Psalms

Name, Location in Canon, and Numbering

The word “Psalms” derives from the Greek name of the book, Psalmoi, which means songs played to the accompaniment of a stringed instrument. This title reflects the musical character of the psalms here as hymns or compositions that were sung. The book’s Hebrew name, Tehillim, “praises,” recalls a predominant type of poem in the book, but this is not accurate, since the book contains many other genres of prayers as well.

In Jewish Bibles today the book of Psalms is the first book of the Writings, the third part of the canon. In Christian Bibles it is one of the poetical books, coming after the book of Job. In older manuscripts these books often occur in a slightly different order.

There have been two systems of numbering the psalms, one dependent on the Hebrew text and the other on the Greek Septuagint (LXX). The LXX counted Pss 9–10 and 114–115 as single poems and divided Pss 116 and 148 into two poems, resulting in a discrepancy of one from the Hebrew numbering of Pss 8–147; in the case of Pss 9–10 the LXX is clearly correct: they form a single acrostic (alphabetic) psalm. The Latin Vulgate and older Roman Catholic translations follow the Septuagint numbering; all modern translations follow the Hebrew chapter numbering. There are also two systems of numbering psalm verses. The most common system, used by the NRSV and most English translations, assigns no verse number to the superscription or title, so that “v. 1” is always the first line of the psalm poem. The other system follows printed Hebrew Bibles in assigning a verse number to the superscription and thus often is one verse behind the NRSV verse number.

Date and Authorship

The book of Psalms is an anthology, or more properly an anthology of anthologies, comprising several collections of poetic prayers composed at various times and places in ancient Israel, mostly in the first half of the first millennium bce. Although many are attributed to King David, and some to other individuals, scholars agree that few if any were actually written by them. Rather, their authors, like those of many of the books of the Hebrew Bible, are anonymous.

Structure and Superscriptions

The book of Psalms is divided into five books, a deliberate parallel to the five books of the Torah or Pentateuch. Each of these five parts––Psalms 1–41; 42–72; 73–89; 90–106; 107–150—ends with a doxology or “word of praise.” Psalm 1 introduces this collection by explicitly mentioning “the law (Heb torah) of the Lord.” Psalm 150 serves as a megadoxology, concluding both the fifth part and the book of Psalms as a whole. In it “everything that breathes” praises the Lord in heaven and on earth, using a wide variety of musical instruments.

Within the five parts, we find evidence of other collections. A note at the end of Ps 72 states “The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended,” but after this another eighteen psalms are attributed to David. Psalms 42–49; 84; 85; 87 and 88 are attributed to “the Korahites,” members of a priestly family whose ancestor was Korah. Psalms 50 and 73–83 are attributed to Asaph, one of Korah’s sons, and Ps 88 to Heman, another of his sons. Psalms 93–99, clustered together, share the theme of divine kingship. Each of Pss 120–134 is called “A Song of Ascents,” creating another collection, perhaps sung by pilgrims as they made their way up to Jerusalem or into the Temple precincts. Individual psalms are repeated (with some variation) as well (e.g., Ps 14 = Ps 53), indicating that the book in its final form is an anthology of collections, some of which contain identical texts.

Scholars have also identified another collection: Psalms 43–83 are called the “Elohistic Psalter,” because here there is a preference for the divine name Elohim (“God”) over Yahweh (“the Lord”), which is much more frequent in the other psalms. Recent scholarship has attempted to identify stylistic and theological features of collections such as the psalms attributed to the Korahites (Pss 42–49; 84–88), who were a guild of Temple singers (2 Chr 20.19).

Many of the psalms have superscriptions––titles or prefatory verses that were added over the centuries. They are attempts to link the psalm to a biblical character, especially to David, or to suggest an apt context for the psalm. Unfortunately, few of the technical terms can be identified with any certainty. The phrase “To the leader” occurs fifty‐five times, usually with the ascription of the psalm “Of David.” Some terms may be the names of melodies, for example, “Do Not Destroy” (Pss 57–59; 75), and “The Deer of the Dawn” (Ps 22). Other terms that occur are “Prayer” (Heb tepillah), “Maskil” (“instructive poem”?), “Psalm” (Heb mizmor), and “Song” (shir). Many of the terms in the superscriptions are uncertain, as is “Selah,” a Hebrew word occurring seventyone times in the body of thirty‐nine psalms, perhaps to mark stanza divisions.

The Poetry of the Psalms

It is remarkable, though easily overlooked, that the Psalms are poems and in many manuscripts are formatted—like Proverbs and Job, differently from other biblical books—in lines rather than in continuously running format (line for line). This format provides segmentation that interrupts the continuous flow of sense found in prose, thereby increasing information density and emotion. Rather than relying for meaning on plot, character, and setting as in narrative prose , biblical verse relies heavily on verbal resources—the sound and meaning of words, rhyme, repetition, images, fixed word‐pairs and the like. Consequently, in comparison with narrative prose, verse is seemingly more “disjointed,” personal, and capable of being sung. A major characteristic of Hebrew poetry is parallelism of lines in which the second line can be synonymous, antithetical, or synthetic of the first: for example, “In Judah God is known, / his name is great in Israel” (Ps 76.1, synonymous); “For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, / but the way of the wicked will perish” (Ps 1.6, antithetic); “As a deer longs for flowing streams, / so my soul longs for you, O God” (Ps 42.1, synthetic). Thus, in synonymous parallelism, the second line repeats in different words what has already been expressed in the first; in antithetic parallelism, the second line presents the same idea as the first by way of contrast or negation; and synthetic parallelism completes or expands the idea of the first part in the second part. Parallelism slows the pace of the poem and sets up resonances between lines. Biblical verse is not metrical in a modern sense, but it does have phonemic stress that contributes to the rhythm.

Genres

More than eighty psalms fall into one of three main types or genres: hymn, petition (used in these notes for the customary “lament”; “lament” is only one component of the petition), and thanksgiving.

• Hymn (approximately twenty‐eight psalms). The structure is simple: a call to worship, often with the subject named (e.g., “Praise the Lord, all you nations,” Ps 117.1), sometimes with musical instruments mentioned (e.g., “Praise him with trumpet sound,” Ps 150.3). The invitatory phrase is often repeated in the final verse. The body of the poem is normally introduced by the preposition “for, because,” giving the basis for the praise. This is typically something God has done, for example, the act by which Israel came into being as a people: the Exodus from Egypt and entry into Canaan. References to this one event can be in historical terms with human characters prominent (e.g., Ps 105) or in mythical terms with God portrayed as acting directly rather than through human agency (e.g., Ps 114).

• Individual petition (approximately forty psalms). Petitionary psalms begin with an unadorned cry to the Lord (e.g., “Help, O Lord!” Ps 12.1). This is followed by a complaint, namely a description of a difficulty facing the psalmist such as sickness, unfair legal accusation, treachery of former friends, or ostracism from the community as a consequence of sin. Usually there is a statement of trust, uttered despite the trouble, which is often described hyperbolically (e.g., “I am not afraid of ten thousands of people,” Ps 3.6). The worshiper prays for rescue and sometimes also for the downfall of the enemy. Some contain confessions of guilt, while others suggest that the psalmist is persecuted for unknown or unfair reasons. Each petition is a minidrama with three actors: the psalmist, the enemies (often “the wicked”), and God. Psalmists portray themselves as loyal followers of the Lord who are victims of a serious affliction (often personified) from which their Lord, their patron, should rescue them.

• Community petitions (about eighteen psalms) complain that the Lord has abandoned the nation to its enemies. They often “remember” or recite before God the event that brought Israel into existence in the hope that God will reactivate that event. Can the Lord allow that founding event to be annulled by an enemy? The foundational event can be described in various ways, for example, transplanting a vine from Egypt (Ps 80.8,14) or defeating Sea and installing the people in their land (Ps 77).

• Individual thanksgiving (about twelve psalms). Such psalms presume that the Lord has answered the petition and now give thanks to the Lord. In a sense they are a follow‐up of the individual petition, for they report to the community how God has heard the petition, a biblical way of giving thanks.

About thirty psalms are grouped together by scholars according to their subject: royal songs, Zion songs, festival songs, and liturgies. According to style or tone, others are reckoned “songs of trust” (e.g., Pss 23; 91; 121) and “instructions” (e.g., Pss 37; 49; 73). Three psalms have “torah” ( authoritative instruction) as their subject (Pss 1; 19; 119).

The Temple as Context for Psalms

The Jerusalem Temple was an essential element of Israelite religion, and it is not surprising that many psalms refer to it (e.g., “the courts of the house of the Lord,” Ps 116.19); its ceremonies (“inquire in his temple,” Ps 27.4); and the three annual feasts of pilgrimage to the Temple (the Psalter’s frequent allusions to the Exodus would have been appropriate for any of the feasts). Some scholars have suggested that a New Year Festival was celebrated in preexilic Israel in early fall at which time enthronement psalms would have been fitting (e.g., Pss 47; 93; 95–100). In these psalms the Hebrew verb customarily rendered “the Lord is king,” could also be translated as “the Lord has become king,” celebrating the recognition that the Lord has overcome his foes and brought the world into being.

With the Babylonian destruction of the Temple in 586 bce, the scattered exiles prayed facing toward the Temple site in far‐off Jerusalem, like Daniel in 6.10, “he continued to go to his house, which had windows in its upper room open toward Jerusalem, and to get down on his knees three times a day to pray to his God and praise him.” When the Temple was finally destroyed by the Romans in 70 ce, Jews and Christians lost any chance of praying in an actual building and participating in its liturgy. The biblical text itself became the place where God graciously chose to dwell and hear the prayers of the people. Those who prayed could be sure of God’s presence no matter where they prayed.

Early Usage

The dissident Jewish community at Qumran (ca. 150 bce–70 ce) provides a glimpse into the development and interpretation of the Psalter in early Judaism. Their library of religious literature contains more copies of the Psalms than of any other biblical book. The manuscripts yield two important conclusions: the four psalm commentaries interpreted contemporary events apocalyptically, that is, as referring to the end‐time in which the community believed itself to be living; and the order of psalms, at least in the latter part of the Psalter (Books IV and V), was still in flux, and in these psalms nonbiblical poetry can be found.

Interpretation

For about two thousand years the 150 Psalms have been a lovingly memorized prayer book, transposing to the daily life of Jews and Christians the meeting of Israel and its Lord. They were prayed from antiquity onward, by the founders of rabbinic Judaism, the early Christians, the fathers of the church, and the medieval synagogue and church. They are today a treasure shared by Jews and Christians. The psalms’ power lies not only in being sacred scripture but also in their reflecting human feelings before God and expressing them directly, concretely, and skillfully.

As prayers and schools of prayer, the psalms guide modern believers in their relationship to God. Their range and honesty encourage people to come before God in their weakness and need as well as in their strength. Against a modern tendency to make a relationship to God completely private, most of the poems are communal; even individual petitions and songs of trust display a vivid sense of belonging to a people chosen and blessed by God. Against self‐centered worship, the psalms are unhesitatingly theocentric—the world is made for God—though they balance it with the conviction that the Lord loves the people of Israel and is passionate about their flourishing. Psalms is the most cited Old Testament book in the New Testament. Christians praying these psalms have traditionally linked their prayers with those of Jesus, whose prayers become the prayers of the church.

Despite the psalms’ splendor and humanity, people often find it difficult to pray them, for many of the psalms seem violent and vindictive. We must remember, however, that the chief issue for biblical worshipers is God’s power to save. Can God save from life’s dangers and grant protection and prosperity? Since the arena in which power was displayed most vividly is the battlefield, it is not surprising that the Lord was often portrayed as a warrior, ruling with power. The war imagery is, however, secondary to the main point: God is a just ruler and judge, who upholds the faithful and righteous, and puts down the wicked and rebellious.

The so‐called vindictive psalms are especially difficult for those who simplistically view Christianity as uniformly gentle and concerned primarily with the individual soul. Yet these psalms are not interested in punishment for its own sake but in redressing a wrong in the present. The psalmists think concretely rather than abstractly: they view evil as embodied in unjust people and thus pray for their elimination, including their potential for living on in their children. The psalms generally entrust the carrying out of these wishes into God’s hands in the conviction that only God can make the world truly just and good. Sufferers can, however, cry out to God to take action, and can even use words that appear extreme. Those who trust in God (see Ps 37.5–6) can pray these psalms by leaving everything—execution and timetable—in God’s hands.

Richard J. Clifford

Book I Psalms 1–41

Psalm 1

¹Happy are those

 who do not follow the advice of the wicked,

or take the path that sinners tread,

 or sit in the seat of scoffers;

²but their delight is in the law of the Lord,

 and on his law they meditate day and night.

³They are like trees

 planted by streams of water,

which yield their fruit in its season,

 and their leaves do not wither.

In all that they do, they prosper.

⁴The wicked are not so,

 but are like chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,

 nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;

⁶for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,

 but the way of the wicked will perish.

Psalm 2

¹Why do the nations conspire,

 and the peoples plot in vain?

²The kings of the earth set themselves,

 and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and his anointed, saying,

³“Let us burst their bonds asunder,

 and cast their cords from us.”

⁴He who sits in the heavens laughs;

 the Lord has them in derision.

⁵Then he will speak to them in his wrath,

 and terrify them in his fury, saying,

⁶“I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”

⁷I will tell of the decree of the Lord:

He said to me, “You are my son;

 today I have begotten you.

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

 and the ends of the earth your possession.

⁹You shall break them with a rod of iron,

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

¹⁰Now therefore, O kings, be wise;

 be warned, O rulers of the earth.

¹¹Serve the Lord with fear,

 with trembling ¹²kiss his feet,^a

or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way;

 for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Happy are all who take refuge in him.

Psalm 3

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

¹O Lord, how many are my foes!

 Many are rising against me;

²many are saying to me,

 “There is no help for you^b in God.”  Selah

³But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,

 my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.

⁴I cry aloud to the Lord,

 and he answers me from his holy hill.

 Selah

⁵I lie down and sleep;

 I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.

⁶I am not afraid of ten thousands of people

 who have set themselves against me all around.

⁷Rise up, O Lord!

 Deliver me, O my God!

For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;

 you break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸Deliverance belongs to the Lord;

 may your blessing be on your people!

 Selah

Psalm 4

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

¹Answer me when I call, O God of my right!

 You gave me room when I was in distress.

 Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.

²How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?

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

³But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;

 the Lord hears when I call to him.

⁴When you are disturbed,^a do not sin;

 ponder it on your beds, and be silent.

 Selah

⁵Offer right sacrifices,

 and put your trust in the Lord.

⁶There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!

 Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”

⁷You have put gladness in my heart

 more than when their grain and wine abound.

⁸I will both lie down and sleep in peace;

 for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.

Psalm 5

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

¹Give ear to my words, O Lord;

 give heed to my sighing.

²Listen to the sound of my cry,

 my King and my God,

 for to you I pray.

³O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;

 in the morning I plead my case to you, and watch.

⁴For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;

 evil will not sojourn with you.

⁵The boastful will not stand before your eyes;

 you hate all evildoers.

⁶You destroy those who speak lies;

 the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.

⁷But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,

 will enter your house,

I will bow down toward your holy temple

 in awe of you.

⁸Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness

 because of my enemies;

 make your way straight before me.

⁹For there is no truth in their mouths;

 their hearts are destruction;

their throats are open graves;

they flatter with their tongues.

¹⁰Make them bear their guilt, O God;

 let them fall by their own counsels;

because of their many transgressions cast them out,

 for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;

 let them ever sing for joy.

Spread your protection over them,

 so that those who love your name may exult in you.

¹²For you bless the righteous, O Lord;

 you cover them with favor as with a shield.

Psalm 6

To the leader: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,

 or discipline me in your wrath.

²Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;

 O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror.

³My soul also is struck with terror,

 while you, O Lord—how long?

⁴Turn, O Lord, save my life;

 deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love.

⁵For in death there is no remembrance of you;

 in Sheol who can give you praise?

⁶I am weary with my moaning;

 every night I flood my bed with tears;

 I drench my couch with my weeping.

⁷My eyes waste away because of grief;

 they grow weak because of all my foes.

⁸Depart from me, all you workers of evil,

 for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.

⁹The Lord has heard my supplication;

 the Lord accepts my prayer.

¹⁰All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror;

 they shall turn back, and in a moment be put to shame.

Psalm 7

A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.

¹O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;

 save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,

²or like a lion they will tear me apart;

 they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.

³O Lord my God, if I have done this,

 if there is wrong in my hands,

⁴if I have repaid my ally with harm

 or plundered my foe without cause,

⁵then let the enemy pursue and overtake me,

 trample my life to the ground,

 and lay my soul in the dust. Selah

⁶Rise up, O Lord, in your anger;

 lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;

 awake, O my God;^a you have appointed a judgment.

⁷Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you,

 and over it take your seat^b on high.

⁸The Lord judges the peoples;

 judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness

 and according to the integrity that is in me.

⁹O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,

 but establish the righteous,

you who test the minds and hearts,

 O righteous God.

¹⁰God is my shield,

 who saves the upright in heart.

¹¹God is a righteous judge,

 and a God who has indignation every day.

¹²If one does not repent, God^c will whet his sword;

 he has bent and strung his bow;

¹³he has prepared his deadly weapons,

 making his arrows fiery shafts.

¹⁴See how they conceive evil,

 and are pregnant with mischief,

 and bring forth lies.

¹⁵They make a pit, digging it out,

 and fall into the hole that they have made.

¹⁶Their mischief returns upon their own heads,

 and on their own heads their violence descends.

¹⁷I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,

 and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Psalm 8

To the leader: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, our Sovereign,

 how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.

 ²Out of the mouths of babes and infants

you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,

 to silence the enemy and the avenger.

³When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,

 the moon and the stars that you have established;

⁴what are human beings that you are mindful of them,

 mortals^a that you care for them?

⁵Yet you have made them a little lower than God,^b

 and crowned them with glory and honor.

⁶You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;

 you have put all things under their feet,

⁷all sheep and oxen,

 and also the beasts of the field,

⁸the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,

 whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

⁹O Lord, our Sovereign,

 how majestic is your name in all the earth!

Psalm 9

To the leader: according to Muth‐labben. A Psalm of David.

¹I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;

 I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.

²I will be glad and exult in you;

 I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

³When my enemies turned back,

 they stumbled and perished before you.

⁴For you have maintained my just cause;

 you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.

⁵You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked;

 you have blotted out their name forever and ever.

⁶The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;

 their cities you have rooted out;

 the very memory of them has perished.

⁷But the Lord sits enthroned forever,

 he has established his throne for judgment.

⁸He judges the world with righteousness;

 he judges the peoples with equity.

⁹The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,

 a stronghold in times of trouble.

¹⁰And those who know your name put their trust in you,

 for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

¹¹Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.

 Declare his deeds among the peoples.

¹²For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;

 he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

¹³Be gracious to me, O Lord.

 See what I suffer from those who hate me;

 you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,

¹⁴so that I may recount all your praises,

 and, in the gates of daughter Zion,

 rejoice in your deliverance.

¹⁵The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;

 in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.

¹⁶The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgment;

 the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah

¹⁷The wicked shall depart to Sheol,

 all the nations that forget God.

¹⁸For the needy shall not always be forgotten,

 nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

¹⁹Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;

 let the nations be judged before you.

²⁰Put them in fear, O Lord;

 let the nations know that they are only human. Selah

Psalm 10

Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?

 Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

²In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—

 let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.

³For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,

 those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.

⁴In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, “God will not seek it out”;

 all their thoughts are, “There is no God.”

⁵Their ways prosper at all times;

 your judgments are on high, out of their sight;

 as for their foes, they scoff at them.

⁶They think in their heart, “We shall not be moved;

 throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.”

⁷Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;

 under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.

⁸They sit in ambush in the villages;

 in hiding places they murder the innocent.

Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;

 ⁹they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;

they lurk that they may seize the poor;

 they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.

¹⁰They stoop, they crouch,

 and the helpless fall by their might.

¹¹They think in their heart, “God has forgotten,

 he has hidden his face, he will never see it.”

¹²Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;

 do not forget the oppressed.

¹³Why do the wicked renounce God,

 and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”?

¹⁴But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief,

 that you may take it into your hands;

the helpless commit themselves to you;

 you have been the helper of the orphan.

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;

 seek out their wickedness until you find none.

¹⁶The Lord is king forever and ever;

 the nations shall perish from his land.

¹⁷O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;

 you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear

¹⁸to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,

 so that those from earth may strike terror no more.^a

Psalm 11

To the leader. Of David.

¹In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to me,

 “Flee like a bird to the mountains;^b

²for look, the wicked bend the bow,

 they have fitted their arrow to the string,

 to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.

³If the foundations are destroyed,

 what can the righteous do?”

⁴The Lord is in his holy temple;

 the Lord’s throne is in heaven.

 His eyes behold, his gaze examines humankind.

⁵The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,

 and his soul hates the lover of violence.

⁶On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and sulfur;

 a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.

⁷For the Lord is righteous;

he loves righteous deeds;

 the upright shall behold his face.

Psalm 12

To the leader: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.

¹Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;

 the faithful have disappeared from humankind.

²They utter lies to each other;

 with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

³May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,

 the tongue that makes great boasts,

⁴those who say, “With our tongues we will prevail;

 our lips are our own—who is our master?”

⁵“Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,

 I will now rise up,” says the Lord;

 “I will place them in the safety for which they long.”

⁶The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,

 silver refined in a furnace on the ground,

 purified seven times.

⁷You, O Lord, will protect us;

 you will guard us from this generation forever.

⁸On every side the wicked prowl,

 as vileness is exalted among humankind.

Psalm 13

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

¹How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?

 How long will you hide your face from me?

²How long must I bear pain^a in my soul,

 and have sorrow in my heart all day long?

How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

³Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!

 Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,

⁴and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;

 my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.

⁵But I trusted in your steadfast love;

 my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

⁶I will sing to the Lord,

 because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Psalm 14

To the leader. Of David.

¹Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”

 They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;

 there is no one who does good.

²The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind

 to see if there are any who are wise,

 who seek after God.

³They have all gone astray, they are all alike perverse;

 there is no one who does good,

 no, not one.

⁴Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers

 who eat up my people as they eat bread,

 and do not call upon the Lord?

⁵There they shall be in great terror,

 for God is with the company of the righteous.

⁶You would confound the plans of the poor,

 but the Lord is their refuge.

⁷O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!

 When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,

 Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

Psalm 15

A Psalm of David.

¹O Lord, who may abide in your tent?

 Who may dwell on your holy hill?

²Those who walk blamelessly, and do what is right,

 and speak the truth from their heart;

³who do not slander with their tongue,

 and do no evil to their friends,

 nor take up a reproach against their neighbors;

⁴in whose eyes the wicked are despised,

 but who honor those who fear the Lord;

who stand by their oath even to their hurt;

⁵who do not lend money at interest,

 and do not take a bribe against the innocent.

Those who do these things shall never be moved.

Psalm 16

A Miktam of David.

¹Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.

²I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;

 I have no good apart from you.”^a

³As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble,

 in whom is all my delight.

⁴Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;^b

 their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out

 or take their names upon my lips.

⁵The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;

 you hold my lot.

⁶The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

 I have a goodly heritage.

⁷I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;

 in the night also my heart instructs me.

⁸I keep the Lord always before me;

 because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

⁹Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;

 my body also rests secure.

¹⁰For you do not give me up to Sheol,

 or let your faithful one see the Pit.

¹¹You show me the path of life.

 In your presence there is fullness of joy;

 in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Psalm 17

A Prayer of David.

¹Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry;

 give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.

²From you let my vindication come;

 let your eyes see the right.

³If you try my heart, if you visit me by night,

 if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me;

 my mouth does not transgress.

⁴As for what others do, by the word of your lips

 I have avoided the ways of the violent.

⁵My steps have held fast to your paths;

 my feet have not slipped.

⁶I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;

 incline your ear to me, hear my words.

⁷Wondrously show your steadfast love,

 O savior of those who seek refuge

 from their adversaries at your right hand.

⁸Guard me as the apple of the eye;

 hide me in the shadow of your wings,

⁹from the wicked who despoil me,

 my deadly enemies who surround me.

¹⁰They close their hearts to pity;

 with their mouths they speak arrogantly.

¹¹They track me down;^a now they surround me;

 they set their eyes to cast me to the ground.

¹²They are like a lion eager to tear,

 like a young lion lurking in ambush.

¹³Rise up, O Lord, confront them, overthrow them!

 By your sword deliver my life from the wicked,

¹⁴from mortals—by your hand, O Lord—

 from mortals whose portion in life is in this world.

May their bellies be filled with what you have stored up for them;

 may their children have more than enough;

 may they leave something over to their little ones.

¹⁵As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;

 when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.

Psalm 18

To the leader. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord, who addressed the words of this song to the Lord on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. He said:

¹I love you, O Lord, my strength.

²The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer,

 my God, my rock in whom I take refuge,

 my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

³I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,

 so I shall be saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death encompassed me;

 the torrents of perdition assailed me;

⁵the cords of Sheol entangled me;

 the snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called upon the Lord;

 to my God I cried for help.

From his temple he heard my voice,

 and my cry to him reached his ears.

⁷Then the earth reeled and rocked;

 the foundations also of the mountains trembled

 and quaked, because he was angry.

⁸Smoke went up from his nostrils,

 and devouring fire from his mouth;

 glowing coals flamed forth from him.

⁹He bowed the heavens, and came down;

 thick darkness was under his feet.

¹⁰He rode on a cherub, and flew;

 he came swiftly upon the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness his covering around him,

 his canopy thick clouds dark with water.

¹²Out of the brightness before him

 there broke through his clouds

 hailstones and coals of fire.

¹³The Lord also thundered in the heavens,

 and the Most High uttered his voice.^a

¹⁴And he sent out his arrows, and scattered them;

 he flashed forth lightnings, and routed them.

¹⁵Then the channels of the sea were seen,

 and the foundations of the world were laid bare

at your rebuke, O Lord,

 at the blast of the breath of your nostrils.

¹⁶He reached down from on high, he took me;

 he drew me out of mighty waters.

¹⁷He delivered me from my strong enemy,

 and from those who hated me;

 for they were too mighty for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my calamity;

 but the Lord was my support.

¹⁹He brought me out into a broad place;

 he delivered me, because he delighted in me.

²⁰The Lord rewarded me according to my righteousness;

 according to the cleanness of my hands he recompensed me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the Lord,

 and have not wickedly departed from my God.

²²For all his ordinances were before me,

 and his statutes I did not put away from me.

²³I was blameless before him,

 and I kept myself from guilt.

²⁴Therefore the Lord has recompensed me

 according to my righteousness,

 according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

²⁵With the loyal you show yourself loyal;

 with the blameless you show yourself blameless;

²⁶with the pure you show yourself pure;

 and with the crooked you show yourself perverse.

²⁷For you deliver a humble people,

 but the haughty eyes you bring down.

²⁸It is you who light my lamp;

 the Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.

²⁹By you I can crush a troop,

 and by my God I can leap over a wall.

³⁰This God—his way is perfect;

 the promise of the Lord proves true;

 he is a shield for all who take refuge in him.

³¹For who is God except the Lord?

 And who is a rock besides our God?—

³²the God who girded me with strength,

 and made my way safe.

³³He made my feet like the feet of a deer,

 and set me secure on the heights.

³⁴He trains my hands for war,

 so that my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵You have given me the shield of your salvation,

 and your right hand has supported me;

 your help^a has made me great.

³⁶You gave me a wide place for my steps under me,

 and my feet did not slip.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them;

 and did not turn back until they were consumed.

³⁸I struck them down, so that they were not able to rise;

 they fell under my feet.

³⁹For you girded me with strength for the battle;

 you made my assailants sink under me.

⁴⁰You made my enemies turn their backs to me,

 and those who hated me I destroyed.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no one to save them;

 they cried to the Lord, but he did not answer them.

⁴²I beat them fine, like dust before the wind;

 I cast them out like the mire of the streets.

You delivered me from strife with the peoples;^b

 you made me head of the nations;

 people whom I had not known served me.

⁴⁴As soon as they heard of me they obeyed me;

 foreigners came cringing to me.

⁴⁵Foreigners lost heart,

 and came trembling out of their strongholds.

⁴⁶The Lord lives! Blessed be my rock,

 and exalted be the God of my salvation,

⁴⁷the God who gave me vengeance

 and subdued peoples under me;

⁴⁸who delivered me from my enemies;

 indeed, you exalted me above my adversaries;

 you delivered me from the violent.

⁴⁹For this I will extol you, O Lord, among the nations,

 and sing praises to your name.

⁵⁰Great triumphs he gives to his king,

 and shows steadfast love to his anointed,

 to David and his descendants forever.

Psalm 19

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

¹The heavens are telling the glory of God;

 and the firmament^a proclaims his handiwork.

²Day to day pours forth speech,

 and night to night declares knowledge.

³There is no speech, nor are there words;

 their voice is not heard;

⁴yet their voice^b goes out through all the earth,

 and their words to the end of the world.

In the heavens^c he has set a tent for the sun,

⁵which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy,

 and like a strong man runs its course with joy.

⁶Its rising is from the end of the heavens,

 and its circuit to the end of them;

 and nothing is hid from its heat.

⁷The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul;

 the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple;

⁸the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart;

 the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes;

⁹the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever;

 the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.

¹⁰More to be desired are they than gold,

 even much fine gold;

sweeter also than honey,

 and drippings of the honeycomb.

¹¹Moreover by them is your servant warned;

 in keeping them there is great reward.

¹²But who can detect their errors?

 Clear me from hidden faults.

¹³Keep back your servant also from the insolent;^d

 do not let them have dominion over me.

Then I shall be blameless,

 and innocent of great transgression.

¹⁴Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart

 be acceptable to you,

 O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Psalm 20

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

¹The Lord answer you in the day of trouble!

 The name of the God of Jacob protect you!

²May he send you help from the sanctuary,

 and give you support from Zion.

³May he remember all your offerings,

 and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices. Selah

⁴May he grant you your heart’s desire,

 and fulfill all your plans.

⁵May we shout for joy over your victory,

 and in the name of our God set up our banners.

May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

⁶Now I know that the Lord will help his anointed;

 he will answer him from his holy heaven

 with mighty victories by his right hand.

⁷Some take pride in chariots, and some in horses,

 but our pride is in the name of the Lord our God.

⁸They will collapse and fall,

 but we shall rise and stand upright.

Give victory to the king, O Lord;

 answer us when we call.^a

Psalm 21

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

¹In your strength the king rejoices, O Lord,

 and in your help how greatly he exults!

²You have given him his heart’s desire,

 and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah

³For you meet him with rich blessings;

 you set a crown of fine gold on his head.

⁴He asked you for life; you gave it to him—

 length of days forever and ever.

⁵His glory is great through your help;

 splendor and majesty you bestow on him.

⁶You bestow on him blessings forever;

 you make him glad with the joy of your presence.

⁷For the king trusts in the Lord,

 and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be moved.

⁸Your hand will find out all your enemies;

 your right hand will find out those who hate you.

⁹You will make them like a fiery furnace

 when you appear.

The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,

 and fire will consume them.

¹⁰You will destroy their offspring from the earth,

 and their children from among humankind.

¹¹If they plan evil against you,

 if they devise mischief, they will not succeed.

¹²For you will put them to flight;

 you will aim at their faces with your bows.

¹³Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!

 We will sing and praise your power.

Psalm 22

To the leader: according to The Deer of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

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

 Why are you so far from helping me, from the words of my groaning?

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

 and by night, but find no rest.

³Yet you are holy,

 enthroned on the praises of Israel.

⁴In you our ancestors trusted;

 they trusted, and you delivered them.

⁵To you they cried, and were saved;

 in you they trusted, and were not put to shame.

⁶But I am a worm, and not human;

 scorned by others, and despised by the people.

⁷All who see me mock at me;

 they make mouths at me, they shake their heads;

⁸“Commit your cause to the Lord; let him deliver—

 let him rescue the one in whom he delights!”

⁹Yet it was you who took me from the womb;

 you kept me safe on my mother’s breast.

¹⁰On you I was cast from my birth,

 and since my mother bore me you have been my God.

¹¹Do not be far from me,

 for trouble is near

 and there is no one to help.

¹²Many bulls encircle me,

 strong bulls of Bashan surround me;

¹³they open wide their mouths at me,

 like a ravening and roaring lion.

¹⁴I am poured out like water,

 and all my bones are out of joint;

my heart is like wax;

 it is melted within my breast;

¹⁵my mouth^a is dried up like a potsherd,

 and my tongue sticks to my jaws;

 you lay me in the dust of death.

¹⁶For dogs are all around me;

 a company of evildoers encircles me.

My hands and feet have shriveled;^b

¹⁷I can count all my bones.

They stare and gloat over me;

¹⁸they divide my clothes among themselves,

 and for my clothing they cast lots.

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

 O my help, come quickly to my aid!

²⁰Deliver my soul from the sword,

 my life^c from the power of the dog!

 ²¹Save me from the mouth of the lion!

From the horns of the wild oxen you have rescued^d me.

²²I will tell of your name to my brothers and sisters;^e

 in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:

²³You who fear the Lord, praise him!

 All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him;

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

²⁴For he did not despise or abhor

 the affliction of the afflicted;

he did not hide his face from me,^a

 but heard when I^b cried to him.

²⁵From you comes my praise in the great congregation;

 my vows I will pay before those who fear him.

²⁶The poor^c shall eat and be satisfied;

 those who seek him shall praise the Lord.

 May your hearts live forever!

²⁷All the ends of the earth shall remember

 and turn to the Lord;

and all the families of the nations

 shall worship before him.^d

²⁸For dominion belongs to the Lord,

 and he rules over the nations.

²⁹To him,^e indeed, shall all who sleep in^f the earth bow down;

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

 and I shall live for him.^g

³⁰Posterity will serve him;

 future generations will be told about the Lord,

³¹and^h proclaim his deliverance to a people yet unborn,

 saying that he has done it.

Psalm 23

A Psalm of David.

¹The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

 ²He makes me lie down in green pastures;

he leads me beside still waters;ⁱ

 ³he restores my soul.^j

He leads me in right paths^k

 for his name’s sake.

⁴Even though I walk through the darkest valley,^l

 I fear no evil;

for you are with me;

 your rod and your staff—

 they comfort me.

⁵You prepare a table before me

 in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

 my cup overflows.

⁶Surely^a goodness and mercy^b shall follow me

 all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord

 my whole life long.^c

Psalm 24

Of David. A Psalm.

¹The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it,

 the world, and those who live in it;

²for he has founded it on the seas,

 and established it on the rivers.

³Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?

 And who shall stand in his holy place?

⁴Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,

 who do not lift up their souls to what is false,

 and do not swear deceitfully.

⁵They will receive blessing from the Lord,

 and vindication from the God of their salvation.

⁶Such is the company of those who seek him,

 who seek the face of the God of Jacob.^d

 Selah

⁷Lift up your heads, O gates!

 and be lifted up, O ancient doors!

 that the King of glory may come in.

⁸Who is the King of glory?

 The Lord, strong and mighty,

 the Lord, mighty in battle.

⁹Lift up your heads, O gates!

 and be lifted up, O ancient doors!

 that the King of glory may come in.

¹⁰Who is this King of glory?

 The Lord of hosts,

 he is the King of glory. Selah

Psalm 25

Of David.

¹To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

²O my God, in you I trust;

 do not let me be put to shame;

 do not let my enemies exult over me.

³Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame;

 let them be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous.

⁴Make me to know your ways, O Lord;

 teach me your paths.

⁵Lead me in your truth, and teach me,

 for you are the God of my salvation;

 for you I wait all day long.

⁶Be mindful of your mercy, O Lord, and of your steadfast love,

 for they have been from of old.

⁷Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

 according to your steadfast love remember me,

 for your goodness’ sake, O Lord!

⁸Good and upright is the Lord;

 therefore he instructs sinners in the way.

⁹He leads the humble in what is right,

 and teaches the humble his way.

¹⁰All the paths of the Lord are steadfast love and faithfulness,

 for those who keep his covenant and his decrees.

¹¹For your name’s sake, O Lord,

 pardon my guilt, for it is great.

¹²Who are they that fear the Lord?

 He will teach them the way that they should choose.

¹³They will abide in prosperity,

 and their children shall possess the land.

¹⁴The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him,

 and he makes his covenant known to them.

¹⁵My eyes are ever toward the Lord,

 for he will pluck my feet out of the net.

¹⁶Turn to me and be gracious to me,

 for I am lonely and afflicted.

¹⁷Relieve the troubles of my heart,

 and bring me^a out of my distress.

¹⁸Consider my affliction and my trouble,

 and forgive all my sins.

¹⁹Consider how many are my foes,

 and with what violent hatred they hate me.

²⁰O guard my life, and deliver me;

 do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.

²¹May integrity and uprightness preserve me,

 for I wait for you.

²²Redeem Israel, O God,

 out of all its troubles.

Psalm 26

Of David.

¹Vindicate me, O Lord,

 for I have walked in my integrity,

 and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.

²Prove me, O Lord, and try me;

 test my heart and mind.

³For your steadfast love is before my eyes,

 and I walk in faithfulness to you.^b

⁴I do not sit with the worthless,

 nor do I consort with hypocrites;

⁵I hate the company of evildoers,

 and will not sit with the wicked.

⁶I wash my hands in innocence,

 and go around your altar, O Lord,

⁷singing aloud a song of thanksgiving,

 and telling all your wondrous deeds.

⁸O Lord, I love the house in which you dwell,

 and the place where your glory abides.

⁹Do not sweep me away with sinners,

 nor my life with the bloodthirsty,

¹⁰those in whose hands are evil devices,

 and whose right hands are full of bribes.

¹¹But as for me, I walk in my integrity;

 redeem me, and be gracious to me.

¹²My foot stands on level ground;

 in the great congregation I will bless the Lord.

Psalm 27

Of David.

¹The Lord is my light and my salvation;

 whom shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold^a of my life;

 of whom shall I be afraid?

²When evildoers assail me

 to devour my flesh—

my adversaries and foes—

 they shall stumble and fall.

³Though an army encamp against me,

 my heart shall not fear;

though war rise up against me,

 yet I will be confident.

⁴One thing I asked of the Lord,

 that will I seek after:

to live in the house of the Lord

 all the days of my life,

to behold the beauty of the Lord,

 and to inquire in his temple.

⁵For he will hide me in his shelter

 in the day of trouble;

he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;

 he will set me high on a rock.

⁶Now my head is lifted up

 above my enemies all around me,

and I will offer in his tent

 sacrifices with shouts of joy;

I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

⁷Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud,

 be gracious to me and answer me!

⁸“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!”

 Your face, Lord, do I seek.

 ⁹Do not hide your face from me.

Do not turn your servant away in anger,

 you who have been my help.

Do not cast me off, do not forsake me,

 O God of my salvation!

¹⁰If my father and mother forsake me,

 the Lord will take me up.

¹¹Teach me your way, O Lord,

 and lead me on a level path

 because of my enemies.

¹²Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,

 for false witnesses have risen against me,

 and they are breathing out violence.

¹³I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord

 in the land of the living.

¹⁴Wait for the Lord;

 be strong, and let your heart take courage;

 wait for the Lord!

Psalm 28

Of David.

¹To you, O Lord, I call;

 my rock, do not refuse to hear me,

for if you are silent to me,

 I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.

²Hear the voice of my supplication,

 as I cry to you for help,

as I lift up my hands

 toward your most holy sanctuary.^a

³Do not drag me away with the wicked,

 with those who are workers of evil,

who speak peace with their neighbors,

 while mischief is in their hearts.

⁴Repay them according to their work,

 and according to the evil of their deeds;

repay them according to the work of their hands;

 render them their due reward.

⁵Because they do not regard the works of the Lord,

 or the work of his hands,

he will break them down and build them up no more.

⁶Blessed be the Lord,

 for he has heard the sound of my pleadings.

⁷The Lord is my strength and my shield;

 in him my heart trusts;

so I am helped, and my heart exults,

 and with my song I give thanks to him.

⁸The Lord is the strength of his people;

 he is the saving refuge of his anointed.

⁹O save your people, and bless your heritage;

 be their shepherd, and carry them forever.

Psalm 29

A Psalm of David.

¹Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings,^b

 ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

²Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name;

 worship the Lord in holy splendor.

³The voice of the Lord is over the waters;

 the God of glory thunders,

 the Lord, over mighty waters.

⁴The voice of the Lord is powerful;

 the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

⁵The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;

 the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.

⁶He makes Lebanon skip like a calf,

 and Sirion like a young wild ox.

⁷The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.

⁸The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;

 the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

⁹The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl,^a

 and strips the forest bare;

 and in his temple all say, “Glory!”

¹⁰The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;

 the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.

¹¹May the Lord give strength to his people!

 May the Lord bless his people with peace!

Psalm 30

A Psalm. A Song at the dedication of the temple. Of David.

¹I will extol you, O Lord, for you have drawn me up,

 and did not let my foes rejoice over me.

²O Lord my God, I cried to you for help,

 and you have healed me.

³O Lord, you brought up my soul from Sheol,

 restored me to life from among those gone down to the Pit.^b

⁴Sing praises to the Lord, O you his faithful ones,

 and give thanks to his holy name.

⁵For his anger is but for a moment;

 his favor is for a lifetime.

Weeping may linger for the night,

 but joy comes with the morning.

⁶As for me, I said in my prosperity,

 “I shall never be moved.”

⁷By your favor, O Lord,

 you had established me as a strong mountain;

you hid your face;

 I was dismayed.

⁸To you, O Lord, I cried,

 and to the Lord I made supplication:

⁹“What profit is there in my death,

 if I go down to the Pit?

Will the dust praise you?

 Will it tell of your faithfulness?

¹⁰Hear, O Lord, and be gracious to me!

 O Lord, be my helper!”

¹¹You have turned my mourning into dancing;

 you have taken off my sackcloth

 and clothed me with joy,

¹²so that my soul^c may praise you and not be silent.

 O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever.

Psalm 31

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

¹In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;

 do not let me ever be put to shame;

 in your righteousness deliver me.

²Incline your ear to me;

 rescue me speedily.

Be a rock of refuge for me,

 a strong fortress to save me.

³You are indeed my rock and my fortress;

 for your name’s sake lead me and guide me,

⁴take me out of the net that is hidden for me,

 for you are my refuge.

⁵Into your hand I commit my spirit;

 you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.

⁶You hate^a those who pay regard to worthless idols,

 but I trust in the Lord.

⁷I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love,

 because you have seen my affliction;

 you have taken heed of my adversities,

⁸and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;

 you have set my feet in a broad place.

⁹Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;

 my eye wastes away from grief,

 my soul and body also.

¹⁰For my life is spent with sorrow,

 and my years with sighing;

my strength fails because of my misery,^b

 and my bones waste away.

¹¹I am the scorn of all my adversaries,

 a horror^c to my neighbors,

an object of dread to my acquaintances;

 those who see me in the street flee from me.

¹²I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;

 I have become like a broken vessel.

¹³For I hear the whispering of many—

 terror all around!—

as they scheme together against me,

 as they plot to take my life.

¹⁴But I trust in you, O Lord;

 I say, “You are my God.”

¹⁵My times are in your hand;

 deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.

¹⁶Let your face shine upon your servant;

 save me in your steadfast love.

¹⁷Do not let me be put to shame, O Lord,

 for I call on you;

let the wicked be put to shame;

 let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.

¹⁸Let the lying lips be stilled

 that speak insolently against the righteous

 with pride and contempt.

¹⁹O how abundant is your goodness

 that you have laid up for those who fear you,

and accomplished for those who take refuge in you,

 in the sight of everyone!

²⁰In the shelter of your presence you hide them

 from human plots;

you hold them safe under your shelter

 from contentious tongues.

²¹Blessed be the Lord,

 for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me

 when I was beset as a city under siege.

²²I had said in my alarm,

 “I am driven far^a from your sight.”

But you heard my supplications

 when I cried out to you for help.

²³Love the Lord, all you his saints.

 The Lord preserves the faithful,

 but abundantly repays the one who acts haughtily.

²⁴Be strong, and let your heart take courage,

 all you who wait for the Lord.

Psalm 32

Of David. A Maskil.

¹Happy are those whose transgression is forgiven,

 whose sin is covered.

²Happy are those to whom the Lord imputes no iniquity,

 and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

³While I kept silence, my body wasted away

 through my groaning all day long.

⁴For day and night your hand was heavy upon me;

 my strength was dried up^b as by the heat of summer. Selah

⁵Then I acknowledged my sin to you,

 and I did not hide my iniquity;

I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”

 and you forgave the guilt of my sin.

 Selah

⁶Therefore let all who are faithful

 offer prayer to you;

at a time of distress,^c the rush of mighty waters

 shall not reach them.

⁷You are a hiding place for me;

 you preserve me from trouble;

 you surround me with glad cries of deliverance. Selah

⁸I will instruct you and teach you the way you should go;

 I will counsel you with my eye upon you.

⁹Do not be like a horse or a mule, without understanding,

 whose temper must be curbed with bit and bridle,

 else it will not stay near you.

¹⁰Many are the torments of the wicked,

 but steadfast love surrounds those who trust in the Lord.

¹¹Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous,

 and shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Psalm 33

¹Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous.

 Praise befits the upright.

²Praise the Lord with the lyre;

 make melody to him with the harp of ten strings.

³Sing to him a new song;

 play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.

⁴For the word of the Lord is upright,

 and all his work is done in faithfulness.

⁵He loves righteousness and justice;

 the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

⁶By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

 and all their host by the breath of his mouth.

⁷He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;

 he put the deeps in storehouses.

⁸Let all the earth fear the Lord;

 let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.

⁹For he spoke, and it came to be;

 he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;

 he frustrates the plans of the peoples.

¹¹The counsel of the Lord stands forever,

 the thoughts of his heart to all generations.

¹²Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,

 the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

¹³The Lord looks down from heaven;

 he sees all humankind.

¹⁴From where he sits enthroned he watches

 all the inhabitants of the earth—

¹⁵he who fashions the hearts of them all,

 and observes all their deeds.

¹⁶A king is not saved by his great army;

 a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

¹⁷The war horse is a vain hope for victory,

 and by its great might it cannot save.

¹⁸Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,

 on those who hope in his steadfast love,

¹⁹to deliver their soul from death,

 and to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰Our soul waits for the Lord;

 he is our help and shield.

²¹Our heart is glad in him,

 because we trust in his holy name.

²²Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,

 even as we hope in you.

Psalm 34

Of David, when he feigned madness before Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

¹I will bless the Lord at all times;

 his praise shall continually be in my mouth.

²My soul makes its boast in the Lord;

 let the humble hear and be glad.

³O magnify the Lord with me,

 and let us exalt his name together.

⁴I sought the Lord, and he answered me,

 and delivered me from all my fears.

⁵Look to him, and be radiant;

 so your^a faces shall never be ashamed.

⁶This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,

 and was saved from every trouble.

⁷The angel of the Lord encamps

 around those who fear him, and delivers them.

⁸O taste and see that the Lord is good;

 happy are those who take refuge in him.

