Psalms

Book One

11The person who will have a truly good life

is the person who does not do what evil people tell him to do,

who does not imitate sinful people’s behavior,

and who does not become like people who enjoy mocking.

2Instead, he delights in what Yahweh teaches,

he thoughtfully reads it aloud every day and every night.

3Like having plenty of water causes a well-cultivated tree

to produce fruit at the right time,

and keeps it from dying,

so {his faithfulness to Yahweh} causes everything this person does to prosper.

4That is not what wicked people are like!

Instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.

5Just so, wicked people will not be able to endure {when Yahweh} judges {the world}.

Neither will sinful people {be present when Yahweh} gathers all the righteous people together.

6{All of this is} because Yahweh cares for righteous people,

but wicked people keep sinning until {Yahweh} destroys them {forever}.

21Foreign kingdoms are scheming,

and people groups are planning, but it is useless.

2Earthly kings prepare to revolt,

the rulers plot together to fight

against Yahweh and against his chosen king.

3{They shout,} “We should break free from the shackles {that they control us with}.

We should throw aside the ropes {that they rule over us with}!”

4But the heavenly ruler sneers at them;

the Lord ridicules those rulers.

5Then he speaks to them angrily.

He terrifies them by {showing them how} furious he is.

6{Yahweh says,} “It is I who has made my king rule in Zion,

{which is} my sacred hill.”

7{Yahweh’s king says,} “I will proclaim what Yahweh has decreed.

Yahweh said to me, ‘You are my son;

today I have become your father.

8Request {this from} me:

{ask to} inherit the nations,

{ask to} own the {whole} earth {even the} farthest parts.

I will give them to you.

9You will strike them with an iron rod

and they will shatter into small pieces as if they were a clay pot.’”

10So then, you kings should act wisely!

All rulers on the earth should allow Yahweh and his king to correct them!

11Worship Yahweh respectfully.

Be joyful and afraid {while you are worshiping him}!

12Swear to be truly loyal to his son

otherwise, he may become angry

and suddenly kill you

because he can become angry quickly.

But all those who ask him to protect them will have a life that is truly good.

3David wrote this psalm when he was fleeing from his son Absalom.

1Yahweh, I have so many enemies!

Many people are deciding to oppose me.

2Many people are saying about me,

“God will not rescue him.” Selah

3But Yahweh, you are like a shield that protects me.

You greatly honor me, and you encourage me.

4Whenever I cry loudly to Yahweh {for help},

he {comes} from {Zion,} his sacred hill, to help me. Selah

5I {can} lie down and sleep, {knowing that} I {will} wake up

because Yahweh guards me {all night}.

6There may be thousands {of enemy soldiers} who surround me,

but I am not afraid.

7Yahweh, get up!

My God, rescue me!

You can {insultingly} slap my enemies on their cheeks,

and destroy those wicked people’s {power like breaking animals’} teeth,

8Yahweh rescues!

Bless your people! Selah

4This is a note for the worship leader: David wrote this psalm to be accompanied by people playing stringed instruments.

1Righteous God, respond to me when I pray to you.

You who have {always} rescued me when I was distressed,

act mercifully toward me and pay attention to what I pray.

2How long will you mortal people dishonor me instead of honoring me?

How long will you love what is useless, and chase lies? Selah

3You all should know that Yahweh treats people who are faithful to him as special to him.

Yahweh will pay attention when I pray to him.

4You should be afraid of Yahweh, and {because of that} stop sinning!

While you lie on your bed, examine what you are thinking and stop accusing {me}. Selah

5Instead, offer to Yahweh the proper sacrifices

and continually trust him.

6Many people are wishing for something good to happen.

Yahweh, please do good things for us!

7You have made me very joyful,

even more than {these complainers are} when they have plenty of food and drink.

8I can lie down at night and sleep without worrying

because {I know that} it is only you, Yahweh, who keeps me safe.

5This is a note for the worship leader: David wrote this psalm to be accompanied by people playing flutes.

1Yahweh, listen to what I say!

Comprehend my distressed sigh.

2{Since} you are my king and my God,

hear and respond when I plead aloud for rescuing,

because I am praying to you {only}.

3Yahweh, you will hear me pleading each morning.

Every morning I will request that you save me, and I will wait for you to do it.

4You are a God who certainly does not approve of wicked people;

evil-doers never stay as your guests.

5Boasters are not allowed to come worship you.

You hate everyone who does evil things.

6You kill liars.

Yahweh despises murderers and people who deceive others.

7As for me, I will come {worship you} where you live, because you faithfully love us so abundantly.

I will reverently kneel to worship you at your sacred temple.

8Yahweh, my enemies are watching me {to try to catch me doing something wrong}.

Please show me how to do what is right, just as you always do what is right.

Make it easy for me to live obediently to you.

9Please do this because my enemies are untrustworthy;

one of their strongest desires is to destroy people.

They speak things that are vile like the smell of an open grave.

They flatter people {to trap and destroy them}.

10O God, declare that they are guilty and punish them.

