in the name of the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

1  Those who ^ftrust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,

which ^gcannot be moved, but abides forever.

2  As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so ^hthe Lord surrounds his people,

from this time forth and forevermore.

3  For ⁱthe scepter of wickedness shall not ^jrest

on ^kthe land allotted to the righteous,

lest the righteous ^lstretch out

their hands to do wrong.

4  ^mDo good, O Lord, to those who are good,

and to those who are ⁿupright in their hearts!

5  But those who ^oturn aside to their ^pcrooked ways

the Lord will lead away with ^qevildoers!

^rPeace be upon Israel!

1  When the Lord ^srestored the fortunes of Zion,

we were like those who ^tdream.

2  Then our ^umouth was filled with laughter,

and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then they said among the nations,

^v“The Lord has done great things for them.”

3  The Lord has done great things for us;

we are glad.

4  Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

like streams in the Negeb!

5  ^wThose who sow in tears

shall reap with shouts of joy!

6  He who goes out weeping,

bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

bringing his sheaves with him.

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 children² 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.³

1  ^fBlessed is everyone who fears the Lord,

who ^gwalks in his ways!

2  You ^hshall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;

you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.

3  Your wife will be like ⁱa fruitful vine

within your house;

your children will be like ^jolive shoots

around your table.

4  Behold, thus shall the man be blessed

who fears the Lord.

5  ^kThe Lord bless you ^lfrom Zion!

May you see ^mthe prosperity of Jerusalem

all the days of your life!

6  May you see your ⁿchildren’s children!

^oPeace be upon Israel!

1  “Greatly⁴ have they ^pafflicted me ^qfrom my youth”—

^rlet Israel now say—

2  “Greatly have they ^pafflicted me ^qfrom my youth,

^syet they have not prevailed against me.

3  ^tThe plowers plowed ^uupon my back;

they made long their furrows.”

4  The Lord is righteous;

he has cut ^vthe cords of the wicked.

5  May all who hate Zion

be ^wput to shame and turned backward!

6  Let them be like ^xthe grass on the housetops,

which ^ywithers before it grows up,

7  with which the reaper does not fill his hand

nor the binder of sheaves his arms,

8  nor do those who pass by say,

^a“The blessing of the Lord be upon you!

We ^bbless you in the name of the Lord!”

1  Out of ^cthe depths I cry to you, O Lord!

2  O Lord, hear my voice!

^dLet your ears be attentive

to ^ethe voice of my pleas for mercy!

3  If you, O Lord, should ^fmark iniquities,

O Lord, who could ^gstand?

4  But with you there is ^hforgiveness,

ⁱthat you may be feared.

5  I ^jwait for the Lord, ^kmy soul waits,

and ^lin his word I hope;

6  my soul ^mwaits for the Lord

more than ⁿwatchmen for ^othe morning,

more than watchmen for the morning.

7  O Israel, ^phope in the Lord!

For ^qwith the Lord there is steadfast love,

and with him is plentiful redemption.

8  And he will ^rredeem Israel

from all his iniquities.

1  O Lord, my heart is not ^slifted up;

my eyes are not ^traised too high;

I do not ^uoccupy myself with things

too great and ^vtoo marvelous for me.

2  But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

like a weaned ^wchild with its mother;

like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3  ^xO Israel, hope in the Lord

from this time forth and forevermore.

1  Remember, O Lord, in David’s favor,

all ^ythe hardships he endured,

2  how he swore to the Lord

and ^zvowed to ^athe Mighty One of Jacob,

3  “I will not enter my house

or get into my bed,

4  I will not ^bgive sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

5  until I ^cfind a place for the Lord,

a dwelling place for ^athe Mighty One of Jacob.”

6  Behold, we heard of it in ^dEphrathah;

we found it in ^ethe fields of Jaar.

7  “Let us go to his dwelling place;

let us ^fworship at his ^gfootstool!”

8  ^hArise, O Lord, and go to your ⁱresting place,

you and the ark of your ^jmight.

9  Let your ^kpriests be ^lclothed with righteousness,

and let your ^msaints shout for joy.

10  For the sake of your servant David,

ⁿdo not turn away the face of ^oyour anointed one.

11  ^pThe Lord swore to David a sure oath

^qfrom which he will not turn back:

^r“One of the sons of your body⁵

I will set on your throne.

12  If your sons keep my covenant

and my testimonies that I shall teach them,

their sons also forever

shall ^ssit on your throne.”

13  For the Lord has ^tchosen Zion;

he has ^udesired it for his dwelling place:

14  “This is my ^vresting place forever;

here I will ^wdwell, for I have desired it.

15  I will abundantly ^xbless her provisions;

I will ^ysatisfy her poor with bread.

16  Her ^zpriests I will clothe with salvation,

and her ^zsaints will shout for joy.

17  There I will make ^aa horn to sprout for David;

I have prepared ^ba lamp for ^cmy anointed.

18  His enemies I will ^dclothe with shame,

but on him his crown will shine.”

1  Behold, how good and pleasant it is

when ^ebrothers dwell in unity!⁶

2  It is like the precious ^foil on ^gthe head,

running down on the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

running down on ^hthe collar of his robes!

3  It is like ⁱthe dew of ^jHermon,

which falls on ^kthe mountains of Zion!

For there the Lord ^lhas commanded the blessing,

life forevermore.

1  Come, bless the Lord, all you ^mservants of the Lord,

who ⁿstand ^oby night in the house of the Lord!

2  ^pLift up your hands to ^qthe holy place

and bless the Lord!

3  May the Lord ^rbless you ^sfrom Zion,

he who ^tmade heaven and earth!