⁹O fear the Lord, you his holy ones,

 for those who fear him have no want.

¹⁰The young lions suffer want and hunger,

 but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.

¹¹Come, O children, listen to me;

 I will teach you the fear of the Lord.

¹²Which of you desires life,

 and covets many days to enjoy good?

¹³Keep your tongue from evil,

 and your lips from speaking deceit.

¹⁴Depart from evil, and do good;

 seek peace, and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

 and his ears are open to their cry.

¹⁶The face of the Lord is against evildoers,

 to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth.

¹⁷When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears,

 and rescues them from all their troubles.

¹⁸The Lord is near to the brokenhearted,

 and saves the crushed in spirit.

¹⁹Many are the afflictions of the righteous,

 but the Lord rescues them from them all.

²⁰He keeps all their bones;

 not one of them will be broken.

²¹Evil brings death to the wicked,

 and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

²²The Lord redeems the life of his servants;

 none of those who take refuge in him will be condemned.

Psalm 35

Of David.

¹Contend, O Lord, with those who contend with me;

 fight against those who fight against me!

²Take hold of shield and buckler,

 and rise up to help me!

³Draw the spear and javelin

 against my pursuers;

say to my soul,

 “I am your salvation.”

⁴Let them be put to shame and dishonor

 who seek after my life.

Let them be turned back and confounded

 who devise evil against me.

⁵Let them be like chaff before the wind,

 with the angel of the Lord driving them on.

⁶Let their way be dark and slippery,

 with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

⁷For without cause they hid their net^a for me;

 without cause they dug a pit^b for my life.

⁸Let ruin come on them unawares.

And let the net that they hid ensnare them;

 let them fall in it—to their ruin.

⁹Then my soul shall rejoice in the Lord,

 exulting in his deliverance.

¹⁰All my bones shall say,

 “O Lord, who is like you?

You deliver the weak

 from those too strong for them,

 the weak and needy from those who despoil them.”

¹¹Malicious witnesses rise up;

 they ask me about things I do not know.

¹²They repay me evil for good;

 my soul is forlorn.

¹³But as for me, when they were sick,

 I wore sackcloth;

 I afflicted myself with fasting.

I prayed with head bowed^c on my bosom,

 ¹⁴as though I grieved for a friend or a brother;

I went about as one who laments for a mother,

 bowed down and in mourning.

¹⁵But at my stumbling they gathered in glee,

 they gathered together against me;

ruffians whom I did not know

 tore at me without ceasing;

they impiously mocked more and more,^d

 gnashing at me with their teeth.

¹⁷How long, O Lord, will you look on?

 Rescue me from their ravages,

 my life from the lions!

¹⁸Then I will thank you in the great congregation;

 in the mighty throng I will praise you.

¹⁹Do not let my treacherous enemies rejoice over me,

 or those who hate me without cause wink the eye.

²⁰For they do not speak peace,

 but they conceive deceitful words

 against those who are quiet in the land.

²¹They open wide their mouths against me;

 they say, “Aha, Aha,

 our eyes have seen it.”

²²You have seen, O Lord; do not be silent!

 O Lord, do not be far from me!

²³Wake up! Bestir yourself for my defense,

 for my cause, my God and my Lord!

²⁴Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,

 according to your righteousness,

 and do not let them rejoice over me.

²⁵Do not let them say to themselves,

 “Aha, we have our heart’s desire.”

Do not let them say, “We have swallowed you^e up.”

²⁶Let all those who rejoice at my calamity

 be put to shame and confusion;

let those who exalt themselves against me

 be clothed with shame and dishonor.

²⁷Let those who desire my vindication

 shout for joy and be glad,

 and say evermore,

“Great is the Lord,

 who delights in the welfare of his servant.”

²⁸Then my tongue shall tell of your righteousness

 and of your praise all day long.

Psalm 36

To the leader. Of David, the servant of the Lord.

¹Transgression speaks to the wicked

 deep in their hearts;

there is no fear of God

 before their eyes.

²For they flatter themselves in their own eyes

 that their iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

³The words of their mouths are mischief and deceit;

 they have ceased to act wisely and do good.

⁴They plot mischief while on their beds;

 they are set on a way that is not good;

 they do not reject evil.

⁵Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

 your faithfulness to the clouds.

⁶Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,

 your judgments are like the great deep;

 you save humans and animals alike, O Lord.

⁷How precious is your steadfast love, O God!

 All people may take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

⁸They feast on the abundance of your house,

 and you give them drink from the river of your delights.

⁹For with you is the fountain of life;

 in your light we see light.

¹⁰O continue your steadfast love to those who know you,

 and your salvation to the upright of heart!

¹¹Do not let the foot of the arrogant tread on me,

 or the hand of the wicked drive me away.

¹²There the evildoers lie prostrate;

 they are thrust down, unable to rise.

Psalm 37

Of David.

¹Do not fret because of the wicked;

 do not be envious of wrongdoers,

²for they will soon fade like the grass,

 and wither like the green herb.

³Trust in the Lord, and do good;

 so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.

⁴Take delight in the Lord,

 and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵Commit your way to the Lord;

 trust in him, and he will act.

⁶He will make your vindication shine like the light,

 and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

⁷Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;

 do not fret over those who prosper in their way,

 over those who carry out evil devices.

⁸Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.

 Do not fret—it leads only to evil.

⁹For the wicked shall be cut off,

 but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

¹⁰Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;

 though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.

¹¹But the meek shall inherit the land,

 and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

¹²The wicked plot against the righteous,

 and gnash their teeth at them;

¹³but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

 for he sees that their day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows

 to bring down the poor and needy,

 to kill those who walk uprightly;

¹⁵their sword shall enter their own heart,

 and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶Better is a little that the righteous person has

 than the abundance of many wicked.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

 but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸The Lord knows the days of the blameless,

 and their heritage will abide forever;

¹⁹they are not put to shame in evil times,

 in the days of famine they have abundance.

²⁰But the wicked perish,

 and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;

 they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,

 but the righteous are generous and keep giving;

²²for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,

 but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

²³Our steps^a are made firm by the Lord,

 when he delights in our^b way;

²⁴though we stumble,^c we^d shall not fall headlong,

 for the Lord holds us^e by the hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old,

 yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

 or their children begging bread.

²⁶They are ever giving liberally and lending,

 and their children become a blessing.

²⁷Depart from evil, and do good;

 so you shall abide forever.

²⁸For the Lord loves justice;

 he will not forsake his faithful ones.

The righteous shall be kept safe forever,

 but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land,

 and live in it forever.

³⁰The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,

 and their tongues speak justice.

³¹The law of their God is in their hearts;

 their steps do not slip.

³²The wicked watch for the righteous,

 and seek to kill them.

³³The Lord will not abandon them to their power,

 or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.

³⁴Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,

 and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

 you will look on the destruction of the wicked.

³⁵I have seen the wicked oppressing,

 and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.^a

³⁶Again I^b passed by, and they were no more;

 though I sought them, they could not be found.

³⁷Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,

 for there is posterity for the peaceable.

³⁸But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

 the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

 he is their refuge in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰The Lord helps them and rescues them;

 he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,

 because they take refuge in him.

Psalm 38

A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.

¹O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger,

 or discipline me in your wrath.

²For your arrows have sunk into me,

 and your hand has come down on me.

³There is no soundness in my flesh

 because of your indignation;

there is no health in my bones

 because of my sin.

⁴For my iniquities have gone over my head;

 they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds grow foul and fester

 because of my foolishness;

⁶I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;

 all day long I go around mourning.

⁷For my loins are filled with burning,

 and there is no soundness in my flesh.

⁸I am utterly spent and crushed;

 I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

⁹O Lord, all my longing is known to you;

 my sighing is not hidden from you.

¹⁰My heart throbs, my strength fails me;

 as for the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.

¹¹My friends and companions stand aloof from my affliction,

 and my neighbors stand far off.

¹²Those who seek my life lay their snares;

 those who seek to hurt me speak of ruin,

 and meditate treachery all day long.

¹³But I am like the deaf, I do not hear;

 like the mute, who cannot speak.

¹⁴Truly, I am like one who does not hear,

 and in whose mouth is no retort.

¹⁵But it is for you, O Lord, that I wait;

 it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

¹⁶For I pray, “Only do not let them rejoice over me,

 those who boast against me when my foot slips.”

¹⁷For I am ready to fall,

 and my pain is ever with me.

¹⁸I confess my iniquity;

 I am sorry for my sin.

¹⁹Those who are my foes without cause^a are mighty,

 and many are those who hate me wrongfully.

²⁰Those who render me evil for good

 are my adversaries because I follow after good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O Lord;

 O my God, do not be far from me;

²²make haste to help me,

 O Lord, my salvation.

Psalm 39

To the leader: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

¹I said, “I will guard my ways

 that I may not sin with my tongue;

I will keep a muzzle on my mouth

 as long as the wicked are in my presence.”

²I was silent and still;

 I held my peace to no avail;

my distress grew worse,

 ³my heart became hot within me.

While I mused, the fire burned;

 then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Lord, let me know my end,

 and what is the measure of my days;

 let me know how fleeting my life is.

⁵You have made my days a few handbreadths,

 and my lifetime is as nothing in your sight.

Surely everyone stands as a mere breath.

 Selah

 ⁶Surely everyone goes about like a shadow.

Surely for nothing they are in turmoil;

 they heap up, and do not know who will gather.

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

 My hope is in you.

⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions.

 Do not make me the scorn of the fool.

⁹I am silent; I do not open my mouth,

 for it is you who have done it.

¹⁰Remove your stroke from me;

 I am worn down by the blows^b of your hand.

¹¹“You chastise mortals

 in punishment for sin,

consuming like a moth what is dear to them;

 surely everyone is a mere breath. Selah

¹²“Hear my prayer, O Lord,

 and give ear to my cry;

 do not hold your peace at my tears.

For I am your passing guest,

 an alien, like all my forebears.

¹³Turn your gaze away from me, that I may smile again,

 before I depart and am no more.”

Psalm 40

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.

¹I waited patiently for the Lord;

 he inclined to me and heard my cry.

²He drew me up from the desolate pit,^a

 out of the miry bog,

and set my feet upon a rock,

 making my steps secure.

³He put a new song in my mouth,

 a song of praise to our God.

Many will see and fear,

 and put their trust in the Lord.

⁴Happy are those who make

 the Lord their trust,

who do not turn to the proud,

 to those who go astray after false gods.

⁵You have multiplied, O Lord my God,

 your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you.

Were I to proclaim and tell of them,

 they would be more than can be counted.

⁶Sacrifice and offering you do not desire,

 but you have given me an open ear.^b

Burnt offering and sin offering

 you have not required.

⁷Then I said, “Here I am;

 in the scroll of the book it is written of me.^c

⁸I delight to do your will, O my God;

 your law is within my heart.”

⁹I have told the glad news of deliverance

 in the great congregation;

see, I have not restrained my lips,

 as you know, O Lord.

¹⁰I have not hidden your saving help 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.

¹¹Do not, O Lord, withhold

 your mercy from me;

let your steadfast love and your faithfulness

 keep me safe forever.

¹²For evils have encompassed me

 without number;

my iniquities have overtaken me,

 until I cannot see;

they are more than the hairs of my head,

 and my heart fails me.

¹³Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;

 O Lord, make haste to help me.

¹⁴Let all those be put to shame and confusion

 who seek to snatch away my life;

let those be turned back and brought to dishonor

 who desire my hurt.

¹⁵Let those be appalled because of their shame

 who say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

¹⁶But may all who seek you

 rejoice and be glad in you;

may those who love your salvation

 say continually, “Great is the Lord!”

¹⁷As for me, I am poor and needy,

 but the Lord takes thought for me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

 do not delay, O my God.

Psalm 41

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

¹Happy are those who consider the poor;^a

 the Lord delivers them in the day of trouble.

²The Lord protects them and keeps them alive;

 they are called happy in the land.

 You do not give them up to the will of their enemies.

³The Lord sustains them on their sickbed;

 in their illness you heal all their infirmities.^b

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

 heal me, for I have sinned against you.”

⁵My enemies wonder in malice

 when I will die, and my name perish.

⁶And when they come to see me, they utter empty words,

 while their hearts gather mischief;

 when they go out, they tell it abroad.

⁷All who hate me whisper together about me;

 they imagine the worst for me.

⁸They think that a deadly thing has fastened on me,

 that I will not rise again from where I lie.

⁹Even my bosom friend in whom I trusted,

 who ate of my bread, has lifted the heel against me.

¹⁰But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,

 and raise me up, that I may repay them.

¹¹By this I know that you are pleased with me;

 because my enemy has not triumphed over me.

¹²But you have upheld me because of my integrity,

 and set me in your presence forever.

¹³Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

 from everlasting to everlasting. Amen and Amen.

Book II Psalms 42–72

Psalm 42

To the leader. A Maskil of the Korahites.

¹As a deer longs for flowing streams,

 so my soul longs for you, O God.

²My soul thirsts for God,

 for the living God.

When shall I come and behold

 the face of God?

³My tears have been my food

 day and night,

while people say to me continually,

 “Where is your God?”

⁴These things I remember,

 as I pour out my soul:

how I went with the throng,^a

 and led them in procession to the house of God,

with glad shouts and songs of thanksgiving,

 a multitude keeping festival.

⁵Why are you cast down, O my soul,

 and why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

 my help ⁶and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;

 therefore I remember you

from the land of Jordan and of Hermon,

 from Mount Mizar.

⁷Deep calls to deep

 at the thunder of your cataracts;

all your waves and your billows

 have gone over me.

⁸By day the Lord commands his steadfast love,

 and at night his song is with me,

 a prayer to the God of my life.

⁹I say to God, my rock,

 “Why have you forgotten me?

Why must I walk about mournfully

 because the enemy oppresses me?”

¹⁰As with a deadly wound in my body,

 my adversaries taunt me,

while they say to me continually,

 “Where is your God?”

¹¹Why are you cast down, O my soul,

 and why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

 my help and my God.

Psalm 43

¹Vindicate me, O God, and defend my cause

 against an ungodly people;

from those who are deceitful and unjust deliver me!

²For you are the God in whom I take refuge;

 why have you cast me off?

Why must I walk about mournfully

 because of the oppression of the enemy?

³O send out your light and your truth;

 let them lead me;

let them bring me to your holy hill

 and to your dwelling.

⁴Then I will go to the altar of God,

 to God my exceeding joy;

and I will praise you with the harp,

 O God, my God.

⁵Why are you cast down, O my soul,

 and why are you disquieted within me?

Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,

 my help and my God.

Psalm 44

To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Maskil.

¹We have heard with our ears, O God,

 our ancestors have told us,

what deeds you performed in their days,

 in the days of old:

²you with your own hand drove out the nations,

 but them you planted;

you afflicted the peoples,

 but them you set free;

³for not by their own sword did they win the land,

 nor did their own arm give them victory;

but your right hand, and your arm,

 and the light of your countenance,

 for you delighted in them.

⁴You are my King and my God;

 you command^a victories for Jacob.

⁵Through you we push down our foes;

 through your name we tread down our assailants.

⁶For not in my bow do I trust,

 nor can my sword save me.

⁷But you have saved us from our foes,

 and have put to confusion those who hate us.

⁸In God we have boasted continually,

 and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah

⁹Yet you have rejected us and abased us,

 and have not gone out with our armies.

¹⁰You made us turn back from the foe,

 and our enemies have gotten spoil.

¹¹You have made us like sheep for slaughter,

 and have scattered us among the nations.

¹²You have sold your people for a trifle,

 demanding no high price for them.

¹³You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,

 the derision and scorn of those around us.

¹⁴You have made us a byword among the nations,

 a laughingstock^b among the peoples.

¹⁵All day long my disgrace is before me,

 and shame has covered my face

¹⁶at the words of the taunters and revilers,

 at the sight of the enemy and the avenger.

¹⁷All this has come upon us,

 yet we have not forgotten you,

 or been false to your covenant.

¹⁸Our heart has not turned back,

 nor have our steps departed from your way,

¹⁹yet you have broken us in the haunt of jackals,

 and covered us with deep darkness.

²⁰If we had forgotten the name of our God,

 or spread out our hands to a strange god,

²¹would not God discover this?

 For he knows the secrets of the heart.

²²Because of you we are being killed all day long,

 and accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

²³Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?

 Awake, do not cast us off forever!

²⁴Why do you hide your face?

 Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?

²⁵For we sink down to the dust;

 our bodies cling to the ground.

²⁶Rise up, come to our help.

 Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love.

Psalm 45

To the leader: according to Lilies. Of the Korahites. A Maskil. A love song.

¹My heart overflows with a goodly theme;

 I address my verses to the king;

 my tongue is like the pen of a ready scribe.

²You are the most handsome of men;

 grace is poured upon your lips;

 therefore God has blessed you forever.

³Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one,

 in your glory and majesty.

⁴In your majesty ride on victoriously

 for the cause of truth and to defend^a the right;

 let your right hand teach you dread deeds.

⁵Your arrows are sharp

 in the heart of the king’s enemies;

 the peoples fall under you.

⁶Your throne, O God,^b endures forever and ever.

 Your royal scepter is a scepter of equity;

 ⁷you love righteousness and hate wickedness.

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you

 with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;

 ⁸your robes are all fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia.

From ivory palaces stringed instruments make you glad;

 ⁹daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;

 at your right hand stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

¹⁰Hear, O daughter, consider and incline your ear;

 forget your people and your father’s house,

 ¹¹and the king will desire your beauty.

Since he is your lord, bow to him;

 ¹²the people^a of Tyre will seek your favor with gifts,

 the richest of the people ¹³with all kinds of wealth.

The princess is decked in her chamber with gold‐woven robes;^b

 ¹⁴in many‐colored robes she is led to the king;

 behind her the virgins, her companions, follow.

¹⁵With joy and gladness they are led along

 as they enter the palace of the king.

¹⁶In the place of ancestors you, O king,^c shall have sons;

 you will make them princes in all the earth.

¹⁷I will cause your name to be celebrated in all generations;

 therefore the peoples will praise you forever and ever.

Psalm 46

To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song.

¹God is our refuge and strength,

 a very present^d help in trouble.

²Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change,

 though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea;

³though its waters roar and foam,

 though the mountains tremble with its tumult. Selah

⁴There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

 the holy habitation of the Most High.

⁵God is in the midst of the city;^e it shall not be moved;

 God will help it when the morning dawns.

⁶The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter;

 he utters his voice, the earth melts.

⁷The Lord of hosts is with us;

 the God of Jacob is our refuge.^f Selah

⁸Come, behold the works of the Lord;

 see what desolations he has brought on the earth.

⁹He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

 he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear;

 he burns the shields with fire.

¹⁰“Be still, and know that I am God!

 I am exalted among the nations,

 I am exalted in the earth.”

¹¹The Lord of hosts is with us;

 the God of Jacob is our refuge.^f Selah

Psalm 47

To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.

¹Clap your hands, all you peoples;

 shout to God with loud songs of joy.

²For the Lord, the Most High, is awesome,

 a great king over all the earth.

³He subdued peoples under us,

 and nations under our feet.

⁴He chose our heritage for us,

 the pride of Jacob whom he loves. Selah

⁵God has gone up with a shout,

 the Lord with the sound of a trumpet.

⁶Sing praises to God, sing praises;

 sing praises to our King, sing praises.

⁷For God is the king of all the earth;

 sing praises with a psalm.^a

⁸God is king over the nations;

 God sits on his holy throne.

⁹The 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 48

A Song. A Psalm of the Korahites.

¹Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised

 in the city of our God.

His holy mountain, ²beautiful in elevation,

 is the joy of all the earth,

Mount Zion, in the far north,

 the city of the great King.

³Within its citadels God

 has shown himself a sure defense.

⁴Then the kings assembled,

 they came on together.

⁵As soon as they saw it, they were astounded;

 they were in panic, they took to flight;

⁶trembling took hold of them there,

 pains as of a woman in labor,

⁷as when an east wind shatters

 the ships of Tarshish.

⁸As we have heard, so have we seen

 in the city of the Lord of hosts,

in the city of our God,

 which God establishes forever. Selah

⁹We ponder your steadfast love, O God,

 in the midst of your temple.

¹⁰Your name, O God, like your praise,

 reaches to the ends of the earth.

Your right hand is filled with victory.

 ¹¹Let Mount Zion be glad,

let the towns^a of Judah rejoice

 because of your judgments.

¹²Walk about Zion, go all around it,

 count its towers,

¹³consider well its ramparts;

 go through its citadels,

that you may tell the next generation

 ¹⁴that this is God,

our God forever and ever.

 He will be our guide forever.

Psalm 49

To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.

¹Hear this, all you peoples;

 give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

²both low and high,

 rich and poor together.

³My mouth shall speak wisdom;

 the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

⁴I will incline my ear to a proverb;

 I will solve my riddle to the music of the harp.

⁵Why should I fear in times of trouble,

 when the iniquity of my persecutors surrounds me,

⁶those who trust in their wealth

 and boast of the abundance of their riches?

⁷Truly, no ransom avails for one’s life,^b

 there is no price one can give to God for it.

⁸For the ransom of life is costly,

 and can never suffice,

that one should live on forever

 and never see the grave.^c

¹⁰When we look at the wise, they die;

 fool and dolt perish together

 and leave their wealth to others.

¹¹Their graves^d are their homes forever,

 their dwelling places to all generations,

though they named lands their own.

¹²Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;

 they are like the animals that perish.

¹³Such is the fate of the foolhardy,

 the end of those^e who are pleased with their lot. Selah

¹⁴Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

 Death shall be their shepherd;

straight to the grave they descend,^f

 and their form shall waste away;

 Sheol shall be their home.^g

¹⁵But God will ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

 for he will receive me. Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid when some become rich,

 when the wealth of their houses increases.

¹⁷For when they die they will carry nothing away;

 their wealth will not go down after them.

¹⁸Though in their lifetime they count themselves happy

 —for you are praised when you do well for yourself—

¹⁹they^a will go to the company of their ancestors,

 who will never again see the light.

²⁰Mortals cannot abide in their pomp;

 they are like the animals that perish.

Psalm 50

A Psalm of Asaph.

¹The mighty one, God the Lord,

 speaks and summons the earth

 from the rising of the sun to its setting.

²Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,

 God shines forth.

³Our God comes and does not keep silence,

 before him is a devouring fire,

 and a mighty tempest all around him.

⁴He calls to the heavens above

 and to the earth, that he may judge his people:

⁵“Gather to me my faithful ones,

 who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”

⁶The heavens declare his righteousness,

 for God himself is judge. Selah

⁷“Hear, O my people, and I will speak,

 O Israel, I will testify against you.

 I am God, your God.

⁸Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;

 your burnt offerings are continually before me.

⁹I will not accept a bull from your house,

 or goats from your folds.

¹⁰For every wild animal of the forest is mine,

 the cattle on a thousand hills.

¹¹I know all the birds of the air,^b

 and all that moves in the field is mine.

¹²“If I were hungry, I would not tell you,

 for the world and all that is in it is mine.

¹³Do I eat the flesh of bulls,

 or drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,^c

 and pay your vows to the Most High.

¹⁵Call on me in the day of trouble;

 I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.”

¹⁶But to the wicked God says:

 “What right have you to recite my statutes,

 or take my covenant on your lips?

¹⁷For you hate discipline,

 and you cast my words behind you.

¹⁸You make friends with a thief when you see one,

 and you keep company with adulterers.

¹⁹“You give your mouth free rein for evil,

 and your tongue frames deceit.

²⁰You sit and speak against your kin;

 you slander your own mother’s child.

²¹These things you have done and I have been silent;

 you thought that I was one just like yourself.

But now I rebuke you, and lay the charge before you.

²²“Mark this, then, you who forget God,

 or I will tear you apart, and there will be no one to deliver.

²³Those who bring thanksgiving as their sacrifice honor me;

 to those who go the right way^a

 I will show the salvation of God.”

Psalm 51

To the leader. A Psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

¹Have mercy on me, O God,

 according to your steadfast love;

according to your abundant mercy

 blot out my transgressions.

²Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,

 and cleanse me from my sin.

³For I know my transgressions,

 and my sin is ever before me.

⁴Against you, you alone, have I sinned,

 and done what is evil in your sight,

so that you are justified in your sentence

 and blameless when you pass judgment.

⁵Indeed, I was born guilty,

 a sinner when my mother conceived me.

⁶You desire truth in the inward being;^b

 therefore teach me wisdom in my secret heart.

⁷Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;

 wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

⁸Let me hear joy and gladness;

 let the bones that you have crushed rejoice.

⁹Hide your face from my sins,

 and blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God,

 and put a new and right^c spirit within me.

¹¹Do not cast me away from your presence,

 and do not take your holy spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

 and sustain in me a willing^d spirit.

¹³Then I will teach transgressors your ways,

 and sinners will return to you.

¹⁴Deliver me from bloodshed, O God,

 O God of my salvation,

 and my tongue will sing aloud of your deliverance.

¹⁵O Lord, open my lips,

 and my mouth will declare your praise.

¹⁶For you have no delight in sacrifice;

 if I were to give a burnt offering, you would not be pleased.

¹⁷The sacrifice acceptable to God^a is a broken spirit;

 a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

¹⁸Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;

 rebuild the walls of Jerusalem,

¹⁹then you will delight in right sacrifices,

 in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;

 then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Psalm 52

To the leader. A Maskil of David, when Doeg the Edomite came to Saul and said to him, “David has come to the house of Ahimelech.”

¹Why do you boast, O mighty one,

 of mischief done against the godly?^b

 All day long ²you are plotting destruction.

Your tongue is like a sharp razor,

 you worker of treachery.

³You love evil more than good,

 and lying more than speaking the truth.

 Selah

⁴You love all words that devour,

 O deceitful tongue.

⁵But God will break you down forever;

 he will snatch and tear you from your tent;

 he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah

⁶The righteous will see, and fear,

 and will laugh at the evildoer,^c saying,

⁷“See the one who would not take

 refuge in God,

but trusted in abundant riches,

 and sought refuge in wealth!”^d

⁸But I am like a green olive tree

 in the house of God.

I trust in the steadfast love of God

 forever and ever.

⁹I will thank you forever,

 because of what you have done.

In the presence of the faithful

 I will proclaim^e your name, for it is good.

Psalm 53

To the leader: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.

¹Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”

 They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts;

 there is no one who does good.

²God looks down from heaven on humankind

 to see if there are any who are wise,

 who seek after God.

³They have all fallen away, they are all alike perverse;

 there is no one who does good,

 no, not one.

⁴Have they no knowledge, those evildoers,

 who eat up my people as they eat bread,

 and do not call upon God?

⁵There they shall be in great terror,

 in terror such as has not been.

For God will scatter the bones of the ungodly;^a

 they will be put to shame,^b for God has rejected them.

⁶O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!

 When God restores the fortunes of his people,

 Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.

Psalm 54

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “David is in hiding among us.”

¹Save me, O God, by your name,

 and vindicate me by your might.

²Hear my prayer, O God;

 give ear to the words of my mouth.

³For the insolent have risen against me,

 the ruthless seek my life;

 they do not set God before them. Selah

⁴But surely, God is my helper;

 the Lord is the upholder of^c my life.

⁵He will repay my enemies for their evil.

 In your faithfulness, put an end to them.

⁶With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;

 I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, for it is good.

⁷For he has delivered me from every trouble,

 and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

Psalm 55

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David.

¹Give ear to my prayer, O God;

 do not hide yourself from my supplication.

²Attend to me, and answer me;

 I am troubled in my complaint.

I am distraught ³by the noise of the enemy,

 because of the clamor of the wicked.

For they bring^d trouble upon me,

 and in anger they cherish enmity against me.

⁴My heart is in anguish within me,

 the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

⁵Fear and trembling come upon me,

 and horror overwhelms me.

⁶And I say, “O that I had wings like a dove!

 I would fly away and be at rest;

⁷truly, I would flee far away;

 I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah

⁸I would hurry to find a shelter for myself

 from the raging wind and tempest.”

⁹Confuse, O Lord, confound their speech;

 for I see violence and strife in the city.

¹⁰Day and night they go around it

 on its walls,

and iniquity and trouble are within it;

 ¹¹ruin is in its midst;

oppression and fraud

 do not depart from its marketplace.

¹²It is not enemies who taunt me—

 I could bear that;

it is not adversaries who deal insolently with me—

 I could hide from them.

¹³But it is you, my equal,

 my companion, my familiar friend,

¹⁴with whom I kept pleasant company;

 we walked in the house of God with the throng.

¹⁵Let death come upon them;

 let them go down alive to Sheol;

 for evil is in their homes and in their hearts.

¹⁶But I call upon God,

 and the Lord will save me.

¹⁷Evening and morning and at noon

 I utter my complaint and moan,

 and he will hear my voice.

¹⁸He will redeem me unharmed

 from the battle that I wage,

 for many are arrayed against me.

¹⁹God, who is enthroned from of old, Selah

 will hear, and will humble them—

because they do not change,

 and do not fear God.

²⁰My companion laid hands on a friend

 and violated a covenant with me^a

²¹with speech smoother than butter,

 but with a heart set on war;

with words that were softer than oil,

 but in fact were drawn swords.

²²Cast your burden^b on the Lord,

 and he will sustain you;

he will never permit

 the righteous to be moved.

²³But you, O God, will cast them down

 into the lowest pit;

the bloodthirsty and treacherous

 shall not live out half their days.

But I will trust in you.

Psalm 56

To the leader: according to The Dove on Far‐off Terebinths. Of David. A Miktam, when the Philistines seized him in Gath.

¹Be gracious to me, O God, for people trample on me;

 all day long foes oppress me;

²my enemies trample on me all day long,

 for many fight against me.

O Most High, ³when I am afraid,

 I put my trust in you.

⁴In God, whose word I praise,

 in God I trust; I am not afraid;

 what can flesh do to me?

⁵All day long they seek to injure my cause;

 all their thoughts are against me for evil.

⁶They stir up strife, they lurk,

 they watch my steps.

As they hoped to have my life,

 ⁷so repay^a them for their crime;

 in wrath cast down the peoples, O God!

⁸You have kept count of my tossings;

 put my tears in your bottle.

 Are they not in your record?

⁹Then my enemies will retreat

 in the day when I call.

 This I know, that^b God is for me.

¹⁰In God, whose word I praise,

 in the Lord, whose word I praise,

¹¹in God I trust; I am not afraid.

 What can a mere mortal do to me?

¹²My vows to you I must perform, O God;

 I will render thank offerings to you.

¹³For you have delivered my soul from death,

 and my feet from falling,

so that I may walk before God

 in the light of life.

Psalm 57

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when he fled from Saul, in the cave.

¹Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me,

 for in you my soul takes refuge;

in the shadow of your wings I will take refuge,

 until the destroying storms pass by.

²I cry to God Most High,

 to God who fulfills his purpose for me.

³He will send from heaven and save me,

 he will put to shame those who trample on me. Selah

God will send forth his steadfast love and his faithfulness.

⁴I lie down among lions

 that greedily devour^c human prey;

their teeth are spears and arrows,

 their tongues sharp swords.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.

 Let your glory be over all the earth.

⁶They set a net for my steps;

 my soul was bowed down.

They dug a pit in my path,

 but they have fallen into it themselves.

Selah

⁷My heart is steadfast, O God,

 my heart is steadfast.

I will sing and make melody.

 ⁸Awake, my soul!

Awake, O harp and lyre!

 I will awake the dawn.

⁹I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;

 I will sing praises to you among the nations.

¹⁰For your steadfast love is as high as the heavens;

 your faithfulness extends to the clouds.

¹¹Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.

 Let your glory be over all the earth.

Psalm 58

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam.

¹Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods?^a

 Do you judge people fairly?

²No, in your hearts you devise wrongs;

 your hands deal out violence on earth.

³The wicked go astray from the womb;

 they err from their birth, speaking lies.

⁴They have venom like the venom of a serpent,

 like the deaf adder that stops its ear,

⁵so that it does not hear the voice of charmers

 or of the cunning enchanter.

⁶O God, break the teeth in their mouths;

 tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!

⁷Let them vanish like water that runs away;

 like grass let them be trodden down^b and wither.

⁸Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime;

 like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.

⁹Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns,

 whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!

¹⁰The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done;

 they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.

¹¹People will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;

 surely there is a God who judges on earth.”

Psalm 59

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. Of David. A Miktam, when Saul ordered his house to be watched in order to kill him.

¹Deliver me from my enemies, O my God;

 protect me from those who rise up against me.

²Deliver me from those who work evil;

 from the bloodthirsty save me.

³Even now they lie in wait for my life;

 the mighty stir up strife against me.

For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,

 ⁴for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.

Rouse yourself, come to my help and see!

 ⁵You, Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.

Awake to punish all the nations;

 spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

⁶Each evening they come back,

 howling like dogs

 and prowling about the city.

⁷There they are, bellowing with their mouths,

 with sharp words^a on their lips—

 for “Who,” they think,^b “will hear us?”

⁸But you laugh at them, O Lord;

 you hold all the nations in derision.

⁹O my strength, I will watch for you;

 for you, O God, are my fortress.

¹⁰My God in his steadfast love will meet me;

 my God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.

¹¹Do not kill them, or my people may forget;

 make them totter by your power, and bring them down,

 O Lord, our shield.

¹²For the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,

 let them be trapped in their pride.

For the cursing and lies that they utter,

 ¹³consume them in wrath;

 consume them until they are no more.

Then it will be known to the ends of the earth

 that God rules over Jacob. Selah

¹⁴Each evening they come back,

 howling like dogs

 and prowling about the city.

¹⁵They roam about for food,

 and growl if they do not get their fill.

¹⁶But I will sing of your might;

 I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.

For you have been a fortress for me

 and a refuge in the day of my distress.

¹⁷O my strength, I will sing praises to you,

 for you, O God, are my fortress,

 the God who shows me steadfast love.

Psalm 60

To the leader: according to the Lily of the Covenant. A Miktam of David; for instruction; when he struggled with Aram‐naharaim and with Aramzobah, and when Joab on his return killed twelve thousand Edomites in the Valley of Salt.

¹O God, you have rejected us, broken our defenses;

 you have been angry; now restore us!

²You have caused the land to quake; you have torn it open;

 repair the cracks in it, for it is tottering.

³You have made your people suffer hard things;

 you have given us wine to drink that made us reel.

⁴You have set up a banner for those who fear you,

 to rally to it out of bowshot.^a Selah

⁵Give victory with your right hand, and answer us,^b

 so that those whom you love may be rescued.

⁶God has promised in his sanctuary:^c

 “With exultation I will divide up

Shechem,

 and portion out the Vale of Succoth.

⁷Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine;

 Ephraim is my helmet;

 Judah is my scepter.

⁸Moab is my washbasin;

 on Edom I hurl my shoe;

 over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

⁹Who will bring me to the fortified city?

 Who will lead me to Edom?

¹⁰Have you not rejected us, O God?

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

¹¹O grant us help against the foe,

 for human help is worthless.

¹²With God we shall do valiantly;

 it is he who will tread down our foes.

Psalm 61

To the leader: with stringed instruments. Of David.

¹Hear my cry, O God;

 listen to my prayer.

²From the end of the earth I call to you,

 when my heart is faint.

Lead me to the rock that

 is higher than I;

³for you are my refuge,

 a strong tower against the enemy.

⁴Let me abide in your tent forever,

 find refuge under the shelter of your wings. Selah

⁵For you, O God, have heard my vows;

 you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

⁶Prolong the life of the king;

 may his years endure to all generations!

⁷May he be enthroned forever before God;

 appoint steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!

⁸So I will always sing praises to your name,

 as I pay my vows day after day.

Psalm 62

To the leader: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

¹For God alone my soul waits in silence;

 from him comes my salvation.

²He alone is my rock and my salvation,

 my fortress; I shall never be shaken.

³How long will you assail a person,

 will you batter your victim, all of you,

 as you would a leaning wall, a tottering fence?

⁴Their only plan is to bring down a person of prominence.

 They take pleasure in falsehood;

they bless with their mouths,

 but inwardly they curse. Selah

⁵For God alone my soul waits in silence,

 for my hope is from him.

⁶He alone is my rock and my salvation,

 my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

⁷On God rests my deliverance and my honor;

 my mighty rock, my refuge is in God.

⁸Trust in him at all times, O people;

 pour out your heart before him;

 God is a refuge for us. Selah

⁹Those of low estate are but a breath,

 those of high estate are a delusion;

in the balances they go up;

 they are together lighter than a breath.

¹⁰Put no confidence in extortion,

 and set no vain hopes on robbery;

 if riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

¹¹Once God has spoken;

 twice have I heard this:

that power belongs to God,

 ¹²and steadfast love belongs to you, O Lord.

For you repay to all

 according to their work.

Psalm 63

A Psalm of David, when he was in the Wilderness of Judah.

¹O God, you are my God, I seek you,

 my soul thirsts for you;

my flesh faints for you,

 as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.

²So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,

 beholding your power and glory.

³Because your steadfast love is better than life,

 my lips will praise you.

⁴So I will bless you as long as I live;

 I will lift up my hands and call on your name.

⁵My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast,^a

 and my mouth praises you with joyful lips

⁶when I think of you on my bed,

 and meditate on you in the watches of the night;

⁷for you have been my help,

 and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy.

⁸My soul clings to you;

 your right hand upholds me.

⁹But those who seek to destroy my life

 shall go down into the depths of the earth;

¹⁰they shall be given over to the power of the sword,

 they shall be prey for jackals.

¹¹But the king shall rejoice in God;

 all who swear by him shall exult,

 for the mouths of liars will be stopped.

Psalm 64

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

¹Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;

 preserve my life from the dread enemy.

²Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked,

 from the scheming of evildoers,

³who whet their tongues like swords,

 who aim bitter words like arrows,

⁴shooting from ambush at the blameless;

 they shoot suddenly and without fear.

⁵They hold fast to their evil purpose;

 they talk of laying snares secretly,

thinking, “Who can see us?^a

 ⁶Who can search out our crimes?^b

We have thought out a cunningly conceived plot.”

 For the human heart and mind are deep.

⁷But God will shoot his arrow at them;

 they will be wounded suddenly.

⁸Because of their tongue he will bring them to ruin;^c

 all who see them will shake with horror.

⁹Then everyone will fear;

 they will tell what God has brought about,

 and ponder what he has done.

¹⁰Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord

 and take refuge in him.

Let all the upright in heart glory.

Psalm 65

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

¹Praise is due to you,

 O God, in Zion;

and to you shall vows be performed,

 ²O you who answer prayer! To you all flesh shall come.

³When deeds of iniquity overwhelm us,

 you forgive our transgressions.

⁴Happy are those whom you choose and bring near

 to live in your courts.

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,

 your holy temple.

⁵By awesome deeds you answer us with deliverance,

 O God of our salvation;

you are the hope of all the ends of the earth

 and of the farthest seas.

⁶By your^a strength you established the mountains;

 you are girded with might.

⁷You silence the roaring of the seas,

 the roaring of their waves,

 the tumult of the peoples.

⁸Those who live at earth’s farthest bounds are awed by your signs;

you make the gateways of the morning and the evening shout for joy.

⁹You visit the earth and water it,

 you greatly enrich it;

the river of God is full of water;

 you provide the people with grain,

 for so you have prepared it.

¹⁰You water its furrows abundantly,

 settling its ridges,

softening it with showers,

 and blessing its growth.

¹¹You crown the year with your bounty;

 your wagon tracks overflow with richness.

¹²The pastures of the wilderness overflow,

 the hills gird themselves with joy,

¹³the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,

 the valleys deck themselves with grain,

 they shout and sing together for joy.

Psalm 66

To the leader. A Song. A Psalm.

¹Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;

 ²sing the glory of his name;

 give to him glorious praise.

³Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!

 Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.

⁴All the earth worships you;

 they sing praises to you,

 sing praises to your name.” Selah

⁵Come and see what God has done:

 he is awesome in his deeds among mortals.

⁶He turned the sea into dry land;

 they passed through the river on foot.

There we rejoiced in him,

 ⁷who rules by his might forever,

whose eyes keep watch on the nations—

 let the rebellious not exalt themselves.

 Selah

⁸Bless our God, O peoples,

 let the sound of his praise be heard,

⁹who has kept us among the living,

 and has not let our feet slip.

¹⁰For you, O God, have tested us;

 you have tried us as silver is tried.

¹¹You brought us into the net;

 you laid burdens on our backs;

¹²you let people ride over our heads;

 we went through fire and through water;

yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.^a

¹³I will come into your house with burnt offerings;

 I will pay you my vows,

¹⁴those that my lips uttered

 and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.

¹⁵I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings,

 with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;

I will make an offering of bulls and goats.

 Selah

¹⁶Come and hear, all you who fear God,

 and I will tell what he has done for me.

¹⁷I cried aloud to him,

 and he was extolled with my tongue.

¹⁸If I had cherished iniquity in my heart,

 the Lord would not have listened.

¹⁹But truly God has listened;

 he has given heed to the words of my prayer.

²⁰Blessed be God,

 because he has not rejected my prayer

 or removed his steadfast love from me.

Psalm 67

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

¹May God be gracious to us and bless us

 and make his face to shine upon us,

 Selah

²that your way may be known upon earth,

 your saving power among all nations.

³Let the peoples praise you, O God;

 let all the peoples praise you.

⁴Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,

 for you judge the peoples with equity

 and guide the nations upon earth. Selah

⁵Let the peoples praise you, O God;

 let all the peoples praise you.

⁶The earth has yielded its increase;

 God, our God, has blessed us.

⁷May God continue to bless us;

 let all the ends of the earth revere him.

Psalm 68

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm. A Song.

¹Let God rise up, let his enemies be scattered;

 let those who hate him flee before him.

²As smoke is driven away, so drive them away;

 as wax melts before the fire,

 let the wicked perish before God.

³But let the righteous be joyful;

 let them exult before God;

 let them be jubilant with joy.

⁴Sing to God, sing praises to his name;

 lift up a song to him who rides upon the clouds^a—

his name is the Lord—

 be exultant before him.

⁵Father of orphans and protector of widows

 is God in his holy habitation.

⁶God gives the desolate a home to live in;

 he leads out the prisoners to prosperity,

 but the rebellious live in a parched land.

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

 when you marched through the wilderness, Selah

⁸the earth quaked, the heavens poured down rain

 at the presence of God, the God of Sinai,

 at the presence of God, the God of Israel.

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

 you restored your heritage when it languished;

¹⁰your flock found a dwelling in it;

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

¹¹The Lord gives the command;

 great is the company of those^b who bore the tidings:

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

The women at home divide the spoil,

 ¹³though they stay among the sheepfolds—

the wings of a dove covered with silver,

 its pinions with green gold.

¹⁴When the Almighty^c scattered kings there,

 snow fell on Zalmon.

¹⁵O mighty mountain, mountain of Bashan;

 O many‐peaked mountain, mountain of Bashan!

¹⁶Why do you look with envy, O manypeaked mountain,

 at the mount that God desired for his abode,

 where the Lord will reside forever?

¹⁷With mighty chariotry, twice ten thousand,

 thousands upon thousands,

 the Lord came from Sinai into the holy place.^d

¹⁸You ascended the high mount,

 leading captives in your train

 and receiving gifts from people,

even from those who rebel against the

 Lord God’s abiding there.

¹⁹Blessed be the Lord,

 who daily bears us up;

 God is our salvation. Selah

²⁰Our God is a God of salvation,

 and to God, the Lord, belongs escape from death.

²¹But God will shatter the heads of his enemies,

 the hairy crown of those who walk in their guilty ways.

²²The Lord said,

 “I will bring them back from Bashan,

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

²³so that you may bathe^a your feet in blood,

 so that the tongues of your dogs may have their share from the foe.”

²⁴Your solemn processions are seen,^b O God,

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

²⁵the singers in front, the musicians last,

 between them girls playing tambourines:

²⁶“Bless God in the great congregation,

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

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

 the princes of Judah in a body,

 the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali.

²⁸Summon your might, O God;

 show your strength, O God, as you have done for us before.

²⁹Because of your temple at Jerusalem

 kings bear gifts to you.

³⁰Rebuke the wild animals that live among the reeds,

 the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples.

Trample^c under foot those who lust after tribute;

 scatter the peoples who delight in war.^d

³¹Let bronze be brought from Egypt;

 let Ethiopia^e hasten to stretch out its hands to God.

³²Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;

 sing praises to the Lord, Selah

³³O rider in the heavens, the ancient heavens;

 listen, he sends out his voice, his mighty voice.

³⁴Ascribe power to God,

 whose majesty is over Israel;

 and whose power is in the skies.

³⁵Awesome is God in his^f sanctuary,

 the God of Israel;

 he gives power and strength to his people.

Blessed be God!

Psalm 69

To the leader: according to Lilies. Of David.

¹Save me, O God,

 for the waters have come up to my neck.

²I sink in deep mire,

 where there is no foothold;

I have come into deep waters,

 and the flood sweeps over me.

³I am weary with my crying;

 my throat is parched.

My eyes grow dim

 with waiting for my God.

⁴More in number than the hairs of my head

 are those who hate me without cause;

many are those who would destroy me,

 my enemies who accuse me falsely.

What I did not steal

 must I now restore?

⁵O God, you know my folly;

 the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.

⁶Do not let those who hope in you be put to shame because of me,

 O Lord God of hosts;

do not let those who seek you be dishonored because of me,

 O God of Israel.

⁷It is for your sake that I have borne reproach,

 that shame has covered my face.

⁸I have become a stranger to my kindred,

 an alien to my mother’s children.

⁹It is zeal for your house that has consumed me;

 the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.

¹⁰When I humbled my soul with fasting,^a

 they insulted me for doing so.

¹¹When I made sackcloth my clothing,

 I became a byword to them.

¹²I am the subject of gossip for those who sit in the gate,

 and the drunkards make songs about me.

¹³But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord.

 At an acceptable time, O God,

 in the abundance of your steadfast love, answer me.

With your faithful help ¹⁴rescue me

 from sinking in the mire;

let me be delivered from my enemies

 and from the deep waters.

¹⁵Do not let the flood sweep over me,

 or the deep swallow me up,

 or the Pit close its mouth over me.

¹⁶Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good;

 according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.

¹⁷Do not hide your face from your servant,

 for I am in distress—make haste to answer me.

¹⁸Draw near to me, redeem me,

 set me free because of my enemies.

¹⁹You know the insults I receive,

 and my shame and dishonor;

 my foes are all known to you.

²⁰Insults have broken my heart,

 so that I am in despair.

I looked for pity, but there was none;

 and for comforters, but I found none.

²¹They gave me poison for food,

 and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.

²²Let their table be a trap for them,

 a snare for their allies.

²³Let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see,

 and make their loins tremble continually.

²⁴Pour out your indignation upon them,

 and let your burning anger overtake them.

²⁵May their camp be a desolation;

 let no one live in their tents.

²⁶For they persecute those whom you have struck down,

 and those whom you have wounded, they attack still more.^b

²⁷Add guilt to their guilt;

 may they have no acquittal from you.

²⁸Let them be blotted out of the book of the living;

 let them not be enrolled among the righteous.