Cause to happen to them the harmful events that they plan to cause to happen to others.

Get rid of them because they have sinned often,

and rebelled against you.

11But enable all the people who ask you to protect them to be glad;

enable them to sing gladly always.

Please protect them.

Enable everyone who loves it when you are famous to praise you.

12{I ask this} because Yahweh, you always bless those who act righteously;

you protect them as if your good acts are like a shield around them.

6This is a note for the worship leader: Musicians playing stringed instruments should accompany this song. Perform it in a low range. David wrote this psalm.

1Yahweh, do not correct me angrily,

do not punish me wrathfully.

2Yahweh, act kindly toward me because I have become weak.

Yahweh, heal me because my body shakes fearfully.

3Yahweh, I am greatly troubled in my inner being.

How long must I endure this?

4Yahweh, relent from your anger and deliver me!

Help me because you always do what you promise!

5{Do this} because {I and} no one {else} who is dead can honor you.

{I and} no one {else} can praise you {if we are} in the place where the dead are.

6I am exhausted because of my pain.

I cry all night long, so that my tears soak

and seem as if they will wash away my bed and my cushions.

7I am very sad and {I cry so much that} I cannot see well.

My vision has become weak from {crying because of} all my enemies.

8{I advise} all you people who do evil things to get away from me

because Yahweh heard me when I was crying;

9he heard me when I called out for him to help me,

and he will answer my prayer.

10{When that happens,} all my enemies will be ashamed and very troubled.

They will relent {from attacking me because they will} suddenly {be} ashamed.

7A psalm that David sang to Yahweh because of a Benjamite named Cush.

1Yahweh my God, I have come to you so that you can protect me.

Save me from everyone who is chasing me {in order to harm me}. Rescue me!

2If you do not do that, they will maul me like a lion {does when it attacks the animals it wants to kill};

they shred me and there is not a rescuer.

3My God Yahweh, suppose that I have done these things,

that I am really guilty.

4Suppose that I have harmed my ally,

{maybe} I {was unfaithful to my ally and instead} rescued an enemy for no reason.

5Then allow my enemies to chase and capture me.

Allow them to stomp me into the ground

and leave me lying {dead} in the dirt. Selah

6Get up Yahweh!

Because you are angry, show that you are greater than what my furious enemies can do!

Be alert so you can rescue me by doing what you have said is just!

7The people of all nations gather around you;

return to ruling over them all!

8Yahweh, judge the people of all nations!

Decide favorably for me, Yahweh,

because I am righteous and honorable {before you the} highest judge.

9God, you are righteous and look closely at what people think and want.

Please stop evil people from doing wicked things,

and make {all of us} who are righteous secure!

10God, you protect me as a shield protects soldiers;

you rescue all those who are righteous in their inner being.

11God judges everyone correctly.

God condemns {the wicked} constantly.

12Whenever the wicked do not repent, it is as though God sharpens his sword

and puts a string on his bow {to get ready to kill them}.

13He prepares his deadly weapons to kill {the wicked},

he makes his arrows have flaming tips.

14Look at the wicked person who is filled with evil intentions, as though pregnant with them,

who plans to trouble people like conceiving a child,

and who lies as naturally as giving birth.

15If he digs a deep pit to trap others,

he will fall into his own trap.

16He experiences the bad things that he wants to cause to others,

he hurts himself by the violent things that he wants to do to others.

17I thank Yahweh because he always acts justly,

I sing to praise Yahweh, who is the highest judge, and to make him famous.

8This is a note for the worship leader: Accompany the song with a stringed instrument. David wrote this psalm.

1Our Lord Yahweh, people all over the world know how impressive you are!

You have made the sky show {everyone} how grand you are {every time anyone looks at it}!

2When {anyone who is weak cries for help like} nursing little children cry {for help},

you {listen and} protect them from your enemies, {the ones that want to hurt your people}.

In order to protect them, you destroy enemies who want to harm them in return {for what you have justly done to them}.

3I look up at the sky {at night}

and see the things that you have made—

the moon and the stars that you have set in place.

4It is amazing to me that you think about people,

that you are concerned about humans!

5In fact though, you made humans to be just slightly lower than heavenly beings.

You made humans to be glorious and majestic {like you}.

6You put humans in charge of everything that you made,

you made them rule over all things—

7{over} all {the domestic animals like} sheep, goats, and cattle,

the wild animals too,

8the birds in the sky,

the fish in the sea,

and everything else that swims in the ocean.

9Our Lord Yahweh,

people all over the world know how impressive you are!

9This is a note to the worship leader: David wrote this song to the tune of “The Death of the Son.”

1Yahweh, I will praise you with all of my inner being.

I will tell others about all the wonderful things that you have done.

2You make me extremely happy, so I will sing to celebrate what you, who are much greater than all other spirit beings, have done.

3When my foes flee {from your righteous anger},

they trip and fall. You kill them just by being near them.

4{You are angry because} you have found my legal case to be righteous {and my enemies’ to be wicked}.

You sit on a throne {like a king} judging {everything} rightly.