²⁹But I am lowly and in pain;

 let your salvation, O God, protect me.

³⁰I will praise the name of God with a song;

 I will magnify him with thanksgiving.

³¹This will please the Lord more than an ox

 or a bull with horns and hoofs.

³²Let the oppressed see it and be glad;

 you who seek God, let your hearts revive.

³³For the Lord hears the needy,

 and does not despise his own that are in bonds.

³⁴Let heaven and earth praise him,

 the seas and everything that moves in them.

³⁵For God will save Zion

 and rebuild the cities of Judah;

and his servants shall live^a there and possess it;

 ³⁶the children of his servants shall inherit it,

 and those who love his name shall live in it.

Psalm 70

To the leader. Of David, for the memorial offering.

¹Be pleased, O God, to deliver me.

 O Lord, make haste to help me!

²Let those be put to shame and confusion

 who seek my life.

Let those be turned back and brought to dishonor

 who desire to hurt me.

³Let those who say, “Aha, Aha!”

 turn back because of their shame.

⁴Let all who seek you

 rejoice and be glad in you.

Let those who love your salvation

 say evermore, “God is great!”

⁵But I am poor and needy;

 hasten to me, O God!

You are my help and my deliverer;

 O Lord, do not delay!

Psalm 71

¹In you, O Lord, I take refuge;

 let me never be put to shame.

²In your righteousness deliver me and rescue me;

 incline your ear to me and save me.

³Be to me a rock of refuge,

 a strong fortress,^b to save me,

 for you are my rock and my fortress.

⁴Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,

 from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.

⁵For you, O Lord, are my hope,

 my trust, O Lord, from my youth.

⁶Upon you I have leaned from my birth;

 it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.

My praise is continually of you.

⁷I have been like a portent to many,

 but you are my strong refuge.

⁸My mouth is filled with your praise,

 and with your glory all day long.

⁹Do not cast me off in the time of old age;

 do not forsake me when my strength is spent.

¹⁰For my enemies speak concerning me,

 and those who watch for my life consult together.

¹¹They say, “Pursue and seize that person

 whom God has forsaken,

 for there is no one to deliver.”

¹²O God, do not be far from me;

 O my God, make haste to help me!

¹³Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed;

 let those who seek to hurt me

 be covered with scorn and disgrace.

¹⁴But I will hope continually,

 and will praise you yet more and more.

¹⁵My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,

 of your deeds of salvation all day long,

 though their number is past my knowledge.

¹⁶I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God,

 I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.

¹⁷O God, from my youth you have taught me,

 and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.

¹⁸So even to old age and gray hairs,

 O God, do not forsake me,

until I proclaim your might

 to all the generations to come.^a

Your power ¹⁹and your righteousness, O God,

 reach the high heavens.

You who have done great things,

 O God, who is like you?

²⁰You who have made me see many troubles and calamities

 will revive me again;

from the depths of the earth

 you will bring me up again.

²¹You will increase my honor,

 and comfort me once again.

²²I will also praise you with the harp

 for your faithfulness, O my God;

I will sing praises to you with the lyre,

 O Holy One of Israel.

²³My lips will shout for joy

 when I sing praises to you;

 my soul also, which you have rescued.

²⁴All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help,

for those who tried to do me harm

 have been put to shame, and disgraced.

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.

¹Give the king your justice, O God,

 and your righteousness to a king’s son.

²May he judge your people with righteousness,

 and your poor with justice.

³May the mountains yield prosperity for the people,

 and the hills, in righteousness.

⁴May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,

 give deliverance to the needy,

 and crush the oppressor.

⁵May he live^b while the sun endures,

 and as long as the moon, throughout all generations.

⁶May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass,

 like showers that water the earth.

⁷In his days may righteousness flourish

 and peace abound, until the moon is no more.

⁸May he have dominion from sea to sea,

 and from the River to the ends of the earth.

⁹May his foes^a bow down before him,

 and his enemies lick the dust.

¹⁰May the kings of Tarshish and of the isles

 render him tribute,

may the kings of Sheba and Seba

 bring gifts.

¹¹May all kings fall down before him,

 all nations give him service.

¹²For he delivers the needy when they call,

 the poor and those who have no helper.

¹³He has pity on the weak and the needy,

 and saves the lives of the needy.

¹⁴From oppression and violence he redeems their life;

 and precious is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵Long may he live!

 May gold of Sheba be given to him.

May prayer be made for him continually,

 and blessings invoked for him all day long.

¹⁶May there be abundance of grain in the land;

 may it wave on the tops of the mountains;

 may its fruit be like Lebanon;

and may people blossom in the cities

 like the grass of the field.

¹⁷May his name endure forever,

 his fame continue as long as the sun.

May all nations be blessed in him;^b

 may they pronounce him happy.

¹⁸Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

 who alone does wondrous things.

¹⁹Blessed be his glorious name forever;

 may his glory fill the whole earth. Amen and Amen.

²⁰The prayers of David son of Jesse are ended.

Book III Psalms 73–89

Psalm 73

A Psalm of Asaph.

¹Truly God is good to the upright,^c

 to those who are pure in heart.

²But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;

 my steps had nearly slipped.

³For I was envious of the arrogant;

 I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴For they have no pain;

 their bodies are sound and sleek.

⁵They are not in trouble as others are;

 they are not plagued like other people.

⁶Therefore pride is their necklace;

 violence covers them like a garment.

⁷Their eyes swell out with fatness;

 their hearts overflow with follies.

⁸They scoff and speak with malice;

 loftily they threaten oppression.

⁹They set their mouths against heaven,

 and their tongues range over the earth.

¹⁰Therefore the people turn and praise them,^a

 and find no fault in them.^b

¹¹And they say, “How can God know?

 Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

¹²Such are the wicked;

 always at ease, they increase in riches.

¹³All in vain I have kept my heart clean

 and washed my hands in innocence.

¹⁴For all day long I have been plagued,

 and am punished every morning.

¹⁵If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,”

 I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.

¹⁶But when I thought how to understand this,

 it seemed to me a wearisome task,

¹⁷until I went into the sanctuary of God;

 then I perceived their end.

¹⁸Truly you set them in slippery places;

 you make them fall to ruin.

¹⁹How they are destroyed in a moment,

 swept away utterly by terrors!

²⁰They are^c like a dream when one awakes;

 on awaking you despise their phantoms.

²¹When my soul was embittered,

 when I was pricked in heart,

²²I was stupid and ignorant;

 I was like a brute beast toward you.

²³Nevertheless I am continually with you;

 you hold my right hand.

²⁴You guide me with your counsel,

 and afterward you will receive me with honor.^d

²⁵Whom have I in heaven but you?

 And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.

²⁶My flesh and my heart may fail,

 but God is the strength^e of my heart and my portion forever.

²⁷Indeed, those who are far from you will perish;

 you put an end to those who are false to you.

²⁸But for me it is good to be near God;

 I have made the Lord God my refuge,

 to tell of all your works.

Psalm 74

A Maskil of Asaph.

¹O God, why do you cast us off forever?

 Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?

²Remember your congregation, which you acquired long ago,

 which you redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage.

 Remember Mount Zion, where you came to dwell.

³Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins;

 the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary.

⁴Your foes have roared within your holy place;

 they set up their emblems there.

⁵At the upper entrance they hacked

 the wooden trellis with axes.^a

⁶And then, with hatchets and hammers,

 they smashed all its carved work.

⁷They set your sanctuary on fire;

 they desecrated the dwelling place of your name,

 bringing it to the ground.

⁸They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;

 they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

⁹We do not see our emblems;

 there is no longer any prophet,

 and there is no one among us who knows how long.

¹⁰How long, O God, is the foe to scoff?

 Is the enemy to revile your name forever?

¹¹Why do you hold back your hand;

 why do you keep your hand in^b your bosom?

¹²Yet God my King is from of old,

 working salvation in the earth.

¹³You divided the sea by your might;

 you broke the heads of the dragons in the waters.

¹⁴You crushed the heads of Leviathan;

 you gave him as food^c for the creatures of the wilderness.

¹⁵You cut openings for springs and torrents;

 you dried up ever‐flowing streams.

¹⁶Yours is the day, yours also the night;

 you established the luminaries^d and the sun.

¹⁷You have fixed all the bounds of the earth;

 you made summer and winter.

¹⁸Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,

 and an impious people reviles your name.

¹⁹Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild animals;

 do not forget the life of your poor forever.

²⁰Have regard for your^e covenant,

 for the dark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.

²¹Do not let the downtrodden be put to shame;

 let the poor and needy praise your name.

²²Rise up, O God, plead your cause;

 remember how the impious scoff at you all day long.

²³Do not forget the clamor of your foes,

 the uproar of your adversaries that goes up continually.

Psalm 75

To the leader: Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

¹We give thanks to you, O God;

 we give thanks; your name is near.

People tell of your wondrous deeds.

²At the set time that I appoint

 I will judge with equity.

³When the earth totters, with all its inhabitants,

 it is I who keep its pillars steady. Selah

⁴I say to the boastful, “Do not boast,”

 and to the wicked, “Do not lift up your horn;

⁵do not lift up your horn on high,

 or speak with insolent neck.”

⁶For not from the east or from the west

 and not from the wilderness comes lifting up;

⁷but it is God who executes judgment,

 putting down one and lifting up another.

⁸For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup

 with foaming wine, well mixed;

he will pour a draught from it,

 and all the wicked of the earth

 shall drain it down to the dregs.

⁹But I will rejoice^a forever;

 I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

¹⁰All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,

 but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted.

Psalm 76

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

¹In Judah God is known,

 his name is great in Israel.

²His abode has been established in Salem,

 his dwelling place in Zion.

³There he broke the flashing arrows,

 the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah

⁴Glorious are you, more majestic

 than the everlasting mountains.^b

⁵The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;

 they sank into sleep;

none of the troops

 was able to lift a hand.

⁶At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,

 both rider and horse lay stunned.

⁷But you indeed are awesome!

 Who can stand before you

 when once your anger is roused?

⁸From the heavens you uttered judgment;

 the earth feared and was still

⁹when God rose up to establish judgment,

 to save all the oppressed of the earth.

 Selah

¹⁰Human wrath serves only to praise you,

 when you bind the last bit of your^c wrath around you.

¹¹Make vows to the Lord your God, and perform them;

 let all who are around him bring gifts

 to the one who is awesome,

¹²who cuts off the spirit of princes,

 who inspires fear in the kings of the earth.

Psalm 77

To the leader: according to Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm.

¹I cry aloud to God,

 aloud to God, that he may hear me.

²In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;

 in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying;

 my soul refuses to be comforted.

³I think of God, and I moan;

 I meditate, and my spirit faints. Selah

⁴You keep my eyelids from closing;

 I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

⁵I consider the days of old,

 and remember the years of long ago.

⁶I commune^a with my heart in the night;

 I meditate and search my spirit:^b

⁷“Will the Lord spurn forever,

 and never again be favorable?

⁸Has his steadfast love ceased forever?

 Are his promises at an end for all time?

⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious?

 Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

¹⁰And I say, “It is my grief

 that the right hand of the Most High has changed.”

¹¹I will call to mind the deeds of the Lord;

 I will remember your wonders of old.

¹²I will meditate on all your work,

 and muse on your mighty deeds.

¹³Your way, O God, is holy.

 What god is so great as our God?

¹⁴You are the God who works wonders;

 you have displayed your might among the peoples.

¹⁵With your strong arm you redeemed your people,

 the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.

 Selah

¹⁶When the waters saw you, O God,

 when the waters saw you, they were afraid;

 the very deep trembled.

¹⁷The clouds poured out water;

 the skies thundered;

 your arrows flashed on every side.

¹⁸The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;

 your lightnings lit up the world;

 the earth trembled and shook.

¹⁹Your way was through the sea,

 your path, through the mighty waters;

 yet your footprints were unseen.

²⁰You led your people like a flock

 by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Psalm 78

A Maskil of Asaph.

¹Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;

 incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

²I will open my mouth in a parable;

 I will utter dark sayings from of old,

³things that we have heard and known,

 that our ancestors have told us.

⁴We will not hide them from their children;

 we will tell to the coming generation

the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,

 and the wonders that he has done.

⁵He established a decree in Jacob,

 and appointed a law in Israel,

which he commanded our ancestors

 to teach to their children;

⁶that the next generation might know them,

 the children yet unborn,

and rise up and tell them to their children,

 ⁷so that they should set their hope in God,

and not forget the works of God,

 but keep his commandments;

⁸and that they should not be like their ancestors,

 a stubborn and rebellious generation,

a generation whose heart was not steadfast,

 whose spirit was not faithful to God.

⁹The Ephraimites, armed with^a the bow,

 turned back on the day of battle.

¹⁰They did not keep God’s covenant,

 but refused to walk according to his law.

¹¹They forgot what he had done,

 and the miracles that he had shown them.

¹²In the sight of their ancestors he worked marvels

 in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.

¹³He divided the sea and let them pass through it,

 and made the waters stand like a heap.

¹⁴In the daytime he led them with a cloud,

 and all night long with a fiery light.

¹⁵He split rocks open in the wilderness,

 and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.

¹⁶He made streams come out of the rock,

 and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

¹⁷Yet they sinned still more against him,

 rebelling against the Most High in the desert.

¹⁸They tested God in their heart

 by demanding the food they craved.

¹⁹They spoke against God, saying,

 “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?

²⁰Even though he struck the rock so that water gushed out

 and torrents overflowed,

can he also give bread,

 or provide meat for his people?”

²¹Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of rage;

 a fire was kindled against Jacob,

 his anger mounted against Israel,

²²because they had no faith in God,

 and did not trust his saving power.

²³Yet he commanded the skies above,

 and opened the doors of heaven;

²⁴he rained down on them manna to eat,

 and gave them the grain of heaven.

²⁵Mortals ate of the bread of angels;

 he sent them food in abundance.

²⁶He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,

 and by his power he led out the south wind;

²⁷he rained flesh upon them like dust,

 winged birds like the sand of the seas;

²⁸he let them fall within their camp,

 all around their dwellings.

²⁹And they ate and were well filled,

 for he gave them what they craved.

³⁰But before they had satisfied their craving,

 while the food was still in their mouths,

³¹the anger of God rose against them

 and he killed the strongest of them,

 and laid low the flower of Israel.

³²In spite of all this they still sinned;

 they did not believe in his wonders.

³³So he made their days vanish like a breath,

 and their years in terror.

³⁴When he killed them, they sought for him;

 they repented and sought God earnestly.

³⁵They remembered that God was their rock,

 the Most High God their redeemer.

³⁶But they flattered him with their mouths;

 they lied to him with their tongues.

³⁷Their heart was not steadfast toward him;

 they were not true to his covenant.

³⁸Yet he, being compassionate,

 forgave their iniquity,

 and did not destroy them;

often he restrained his anger,

 and did not stir up all his wrath.

³⁹He remembered that they were but flesh,

 a wind that passes and does not come again.

⁴⁰How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness

 and grieved him in the desert!

⁴¹They tested God again and again,

 and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

⁴²They did not keep in mind his power,

 or the day when he redeemed them from the foe;

⁴³when he displayed his signs in Egypt,

 and his miracles in the fields of Zoan.

⁴⁴He turned their rivers to blood,

 so that they could not drink of their streams.

⁴⁵He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them,

 and frogs, which destroyed them.

⁴⁶He gave their crops to the caterpillar,

 and the fruit of their labor to the locust.

⁴⁷He destroyed their vines with hail,

 and their sycamores with frost.

⁴⁸He gave over their cattle to the hail,

 and their flocks to thunderbolts.

⁴⁹He let loose on them his fierce anger,

 wrath, indignation, and distress,

 a company of destroying angels.

⁵⁰He made a path for his anger;

 he did not spare them from death,

 but gave their lives over to the plague.

⁵¹He struck all the firstborn in Egypt,

 the first issue of their strength in the tents of Ham.

⁵²Then he led out his people like sheep,

 and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

⁵³He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid;

 but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

⁵⁴And he brought them to his holy hill,

 to the mountain that his right hand had won.

⁵⁵He drove out nations before them;

 he apportioned them for a possession

 and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

⁵⁶Yet they tested the Most High God,

 and rebelled against him.

 They did not observe his decrees,

⁵⁷but turned away and were faithless like their ancestors;

 they twisted like a treacherous bow.

⁵⁸For they provoked him to anger with their high places;

 they moved him to jealousy with their idols.

⁵⁹When God heard, he was full of wrath,

 and he utterly rejected Israel.

⁶⁰He abandoned his dwelling at Shiloh,

 the tent where he dwelt among mortals,

⁶¹and delivered his power to captivity,

 his glory to the hand of the foe.

⁶²He gave his people to the sword,

 and vented his wrath on his heritage.

⁶³Fire devoured their young men,

 and their girls had no marriage song.

⁶⁴Their priests fell by the sword,

 and their widows made no lamentation.

⁶⁵Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,

 like a warrior shouting because of wine.

⁶⁶He put his adversaries to rout;

 he put them to everlasting disgrace.

⁶⁷He rejected the tent of Joseph,

 he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;

⁶⁸but he chose the tribe of Judah,

 Mount Zion, which he loves.

⁶⁹He built his sanctuary like the high heavens,

 like the earth, which he has founded forever.

⁷⁰He chose his servant David,

 and took him from the sheepfolds;

⁷¹from tending the nursing ewes he brought him

 to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,

 of Israel, his inheritance.

⁷²With upright heart he tended them,

 and guided them with skillful hand.

Psalm 79

A Psalm of Asaph.

¹O God, the nations have come into your inheritance;

 they have defiled your holy temple;

 they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

²They have given the bodies of your servants

 to the birds of the air for food,

 the flesh of your faithful to the wild animals of the earth.

³They have poured out their blood like water

 all around Jerusalem,

 and there was no one to bury them.

⁴We have become a taunt to our neighbors,

 mocked and derided by those around us.

⁵How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever?

 Will your jealous wrath burn like fire?

⁶Pour out your anger on the nations

 that do not know you,

and on the kingdoms

 that do not call on your name.

⁷For they have devoured Jacob

 and laid waste his habitation.

⁸Do not remember against us the iniquities of our ancestors;

 let your compassion come speedily to meet us,

 for we are brought very low.

⁹Help us, O God of our salvation,

 for the glory of your name;

deliver us, and forgive our sins,

 for your name’s sake.

¹⁰Why should the nations say,

 “Where is their God?”

Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants

 be known among the nations before our eyes.

¹¹Let the groans of the prisoners come before you;

 according to your great power preserve those doomed to die.

¹²Return sevenfold into the bosom of our neighbors

 the taunts with which they taunted you, O Lord!

¹³Then we your people, the flock of your pasture,

 will give thanks to you forever;

 from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

Psalm 80

To the leader: on Lilies, a Covenant. Of Asaph. A Psalm.

¹Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel,

 you who lead Joseph like a flock!

You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth

 ²before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh.

Stir up your might,

 and come to save us!

³Restore us, O God;

 let your face shine, that we may be saved.

⁴O Lord God of hosts,

 how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?

⁵You have fed them with the bread of tears,

 and given them tears to drink in full measure.

⁶You make us the scorn^a of our neighbors;

 our enemies laugh among themselves.

⁷Restore us, O God of hosts;

 let your face shine, that we may be saved.

⁸You brought a vine out of Egypt;

 you drove out the nations and planted it.

⁹You cleared the ground for it;

 it took deep root and filled the land.

¹⁰The mountains were covered with its shade,

 the mighty cedars with its branches;

¹¹it sent out its branches to the sea,

 and its shoots to the River.

¹²Why then have you broken down its walls,

 so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?

¹³The boar from the forest ravages it,

 and all that move in the field feed on it.

¹⁴Turn again, O God of hosts;

 look down from heaven, and see;

have regard for this vine,

  the stock that your right hand planted.^a

¹⁶They have burned it with fire, they have cut it down;^b

 may they perish at the rebuke of your countenance.

¹⁷But let your hand be upon the one at your right hand,

 the one whom you made strong for yourself.

¹⁸Then we will never turn back from you;

 give us life, and we will call on your name.

¹⁹Restore us, O Lord God of hosts;

 let your face shine, that we may be saved.

Psalm 81

To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of Asaph.

¹Sing aloud to God our strength;

 shout for joy to the God of Jacob.

²Raise a song, sound the tambourine,

 the sweet lyre with the harp.

³Blow the trumpet at the new moon,

 at the full moon, on our festal day.

⁴For it is a statute for Israel,

 an ordinance of the God of Jacob.

⁵He made it a decree in Joseph,

 when he went out over^c the land of Egypt.

I hear a voice I had not known:

⁶“I relieved your^d shoulder of the burden;

 your^d hands were freed from the basket.

⁷In distress you called, and I rescued you;

 I answered you in the secret place of thunder;

 I tested you at the waters of Meribah.

 Selah

⁸Hear, O my people, while I admonish you;

 O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

⁹There shall be no strange god among you;

 you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

¹⁰I am the Lord your God,

 who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.

 Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

¹¹“But my people did not listen to my voice;

 Israel would not submit to me.

¹²So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,

 to follow their own counsels.

¹³O that my people would listen to me,

 that Israel would walk in my ways!

¹⁴Then I would quickly subdue their enemies,

 and turn my hand against their foes.

¹⁵Those who hate the Lord would cringe before him,

 and their doom would last forever.

¹⁶I would feed you^a with the finest of the wheat,

 and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

Psalm 82

A Psalm of Asaph.

¹God has taken his place in the divine council;

 in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:

²“How long will you judge unjustly

 and show partiality to the wicked? Selah

³Give justice to the weak and the orphan;

 maintain the right of the lowly and the destitute.

⁴Rescue the weak and the needy;

 deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

⁵They have neither knowledge nor understanding,

 they walk around in darkness;

 all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

⁶I say, “You are gods,

 children of the Most High, all of you;

⁷nevertheless, you shall die like mortals,

 and fall like any prince.”^b

⁸Rise up, O God, judge the earth;

 for all the nations belong to you!

Psalm 83

A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.

¹O God, do not keep silence;

 do not hold your peace or be still, O God!

²Even now your enemies are in tumult;

 those who hate you have raised their heads.

³They lay crafty plans against your people;

 they consult together against those you protect.

⁴They say, “Come, let us wipe them out as a nation;

 let the name of Israel be remembered no more.”

⁵They conspire with one accord;

 against you they make a covenant—

⁶the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,

 Moab and the Hagrites,

⁷Gebal and Ammon and Amalek,

 Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre;

⁸Assyria also has joined them;

 they are the strong arm of the children of Lot.            Selah

⁹Do to them as you did to Midian,

 as to Sisera and Jabin at the Wadi Kishon,

¹⁰who were destroyed at En‐dor,

 who became dung for the ground.

¹¹Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,

 all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,

¹²who said, “Let us take the pastures of God

 for our own possession.”

¹³O my God, make them like whirling dust,^a

 like chaff before the wind.

¹⁴As fire consumes the forest,

 as the flame sets the mountains ablaze,

¹⁵so pursue them with your tempest

 and terrify them with your hurricane.

¹⁶Fill their faces with shame,

 so that they may seek your name, O Lord.

¹⁷Let them be put to shame and dismayed forever;

 let them perish in disgrace.

¹⁸Let them know that you alone,

 whose name is the Lord,

 are the Most High over all the earth.

Psalm 84

To the leader: according to The Gittith. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.

¹How lovely is your dwelling place,

 O Lord of hosts!

²My soul longs, indeed it faints

 for the courts of the Lord;

my heart and my flesh sing for joy

 to the living God.

³Even the sparrow finds a home,

 and the swallow a nest for herself,

 where she may lay her young,

at your altars, O Lord of hosts,

 my King and my God.

⁴Happy are those who live in your house,

 ever singing your praise.      Selah

⁵Happy are those whose strength is in you,

 in whose heart are the highways to Zion.^b

⁶As they go through the valley of Baca

 they make it a place of springs;

 the early rain also covers it with pools.

⁷They go from strength to strength;

 the God of gods will be seen in Zion.

⁸O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;

 give ear, O God of Jacob!     Selah

⁹Behold our shield, O God;

 look on the face of your anointed.

¹⁰For a day in your courts is better

 than a thousand elsewhere.

I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God

 than live in the tents of wickedness.

¹¹For the Lord God is a sun and shield;

 he bestows favor and honor.

No good thing does the Lord withhold

 from those who walk uprightly.

¹²O Lord of hosts,

 happy is everyone who trusts in you.

Psalm 85

To the leader. Of the Korahites. A Psalm.

¹Lord, you were favorable to your land;

 you restored the fortunes of Jacob.

²You forgave the iniquity of your people;

 you pardoned all their sin.    Selah

³You withdrew all your wrath;

 you turned from your hot anger.

⁴Restore us again, O God of our salvation,

 and put away your indignation toward us.

⁵Will you be angry with us forever?

 Will you prolong your anger to all generations?

⁶Will you not revive us again,

 so that your people may rejoice in you?

⁷Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,

 and grant us your salvation.

⁸Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,

 for he will speak peace to his people,

 to his faithful, to those who turn to him in their hearts.^a

⁹Surely his salvation is at hand for those who fear him,

 that his glory may dwell in our land.

¹⁰Steadfast love and faithfulness will meet;

 righteousness and peace will kiss each other.

¹¹Faithfulness will spring up from the ground,

 and righteousness will look down from the sky.

¹²The Lord will give what is good,

 and our land will yield its increase.

¹³Righteousness will go before him,

 and will make a path for his steps.

Psalm 86

A Prayer of David.

¹Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,

 for I am poor and needy.

²Preserve my life, for I am devoted to you;

 save your servant who trusts in you.

You are my God; ³be gracious to me, O Lord,

 for to you do I cry all day long.

⁴Gladden the soul of your servant,

 for to you, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

⁵For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,

 abounding in steadfast love to all who call on you.

⁶Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;

 listen to my cry of supplication.

⁷In the day of my trouble I call on you,

 for you will answer me.

⁸There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,

 nor are there any works like yours.

⁹All the nations you have made shall come

 and bow down before you, O Lord,

 and shall glorify your name.

¹⁰For you are great and do wondrous things;

 you alone are God.

¹¹Teach me your way, O Lord,

 that I may walk in your truth;

 give me an undivided heart to revere your name.

¹²I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,

 and I will glorify your name forever.

¹³For great is your steadfast love toward me;

 you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

¹⁴O God, the insolent rise up against me;

 a band of ruffians seeks my life,

 and they do not set you before them.

¹⁵But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,

 slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

¹⁶Turn to me and be gracious to me;

 give your strength to your servant;

 save the child of your serving girl.

¹⁷Show me a sign of your favor,

 so that those who hate me may see it and be put to shame,

 because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Psalm 87

Of the Korahites. A Psalm. A Song.

¹On the holy mount stands the city he founded;

 ²the Lord loves the gates of Zion

 more than all the dwellings of Jacob.

³Glorious things are spoken of you,

 O city of God.         Selah

⁴Among those who know me I mention Rahab and Babylon;

 Philistia too, and Tyre, with Ethiopia^a—

 “This one was born there,” they say.

⁵And of Zion it shall be said,

 “This one and that one were born in it”;

 for the Most High himself will establish it.

⁶The Lord records, as he registers the peoples,

 “This one was born there.”      Selah

⁷Singers and dancers alike say,

 “All my springs are in you.”

Psalm 88

A Song. A Psalm of the Korahites. To the leader: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.

¹O Lord, God of my salvation,

 when, at night, I cry out in your presence,

²let my prayer come before you;

 incline your ear to my cry.

³For my soul is full of troubles,

 and my life draws near to Sheol.

⁴I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;

 I am like those who have no help,

⁵like those forsaken among the dead,

 like the slain that lie in the grave,

like those whom you remember no more,

 for they are cut off from your hand.

⁶You have put me in the depths of the Pit,

 in the regions dark and deep.

⁷Your wrath lies heavy upon me,

 and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah

⁸You have caused my companions to shun me;

 you have made me a thing of horror to them.

I am shut in so that I cannot escape;

 ⁹my eye grows dim through sorrow.

Every day I call on you, O Lord;

 I spread out my hands to you.

¹⁰Do you work wonders for the dead?

 Do the shades rise up to praise you? Selah

¹¹Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,

 or your faithfulness in Abaddon?

¹²Are your wonders known in the darkness,

 or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?

¹³But I, O Lord, cry out to you;

 in the morning my prayer comes before you.

¹⁴O Lord, why do you cast me off?

 Why do you hide your face from me?

¹⁵Wretched and close to death from my youth up,

 I suffer your terrors; I am desperate.^a

¹⁶Your wrath has swept over me;

 your dread assaults destroy me.

¹⁷They surround me like a flood all day long;

 from all sides they close in on me.

¹⁸You have caused friend and neighbor to shun me;

 my companions are in darkness.

Psalm 89

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.

¹I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord,^a forever;

 with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.

²I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;

 your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

³You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,

 I have sworn to my servant David:

⁴‘I will establish your descendants forever,

 and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah

⁵Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,

 your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.

⁶For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?

 Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,

⁷a God feared in the council of the holy ones,

 great and awesome^b above all that are around him?

⁸O Lord God of hosts,

 who is as mighty as you, O Lord?

 Your faithfulness surrounds you.

⁹You rule the raging of the sea;

 when its waves rise, you still them.

¹⁰You crushed Rahab like a carcass;

 you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.

¹¹The heavens are yours, the earth also is yours;

 the world and all that is in it—you have founded them.

¹²The north and the south^c—you created them;

 Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.

¹³You have a mighty arm;

 strong is your hand, high your right hand.

¹⁴Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;

 steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

¹⁵Happy are the people who know the festal shout,

 who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance;

¹⁶they exult in your name all day long,

 and extol^d your righteousness.

¹⁷For you are the glory of their strength;

 by your favor our horn is exalted.

¹⁸For our shield belongs to the Lord,

 our king to the Holy One of Israel.

¹⁹Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said:

 “I have set the crown^e on one who is mighty,

 I have exalted one chosen from the people.

²⁰I have found my servant David;

 with my holy oil I have anointed him;

²¹my hand shall always remain with him;

 my arm also shall strengthen him.

²²The enemy shall not outwit him,

 the wicked shall not humble him.

²³I will crush his foes before him

 and strike down those who hate him.

²⁴My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;

 and in my name his horn shall be exalted.

²⁵I will set his hand on the sea

 and his right hand on the rivers.

²⁶He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,

 my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’

²⁷I will make him the firstborn,

 the highest of the kings of the earth.

²⁸Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him,

 and my covenant with him will stand firm.

²⁹I will establish his line forever,

 and his throne as long as the heavens endure.

³⁰If his children forsake my law

 and do not walk according to my ordinances,

³¹if they violate my statutes

 and do not keep my commandments,

³²then I will punish their transgression with the rod

 and their iniquity with scourges;

³³but I will not remove from him my steadfast love,

 or be false to my faithfulness.

³⁴I will not violate my covenant,

 or alter the word that went forth from my lips.

³⁵Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness;

 I will not lie to David.

³⁶His line shall continue forever,

 and his throne endure before me like the sun.

³⁷It shall be established forever like the moon,

 an enduring witness in the skies.” Selah

³⁸But now you have spurned and rejected him;

 you are full of wrath against your anointed.

³⁹You have renounced the covenant with your servant;

 you have defiled his crown in the dust.

⁴⁰You have broken through all his walls;

 you have laid his strongholds in ruins.

⁴¹All who pass by plunder him;

 he has become the scorn of his neighbors.

⁴²You have exalted the right hand of his foes;

 you have made all his enemies rejoice.

⁴³Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword,

 and you have not supported him in battle.

⁴⁴You have removed the scepter from his hand,^a

 and hurled his throne to the ground.

⁴⁵You have cut short the days of his youth;

 you have covered him with shame.Selah

⁴⁶How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?

 How long will your wrath burn like fire?

⁴⁷Remember how short my time is—^b

 for what vanity you have created all mortals!

⁴⁸Who can live and never see death?

 Who can escape the power of Sheol?

Selah

⁴⁹Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,

 which by your faithfulness you swore to David?

⁵⁰Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted;

 how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,^a

⁵¹with which your enemies taunt, O Lord,

 with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.

⁵²Blessed be the Lord forever. Amen and Amen.

Book IV Psalms 90–106

Psalm 90

A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.

¹Lord, you have been our dwelling place^b

 in all generations.

²Before the mountains were brought forth,

 or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

 from everlasting to everlasting you are God.

³You turn us^c back to dust,

 and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”

⁴For a thousand years in your sight

 are like yesterday when it is past,

 or like a watch in the night.

⁵You sweep them away; they are like a dream,

 like grass that is renewed in the morning;

⁶in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;

 in the evening it fades and withers.

⁷For we are consumed by your anger;

 by your wrath we are overwhelmed.

⁸You have set our iniquities before you,

 our secret sins in the light of your countenance.

⁹For all our days pass away under your wrath;

 our years come to an end^d like a sigh.

¹⁰The days of our life are seventy years,

 or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;

even then their span^e is only toil and trouble;

 they are soon gone, and we fly away.

¹¹Who considers the power of your anger?

 Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.

¹²So teach us to count our days

 that we may gain a wise heart.

¹³Turn, O Lord! How long?

 Have compassion on your servants!

¹⁴Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,

 so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

¹⁵Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us,

 and as many years as we have seen evil.

¹⁶Let your work be manifest to your servants,

 and your glorious power to their children.

¹⁷Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us,

 and prosper for us the work of our hands—

 O prosper the work of our hands!

Psalm 91

¹You who live in the shelter of the Most High,

 who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,^a

²will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;

 my God, in whom I trust.”

³For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

 and from the deadly pestilence;

⁴he will cover you with his pinions,

 and under his wings you will find refuge;

 his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

⁵You will not fear the terror of the night,

 or the arrow that flies by day,

⁶or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

 or the destruction that wastes at noonday.

⁷A thousand may fall at your side,

 ten thousand at your right hand,

 but it will not come near you.

⁸You will only look with your eyes

 and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹Because you have made the Lord your refuge,^b

 the Most High your dwelling place,

¹⁰no evil shall befall you,

 no scourge come near your tent.

¹¹For he will command his angels concerning you

 to guard you in all your ways.

¹²On their hands they will bear you up,

 so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.

¹³You will tread on the lion and the adder,

 the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

¹⁴Those who love me, I will deliver;

 I will protect those who know my name.

¹⁵When they call to me, I will answer them;

 I will be with them in trouble,

 I will rescue them and honor them.

¹⁶With long life I will satisfy them,

 and show them my salvation.

Psalm 92

A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day.

¹It is good to give thanks to the Lord,

 to sing praises to your name, O Most High;

²to declare your steadfast love in the morning,

 and your faithfulness by night,

³to the music of the lute and the harp,

 to the melody of the lyre.

⁴For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;

 at the works of your hands I sing for joy.

⁵How great are your works, O Lord!

 Your thoughts are very deep!

⁶The dullard cannot know,

 the stupid cannot understand this:

⁷though the wicked sprout like grass

 and all evildoers flourish,

they are doomed to destruction forever,

 ⁸but you, O Lord, are on high forever.

⁹For your enemies, O Lord,

 for your enemies shall perish;

 all evildoers shall be scattered.

¹⁰But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;

 you have poured over me^a fresh oil.

¹¹My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;

 my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

¹²The righteous flourish like the palm tree,

 and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.

¹³They are planted in the house of the Lord;

 they flourish in the courts of our God.

¹⁴In old age they still produce fruit;

 they are always green and full of sap,

¹⁵showing that the Lord is upright;

 he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psalm 93

¹The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty;

 the Lord is robed, he is girded with strength.

He has established the world; it shall never be moved;

 ²your throne is established from of old;

 you are from everlasting.

³The floods have lifted up, O Lord,

 the floods have lifted up their voice;

 the floods lift up their roaring.

⁴More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,

 more majestic than the waves^b of the sea,

 majestic on high is the Lord!

⁵Your decrees are very sure;

 holiness befits your house,

 O Lord, forevermore.

Psalm 94

¹O Lord, you God of vengeance,

 you God of vengeance, shine forth!

²Rise up, O judge of the earth;

 give to the proud what they deserve!

³O Lord, how long shall the wicked,

 how long shall the wicked exult?

⁴They pour out their arrogant words;

 all the evildoers boast.

⁵They crush your people, O Lord,

 and afflict your heritage.

⁶They kill the widow and the stranger,

 they murder the orphan,

⁷and they say, “The Lord does not see;

 the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

⁸Understand, O dullest of the people;

 fools, when will you be wise?

⁹He who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

¹⁰He who disciplines the nations,

he who teaches knowledge to humankind,

 does he not chastise?

¹¹The Lord knows our thoughts,^a

 that they are but an empty breath.

¹²Happy are those whom you discipline, O Lord,

 and whom you teach out of your law,

¹³giving them respite from days of trouble,

 until a pit is dug for the wicked.

¹⁴For the Lord will not forsake his people;

 he will not abandon his heritage;

¹⁵for justice will return to the righteous,

 and all the upright in heart will follow it.

¹⁶Who rises up for me against the wicked?

 Who stands up for me against evildoers?

¹⁷If the Lord had not been my help,

 my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence.

¹⁸When I thought, “My foot is slipping,”

 your steadfast love, O Lord, held me up.

¹⁹When the cares of my heart are many,

 your consolations cheer my soul.

²⁰Can wicked rulers be allied with you,

 those who contrive mischief by statute?

²¹They band together against the life of the righteous,

 and condemn the innocent to death.

²²But the Lord has become my stronghold,

 and my God the rock of my refuge.

²³He will repay them for their iniquity

 and wipe them out for their wickedness;

 the Lord our God will wipe them out.

Psalm 95

¹O come, let us sing to the Lord;

 let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!

²Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving;

 let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

³For the Lord is a great God,

 and a great King above all gods.

⁴In his hand are the depths of the earth;

 the heights of the mountains are his also.

⁵The sea is his, for he made it,

 and the dry land, which his hands have formed.

⁶O come, let us worship and bow down,

 let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker!

⁷For he is our God,

 and we are the people of his pasture,

 and the sheep of his hand.

O that today you would listen to his voice!

 ⁸Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

 as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

⁹when your ancestors tested me,

 and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

¹⁰For forty years I loathed that generation

 and said, “They are a people whose hearts go astray,

 and they do not regard my ways.”

¹¹Therefore in my anger I swore,

 “They shall not enter my rest.”

Psalm 96

¹O sing to the Lord a new song;

 sing to the Lord, all the earth.

²Sing to the Lord, bless his name;

 tell of his salvation from day to day.

³Declare his glory among the nations,

 his marvelous works among all the peoples.

⁴For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

 he is to be revered above all gods.

⁵For all the gods of the peoples are idols,

 but the Lord made the heavens.

⁶Honor and majesty are before him;

 strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

⁷Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,

 ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.

⁸Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;

 bring an offering, and come into his courts.

⁹Worship the Lord in holy splendor;

 tremble before him, all the earth.

¹⁰Say among the nations, “The Lord is king!

 The world is firmly established; it shall never be moved.

 He will judge the peoples with equity.”

¹¹Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;

 let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

 ¹²let the field exult, and everything in it.

Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy

 ¹³before the Lord; for he is coming,

 for he is coming to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

 and the peoples with his truth.

Psalm 97

¹The Lord is king! Let the earth rejoice;

 let the many coastlands be glad!

²Clouds and thick darkness are all around him;

 righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

³Fire goes before him,

 and consumes his adversaries on every side.

⁴His lightnings light up the world;

 the earth sees and trembles.

⁵The mountains melt like wax before the Lord,

 before the Lord of all the earth.

⁶The heavens proclaim his righteousness;

 and all the peoples behold his glory.

⁷All worshipers of images are put to shame,

 those who make their boast in worthless idols;

 all gods bow down before him.

⁸Zion hears and is glad,

 and the towns^a of Judah rejoice,

 because of your judgments, O God.

⁹For you, O Lord, are most high over all the earth;

 you are exalted far above all gods.

¹⁰The Lord loves those who hate^b evil;

 he guards the lives of his faithful;

 he rescues them from the hand of the wicked.

¹¹Light dawns^c for the righteous,

 and joy for the upright in heart.

¹²Rejoice in the Lord, O you righteous,

 and give thanks to his holy name!

Psalm 98

A Psalm.

¹O sing to the Lord a new song,

 for he has done marvelous things.

His right hand and his holy arm

 have gotten him victory.

²The Lord has made known his victory;

 he has revealed his vindication in the sight of the nations.

³He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness

 to the house of Israel.

All the ends of the earth have seen

 the victory of our God.

⁴Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth;

 break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

⁵Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre,

 with the lyre and the sound of melody.

⁶With trumpets and the sound of the horn

 make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord.

⁷Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;

 the world and those who live in it.

⁸Let the floods clap their hands;

 let the hills sing together for joy

⁹at the presence of the Lord, for he is coming

 to judge the earth.

He will judge the world with righteousness,

 and the peoples with equity.

Psalm 99

¹The Lord is king; let the peoples tremble!

 He sits enthroned upon the cherubim; let the earth quake!

²The Lord is great in Zion;

 he is exalted over all the peoples.

³Let them praise your great and awesome name.

 Holy is he!

⁴Mighty King,^a lover of justice,

 you have established equity;

you have executed justice

 and righteousness in Jacob.

⁵Extol the Lord our God;

 worship at his footstool.

 Holy is he!

⁶Moses and Aaron were among his priests,

 Samuel also was among those who called on his name.

 They cried to the Lord, and he answered them.

⁷He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;

 they kept his decrees,

 and the statutes that he gave them.

⁸O Lord our God, you answered them;

 you were a forgiving God to them,

 but an avenger of their wrongdoings.

⁹Extol the Lord our God,

 and worship at his holy mountain;

 for the Lord our God is holy.

Psalm 100

A Psalm of thanksgiving.

¹Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth.

 ²Worship the Lord with gladness;

 come into his presence with singing.

³Know that the Lord is God.

 It is he that made us, and we are his;^b

 we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

⁴Enter his gates with thanksgiving,

 and his courts with praise.

 Give thanks to him, bless his name.

⁵For the Lord is good;

 his steadfast love endures forever,

 and his faithfulness to all generations.

Psalm 101

Of David. A Psalm.

¹I will sing of loyalty and of justice;

 to you, O Lord, I will sing.

²I will study the way that is blameless.

 When shall I attain it?

I will walk with integrity of heart

 within my house;

³I will not set before my eyes

 anything that is base.

I hate the work of those who fall away;

 it shall not cling to me.

⁴Perverseness of heart shall be far from me;

 I will know nothing of evil.

⁵One who secretly slanders a neighbor

 I will destroy.

A haughty look and an arrogant heart

 I will not tolerate.

⁶I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,

 so that they may live with me;

whoever walks in the way that is blameless

 shall minister to me.

⁷No one who practices deceit

 shall remain in my house;

no one who utters lies

 shall continue in my presence.

⁸Morning by morning I will destroy

 all the wicked in the land,

cutting off all evildoers

 from the city of the Lord.

Psalm 102

A prayer of one afflicted, when faint and pleading before the Lord.

¹Hear my prayer, O Lord;

 let my cry come to you.

²Do not hide your face from me

 in the day of my distress.

Incline your ear to me;

 answer me speedily in the day when I call.

³For my days pass away like smoke,

 and my bones burn like a furnace.

⁴My heart is stricken and withered like grass;

 I am too wasted to eat my bread.

⁵Because of my loud groaning

 my bones cling to my skin.

⁶I am like an owl of the wilderness,

 like a little owl of the waste places.

⁷I lie awake;

 I am like a lonely bird on the housetop.

⁸All day long my enemies taunt me;

 those who deride me use my name for a curse.

⁹For I eat ashes like bread,

 and mingle tears with my drink,

¹⁰because of your indignation and anger;

 for you have lifted me up and thrown me aside.

¹¹My days are like an evening shadow;

 I wither away like grass.

¹²But you, O Lord, are enthroned forever;

 your name endures to all generations.

¹³You will rise up and have compassion on Zion,

 for it is time to favor it;

 the appointed time has come.

¹⁴For your servants hold its stones dear,

 and have pity on its dust.

¹⁵The nations will fear the name of the Lord,

 and all the kings of the earth your glory.

¹⁶For the Lord will build up Zion;

 he will appear in his glory.

¹⁷He will regard the prayer of the destitute,

 and will not despise their prayer.

¹⁸Let this be recorded for a generation to come,

 so that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord:

¹⁹that he looked down from his holy height,

 from heaven the Lord looked at the earth,

²⁰to hear the groans of the prisoners,

 to set free those who were doomed to die;

²¹so that the name of the Lord may be declared in Zion,

 and his praise in Jerusalem,

²²when peoples gather together,

 and kingdoms, to worship the Lord.

²³He has broken my strength in midcourse;

 he has shortened my days.

²⁴“O my God,” I say, “do not take me away

 at the midpoint of my life,

you whose years endure

 throughout all generations.”

²⁵Long ago you laid the foundation of the earth,

 and the heavens are the work of your hands.

²⁶They will perish, but you endure;

 they will all wear out like a garment.

You change them like clothing, and they pass away;

 ²⁷but you are the same, and your years have no end.

²⁸The children of your servants shall live secure;

 their offspring shall be established in your presence.

Psalm 103

Of David.

¹Bless the Lord, O my soul,

 and all that is within me,

 bless his holy name.

²Bless the Lord, O my soul,

 and do not forget all his benefits—

³who forgives all your iniquity,

 who heals all your diseases,

⁴who redeems your life from the Pit,

 who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

⁵who satisfies you with good as long as you live^a

 so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

⁶The Lord works vindication

 and justice for all who are oppressed.

⁷He made known his ways to Moses,

 his acts to the people of Israel.

⁸The Lord is merciful and gracious,

 slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

⁹He will not always accuse,

 nor will he keep his anger forever.

¹⁰He does not deal with us according to our sins,

 nor repay us according to our iniquities.

¹¹For as the heavens are high above the earth,

 so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

¹²as far as the east is from the west,

 so far he removes our transgressions from us.

¹³As a father has compassion for his children,

 so the Lord has compassion for those who fear him.

¹⁴For he knows how we were made;

 he remembers that we are dust.

¹⁵As for mortals, their days are like grass;

 they flourish like a flower of the field;

¹⁶for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,

 and its place knows it no more.

¹⁷But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting

 on those who fear him,

 and his righteousness to children’s children,

¹⁸to those who keep his covenant

 and remember to do his commandments.

¹⁹The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,

 and his kingdom rules over all.

²⁰Bless the Lord, O you his angels,

 you mighty ones who do his bidding,

 obedient to his spoken word.

²¹Bless the Lord, all his hosts,

 his ministers that do his will.

²²Bless the Lord, all his works,

 in all places of his dominion.

Bless the Lord, O my soul.

Psalm 104

¹Bless the Lord, O my soul.

 O Lord my God, you are very great.

You are clothed with honor and majesty,

 ²wrapped in light as with a garment.

You stretch out the heavens like a tent,

 ³you set the beams of your^a chambers on the waters,

you make the clouds your^a chariot,

 you ride on the wings of the wind,

⁴you make the winds your^a messengers,

 fire and flame your^a ministers.

⁵You set the earth on its foundations,

 so that it shall never be shaken.

⁶You cover it with the deep as with a garment;

 the waters stood above the mountains.

⁷At your rebuke they flee;

 at the sound of your thunder they take to flight.

⁸They rose up to the mountains, ran down to the valleys

 to the place that you appointed for them.

⁹You set a boundary that they may not pass,

 so that they might not again cover the earth.

¹⁰You make springs gush forth in the valleys;

 they flow between the hills,

¹¹giving drink to every wild animal;

 the wild asses quench their thirst.

¹²By the streams^b the birds of the air have their habitation;

 they sing among the branches.

¹³From your lofty abode you water the mountains;

 the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your work.

¹⁴You cause the grass to grow for the cattle,

 and plants for people to use,^a

to bring forth food from the earth,

 ¹⁵and wine to gladden the human heart,

oil to make the face shine,

 and bread to strengthen the human heart.

¹⁶The trees of the Lord are watered abundantly,

 the cedars of Lebanon that he planted.

¹⁷In them the birds build their nests;

 the stork has its home in the fir trees.

¹⁸The high mountains are for the wild goats;

 the rocks are a refuge for the coneys.

¹⁹You have made the moon to mark the seasons;

 the sun knows its time for setting.

²⁰You make darkness, and it is night,

 when all the animals of the forest come creeping out.

²¹The young lions roar for their prey,

 seeking their food from God.

²²When the sun rises, they withdraw

 and lie down in their dens.

²³People go out to their work

 and to their labor until the evening.

²⁴O Lord, how manifold are your works!

 In wisdom you have made them all;

 the earth is full of your creatures.

²⁵Yonder is the sea, great and wide,

 creeping things innumerable are there,

 living things both small and great.

²⁶There go the ships,

 and Leviathan that you formed to sport in it.

²⁷These all look to you

 to give them their food in due season;

²⁸when you give to them, they gather it up;

 when you open your hand, they are filled with good things.

²⁹When you hide your face, they are dismayed;

 when you take away their breath, they die

 and return to their dust.

³⁰When you send forth your spirit,^b they are created;

 and you renew the face of the ground.

³¹May the glory of the Lord endure forever;

 may the Lord rejoice in his works—

³²who looks on the earth and it trembles,

 who touches the mountains and they smoke.

³³I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;

 I will sing praise to my God while I have being.

³⁴May my meditation be pleasing to him,

 for I rejoice in the Lord.

³⁵Let sinners be consumed from the earth,

 and let the wicked be no more.

Bless the Lord, O my soul.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 105

¹O give thanks to the Lord, call on his name,

 make known his deeds among the peoples.

²Sing to him, sing praises to him;

 tell of all his wonderful works.

³Glory in his holy name;

 let the hearts of those who seek the Lord rejoice.

⁴Seek the Lord and his strength;

 seek his presence continually.

⁵Remember the wonderful works he has done,

 his miracles, and the judgments he has uttered,

⁶O offspring of his servant Abraham,^a

 children of Jacob, his chosen ones.

⁷He is the Lord our God;

 his judgments are in all the earth.

⁸He is mindful of his covenant forever,

 of the word that he commanded, for a thousand generations,

⁹the covenant that he made with Abraham,

 his sworn promise to Isaac,

¹⁰which he confirmed to Jacob as a statute,

 to Israel as an everlasting covenant,

¹¹saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan

 as your portion for an inheritance.”

¹²When they were few in number,

 of little account, and strangers in it,

¹³wandering from nation to nation,

 from one kingdom to another people,

¹⁴he allowed no one to oppress them;

 he rebuked kings on their account,

¹⁵saying, “Do not touch my anointed ones;

 do my prophets no harm.”

¹⁶When he summoned famine against the land,

 and broke every staff of bread,

¹⁷he had sent a man ahead of them,

 Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

¹⁸His feet were hurt with fetters,

 his neck was put in a collar of iron;

¹⁹until what he had said came to pass,

 the word of the Lord kept testing him.

²⁰The king sent and released him;

 the ruler of the peoples set him free.

²¹He made him lord of his house,

 and ruler of all his possessions,

²²to instruct^b his officials at his pleasure,

 and to teach his elders wisdom.

²³Then Israel came to Egypt;

 Jacob lived as an alien in the land of Ham.

²⁴And the Lord made his people very fruitful,

 and made them stronger than their foes,

²⁵whose hearts he then turned to hate his people,

 to deal craftily with his servants.

²⁶He sent his servant Moses,

 and Aaron whom he had chosen.

²⁷They performed his signs among them,

 and miracles in the land of Ham.

²⁸He sent darkness, and made the land dark;

 they rebelled^c against his words.

²⁹He turned their waters into blood,

 and caused their fish to die.

³⁰Their land swarmed with frogs,

 even in the chambers of their kings.

³¹He spoke, and there came swarms of flies,

 and gnats throughout their country.

³²He gave them hail for rain,

and lightning that flashed through their land.

³³He struck their vines and fig trees,

 and shattered the trees of their country.

³⁴He spoke, and the locusts came,

 and young locusts without number;

³⁵they devoured all the vegetation in their land,

 and ate up the fruit of their ground.

³⁶He struck down all the firstborn in their land,

 the first issue of all their strength.

³⁷Then he brought Israel^d out with silver and gold,

 and there was no one among their tribes who stumbled.

³⁸Egypt was glad when they departed,

 for dread of them had fallen upon it.

³⁹He spread a cloud for a covering,

 and fire to give light by night.

⁴⁰They asked, and he brought quails,

 and gave them food from heaven in abundance.

⁴¹He opened the rock, and water gushed out;

 it flowed through the desert like a river.

⁴²For he remembered his holy promise,

 and Abraham, his servant.

⁴³So he brought his people out with joy,

 his chosen ones with singing.

⁴⁴He gave them the lands of the nations,

 and they took possession of the wealth of the peoples,

⁴⁵that they might keep his statutes

 and observe his laws.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 106

¹Praise the Lord!

 O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

 for his steadfast love endures forever.

²Who can utter the mighty doings of the Lord,

 or declare all his praise?

³Happy are those who observe justice,

 who do righteousness at all times.

⁴Remember me, O Lord, when you show favor to your people;

 help me when you deliver them;

⁵that I may see the prosperity of your chosen ones,

 that I may rejoice in the gladness of your nation,

 that I may glory in your heritage.

⁶Both we and our ancestors have sinned;

 we have committed iniquity, have done wickedly.

⁷Our ancestors, when they were in Egypt,

 did not consider your wonderful works;

they did not remember the abundance of your steadfast love,

 but rebelled against the Most High^a at the Red Sea.^b

⁸Yet he saved them for his name’s sake,

 so that he might make known his mighty power.

⁹He rebuked the Red Sea,^b and it became dry;

 he led them through the deep as through a desert.

¹⁰So he saved them from the hand of the foe,

 and delivered them from the hand of the enemy.

¹¹The waters covered their adversaries;

 not one of them was left.

¹²Then they believed his words;

 they sang his praise.

¹³But they soon forgot his works;

 they did not wait for his counsel.

¹⁴But they had a wanton craving in the wilderness,

 and put God to the test in the desert;

¹⁵he gave them what they asked,

 but sent a wasting disease among them.

¹⁶They were jealous of Moses in the camp,

 and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord.

¹⁷The earth opened and swallowed up Dathan,

 and covered the faction of Abiram.

¹⁸Fire also broke out in their company;

 the flame burned up the wicked.

¹⁹They made a calf at Horeb

 and worshiped a cast image.

²⁰They exchanged the glory of God^a

 for the image of an ox that eats grass.

²¹They forgot God, their Savior,

 who had done great things in Egypt,

²²wondrous works in the land of Ham,

 and awesome deeds by the Red Sea.^b

²³Therefore he said he would destroy them—

 had not Moses, his chosen one,

stood in the breach before him,

 to turn away his wrath from destroying them.

²⁴Then they despised the pleasant land,

 having no faith in his promise.

²⁵They grumbled in their tents,

 and did not obey the voice of the Lord.

²⁶Therefore he raised his hand and swore to them

 that he would make them fall in the wilderness,

²⁷and would disperse^c their descendants among the nations,

 scattering them over the lands.

²⁸Then they attached themselves to the Baal of Peor,

 and ate sacrifices offered to the dead;

²⁹they provoked the Lord to anger with their deeds,

 and a plague broke out among them.

³⁰Then Phinehas stood up and interceded,

 and the plague was stopped.

³¹And that has been reckoned to him as righteousness

 from generation to generation forever.

³²They angered the Lord^d at the waters of Meribah,

 and it went ill with Moses on their account;

³³for they made his spirit bitter,

 and he spoke words that were rash.

³⁴They did not destroy the peoples,

 as the Lord commanded them,

³⁵but they mingled with the nations

 and learned to do as they did.

³⁶They served their idols,

 which became a snare to them.

³⁷They sacrificed their sons

 and their daughters to the demons;

³⁸they poured out innocent blood,

 the blood of their sons and daughters,

whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan;

 and the land was polluted with blood.

³⁹Thus they became unclean by their acts,

 and prostituted themselves in their doings.

⁴⁰Then the anger of the Lord was kindled against his people,

 and he abhorred his heritage;

⁴¹he gave them into the hand of the nations,

 so that those who hated them ruled over them.

⁴²Their enemies oppressed them,

 and they were brought into subjection under their power.

⁴³Many times he delivered them,

 but they were rebellious in their purposes,

 and were brought low through their iniquity.

⁴⁴Nevertheless he regarded their distress

 when he heard their cry.

⁴⁵For their sake he remembered his covenant,

 and showed compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love.

⁴⁶He caused them to be pitied

 by all who held them captive.

⁴⁷Save us, O Lord our God,

 and gather us from among the nations,

that we may give thanks to your holy name

 and glory in your praise.

⁴⁸Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,

 from everlasting to everlasting.

And let all the people say, “Amen.”

 Praise the Lord!

Book V Psalms 107–150

Psalm 107

¹O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

 for his steadfast love endures forever.

²Let the redeemed of the Lord say so,

 those he redeemed from trouble

³and gathered in from the lands,

 from the east and from the west,

 from the north and from the south.^a

⁴Some wandered in desert wastes,

 finding no way to an inhabited town;

⁵hungry and thirsty,

 their soul fainted within them.

⁶Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

 and he delivered them from their distress;

⁷he led them by a straight way,

 until they reached an inhabited town.

⁸Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

 for his wonderful works to humankind.

⁹For he satisfies the thirsty,

 and the hungry he fills with good things.

¹⁰Some sat in darkness and in gloom,

 prisoners in misery and in irons,

¹¹for they had rebelled against the words of God,

 and spurned the counsel of the Most High.

¹²Their hearts were bowed down with hard labor;

 they fell down, with no one to help.

¹³Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

 and he saved them from their distress;

¹⁴he brought them out of darkness and gloom,

 and broke their bonds asunder.

¹⁵Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

 for his wonderful works to humankind.

¹⁶For he shatters the doors of bronze,

 and cuts in two the bars of iron.

¹⁷Some were sick^a through their sinful ways,

 and because of their iniquities endured affliction;

¹⁸they loathed any kind of food,

 and they drew near to the gates of death.

¹⁹Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

 and he saved them from their distress;

²⁰he sent out his word and healed them,

 and delivered them from destruction.

²¹Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

 for his wonderful works to humankind.

²²And let them offer thanksgiving sacrifices,

 and tell of his deeds with songs of joy.

²³Some went down to the sea in ships,

 doing business on the mighty waters;

²⁴they saw the deeds of the Lord,

 his wondrous works in the deep.

²⁵For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,

 which lifted up the waves of the sea.

²⁶They mounted up to heaven, they went down to the depths;

 their courage melted away in their calamity;

²⁷they reeled and staggered like drunkards,

 and were at their wits’ end.

²⁸Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,

 and he brought them out from their distress;

²⁹he made the storm be still,

 and the waves of the sea were hushed.

³⁰Then they were glad because they had quiet,

 and he brought them to their desired haven.

³¹Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,

 for his wonderful works to humankind.

³²Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,

 and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

³³He turns rivers into a desert,

 springs of water into thirsty ground,

³⁴a fruitful land into a salty waste,

 because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.

³⁵He turns a desert into pools of water,

 a parched land into springs of water.

³⁶And there he lets the hungry live,

 and they establish a town to live in;

³⁷they sow fields, and plant vineyards,

 and get a fruitful yield.

³⁸By his blessing they multiply greatly,

 and he does not let their cattle decrease.

³⁹When they are diminished and brought low

 through oppression, trouble, and sorrow,

⁴⁰he pours contempt on princes

 and makes them wander in trackless wastes;

⁴¹but he raises up the needy out of distress,

 and makes their families like flocks.

⁴²The upright see it and are glad;

 and all wickedness stops its mouth.

⁴³Let those who are wise give heed to these things,

 and consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

Psalm 108

A Song. A Psalm of David.

¹My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast;^b

 I will sing and make melody.

 Awake, my soul!^c

²Awake, O harp and lyre!

 I will awake the dawn.

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

 and I will sing praises to you among the nations.

⁴For your steadfast love is higher than the heavens,

 and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

⁵Be exalted, O God, above the heavens,

 and let your glory be over all the earth.

⁶Give victory with your right hand, and answer me,

 so that those whom you love may be rescued.

⁷God has promised in his sanctuary:^a

 “With exultation I will divide up Shechem,

 and portion out the Vale of Succoth.

⁸Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;

 Ephraim is my helmet;

 Judah is my scepter.

⁹Moab is my washbasin;

 on Edom I hurl my shoe;

 over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

¹⁰Who will bring me to the fortified city?

 Who will lead me to Edom?

¹¹Have you not rejected us, O God?

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

¹²O grant us help against the foe,

 for human help is worthless.

¹³With God we shall do valiantly;

 it is he who will tread down our foes.

Psalm 109

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.

¹Do not be silent, O God of my praise.

²For wicked and deceitful mouths are opened against me,

 speaking against me with lying tongues.

³They beset me with words of hate,

 and attack me without cause.

⁴In return for my love they accuse me,

 even while I make prayer for them.^b

⁵So they reward me evil for good,

 and hatred for my love.

⁶They say,^c “Appoint a wicked man against him;

 let an accuser stand on his right.

⁷When he is tried, let him be found guilty;

 let his prayer be counted as sin.

⁸May his days be few;

 may another seize his position.

⁹May his children be orphans,

 and his wife a widow.

¹⁰May his children wander about and beg;

 may they be driven out of^d the ruins they inhabit.

¹¹May the creditor seize all that he has;

 may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil.

¹²May there be no one to do him a kindness,

 nor anyone to pity his orphaned children.

¹³May his posterity be cut off;

 may his name be blotted out in the second generation.

¹⁴May the iniquity of his father^e be remembered before the Lord,

 and do not let the sin of his mother be blotted out.

¹⁵Let them be before the Lord continually,

 and may his^a memory be cut off from the earth.

¹⁶For he did not remember to show kindness,

 but pursued the poor and needy

 and the brokenhearted to their death.

¹⁷He loved to curse; let curses come on him.

 He did not like blessing; may it be far from him.

¹⁸He clothed himself with cursing as his coat,

 may it soak into his body like water,

 like oil into his bones.

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

 like a belt that he wears every day.”

²⁰May that be the reward of my accusers from the Lord,

 of those who speak evil against my life.

²¹But you, O Lord my Lord,

 act on my behalf for your name’s sake;

 because your steadfast love is good, deliver me.

²²For I am poor and needy,

 and my heart is pierced within me.

²³I am gone like a shadow at evening;

 I am shaken off like a locust.

²⁴My knees are weak through fasting;

 my body has become gaunt.

²⁵I am an object of scorn to my accusers;

 when they see me, they shake their heads.

²⁶Help me, O Lord my God!

 Save me according to your steadfast love.

²⁷Let them know that this is your hand;

 you, O Lord, have done it.

²⁸Let them curse, but you will bless.

 Let my assailants be put to shame;^b may your servant be glad.

²⁹May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;

 may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a mantle.

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

 I will praise him in the midst of the throng.

³¹For he stands at the right hand of the needy,

 to save them from those who would condemn them to death.

Psalm 110

Of David. A Psalm.

¹The Lord says to my lord,

 “Sit at my right hand

until I make your enemies your footstool.”

²The Lord sends out from Zion

 your mighty scepter.

 Rule in the midst of your foes.

³Your people will offer themselves willingly

 on the day you lead your forces

 on the holy mountains.^c

From the womb of the morning,

 like dew, your youth^d will come to you.

⁴The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind,

 “You are a priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.”^a

⁵The Lord is at your right hand;

 he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.

⁶He will execute judgment among the nations,

 filling them with corpses;

he will shatter heads

 over the wide earth.

⁷He will drink from the stream by the path;

 therefore he will lift up his head.

Psalm 111

¹Praise the Lord!

I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,

 in the company of the upright, in the congregation.

²Great are the works of the Lord,

 studied by all who delight in them.

³Full of honor and majesty is his work,

 and his righteousness endures forever.

⁴He has gained renown by his wonderful deeds;

 the Lord is gracious and merciful.

⁵He provides food for those who fear him;

 he is ever mindful of his covenant.

⁶He has shown his people the power of his works,

 in giving them the heritage of the nations.

⁷The works of his hands are faithful and just;

 all his precepts are trustworthy.

⁸They are established forever and ever,

 to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness.

⁹He sent redemption to his people;

 he has commanded his covenant forever.

 Holy and awesome is his name.

¹⁰The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;

 all those who practice it^b have a good understanding.

 His praise endures forever.

Psalm 112

¹Praise the Lord!

 Happy are those who fear the Lord,

 who greatly delight in his commandments.

²Their descendants will be mighty in the land;

 the generation of the upright will be blessed.

³Wealth and riches are in their houses,

 and their righteousness endures forever.

⁴They rise in the darkness as a light for the upright;

 they are gracious, merciful, and righteous.

⁵It is well with those who deal generously and lend,

 who conduct their affairs with justice.

⁶For the righteous will never be moved;

 they will be remembered forever.

⁷They are not afraid of evil tidings;

 their hearts are firm, secure in the Lord.

⁸Their hearts are steady, they will not be afraid;

 in the end they will look in triumph on their foes.

⁹They have distributed freely, they have given to the poor;

 their righteousness endures forever;

 their horn is exalted in honor.

¹⁰The wicked see it and are angry;

 they gnash their teeth and melt away;

 the desire of the wicked comes to nothing.

Psalm 113

¹Praise the Lord!

Praise, O servants of the Lord;

 praise the name of the Lord.

²Blessed be the name of the Lord

 from this time on and forevermore.

³From the rising of the sun to its setting

 the name of the Lord is to be praised.

⁴The Lord is high above all nations,

 and his glory above the heavens.

⁵Who is like the Lord our God,

 who is seated on high,

⁶who looks far down

 on the heavens and the earth?

⁷He raises the poor from the dust,

 and lifts the needy from the ash heap,

⁸to make them sit with princes,

 with the princes of his people.

⁹He gives the barren woman a home,

 making her the joyous mother of children.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 114

¹When Israel went out from Egypt,

 the house of Jacob from a people of strange language,

²Judah became God’s^a sanctuary,

 Israel his dominion.

³The sea looked and fled;

 Jordan turned back.

⁴The mountains skipped like rams,

 the hills like lambs.

⁵Why is it, O sea, that you flee?

 O Jordan, that you turn back?

⁶O mountains, that you skip like rams?

 O hills, like lambs?

⁷Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,

 at the presence of the God of Jacob,

⁸who turns the rock into a pool of water,

 the flint into a spring of water.

Psalm 115

¹Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory,

 for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness.

²Why should the nations say,

 “Where is their God?”

³Our God is in the heavens;

 he does whatever he pleases.

⁴Their idols are silver and gold,

 the work of human hands.

⁵They have mouths, but do not speak;

 eyes, but do not see.

⁶They have ears, but do not hear;

 noses, but do not smell.

⁷They have hands, but do not feel;

 feet, but do not walk;

 they make no sound in their throats.

⁸Those who make them are like them;

 so are all who trust in them.

⁹O Israel, trust in the Lord!

 He is their help and their shield.

¹⁰O house of Aaron, trust in the Lord!

 He is their help and their shield.

¹¹You who fear the Lord, trust in the Lord!

 He is their help and their shield.

¹²The Lord has been mindful of us; he will bless us;

 he will bless the house of Israel;

 he will bless the house of Aaron;

¹³he will bless those who fear the Lord,

 both small and great.

¹⁴May the Lord give you increase,

 both you and your children.

¹⁵May you be blessed by the Lord,

 who made heaven and earth.

¹⁶The heavens are the Lord’s heavens,

 but the earth he has given to human beings.

¹⁷The dead do not praise the Lord,

 nor do any that go down into silence.

¹⁸But we will bless the Lord

 from this time on and forevermore.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 116

¹I love the Lord, because he has heard

 my voice and my supplications.

²Because he inclined his ear to me,

 therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

³The snares of death encompassed me;

 the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me;

 I suffered distress and anguish.

⁴Then I called on the name of the Lord:

 “O Lord, I pray, save my life!”

⁵Gracious is the Lord, and righteous;

 our God is merciful.

⁶The Lord protects the simple;

 when I was brought low, he saved me.

⁷Return, O my soul, to your rest,

 for the Lord has dealt bountifully with you.

⁸For you have delivered my soul from death,

 my eyes from tears,

 my feet from stumbling.

⁹I walk before the Lord

 in the land of the living.

¹⁰I kept my faith, even when I said,

 “I am greatly afflicted”;

¹¹I said in my consternation,

 “Everyone is a liar.”

¹²What shall I return to the Lord

 for all his bounty to me?

¹³I will lift up the cup of salvation

 and call on the name of the Lord,

¹⁴I will pay my vows to the Lord

 in the presence of all his people.

¹⁵Precious in the sight of the Lord

 is the death of his faithful ones.

¹⁶O Lord, I am your servant;

 I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.

 You have loosed my bonds.

¹⁷I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice

 and call on the name of the Lord.

¹⁸I will pay my vows to the Lord

 in the presence of all his people,

¹⁹in the courts of the house of the Lord,

 in your midst, O Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 117

¹Praise the Lord, all you nations!

 Extol him, all you peoples!

²For great is his steadfast love toward us,

 and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever. Praise the Lord!

Psalm 118

¹O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;

 his steadfast love endures forever!

²Let Israel say,

 “His steadfast love endures forever.”

³Let the house of Aaron say,

 “His steadfast love endures forever.”

⁴Let those who fear the Lord say,

 “His steadfast love endures forever.”

⁵Out of my distress I called on the Lord;

 the Lord answered me and set me in a broad place.

⁶With the Lord on my side I do not fear.

 What can mortals do to me?

⁷The Lord is on my side to help me;

 I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

⁸It is better to take refuge in the Lord

 than to put confidence in mortals.

⁹It is better to take refuge in the Lord

 than to put confidence in princes.

¹⁰All nations surrounded me;

 in the name of the Lord I cut them off!

¹¹They surrounded me, surrounded me on every side;

 in the name of the Lord I cut them off!

¹²They surrounded me like bees;

 they blazed^a like a fire of thorns;

 in the name of the Lord I cut them off!

¹³I was pushed hard,^b so that I was falling,

 but the Lord helped me.

¹⁴The Lord is my strength and my might;

 he has become my salvation.

¹⁵There are glad songs of victory in the tents of the righteous:

“The right hand of the Lord does valiantly;

 ¹⁶the right hand of the Lord is exalted;

 the right hand of the Lord does valiantly.”

¹⁷I shall not die, but I shall live,

 and recount the deeds of the Lord.

¹⁸The Lord has punished me severely,

 but he did not give me over to death.

¹⁹Open to me the gates of righteousness,

 that I may enter through them

 and give thanks to the Lord.

²⁰This is the gate of the Lord;

 the righteous shall enter through it.

²¹I thank you that you have answered me

 and have become my salvation.

²²The stone that the builders rejected

 has become the chief cornerstone.

²³This is the Lord’s doing;

 it is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴This is the day that the Lord has made;

 let us rejoice and be glad in it.^c

²⁵Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!

 O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!

²⁶Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.^d

 We bless you from the house of the Lord.

²⁷The Lord is God,

 and he has given us light.

Bind the festal procession with branches,

 up to the horns of the altar.^e

²⁸You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;

 you are my God, I will extol you.

²⁹O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

 for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 119

¹Happy are those whose way is blameless,

 who walk in the law of the Lord.

²Happy are those who keep his decrees,

 who seek him with their whole heart,

³who also do no wrong,

 but walk in his ways.

⁴You have commanded your precepts

 to be kept diligently.

⁵O that my ways may be steadfast

 in keeping your statutes!

⁶Then I shall not be put to shame,

 having my eyes fixed on all your commandments.

⁷I will praise you with an upright heart,

 when I learn your righteous ordinances.

⁸I will observe your statutes;

 do not utterly forsake me.

⁹How can young people keep their way pure?

 By guarding it according to your word.

¹⁰With my whole heart I seek you;

 do not let me stray from your commandments.

¹¹I treasure your word in my heart,

 so that I may not sin against you.

¹²Blessed are you, O Lord;

 teach me your statutes.

¹³With my lips I declare

 all the ordinances of your mouth.

¹⁴I delight in the way of your decrees

 as much as in all riches.

¹⁵I will meditate on your precepts,

 and fix my eyes on your ways.

¹⁶I will delight in your statutes;

 I will not forget your word.

¹⁷Deal bountifully with your servant,

 so that I may live and observe your word.

¹⁸Open my eyes, so that I may behold

 wondrous things out of your law.

¹⁹I live as an alien in the land;

 do not hide your commandments from me.

²⁰My soul is consumed with longing

 for your ordinances at all times.

²¹You rebuke the insolent, accursed ones,

 who wander from your commandments;

²²take away from me their scorn and contempt,

 for I have kept your decrees.

²³Even though princes sit plotting against me,

 your servant will meditate on your statutes.

²⁴Your decrees are my delight,

 they are my counselors.

²⁵My soul clings to the dust;

 revive me according to your word.

²⁶When I told of my ways, you answered me;

 teach me your statutes.

²⁷Make me understand the way of your precepts,

 and I will meditate on your wondrous works.

²⁸My soul melts away for sorrow;

 strengthen me according to your word.

²⁹Put false ways far from me;

 and graciously teach me your law.

³⁰I have chosen the way of faithfulness;

 I set your ordinances before me.

³¹I cling to your decrees, O Lord;

 let me not be put to shame.

³²I run the way of your commandments,

 for you enlarge my understanding.

³³Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes,

 and I will observe it to the end.

³⁴Give me understanding, that I may keep your law

 and observe it with my whole heart.

³⁵Lead me in the path of your commandments,

 for I delight in it.

³⁶Turn my heart to your decrees,

 and not to selfish gain.

³⁷Turn my eyes from looking at vanities;

 give me life in your ways.

³⁸Confirm to your servant your promise,

 which is for those who fear you.

³⁹Turn away the disgrace that I dread,

 for your ordinances are good.

⁴⁰See, I have longed for your precepts;

 in your righteousness give me life.

⁴¹Let your steadfast love come to me, O Lord,

 your salvation according to your promise.

⁴²Then I shall have an answer for those who taunt me,

 for I trust in your word.

⁴³Do not take the word of truth utterly out of my mouth,

 for my hope is in your ordinances.

⁴⁴I will keep your law continually,

 forever and ever.

⁴⁵I shall walk at liberty,

 for I have sought your precepts.

⁴⁶I will also speak of your decrees before kings,

 and shall not be put to shame;

⁴⁷I find my delight in your commandments,

 because I love them.

⁴⁸I revere your commandments, which I love,

 and I will meditate on your statutes.

⁴⁹Remember your word to your servant,

 in which you have made me hope.

⁵⁰This is my comfort in my distress,

 that your promise gives me life.

⁵¹The arrogant utterly deride me,

 but I do not turn away from your law.

⁵²When I think of your ordinances from of old,

 I take comfort, O Lord.

⁵³Hot indignation seizes me because of the wicked,

 those who forsake your law.

⁵⁴Your statutes have been my songs

 wherever I make my home.

⁵⁵I remember your name in the night, O Lord,

 and keep your law.

⁵⁶This blessing has fallen to me,

 for I have kept your precepts.

⁵⁷The Lord is my portion;

 I promise to keep your words.

⁵⁸I implore your favor with all my heart;

 be gracious to me according to your promise.

⁵⁹When I think of your ways,

 I turn my feet to your decrees;

⁶⁰I hurry and do not delay

 to keep your commandments.

⁶¹Though the cords of the wicked ensnare me,

 I do not forget your law.

⁶²At midnight I rise to praise you,

 because of your righteous ordinances.

⁶³I am a companion of all who fear you,

 of those who keep your precepts.

⁶⁴The earth, O Lord, is full of your steadfast love;

 teach me your statutes.

⁶⁵You have dealt well with your servant,

 O Lord, according to your word.

⁶⁶Teach me good judgment and knowledge,

 for I believe in your commandments.

⁶⁷Before I was humbled I went astray,

 but now I keep your word.

⁶⁸You are good and do good;

 teach me your statutes.

⁶⁹The arrogant smear me with lies,

 but with my whole heart I keep your precepts.

⁷⁰Their hearts are fat and gross,

 but I delight in your law.

⁷¹It is good for me that I was humbled,

 so that I might learn your statutes.

⁷²The law of your mouth is better to me

 than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

⁷³Your hands have made and fashioned me;

 give me understanding that I may learn your commandments.

⁷⁴Those who fear you shall see me and rejoice,

 because I have hoped in your word.

⁷⁵I know, O Lord, that your judgments are right,

 and that in faithfulness you have humbled me.

⁷⁶Let your steadfast love become my comfort

 according to your promise to your servant.

⁷⁷Let your mercy come to me, that I may live;

 for your law is my delight.

⁷⁸Let the arrogant be put to shame,

 because they have subverted me with guile;

 as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.

⁷⁹Let those who fear you turn to me,

 so that they may know your decrees.

⁸⁰May my heart be blameless in your statutes,

 so that I may not be put to shame.

⁸¹My soul languishes for your salvation;

 I hope in your word.

⁸²My eyes fail with watching for your promise;

 I ask, “When will you comfort me?”

⁸³For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke,

 yet I have not forgotten your statutes.

⁸⁴How long must your servant endure?

 When will you judge those who persecute me?

⁸⁵The arrogant have dug pitfalls for me;

 they flout your law.

⁸⁶All your commandments are enduring;

 I am persecuted without cause; help me!

⁸⁷They have almost made an end of me on earth;

 but I have not forsaken your precepts.

⁸⁸In your steadfast love spare my life,

 so that I may keep the decrees of your mouth.

⁸⁹The Lord exists forever;

 your word is firmly fixed in heaven.

⁹⁰Your faithfulness endures to all generations;

 you have established the earth, and it stands fast.

⁹¹By your appointment they stand today,

 for all things are your servants.

⁹²If your law had not been my delight,

 I would have perished in my misery.

⁹³I will never forget your precepts,

 for by them you have given me life.

⁹⁴I am yours; save me,

 for I have sought your precepts.

⁹⁵The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,

 but I consider your decrees.

⁹⁶I have seen a limit to all perfection,

 but your commandment is exceedingly broad.

⁹⁷Oh, how I love your law!

 It is my meditation all day long.

⁹⁸Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies,

 for it is always with me.

⁹⁹I have more understanding than all my teachers,

 for your decrees are my meditation.

¹⁰⁰I understand more than the aged,

 for I keep your precepts.

¹⁰¹I hold back my feet from every evil way,

 in order to keep your word.

¹⁰²I do not turn away from your ordinances,

 for you have taught me.

¹⁰³How sweet are your words to my taste,

 sweeter than honey to my mouth!

¹⁰⁴Through your precepts I get understanding;

 therefore I hate every false way.

¹⁰⁵Your word is a lamp to my feet

 and a light to my path.

¹⁰⁶I have sworn an oath and confirmed it,

 to observe your righteous ordinances.

¹⁰⁷I am severely afflicted;

 give me life, O Lord, according to your word.

¹⁰⁸Accept my offerings of praise, O Lord,

 and teach me your ordinances.

¹⁰⁹I hold my life in my hand continually,

 but I do not forget your law.

¹¹⁰The wicked have laid a snare for me,

 but I do not stray from your precepts.

¹¹¹Your decrees are my heritage forever;

 they are the joy of my heart.

¹¹²I incline my heart to perform your statutes

 forever, to the end.

¹¹³I hate the double‐minded,

 but I love your law.

¹¹⁴You are my hiding place and my shield;

 I hope in your word.

¹¹⁵Go away from me, you evildoers,

 that I may keep the commandments of my God.

¹¹⁶Uphold me according to your promise, that I may live,

 and let me not be put to shame in my hope.

¹¹⁷Hold me up, that I may be safe

 and have regard for your statutes continually.

¹¹⁸You spurn all who go astray from your statutes;

 for their cunning is in vain.

¹¹⁹All the wicked of the earth you count as dross;

 therefore I love your decrees.

¹²⁰My flesh trembles for fear of you,

 and I am afraid of your judgments.

¹²¹I have done what is just and right;

 do not leave me to my oppressors.

¹²²Guarantee your servant’s well‐being;

 do not let the godless oppress me.

¹²³My eyes fail from watching for your salvation,

 and for the fulfillment of your righteous promise.

¹²⁴Deal with your servant according to your steadfast love,

 and teach me your statutes.

¹²⁵I am your servant; give me understanding,

 so that I may know your decrees.

¹²⁶It is time for the Lord to act,

 for your law has been broken.

¹²⁷Truly I love your commandments

 more than gold, more than fine gold.

¹²⁸Truly I direct my steps by all your precepts;^a

 I hate every false way.

¹²⁹Your decrees are wonderful;

 therefore my soul keeps them.

¹³⁰The unfolding of your words gives light;

 it imparts understanding to the simple.

¹³¹With open mouth I pant,

 because I long for your commandments.

¹³²Turn to me and be gracious to me,

 as is your custom toward those who love your name.

¹³³Keep my steps steady according to your promise,

 and never let iniquity have dominion over me.

¹³⁴Redeem me from human oppression,

 that I may keep your precepts.

¹³⁵Make your face shine upon your servant,

 and teach me your statutes.

¹³⁶My eyes shed streams of tears

 because your law is not kept.

¹³⁷You are righteous, O Lord,

 and your judgments are right.

¹³⁸You have appointed your decrees in righteousness

 and in all faithfulness.

¹³⁹My zeal consumes me

 because my foes forget your words.

¹⁴⁰Your promise is well tried,

 and your servant loves it.

¹⁴¹I am small and despised,

 yet I do not forget your precepts.

¹⁴²Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,

 and your law is the truth.

¹⁴³Trouble and anguish have come upon me,

 but your commandments are my delight.

¹⁴⁴Your decrees are righteous forever;

 give me understanding that I may live.

¹⁴⁵With my whole heart I cry; answer me, O Lord.

 I will keep your statutes.

¹⁴⁶I cry to you; save me,

 that I may observe your decrees.

¹⁴⁷I rise before dawn and cry for help;

 I put my hope in your words.

¹⁴⁸My eyes are awake before each watch of the night,

 that I may meditate on your promise.

¹⁴⁹In your steadfast love hear my voice;

 O Lord, in your justice preserve my life.

¹⁵⁰Those who persecute me with evil purpose draw near;

 they are far from your law.

¹⁵¹Yet you are near, O Lord,

 and all your commandments are true.

¹⁵²Long ago I learned from your decrees

 that you have established them forever.

¹⁵³Look on my misery and rescue me,

 for I do not forget your law.

¹⁵⁴Plead my cause and redeem me;

 give me life according to your promise.

¹⁵⁵Salvation is far from the wicked,

 for they do not seek your statutes.

¹⁵⁶Great is your mercy, O Lord;

 give me life according to your justice.

¹⁵⁷Many are my persecutors and my adversaries,

 yet I do not swerve from your decrees.

¹⁵⁸I look at the faithless with disgust,

 because they do not keep your commands.

¹⁵⁹Consider how I love your precepts;

 preserve my life according to your steadfast love.

¹⁶⁰The sum of your word is truth;

 and every one of your righteous ordinances endures forever.

¹⁶¹Princes persecute me without cause,

 but my heart stands in awe of your words.

¹⁶²I rejoice at your word

 like one who finds great spoil.

¹⁶³I hate and abhor falsehood,

 but I love your law.

¹⁶⁴Seven times a day I praise you

 for your righteous ordinances.

¹⁶⁵Great peace have those who love your law;

 nothing can make them stumble.

¹⁶⁶I hope for your salvation, O Lord,

 and I fulfill your commandments.

¹⁶⁷My soul keeps your decrees;

 I love them exceedingly.

¹⁶⁸I keep your precepts and decrees,

 for all my ways are before you.

¹⁶⁹Let my cry come before you, O Lord;

 give me understanding according to your word.

¹⁷⁰Let my supplication come before you;

 deliver me according to your promise.

¹⁷¹My lips will pour forth praise,

 because you teach me your statutes.

¹⁷²My tongue will sing of your promise,

 for all your commandments are right.

¹⁷³Let your hand be ready to help me,

 for I have chosen your precepts.

¹⁷⁴I long for your salvation, O Lord,

 and your law is my delight.

¹⁷⁵Let me live that I may praise you,

 and let your ordinances help me.

¹⁷⁶I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek out your servant,

 for I do not forget your commandments.

Psalm 120

A Song of Ascents.

¹In my distress I cry to the Lord,

 that he may answer me:

²“Deliver me, O Lord,

 from lying lips,

 from a deceitful tongue.”

³What shall be given to you?

 And what more shall be done to you,

 you deceitful tongue?

⁴A warrior’s sharp arrows,

 with glowing coals of the broom tree!

⁵Woe is me, that I am an alien in Meshech,

 that I must live among the tents of Kedar.

⁶Too long have I had my dwelling

 among those who hate peace.

⁷I am for peace;

 but when I speak,

 they are for war.

Psalm 121

A Song of Ascents.

¹I lift up my eyes to the hills—

 from where will my help come?

²My help comes from the Lord,

 who made heaven and earth.

³He will not let your foot be moved;

 he who keeps you will not slumber.

⁴He who keeps Israel

 will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵The Lord is your keeper;

 the Lord is your shade at your right hand.

⁶The sun shall not strike you by day,

 nor the moon by night.

⁷The Lord will keep you from all evil;

 he will keep your life.

⁸The Lord will keep

 your going out and your coming in

 from this time on and forevermore.

Psalm 122

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

¹I was glad when they said to me,

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

²Our feet are standing

 within your gates, O Jerusalem.

³Jerusalem—built as a city

 that is bound firmly together.

⁴To it the tribes go up,

 the tribes of the Lord,

as was decreed for Israel,

 to give thanks to the name of the Lord.

⁵For there the thrones for judgment were set up,

 the thrones of the house of David.

⁶Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

 “May they prosper who love you.

⁷Peace be within your walls,

 and security within your towers.”

⁸For the sake of my relatives and friends

 I will say, “Peace be within you.”

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

 I will seek your good.

Psalm 123

A Song of Ascents.

¹To you I lift up my eyes,

 O you who are enthroned in the heavens!

²As the eyes of servants

 look to the hand of their master,

as the eyes of a maid

 to the hand of her mistress,

so our eyes look to the Lord our God,

 until he has mercy upon us.

³Have mercy upon us, O Lord, have mercy upon us,

 for we have had more than enough of contempt.

⁴Our soul has had more than its fill

 of the scorn of those who are at ease,

 of the contempt of the proud.

Psalm 124

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

¹If it had not been the Lord who was on our side

 —let Israel now say—

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

 when our enemies attacked us,

³then they would have swallowed us up alive,

 when their anger was kindled against us;

⁴then the flood would have swept us away,

 the torrent would have gone over us;

⁵then over us would have gone

 the raging waters.

⁶Blessed be the Lord,

 who has not given us

 as prey to their teeth.

⁷We have escaped like a bird

 from the snare of the fowlers;

the snare is broken,

 and we have escaped.

⁸Our help is in the name of the Lord,

 who made heaven and earth.

Psalm 125

A Song of Ascents.

¹Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion,

 which cannot be moved, but abides forever.

²As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

 so the Lord surrounds his people,

 from this time on and forevermore.

³For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest

 on the land allotted to the righteous,

so that the righteous might not stretch out

 their hands to do wrong.

⁴Do good, O Lord, to those who are good,

 and to those who are upright in their hearts.

⁵But those who turn aside to their own crooked ways

 the Lord will lead away with evildoers.

 Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 126

A Song of Ascents.

¹When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion,^a

 we were like those who dream.

²Then our mouth was filled with laughter,

 and our tongue with shouts of joy;

then it was said among the nations,

 “The Lord has done great things for them.”

³The Lord has done great things for us,

 and we rejoiced.

⁴Restore our fortunes, O Lord,

 like the watercourses in the Negeb.

⁵May those who sow in tears

 reap with shouts of joy.

⁶Those who go out weeping,

 bearing the seed for sowing,

shall come home with shouts of joy,

 carrying their sheaves.

Psalm 127

A Song of Ascents. Of Solomon.

¹Unless the Lord builds the house,

 those who build it labor in vain.

Unless the Lord guards the city,

 the guard keeps watch in vain.

²It is in vain that you rise up early

 and go late to rest,

eating the bread of anxious toil;

 for he gives sleep to his beloved.^a

³Sons are indeed a heritage from the Lord,

 the fruit of the womb a reward.

⁴Like arrows in the hand of a warrior

 are the sons of one’s youth.

⁵Happy is the man who has

 his quiver full of them.

He shall not be put to shame

 when he speaks with his enemies in the gate.

Psalm 128

A Song of Ascents.

¹Happy is everyone who fears the Lord,

 who walks in his ways.

²You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands;

 you shall be happy, and it shall go well with you.

³Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

 within your house;

your children will be like olive shoots

 around your table.

⁴Thus shall the man be blessed

 who fears the Lord.

⁵The Lord bless you from Zion.

 May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem

 all the days of your life.

⁶May you see your children’s children.

 Peace be upon Israel!

Psalm 129

A Song of Ascents.

¹“Often have they attacked me from my youth”

 —let Israel now say—

²“often have they attacked me from my youth,

 yet they have not prevailed against me.

³The plowers plowed on my back;

 they made their furrows long.”

⁴The Lord is righteous;

 he has cut the cords of the wicked.

⁵May all who hate Zion

 be put to shame and turned backward.

⁶Let them be like the grass on the housetops

 that withers before it grows up,

⁷with which reapers do not fill their hands

 or binders of sheaves their arms,

⁸while those who pass by do not say,

 “The blessing of the Lord be upon you!

 We bless you in the name of the Lord!”

Psalm 130

A Song of Ascents.

¹Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.

 ²Lord, hear my voice!

Let your ears be attentive

 to the voice of my supplications!

³If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

 Lord, who could stand?

⁴But there is forgiveness with you,

 so that you may be revered.

⁵I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

 and in his word I hope;

⁶my soul waits for the Lord

 more than those who watch for the morning,

 more than those who watch for the morning.

⁷O Israel, hope in the Lord!

 For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

 and with him is great power to redeem.

⁸It is he who will redeem Israel

 from all its iniquities.

Psalm 131

A Song of Ascents. Of David.

¹O Lord, my heart is not lifted up,

 my eyes are not raised too high;

I do not occupy myself with things

 too great and too marvelous for me.

²But I have calmed and quieted my soul,

 like a weaned child with its mother;

 my soul is like the weaned child that is with me.^a

³O Israel, hope in the Lord

 from this time on and forevermore.

Psalm 132

A Song of Ascents.

¹O Lord, remember in David’s favor

 all the hardships he endured;

²how he swore to the Lord

 and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

³“I will not enter my house

 or get into my bed;

⁴I will not give sleep to my eyes

 or slumber to my eyelids,

⁵until I find a place for the Lord,

 a dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

⁶We heard of it in Ephrathah;

 we found it in the fields of Jaar.

⁷“Let us go to his dwelling place;

 let us worship at his footstool.”

⁸Rise up, O Lord, and go to your resting place,

 you and the ark of your might.

⁹Let your priests be clothed with righteousness,

 and let your faithful shout for joy.

¹⁰For your servant David’s sake

 do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

¹¹The Lord swore to David a sure oath

 from which he will not turn back:

“One of the sons of your body

 I will set on your throne.

¹²If your sons keep my covenant

 and my decrees that I shall teach them,

their sons also, forevermore,

 shall sit on your throne.”

¹³For the Lord has chosen Zion;

 he has desired it for his habitation:

¹⁴“This is my resting place forever;

 here I will reside, for I have desired it.

¹⁵I will abundantly bless its provisions;

 I will satisfy its poor with bread.

¹⁶Its priests I will clothe with salvation,

 and its faithful will shout for joy.

¹⁷There I will cause a horn to sprout up for David;

 I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.

¹⁸His enemies I will clothe with disgrace,

 but on him, his crown will gleam.”

Psalm 133

A Song of Ascents.

¹How very good and pleasant it is

 when kindred live together in unity!

²It is like the precious oil on the head,

 running down upon the beard,

on the beard of Aaron,

 running down over the collar of his robes.

³It is like the dew of Hermon,

 which falls on the mountains of Zion.

For there the Lord ordained his blessing,

 life forevermore.

Psalm 134

A Song of Ascents.

¹Come, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord,

 who stand by night in the house of the Lord!

²Lift up your hands to the holy place,

 and bless the Lord.

³May the Lord, maker of heaven and earth,

 bless you from Zion.

Psalm 135

¹Praise the Lord!

 Praise the name of the Lord;

 give praise, O servants of the Lord,

²you that stand in the house of the Lord,

 in the courts of the house of our God.

³Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;

 sing to his name, for he is gracious.

⁴For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,

 Israel as his own possession.

⁵For I know that the Lord is great;

 our Lord is above all gods.

⁶Whatever the Lord pleases he does,

 in heaven and on earth,

 in the seas and all deeps.

⁷He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth;

 he makes lightnings for the rain

 and brings out the wind from his storehouses.

⁸He it was who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

 both human beings and animals;

⁹he sent signs and wonders

 into your midst, O Egypt,

 against Pharaoh and all his servants.

¹⁰He struck down many nations

 and killed mighty kings—

¹¹Sihon, king of the Amorites,

 and Og, king of Bashan,

 and all the kingdoms of Canaan—

¹²and gave their land as a heritage,

 a heritage to his people Israel.

¹³Your name, O Lord, endures forever,

 your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages.

¹⁴For the Lord will vindicate his people,

 and have compassion on his servants.

¹⁵The idols of the nations are silver and gold,

 the work of human hands.

¹⁶They have mouths, but they do not speak;

 they have eyes, but they do not see;

¹⁷they have ears, but they do not hear,

 and there is no breath in their mouths.

¹⁸Those who make them

 and all who trust them

 shall become like them.

¹⁹O house of Israel, bless the Lord!

 O house of Aaron, bless the Lord!

²⁰O house of Levi, bless the Lord!

 You that fear the Lord, bless the Lord!

²¹Blessed be the Lord from Zion,

 he who resides in Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 136

¹O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

 for his steadfast love endures forever.