5You reprimanded the people from other nations, and killed the wicked people;

you eradicate them so thoroughly no one will ever remember their names.

6Nothing remains of our enemies except the ruins

of their cities which you permanently destroyed.

No one even remembers those enemies anymore.

7But Yahweh rules forever.

He is prepared to judge from his throne.

8He will judge all the people in the world justly;

he will be fair when he judges the people of every nation.

9Let Yahweh be like a fortress for those whom oppressors oppress;

like a strong fort for them when they have trouble.

10Those who know your reputation should trust you;

because you, Yahweh, never abandon those who come to you {for help}.

11Yahweh rules on Mount Zion;

praise him by singing to him!

Tell people from every nation the marvelous things that he has done.

12Do this because Yahweh always remembers to repay any person who murders another person.

When someone’s enemy has oppressed him, and when that person calls to Yahweh to help him, Yahweh does not forget to avenge him.

13Yahweh, act mercifully toward me!

You who rescue me when I am almost dead, look at the ways that my enemies have oppressed me.

14{I want to live} in order to tell all your people at the entrance to Jerusalem all the reasons to praise you

and to rejoice because you rescued me.

15{When you rescue me} it is like wicked people of many nations had dug a pit for me to fall into,

but have fallen into that same pit,

or like they hid a net to catch me,

but their feet have been caught in that same net.

16So you allow the traps that wicked people make to trap them.

Because of that, people can discover that you, Yahweh, are just. Higgaion Selah

17Wicked people will flee {from you} back to the place where dead people stay.

{There are people there} from every nation, people who have forgotten {to worship the true} God.

18This all happens because there is a certain time when God will remember {to take care of} poor people.

It is good for oppressed people to expect him to rescue them because he will do it one day.

19Yahweh, do something! Do not let {evil} people win!

{Bring them} to your court and judge them!

20Yahweh, teach them that they must be afraid of you and honor you.

Cause {the rulers of} nations to know that they are mortal. Selah

101Yahweh, please do not stay far away from us.

Please let us find you when enemies threaten us.

2Wicked people proudly chase people until they can oppress them.

Yahweh, please make the bad things they plan to do to others happen to them instead.

3A wicked person even brags about what he strongly wants to do.

He praises people who unjustly take things from other people. He curses Yahweh.

4The wicked person is so proud that he does not care {about God}.

He plans {to do evil things} as if there was no God.

5What he does always prospers.

He ignores doing what you say is right.

He makes a mocking noise at all his enemies.

6He thinks, “Nothing bad can happen to me!

As long as I live, nothing will trouble me.”

7He constantly curses, lies, and threatens others.

He is always talking about harming others and doing wrong.

8He hides outside villages to surprise attack people.

From his secret spot he kills people who have done nothing wrong.

From there he sneakily watches for some unlucky person.

9He hides in a secret spot like a lion, {crouching} in the bushes,

waiting for people to catch and oppress.

He catches people and drags them away in a net to oppress them.

10The wicked person makes sure everything is properly prepared

so he can oppress his unlucky victim.

11He convinces himself, “God is not recording what I do.

He is not paying attention; he will never notice.”

12Do something, Yahweh! Prove that you are powerful, God!

Pay attention to oppressed people!

13Do not let wicked people curse you, God!

Do not let him believe that you do not care about his evil deeds!

14Surely you see everything! You pay attention to how wicked people hurt and frustrate other people so that you can punish those wicked people.

Unlucky people trust that you will protect them. You help orphans.

15Cause people who are always doing very evil things to become powerless!

When someone tries to oppress other people may he discover he cannot do it.

16Yahweh reigns eternally!

Foreign people no longer occupy his land.

17Yahweh, when oppressed people ask you to help, you listen

and encourage them. You pay close attention,

18so you can act justly for the orphans and oppressed people.

You will stop any mere human from ever terrifying them again.

111This is a note for the worship leader: This is a psalm of David.

I trust that Yahweh will protect me.

So do not say to me, “You need to escape to the mountains like birds do,

2because wicked people have hidden in the darkness.

They have pulled back their bowstrings and aimed their arrows

to shoot them at godly people {like you}.

3When people are not punished for doing wrong things,

there is nothing righteous people can do.”

4But Yahweh is in his holy sanctuary, he reigns from heaven,

and he watches and examines {everything that} people do.

5Yahweh examines what righteous people do and what wicked people do,

and he hates those who love to do violent things.

6May he send down from the sky traps upon the wicked,

and may Yahweh punish them with fire and burning sulfur and scorching hot winds.

7Yahweh is completely righteous, and he loves when people do what is righteous.

People who do what is right will be able to come into his presence.

12This is a note for the worship leader: David wrote this song. Perform it in a low range.

1Yahweh, help us!

{It seems like} people who honor you are no more.

2Everyone tells lies to other people;

they deceive others by saying good things about them that they know are not true and by speaking insincerely.

3Yahweh, we wish that you would cut off their tongues

{so that} they cannot continue to boast.

4They say, “By speaking untruthfully we will get what we want;

we control what we say, no one can tell us what we should do!”