²O give thanks to the God of gods,

 for his steadfast love endures forever.

³O give thanks to the Lord of lords,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

⁴who alone does great wonders,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

⁵who by understanding made the heavens,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

⁶who spread out the earth on the waters,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

⁷who made the great lights,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

⁸the sun to rule over the day,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

⁹the moon and stars to rule over the night,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁰who struck Egypt through their firstborn,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹¹and brought Israel out from among them,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹²with a strong hand and an outstretched arm,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹³who divided the Red Sea^a in two,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁴and made Israel pass through the midst of it,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

but overthrew Pharaoh and his army in the Red Sea,^a

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁶who led his people through the wilderness,

for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁷who struck down great kings,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁸and killed famous kings,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

¹⁹Sihon, king of the Amorites,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

²⁰and Og, king of Bashan,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

²¹and gave their land as a heritage,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

²²a heritage to his servant Israel,

 for his steadfast love endures forever.

²³It is he who remembered us in our low estate,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

²⁴and rescued us from our foes,

 for his steadfast love endures forever;

²⁵who gives food to all flesh,

 for his steadfast love endures forever.

²⁶O give thanks to the God of heaven,

 for his steadfast love endures forever.

Psalm 137

¹By the rivers of Babylon—

 there we sat down and there we wept

 when we remembered Zion.

²On the willows^a there

 we hung up our harps.

³For there our captors

 asked us for songs,

and our tormentors asked for mirth, saying,

 “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

⁴How could we sing the Lord’s song

 in a foreign land?

⁵If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

 let my right hand wither!

⁶Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth,

 if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

 above my highest joy.

⁷Remember, O Lord, against the Edomites

 the day of Jerusalem’s fall,

how they said, “Tear it down! Tear it down!

 Down to its foundations!”

⁸O daughter Babylon, you devastator!^b

 Happy shall they be who pay you back

 what you have done to us!

⁹Happy shall they be who take your little ones

 and dash them against the rock!

Psalm 138

Of David.

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

 before the gods I sing your praise;

²I bow down toward your holy temple

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

 for you have exalted your name and your word

 above everything.^c

³On the day I called, you answered me,

 you increased my strength of soul.^d

⁴All the kings of the earth shall praise you, O Lord,

 for they have heard the words of your mouth.

⁵They shall sing of the ways of the Lord,

 for great is the glory of the Lord.

⁶For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly;

 but the haughty he perceives from far away.

⁷Though I walk in the midst of trouble,

 you preserve me against the wrath of my enemies;

you stretch out your hand,

 and your right hand delivers me.

⁸The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me;

 your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.

 Do not forsake the work of your hands.

Psalm 139

To the leader. Of David. A Psalm.

¹O Lord, you have searched me and known me.

²You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

 you discern my thoughts from far away.

³You search out my path and my lying down,

 and are acquainted with all my ways.

⁴Even before a word is on my tongue,

 O Lord, you know it completely.

⁵You hem me in, behind and before,

 and lay your hand upon me.

⁶Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;

 it is so high that I cannot attain it.

⁷Where can I go from your spirit?

 Or where can I flee from your presence?

⁸If I ascend to heaven, you are there;

 if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.

⁹If I take the wings of the morning

 and settle at the farthest limits of the sea,

¹⁰even there your hand shall lead me,

 and your right hand shall hold me fast.

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

 and the light around me become night,”

¹²even the darkness is not dark to you;

 the night is as bright as the day,

 for darkness is as light to you.

¹³For it was you who formed my inward parts;

 you knit me together in my mother’s womb.

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

 Wonderful are your works;

that I know very well.

 ¹⁵My frame was not hidden from you,

when I was being made in secret,

 intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

¹⁶Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.

In your book were written

 all the days that were formed for me,

 when none of them as yet existed.

¹⁷How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!

 How vast is the sum of them!

¹⁸I try to count them—they are more than the sand;

 I come to the end^a—I am still with you.

¹⁹O that you would kill the wicked, O God,

 and that the bloodthirsty would depart from me—

²⁰those who speak of you maliciously,

 and lift themselves up against you for evil!^a

²¹Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?

 And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?

²²I hate them with perfect hatred;

 I count them my enemies.

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

 test me and know my thoughts.

²⁴See if there is any wicked^b way in me,

 and lead me in the way everlasting.^c

Psalm 140

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

¹Deliver me, O Lord, from evildoers;

 protect me from those who are violent,

²who plan evil things in their minds

 and stir up wars continually.

³They make their tongue sharp as a snake’s,

 and under their lips is the venom of vipers. Selah

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

 protect me from the violent

 who have planned my downfall.

⁵The arrogant have hidden a trap for me,

 and with cords they have spread a net,^d

 along the road they have set snares for me. Selah

⁶I say to the Lord, “You are my God;

 give ear, O Lord, to the voice of my supplications.”

⁷O Lord, my Lord, my strong deliverer,

 you have covered my head in the day of battle.

⁸Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;

 do not further their evil plot.^e Selah

⁹Those who surround me lift up their heads;^f

 let the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!

¹⁰Let burning coals fall on them!

 Let them be flung into pits, no more to rise!

¹¹Do not let the slanderer be established in the land;

 let evil speedily hunt down the violent!

¹²I know that the Lord maintains the cause of the needy,

 and executes justice for the poor.

¹³Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name;

 the upright shall live in your presence.

Psalm 141

A Psalm of David.

¹I call upon you, O Lord; come quickly to me;

 give ear to my voice when I call to you.

²Let my prayer be counted as incense before you,

 and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice.

³Set a guard over my mouth, O Lord;

 keep watch over the door of my lips.

⁴Do not turn my heart to any evil,

 to busy myself with wicked deeds

in company with those who work iniquity;

 do not let me eat of their delicacies.

⁵Let the righteous strike me;

 let the faithful correct me.

Never let the oil of the wicked anoint my head,^a

 for my prayer is continually^b against their wicked deeds.

⁶When they are given over to those who shall condemn them,

 then they shall learn that my words were pleasant.

⁷Like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land,

 so shall their bones be strewn at the mouth of Sheol.^c

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

 in you I seek refuge; do not leave me defenseless.

⁹Keep me from the trap that they have laid for me,

 and from the snares of evildoers.

¹⁰Let the wicked fall into their own nets,

 while I alone escape.

Psalm 142

A Maskil of David. When he was in the cave. A Prayer.

¹With my voice I cry to the Lord;

 with my voice I make supplication to the Lord.

²I pour out my complaint before him;

 I tell my trouble before him.

³When my spirit is faint,

 you know my way.

In the path where I walk

 they have hidden a trap for me.

⁴Look on my right hand and see—

 there is no one who takes notice of me;

no refuge remains to me;

 no one cares for me.

⁵I cry to you, O Lord;

 I say, “You are my refuge,

 my portion in the land of the living.”

⁶Give heed to my cry,

 for I am brought very low.

Save me from my persecutors,

 for they are too strong for me.

⁷Bring me out of prison,

 so that I may give thanks to your name.

The righteous will surround me,

 for you will deal bountifully with me.

Psalm 143

A Psalm of David.

¹Hear my prayer, O Lord;

 give ear to my supplications in your faithfulness;

 answer me in your righteousness.

²Do not enter into judgment with your servant,

 for no one living is righteous before you.

³For the enemy has pursued me,

 crushing my life to the ground,

 making me sit in darkness like those long dead.

⁴Therefore my spirit faints within me;

 my heart within me is appalled.

⁵I remember the days of old,

 I think about all your deeds,

 I meditate on the works of your hands.

⁶I stretch out my hands to you;

 my soul thirsts for you like a parched land. Selah

⁷Answer me quickly, O Lord;

 my spirit fails.

Do not hide your face from me,

 or I shall be like those who go down to the Pit.

⁸Let me hear of your steadfast love in the morning,

 for in you I put my trust.

Teach me the way I should go,

 for to you I lift up my soul.

⁹Save me, O Lord, from my enemies;

 I have fled to you for refuge.^a

¹⁰Teach me to do your will,

 for you are my God.

Let your good spirit lead me

 on a level path.

¹¹For your name’s sake, O Lord, preserve my life.

 In your righteousness bring me out of trouble.

¹²In your steadfast love cut off my enemies,

 and destroy all my adversaries,

 for I am your servant.

Psalm 144

Of David.

¹Blessed be the Lord, my rock,

 who trains my hands for war, and my fingers for battle;

²my rock^b and my fortress,

 my stronghold and my deliverer,

my shield, in whom I take refuge,

 who subdues the peoples^c under me.

³O Lord, what are human beings that you regard them,

 or mortals that you think of them?

⁴They are like a breath;

 their days are like a passing shadow.

⁵Bow your heavens, O Lord, and come down;

 touch the mountains so that they smoke.

⁶Make the lightning flash and scatter them;

 send out your arrows and rout them.

⁷Stretch out your hand from on high;

 set me free and rescue me from the mighty waters,

 from the hand of aliens,

⁸whose mouths speak lies,

 and whose right hands are false.

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

 upon a ten‐stringed harp I will play to you,

¹⁰the one who gives victory to kings,

 who rescues his servant David.

¹¹Rescue me from the cruel sword,

 and deliver me from the hand of aliens,

whose mouths speak lies,

 and whose right hands are false.

¹²May our sons in their youth

 be like plants full grown,

our daughters like corner pillars,

 cut for the building of a palace.

¹³May our barns be filled,

 with produce of every kind;

may our sheep increase by thousands,

 by tens of thousands in our fields,

 ¹⁴and may our cattle be heavy with young.

May there be no breach in the walls,^a no exile,

 and no cry of distress in our streets.

¹⁵Happy are the people to whom such blessings fall;

 happy are the people whose God is the Lord.

Psalm 145

Praise. Of David.

¹I will extol you, my God and King,

 and bless your name forever and ever.

²Every day I will bless you,

 and praise your name forever and ever.

³Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;

 his greatness is unsearchable.

⁴One generation shall laud your works to another,

 and shall declare your mighty acts.

⁵On the glorious splendor of your majesty,

 and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.

⁶The might of your awesome deeds shall be proclaimed,

 and I will declare your greatness.

⁷They shall celebrate the fame of your abundant goodness,

 and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.

⁸The Lord is gracious and merciful,

 slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

⁹The Lord is good to all,

 and his compassion is over all that he has made.

¹⁰All your works shall give thanks to you, O Lord,

 and all your faithful shall bless you.

¹¹They shall speak of the glory of your kingdom,

 and tell of your power,

¹²to make known to all people your^a mighty deeds,

 and the glorious splendor of your^b kingdom.

¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

 and your dominion endures throughout all generations.

The Lord is faithful in all his words,

 and gracious in all his deeds.^c

¹⁴The Lord upholds all who are falling,

 and raises up all who are bowed down.

¹⁵The eyes of all look to you,

 and you give them their food in due season.

¹⁶You open your hand,

 satisfying the desire of every living thing.

¹⁷The Lord is just in all his ways,

 and kind in all his doings.

¹⁸The Lord is near to all who call on him,

 to all who call on him in truth.

¹⁹He fulfills the desire of all who fear him;

 he also hears their cry, and saves them.

²⁰The Lord watches over all who love him,

 but all the wicked he will destroy.

²¹My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,

 and all flesh will bless his holy name forever and ever.

Psalm 146

¹Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

²I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

 I will sing praises to my God all my life long.

³Do not put your trust in princes,

 in mortals, in whom there is no help.

⁴When their breath departs, they return to the earth;

 on that very day their plans perish.

⁵Happy are those whose help is the God of Jacob,

 whose hope is in the Lord their God,

⁶who made heaven and earth,

 the sea, and all that is in them;

who keeps faith forever;

 ⁷who executes justice for the oppressed;

 who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

 ⁸the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

 the Lord loves the righteous.

⁹The Lord watches over the strangers;

 he upholds the orphan and the widow,

 but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

¹⁰The Lord will reign forever,

 your God, O Zion, for all generations.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 147

¹Praise the Lord!

How good it is to sing praises to our God;

 for he is gracious, and a song of praise is fitting.

²The Lord builds up Jerusalem;

 he gathers the outcasts of Israel.

³He heals the brokenhearted,

 and binds up their wounds.

⁴He determines the number of the stars;

 he gives to all of them their names.

⁵Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;

 his understanding is beyond measure.

⁶The Lord lifts up the downtrodden;

 he casts the wicked to the ground.

⁷Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;

 make melody to our God on the lyre.

⁸He covers the heavens with clouds,

 prepares rain for the earth,

 makes grass grow on the hills.

⁹He gives to the animals their food,

 and to the young ravens when they cry.

¹⁰His delight is not in the strength of the horse,

 nor his pleasure in the speed of a runner;^a

¹¹but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him,

 in those who hope in his steadfast love.

¹²Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem!

 Praise your God, O Zion!

¹³For he strengthens the bars of your gates;

 he blesses your children within you.

¹⁴He grants peace^b within your borders;

 he fills you with the finest of wheat.

¹⁵He sends out his command to the earth;

 his word runs swiftly.

¹⁶He gives snow like wool;

 he scatters frost like ashes.

¹⁷He hurls down hail like crumbs—

 who can stand before his cold?

¹⁸He sends out his word, and melts them;

 he makes his wind blow, and the waters flow.

¹⁹He declares his word to Jacob,

 his statutes and ordinances to Israel.

²⁰He has not dealt thus with any other nation;

 they do not know his ordinances.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 148

¹Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord from the heavens;

 praise him in the heights!

²Praise him, all his angels;

 praise him, all his host!

³Praise him, sun and moon;

 praise him, all you shining stars!

⁴Praise him, you highest heavens,

 and you waters above the heavens!

⁵Let them praise the name of the Lord,

 for he commanded and they were created.

⁶He established them forever and ever;

 he fixed their bounds, which cannot be passed.^a

⁷Praise the Lord from the earth,

 you sea monsters and all deeps,

⁸fire and hail, snow and frost,

 stormy wind fulfilling his command!

⁹Mountains and all hills,

 fruit trees and all cedars!

¹⁰Wild animals and all cattle,

 creeping things and flying birds!

¹¹Kings of the earth and all peoples,

 princes and all rulers of the earth!

¹²Young men and women alike,

 old and young together!

¹³Let them praise the name of the Lord,

 for his name alone is exalted;

 his glory is above earth and heaven.

¹⁴He has raised up a horn for his people,

 praise for all his faithful,

 for the people of Israel who are close to him.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 149

¹Praise the Lord!

Sing to the Lord a new song,

 his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

²Let Israel be glad in its Maker;

 let the children of Zion rejoice in their King.

³Let them praise his name with dancing,

 making melody to him with tambourine and lyre.

⁴For the Lord takes pleasure in his people;

 he adorns the humble with victory.

⁵Let the faithful exult in glory;

 let them sing for joy on their couches.

⁶Let the high praises of God be in their throats

 and two‐edged swords in their hands,

⁷to execute vengeance on the nations

 and punishment on the peoples,

⁸to bind their kings with fetters

 and their nobles with chains of iron,

⁹to execute on them the judgment decreed.

 This is glory for all his faithful ones.

Praise the Lord!

Psalm 150

¹Praise the Lord!

Praise God in his sanctuary;

 praise him in his mighty firmament!^a

²Praise him for his mighty deeds;

 praise him according to his surpassing greatness!

³Praise him with trumpet sound;

 praise him with lute and harp!

⁴Praise him with tambourine and dance;

 praise him with strings and pipe!

⁵Praise him with clanging cymbals;

 praise him with loud clashing cymbals!

⁶Let everything that breathes praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord!

Ps 1: The two ways. A torah or instructional psalm serving as an introduction to the Psalter, along with Ps 2. Both celebrate the saving presence of God—Ps 1 for the individual and Ps 2 for the Davidic king—who offers blessing and protection from the wicked. Unlike the following psalms, these introductory works lack a Davidic superscription, suggesting their secondary, editorial function. Using the metaphor of the two ways, one leading to life and the other to death, Psalm 1 declares that reciting God’s saving torah or teaching (in this case, including the psalms) keeps one on the path of life. 1–3: Any individual who adheres to the torah (law), the authoritative teaching contained in the psalms, and rejects the views of the wicked, is fortunate. 1: Scoffers, like the wicked and sinners, contemptuously dismiss God’s capacity to rule the world. 2: Meditate, lit., “recite”; ancients usually read aloud. Trees, possibly the trees in the Temple garden (Pss 52.8; 92.12–15) on Mount Zion, abundantly watered, symbolizing vitality (Pss 46.4; 65.9; Ezek 47.12). 4–7: In contrast to the well‐watered and deeply rooted tree (a vertical image; cf. Jer 17.7–8) is the dry and wind‐driven chaff (a horizontal image).

Ps 2: The Israelite king, instrument of God’s rule. In this royal psalm, a court poet asks incredulously why the nations dare to threaten the Davidic king (vv. 1–3) when the Most High has stated that the king is his son and representative, hence in principle the most high among earthly kings. Like Ps 1, Ps 2 is introductory, and there are links between the two psalms, which are considered a single unit in some traditions: Ps 2.11 ends with “happy,” echoing the first word in Ps 1; “the way [of the wicked] will perish” in 1.6 is echoed in 2.11, “you will perish in the way”; thematically, the divine instruction of the psalmist in Ps 1 protects from evil persons just as the divine promise in Ps 2 protects the Israelite king and people from evil kings. 1–3: In describing hostile nations, the speaker quotes their deluded speech as in Pss 48.4–8; 76; and Ezek 38–39. 2: Anointed (Heb “mashiaḥ”) is always used in the Hebrew Bible of an actual ruler rather than of a future ideal king. 4–9: Dismissing the vain posturing of the kings, the Davidic king cites God’s adoption formula (see 2 Sam 7.14; Ps 89.26–27) and promise of universal sovereignty. 6: Zion, my holy hill, Jerusalem, where the royal palace and the Temple were part of the same architectural complex. 10–11: In the light of the divine promise, the poet warns the kings to end their rebellion and submit. 12: The exact meaning of the words translated kiss his feet is debated, and was the subject of much Jewish‐Christian polemic in the Middle Ages, when it was sometimes rendered “Kiss the son.”

Ps 3: Threatened by many but trusting still. An individual petition. Threatened by “many enemies” (v. 1) who deny that the Lord can provide “help” and “deliverance” (vv. 2,8), the psalmist calmly affirms God’s presence. Each of the three sections (vv. 1–3; 4–6; 7–8) begins with a prayer and ends with a statement of confidence. Superscription: This secondary superscription situates the psalm with David fleeing from his rebellious son Absalom (2 Sam 15–18). 1: The psalmist responds to the enemies by addressing God as “you” (v. 3) and using divine titles expressing power to save. 2: Selah (also vv. 4,8) is a musical notation, used a total of 78 times, only in Psalms and Hab 3. Its exact meaning is uncertain, but it often marks a section of a psalm. 3: My glory, one who restores my glory or dignity. 4: His holy hill, Mount Zion, where some psalmists believed God was most present (but contrast, e.g., Ps 2.4, “He who sits in the heavens”). 5: I lie down, calmly sleeping while enemies lurk is an act of trust. 7: God striking the enemies on the mouth for their words is poetic justice, punishment fitting the crime. The psalmist, however, leaves the actual punishment to God.

Ps 4: Rescue me so that I can be an example to sinners. An individual petition, with a strong emphasis on trust. 1–3: Confident in the care God lavishes on the faithful (vv. 1a,3b), the psalmist boldly demands that the slanderers cease their lies. The Lord’s answering and hearing the psalmist (vv. 1,3) signifies an intimate relationship. God of my right, God who vindicates me. 2: Selah (also v. 4), see Ps 3.2n. 4–6: Ponder on your beds, reflect in private in contrast to public worship mentioned in v. 5, “offer right sacrifices.” 6: Unlike many who demand divine gifts as a right, the psalmist quietly relies upon the Lord to grant joy and security. Light … shine, cf. the priestly blessing in Num 6.24–26. 7–8: Lying down to sleep is an act of trust in God, for in sleep one cannot see danger or defend oneself.

Ps 5: Prayer for access to the Temple. An individual petition for protection from the wicked who seem to be keeping the psalmist from the presence of God in the Temple. To the psalmist, the Temple was the house of Israel’s God and a place where blessings were given and protection was offered. Three themes alternate: seeking and enjoying God’s presence (vv. 1–3,7–8,11–12), God’s abhorrence of the wicked (vv. 4–6), and the threat of the wicked (vv. 9–10). 7: In contrast to the wicked who cannot stand before the all‐holy God, the psalmist desires to visit the Temple, relying on God to travel there safely (v. 8). Steadfast love, Heb “ḥesed,” presumes a prior relationship initiated by the Lord to provide mercy and protection. 9: The enemies are characterized by their perverted organs of speech and the inconsistency of their words and their intentions. 11–12: The mixing of private longing and public celebration and joy shows that the psalmist hopes to join fellow Israelites in worshiping God.

Ps 6: Plea for God’s help in sickness. An individual petition consisting of petition (vv. 1–2,4–5), complaint (vv. 2–3,6–7), mention of enemies (v. 8), and statement of trust (vv. 9–10). Tightly structured in two major parts, vv. 1–5 address God, and vv. 6–10 address God and the enemies. Superscription: Sheminith, “the eighth,” possibly an eight‐stringed instrument. 3: The sufferer interprets physical illness and emotional exhaustion as divine abandonment and asks how long the estrangement will last (see Ps 13.1n.). 4: The opening imperative verb turn (to me), addressed to God, is matched by the imperative verb in v. 8, “depart from me,” addressed to the enemies, whose exact nature is unclear here, as in many psalms. Separation from the God whom the psalmist delights in praising is intolerable. 5: Sheol is the underworld, where the dead reside. In Sheol, one is removed from the presence of God and the possibility of rendering worship; cf. Pss 30.9; 88.10–12; 115.17. 8: A sudden change of mood, caused by renewed confidence in God’s help, which may have been intimated by a sign or oracle that the psalmist perceived.

Ps 7: Prayer for deliverance from enemies and for justice. An individual petition that begins with the psalmist seeking refuge, perhaps in the Temple, and taking an oath of innocence (vv. 1–5); he then asks God to intervene (vv. 6–8), continues by a plea for justice for the entire world (vv. 9–16), and ends with a statement of trust (v. 17). Superscription: This incident in David’s life is otherwise unknown, suggesting that these superscriptions are sometimes based on events beyond those narrated in the books of Samuel. Shiggaion, a musical term of unknown meaning, occurring only here. 1–5: An innocent person could claim sanctuary at the altar (Ex 21.14; 1 Kings 2.28–35), though an oath of innocence involved risk if one did not tell the truth. 5: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 6–8: The psalmist urgently appeals to the divine judge, who is surrounded, it seems, by members of the heavenly court having responsibility over the nations. 15–16: That the wicked are caught in the traps they set is a common idea in wisdom literature and the psalms (e.g., Prov 26.27; see also Pss 9.15–16; 35.7–8; 141.10). 17: Thanks for the anticipated rescue.

Ps 8: Wonder at the Lord’s creation of humans. This memorable hymn praises God who has given such honor and responsibility to humans. Superscription: Gittith, an unknown musical term, also in Pss 81; 84. 1: Name, parallel to glory (of God). As often in hymns, the opening invitation is reprised in the final line (v. 9), forming an inclusio or envelope structure. 2: The text is unclear; it may refer to the Lord’s victory over chaotic forces (see Pss 89; 93). 3–8: Looking at the vast universe, the poet is awed by the Lord’s attentiveness to one small element in that universe: humans, who have been given the honor of ruling the three domains of sky, earth, and sea. The picture is much like Gen 1.26–28, where humans rule over the three domains and enjoy the dignity of being created in the image of God. 4: Contrast Ps 144.3; Job 7.17. 5: God, better, “heavenly beings” (Heb “ʾelohim,” lit., “gods”; see textual note b). As the heavenly world is ruled by heavenly beings, so the earthly world, parallel to it, is ruled by earthly beings as in Gen 1.26–28.

Pss 9–10: Thanks, petition, and pain at God’s distance and silence. Hebrew tradition handed down Pss 9–10 as two poems, but together they form one unit with an acrostic structure: Each section begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, though several letters are missing. The Greek text transmitted it as a single poem. As in other acrostic poems (Pss 25; 34; 37; 111; 112; 119; 145; Lam 1–4; Prov 31.10–31), the alphabetic structure provides unity, though the content is less systematically structured. The psalm records three successive experiences of God: joyous recognition of benefits to the singer (9.3–4) and the nation (9.5–8), a cry for help during an attack (9.13–14), and a deeply felt desire for justice (10.1–18). Superscription: Muth‐labben, a musical term of unknown meaning; see also Ps 48.14n. 9.1–6: A promise to tell others what God has done for the psalmist (vv. 3–4) and for the nation (vv. 5–6). 7–12: The Lord as righteous judge and defender of the oppressed. 13–20: Awareness of God’s salvation inspires fresh petitions (vv. 13–14,19–20) and a serene statement that divine justice will prevail (vv. 15–18). 15–16: See Ps 7.15–16n. Higgaion, an unknown musical term, occurring only here. Selah (also v. 20), see Ps 3.2n. 17: Sheol, the underworld, abode of the dead. 10.1–18: With the question Why? (v. 1), the psalmist complains of the effects of God’s absence—the persecution of the poor by the wealthy (v. 2a)—and gives an unusually long description of the wicked who devote all their energy to evil (vv. 3–11), concluding with a confident prayer that God will see and act (vv. 12–18).

Ps 11: Trust in the Lord and do not panic. A song of trust, which develops one aspect of the individual petition, the statement of trust in the Lord in the Temple (as in Pss 27.8–9,13; 42.2). After a scornful dismissal of timorous advice (vv. 1–3), it offers a bold statement of confidence in God (vv. 4–7). 1: Disaster in the form of invading armies and moral collapse has struck and people are urging flight. A fleeing bird is a symbol of panicstricken flight as in Isa 16.2; Prov 27.8. 4–7: Rejecting others’ advice, the psalmist chooses instead to trust in the Lord’s protective presence in the Temple, confident that the just Lord will curb the wicked and uphold the loyal. 6: Coals of fire and sulfur and a scorching wind, divine weapons (see Gen 19.24; Am 7.4). 7: The upright see the Lord’s face, i.e., experience the divine presence in the Temple; see Pss 27.8–9; 42.2.

Ps 12: Prayer in a time of moral disorder and lawlessness. An individual petition provoked by the destructive speech of the powerful (vv. 1–4); it is answered by a promise of divine intervention (v. 5) that invites the psalmist’s trust (vv. 6–8). Like Ps 60.6–8, this psalm seems to preserve an oracle of salvation (v. 5), perhaps uttered by a Temple official in response to a petition (cf. 1 Sam 1.11–18). Superscription: Sheminith, see Ps 6n. 1–4: Victimized by an ungodly group using lies to control the community (vv. 1–2), the psalmist begs God to destroy their capacity to speak. 6–7: The psalmist takes the promises as already operating.

Ps 13: How long will the enemy threaten my life? An individual petition; vv. 1–2 are the complaint; vv. 3–4, the petition, and vv. 5–6, the statement of trust and promise of praise 1: How long? Ancient sufferers sought to know exactly how long they must suffer; see Pss 35.17; 74.9–10; Isa 6.11. Hide your face, God has refused to look kindly at the psalmist. 3: Consider and answer me, a contemporary paraphrase might be, “Look at me! Talk to me!” referring back to the complaint in v. 1 that the Lord has hidden his face. Give light to my eyes, i.e., give me joy and vitality (see Prov 29.13). 5: But I trusted, better, “trust.” Anxiety gives way to trust as is typical of individual petitions.

Ps 14: Refusal to be silenced by those who deny God’s justice. A song of trust condemning those who deny that God is active in the world and declaring trust in God who cares for the poor (among whom the psalmist wants to be counted). Psalm 53 is a near duplicate. 1: There is no God, denies God’s ability to govern, not necessarily God’s existence; see Ps 10.4. 2: God’s scrutiny lays bare the deniers’ folly and malice. In the style of wisdom literature, the rebellious are contrasted with the wise, who seek after God. 5: There, perhaps a reference to Mount Zion as in Pss 48.6; 76.3, where the wicked will be punished and the poor upheld. 7: The psalm moves from the individual to the community, as Israel lives in the hope that salvation comes from Zion. When the Lord restores may refer to the hoped‐for restoration of Jerusalem after its destruction in 586 bce; this verse may be a later addition.

Ps 15: Who will be admitted into God’s presence? The psalm may reflect a ritual admitting worshipers to the Temple (cf. Ps 24 and Isa 33.14b–16). Ten actions describe the righteousness expected of a genuine worshiper: the first two are positive (v. 2), the second three, negative (v. 3), the third three, negative and positive (v. 4), and the last two negative (v. 5b). 1: The question. Tent, a poetic designation for the Temple (Pss 27.5; 61.4). 2–5b: The ten clauses describing the ideal worshiper overlap and make their effect cumulatively. 2: Walk, conduct oneself. Speak the truth from their heart, one does not say one thing while intending another. 4: In whose eyes the wicked are despised, the righteous reject anyone rejected by God. 5: Do not lend money at interest, an ethical injunction forbidden by Ex 22.25 and Lev 25.37. Money means silver that was weighed out. 5c: After the confession, an officiant, perhaps a priest or Levite, presumably admitted worshipers to the Temple.

Ps 16: God the supreme good. A declaration of loyalty to the one God of Israel, though others may worship many gods: such commitment brings great blessings. Superscription: Miktam, a technical term of unknown meaning. 1–2: Though a cry for rescue from an immediate danger, the verses are most probably a declaration of trust in a particular God—the Lord—in traditional client‐patron language. 3: NRSV interprets the unclear verse as referring to Israelites whose fellowship one gains when one professes faith in the Lord. 4: Blood offerings are rare in biblical religion; see Ps 50.13, and cf. Ex 24.6. 5–6: Portion, lot, boundary lines, and heritage, a metaphor based on the distribution and possession of the land of Israel as in Josh 13–19. Possibly the psalmist was a priest; see Num 18.20; Josh 18.7. 7–11: The response of the individual whose God is now the Lord, giving praise (v. 8) and rejoicing in God’s nearness (vv. 9–11). 10: Sheol … the Pit, the abode of the dead.

Ps 17: Rescue me, your loyal client, and let me see your face. An individual petition stressing the psalmist’s past loyalty (vv. 1–5), present need (vv. 6–14), and ardent hope to see God in the Temple (v. 15). 1–5: Wishing to gain a fair hearing, the psalmist claims to have passed every testing and been proven loyal. 6: You will answer me, the result of the long‐established trust between divine patron and human client. 7: Steadfast love (Heb “ḥesed”), a covenantal term here, referring to the loving obligations assumed by each partner. 8: Apple of the eye, the pupil. Shadow of your wings (Pss 36.7; 57.1; etc.): Either disembodied wings representing divine protection as in Egyptian religion, or the wings of the composite animals guarding the deity’s throne in the Temple, the cherubim. 13: Confront them, lit., “come before their face,” anticipating the conclusion of the psalm where the supplicant wants to see God’s face at the Temple. 14: Expresses the wish that the wicked and their families undergo what they have tried to inflict on others. 15: Though presumably still in danger, the psalmist speaks with the certainty that the opening petition has been granted.

Ps 18: A royal thanksgiving. A report of the king’s rescue (vv. 1–19) is followed by reflections on his intimate relationship with the Lord and his primacy among earth’s kings (vv. 20–45); the psalm ends with a fresh acknowledgment of the Lord’s aid (vv. 46–50). Some scholars think that Ps 18 may have been sung at the coronation of the Davidic king to ground his authority in the Lord’s creation victory (cf. Ps 89.5–28). An alternate version of the psalm appears in 2 Sam 22. In structure, the psalm has parallel reports of rescue, the first told from a heavenly perspective (vv. 4–19), and the second from an earthly perspective (vv. 35–45). The first report adapts the cosmic language of a mythic battle between sea and rainstorm (the weapon of the Lord as storm god) to depict God’s rescue of the Israelite king from his enemies. Each report has a short hymnic introduction (vv. 1–3,31–34) and conclusion (vv. 20–30,46–50). Superscription: Rescues of David from foreign kings and domestic enemies including Saul (e.g., 1 Sam 18.10–30). 4: The enemies from which the Lord delivered the king are cosmic, both the chaotic torrents of the primordial sea, and the power of death, in Sheol, the underworld, the abode of the dead. 7: In answer to the king’s prayer (v. 6), the Lord appears as a storm god; cf. Ex 15.8,10; Pss 29.3–9; 104.3–4,7. 10: Cherub, one of the bearers of the divine throne (see Ex 25.18–20; Ezek 1; Ps 17.8n.). 16: Deliverance from a tight spot (v. 6) into a broad, unconfined place (see also v. 36). 20: According to my righteousness (vv. 20,24), having fulfilled his covenant responsibilities, the king counts on his patron’s loyal response. 25: A new section with fresh topics: the Lord as loyal supporter (vv. 25–31), arming the king and granting him victory (vv. 32–42), and installing him as head of the kings of the world (vv. 43–45). 46: Repetition of the epithets of the Lord from vv. 1–3, rock and deliverer, bring the psalm to a close. 50: The Lord’s eternal commitment to the dynasty of David (see 2 Sam 7.13; Ps 89.27–37).

Ps 19: Divine instruction gives light and life to humans. Like Pss 1 and 119, this psalm insists that divine instruction (Heb “torah”) transforms humans. Though many scholars divide the psalm into two distinct compositions, a hymn to the sun vv. 1–6 and a meditation on wisdom in vv. 7–14, the poem is coherent. Divine wisdom, discernible in the daily movements of the heavens (vv. 1–4b), particularly in the sun’s steady course (vv. 4c–6), is also visible in the teaching (vv. 7–9) to which humans have access; the psalm concludes with a prayer to fulfill these teachings (vv. 10–14). 1–4: Without a word being said, the sun leads the day‐night rhythm of the heavens that manifests divine control. 4: A tent for the sun, God has given authority to the sun to lead the course of the heavens. In comparable religious literature, the head of the pantheon authorized lesser deities to build their tent dwellings. The sun symbolizes divine justice and wisdom because nothing is hid from its rays. 7–10: There are six synonyms for instruction or law (Heb “torah”) in vv. 7–9. The first four describe the law’s beneficial effects on humans; the final two are concerned with the teaching itself rather than its effect on humans (v. 9). 11–13: May the wisdom contained in the law instruct the psalmist’s heart. 12: Errors and hidden faults, likely inadvertent sins.

Ps 20: Prayer for the king’s victory. A communal petition for the king’s victory. Ps 21 seems to be a thanksgiving for the victory prayed for in this psalm. The first part (vv. 1–5) prays that the king will be victorious in battle, and the second (vv. 6–9) gives an assurance that he will be successful. 1: The Lord answer you occurs as petition in v. 1, assurance in v. 6, and petition in v. 9. Day of trouble, a military crisis requiring the king to act as military commander. 3: Offerings and sacrifices here regarded as a plea for divine favor. Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 6: Now I know, the phrase elsewhere expresses great confidence (Job 19.25; Pss 41.11; 56.9); it may reflect a positive oracle that the king received. 7: Victory lies with God rather than superior military technology; cf. 2 Chr 20.15; 32.7–8; Isa 31.1; Ps 44.3.

Ps 21: Thanksgiving for the king’s victory. A royal thanksgiving, which could perhaps be regarded as a thanksgiving for the divine favor prayed for in Ps 20. The report of a victory gained with the Lord’s help (vv. 1–7) is followed by an assurance of future help (vv. 8–12) and concluded by a prayer (v. 13). The king’s military role was understood to implement divine justice in an often‐hostile world. 1: Rejoices and exults, Refers not only to the inner feelings of the king, but to the public celebration that would follow a major victory. 2: Selah, see Ps 3.2n.

4–7: The king’s divine‐like qualities do not belong to him by right, but by the gift of God. 10: Destroy their offspring, no one should be left to carry on the enemies’ nefarious work. 13: Such a victory will be an occasion for the entire community to rejoice in God.

Ps 22: Plea to be delivered from relentless enemies. An individual petition remarkable for its intense expressions of anguish (vv. 1–2,6–8,12–18), vivid recollections of God’s healing presence (vv. 3–5,9–11), lively gratitude for rescue (vv. 22–26), and trust in God’s universal sovereignty (vv. 27–31). Superscription: According to the Deer of the Dawn, perhaps indicating the melody. 1: The complaint is that the Lord, the patron of Israel’s ancestors (vv. 3–5), has not rescued one who suffers even though he has been faithful (vv. 9–11). 1: See Mk 15.34 par.6: The dehumanized psalmist is mocked by his enemies. 9: Cf. Ps 71.6. 12: The extensive and diverse metaphors for the supplicant’s trouble express the great extent of his trouble. 12: Enemies stalk the psalmist like wild beasts (Ps 7.2; Isa 56.9). The subhuman bestial world is contrasted with the human worshipers in the Temple (v. 22). 12: Bashan, a fertile region in northern Transjordan famous for its cattle. 14: Poured out like water, tears were conceived as welling up from the abdomen, that is, coming from the physical center of the person. 16: My hands and feet have shriveled, textually obscure: lit., “like a lion my hands and feet”; NRSV reflects an emendation. 17: I can count all my bones, here referring to his ribs: Robbers have stripped the psalmist of his clothes and he is emaciated. 22: The psalmist attempts to motivate God to rescue him by promising that he will then give thanks among humans, in the great congregation (v. 25), likely the Temple in Jerusalem; the rescue of a single individual will then have larger, even universal (see v. 27) and future (vv. 30–31) ramifications. 22: The psalmist will declare to others what God has done, thereby encouraging them to praise God. 27: On praise of God by the nations, see, e.g., Pss 67.2–4; 86.9; 117.1. 29: Worship by the dead is rare in Psalms; contrast Pss 6.5; 30.9; 88.10–12; 115.17.

Ps 23: The Lord as shepherd and host. The most beloved of the psalms, a song of trust. Though seemingly idyllic, evil lurks at the margin (vv. 4a,5b), and nature is sometimes dangerous (v. 4). In an agrarian society like ancient Israel, herding would be familiar to everyone. There could also be a subtle allusion to the Exodus traditions of the divine shepherd guiding Israel (e.g., Ps 78.43–55; Isa 40.11). The psalm combines two distinct images of God: shepherd (vv. 1–4) and host of a banquet (v. 5); and two grammatical persons used of God: he in vv. 1–3, you in vv. 4–6. 1: Shepherd, a favorite title of ancient Near Eastern kings, connoting compassionate care (Pss 80.1; 95.7; 100.3; Isa 40.11; Jer 10.21; Ezek 34.11–16). Verse 1 can be paraphrased: Because the Lord is my shepherd I lack nothing. 2: Still waters, not swiftly running, so the sheep can keep their footing as they drink from the pool. 5: Prepare a table, the image of shepherd changes to that of host of a meal; cf. Ps 78.19. In the presence of my enemies, the Lord’s invitation to dine vindicates the psalmist as just, whereas the enemies are excluded. 6: Goodness and mercy shall follow (lit., “pursue”) me, replacing the enemies’ pursuit.

Ps 24: The awesome majesty of the house of the Lord. A hymn celebrating the Lord’s enthronement as king that begins, like Ps 15, with a demand of right conduct and loyalty. The psalm proceeds in three stages: the proclamation of the cosmic victory of the Lord (vv. 1–2), a scrutiny to make certain that only the loyal enter and welcome the Divine Warrior to his dwelling (vv. 3–6), and a call to the Temple gates to welcome God the king. 1–2: Presupposed is the combat myth in which the storm god defeats chaotic Sea who threatens to destroy the world, creates the orderly universe, and erects a palace (temple) to commemorate the victory. Israel likely borrowed and transformed this myth from its Canaanite predecessors. 3–6: Only those loyal to the victorious Lord are fit to share the fruits of victory; the scrutiny determines whether worshipers have been loyal; cf. Ps 15.2–5. 4: Lift up their souls to what is false, similar to the commandment of the Decalogue, “You shall have no other gods before you” (Ex 20.3; Deut 5.7). 5: Blessing from the Lord, the deity shares the fruits of victory. 6: Selah (also v. 10), see Ps 3.2n. 7: The Temple gates are personified and invited to lift up their heads in joy and join the chorus welcoming the triumphant Warrior; some scholars emend “gates” to “gatekeepers.”

Ps 25: Prayer for forgiveness and guidance. An individual petition in acrostic form (see Ps 9–10n.), divided into three parts (vv. 1–7; 8–14; 15–22). The first and third parts are lengthy petitions in which “I” (the psalmist) addresses “you” (God); the middle part (with the exception of v. 11) is a lesson in the form of a hymn, speaking of God in the third person. 1: My soul (Heb “nepesh”) in its most literal sense the throat, face, and chest area, often rendered “soul” or “life” because one’s vital signs are most palpable there. 8: Apart from v. 11, the middle section is a lesson about divine guidance with allusions to the Exodus (way, he leads, paths, covenant), as suggested by v. 11, pardon my guilt, which cites Moses’s plea in Ex 34.9. 15: As motives to move God to help, the psalmist simply says I am lonely (v. 16), my foes are many (v. 19), and I wait for you (v. 21). 22: At its conclusion, the psalm is generalized to the community; perhaps a later addition.

Ps 26: A declaration of righteousness and a plea for salvation and a declaration of righteousness. An individual petition of someone who feels unworthy, possibly a priest. “Walking” occurs at the psalm’s beginning and end, suggesting participation in sacred processions. 1: The priest asks God to vindicate his claims of right conduct. 4–5: As in Pss 1 and 101, the worshiper hates (rejects) the company and the projects of the wicked. 4: Sit with implies partnering (1 Sam 2.8; Ps 101.6). 6: Washing is commanded in priestly rituals (Ex 30.21). 8–10: In contrast to “hating” the wicked in vv. 4–5, the psalmist “loves,” in the sense of choosing, God’s house and ways. 11: Confident of God’s acceptance, the psalmist resolves to continue walking the right path.

Ps 27: Longing to find the Lord in the Temple despite obstacles. The psalm begins as a song of trust (vv. 1–6) and becomes an individual petition (vv. 7–14). The two genres have been combined to express intense desire and courageous journeying. Mention of enemies and the desire to see God’s face in the Temple unify these two parts. 1: Light is associated with the sanctuary as in Pss 36.9; 43.3; 56.13; in antiquity kings and divinities were often depicted as emanating light. 2: Devour my flesh, the enemies are compared to wild animals (Pss 7.2; 17.12). 4: Three metaphors for desiring God: living in God’s house (Ps 84.4), appreciating God’s beauty (Ex 24.11), and seeking (inquire) an oracle. 5: Three metaphors for hope, all referring to the Temple: shelter, tent, and rock (Ps 61.2). 6: Now, the psalmist can now look down from a secure place upon the enemies that once posed a threat. 7: A sudden shift to petition/lament as the psalmist becomes aware that enemies still pose a threat. 8: My heart says, a unique variant of the idiom “to say in one’s heart,” connoting utter sincerity. On God’s face, see Ps 17.13n. 10: The image of God as parent is rare in Psalms (see, e.g., 103.13). 11: Lead me on a level path, the psalmist asks to be protected on the journey. 13: In the land of the living, better “in the land of life,” an idiom for the Temple as in Ps 52.5. 14: Perhaps recited in response, as encouragement to the psalmist.

Ps 28: Plea for vindication by one falsely accused. An individual petition of an innocent person against false accusers (vv. 1–5), combined with a thanksgiving (vv. 6–7), and prayer for the people (vv. 8–9). The psalmist prays that God not be silent (v. 1) and allow false accusers to win the day. 1: The Pit, a synonym for Sheol, the abode of the dead. 2: Lifting up hands was a posture of prayer. 6–8: Blessed be the Lord, the Lord has spoken, perhaps through an oracle, and the psalmist responds with intense joy. 7: Strength and shield complement “rock” (v. 1). 8–9: As in other psalms (e.g., 14; 20; 25), the conclusion moves from the individual to the community, and to its leader, the anointed king.

Ps 29: Acknowledging the Lord’s might in the storm. A hymn in which heavenly beings praise the Lord of the storm who brings life‐giving rain; many scholars think that this was a northern Canaanite psalm (see the places named in vv. 5–8), adapted by early Israel. 1: The heavenly beings (lit., “sons of gods”) are summoned to acknowledge the Lord returning victorious to the assembly (cf. 89.5–7). 2: In holy splendor, perhaps “when the Holy One appears.” 3: Symbolizing a cosmic event, a massive storm roars in from the Mediterranean and hits the coast with deafening thunderclaps (the voice of the Lord, used seven times in this section), drenching rain, and lightning flashes. The luminous thundercloud is imagined as the Lord’s chariot, and the thunder, rain, and lightning are his soldiers. They sweep across the trees and appear to shatter and shake the forested mountain; earthquake also accompanies a divine appearance or theophany (e.g., Pss 18.7; 114.7). 6: Sirion, Mount Hermon (see Deut 3.9), at the southern border of Lebanon. 8: Wilderness of Kadesh, the desert east of the city of Kadesh in central western Syria. 10: Enthroned over the flood, ancient myths sometimes depicted the storm god defeating hostile Sea and building his palace upon its body. 11: The heavenly beings pray that the divine king would extend the fruits of victory to Israel, the Lord’s special people.

Ps 30: Praise for deliverance. An individual thanksgiving with four parts: praise and thanks for deliverance and restoration (vv. 1–3), an invitation to others to join in (vv. 4–5), narrative of the crisis including the original prayer (vv. 6–10), and repetition of praise and thanks (vv. 11–12). It has a dual metaphor system: going down, death, silence; and rising up, life, praise. God moves the psalmist from one state to the other. The divine names (“the Lord” and “God”) add up to twelve, the number of the tribes of Israel, suggesting that the healing is a type of what God does for all the tribes. Superscription: At the dedication of the temple was added when this psalm was sung at the Feast of Dedication (Hanukkah) of the Temple by Judas Maccabeus in 164 bce. 3: Language of death and recovery is used by people who were saved by God from life‐threatening problems. Sheol … the Pit, the abode of the dead. 6: I shall never be moved, the psalmist admits that smugness preceded the crisis. Withdrawal of divine support led to collapse (cf. Ps 104.27–30). 9: The theme that God should save a psalmist because the dead do not praise God is common in the Psalms (see Ps 6.5n.). 11–12: The psalmist casts off mourning garments (sackcloth) to dance with joy.

Ps 31: Prayer for deliverance, and thanksgiving. An individual petition that combines features of a petition (vv. 1–4,9–18) and a thanksgiving (vv. 5–8,19–24). 2–4: The metaphors for refuge are spatial: rock, fortress (lit., “safe house”). 9–13: The psalm returns to direct petition. Sickness, or perhaps old age, has cut off the sufferer from family and friends. 16: Let your face shine, a likely reference to the priestly blessing (Num 6.25), meaning to adopt an open countenance that looks directly and beneficently at the other person (see also Pss 4.6; 80.3). 17: Sheol, the underworld, the abode of the dead. 19: A major change in mood: leaving behind complaints, the psalmist expresses thanks. The quest for a “safe house” in v. 2 has been answered by God’s granting admission to the Temple. 23–24: As often in the Psalms, at the end the petitioner mentions the broader community. 23: Saints, better “faithful” or “loyal” ones.

Ps 32: Happy the one whose sin is forgiven. An individual thanksgiving. Verses 1–5 narrate the rescue for which thanks will be given in the proclamation to others (vv. 6–11). The psalm has three mutually reinforcing metaphors for sin and three for forgiveness: sin is a burden one has to bear or carry, forgiveness occurring when God bears it away; sin is an act that God keeps on seeing (it is “in God’s face”), forgiveness occurring when God covers it so it can no longer be seen; sin is “imputing iniquity,” judging someone is a sinner and withholding blessing, and forgiveness consists in changing that judgment. Superscription: Maskil, a technical term of uncertain significance. 1: Whose transgression is forgiven, an indirect way of expressing God’s action. The psalmist’s feverish attempts to cover (lit., “hide”) the sin prevented God from covering it (looking away from it). 4: Your hand was heavy upon me, an idiom for punishment (see 1 Sam 5.6). Selah (also vv. 5,7), see Ps 3.2n. 6–11: Deeply moved by the experience of God’s mercy, the singer tells the faithful what they may not realize: sin need not destroy you or separate you from God. 9: People can turn away like work animals who do not understand human speech, but joy results from forgiveness.

Ps 33: Praise of the Lord who created the universe. A hymn praising the divine word that made the threetiered universe and guides it even when humans try to pervert it to their ends. It is comprised of twenty‐two lines, the number of letters of the Hebrew alphabet, but is not an alphabetic acrostic (cf. Lam 5). The first part (vv. 1–11) follows the conventions of a hymn, whereas the second part (vv. 12–22) concentrates on one tier of the three‐tiered universe—events on earth. 1–11: The conjunction for in vv. 4 and 9 introduces the motive for giving praise, in this case, God’s upright and powerful word that has brought the universe into being (vv. 6–7; cf. Gen 1.6). That creative word determines the course of history, and no human word can contravene it (vv. 10–11). Storehouses, cf. Ps 135.7; Job 38.22. 12–22: Though not mentioned by name, Israel is declared happy or fortunate (v. 12) simply by being chosen out of all the nations. When the Lord scrutinizes humanity, all purely human sources of strength are relativized (vv. 16–17; cf. v. 10; Ps 20.7n.). Israel’s (and the nations') task is not to rely on human strength but to wait on the Lord’s goodness and power. 20–22: These verses are connected causally and suggest that God should save Israel because of Israel’s trust in God.

Ps 34: Praise and acknowledgment of deliverance from danger. An individual thanksgiving in acrostic form (see Ps 9–10n.). Individual thanksgivings publicize a deliverance from trouble to encourage others to remain loyal to God. As a way of giving thanks, the psalmist promises to announce that rescue to others so that they too may acknowledge God’s goodness. The didactic element is underlined in this psalm. Superscription: In 1 Sam 21.10–15, David feigned madness before Achish, not Abimelech. 8: Taste, a metaphor for experience. 11–22: Borrowing from the portrait of personified Wisdom (especially Prov 8–9), the healed psalmist teaches others how to gain life. “Life” here is long life resulting from righteous conduct, in contrast to the brief life of the wicked. 11: Fear of the Lord, best rendered “revering the Lord,” as the following verses show, this is expressed through action, and is not only a mental state. 16–17: The psalm reads better if the order of these two verses is reversed, following the order of the alphabet found in Lam 2; 3; 4.

Ps 35: Prayer for deliverance from enemies. An individual petition in three sections (vv. 1–10; 11–18; 19–28). It uses many metaphors for enemies—soldiers (vv. 1–3), hunters (v. 7), and lions (v. 17)—and the imagery of war, lawsuit, and conspiracy to show that the whole world is arrayed against a lone individual. Positive petitions (vv. 1–3,17,22–24,27) alternate with imprecations (vv. 4–6,8,19,25–26), promises of thanksgiving (vv. 9–10,18,28), and complaints (vv. 7,11–16). Each of the psalm’s three sections concludes with a promise of praise (vv. 9–10,18,28). 4: Be put to shame and dishonor, God is asked to bring about the rescue in full view of others so that everyone can see the psalmist is in the right. 5–6: The angel of the Lord is God’s emissary, effecting punishment. 7–8: See Ps 7.15–16n. 21,25: Aha, see Ps 40.15n. 23: Wake up, see Ps 44.23n.

Ps 36: God sustains the faithful. A song of trust with elements of an instruction. Instead of complaining about the attacks of the wicked, the psalmist gives a vivid portrait of the wicked person (vv. 1–4). The statement of trust (vv. 5–9) enlarges on the Lord’s saving power, and becomes a petition to enjoy the Lord’s protection (vv. 10–12). 1–5: The self‐centered individual is contrasted with the God‐centered world. 4: While on their beds, i.e., privately, at night; cf. Mic 2.1. 5–9: The wicked are unaware that God works in all parts of the universe—sky, mountains (earth), and sea (vv. 5–6)—and especially in the Temple (your house) from which flows the river of your delights (v. 8); cf. Ps 46.4; 65.10; Ezek 47.1–2. 7: Shadow of your wings, see Ps 17.8n. 9: In your light we see light, enjoy life (cf. Job 3.16; Ps 49.19), which is made possible by the luminous God present in the Temple. 12: There, possibly a reference to Zion and its Temple as in Pss 48.6; 76.3; 87.4.

Ps 37: Exhortation to courage and endurance. An instructional poem in acrostic form (see Ps 9–10n.), using aphorisms, exhortations, and personal experience to encourage others to a faithful life (see Pss 49; 78; 127; 128). 1–11: One should maintain one’s equanimity when the wicked prosper and are praised. Retribution is inevitable, however, for they will be shamed (their hopes will prove empty) and the righteous rewarded, somewhat unusually in the Psalms, with the precious gift of the land (vv. 3,9,11,22,29,34). 12–20: The wicked try to attack the righteous, but the Lord defends them. 21–26: The same Heb root in vv. 21 and 26 marks off the section (NRSV borrow, lending). To give to others is to show confidence in the Lord and eventually leads to a share in the Lord’s land (vv. 21–22). 25: I have not seen the righteous forsaken, an unusually strong affirmation that over time divine governance will punish the wicked and uphold the just. 27–40: Imperative verbs in vv. 27,34,37 dominate the section.

Ps 38: Confession of sin and plea for forgiveness. An individual petition in twenty‐two verses (see Ps 33n.) notable for its vivid portrayal of anguish resulting from sin and of patient waiting for healing. People have interpreted the psalmist’s illness as divine rejection and therefore keep their distance. Pleas to God in the second person singular (vv. 1–2,9–10,15–16,21–22) alternate with descriptions of physical collapse and vulnerability (vv. 3–8,11–14,17–20). It is similar to Ps 6 (see 6.1 and 38.1), but unlike Ps 6, where the psalmist is protesting his innocence, this psalmist freely admits his sins (vv. 3–4,18). Superscription: For the memorial offering (also Ps 70), meaning uncertain. 9–10: The verses echo the anguish described in vv. 3–8. 11: Cf. Ps 31.9–18n. 15–16: The verses echo the anguish in vv. 11–14. 15: The psalmist trusts God rather than humans. 21–22: The closing petitions are similar in syntax to the opening petitions (vv. 1–2).

Ps 39: Plea that suffering might end. An individual petition. Forced to remain silent because enemies would misinterpret any utterance (vv. 1–3), the psalmist asks God how much longer the suffering will continue (vv. 4–6). Since the suffering comes from God, only God can end it (vv. 7–13). Superscription: Jeduthun (also in the superscriptions of Pss 62; 77), a Temple singer (1 Chr 25.1; etc.). 1: Sin with my tongue, better rendered, “offend by my speech”; since the psalmist’s words might lead others to conclude that the suffering is punishment for sins, the psalmist resolves to complain only to God. 4: Let me know my end, better rendered, “Let me know the term (of my affliction), what the length of my days (of suffering) is,” expressing the belief that divinely caused afflictions lasted for a predetermined period (cf. 2 Sam 24.13; Jer 25.11; Ps 74.9). To the psalmist, it is unfair of God to burden an already short life span with a lengthy affliction. 5: Selah (also v. 11), see Ps 3.2n. 7: And now, signals the shift from complaint to petition. 12: Guest … alien, see Lev 25.23; 1 Chr 29.15. 13: A similar image is found in Job 7.19; in both cases, the sufferer asks God to look less closely, for if God scrutinizes people, they will surely be found guilty.

Ps 40: A thanksgiving with a plea for further help. A hybrid psalm of thanksgiving (vv. 1–10) and individual petition (vv. 11–17). After experiencing salvation, the psalmist faces further adversity. Verses 13–17 are duplicated in Ps 70. 1–3b: Report of the rescue. 3: New song, “new” refers to the startling new action celebrated in the song. 6–8: Instead of the customary sacrifice offering, God asks for a self‐offering through obedience; cf. 1 Sam 15.22; Ps 50.8–9; Mic 6.6–7. 7: Here I am, the psalmist is totally available for the task (cf. Isa 6.8), in this case, to tell of the deliverance and its significance (vv. 9–10). The scroll of the book: variously interpreted, possibly some written expression of the divine will. The phrase is quoted in Heb 10.5–7. 8: God’s word is totally internalized. 11–17: Acceptance of the task of proclamation puts the psalmist in fresh danger and in need of God’s help. 14: Shame, violating accepted morality brought dishonor upon the violator. The prayer is that the enemies’ schemes be publicly frustrated. 15: Aha, Aha, malicious cries of triumph that the psalmist hopes will be proved foolish by God’s judgment. 16: God’s help of this individual will encourage other righteous people. 17: Psalms often depicts the supplicant as poor and needy (e.g., Pss 70.5; 86.1; 109.22).

Ps 41: Thanksgiving for rescue. A thanksgiving in which the psalmist in vv. 4–10 cites an earlier prayer uttered in pain as a kind of verbal votive offering. 1: Happy are those who consider the poor (i.e., those who are attentive to the poor) is the psalmist’s conclusion after a profound deliverance (like Ps 32.1). Those who help the needy are themselves helped in their need. 4–10: The psalmist’s earlier prayer shows fear of enemies who wanted the psalmist to die and leave behind no name, i.e., no children to carry on the family. 4: The psalmist believes that past sin was the cause of illness. 10: To be raised from the sickbed constitutes a demonstration of the psalmist’s innocence to the enemies who wish the psalmist dead. 13: Not a part of the psalm, but a doxology or blessing concluding Book I, the first of five editorial divisions of the Psalter; see also Pss 72.18–19; 89.52; 106.48; 150.1–6. The great majority of the previous psalms were ascribed to David; the following nine are not.

Ps 42–43: Longing to join the community in the Temple. This is the first psalm in the “Elohistic Psalter” (see Introduction). These two chapters form one poem as indicated by the identical refrain in 42.6,11 and 43.5, and petition to be in the Temple (like Pss 27; 63; 84). Here the sufferer, away from the Temple, complains of taunts by unbelievers (42.9–10) and pleads for a guide for the journey home. Distinctive is the psalmist’s alternation between discouragement and resolve, despair and hope. Superscription: Maskil, see Ps 32n. Korahites, descendants of Korah, a Levite priest, a guild of Temple singers and composers who favored phrases such as the living God (Pss 42.2; 84.2), the face of God (Pss 42.2; 44.24; 88.14), and refuge (Pss 43.2; 46.1,7; 48.3); see further Introduction. 42.1–5: The taunts of those who reject God depress the psalmist and awaken memories of past worship with believers. Verses 1–5 are unified by water imagery. 6–11: Even in anger against God, the psalmist is able to hope (vv. 8,11) and pray (vv. 8,9). 6: Land of Jordan and of Hermon, northern sites, near the headwaters of the Jordan and far from Jerusalem. Mizar, precise location unknown. 7: Deep calls to deep, the subterranean cosmic waters that symbolize chaos and death (cf. Jon 2.3–4; Ps 18.4–6). Being distant from the dwelling of the saving God is like being in the power of chaotic Sea. 43.1–5: The tone changes and the prayer becomes more robust, asking God to send your light and your truth, qualities personified as heavenly beings able to lead the psalmist to God’s shrine.

Ps 44: Prayer for recovery from national defeat. A communal petition on the occasion of a military defeat. Like Pss 77 and 89, it recalls the settling of the people in Canaan (vv. 1–3) to remind God to be faithful to that earlier moment, when God acted powerfully on behalf of Israel. Not conscious of having sinned, the community asks why God let them fall into the hands of their enemies. Superscription: Korahites, see Pss 42–43n. Maskil, see Ps 32n. 1–8: Israel’s founding moment was the Exodus‐Conquest, though the singer singles out the Conquest. Then, as now, the people trusted entirely in God’s protection. 8: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 9–16: The complaint: You have given us into the hand of our enemies. 17–22: We have done nothing to warrant your abandoning us. 22: The community struggles with being God’s people when God is silent before their pain. 23: As in Pss 35.23; 59.4–5; 78.65; Isa 51.9 (but cf. Ps 121.3–4), the psalmist expresses frustration at God’s inaction using the ancient Near Eastern motif of the sleeping god who needs to be awakened (see 1 Kings 18.27). 26–27: In conclusion, the psalmist offers two motivations for God to intervene: Israel’s terrible state, and God’s steadfast love (Heb “ḥesed”) toward Israel (see 5.7n.).

Ps 45: Celebration of the king’s wedding. A song for the king’s wedding to a foreign princess. Jewish tradition sees the singer as a model Torah scholar and the king as the Messiah. Christianity too sees a messianic reference; see Heb 1.8. Superscription: According to Lilies, probably a melody (also Pss 69; 80; cf. 60). Korahites, see Ps 42–43n. Maskil, see Ps 32n. 1–6: After an invocation (v. 1), the court poet praises the king’s beauty (most handsome of men, v. 2), which implies divine favor (as in Gen 39.6; 1 Sam 16.12; 17.42). Similarly, grace is poured upon your lips in v. 2 means to utter decisions made by a wise heart (as in Prov 22.11). Verses 3–6 speak of the king’s military prowess: by his wisdom and military skill, the king is an instrument of divine justice. 6: O God, if a reference to the king, the only time in the Bible that the Davidic king is divinized in this fashion; see also textual note b and v. 17n. 7–16: As vv. 2–6 focused on the king as defender of the land, vv. 7–16 emphasize the divine choice of the king. 7: The anointing of the king was the central act of the coronation ritual. Gladness, elsewhere associated with marriage as in Jer 7.34; 16.9; 25.10; 33.11. 8: Myrrh and aloes and cassia evoke a sensuous and erotic mood (Prov 7.17–18; Song 1.13; 5.13). 9: The queen, most likely the queen mother, since according to vv. 13–14 the bride is “in her chamber” from which she will be led to the king. According to 1 Kings 2.19, the queen mother sat on the king’s right as in Ps 45.9, so it is she who addresses the bride in vv. 10–12. Ophir, in southern Arabia (see Gen 10.29), a famous source of gold. 12: Tyre, in Phoenicia, was known for its luxury items and fine craftsmanship. 17: The court poet fulfills his task of making the king’s name known, remarkably attributing to the king the type of praise elsewhere associated with God (e.g., Ps 145.21).

Ps 46: The glory of Mount Zion, residence of the Lord. A song of Zion, like Pss 48; 76; 84; and 122. The first of a cluster of three psalms about the Lord reigning in Jerusalem. A refrain (vv. 7,11) structures the poem. Superscription: Korahites, see Ps 42–43n. Alamoth, probably a melody; see 1 Chr 15.20. 1–3: The psalmist trusts in Zion, the center of the world and residence of the Lord, which remains unshaken though the surrounding earth “totters” (NRSV change) and plunges into pre‐creation chaos. 3: Selah (also vv. 7,11), see Ps 3.2n. 4–7: In contrast to the tumultuous and dangerous waters in vv. 2–3, the calm river of v. 4 is controlled by God to provide water and fertility for the holy city (see Ps 36.5–9n.). The attacks of the rebellious nations in v. 6 function as a historical complement to the cosmic disaster in vv. 2–3. Yet God’s voice, thunder, defeats them. 9: Rather than just defeating the enemies, as in most psalms, God ends war on earth. 10: Stop what you are doing and embrace the peace the Lord has achieved. Zion is the place where God’s victory is most visible and most appropriately praised.

Ps 47: Acclaim the Lord the king of heaven and earth! An enthronement hymn, like Pss 93; 95–99, celebrating the Lord reigning over heaven and earth. Some scholars have suggested that it was written for a New Year festival celebrating the Lord’s kingship. Superscription: Korahites, see Ps 42–43n. 1–4: Presupposed is the Lord’s universal victory that is also celebrated in Pss 2; 46; 48; 76; 93. Israel’s task is to offer a suitable welcome and receive the territory (our heritage, v. 4) that the victorious Lord assigns. 2: A great king, better “the Great King,” a title of suzerains in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Hittite kingdom. 4: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 5: Gone up, ascended the throne as in 2 Sam 6.15; Isa 14.13. The shout and trumpet were part of the ritual proclaiming the new king (see 1 Kings 1.39–49). 8: Is king … sits, perhaps better translated as actions in a ceremony: “has become king … has taken his seat on the throne.” 9: Gather as the people of the God of Abraham, an emendation yields “The princes of the peoples gather with the people of the God of Abraham.” Shields, i.e., rulers (by metonymy).

Ps 48: A hymn to Zion, the place of God’s peace. A song of Zion, like Pss 46; 76; 84; 122. Comparable Near Eastern texts describe how a particular god became the most high god by defeating chaos and then, after receiving the acclaim of the other heavenly beings, constructed a palace to memorialize the victory. Ps 48 seems to see earthly kings (v. 4) as representing the same chaotic power. Superscription: Korahites, see Ps 42–43n. 1–3: Seven epithets are applied to Zion. In the far north, better “the heights of Zaphon,” the mountain home of the storm god Baal (modern Jebel el‐Aqraʿ on the coast of northern Syria). The Lord has taken over Baal’s domain. 4–8: Rather than describing a specific historical battle, the verses imagine the gathering of rebellious kingdoms against the Lord’s governance of the universe. But this is no ordinary military victory: the nations needed only to see the magnificent Jerusalem, and they capitulated. 7: East wind, the weapon of the storm god. Tarshish, location uncertain; perhaps Tarsus in southern Turkey or Tartessus in southern Spain. 8: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 9–14: The Temple buildings memorialize the Lord’s steadfast love (Heb “ḥesed”) manifested in the victory that brought order and justice to the world. Military might is a means to justice, the right governance of the world. The psalm begins and ends (vv. 1–3,12–14) with the mountains and the buildings that remind visitors of the mercy and grandeur of God. 12–13: Walk about Zion … consider well its ramparts, a command to contemplate the result of the divine victory just won, perhaps referring to a ritual procession through the city. 14: The final word, forever (Heb “ʿal‐mut”), is likely out of place here, belonging with the superscription of the following psalm as “Alamot” (Heb “ʿalamot”; see Ps 46n.).

Ps 49: An instruction on the limits of wealth. A wisdom psalm or instruction about the folly of relying on wealth rather than God. A refrain structures the poem and highlights its theme (vv. 12,20). The text is often obscure, as the textual notes attest. Superscription: Korahites, see Pss 42–43n. 1–4: A formal call for attention like Deut 32.1–3 and Ps 78.1–4. The psalmist assumes the role of a wisdom teacher. 5–12: Instead of calling on God for rescue from the arrogant wealthy, the psalmist reflects on the folly of relying on wealth. 12: The psalmist’s conclusion: wealth cannot stave off death. 13–20: As the poem progresses, the tone grows bolder. 13: Selah (also v. 15), see Ps 3.2n. 14: Sheol, the abode of the dead. 15: Though the wealthy seem to triumph, God will ransom and “take” (NRSV receive) the psalmist from the clutches of the underworld. The Heb word for “take” elsewhere describes God’s lifting loyal servants to the safety of heaven (see Ps 73.24; Gen 5.24; 2 Kings 2.10).

Ps 50: A covenant renewal liturgy. The psalm seems to record a ceremony in which the people reaffirm their commitment to the Sinai covenant. It is similar to Pss 81 and 95. The poem is attributed to Asaph, one of David’s musicians (1 Chr 6.39; 15.17; 16.5–7); the other Asaph psalms appear together as a collection in 73–83. 1–6: God appears on Mount Zion, the site of the Temple. Zion may evoke the other great holy mountain where the covenant was originally made, Mount Sinai (Ex 19), where God made a covenant with Israel and now invites Israel to renew it on Mount Zion in Jerusalem, another holy mountain. 4: Heavens … earth, ancient treaties and covenants invoked such primal pairs along with gods as witnesses (see, e.g., Deut 32.1), and they are appropriately invoked here as the people are questioned about their fidelity to the covenant. 5: My faithful ones, better, “consecrated ones,” those who have become God’s people by entering into the covenant. 6: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 7–15: On God’s rejection of animal sacrifice, see Isa 1.10–17; Jer 6.20; Am 5.21–24. Aggressive rebukes and questions often preceded renewal of vows, e.g., Ps 81; Josh 24; 1 Sam 12. The goal was positive: to encourage repentance. 7: I am God, your God, a paraphrase of the beginning of the Decalogue (Ex 20.2); perhaps the entire Decalogue was meant to be repeated at this point in the ritual. 14: A sacrifice of thanksgiving was mostly eaten by the worshiper. 16–23: Though not everyone is guilty of the sins named in this section, the whole congregation must listen to the rebukes, for each is a member of the community. Verses 8–13 rebuked sacrifices that were a substitute for sincere calling unto God; vv. 16–21 condemns the sins themselves. 22–23: A final warning and blessing.

Ps 51: Prayer of repentance and renewal. An individual petition. Superscription: Attributed to David after the prophet Nathan rebuked him for adultery and murder (2 Sam 12), a reminder that all humans, even the most revered, must ask God for forgiveness. Like other psalm superscriptions, this is likely secondary: the psalm itself never refers explicitly to David’s actions. The first section (vv. 1–9) is marked off by the repetition of “blot out” in vv. 1 and 9, and “wash” in vv. 2 and 7. The second section (vv. 10–19) is framed by the repetition of “heart,” “God,” and “spirit” in vv. 10 and 17. As in Ps 50, contrition is considered more valuable in God’s sight than sacrifices; cf. Ps 69.30–31. 1–9: Since the metaphor for sin in v. 1 is stain, the psalmist asks for cleansing and purifying what is soiled or defiled. 5: I was born guilty, the psalmist was never without sin (cf. Ps 88.15); this is the closest statement in the Hebrew Bible resembling the later Christian idea of original sin. 7: Branches of hyssop, a wild shrub, were used for sprinkling liquids in purification rituals (Lev 14.4; Num 19.6). 10–17: The effects of forgiveness—interior renewal, nearness to God, an enlivened spirit, joy—will inspire the psalmist to teach sinners (vv. 13–15), which is of more value than sacrifice (v. 17). 18–19: Apparently an addition inspired by the statement that “a broken spirit” is an acceptable sacrifice (v. 17): the Temple will be rebuilt and then there will be sacrifices again. As in other psalms, a personal petition is turned into a national psalm, here reflecting the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 bce.

Ps 52: True confidence. A contrast between a self‐confident wicked warrior and a person who trusts God. The psalmist denounces the arrogant (vv. 1–4), confidently awaits God’s punishment of them (vv. 5–7), and concludes with a declaration of trust in God (vv. 8–9). It is similar to Ps 36. Superscription: Maskil, see Ps 32n. On Doeg’s betrayal of David, see 1 Sam 21.1–8; 22.6–19. 1–4: The psalm uses types, typical ways of behaving (e.g., the wicked plot against the good person), a style common in wisdom literature. 1: O mighty one, sometimes applied to God, here it is ironically applied to the self‐important deceiver whose days are numbered. 3: Selah (also v. 5), see Ps 3.2n. 5–7: Justice must not only be done, it must be seen. The sinner will be excluded from the Temple, but the psalmist will be “like a green olive tree in the house of God” (v. 8). 6: By effecting justice in the world, God encourages people to act justly. There is a pun on similar‐sounding Heb roots, “yrʾ”(“to fear”) and “rʾh” (“to see”). 8: But I, abruptly shifts attention to the psalmist who enjoys the protection of the Temple. Ancient temples often had gardens that symbolized the life‐giving capacity of the god worshiped there.

Ps 53: Refusal to be silenced by those who deny God’s justice. A song of trust condemning those who deny God is active in the world and declaring trust in God who cares for the poor (among whom the psalmist wants to be counted). Psalm 53 is a near duplicate of Ps 14. A major difference is that this psalm is part of the “Elohistic Psalter (Pss 42–83), which prefers the divine name “Elohim,” translated “God,” rather than “the Lord,” and thus replaces many occurrences of “Lord” in Ps 14 with “God.” See Ps 14 for commentary.

Ps 54: God’s saving power. An individual petition that focuses on the power of God’s name (vv. 1,6). Superscription: Maskil, see Ps 32n. On David’s betrayal by the residents of Ziph, see 1 Sam 23.15–29. 1:To invoke God’s name is a way of expressing one’s loyalty and sets up the expectation that God will come to the rescue. 3: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 4: A strong statement of trust in God as helper and upholder who will punish the enemies. 6: The psalmist offers God two motivations to help: a promise of a freewill offering, and to thank God publicly. 9: As in many individual petitions, the psalmist is imagining that he has already been saved.

Ps 55: Plea to be delivered from violence and false friends. The petition of an individual emotionally distraught (vv. 4–8) by the violence of the community (the city, v. 9) and the deceit of a friend (vv. 12–15,22–23). In the second part (vv. 16–23), the psalmist finds solace in the hope that God will bring justice. Superscription: Maskil, see Ps 32n. 2: The Heb of O God … I am troubled is echoed in v. 23 by O God, will cast them down, which concludes the psalm. 6–7: In contrast to most psalms, the supplicant does not find security in the Temple, and wants to flee far away in the wilderness, perhaps because intimate friends have proved untrustworthy (vv. 13–14). 7: Selah (also v. 19), see Ps 3.2n. 12–15: Harder to bear than societal corruption is the betrayal of a friend, a thought repeated in vv. 22–23. 12: Not merely crying for revenge; the psalmist wants judgment on the wicked to be visible. 15: Alive, in the prime of life (cf. Num 16.30; Ps 124.3). Sheol, the underworld, the abode of the dead. 17: Either a reference to praying three times a day, as in later Judaism, or a figure of speech, meaning perpetual prayer. 22: The psalmist is assured of divine protection, perhaps by a priest or prophet.

Ps 56: Trust in the midst of oppression. Petition of a victim of oppression, notable for its lengthy assertion of trust (vv. 2c–4,8–13). A refrain (vv. 4bc,11) structures the poem. Superscription: The Dove on Far‐off Terebinths, probably the name of a melody. Miktam, a technical term of unknown meaning. The psalm is associated with David when the Philistines seized him in Gath (1 Sam 21.11–15). 4: Flesh, a biblical expression for humans on their own, without divine help to aid them. 8: My tears in your bottle, a striking image of God’s care. A shepherd might keep track of his animals by putting pebbles in a bag. Record, the same Heb word is translated “book” elsewhere; see Ps 40.7n. With that statement, the tone changes to serene trust in God. 13: In the light of life, in contrast to Sheol, the dark underworld.

Ps 57: A petition for God’s faithfulness and a promise of praise. An individual petition divided by refrains (vv. 5,11) into two parts, and unified by mention of God’s steadfast love and faithfulness (vv. 3,10). Superscription: Do Not Destroy, perhaps a melody. Miktam, a technical term of unknown meaning. When he fled from Saul, in the cave, see 1 Sam 24. 1: The shadow of your wings, either the wings of the cherubim, protectors of the throne of God in the Temple (1 Kings 6.27; 8.6; Ps 17.8n.) or a comparison of the deity to a bird hovering protectively over its nestlings as in Deut 32.11 and some Egyptian divine images. 3: Steadfast love … faithfulness (also v. 10): commonly paired, the two words express one concept, God’s loving fidelity. Selah (also v. 6), see Ps 3.2n. 4: The images of lions and weapons combine to express great danger, as do those of hunters in v. 6. The psalmist expresses vulnerability as being hunted. 6: See 7.15–16n. 7–10: With the light of dawn, danger disappears and the psalmist sings a song of thanksgiving in anticipation of salvation. 7: A rare instance of a psalmist’s internal monologue; cf. 42.5,11; 43.5; 108.1. 9: The psalmist’s declaration of a desire to acknowledge God widely is meant to motivate God to save him. 10–11: The psalmist is asking God to act as befits his character.

Ps 58: The importance of divine justice. Beginning with a contemptuous dismissal of evil “gods” who sponsor evil humans (vv. 1–5), the psalmist petitions God to break their power (vv. 6–9) and enable the just to enjoy peace (vv. 10–11), encouraging people to recognize that a just deity controls the world. The hunting imagery of Ps 57 continues in vv. 3–6. Superscription: Do Not Destroy, see Ps 57n. Miktam, a technical term of unknown meaning. 1: You gods, refers either to wicked humans behaving arrogantly (as in 2 Kings 24.15; Ezek 17.13) or, more likely, to heavenly beings who rebelled against the Lord’s absolute authority and incite humans to act against the Lord (vv. 3–5). Ps 82 is similar. 6–9: With a wealth of metaphors (broken teeth, water disappearing into the dry ground, trodden grass, a dissolving snail, and a stillborn infant), the psalmist asks for a divine intervention that will restore God’s original intentions. 10–11: A successful intervention will let everyone know that there is a just god. Bathe … in the blood, the gory image expresses the totality of God’s victory; cf. Ps 68.23; Isa 63.1–6.

Ps 59: Prayer against the enemies of the community. The designation of the enemies as “all the nations” (vv. 5,8), “the city” (vv. 6,14), and “known to the ends of the earth” (v. 13) suggests that the poem is a petition of the community, perhaps uttered by the king, the “I” voice in this psalm. The doubled structure of the poem (vv. 1–10,11–17; note the refrains in vv. 6,14 and 9,17) enables the sufferer to change from a simple desire for personal rescue to a passion for justice, hope, and eagerness to sing praise. Superscription: Do Not Destroy, see Ps 57n. Miktam, a technical term of unknown meaning. The episode is related in 1 Sam 19.11–17. 4: Rouse yourself, see Ps 44.23n. 5: Selah (also v. 13), see Ps 3.2n. 6–7 (cf. 14–15): The enemies are like dogs, not attacking but constantly yelping, and their cry is Who will hear us? i.e., God is unable to save the city. 8: But you introduces the statement of praise in vv. 8–10 just as but I (v. 16) introduces the statement of praise in vv. 16–17. The words are similar to Ps 2.4, in a similar context of God mocking the nations for believing that he is powerless to save Israel. 11–13: The psalmist wants God to make an object lesson out of the enemies. 16–17: As is appropriate to this psalm, God is depicted metaphorically as fortress, refuge, and strength; see Ps 18.1–2. 16: In the morning, see Ps 57.9–10. Who shows me steadfast love complements the military imagery that predominates.

Ps 60: May God grant victory! A community petition that God would be faithful to his ancient promise of land to his people (vv. 6–8) and support the beleaguered army defending it (vv. 9–11). Verses 5–12 also appear in Ps 108.6–13. Superscription: According to the Lily of the Covenant, see Ps 45n.; cf. Ps 80. Miktam, a technical term of unknown meaning. Israel’s struggles with Aram‐naharaim (in northeastern Syria) and Aram‐zobah (an Aramean city‐state) are told in 2 Sam 8.3–8 and 10.6–13; Joab was David’s general. 1–5: Complaint and petition. 4: You have set up a banner, best rendered as a petition: “Set up a banner so that we may rally to it.” Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 6–8: The psalmist cites an ancient oracle of land promise, probably uttered after a victory, in order to remind God to be faithful to it in the present crisis. Shechem, a major city in central Israel (Ephraim, the Northern Kingdom). The Vale of Succoth, in the east Jordan Valley. Gilead and Manasseh, Israelite territory in Transjordan. Judah, the Southern Kingdom. Moab and Edom, in southern Transjordan, and Philistia, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast, were areas subjected to Israel as vassals (see 2 Sam 8.11–12). I hurl my shoe, probably a reference to the legal gesture of claiming ownership attested in Ruth 4.7. 9–12: Complaint and petition. 9: Who will bring me to the fortified city? A prayer that God lead the commander of Israel’s armies (perhaps the king) against their foes. Fortified city, a seemingly impregnable fort, possibly referring to Bozrah, the capital of Edom. 10: Reprises v. 1. Go out … with our armies, according to 1 Sam 4, the Israelites carried the ark symbolizing God’s presence into battle. 11: See Pss 20.7–8n.; 44.3.

Ps 61: Plea to be in God’s Temple. An individual, far away from the Temple, prays to be led there and enjoy its protection and nourishment. 2–4: From the end of the earth, a remote place, far from the center in Jerusalem. Rock, refuge, tower, tent, shelter of your wings, all can refer to the Temple and its precincts; see also Ps 57.1n. 4: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 5: You have heard my vows, best understood as an expression of confidence that God will hear his vows. 6: The king, as God’s anointed, was closely associated with the Temple; he also represented the people and so the psalmist’s request is to join the people in their worship as in Pss 42–43.

Ps 62: Trust in God the stronghold. A song of trust, recording the feelings of an individual beset by enemies. The psalm combines two kinds of statements: an exhortation to the self (vv. 1–2,5–7) and a rebuke to enemies (vv. 3–4). The inner dialogue shows the vulnerability of a believer caught in an unjust world. Refrains in vv. 1 and 5 help unify the poem and emphasize that the psalmist’s attitude differs totally from that of the evildoers Superscription: Jeduthun, see Ps 39n. 3–4: Instead of speaking about the enemies, the psalmist speaks (imaginatively) to the enemies (as in Pss 2.10–11; 4.2; 75.4–7). 4: Selah (also v. 8), see Ps 3.2n. 8–10: Lest others be intimidated and cease trusting, the palmist shares the hard‐won conviction that nothing but God suffices. 9: The good deeds of the evildoers are unsubstantial. 11: Once … twice, numerical parallelism, where a number x is paralleled by x+1. This verse thus means that I heard the one thing that God spoke, that power belongs to God.

Ps 63: Longing for God. A song of desire to be protected from enemies (vv. 9–10) and be in God’s house (vv. 2–5), like Pss 27; 42–43; 61; and 84. The psalm is a powerful expression of the deep human longing for God both in public ceremonies and private moments. Superscription: In the wilderness of Judah, see 1 Sam 23.14–15; 24.1. 1: My soul thirsts, communion with God is expressed by metaphors of eating, seeing (v. 2), and praising (vv. 3–5). The Heb word for soul also means “throat area,” so the verse is punning. 2: I have looked: The NRSV translation assumes the psalmist is already in the Temple, but in similar psalms (e.g., 42–43; 84) being in the Temple is in the future, thus better: “I shall look upon.” 3: Better than life, experiencing God in the Temple is better than mere existence elsewhere. 6: On my bed, spontaneous private prayer, in contrast to commanded ritual performance as in Pss 4.4b–5a; 149.5b–6a. 6–11: In contrast to first part of the psalm (vv. 1–5), which expresses the hope of being in the Temple, the second part (vv. 6–11) acknowledges that God has never ceased being the psalmist’s God. Shadow of your wings, see Ps 57.1n. 11: For a similar concluding prayer mentioning the king, see Ps 61.6n.

Ps 64: Protection from enemies’ plots. A carefully constructed individual petition. Notable is its outrage at the secrecy of the evil and its insistence that conspiracies be unmasked so that’s God’s justice can be seen to be operating. The second part (vv. 6–10), the statement of hope and trust, reverses the key words of the first part (vv. 1–5): “arrows/arrow” in vv. 3b and 7a; “tongues/tongue” in vv. 3a and 8a; “suddenly” in vv. 4b and 7b; “shoot” in vv. 4a, 4b, and 7a; “fear” in vv. 4b and 9a; and “see” in vv. 5c and 8b. God will shoot arrows at those who have shot arrows at the righteous; those who use their tongues to attack the righteous and assert God’s impotence will be ruined because of their tongue, that is, their words. Bringing back on evildoers the very evil they intended to inflict on others is a sure sign of divine justice. 9: Like many individual petitions, the conclusion moves from the single person to the community, here stating that people will be in awe as they recognize God’s just action.

Ps 65: Thanksgiving for God’s enlivening the world. The psalmist gives thanks for all that God does in creating and sustaining the world and in choosing and nurturing Israel by making its land fertile. This good God dwells in the Temple where Israel is privileged to acknowledge God’s endless benefits. 1–3: In Hebrew, the opening lines begin with “to you,” underlining the centrality of God, to whom all worship on Mount Zion is directed. 2: All flesh, all nations. 3: Forgive, bring near, liturgical vocabulary. 5: Awesome deeds, actions that elicit wonder. In Ps 106.22 the phrase refers to the Exodus miracles, and in Isa 5.8 to creation victory. 6–7: The divine victory associated with creation: the mountains are placed in their bases (see Pss 89.12; 90.2) and the chaotic primeval waters are defeated (see Ps 89.9–13). 9–13: One benefit of God’s creation victory is that the once dangerous waters now fertilize the earth. The psalmist focuses on the waters that make the earth bloom and provide nourishment to humans. 9: River of God, see Ps 36.5–9n. 12–13: Earth is personified as in Pss 50.4; 96.11; 97.1.

Ps 66: Thanksgiving to God for help in danger. In this community thanksgiving, an individual calls upon the whole world (vv. 1–4,16–19) to acknowledge God’s rescue of the people from danger (vv. 8–12) and promises to fulfill a vow made in that time of danger (vv. 13–15). 4: Selah (also vv. 7,15), see Ps 3.2n. 5–6: Come and see, when grave danger threatened, the psalmist called people to remember the great formative event of the Exodus (see Ex 14.21–22; Josh 4.23), assuming that God will be faithful to that past act. 10: Silver ore was tried or refined by heat, which separated the pure silver from other minerals. 16–20: Ritual thanksgiving is not enough; the psalmist must proclaim God’s mighty works to the world.

Ps 67: May the nations acknowledge God in our prosperity! In this communal petition, the psalmist prays that the nations may recognize how God has caused Israel to prosper, and has also guided the peoples and will judge them equitably. The nations should therefore praise God. “Bless” and “praise” are key words, repeated several times, emphasizing the theme of the psalm. Verses 1 and 5 are refrains. 1: Make his face to shine upon us, a reworking of the priestly blessing in Num 6.24–26. Like the sun and moon, the face is a light shining in favor upon the people (Pss 31.16; 80.3,7,19). Selah (also v. 4), see Ps 3.2n. 3–5: The center of the poem is v. 4, the only three‐line verse: it is framed by vv. 3 and 5. 6: The earth has yielded, better translated as a prayer, “May the earth yield its increase”: the people pray for their continued prosperity so that their God might receive more honor.

Ps 68: The victorious Lord comes to the aid of Israel. Scholars do not agree on the meaning of many of the words and phrases of this psalm, and thus on its broader meaning or genre. It is perhaps best taken as a communal thanksgiving for God having defended the people against infertile fields and herds and attack. The battle‐victory is described in cosmic terms, waged against “the depths of the sea” (v. 22), “wild animals,” and “the herd of bulls” (v. 30), as well as “the kings of the armies” (v. 12). 1–6: Sing to God setting out to battle. 4: Who rides upon the clouds, God’s storm‐cloud chariot; see also vv. 33.7–14. 7: Selah (also vv. 19,32), see Ps 3.2n. 7–8: Cf. Judg 5.4–5. 15–23: The Lord returns to his holy mountain residence, Mount Zion, having earlier appeared at Sinai (v. 8). 14–15: Snow fell on Zalmon, meaning uncertain. Zalmon is perhaps a mountain in Bashan, in northern Transjordan. 23: Bathe … in blood, see 58.10n. 24–31: The tribes of Israel follow in procession. 32–35: The nations are to bring tribute to the victorious Lord in the Temple and acknowledge God.

Ps 69: A loyal servant’s prayer for deliverance. An unusually long individual petition, marked by deep commitment to God’s cause. Verses 13d–29 repeat words occurring in vv. 1–13a, unifying the poem and lending it intensity. Another stylistic feature of the poem is the alternation between I (the psalmist) and you (God). Superscription: According to Lilies, see Ps 45n. 1–4: References to waters unify vv. 1–3, and references to bodily organs (throat, eyes, hairs of my head) unify vv. 3–4. 5–12: The psalmist asks for help promoting the honor of God’s house (v. 9), though freely conceding personal weakness and folly (v. 5). 8: See Ps 38.11; Job 19.13–15. 22–29: The psalmist is less interested in personal vengeance than in being publicly vindicated as God’s innocent and loyal servant. 28: The book of the living, see Ps 40.7n. 30–31: A verbal offering is superior to an animal one; cf. Ps 51.7–15n. 32–36: The salvation of the supplicant is not for his own sake, but so others will praise God. A poor person is an affront to God who has promised to care for the needy. 35: Perhaps a secondary reference to the attack of the Assyrian king Sennacherib in 701 bce, or to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 bce.

Ps 70: A prayer that the psalmist’s persecutors would be defeated. An individual petition that enemies be punished (vv. 1–3) and God‐seekers experience the joy of salvation (vv. 4–5). It is also found with a few variants in Ps 40.13–17. Superscription: For the memorial offering (also Ps 38), meaning uncertain. 1–3: God, help, and make haste, echoed in the final lines, bringing closure to the poem. 2: Shame, violating accepted morality brought dishonor upon the violator. The prayer is that the enemies’ schemes be publicly frustrated. 3: Aha, Aha, see Ps 40.15n. 4: God’s help of this individual will encourage other righteous people. 5: Psalms often depicts the supplicant as poor and needy as in the previous psalm.

Ps 71: An elderly person’s plea for help. An individual petition that recycles material from Pss 22 and 31. Verses 9, 18, and 20 suggest the psalm of a person of mature years. Verses 1–13 and 14–24 seem to constitute its two parts, each with virtually the same number of Hebrew words. 3: Rock of refuge, a massive rock formation, a frequent metaphor for God saving and helping someone. 6: Cf. Ps 22.9–10. 7: A portent to many, an example of God’s merciful care for loyal servants. 14–16: The psalmist is unusually buoyant despite the troubles. 17–21: The psalmist looks back at a long life, finds that God has always been faithful, and is inspired by such fidelity. 24: As in many petitions, the person praying imagines that the prayer has already been heard and the problem rectified.

Ps 72: Prayer that the king may act justly and extend God’s rule to all lands. A royal psalm that may have been used at the king’s coronation or its anniversary. It views the Israelite king as the instrument of divine justice and protector of the poor (vv. 1–4,12–14), ensuring that the riches of creation are available to all (vv. 5–7); and he is the earthly agent of God’s universal rule (vv. 8–11). Nonetheless, he is still a human being in constant need of divine help (vv. 1,15–17). Superscription: One of two psalms attributed to King Solomon (also Ps 127), perhaps because of the mention of “a king’s son” in v. 1 and because an editor imagined that the land boundaries in v. 8 reflected the boundaries of Solomon’s kingdom (see 1 Kings 4.24). 1–2: Justice, righteousness, conformity to the divine will, which leads to prosperity (v. 2). 2: The existence of the poor is contrary to the divine will; the king will be especially caring for the poor (v. 4). 8–11: As representative of the lord of the world, the Israelite king receives the tribute of all the kings of the world in God’s name. 8: The River, the Euphrates. 10: Tarshish, see Ps 48.7n. The isles, the islands of the eastern Aegean Sea. Sheba and Seba, both in southwestern Arabia. 12–14: A repetition of the royal responsibilities, emphasizing the poor, similar to 2–4. 15–17: Another cycle of blessings, similar to 5–11. 18–19: Not a part of the psalm, but a doxology or blessing concluding Book II, the second of five editorial divisions of the Psalter; see also Pss 41.13; 89.52; 106.48; 150.1–6. 20: This verse suggests that at one time the book of Psalms, or at least the psalms attributed to David, ended here. (More than a dozen psalms also attributed to David follow.) This is important evidence for the growth of the book of Psalms over time.

Ps 73: Declaration of trust. Though sometimes classed as a wisdom psalm because it explores the problem of evil, the psalm actually records the psalmist’s passage from despair at the apparent triumph of the wicked (vv. 3–12), through various stratagems to solve the problem (vv. 13–17), to a final appreciation of God’s justice, nearness, and care (vv. 18–28). The psalm concludes that the wicked may triumph, but only temporarily. It opens a collection of psalms attributed to Asaph (73–83; see Ps 50n.). 3–11: Verses 3–7 tell what the psalmist sees (evildoers’ well‐fed bodies) and vv. 8–11 tell what the psalmist hears (their arrogant words). 17: Rejecting such strategies as criticizing God’s injustice like Job (v. 15) or trying to reason about it (v. 16), the psalmist resolves to confront God in the sanctuary, where God is especially present, and there comes to understand the end of the wicked: they will be swept away suddenly (vv. 18–20). 21–22: An admission of guilt, encouraging others not to entertain such stupid and brute‐ish thoughts. 24: Receive me, elevate to the security of God’s domain, a metaphor derived from the elevation of Enoch (Gen 5.24), Elijah (2 Kings 2.11–12), and the psalmist in Ps 49.15.

Ps 74: The community begs God to restore the devastated Temple. A community petition that expresses pain over the immense punishment and abandonment symbolized by the ruined Temple (1–11), remembers in liturgical prayer God’s primordial victory that created the world of which the Temple is a central part (vv. 12–17), and turns the experience into a triple prayer that God act now (vv. 18–19,20–21,22–23). It probably is to be dated sometime between the destruction of the Temple in 586 and its restoration in 520 bce. Superscription: Maskil, see Ps 32n. Asaph, see Ps 73n. 4: Emblems, better, “signs,” as clarified by v. 9, a prophetic word telling when divine rescue will come; see Ps 13.1n. 12–17: Since the Temple was often considered a part of God’s orderly world (Pss 93.5; 96.8–10) its devastated state seems to call into question God’s ability to rule the universe. The psalmist therefore reminds God of the triumphant act of creation, using a variant of a Canaanite creation story known from Ugarit about Baal defeating the watery chaos. 14: The mythological creature Leviathan, known from Ugarit, represents primeval watery chaos; see also Isa 27.1; Job 3.8; 26.12–13; 41.1. 19: Your dove, unclear; it may be an affectionate term for the king or the dove may be a symbol of vulnerability (Pss 11.1; 102.7; 124.7). 20: In the covenant God gave assurances of Israel’s perpetual existence (see, e.g., Pss 18.50; 89.3–4. 22–23: In order to motivate God, the psalmist calls Israel’s enemies your [God’s] foes.

Ps 75: The community thanks God for putting down the wicked. A thanksgiving praising God (v. 1) for doing just deeds, in this case, punishing the wicked (vv. 2–5,6–8). The actual punishment is announced in an oracle of judgment with God speaking (vv. 2–5). Superscription: Do Not Destroy, see Ps 57n. Asaph, see Ps 73n. 3: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 4: Lifting up a horn represents pride, arrogance, and victory. 6–8: Expansion of the divine command, spoken perhaps by the king, the envoy of God. 8: The cup (of the Lord’s wrath in Isa 51.17; Jer 25.15) is a metaphor for punishment. 9–10: The speaker accepts with joy the divine task of implementing justice.