5{But} Yahweh replies, “I have seen the oppressive things that they have done to helpless people;

I have heard those people groaning,

so I will take action and rescue the people who are wanting someone to help them.”

6Yahweh, what you say is morally pure and you always do what you have said you will do.

Your words are {as precious and pure as} silver

that has been heated seven times in a furnace {to get rid of all the impure material}.

7Yahweh, we know that you will continually protect us who honor you

from those wicked people.

8When people praise wicked actions,

wicked people strut around {proudly}.

13This is a note to the worship leader: This is a psalm of David.

1Yahweh, how long will you continue to not answer me?

How long will you hide yourself from me?

2How long must I think about my problems within myself?

Must I be miserable every day?

How long will my enemy defeat me?

3Yahweh, my God, pay attention to me and respond to me.

Restore my strength by giving me what I have hoped for, or I will die

4and then my enemy would say, “I have defeated him,”

and those who are against me would celebrate when they had defeated me.

5But I trust that you will faithfully love me;

may I rejoice when you rescue me.

6Yahweh will do good things for me,

so I will sing to him.

141This is a note for the worship leader: This is a psalm of David.

{Only} foolish people say to themselves, “There is no God!”

People who say those things do corrupt deeds;

they do detestable deeds;

hardly anyone does what is right.

2Yahweh looks down from heaven and sees humans;

{he looks} to see if there are any wise people,

{with the result that they are} wise enough that they desire to know him.

3But they all do evil and corrupt things;

no one does what is right.

4All the people who make a practice of doing wicked things do not take seriously the fact that Yahweh is going to punish them!

They act violently toward Yahweh’s people and want to consume them like they consume bread.

These evil people never pray to Yahweh.

5{But in the future,} at the place God will judge wicked people, they will become very terrified

because God will help those who act righteously.

6You evil people try to humiliate poor people,

but Yahweh will protect them.

7I wish that Yahweh would come from where he dwells in Jerusalem and rescue us Israelite people!

When Yahweh blesses us, his people again,

then all of us Israelite people will rejoice.

151A psalm of David.

Yahweh, who is allowed to enter your sacred tent?

Who is allowed to live on your sacred mountain?

2Those whose behavior is faultless

and who do righteous things,

and who speak the truth.

3They do not slander others.

They do not do to others things that are wrong,

and they do not say bad things about their friends.

4They despise the people God abhors,

but they respect those who revere Yahweh.

They do what they have promised to do,

even if it causes them trouble to do that.

5They lend money to others without charging interest,

and they never accept bribes in order to lie about people who have not done anything wrong.

Those who do those things will always live in safety.

161A song of David.

God, protect me, because I go to you to keep me safe!

2I said to Yahweh, “You are my Lord;

all the good things that I have come from you.”

3People who try to live holy lives, they are wonderful;

I greatly delight in them.

4Those who choose to worship other gods will have many things that cause them to be sad.

I will not join them when they make sacrifices {to their gods},

and I will not join them in speaking the names of their gods.

5Yahweh, you have granted to me that I would belong to you, and you supply all of my needs.

You control what happens to me.

6Yahweh has greatly blessed me;

I am delighted with all the things that he has given me.

7I will praise Yahweh, the one who teaches me;

even during the night he puts in my mind the right things for me to do.

8I have chosen to always think about Yahweh. Because he is the one who strengthens and supports me,

he will save me from anything that might trouble me.

9Therefore I am very glad,

and I can rest securely,

10because you, Yahweh, will save me from going to the place where dead people go,

yes, you will save me, a godly person, from dying.

11You reveal to me how to live in a way that will make me joyful now and will result in receiving eternal life in the future.

You make me joyful when I am with you.

You give pleasures forever.

171A prayer of David

Yahweh, listen to me while I plead with you to act justly toward me.

Hear me while I call out to you to help me.

Pay attention to what I say while I pray

because I am speaking honestly.

2May you declare that I am innocent;

may you decide what is right.

3You know what I think, {even} during the night.

You have examined me and not found anything that grieves you.

I have determined that I will not sin by what I say.

4Regarding the actions of people,

according to what you have commanded, I have carefully avoided living a violent life.

5I have carefully obeyed what you told me to do;

I have not failed to do those things.

6O God, I am praying to you because I know that you will answer me;

please listen to what I am saying.

7Wonderfully show how you faithfully love me;

you who rescue with your great power the people who trust you to protect them from their enemies.

8Protect me as carefully as people protect their own eyes;

protect me like mother birds protect their babies under their wings.

9Do not allow wicked people to attack me,

those enemies of mine who surround me, wanting to kill me.

10They never pity anyone,

and they are always speaking boastfully.

11They have searched for me and found me.

They surround me, watching for an opportunity to attack and kill me.

12These wicked people are like lions that are ready to tear {apart their prey}.

They are like young lions that are hiding, waiting {to pounce on their prey}.

13Yahweh, come and oppose my enemies and make them fall to the ground when you defeat them!

Take violent action and deliver me from wicked men!