Ps 76: God is acknowledged as victorious in the holy city. A song of Zion, celebrating it as the site where God won the victory that established the world as just and prosperous. Superscription: Asaph, see Ps 73n. 1–3: By the creation‐victory described in vv. 4–10, God is now recognized by all Israel as supreme over all other powers, and dwelling in Salem (i.e., Jerusalem; cf. Gen 14.18). 3: Selah (also v. 9), see Ps 3.2n. 7–10: The psalm presumes that the cosmic battle was fought at the base of Mount Zion; comparable religious texts also tell how the storm god defeated his enemies at the base of his holy mountain. After the battle, God established the rules of justice to which the universe must conform (8–9); even the typically noisy rider and horse (v. 6) and the earth (v. 8) were still and quiet. 10: Human wrath serves only to praise you, better emended to read: “Even wrathful Edom praises you, the remnant of Hamath keeps your feast,” referring to frequent enemies of Israel to the southeast and to the north, respectively. 11–12: Because Zion is the site of the Lord’s victory and of his dwelling, all nations must come there to pay homage. The pilgrimage of the nations is a significant theme in the Bible (Ps 102.22; Isa 2.1–4; Mic 4.1–3; Isa 60–62; 66.20–21).

Ps 77: The mighty acts of God in national trouble. Though often classed as an individual lament or petition, the psalm is best taken as a community petition in which a speaker expresses the personal distress of the community (vv. 1–10) and recalls God’s past fidelity to the nation (vv. 11–20). Superscription: Jeduthun, see Ps 39n. Asaph, see Ps 73n. 3: Selah (also vv. 9,15), see Ps 3.2n. 10: Right hand connotes supreme power. That the Lord seems unable to save the elect people depresses the singer. 11–20: Combining historical and cosmic language, the psalmist describes the Exodus from Egypt, Israel’s great founding event. 11–12: Call to mind, remember, meditate, muse, the verbs here seem to mean recite aloud as in a liturgical act to spur God to renew the ancient act that established the community. 15: The descendants of Jacob and Joseph (i.e., the Israelites). 16–19: Cf. Pss 18.7–15; 114.3–6. 19: The fact that no visible trace of God’s power was seen is a reminder that the acts of God do not require visible proof. 20: On the mention of Aaron along with Moses, see also Ps 105.26.

Ps 78: A lesson from history. Ps 78 juxtaposes two series of events in Israel’s history (vv. 12–39,40–72) to demonstrate that the people’s sin triggered divine punishment, but, even more important, to show that an offer of a new beginning comes after punishment. The first series of events is limited to those that took place “in the wilderness … in the desert” (v. 40; cf. Ex 14–Num 11); the second set is broader, including the conquest of Canaan, the founding of the national shrine at Shiloh, its rejection, culminating in the choice of Zion and of David. The psalmist’s mention of the choice of Judah and David over the Northern Kingdom of Israel (“Ephraim” v. 62) suggests a time of composition when the Northern and Southern Kingdoms were separated (late tenth to late eighth centuries bce). The psalm makes clear that history is not recalled for its own sake, but for didactic reasons (see vv. 6–8). Superscription: Maskil, see Ps 32n. Asaph, see Ps 73n. 1–11: Like Moses in Deut 5 and 18.18–19, the psalmist promises to interpret the national tradition so that the hearers might respond properly to God’s new gracious act: choosing David as king and Zion as the national shrine. 2: Parable, better, “lesson.” 9: The battle is not specifically identified. 12–40: Casting the wilderness traditions in a different order from the Pentateuch, the psalm mentions gracious act (vv. 12–16), rebellion (vv. 17–20), divine anger and punishment (vv. 21–31), and then, surprisingly, God’s forgiveness (vv. 32–39). 12: Zoan, a city in northern Egypt. 13: Ex 14.21,29; 15.8. 14: Ex 13.21–22; 14.19–20. 15–16: Ex 17.6; Num 20.11; Isa 48.21. The deep, the chaotic waters vanquished by God, which served Israel’s need for water; cf. Ps 104.5–14. 18–31: On the provisioning of the people with food after the Exodus, see Ex 16; Num 11. 40–54: Traditions different from the first recital in vv. 12–39, but the same sequence: gracious act (vv. 40–55), rebellion (vv. 56–58), divine anger and punishment (vv. 59–64), forgiveness (vv. 65–72). Here too the traditions are not identical to what is preserved in the books of Exodus and Numbers. 43–51: The plagues (Ex 7–11; Ps 105.26–36). 51: Ham, Egypt; see Gen 10.6. 52–55: Cf. Ex 15.13; Ps 77.20. 60: The ark of the covenant was in Shiloh according to 1 Sam 3–4 before it was brought to Jerusalem. Shiloh was likely destroyed by the Philistines; see also Jer 7.14; 26.6,9. 61: His power … his glory, referring to the ark, captured by the Philistines (1 Sam 4–6). 67–68: God rejected the Northern Kingdom of Israel (Joseph, Ephraim) in favor of the Southern Kingdom of Judah. 71–72: The image of the king as shepherd of the people is common in the ancient Near East. The choice of David is presented as the climax of the psalm, but unlike the account in Samuel through Kings, he is chosen after the Temple is constructed: in the case of the psalm, chosen by God, not by Solomon.

Ps 79: A community petition for punishment for those dishonoring God. Though the prayer might seem concerned only with revenge, it actually seeks to maintain the community’s relationship to God and uphold the divine honor. The NRSV division into four stanzas (vv. 1–4,5–7,8–10,11–13) is supported by the Hebrew word count of 36, 29, 36, and 29. The initial verses suggest that the psalm reflects the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by the Babylonian army in 586 bce. Superscription: Asaph, see Ps 73n. 1: Your inheritance, the land given to Israel by God. 2: Leaving bodies unburied shows the disrespect of victors and creates grief for those defeated. 5: How long? Not necessarily a rhetorical question; see Ps 13.1n. 8: Do not remember the iniquities of our ancestors, more accurately, “our past iniquities.” The people do not deny they have sinned and deserve punishment, but object that their enemies have sinned much more by attacking the Lord’s Temple and deserve immediate and severe punishment, and Judah deserves compassion. 9–13: A set of reasons why God should respond. 11–13: Like Pss 77 and 78, Ps 79 ends with—and Ps 80 begins with—the image of the divine shepherd, connecting these psalms “of Asapḥ”

Ps 80: Prayer that the shepherd of Israel would restore the people. A community petition: vv. 1–7 asks God to aid the northern tribes suffering from the effects of God’s anger, vv. 8–13 recall Israel’s founding event (the Exodus and settlement of Canaan) called into question by the enemies’ triumph, and vv. 14–19 pray that God act now. The psalm imagines the founding event as the transplanting of a vine to Canaan; cf. Isa 5.1–7; Ezek 17.1–10. A refrain with variations in vv. 3,7,14,19 structures the poem. Superscription: On Lilies, see Ps 45n. Covenant, cf. Ps 60. Asaph, see Ps 73n. 1: Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, northern tribes separated from Judah since the schism of ca. 922 bce. In 722, Assyria defeated the Northern Kingdom and seized its territory. God is imagined as enthroned upon the cherubim (i.e., present above the ark of covenant in the Temple). 4: The epithet God of hosts, which refers to God with his heavenly army, is especially suitable here, since God is asked to fight on behalf of Israel. How long, see 13.1n. 8–13: Ex 15.17; Ps 44.2; and Ezek 19.10–14 also speak of the founding of Israel as a planting. 11: The River, the Euphrates. 14–19: The one at your right hand (the king).

Ps 81: Invitation to renew the covenant. A covenant renewal liturgy like Ps 50 in which the community is invited to renew the covenant (vv. 1–5b) and then is challenged with the consequences of disobedience (vv. 5c–16). Superscription: Gittith, see Ps 8n. Asaph, see Ps 73n. 3: New moon, an important holy day; see Num 28.11–15; Isa 1.13. Festal day, the exact reference is uncertain; little is known about covenant renewal ceremonies in ancient Israel. 5: Joseph, referring to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the principal constituents of the Northern Kingdom of Israel. I hear a voice I had not known, introduces an oracle in which God, speaking in the first person (vv. 6–10), describes the people’s liberation from Egyptian bondage, their encounter with the Lord at Sinai, and guidance in the wilderness (vv. 6–7), and reminds the people of the commandment of loving the Lord alone (vv. 8–10). 7: The secret place of thunder, likely Mount Sinai where God appeared in thunder (Ex 19.16,18; 20.18). For the waters of Meribah, see Ex 17.17; Num 20.13. Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 9–10: A restatement of the beginning of the Decalogue (Ex 20.1–3). 9: Foreign god, see Deut 32.12. 10: To accept the Lord’s food in the wilderness is equivalently to accept the Lord as their God. 11–16: Cf. Josh 24.19–21. Such language is meant to explain why all is not well with Israel in the psalmist’s period. 16: Finest of the wheat, see Deut 32.14; Ps 147.14. Honey from the rock, see Deut 32.13.

Ps 82: Petition for divine justice. As in Ps 29 (cf. Pss 58 and 75), the setting is the assembly of the heavenly beings, who were thought to rule the nations of the earth under God’s supervision (cf. Deut 32.8–9). This psalm tells how these beings lost their authority by ruling unjustly, and how God took over their rule. A variant of this judgment scene is Ps 58. Superscription: Asaph, see Ps 73n. 1: Divine council, in 1 Kings 22.19–22; Isa 6; 40.1–9, the assembly is thoroughly obedient to God. In Ps 82, however, some of the gods are summoned to trial, found guilty of misrule, and punished with mortality (i.e., loss of divine status). 2–4: Acting both as prosecuting attorney and judge, God accuses them of not giving justice to the weak, i.e., not aiding them. 2: Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 5: Either a comment of the psalmist or the heavenly prosecutor. 6–7: The verdict. 8: The implication of what precedes: a call for God, now acting alone, to judge fairly.

Ps 83: A plea that God would protect the community. A community petition that God might protect the people from ten nations bent on annihilating Israel. Ten is symbolic for many as in Gen 5 (ten individuals before the Flood); Gen 31.7; Num 14.22; Job 19.3. The list reflects no single historical reality, but is cumulative, like the listing of enemies in Ezek 38–39, designating all enemies of God’s people. Verse 1 is the opening plea, vv. 2–8 the complaint (a conspiracy against Israel), and vv. 9–18 the plea that God wipe out all enemies (vv. 9–12) using the weapons of storm (vv. 13–17), so God’s holy name may be exalted on earth (v. 18). Superscription: Asaph, see Ps 73n. 4–8: The psalmist cites the speech of conspirators (v. 4) as in Ex 1.10 and Ps 2.3. 6: Edom, the territory south and east of the Dead Sea. Ishmaelites, nomads (Gen 37.25) related to the Edomites (Gen 36.3,9–10). Moab, east of the Dead Sea. Hagrites, their territory was east of Gilead (1 Chr 5.10,19–20). 7: Gebal, later known as Byblos, on the coast of Lebanon. Ammon, in central Transjordan. Amalek, a people dispossessed by Israel in Ex 17.8–16; they disappear from the Bible after the time of David (1 Sam 15 and 30.13–25). 8: Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom of Israel in 722 bce and thereafter harassed Judah. The children of Lot were Moab and Ammon (Gen 19.36–38). Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 9–18: May you show your enemies that you are again supreme, as you were in the past. The events in vv. 10–12 are narrated in Judg 4–8. 9: Midian, a confederation of desert tribes. 10: En‐dor, near Mount Tabor in central Israel. 11: Oreb and Zeeb, Midianite captains slain by Ephraimites (Judg 7.25; 8.3). Zebah and Zalmunna, Midianite kings slain by Gideon (Judg 8.4–21). 13–14: These verses may have been accompanied by symbolic actions.

Ps 84: Longing for the Temple and a prayer for the Davidic king. A song of Zion, with emphasis on the desire to participate in its worship (cf. Pss 42–43; 63). Superscription: Gittith, see Ps 8n. Korahites, see Ps 42–43n. 1: Lovely, better, “beloved” as in Isa 5.1; Deut 33.12. 3: NRSV wrongly assumes birds’ nests are at the altar, where birds’ nests would never be allowed. The comparison is to a homeless bird finding a home for its young, suggesting: “As a sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, so my home” is at your altars. 4: Selah (also v. 8), see Ps 3.2n. 5–7: The joyous final stage of the journey to Zion. 6: Baca, precise location unknown. 7: They go from strength to strength, a puzzling phrase, perhaps “from rampart to rampart,” the outer and inner gates of Jerusalem. 9: Our shield, your anointed, the Davidic king played an important role in the ceremonies in Zion.

Ps 85: A prayer for forgiveness. A community petition that God be merciful as in the past (vv. 1–3) and forgive this discouraged generation (vv. 4–13). The psalm may have been recited by those returning from exile. Superscription: Korahites, see Ps 42–43n. 2: Pardoned, lit., “covered.” Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 8: Though the mode through which God spoke is unclear, worshipers expected to be able to discern the divine will, especially at the Temple. 10–13: The effects of divine forgiveness on land and people are expressed in striking metaphors and personifications: courtiers greeting each other with exquisite courtesy (v. 10), the land itself growing righteousness like a plant (vv. 11–12), and messengers preparing for the Lord’s arrival (v. 13); cf. Ps 89.14.

Ps 86: Desire for God as helper. An individual petition that concentrates on the psalmist’s desire to be God’s loyal servant (vv. 1–7); it celebrates God’s incomparability (vv. 8–13) prior to asking for help in a particular need (vv. 16–17). 1: Incline your ear … answer me, repeated in v. 7 (NRSV call … answer), which concludes the section. The poet is proud to be the servant of so responsive a Lord. Poor and needy, to express one’s poverty makes a claim against God, for God wants the faithful to enjoy the goods of creation. 8: Cf. Pss 71.19; 89.6–7; Ex 15.11. 9: See Ps 22.27n. 14–17: Having praised the Lord’s graciousness in vv. 1–7 and 8–13, the psalmist now asks for the same compassion and justice in the present need. 13: Sheol, the abode of the dead. 15: See Ex 34.6.

Ps 87: Zion, God’s chosen city. A song of Zion, probably from the sixth or fifth century bce, assuring exiled Israelites their true home is Zion (vv. 1–3), and welcoming returnees and the nations who bring them home (4–6). Superscription: Korahites, see Ps 42–43n. 3: Glorious things, hymns sung in the city of God, as in Pss 48.1; 76.1. Selah (also v. 6), see Ps 3.2n. 4: Rahab, probably Egypt (see Isa 30.7). Philistia, on the southeastern Mediterranean coast. Tyre, an important coastal city north of Israel, standing for Phoenicia (modern Lebanon). This one was born there, either Zion or the country where the exiles dwell. In the similar phrases in vv. 5 and 6, the referent is clearly Zion. Birth in a foreign country does not prevent one from calling Zion mother; cf. Isa 40–55 where Zion regains her husband and children. 7: All my springs, citation of a song celebrating Zion as a source of fertility as in Ps 46.4.

Ps 88: The prayer of a near‐hopeless individual. Perhaps the bleakest individual petition in the Psalms, with no expressions of trust and, strikingly, no mention of enemies; God is regarded as the enemy. The poem has three sections (vv. 1–9a,9b–12,13–18), each introduced by a verb of crying and a mention of the Lord (vv. 1a, 9b,13a). The middle section develops the theme of God’s withdrawal through six questions. Superscription: Korahites, see Ps 42–43n. Mahalath Leannoth, probably a melody. Maskil, see Ps 32n. Heman the Ezrahite, probably a Temple musician (see, e.g., 1 Chr 6.33); only this psalm is ascribed to him. 3–4: Sheol … the Pit, the underworld where all go upon death; the psalmist already feels the dread chill of the place. 7: Your wrath, the emphasis is not on God’s emotional state but on its effect upon the psalmist—absence of divine favor and blessing. Your waves, Sheol was sometimes imagined as a watery place (e.g., Ps 42.7; Jon 2.3). Selah (also v. 10), see Ps 3.2n. 8: The psalmist here and in vv. 16–18 feels that God is the direct cause of all of his problems. 11–12: If I die, the psalmist is saying, I will be in the underworld where you are not praised; see Ps 6.5n. Abaddon, lit., “destruction,” another name for the abode of the dead. 13–18: Extending the thought of the first section, these verses detail the cruel behavior of God, asking Why? (v. 14). Yet the psalmist holds out the hope that God will return to him.

Ps 89: A plea that God will remain faithful to the covenant with David. Written when the king was important to national life (the tenth to the sixth centuries bce), the community petition asks God to honor the ancient promise to give victory to the Davidic king (vv. 1–37), for that promise has been called into question by an ignominious defeat (vv. 38–51). Superscription: Maskil, see Ps 32n. Ethan the Ezrahite, according to 1 Chr 15.17,19, a Temple musician. Only this psalm is ascribed to him. 1: Steadfast love, occurring seven times, Heb “ḥesed” underscores God’s close relationship to the Davidic king. 1–4: God’s promise to David (see 2 Sam 7.16) is as rooted in creation as the never‐failing cycle of the sun and moon (see vv. 36–37). 4: Selah (also vv. 37,45,48), see Ps 3.2n. 5–14: The heavenly assembly acknowledges the supremacy of the God who defeated Sea (vv. 9–10), arranged heaven and earth (vv. 11–12), and ascended to the throne (vv. 13–14). 6: Cf. Pss 71.19; 86.8; Ex 15.11. 10: Rahab, a name for the primeval chaos monster; Job 26.12; Isa 51.9. 12: The north, i.e., Zaphon (see Ps 48.1–3n.); south, Heb “yamin,” is probably to be emended to (Mount) Amanus, today the Nur mountains in south‐central Turkey. Tabor and Hermon, two prominent mountains, in southern and northern Galilee respectively. 14: Cf. Ps 85.10–14. 15–18: Paralleling the celebration in the heavens is the celebration of God’s victory on earth. 19–37: Time is collapsed, and David is chosen as king and anointed immediately after the conquest of chaos, as a human king who represents the divine. 25: The king shares the divine task of controlling the primeval forces of watery chaos. 28–37: The promise to David is unconditional and eternal: as in 2 Sam 7.11–16, on which this is based; if one of David’s descendants is unfaithful to the covenant, that king will be punished but the dynasty will not be rejected. 26–27: Language of (divine) adoption; see 2 Sam 7.14; Ps 2.9. 38–51: A Davidic king has suffered defeat, and the community speaker insists that God remember the promise of fidelity. 46: How long, see Ps 13.1n. 48: Sheol, the abode of the dead. 52: Not a part of the psalm but a doxology or blessing concluding Book III, the third of five editorial divisions of the Psalter; see also Pss 41.13; 72.18–19; 106.48; 150.1–6. It is possible that the book of Psalms at one point began with Psalm 2 and ended with this psalm, focusing on Davidic kingship.

Ps 90: A community prayer that God would rein in his wrath. Though scholars often assume the psalm as a meditation on human frailty and God’s eternity, it is best viewed as a community petition complaining that God’s wrath has lasted beyond a normal human life span and asking how much longer this unhappy state will continue (vv. 11–12). This interpretation rests on two pieces of evidence: ancient sufferers often sought to know exactly how long tribulations were fated to last (see Ps 13n.); and an improved translation of vv. 11–12: “Who knows the [predetermined] extent of your anger, … Teach us how to calculate our days [of affliction], let us bring that awareness into our minds.” Superscription: The only psalm attributed to Moses, who often asked God to turn and have compassion (e.g., Ex 32.12) as in Ps 90.13. 1–6: Divine eternity is contrasted with human mortality. 3: God decreed mortality and a short life span for humans. 5–6: Like grass, cf. Ps 102.11; Isa 40.6–8. 7–12: The psalmist complains that it is unfair to live one’s entire life in a period of divine wrath, i.e., withdrawal of divine blessing. Seventy years … eighty, numerical parallelism (see Ps 62.11n.). Even an exceptionally old person will never enjoy a period of blessing;. 13–17: May God turn from wrath so the community might experience God as being near and favorable. Divine wrath was often seen as lasting for a definite time period (Jer 25.11 12). The speaker here asks that the time period be shortened or ended.

Ps 91: Trust in God as protector. A song of trust that makes three promises of assistance, each of progressively decreasing length: vv. 1–8; 9–13; 14–16. Through v. 13, someone speaks in God’s name; in vv. 14–16, God speaks in the first person. Striking imagery is used to show how the person who trusts God is protected, even when surrounded by death. 4: Pinions … wings, possibly a reference to the winged cherubim guarding the Holy of Holies in the Temple (Ex 25.20; 1 Kings 6.23–28,32; Ezek 1.4–9), but more likely a reference to a protecting bird as in Egyptian iconography and Ex 19.4; Deut 32.10–12. 7: Thousand … ten thousand, numerical parallelism; see Ps 62.11n. 9–13: His angels, heavenly beings lead one through perils, as in Ex 23.20,23 and 32.34. Here they serve to explain how the lone individual is saved from the surrounding destruction. 14–16: The last assurance is the most intense, for God speaks in the first person; there are seven verbs depicting God’s protection. There is no demand for righteousness in order to be saved, only love and trust of God.

Ps 92: Thanksgiving for God’s governance of the world. A thanksgiving for God’s governance has been developed into a hymn that according to the superscription was recited on the sabbath day, perhaps because it deals with creation, and uses the name of God seven times, as is appropriate for the seventh day. 1: It is good to give thanks, indirectly suggesting: “Come let us give thanks.” 6–11: God’s just rule works in hidden ways that the foolish do not grasp. 8: The exact center of the poem, asserting God’s triumph in a short, indirect, and reverential manner. 10: Horn, a metaphor for strength. 12–15: The righteous person is compared to a tree as in Pss 1.3; 52.8; Jer 17.8. The tree grows in the garden within the Jerusalem Temple. Ancient temples had orchards that symbolized the fertility that comes from God. The eventual flourishing of the righteous, like creation, testifies to God’s power and righteousness.

Ps 93: The Lord is enthroned as supreme. Like Pss 95–99, Ps 93 hymns the Lord as sole king of the universe. Early Israel shared the ancient view that a deity became supreme by defeating chaos and creating a stable and fertile world. In hymns such as this, the Lord defeats chaos (vv. 3–4) and the victory brings an orderly world into being (v. 1c). It is possible that these psalms celebrating God’s kingship were recited at a particular festival commemorating these events. 1: On his return a victorious warrior would be robed in magnificent garments symbolizing the victory. 3–4: A description of the cosmic battle in which the Lord uses the weapons of a storm (lightning, thunder, wind, rain) to defeat Sea’s attempts to destroy the ordered world; cf. Pss 29; 76.12–14; 89.9–10; 104.1–6. 5: The victorious king proclaims the decrees that will govern the new universe.

Ps 94: Rise up, O Lord, to bring justice. A community petition that God would directly rectify wrongs against Israel, distinctive for its vivid portrayal of the psalmist as a model of confidence in God. The Heb word for such rectifying is “naqam” (v. 1), championing the poor; NRSV vengeance puts undue emphasis on revenge. The poem has a petition (vv. 1–2), complaint (vv. 3–7), questioning of God (vv. 3,20), challenge to the wicked (vv. 9–10,16), and statements of trust (vv. 17–18,22). The psalmist is confident (vv. 17–18), boldly addressing both God (vv. 1–3,12–13) and the wicked (8–11). 3: How long, see Ps 13.1n. 6: God is called upon here as “father of orphans and protector of widows” (Ps 68.5). 12: As in Prov 3.12, a justification for the suffering of the seemingly innocent.

Ps 95: Worship and obedience to the glorious Lord. A hymn celebrating the Lord enthroned as supreme (see Ps 93n.). It invites Israel to sing (vv. 1–5), bow down before the Lord (vv. 6–7c–), and become an obedient people (vv. 7d–11–). Themes and phrases of Pss 95–99 are repeated with variations. 1: The rock, a common metaphor for God—a massive cliff or mesa that serves as a refuge (salvation). 3: Great king, a title of suzerains in Mesopotamia, Egypt, and the Hittite kingdom. 7: The sheep of his hand connotes special love in that God does not delegate the care of Israel to others. 7d–11: The tone and speaker change, and the community is told that as the Lord’s own flock, they are held to a high standard (cf. Pss 50; 81.8–9). 8: Meribah, a place in the wilderness, related by popular etymology to “place of strife”; Massah, another place in the wilderness, in popular etymology, “place of testing”; for both see Ex 17.1–7; Num 21.1–9. 10–11: God’s refusal to allow the first generation to enter the land (my rest) is told in Num 14 and Deut 1.34–2:15; here it serves as a reminder for the community to obey God.

Ps 96: Praise of the Lord who comes to judge the world. A hymn celebrating the Lord’s kingship (see Ps 93n.) in which vv. 1–6 begin with a thrice‐repeated invitation to the whole world to sing, first the family of nations (vv. 7–10), and then heaven and earth (vv. 11–13). 1: New song, celebrating God’s arrival as a just king. 7: O families of the peoples, the nations are to turn from their own deities, represented by idols (v. 5), to worship the Lord who has become king by creating the world (v. 10). How the nations are meant to know this is unclear, but many of these psalms address peoples who are not physically present. Verses 7–9 quote Ps 29.1–2, with changes in the groups addressed. Isa 2.2–4 is a memorable depiction of the nations acknowledging the Lord as supreme God. 10: The Lord has gained royal supremacy by his powerful deeds. 13: Only God, rather than any human king, can judge the world with righteousness; this is the cause of great rejoicing.

Ps 97: Rejoice in the Lord who reigns justly over heaven and earth! A hymn celebrating the Lord who comes to rule the earth (v. 1; see Ps 93n.). The Lord’s triumph is manifested in storm and theophany imagery (vv. 2–5). Worshipers of other deities are shamed as they see the Lord triumphant (vv. 6–7). Zion and its surrounding towns rejoice at the coming of so exalted a God (vv. 8–9). The psalm ends with an exhortation to show reverence to the powerful Lord, who, as in the previous psalm, will govern justly (vv. 10–12).

Ps 98: Praise of the Lord, just and victorious ruler of the world. A hymn celebrating the victory of the Lord over the forces of evil, a victory that brought peace and justice to the world; see Ps 93n. Verses 1–3 invite Israel to sing praise, vv. 4–6 invite the inhabitants of the earth to join in the song, and vv. 7–9 invite the natural elements of the world. The poem begins by announcing that the Lord has won a great victory and ends by introducing the Lord to his new subjects. 1: On a new song, see Ps 96.1. 4–8: The noisy acclamation of God as king is modeled on a human coronation ceremony. 7–8: For the participation of mountains and hills in the joy of Israel’s redemption, see, e.g., Isa 44.23; 49.11 and Ps 114.4,6. 9: Judge, not judgment at the end of time but judgment in the biblical sense of ruling justly now.

Ps 99: Announcement that the Lord the king rules with justice. The last of the enthronement hymns (Pss 93; 95–99) celebrates the Lord’s enthronement, acknowledgment of the nations, and gracious communication of his decrees to Israel. Verses 1–5 call on the nations to recognize the Lord who establishes justice in the world, and vv. 6–9 describe how divine justice is mediated by Israel’s traditions. Each section is concluded by the exhortation “Extol the Lord our God.” 1: The cherubim, composite animals, form a throne, on which God is enthroned; cf. 1 Sam 4.4; Ps 17.8n. 3: Holy is he! The phrase appears again in v. 5 and is expanded climactically in v. 9. 4: As in the other psalms about God’s kingship, the emphasis is on divine justice. Human kings served as a type of supreme court; here God the king takes over this role, but unlike human kings, he adjudicates fairly and impartially. 5: The footstool of the cherubim throne (see v. 1) was the ark of the covenant. 6: Ancient leaders who mediated God’s decrees to Israel. The mention of Samuel alongside Moses and Aaron is unusual. 7: Pillar of cloud, see Num 11.25; 12.5. 9: A variant of v. 5, forming a refrain focusing on Jerusalem and the Temple.

Ps 100: A call to the nations to worship the Lord. A hymn echoing the call to the nations in the enthronement psalms (Pss 93; 95–99). There are seven invitations to worship: make a joyful noise, worship, come, know, enter, give thanks, and bless. The motives for giving praise are introduced by that in v. 3a and for in v. 5a. Verses 1–3 and 4–5 are parallel sections, expressing a similar sentiment in different words. The pilgrimage of the nations to Mount Zion is also found in Pss 22.27; 76.11–12; Isa 2.1–4; 60–62; 66.18–23. The Psalter lays great stress on worshiping God with joy. 3: Sheep of his pasture, sheep that the Lord personally pastures, not delegating it to anyone else, similar to Pss 74.1; 79.13; 95.7; Jer 23.1; Ezek 34.31.

Ps 101: Commitment to executing justice. Although not explicitly stated, the psalm was most likely recited by the king, who proclaimed a commitment to rule in a manner befitting his divine patron. Acknowledging the divine loyalty and justice (v. 1) that brought him to his throne, the king prays for the strength to fulfill his duties (v. 2ab). He makes twelve promises, being loyal (vv. 2c–4–), forbidding abuses by members of the court (v. 5), appointing only God‐fearing administrators (v. 6), expelling the wicked (v. 7), and administering a fair judicial system (v. 8). Underlying the king’s vows is the desire to be a good servant and ruler, blessed by his divine patron. 8: Morning by morning (i.e., each morning). Sin was imagined as rampant during the night; justice comes with the morning sun as in Job 38.12–13. Ps 19 also associates the law with the all‐seeing sun. The city of the Lord is Jerusalem, the royal city.

Ps 102: A plea for the restoration of the psalmist and of Zion. This individual petition blends personal and national complaints into a single prayer. Drawing a contrast between fragile mortal humans (vv. 3–11,23–24b) and the eternal Lord (vv. 12–22,24c–27), the psalm begs for the healing that will win for the Lord the praise of the nations (vv. 15,18–22) and nurture a new generation of Israelite worshipers (v. 28). There are three parallel sections: vv. 1–11: Hear me, for my days swiftly pass away; vv. 12–22: When you show compassion, all will honor you in your Temple; vv. 23–28: Do not make my short life even briefer, O Eternal One. The mixture of private petition and request for the restoration of Zion may suggest that private prayer is more efficacious if it includes broader, communal requests. Superscription: A prayer of one afflicted, when faint and pleading before the Lord, suggests that anyone afflicted may recite this prayer. 3–11: The diverse figures of speech combine to express the psalmist’s desperation. 11: Like grass, cf. Ps 90.5–6; Isa 40.6–8. 13: Implies that this is the time to rebuild the Temple, which would date the psalm in the early postexilic period (late sixth century bce). 22: For the idea of all nations worshiping at the Temple, see Ps 100n.

Ps 103: Praise to the Lord for forgiveness. As Ps 102 combined national and personal complaints into one petition, so Ps 103 blends personal and national benefits into one hymn. The poem draws two distinct parallels: God heals individuals (vv. 1–5) and the nation (vv. 6–14); God summons earthly beings (vv. 15–18) and heavenly beings (vv. 19–22) to give praise. 1–5: The opening verses match the closing verses (19–22) in length and in the repeated Bless! 3–5: The six blessings are essentially one: the healing of life‐threatening forces. The first blessing mentioned, who forgives all your iniquity, is the key: God is fundamentally forgiving. The Pit is a poetic term for Sheol, the abode of the dead. Having been personally healed, the psalmist hopes that the nation will be similarly healed (vv. 6–14). 5: Renewed like the eagle’s, like the vigor that seems to come with the annual molting of the eagle. 8: Echoes Ex 34.6, when God forgave Israel after their apostasy with the golden calf. The psalm views the events associated with the Exodus more as the forgiveness of Israel rather than the defeat of Egypt. 14: As dust (see Gen 2.7), people cannot be judged too harshly, and deserve divine compassion. 15–18: Even though they are grass (see Ps 102.11n.), they receive God’s steadfast love (Heb “ḥesed”) and righteousness.

Ps 104: Praise to the Lord who made the universe beautiful and life‐giving. The hymn praises divine wisdom through a series of vignettes (vv. 1–9,10–12,13–18,19–23,24–26), a reflection (vv. 27–30), and a prayer (vv. 31–35). God, luminous and triumphant (vv. 1–4), organizes the primordial waters (vv. 5–18,24–26) and darkness (vv. 19–23) into a harmonious whole that supports life (vv. 27–35). The depiction owes much to the mythology of neighboring cultures: the storm god who vanquishes Sea (vv. 1–18), and the Egyptian sun disk Aten whose rays illuminate the world (vv. 19–30); it also shares language and themes with Job 38–39. Psalms 103 and 104 begin and end similarly, but are very different in theme and tone. 1: Honor and majesty are royal qualities. God is depicted in the psalm as a king who has constructed the superlative building project: the world. 2: Stretch out the heavens, cf. Job 9.8; Isa 40.22; 42.5; Zech 12.1. 4: Cf. Ps 148.8. 6–9: The chaotic waters covered even the tops of mountains. God’s “rebuke” (v. 7), that is, thunder, threw them into a panic (cf. Job 26.11; Pss 18.15; 76.6). Like panic‐stricken soldiers, they retreated in disarray up mountains and down valleys until they arrived at the seashore, their new boundary. Never again will they cover the earth, which, freed of encompassing water, can support life. 9: Cf. Job 38.8–11; Prov 8.29; Jer 5.22. 13: See Pss 36.8n.; 65.9. 19: See Gen 1.14. 21: See Job 38.39. 24: The psalm’s key verse, summarizing the wonder of the world. 25: Presumably the Mediterranean Sea. 26: Leviathan, see Ps 74.14n. 27–30: The world continues to depend on God. 29–30: Cf. Gen 1.30; 2.7; 3.19. 31–32: A prayer that God will continue to act beneficently. Mountains … smoke, see Ps 144.5. 35: Sinners and the wicked destroy the harmony of the world.

Ps 105: Praise of the Lord who has acted wonderfully toward Israel. A hymn praising God’s wondrous guidance of Israel, like Pss 135 and 136. It invites the offspring of Abraham and Jacob to praise and seek the Lord (vv. 1–6) who remembers the covenant (vv. 7–11), and then identifies Abraham in the land of Canaan (vv. 12–15; (Gen 12–26): Joseph in the land of Egypt (vv. 16–22; (Gen 37–47); Israel in Egypt (vv. 23–38; (Ex 1–15); and Israel in the wilderness (vv. 39–45; (Ex 16–17). In each case the land of Canaan is a symbol of God’s generosity and fidelity. In every section after the invitation, a form of the key words “word/promise,” “land,” and “servant” (named) appear. The promise of land is realized differently in each one of the four periods, depending on where Israel is and who the servant is. Thus the promise of land is shown to be effective at all times and in all places. 15: Abraham is called a prophet in Gen 20.7; none of the patriarchs is ever called anointed (Heb “mashiaḥ”). 18: This is one of many cases in this psalm where the retelling of the past differs in detail from the narratives in the Toraḥ26: Aaron is mentioned in parallelism with Moses; cf. Ps 77.20. 27–36: In terms of number and order, this differs strikingly from the plague narrative in (Ex 7–12. 38: This differs from the account in (Ex 14–15 of the Egyptians chasing after the Israelites, and drowning in the Red Sea. 42: The relation between Israel and its land is permanent and unalterable, predicated on his holy promise. 45: But the gift of the land depends on obedience to God. If written in the exilic period, this psalm would remind the people to return to God so that they might return to the land, and to remind God of his absolute, unalterable promise.

Ps 106: A confession of sin and record of divine forgiveness. A storytelling poem, describing seven occasions of sin and forgiveness (vv. 6–46). Seven seems to symbolize completeness. Each occasion is identified by a place name (noted in italic type): Rebellion and rescue at the Red Sea (vv. 6–12; (Ex 14–15); testing God in the desert (vv. 13–15; (Ex 16–17); jealousy of Moses in the camp (vv. 16–18; Num 16); the calf at Horeb and Moses’s intercession (vv. 19–23; Ex 32); refusal to attack from the south and divine threat (vv. 23–27; Num 14), the sin with Baal of Peor and Phinehas’s intercession (vv. 28–31; Num 25); sin at the waters of Meribah (vv. 32–33; Num 20); sacrifice of children in Canaan (vv. 34–46). The seventh and climactic occasion is complex, for the sin is typical rather than a single act: the sacrifice of infants (vv. 34–39) represents the people’s adoption of corrupt native ways. The punishment is also typical, a series of punishments (v. 41) and mercies. In terms of theme (history) and opening (Praise the Lord), this psalm is connected to the previous psalm, though its theme and understanding of the Israelite past is quite different from it. The past, presented in cycles of Israelite sin and divine forgiveness, is recounted in order call upon God to forgive again (v. 47). 19: Horeb, an alternate name for Sinai. 22: Ham, see Ps 78.51n. 24: In other words, they heeded the spies who recommended against fighting the Canaanites. 37–38: Exile is blamed on child‐sacrifice, which made the land ritually impure; see 2 Kings 16.3; 21.6; Jer 19.5; Ezek 20.31; 23.37. 47: A reference to the exile to Babylon in the early sixth century bce. 48: Not a part of the psalm but a doxology or blessing concluding Book IV, the fourth of five editorial divisions of the Psalter; see also Pss 41.13; 72.18–19; 89.52; 150.1–6.

Ps 107: Thanksgiving for bringing back the people from exile. This community thanksgiving logically follows the two pleas to end the exile in Pss 105 and 106. Psalm 107 provides four examples of divine deliverance (vv. 4–9; 10–16; 17–22; 23–32), followed by a final section (vv. 33–43) transposing the deliverance of vv. 4–32 into the daily governance of the land. In each panel a danger occurs (vv. 4–5;10–12; 17–18; 23–27), the afflicted cry out to the Lord (vv. 6; 13; 19; 28) who rescues them (vv. 6b–7; 13b–14; 19b–10; 28b–30), prompting them to respond with thanksgiving (vv. 8–9; 15–16; 21–22; 31–32). Verses 1–3 invited the returned exiles to give praise; vv. 4–32 depict the four rescued groups: those hungering and thirsting in the wilderness (vv. 4–9); prisoners (vv. 10–16); the sick (vv. 17–22); those caught in an ocean storm (vv. 23–32); these are all metaphorical for the tribulations of the Babylonian exile of the sixth century bce, and the difficulties of returning by foot from Babylon. Verses 33–43 describe the Lord’s rescue and governance of Israel. 2: The redeemed of the Lord, in its only other biblical occurrence, the inhabitants of restored Zion (Isa 62.12). 11: The exile was a punishment for Israel’s behavior. 35: Cf. Isa 41.18; 43.19. 41–42: Two main themes of psalms: the vindication of the needy, which leads to public recognition of God’s greatness. 43: The wise understand that the Lord’s steadfast love (Heb “ḥesed”) allows for periods of tribulation and defeat, but Israel will always be restored.

Ps 108: A prayer for victory. A community petition using material from other psalms; vv. 1–5 appear also in Ps 57.7–11, and vv. 6–13 appear in Ps 60.5–12. For detailed comments, see the annotations to those texts. In vv. 1–6, the psalmist resolves to praise God’s love and faithfulness in response, it seems, to the promise of land in the ancient oracle cited in vv. 7–9. In vv. 10–13 the psalmist volunteers to join in the fight that would restore that territory to its rightful owner, the people of Israel.

Ps 109: Prayer for vindication. An urgent petition of an individual accused of exploiting the poor (v. 16) and who has therefore been cursed by enemies (vv. 6–19). Petitioners typically complain to God of their perilous plight; in this case the complaint is in the form of a quotation of the enemies’ curses (twelve curses in vv. 6–19). NRSV adds They (the enemies) say in v. 6a to make clear the psalmist is citing the enemy’s curses rather than personally cursing; others understand the curses to be those of the psalmist against his enemies. 6: The Heb word for accuser, “satan,” later was applied to the devil. 14: Following Ex 34.7 (“visiting the iniquity of the parents upon the children”) and other texts, may my enemy be subject to intergenerational punishment. 20: A prayer that the curses fall on the enemies so as to demonstrate to all that the Lord has vindicated the psalmist; cf. also v. 29. 22: I am poor and needy, far from persecuting the poor as the enemies have asserted (v. 16), the psalmist is personally poor and needy and thus has a claim on God’s protection. 28: For the psalmist, curses— the main theme of the beginning of the psalm—are not automatically effective but depend on God. 31: Right hand links this psalm with the next (see 110.1).

Ps 110: Victory to the Davidic king. A royal psalm in which a court official cites a promise of victory made to the Davidic king in v. 1 and then elaborates the promise in vv. 2–7. Christian interpretation has understood the king’s victory as prefiguring Jesus’s resurrection and rule over the nations (Acts 2.34; 1 Cor 15.25; Heb 1.3,13). 1–3: Sit, take your throne; right hand is the place of honor; footstool, victorious kings were depicted with their feet on their defeated foes’ necks. 3: Though very obscure, the general sense is clear: the king will lead the army and defeat the Lord’s enemies. 4–7: Melchizedek, priest‐king of pre‐Israelite Jerusalem who greeted Abraham in Gen 14.17–20; the tradition is applied only here to the Davidic king. As elsewhere in the ancient Near East, Israelite kings are sometimes described as exercising priestly duties (e.g., 2 Sam 6.13–14; 8.18; 1 Kings 3.4). 7: Obscure, possibly referring to a ritual of the warrior returning from victory.

Ps 111: Hymn to God’s great deeds. Like the immediately following Ps 112 with which it is paired, Ps 111 is a twenty‐two line poem in which each line begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Ps 111 praises the righteousness of the Lord, and Ps 112, the righteousness of a person living in accord with divine righteousness. 5: Food may refer to the manna and quail that God provided in the wilderness (see Ex 16; Num 11; Ps 105.40). 7: The verse is the transition from admiring the divine deeds (v. 2b) to imitating the God who did them (v. 10). 10: Fear of the Lord (best rendered “revering the Lord”): see Ps 19.9; Prov 1.7; 9.10; etc.

Ps 112: Blessings on those who treasure God’s acts and give to the poor. An instruction in acrostic form (see (Pss 9–10n.) and a companion piece to Psalm 111, depicting the righteous person as one who ponders God’s works (cf. Ps 111.2) and puts into practice God’s precepts (cf. Ps 111.7). Just as Ps 111 praised the righteousness of the Lord, so Ps 112 praises the righteousness of a person living in accord with divine righteousness. The virtue singled out is mercy shown in giving to the poor (vv. 4,5,9). Paradoxically, generous givers do not deprive their children of an inheritance (vv. 2–3) nor suffer the shame that comes with poverty (vv. 6,8,10), for the Lord will recompense them. This psalm and Prov 19.17 influenced Jewish and Christian views of almsgiving (e.g., Dan 4.24; Matt 6.12). The refrains in v. 3b and 9b unify the poem. 1: Fear the Lord, see Ps 110.10n. 3: And their righteousness endures forever helps to join this psalm to Ps 111; see 111.3. 9: Horn, a metaphor for strength.

Ps 113: A hymn to the God who lifts up the poor. Like other hymns, this one opens and closes with a call to praise, and specifically names those called to praise (“servants of the Lord,” v. 1). Ps 113 concludes the three Hallelujah psalms ((Pss 111–113) and begins the “Egyptian Hallel” (Heb “praise”) psalms (113–118) sung at major Jewish festivals even though the Psalter does not suggest that they are a collection. Many scholars think that (Pss 113–114 were sung before the Passover meal and (Pss 115–118 after it. Images of “high” and “low” unify the psalm. 1: It is uncertain if the servants of the Lord refers to all worshipers, or is a technical term for a specific group in the Temple. The name represents the person, here the Lord who rules earth and heaven (vv. 2–4). In some late biblical and in postbiblical texts, the name of God was used as a surrogate for God. 5–6: A rhetorical question expecting the answer “No one.” 7–9: Two typical examples of divine ruling: enabling a poor man to sit with honor among the village elders, and giving a barren woman a child; cf. 1 Sam 2.4–8.

Ps 114: The wonder of the Exodus. A psalm with hymnlike features, celebrating the Exodus from Egypt and entry into the land. An apt Hallel psalm ((Pss 113–118) with standard synonymous parallelism and internal repetition (vv. 3–4; 5–6). 1–4: Somewhat abruptly, the psalm describes Israel leaving Egypt, passing through the sea (see (Ex 14–15) to a safe land. Telescoping events, this poem has the people cross from Egypt over the Jordan directly into Canaan. 3: The sea is parallel to Jordan and is personified as a defeated warrior (cf. Pss 77.16; 104.7). The Lord taunts sea and mountains as they tremble and flee (Ps 96.9; Deut 2.25). 8: Possibly a reference to God providing water in the wilderness from a rock as in Ps 78.15,20; Ex 17.6; Num 20.11.

Ps 115: Show forth your glory to the nations. A community petition that the Lord in the heavens (v. 3), too powerful to be contained in earthly statues (vv. 4–8), might display his glory on earth and enable Israel to live in trust (vv. 9–18). 1: Not to us, better, “Not for our sake, O Lord, not for our sake, but for the sake of your name display your glory.” The Heb phrase, lit., “to give glory,” actually means “display glory” as in Ezek 39.21. 2: Enemies taunt that Israel’s God is powerless. 3–8: There are two contrasts: (1) between our God (singular) in the heavens and their gods (images, plural) on earth; (2) between God who acts and the gods who cannot. 3: Our God is in the heavens, a bold response to the taunt Where is their God? (v. 2). Ridicule of divine images is common in exilic texts and later (e.g., Jer 10.1–16; Isa 40.18–20; 41.6–7; Bel; Let Jer). 9: Those who trust in images will be frustrated (v. 8) while those who trust in the Lord will find a help and shield (vv. 9–11). 10: House of Aaron, the priests, who claimed Aaron as their ancestor. 12–13: The psalmist turns to God, asking for a blessing on the same three groups who were just exhorted (vv. 10–11) to trust in the Lord. 15: Who made heaven and earth, see Ps 124.8n. 17: According to the biblical worldview, all who died went down to Sheol, the underworld, where all was quiet; the dead could thus be called those that go down into silence. See also Ps 6.5n.

Ps 116: Thanksgiving to a saving God. An individual thanksgiving for having found a saving God rather than for a particular rescue. The psalmist is grateful that God is attentive (vv. 1–2) and merciful (vv. 5–6), and resolves to respond by acts of trust (vv. 7,9–11) and worship (vv. 12–19). There seem to be four sections: the rescue and the resulting relationship (vv. 1–4); the nature of God revealed by the rescue and the psalmist’s response (vv. 5–8); resolve to live as a trusting client of the divine patron (vv. 9–11); resolve to offer appropriate ritual thanks (vv. 12–19). 1: I love the Lord, in the sense of choose (Prov 12.1; 20.13; Isa 41.8); the Hebrew reads “I love that the Lord has heard ….” 3: Sheol, the underworld, the abode of the dead. 6: Soul refers to breathing or life‐force. 13: Cup of salvation, a drink offering poured out in thanksgiving. 14: A person in a precarious situation could make a vow that would be fulfilled upon being saved. 15: Precious, in the sense of “too precious, too costly” as in Ps 72.14, i.e., grievous in the Lord’s sight. 17–18: When in distress, the psalmist vowed to offer a thanksgiving sacrifice.