14Yahweh, by your power rescue me from those people who are interested {only} in things here in this world.

You provide them with many good things.

They have many children and {when they die,} they leave their wealth to their descendants.

15{Yahweh}, because I act in the right way, I will see you.

When I wake up I will see you, and then I will be happy.

18This is a note to the worship leader: David, God’s servant, wrote this psalm. He sang this song to Yahweh after Yahweh had rescued him from Saul and his other enemies.

1This is what he sang: “Yahweh, I love you, the one who enables me to be strong.

2Yahweh, you are like a huge rock and like a fortress {where I can go to be safe}. I can be confident that you will rescue me when I am in trouble. You are my God. You protect me. I am as safe as I would be if I were hiding on top of a cliff. It is as if you are a shield that defends me. You are the powerful God who saves me. You are like a high place {where I am safe from my enemies}.

3You deserve for people to praise you, Yahweh. When I cry to you {for help}, you rescue me from my enemies.

4{Someone was trying to kill me, and} I was in such danger of dying that it was as if someone was trying to tie ropes around me. His wicked plans against me were like floodwaters that were carrying me away, and this made me very afraid.

5I did not think I could escape going to the place where dead people go. It was as if that place had wrapped ropes around me and was pulling me down into it. It was as if the only direction I could walk was right into a trap where I would surely die.

6But when I was very distressed, I cried out to you, Yahweh my God. From your temple in heaven you could hear me calling to you, and you listened to my prayer.

7It made you so angry {that someone was trying to kill me, and you responded so powerfully} that it was as if there was a great earthquake and as if you shook the foundations of the mountains.

8{Your power was so great that} it was as if there was a volcano from which smoke was rising, a stream of fire was flowing out that burned up everything in its path, and hot coals were flying into the air that started fires where they landed.

9{Your power was so great} when you came {to help me that} it was as if there was a great thunderstorm, with only a little sky visible below the low-hanging dark clouds.

10He flew, riding on the back of an angel traveling fast, which the wind was blowing along.

11It was as if you had made the darkness of the storm a safe place for you to stay. Yes, it was as if you had a temporary shelter within the dark storm clouds that were full of moisture.

12It was as if it became bright where you were within the clouds, and then hailstones and lightning bolts came from there.

13It was as if there was a loud sound of thunder in the sky because you, Yahweh, the God who is greater than all other spirit beings, had spoken {to announce that you were coming to rescue me}, and as if hailstones and coals of fire {continued to come}.

14It was as if you sent many flashes of lightning that made my enemies so afraid that they ran away in different directions, as if you had shot arrows at them.

15The bottom of the ocean became visible, and the water uncovered the foundations of the earth when Yahweh rebuked his enemies

with the breath that came in his anger!

16It was as if you reached down from heaven and grabbed me so that you could pull me up out of the deep water of the ocean.

17There was a powerful man who wanted to harm me, and there were people who hated me. They were too strong for me to defeat, but you rescued me from them.

18They attacked me, and they would have destroyed me, but you, Yahweh, protected me.

19You brought me to a place where I was safe. You love me, and so you rescued me.

20Yahweh, you did good things for me because I did what was right. I did not harm my enemies, so you made sure that they did not harm me.

21Yahweh, I have lived as you want people to live. I have not stopped obeying you, my God, and done wicked things instead.

22I have remained aware of what you have said people should do, and I have continued to obey all your laws.

23I have not done anything for which you would blame me. I have been careful not to do anything for which you would punish me.

24You have done good things for me because I did what is right. You recognize that I am innocent.

25When people are loyal to you, you act loyally toward them; when people are careful to do what you want them to do, you do good things for them.

26You allow sincere people to recognize how sincere you are. But when people try to trick others, you show that you are much more clever than they are.

27You rescue people whom others are afflicting, but you humiliate those who are proud.

28Yahweh my God, it is as if you light my lamp so that I can see even when it is dark.

29With your help I have caught and defeated a band of raiders. With your help I have captured a city that had walls around it, as if I had leaped over those walls.

30My God, everything that you do is perfect. Everything that you say is right. You protect everyone who depends on you, as if you are a shield that defends them.

31Yahweh, you are the only real God. Only you are like a huge rock {where I can go to be safe}.

32My God, you enable me to be strong like someone who equips me for war. You make sure that nothing prevents me from doing what you want me to do.

33You enable me to walk about safely in the mountains, as a deer does, without falling.

34You teach me how to fight in a battle. You give me the strength to bend {and string} a bronze bow.

35You have saved me by protecting me like a shield, you are strong and therefore keep me safe. You humble yourself and answer my prayers and this is what has made me successful.

36You have given me many ways to respond to each situation. As a result, I have been able to carry out my plans successfully.

37I chased my enemies and defeated them. I did not stop fighting them until I had killed them all.

38I wounded them so badly that the ones who fell to the ground never got up because they died of their wounds.

39You have given me the strength and courage to fight battles. When people revolted against me, you enabled me to subdue them.

40You enabled me to defeat my enemies and step in triumph on their necks. You gave me power over those who hated me so that I was able to destroy them.

41They called out for someone to rescue them, but no one did. They cried out {for help} to you, Yahweh, but you did not help them.

42I defeated them so completely that they were no longer any threat to me, no more than tiny particles of dust that the wind blows away would be. It was as if they were dirt that I threw out into the street.

43You rescued me from the Israelites who tried to rebel against me. You appointed me as the ruler of many nations. Foreign people are now my subjects.

44When they heard about what Yahweh enabled me to do, they obeyed me. Foreign rulers fearfully bow down in front of me {to show their submission}.

45I defeat foreign armies that resist me so that they become weak, like a plant that dries up in the sun. They surrender and come out of their walled cities shaking with weakness and fear.

46Yahweh, you are the only real God! I praise you! You are like a huge rock {where I can go to be safe}! You are the God who rescues me. Everyone should exalt you.

47You are the God who enables me to conquer enemies who have attacked me. You cause the people of other nations to be subject to my rule.

48You kept my enemies from capturing me. People rebelled against me, but it as if their armies had been floodwaters and you lifted me out of them to safety. You rescued me from men who tried to harm me.

49Because of all this, I thank you, Yahweh, so that all people groups will know that you are the one who has helped me. I will sing to praise you for what you have done that has made you famous.

50You chose me to be king, and you have done great things to save me from my enemies. You faithfully show kindness to me, David, whom you anointed as king, as well as to my descendants forever.”

19This is a note to the worship leader: This is a psalm of David.

1{When people look at everything that} God {has placed} in the skies, they can see that he is very great.

Yes, the way God made the sky shows people that he is powerful.

2Day after day {it is as though the sun} proclaims the glory of God,

and night after night {it is as though the moon and stars} say that God made them.

3They do not really speak;

they do not say any words.

There is no sound from them for anyone to hear.

4But what they declare {about God} goes throughout all the world,

and {even people who live in} the most distant places on earth can know it.

The sun is in the skies where God placed it;

5it rises each morning like a bridegroom {who is happy} as he comes out of his bedroom after his wedding.

It is like a strong athlete who is very eager to start running in a race.

6The sun rises at one side of the sky and goes across the sky and sets on the other side,

and there is nothing that is unaffected by its heat.

7The instructions that Yahweh has given us are perfect;

they keep us from living in a way that would cause God to condemn us.

We can be sure that the things that Yahweh has told us are trustworthy,

and by learning them people who have not been previously taught will become wise.

8Yahweh’s laws are fair;

{when we obey them,} we become joyful.

The commands of Yahweh are morally perfect,

and {by learning them} we start to understand {how God wants us to behave}.

9The law of Yahweh causes people to revere him and therefore live in a morally upright way;

that is something that will endure forever.

The things Yahweh has decreed are true,

they are completely righteous.

10Yahweh’s commandments are more valuable than gold,

even great amounts of the purest gold.

Learning the things Yahweh teaches us through them is more pleasurable than eating honey,

than honey dripping from honeycombs.

11Furthermore, by your commandments I am warned {about what things I should not do}.

You greatly reward those who obey them.

12There is no one who can know all his sins;

so Yahweh, forgive me for these things which I do that I do not realize are wrong.

13Also, keep me from doing things that I know are wrong;

do not let my sinful desires control me.

If you do that, then I will be guiltless,

and I will not be guilty of committing any great sin.

14I pray that both what I say, and what I think about,

be pleasing to you,

Yahweh, you who enable me to be strong and who redeem me.

20This is a note to the worship leader: This is a psalm of David.

1I desire that Yahweh will answer you {when you call out to him} when you are in a crisis!

I desire that Yahweh, the God whom {our ancestor} Jacob worshiped, will protect you {from your enemies}.

2I desire that he may come from his sacred temple and help you,

and aid you from {where he lives} on Mount Zion.

3I desire that he may accept all your grain offerings

and accept all your {other} offerings that you give him to be burned {on the altar}. Selah

4I want him to give you what you desire,

and I want him to allow you to be able to accomplish everything that you have planned to do.

5When you defeat your enemies, we will shout joyfully.

We will lift up a banner proclaiming that it is Yahweh our God {who helps us}.

I desire Yahweh to do everything that you have requested him to do.

6I know now that Yahweh rescues the one whom he has chosen {to be king}.

From his holy place in heaven he will answer him,

and he will save him by his great power.

7Some {kings} trust that because they have chariots {they will be able to defeat their enemies},

and some trust that their horses {will enable them to defeat their enemies},

but we will trust in the power of Yahweh our God.

8Some will stumble and fall down,

but we will be strong and not be moved.

9Yahweh, enable your king {to defeat our enemies}!

We desire that the king answer us when we cry out {for help}.

21This is a note to the worship leader: This is a psalm of David.

1Yahweh, {your} king is glad because you have enabled him to be strong

and because you have rescued him {from his enemies}; indeed, how exceedingly he rejoices.

2You have given {your} king the things he desired,

and you have not refused to do what he requested you to do. Selah

3In answer to his prayer, you bless him with many good things.