Ps 117: Invitation to the nations to worship. This psalm, the Bible’s shortest, is a hymn with an invitatory phrase repeated in the last verse; it gives the motive for praise—the Lord’s steadfast love and faithfulness toward Israel—which is introduced by for (v. 2a). Israel is a showcase for the Lord’s generosity and care.

Ps 118: Giving thanks in a solemn procession. A thanksgiving for a victory, spoken in the first person, possibly by the king speaking for the people. The salvation is described twice, in vv. 5–9 as a transfer from a tight spot (“my distress” ) to a broad place (v. 5), and in vv. 10–18 as a rescue from hostile nations. In vv. 10–18, we are to imagine a procession entering the Temple precincts, the leader asking for admittance (v. 19) and an officiant stating the qualifications necessary for entering (v. 20). In v. 21, the speaker, having arrived within the Temple, gives fresh thanks, and in vv. 22–27 the congregation takes up the praise. The final verse repeats the beginning, forming an inclusio. 1–4: His steadfast love, a covenant term (Heb “ḥesed”); the speaker gives thanks for the Lord’s fidelity to past promises of protection. 5: Distress, lit., “restricted place.” 12: Bees, a metaphor for enemies as in Deut 1.44. 14: Copied from Ex 15.2. 22: The unsuitable stone becomes the keystone at the top of the gate (v. 20); such a transformation from low to high is a sign of divine intervention (v. 23). 27: Bind the festal procession with branches, up to the horns of the altar was probably a ritual instruction that accidentally became part of the psalm. The horns were four projections at the corners of the altar.

Ps 119: The grandeur and the necessity of divine teaching. An individual petition that the Lord’s teaching (Heb “torah,” NRSV “law”) guide one’s every moment: in danger and discouragement, in joy and exultation. The psalm is an elaborate acrostic (see (Ps 9–10n.). Each of the twenty‐two stanzas begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet, and each stanza has eight verses and (usually) eight synonyms of “law,” more accurately “authoritative teaching”: “law,” “word,” “promise(s),” “ordinances,” “statutes,” “commandments,” “decrees,” and “precepts.” Though for the most part synonymous in this psalm, each term may retain its own shade of meaning: illumination (“law,” “word”), moral demand (“ordinances,” “statutes,” “commandments”), guidance (“decrees, precepts”), and promise (“promise”). The psalm presumes that human life involves continual conflict with evil, with definitive victory lying only in the future. The major weapon in the battle is the divine word, for its observance trains the passions, gives strength in temptation, and elevates the mind to God. The psalm is a petition, as seen in its multiple imperatives, as in v. 149. Often petitions and references to “torah,” the two main themes, are combined in a single verse, as in v. 173. Yet, even after reading the entire psalm, it is uncertain exactly what “torah” means: if it refers to the law of Moses, it is odd that there is no mention of him or of Sinai.

Ps 119 is not connected to a specific situation. Relying on poetic art alone—acrostic form, interplay of synonyms of torah, and great length—the psalm is one long petition to live one’s entire life in accord with God’s word. The psalmist is portrayed as longing for God’s word, wearied from not having it, nourished by it, stirred by the prospect of the life it contains. As if to underline the importance of key concepts, the Heb word for God’s “steadfast love” (“ḥesed”) occurs seven times, and the word for “servant” occurs twice‐times seven—fourteen times. Seven often indicates completeness, rightness.

This is the longest chapter in the Bible, and is innovative in the manner that it refers to the Torah with words typically used of God, such as “love” (e.g., vv. 47,97), “truth” (v. 142), and “true” (v. 151). This reflects the growing importance of the Torah in the postexilic period, and anticipates the idea that the Torah is a stand‐in for God, who is no longer regarded as imminent. 1: Law, Heb “torah,” better translated as “teaching” that is authoritative because of divine origin. 19: Alien, see 39.12n. 84: How long, see Ps 13.1n. 103: Cf. Ps 19.10; Jer 15.16; Ezek 3.3. 135: Shine, see Num 6.24–26.

Ps 120: Prayer for rescue from slanderers. This is the first of the collection of Songs of Ascents, (Pss 120–134. The meaning of this superscription is debated; it may refer to the steplike parallelism in many of the poems (e.g., Ps 127.1: “unless the Lord builds the house … unless the Lord guards the city”), or to songs sung while going up or ascending to Jerusalem for pilgrimage. This psalm is an individual petition with the expected petitions for the punishment of enemies (vv. 3–4) and complaints (vv. 2–3,5–7), though without a statement of hope. The two complaints—slanderous attacks (vv. 2–4) and unwilling exile in a hostile country far from Jerusalem (vv. 5–7)—tell the same story with two metaphor systems (tongues as weapons, being in a distant, hostile land). Reputation, a community, and a home—all these have been taken from the psalmist. Others’ words have become weapons (vv. 2–3,7) and the only rescue the psalmist can imagine is retaliation in military terms (vv. 3–4). 4: Broom, a desert shrub. 5: Meshech … Kedar, places far from Jerusalem in southern Asia Minor (see Ezek 38.2), and northern Arabia (Isa 21.13–17), symbolizing distance.

Ps 121: Confidence in God’s care. A declaration of trust shaped by tight, steplike parallelism: “not slumber” links vv. 3–4; “keep” links vv. 3–5 and 7–8. “Coming” in v. 8 echoes “come” in v. 1, concluding the poem. Perhaps this was recited by a traveler, even a pilgrim to Zion who asks anxiously about God’s protection, which is answered in v. 2; the answer is then is expanded upon by a priest conscious that the Lord dwells in Zion (vv. 3–8). God’s careful protection is the dominant image; the Lord guides one’s steps and does not slumber even when people sleep. Superscription: Song of Ascents, see Ps 120n. 1: Hills, probably those around Jerusalem. 2: Who made heaven and earth, see Ps 124.8n. 4: Slumber, sleep, cf. Ps 44.3n. 5: The Lord is your keeper, the exact center of the poem.

Ps 122: Longing to go to Zion and a prayer for its peace. A song of Zion celebrating the sacred city for its beautiful buildings (v. 3), worship in common (v. 4), and just legal decisions (v. 5). A pilgrim, awed by these features, concludes with a prayer for the welfare of the city (vv. 6–9). Superscription: Song of Ascents, see Ps 120n. 1: Go up, Passover, Weeks (Pentecost), and Tabernacles were pilgrimage festivals, requiring heads of households to travel to Jerusalem (Ex 23.17; 34.23; Deut 16.16). The house of the Lord, the Temple (also v. 9). 5: Thrones of judgment, Jerusalem was the city of the Davidic king; judgment can refer to legal decisions as well as to ordinary governance. 6–7: The other pilgrims are probably being addressed here. 6: Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, alliterative in Hebrew (“shaʾalu shelom yerushalaim”). 9: The concluding reference to the house of the Lord forms an inclusio with v. 1, emphasizing that it is the presence of God in the Temple that makes Jerusalem such a significant and holy city.

Ps 123: A plea for divine mercy. A community petition, perhaps composed in the Second Temple period when the nation felt the indignity (v. 3) of being a small state in the vast Persian empire. Feeling like a powerless slave (NRSV “servant,” v. 2), the community speaker (“I” in v. 1) feels constricted, repeating a plea for divine mercy three times. The psalmist continues to hope, nonetheless, for the prayer is directed to the divine king “enthroned in the heavens” (v. 1). Superscription: Song of Ascents, see Ps 120n. 2: The eyes of a servant, the metaphor of looking expectantly to the Lord is developed through servants looking at their masters; contrasts are maximized— male and female, plural and singular—to express completeness: all look to you. Female images of God are very rare in the Bible (e.g., Isa 49.14–16), especially in Psalms, making the comparison of God to mistress noteworthy.

Ps 124: Giving thanks after a narrow escape. A community thanksgiving notable for its simple theme: give thanks for we would have died if the Lord had not rescued us. The simple theme is mirrored by a simple structure: the first two verses begin “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side” and the next three begin with “then” followed by a complex step‐parallelism. Such step‐parallelism, common in the Songs of Ascents (see Ps 120n.), adds drama and movement. 1: Let Israel now say, the singer provides the community with the proper words to express their intense relief and gratitude. 3–5: The metaphors of devouring beasts and waters flooding the earth are used for the enemies. 7: A totally different metaphor for the rescued nation: a bird flying upward to freedom from a broken trap, a perfect symbol of miraculous deliverance. 8: Who made heaven and earth, a frequent postexilic epithet for God (see also Pss 115.15; 121.2; 146.6); here it emphasizes that God the powerful creator can still help Israel.

Ps 125: Prayer for Zion’s purification from evildoers. A Zion song that, unlike most other such songs, prays that sinners be removed from its midst (vv. 4–5). Examples of such purifying judgments are Isa 1.21–28; 65; Zeph 3.11–13. Like other Songs of Ascents (Pss 122; 123; 124; 126; see Ps 120n.), Ps 125 has an opening statement (vv. 1–3) followed by a prayer (vv. 4–5). 2: The mountains, the hills surrounding Jerusalem are an apt symbol of the powerful and ever‐present Lord in Zion. 3: A scepter wielded by an unjust ruler cannot rest (figuratively) on the land given to the righteous lest they be led to do wrong. 4: Justice means upholding the righteous as well as punishing the wicked. 5: Peace be upon Israel! is repeated later in this collection, in Ps 128.6.

Ps 126: A prayer for the return of all the exiles. A community prayer for the return of all exiles and the restoration of Israel. Like other Songs of Ascents ((Pss 122–125; see 120n.), it has an opening statement (vv. 1–3) developed into a prayer (vv. 4–5). It also is characterized by step‐parallelism: “restore the fortunes,” “then,” “the Lord has done great things,” “shouts of joy,” and the verb “bearing/carrying.” The psalmist regards the return of the exiles from Babylon, where they had been deported in the early sixth century bce, as a past event, yet prays for the return of all in the spirit of grand promises such as Isa 49. The book of Ezra suggests that in fact few returned from Babylon, the return was a disappointment, and the hyperbolic prophecies of (Isa 40–55 were not fulfilled. 4: Restore our fortunes, picks up “restored the fortunes” (v. 1) and prays for its completion. The watercourses of the Negeb, valleys in the arid south, dry except when a rare rainstorm creates torrents sweeping away all in their path, a bold metaphor for sudden transformation of infertile land. The metaphor is ironic, since such watercourses are destructive, yet it sets the stage for the positive water and agricultural imagery in the following verses.

Ps 127: An instruction and prayer for the house. This psalm does not fit the usual categories. It is a declaration that one of God’s greatest blessings is children (in that culture, sons), and through its use of that theme, is a companion piece to Ps 128. Step‐parallelism highlights the words unless, in vain, and sons. Hebrew wordplay unites vv. 1–2 and 3–5: “builds” (“yibneh”) and (“bonaw”) in v. 1, and “sons” (“banim”) in vv. 3–4. Those same sons will protect the family head when he confronts enemies in the city gate, thereby linking v. 4 and v. 1cd (guards the city). Superscription: Song of Ascents, see Ps 120n. Since it deals with house building, and the Temple is often called “the house of the Lord,” the psalm is ascribed to King Solomon (see Ps 72n.), who built the First Temple (see also v. 2n.). 1: House, can refer both to the Temple and to the dynasty, as well as to a household. 2: Beloved (Heb “yedid”) recalls Solomon’s birth name Jedidiah (Heb “yedidyah,” 2 Sam 12.25). 3–5: Asserting the uselessness of human effort alone to build a house and protect the city (vv. 1–2), vv. 3–5 declare that it is through sons that the Lord builds a house(hold) and protects the community. The gate was the setting for legal and commercial transactions; see, e.g., Ruth 4.1–12; Prov 30.23,31.

Ps 128: The blessings of the man who fears God. A companion piece to Ps 127, declaring that he “who fears the Lord” (v. 1) will flourish in his family (v. 3), national, and religious life (vv. 5–6). The three spheres were closely related, for the father was paterfamilias of the house, the king was paterfamilias of the house of Israel, and the Lord functioned as the patrimonial lord to whom Israel was bound through covenant. Correspondingly, the blessings include family (fruitful wife, many children), nation (prosperity of Jerusalem, seat of the dynasty), and God (font of blessings). Like several Songs of Ascents (see Ps 120n.), the poem has two parts: a statement of trust (vv. 1–4) and a prayer that builds on the statement (vv. 5–6). 1: Happy, the result of a quality possessed or a choice made. 3: The verse both expresses and reinforces the status of the father as head of the household. 6: Peace be upon Israel! see Ps 125.5n.

Ps 129: Prayer against Zion’s enemies. A community petition that the Lord punish those who have persecuted Israel. As often in Songs of Ascents (see Ps 120n.), step‐parallelism highlights key phrases, often have they attacked me from my youth and blessing/bless. The complaint is not so much of present suffering but of relentless, unending sufferings from my youth (vv. 1,2), perhaps referring to Egyptian bondage (cf. Hos 2.15; Jer 2.2; Ezek 23.3). 3: Plowed on my back, perhaps echoing Isa 51.23, which quotes Israel’s tormentors in the exile. Thus the psalmist complains about the sufferings of being the Lord’s people in the world, selecting two typical instances of suffering, one from the Exodus (vv. 1,2) and the other from the sixth‐century bce exile (v. 3). 6: Grass on the housetops, weeds growing on mud‐plastered roofs; cf. 2 Kings 19.26; Isa 37.27. 8: Likely a standard blessing formula used in the postexilic period.

Ps 130: Waiting for the Lord’s redemption. An individual petition seeking rescue “out of the depths” (v. 1), but seeming even more intent on simply being heard by God. The usual statement of trust takes the form of resolutions to wait for the Lord (vv. 5–6), and the other common feature of petitions, teaching others to revere the Lord, appears in vv. 7–8. Verses 1–6 detail the psalmist’s desire to be heard, and vv. 7–8 detail the psalmist’s and Israel’s waiting for the redeeming Lord (vv. 5–8). Superscription: Song of Ascents, see Ps 120n. 1: Out of the depths, God seems too distant to hear the psalmist’s voice. 4: At the middle of the psalm, the psalmist reminds God of his forgiving nature. 5–6: Wait, repeated three times in step‐parallelism; waiting expectantly is a form of prayer. The psalmist is waiting either for an oracle or some other divine intervention.

Ps 131: Waiting for the Lord like a child. A declaration of trust with an extraordinary central metaphor: a weaned child, in that culture a threeto five‐year‐old. The poem is framed by its opening and closing occurrences of “the Lord” and its opening and closing statements, the first put negatively (“my heart is not lifted up”) and the second put positively (“I have calmed and quieted my soul”). The threefold denial in v. 1 and the doubled affirmation in v. 2 show deep feeling. Verse 3, as in many other psalms, moves from the individual to the community, here inviting all Israel to imitate the singer’s calm and trust. Superscription: Song of Ascents, see Ps 120n. 2: Like a weaned child with its mother, the singer, like the child, has been nurtured daily and would not doubt the mother’s further care. The image of God as female is the second in the Songs of Ascents; cf. Ps 123.2.

Ps 132: Bringing the Davidic king to reign in Zion. A royal psalm narrating in four stanzas David’s desire to be affirmed as king and to transfer the ark‐throne of the Lord to Zion. It may have been written in the tenth century bce in celebration of the transfer of the ark from its temporary location in Kiriath‐jearim (cf. 1 Sam 6), or during the postexilic period when there was a deep desire to restore the traditional kingship. In vv. 1–5, David swears to provide a dwelling place for the Lord; in vv. 6–10, the ark is found and taken solemnly to Jerusalem; in vv. 11–13, the Lord swears to give David an eternal dynasty and ratifies the choice of Zion; vv. 14–18 affirm and expand these choices. Each of the four stanzas has five couplets and each contains the name “David”; the last line of each stanza is linked to the first line of the following stanza by repetition (“find/found” in vv. 5 and 6; “David” in vv. 10 and 11; “desired” in vv. 13 and 14). In both structure and content, it is quite atypical of the Songs of Ascents (see Ps 120n.). 2–5: An extensive elaboration of 2 Sam 7.2. 2: The Mighty One of Jacob (also v. 5), see Gen 49.24; Isa 1.24; 49.26. 6–10: The singer asks that the Lord allow the sacred ark to be brought to Zion (vv. 6–9) and support the Davidic kingship (v. 10; cf. v. 1). 6–7: A poetic version of the discovery of the ark of the covenant, the visible symbol of God’s presence, and its transfer to Jerusalem; cf. 2 Sam 6. 6: Ephrathah, near Bethlehem, in Judah. Jaar, a variant of Kiriath‐jearim (1 Sam 7.1–2). 7: The ark was the footstool component of the divine cherubim throne; cf. Ps 99.5. 8: Cf. Num 10.35–36. 11–14: The first request is answered in vv. 11–12 and the second in vv. 13–14. This is a paraphrase of 1 Sam 7.5–17, though that passage (like Ps 89.28–37) makes an unconditional promise of dynasty to David, while in this psalm (v. 12: If your sons) it is conditional. The choice of Zion, however, is presented as unconditional and eternal (v. 14). 17: Horn, a symbol of strength. Lamp, cf. 2 Sam 21.17.

Ps 133: The divine gift of unity. A song of Zion like several Songs of Ascents (Pss 122; 125; 128; 129; 132; see Ps 120n.). Like them, it has step‐parallelism: “running down” three times in vv. 2–3 (NRSV “falls on” in v. 3). Like Ps 122, it celebrates Jerusalem as the place where the tribes of Israel happily gather on holy days. The famous first line of Ps 133 recalls Ps 122.4. The references to Aaron and Zion, although somewhat obscure, connect it to the previous psalm. 1: Oil was used for washing in antiquity, and in the ordination rite of priests (Lev 8.12) and thus stirs thoughts of joyous Temple celebrations that bring the community together. The abundance of oil in the ceremonies evokes the plentiful dew of Mount Herman in the north that was so important in the agricultural life of Israel.

Ps 134: Come, bless the Lord. The final Song of Ascents (see Ps 120n.) is a blessing, similar to the blessings concluding each of the five books of the Psalms. It mentions themes prominent in the collection such as the Temple in Zion and its ceremonies. It is also similar to the opening and closing of the following psalm. The repeated invitation “Bless the Lord” and the response to it in v. 3 provides structure. 1: It is uncertain exactly which group is meant by all you servants of the Lord, who stand by night in the house of the Lord! 2: Lifting up hands was the position of prayer in antiquity.

Ps 135: Praise of the Lord who brought Israel to its land. A hymn praising the Lord the creator for defeating Pharaoh and the nations who held the land intended for Israel. It forms a pair with Ps 136. Ps 135 is also linked to Ps 134 by addressing “servants of the Lord” in their opening verses and by their similar endings. The psalm has drawn heavily on earlier tradition (e.g., v. 4 from Deut 7.6; v. 7 from Jer 10.13). These borrowings, late linguistic features, and the attack on images (vv. 15–18) were characteristic of postexilic times when the concept of authoritative scripture was developing. Ps 135 has a concentric or sandwich structure: “Praise the Lord / Blessed is the Lord” is the frame (vv. 1a, 21b), within which vv. 1b–4 match 19–20, and vv. 5–7 match 15–18; the center is vv. 8–14, which describe the Lord’s great acts on behalf of Israel. 4: Possession, Heb “segullah,” something treasured and set apart (“stashed”) by a god or a king. 5: I know, a confession of faith like that in Ex 18.10–11. Above all gods, see Pss 29.1; 89.6–8. 6–7: God’s actions in nature are a preface to his actions in history; both illustrate God’s immense power. Storehouse, cf. Ps 33.11; Job 38.22. 8–14: The great founding act of Israel was the Exodus and its aftermath, here presented in two panels, as in Ps 114 linking Exodus and Conquest. The first concerns Egypt (i.e., the Exodus proper) and the second concerns the Transjordanian kings Sihon and Og, and the kingdoms of Canaan (i.e., the conquest). 8: See Ex 12.29. 9: A reference to the plagues; see Ex 7.3; Deut 6.22. 11: Sihon (king of the Amorites, in central Transjordan) and Og (king of Bashan in northern Transjordan), see Num 21.21–35; Deut 2.24–3.7. 12: Heritage, Canaan as a land that is to be inherited by successive generations of Israelites. 13: A restatement of Ex 3.15. 15–18: Cf. Ps 115.4–11. 19–20: Similar to and likely based on Ps 118.3–4.

Ps 136: Praise of the Lord who created the world and Israel. A hymn telling of the creation of the world and of the Exodus and Conquest, the holy people designed to motivate Israel to give praise, and perhaps for God to remember Israel in its “low estate” (v. 23), when it is persecuted and suffers from famine (vv. 24–25). Pss 135 and 136 share vocabulary and a similar view of sacred history, though Ps 136 uniquely preserves the antiphonal reply “for his steadfast love endures forever” (twenty‐six times), which was frequently used in ritual in the postexilic period (see Ezra 3.11; 1 Chr 16.34; Ps 118.1–4). 1–3: Give thanks to the Lord/God (vv. 1–3,26) opens and closes Ps 136 and also Ps 118 (vv. 1,29), suggesting that (Pss 113–118 and 135–136 were meant to frame the Songs of Ascents ((Pss 120–134). As the psalm progresses, each new stage of divine activity is introduced by the participle form of the verb (vv. 4a, 5a, 6a, 7a, 10a, 13a, 16a, and 17a). The psalm narrates a single series of divine actions, beginning with creation and ending with deliverance and guidance into the land. 7–9: Cf. Gen 1.16. 10–22: Like Ps 135, Ps 136 connects the Exodus from Egypt with the acquisition of land in Canaan. 19–20: Sihon … and Og, see Ps 135.11n. 23–25: Changes in syntax and grammatical person (from third to second person) indicate the shift from recital of the past to speaking of Israel dwelling in the land of Canaan. In Canaan, God still wondrously protects and feeds the people.

Ps 137: A lament over destroyed Jerusalem. A community petition that complains vigorously of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 bce. The first stanza (vv. 1–3) is framed by “Zion,” the second (vv. 4–6) by “Jerusalem,” and the third, a cry for justice against Edom and Babylon, the enemies responsible for the destruction. The last stanza, repugnant to modern readers and often omitted in modern uses of the psalm, is the cry of one singer who feels acutely the dishonor inflicted by an arrogant empire and its helpers. 1: Rivers, irrigation canals. 3: Mirth, to be understood as “songs of joy,” abstract for concrete. Such songs (e.g., Pss 46; 48; 76; 84; 122) told of the grandeur of Zion where the Lord defeated enemy kings and dwelled in the midst of Israel. It is humiliating to sing them now especially to people who laugh at them. 5: Wordplay: the Heb word “shakaḥ” is a homonym for two different verbs in the verse: forget and wither. 5–6: Hand and tongue are the means of making music. 7: Edom, south of the Dead Sea, Edom was an ally in the Babylonian destruction of the city (Lam 4.21; Ezek 25.12–14; 36.5; (Ob 8–14). 8: Babylon, by poetic justice, it will suffer what it forced others to suffer.

Ps 138: From personal to universal thanks. An individual thanksgiving that gives thanks for a rescue (vv. 1–3), invites the kings of the world to offer their praise (vv. 4–6), and asserts confidence in the Lord’s future protection (vv. 7–8). The first in a small collection of David psalms ((Pss 138–145). 1: Before the gods, either the heavenly beings who serve in the court of the Most High God (see Ps 29.1n.), or the “gods” of the kings mentioned in vv. 4–6. 4–5: So wonderful has been God’s protection that kings, representing the nations, should offer praise (cf. Pss 67.3–5; 126.2). Exactly what is meant by the words of your mouth is unclear. 8: As v. 3 sums up the psalmist’s past relationship, this verse sums up the psalmist’s hope that the relationship will continue.

Ps 139: A request for guidance from a powerful God. Although often classed as an individual petition, the poem is unique, recording an individual’s experience of God, first primarily as powerful (vv. 1–12), and then primarily as nurturing and intimate (vv. 13–18). Only after experiencing the range of God’s power and beauty does the psalmist comprehend his or her own place and the malice of sin (vv. 19–24). 2: Sit down … rise up, i.e., always; a merism, in which the ends of a spectrum represent the entire spectrum. 8: Sheol, the abode of the dead. 9: That is, if I travel a long distance, leaving at dawn in the east and move farthest west. 13: For it was you, better “It was surely you.” The perspective suddenly shifts from outside to inside as the psalmist realizes that the divine power that seemed to loom over life and constrict it (vv. 1–12) also gives life and shapes it already in the maternal womb. Delicacy, growth, and “maternal” involvement are also God’s work. 14: The psalmist’s own creation is as wondrous as the other great deeds of the Lord (e.g., Pss 65.5; 106.22; 145.6). 16: In your book, see Ps 40.7n. 18: No longer feeling alone and judged, the psalmist knows God is near and has been so from the beginning. God’s great power and omnipresence (vv. 1–12) are complemented by nearness and personal care (vv. 13–18). 19–24: The psalmist expresses solidarity with God, whom he asks for protection from wicked enemies.

Ps 140: Petition, complaint, and hope. An individual petition that helps the sufferer move from pain to peaceful hope. NRSV correctly marks the stanzas: vv. 1–3,4–5,6–8,9–11,12–13 on the basis of their syntax, content, and word count. Verses 1–3 and 4–5 are paired by their syntax, each beginning with similar petitions and descriptions of enemies, and each section ends with Selah, which typically marks a disjunction (see Ps 3.2n.). Verses 6–8 are distinct by their initial verb “I say” and assertions of loyalty to the Lord; vv. 9–11 reverse the order of previous sections by beginning with a complaint (v. 9a) and ending with a petition (vv. 9b–11–). The final section, vv. 12–13, the statement of trust, is marked by its initial verb I know. 6: I say, shifts from petition to confession that the Lord has been loyal in the past. 7: Covered my head, protected my head. 12: I know, affirming God’s fidelity as in Jon 4.2; Pss 20.6; 56.9; 135.5. The psalmist wants to be counted among the needy and poor whom the Lord always helps. Surely emphasizes the psalmist’s triumphant hope that the righteous will be rescued.

Ps 141: Save me from my own evil impulses and from evil companions. An individual petition. Verses 1–2 ask God to give special attention to the psalmist’s plea, and vv. 3–4 beg to be kept from sin and evil companions (vv. 3–4). Verses 5–7 are textually uncertain; vv. 8–10 express total trust in God and hope of future protection. 2: The psalmist’s prayer is compared to two regular sacrifices in the Temple, incense in the morning (cf. Ex 30.7–8) and the sacrifice of a lamb in the evening (cf. Ex 29.38–42) 4: Eat of their delicacies, share their fellowship; cf. Ps 41.9. 7: Some scholars suggest that like a rock that one breaks apart and shatters on the land was accompanied with the ritual shattering of a rock. Sheol, the abode of the dead. 10: See Ps 7.15–16n.

Ps 142: Prayer for God’s help. An individual petition that proceeds in two stages: the first stage (vv. 1–4) simply lists the peril and danger and declares there is no one else to turn to, and the second (vv. 5–7), with more confidence, calls God “my refuge, my portion in the land of the living” (v. 5) and promises praise. Superscription: Maskil, see Ps 32n. In the cave, most likely referring to the story of David fleeing from Saul (1 Sam 24). 4: Loyal friends customarily stood at one’s right hand (Ps 109.31), but no one is there for the psalmist. 5: For the first time, the psalmist addresses God, using two impressive metaphors that illustrate God’s ability to help at this time of crisis. Refuge is elsewhere parallel to mighty rock (Pss 62.7; 91.2; 94.22). Portion means a share in land (cf. Josh 18.5,6,9), which in that agrarian society was the source of food and clothing. You are … my portion, cf. Num 18.20. 7: As a motivation for divine help, so that I may give thanks to your name is similar to Ps 86.12; these psalmists assume that God wants to be thanked, and this motivates divine behavior.

Ps 143: A plea that God would act out of fidelity to a loyal servant. An individual petition that requests divine attention and deliverance from enemies, insisting that no person is righteous before God. Though old material has been recycled, Ps 143 establishes the idea that dealings with God must be based on divine faithfulness and righteousness (vv. 1–2,10c–12), rather than on human actions. 5: The days of old refer to God’s great actions in creation and history; see Ps 77.11–12. 6: Thirsts, see Pss 42.1; 63.1. Selah, see Ps 3.2n. 7: Do not hide your face from me refers to the idea that God on occasion, for no reason, ignores innocent supplicants. The Pit, a synonym for Sheol, the abode of the dead. 8: Morning was an especially propitious time for a good judgment (see Ps 90.14). 11: Since the psalmist is assuming a relationship with God that depends on divine mercy rather than fair judgment of human actions, he evokes God’s name (reputation), as in some prophetic literature (e.g., Ezek 20.9) and some psalms (e.g., 23.3).

Ps 144: A request for divine assistance. A psalm in which an individual, possibly the king (v. 10), asks for divine assistance and general peace and security. The psalm seems late because it quotes other psalms, in which case it would have in mind a king of the Davidic dynasty or a future hoped‐for king. 1: Blessed be the Lord, a formula for praising God for a beneficial act, in this case for equipping the supplicant to wage war. 3: Cf. Ps 8.4; Job 7.17. 4: Cf. Pss 102.11; 109.23. 5: The beginning of the verse is taken from 2 Sam 22.10, Ps 18.10. 7: Mighty waters … the hands of aliens, a mixture of cosmic language and historical language, the first referring to the waters of chaos and the second to human agents. 9–10: The verses may allude to King David who was renowned as a musician and a warrior. 12–15: In an agrarian society, political peace and agricultural fertility go together; this psalm seems to assume a period of distress. This blessing that the psalmist requests would be suitable for a royal psalm since the king protects the land from invaders and blesses its fertility (cf. Ps 72.3–7).

Ps 145: Praise of the goodness of the Lord the king. A hymn ending the Davidic collection ((Pss 138–145) and establishing the mood of praise that predominates in the hymns of (Pss 146–150. The Psalter will conclude in a symphony of praise. It is an acrostic (see (Ps 9–10n.), although the fourteenth letter (“nun”) is missing in the Hebrew text. The singer’s own voice is prominent: “I will extol you, my God” (vv. 1–2) and “My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord” (v. 21). In vv. 3–7, one generation tells the next of the acts of the Lord. Verse 8, “the Lord is gracious and merciful,” emphasizes the loving governance behind those acts (vv. 11–13) and the generosity toward human beings (vv. 10–20). The final verse (v. 21) reprises and extends the first. 1: My king, most of the attributes mentioned in the psalm are connected to royalty; this initial reference also points forward to the four occurrences of kingdom in vv. 11–13. Your name, your presence. 4: One generation shall laud your works to another, like the process of education in Ps 78.4 (cf. Ex 13.8,14; Deut 6.20). The children experience the effects of the mighty deeds of old that are constantly renewed. 5: Glory, splendor, and majesty are royal qualities that God as king possesses. 8: Citation of the divine attributes in Ex 34.6. 11: Your kingdom, occurs four times at the psalm’s center in vv. 11–13. The contexts make clear that the word means active rule, reigning, rather than static kingdom. 13: Cf. Dan 4.3. 14–16: Cf. Pss 104.27; 146.7–8. 17–18: The word all appears twice in each of these verses, and another three times before the psalm concludes, for a total of seventeen times, emphasizing God’s incomparability.

Ps 146: Praise of the Lord, savior of the downtrodden. A hymn, like (Pss 147–150; together, these five psalms form the concluding doxology to the entire book of Psalms. Each of these hymns begins and ends with “Praise the Lord” (Heb “halelu‐yah,” in English “Hallelujah”). The singer in Ps 146 engages in an inner dialogue (“O my soul!” v. 1b) before addressing the community in v. 3. Such reflection enables the singer to appreciate the vanity of human resources (vv. 3–4) and the compassion of the Lord’s governance of the world (vv. 5–9). 5: In contrast to placing one’s hopes in human helpers, weak and mortal (vv. 3–4), the psalmist’s hopes are in the Lord, already covenanted to Israel, the powerful and just creator and judge (vv. 6–7). 6: Who made heaven and earth, see Ps 124.8n. 7–9: All the Lord’s actions here are rescues of beleaguered individuals, inspiring the psalmist to hope for and praise rescues in the future. 9: God’s justice is complete; he even brings to ruin the way of the wicked, before their plans reach fruition. 10: These aspects of God—creator, righteous judge—are related to his kingship, mentioned explicitly only in the final verse. This connects Pss 145 and 146.

Ps 147: Praise the Lord who restores Jerusalem. The second of the five hymns concluding the Psalms. Each of its three sections (vv. 1–6,7–11, and 12–20) begins with an invitation in the imperative to praise the Lord and lists the divine acts for which praise is to be given. Verses 1–6 cite the Lord’s restoration of Jerusalem and gathering of exiles; vv. 7–11 cite the Lord’s control of fertility for the nurture of humans, and vv. 12–20 cite the Lord’s gift to Israel of his powerful word. Written for a scattered, malnourished, and demoralized people, most likely in the exilic or postexilic period, the psalm teaches them how to see divine purpose and give thanks. 4: Creating the heavens and rebuilding Zion are parallel works as in Isa 51.16, for God ensures that the original creation continues. 7–11: Again directing creation to benefit Israel, God restores the devastated lands to provide food. 7: It is unclear if thanksgiving is a sacrifice or verbal thanks. 15–20: These verses have seven terms for the word of God, some repeated: command, word, statutes, ordinances. 19–20: The Lord spoke his word at Sinai and afterward. It made Israel distinctive then (Deut 4.5–8) and does so now, for God has not dealt thus with any other nation (v. 20a). The Torah here is recognized as Israel’s special gift from God.

Ps 148: Let heaven and earth praise the Lord. The third of the five hymns that make up the doxology concluding the Psalms. More formal than the two preceding psalms, it employs the verb “to praise” twelve times, “Lord” four times, and “the name (of the Lord)” three times; it is neatly composed of two almost equal panels, vv. 1–6, introduced by “Praise the Lord from the heavens,” and vv. 7–14, introduced by “Praise the Lord from the earth.” Unlike other hymns, it focuses on the groups invited to praise, the inhabitants of heaven (vv. 1–4), and the inhabitants of earth (vv. 7–12). The divine acts meriting praise are mentioned only briefly: for the first group (vv. 5–6), the motive for giving praise is that the Lord created them and assigned them all their tasks; for the second (v. 13), the motive is that the Lord’s name and glory are exalted above heaven and earth. 3: This may recall other ancient cultures, in which astral bodies were deities. 5: For he commanded and they were created, the psalm recognizes here and elsewhere the orderly Priestly story of creation by word in Gen 1, emphasizing that God continues to have this role in the universe. 7–8: Somewhat autonomous deities in surrounding cultures, but under God’s strict control here. 14: Horn, a symbol of strength. After all nature and all the peoples of the earth are summoned to give praise to the Lord, Israel is mentioned in climactic place as his special people.

Ps 149: Praise for Israel’s task in the world. This fourth hymn in the series of five concluding the Psalms may disturb readers by its apparent call to vengeance against foreigners. Ps 149 develops the ideas of two psalms, the immediately preceding Ps 148, which singles out Israel as having a mission to proclaim the supremacy of the Lord to the nations (Ps 148.14), and Ps 2 (second from the beginning as Ps 149 is second from the last) in which the Davidic king is given authority to subdue the nations. Ps 149 transposes the royal role of Ps 2 to the entire nation (as in Isa 55.3). Ps 149 has two stanzas, vv. 1–4 and 5–9, the first inviting praise for the Lord’s victory and the second equating that praise metaphorically with weapons of war against the rebellious kings. 1: New song, as in Isa 42.10 and other psalms (e.g., 33.3; 96.1; 98.1); here in response to creation, for Israel is glad in its Maker (v. 1a); the act establishes the kingship of the Lord. In the previous psalm, God as king is creating the universe, while here he creates Israel. 5: On their couches, symbolizes private (in contrast to public) expression as in Pss 4.4; 6.6; 36.4; Hos 7.14. 6: Wielding a sword (and the other military actions in vv. 7–9) develops a traditional theme of the Israelite king and the people representing the Lord’s kingship over the world, which often meant conflict with the nations (cf. Pss 2; 46; 48). Here that tradition can be understood as a metaphor for proclaiming the Lord’s sovereignty over kings and nations by Israel’s faithful worship of the Lord alone. The conjunction and seems to make the statements of v. 6a and 6b parallel: praising God is like wielding a sword. Israel has the task of embodying divine sovereignty and rendering it visible in the world. This unmasks false gods and invites the nations to join in God’s praise and recognition of Israel. 7: Vengeance, best rendered “retribution” for the kings’ refusal to recognize their true suzerain. 9: Judgment decreed, the ultimate triumph of the Lord.

Ps 150: Climactic praise for the Lord’s total sovereignty. The last of the final five hymns ending the Psalms. All the verses except the final one (v. 6) begin with the same verb in the imperative mood: Praise him! The verb occurs thirteen times in this final outburst of praise. Each of the first four of the five books of the Psalms ends with a oneor two‐verse doxology (Pss 41.13; 72.18–19; 89.52; 106.48), and it is fitting that a whole poem be the final doxology that notes where (v. 1), why (v. 2), and how (v. 3–5) God should be praised. The invitation extends throughout the whole poem; the poem is one long invitation to give praise. The group summoned to give praise, whom most psalms name almost immediately, is not revealed until the end, and it is vast: “everything that breathes” (v. 6). It goes beyond Israel to the entire human race, even to animals. The vast reach of the poem is a reminder that the call of one people is made in view of God’s creation of all.

^a Cn: Meaning of Heb of verses 11b and verses 12a is uncertain

^b Syr: Heb him

^a Or are angry

^a Or awake for me

^b Cn: Heb return

^c Heb he

^a Heb ben adam, lit. son of man

^b Or than the divine beings or angels: Heb elohim

^a Meaning of Heb uncertain

^b Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb flee to your mountain, O bird

^a Syr: Heb hold counsels

^a Jerome Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^b Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a One Ms Compare Syr: MT Our steps

^a Gk See 2 Sam 22.14: Heb adds hailstones and coals of fire

^a Or gentleness

^b Gk Tg: Heb people

^a Or dome

^b Gk Jerome Compare Syr: Heb line

^c Heb In them

^d Or from proud thoughts

^a Gk: Heb give victory, O Lord; let the King answer us when we call

^a Cn: Heb strength

^b Meaning of Heb uncertain

^c Heb my only one

^d Heb answered

^e Or kindred

^a Heb him

^b Heb he

^c Or afflicted

^d Gk Syr Jerome: Heb you

^e Cn: Heb They have eaten and

^f Cn: Heb all the fat ones

^g Compare Gk Syr Vg: Heb and he who cannot keep himself alive

^h Compare Gk: Heb it will be told about the Lord to the generation,³¹ they will come and

ⁱ Heb waters of rest

^j Or life

^k Or paths of righteousness

^l Or the valley of the shadow of death

^a Or Only

^b Or kindness

^c Heb for length of days

^d Gk Syr: Heb your face, O Jacob

^a Or The troubles of my heart are enlarged; bring me

^b Or in your faithfulness

^a Or refuge

^a Heb your innermost sanctuary

^b Heb sons of gods

^a Or causes the deer to calve

^b Or that I should not go down to the Pit

^c Heb that glory

^a One Heb Ms Gk Syr Jerome: MT I hate

^b Gk Syr: Heb my iniquity

^c Cn: Heb exceedingly

^a Another reading is cut off

^b Meaning of Heb uncertain

^c Cn: Heb at a time of finding only

^a Gk Syr Jerome: Heb their

^a Heb a pit, their net

^b The word pit is transposed from the preceding line

^c Or My prayer turned back

^d Cn Compare Gk: Heb like the profanest of mockers of a cake

^e Heb him

^a Heb A man’s steps

^b Heb his

^c Heb he stumbles

^d Heb he

^e Heb him

^a Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^b Gk Syr Jerome: Heb he

^a Q Ms: MT my living foes

^b Heb hostility

^a Cn: Heb pit of tumult

^b Heb ears you have dug for me

^c Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Or weak

^b Heb you change all his bed

^a Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Gk Syr: Heb You are my King, O God; command

^b Heb a shaking of the head

^a Cn: Heb and the meekness of

^b Or Your throne is a throne of God, it

^a Heb daughter

^b Or people. 13All glorious is the princess within, gold embroidery is her clothing

^c Heb lacks O king

^d Or well proved

^e Heb of it

^f Or fortress

^a Heb Maskil

^a Heb daughters

^b Another reading is no one can ransom a brother

^c Heb the pit

^d Gk Syr Compare Tg: Heb their inward (thought)

^e Tg: Heb after them

^f Cn: Heb the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning

^g Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Cn: Heb you

^b Gk Syr Tg: Heb mountains

^c Or make thanksgiving your sacrifice to God

^a Heb who set a way

^b Meaning of Heb uncertain

^c Or steadfast

^d Or generous

^a Or My sacrifice, O God,

^b Cn Compare Syr: Heb the kindness of God

^c Heb him

^d Syr Tg: Heb in his destruction

^e Cn: Heb wait for

^a Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb him who encamps against you

^b Gk: Heb you have put (them) to shame

^c Gk Syr Jerome: Heb is of those who uphold or is with those who uphold

^d Cn Compare Gk: Heb they cause to totter

^a Heb lacks with me

^b Or Cast what he has given you

^a Cn: Heb rescue

^b Or because

^c Cn: Heb are aflame for

^a Or mighty lords

^b Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Heb with swords

^b Heb lacks they think

^a Gk Syr Jerome: Heb because of the truth

^b Another reading is me

^c Or by his holiness

^a Heb with fat and fatness

^a Syr: Heb them

^b Cn: Heb They search out crimes

^c Cn: Heb They will bring him to ruin, their tongue being against them

^a Gk Jerome: Heb his

^a Cn Compare Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb to a saturation

^a Or cast up a highway for him who rides through the deserts

^b Or company of the women

^c Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai

^d Cn: Heb The Lord among them Sinai in the holy(place)

^a Gk Syr Tg: Heb shatter

^b Or have been seen

^c Cn: Heb Trampling

^d Meaning of Heb of verse 30 is uncertain

^e Or Nubia; Heb Cush

^f Gk: Heb from your

^a Gk Syr: Heb I wept, with fasting my soul, or I made my soul mourn with fasting

^b Gk Syr: Heb recount the pain of

^a Syr: Heb and they shall live

^b Gk Compare 31.3: Heb to come continually you have commanded

^a Gk Compare Syr: Heb to a generation, to all that come

^b Gk: Heb may they fear you

^a Cn: Heb those who live in the wilderness

^b Or bless themselves by him

^c Or good to Israel

^a Cn: Heb his people return here

^b Cn: Heb abundant waters are drained by them

^c Cn: Heb Lord

^d Or to glory

^e Heb rock

^a Cn Compare Gk Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^b Cn: Heb do you consume your right hand from

^c Heb food for the people

^d Or moon; Heb light

^e Gk Syr: Heb the

^a Gk: Heb declare

^b Gk: Heb the mountains of prey

^c Heb lacks your

^a Gk Syr: Heb My music

^b Syr Jerome: Heb my spirit searches

^a Heb armed with shooting

^a Syr: Heb strife

^a Heb adds from verse 17 and upon the one whom you made strong for yourself

^b Cn: Heb it is cut down

^c Or against

^d Heb his

^a Cn Compare verse 16b: Heb he would feed him

^b Or fall as one man, O princes

^a Or a tumbleweed

^b Heb lacks to Zion

^a Gk: Heb but let them not turn back to folly

^a Or Nubia; Heb Cush

^a Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Cn: Heb bosom all of many peoples

^b Another reading is our refuge

^c Heb humankind

^d Syr: Heb we bring our years to an end

^e Cn Compare Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb pride

^a Cn: Heb removed his cleanness

^b Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Cn: Heb bosom all of many peoples

^b Another reading is our refuge

^c Heb humankind

^d Syr: Heb we bring our years to an end

^e Cn Compare Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb pride

^a Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai

^b Cn: Heb Because you, Lord, are my refuge; you have made

^a Syr: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^b Cn: Heb majestic are the waves

^a Heb the thoughts of humankind

^a Heb daughters

^b Cn: Heb You who love the Lord hate

^c Gk Syr Jerome: Heb is sown

^a Cn: Heb And a king’s strength

^b Another reading is and not we ourselves

^a Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Heb his

^b Heb By them

^a Or to cultivate

^b Or your breath

^a Another reading is Israel (compare 1 Chr 16.13)

^b Gk Syr Jerome: Heb to bind

^c Cn Compare Gk Syr: Heb they did not rebel

^d Heb them

^a Cn Compare 78.17, 56: Heb rebelled at the sea

^b Or Sea of Reeds

^a Compare Gk Mss: Heb exchanged their glory

^b Or Sea of Reeds

^c Syr Compare Ezek 20.23: Heb cause to fall

^d Heb him

^a Cn: Heb sea

^a Cn: Heb fools

^b Heb Mss Gk Syr: MT lacks my heart is steadfast

^c Compare 57.8: Heb also my soul

^a Or by his holiness

^b Syr: Heb I prayer

^c Heb lacks They say

^d Gk: Heb and seek

^e Cn: Heb fathers

^a Gk: Heb their

^b Gk: Heb They have risen up and have been put to shame

^c Another reading is in holy splendor

^d Cn: Heb the dew of your youth

^a Or forever, a rightful king by my edict

^b Gk Syr: Heb them

^a Heb his

^a Gk: Heb were extinguished

^b Gk Syr Jerome: Heb You pushed me hard

^c Or in him

^d Or Blessed in the name of the Lord is the one who comes

^e Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Gk Jerome: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^a Or brought back those who returned to Zion

^a Or for he provides for his beloved during sleep

^a Or my soul within me is like a weaned child

^a Or Sea of Reeds

^a Or poplars

^b Or you who are devastated

^c Cn: Heb you have exalted your word above all your name

^d Syr Compare Gk Tg: Heb you made me arrogant in my soul with strength

^a Or I awake

^a Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^b Heb hurtful

^c Or the ancient way. Compare Jer 6.16

^d Or they have spread cords as a net

^e Heb adds they are exalted

^f Cn Compare Gk: Heb those who surround me are uplifted in head; Heb divides verses 8 verses and 9 differently

^a Gk: Meaning of Heb uncertain

^b Cn: Heb for continually and my prayer

^c Meaning of Heb of verses 5–7 is uncertain

^a One Heb Ms Gk: MT to you I have hidden

^b With 18.2 and 2 Sam 22.2: Heb my steadfast love

^c Heb Mss Syr Aquila Jerome: MT my people

^a Heb lacks in the walls

^a Gk Jerome Syr: Heb his

^b Heb his

^c These two lines supplied by Q Ms Gk Syr

^a Heb legs of a person

^b Or prosperity

^a Or he set a law that cannot pass away

^a Or dome