You place a gold crown on his head.

4He asked you to let him live for a long time,

and you have enabled him to live for a long time.

5People honor him greatly because you have helped him defeat his enemies.

You have made him famous. 6You bless him forever,

and you cause him to be joyful in your presence.

7The king trusts in you, Yahweh,

and because you, who are much greater than all other spirit beings, faithfully love him,

you will protect him. 8You, the king, will defeat all your enemies;

yes, you will surely defeat all those who hate you.

9When you, the king, appear, you will so completely destroy them that it will be as if you threw them into a fiery furnace.

Because Yahweh is angry with them, he will decimate them so completely that it will be as if he swallowed them whole or burned them up.

10You, the king, will remove their children from this earth;

their descendants will all disappear.

11They want to harm you,

but what they plan will never succeed.

12You will cause them to run away

by shooting arrows at them.

13Yahweh, show everyone how very strong you are!

{When you do that,} we will sing and praise you because you are very powerful.

22This is a note to the worship leader: David wrote this song. The tune is “The Doe of the Dawn.”

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

Why do you not come and help me?

Why do you not respond to me when {I am suffering so severely that} I am groaning?

2My God, every day I call to you during the daytime and during the night,

but you do not answer me, so I am not able to sleep.

3But you are holy.

You sit on your throne as king, and receive praise in your sacred tent from your people Israel.

4Our ancestors trusted in you.

They trusted in you and you rescued them.

5When they cried out to you for help, you saved them.

They trusted in you, and they were not disappointed.

6But you have not rescued me!

People despise me and consider that I am not a man;

they think that I am a worm!

Everyone scorns me and despises me.

7Everyone who sees me makes fun of me.

They sneer at me and {insult me by} shaking their heads {at me}. 8{My enemies say,} “He trusts in Yahweh,

so Yahweh should save him!

{He says that} Yahweh is very pleased with him;

if that is so, Yahweh should rescue him!”

9You, God, have been with me since I was in my mother’s womb,

and you taught me to trust you when I was at my mother’s breasts.

10It was as though you had adopted me right when I was born.

You have been my God ever since I was born.

11Come near to me {and help me,}

because my enemies are near me

and there is no one who is helping me.

12My enemies surround me {like} a group of wild bulls.

{Fierce people, like those} strong bulls that {graze on the hills} in {the region of} Bashan, surround me.

13{They are like} roaring lions that are attacking the animals that they want to kill.

They rush toward me to kill me;

they {are like lions that} have their mouths open, ready to tear their victims to pieces.

14I am completely exhausted,

and am in much pain!

I feel greatly discouraged! 15My strength is all dried up

like a broken piece of a clay jar that has dried {in the sun}.

You have allowed {me to become so thirsty that} my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth.

{Oh God, I think that you are about to let} my body die and become dust!

16My enemies surround me like a pack of wild dogs.

A group of evil men has encircled me{, ready to attack me}.

They have pierced my hands and my feet.

17{I am so weak and thin that} I can see and count my bones.

My enemies stare at me and gloat {about what has happened to} me.

18{They looked at} the clothes that I {was wearing}

and gambled to determine which piece each of them would get.

19Yahweh, do not be like my enemies; rather be concerned for me.

You who are the one who strengthens me,

come quickly and help me.

20Rescue me from {those who want to} kill me with their swords.

Save me from those who are {like wild} dogs.

21Snatch me away from my enemies who are like lions whose jaws {are already open}, ready to chew me up!

Grab me away from those men who are like wild oxen {that attack other animals with} their horns!

22{Because you have saved me,} I will proclaim to my fellow Israelites how great you are.

I will praise you among the group of your people gathered together {to worship you}.

23You people who have an awesome respect for Yahweh, praise him!

All you who are descended from Jacob, honor Yahweh!

All you Israelite people, revere him!

24Yahweh does not despise or ignore those who are suffering.

He pays attention to them,

and he responds when they call out to him {for help}.

25Yahweh, in the great gathering {of your people,} I will praise you for what you have done.

In the presence of those who revere Yahweh, I will offer {the sacrifice} that I promised {to make to you because you delivered me}.

26The poor people {whom I have invited to the meal} will eat as much as they want.

All who come to worship Yahweh will praise him.

I pray that {God will enable} you all to live a long and happy life!

27People in all nations, even in the remote areas, will think about Yahweh and turn to him.

People from all the clans in the world will bow down before you,

28because Yahweh is the king!

He rules the people of all nations.

29All the rich people on the earth will celebrate and bow before him.

All those who are close to dying will kneel in worship {before him}, yes, those who are not able to keep themselves alive.

30People who have not been born yet will {also} serve Yahweh.

We will tell our descendants what Yahweh {has done}.

31People will come and will proclaim to people not yet born, {who will live in future years,} that because Yahweh is righteous {he has delivered those who prayed to him for help}.

{People will tell them} that, “Yahweh did {it}!”

231A psalm of David

Yahweh {cares for} me {like} a shepherd {cares for his sheep},

{so} I {know that I} will have everything that I need.

2Yahweh nourishes and encourages my inner person and enables me to rest in peace,

like a shepherd who leads {his sheep} to places where there is plenty of green grass {for them to eat}

and leads them to streams where the water is flowing slowly.

3Yahweh renews my strength.

He gives me good guidance for how I should live,

in order that I, and others, will honor him.

4Even when I am in dangerous and scary circumstances

in which evil men might kill or hurt me,

I will fear nothing,

because you are with me.

I feel comforted and reassured because you protect and care for me like a shepherd protects his sheep by using his club and his walking stick to protect them from being attacked by wild animals.

5You {richly} provide food for me and protect me from my enemies.

You joyfully welcome me and honor me

as people joyfully receive the guests they have invited by pouring olive oil over their heads.

You have given me very many blessings!

6I am certain that Yahweh will be good to me and will continue to love me faithfully as long as I live.

I will worship Yahweh in his sanctuary throughout my life.

241A psalm of David

The earth and everything in it belongs to Yahweh.

All the people in the world belong to him too,

2because he caused the ground to be above the water,

above the water that was deep below the surface of the earth.

3This is the type of person who Yahweh will allow to go up onto his mountain, Mount Zion {in Jerusalem},

in order to stand {and worship} him in his sacred tent.

4Only those whose actions and thoughts are pure,

who have not worshiped idols,

and who do not tell lies when they have solemnly promised to speak truthfully.

5Yahweh will bless this type of person.

When Yahweh {judges them,} he who has saved them, he will say that they are righteous.

6Such are the ones who seek Yahweh,

the descendants of Jacob,

who seek you, Yahweh. Selah

7Open up the gates {of the sacred tent},

in order that our glorious king may enter!

8I will tell you who this glorious king is.

{He is} Yahweh, the one who is very strong;

{He is} Yahweh, who conquers {all his enemies} in battles!

9Open up the gates {of the sacred tent},

in order that our glorious king may enter!

10I will tell you who he, this glorious king, is.

{He is} Yahweh, who commands armies;

he is our glorious king! Selah

251A psalm of David

Yahweh, I come to you in prayer and tell you all that I need.

2I trust in you, my God.

Do not allow my enemies {to defeat me},

with the result that they would rejoice and I would be ashamed.

3Truly, you will not allow any of those who trust in you to be ashamed.

You will cause those who act treacherously toward others to be ashamed.

4Yahweh, show me how I should conduct my life as you want me to.

Teach me how to act in the manner that is pleasing to you.

5Teach me to conduct my life by obeying your truth,

because you are my God, the one who saves me.

I trust in you at all times.

6Yahweh, please act mercifully to me and faithfully love me,

because that is the way that you have acted since long ago.

7Forgive me for the sinful things I did when I was young and for my rebellious actions {as an adult}.

I ask that, because you faithfully love your people, you treat me kindly and forgive me.

Yahweh, I ask that you do this because you are good!

8Yahweh is good and acts righteously,

so he shows sinful people the right way to conduct their lives.

9He shows humble people what is right for them to do

and teaches them what he wants them to do.

10Yahweh always faithfully loves and does what he has promised

to those who obey his covenant and who do what he requires.

11Yahweh, forgive me for all my sins, which are many,

in order that I and others may honor you.

12To all those who revere Yahweh,

he shows them the right way to conduct their lives.

13They will always be prosperous,

and their descendants will continue to live in {this} land.

14Yahweh is a friend of those who revere him,

and he teaches them the covenant that he made {with them}.

15I always ask Yahweh to help me,

because he will rescue me when my enemies attempt to hurt me.

16{Yahweh,} pay attention to me and be merciful to me,

because I have no one to help me and I am suffering.

17{Because of my present circumstances} there are many things that cause me to worry.

Rescue me from the things that are causing me to be distressed.

18Take notice that I am in difficult circumstances and troubled,

and forgive me for every sinful thing I have done.

19Take notice that I have many enemies,

and that they hate me very much.

20Protect me and rescue me {from them};

do not allow {them to defeat me

with the result that} I would be ashamed,

because I go to you to keep me safe.

21Protect me because I do what is good and honest,

and because I trust in you.

22God, rescue {us} Israelite people from all of our troubles!

261A psalm of David

Yahweh, show that I am innocent.

I have done what is right,

and I have trusted in Yahweh without doubting him.

2Yahweh, examine what I have done and test me;

thoroughly evaluate what I think in my inner being.

3I never forget that you faithfully love me.

I conduct my life according to what you say is right.

4I do not spend my time with liars,

and I stay away from hypocrites.

5I do not like to be with evil people,

and I avoid wicked people.

6Yahweh, I wash my hands to show that I have not done what was wrong.

As I join with others marching around your altar,

7we sing songs to thank you,

and we tell others the wonderful things that you have done.

8Yahweh, I love {to be in} the sanctuary where you dwell,

in the place where your glory appears.

9Do not get rid of me like you get rid of sinners.

Do not cause me to die like you cause those who murder people to die,

10and people who are ready to do wicked things,

and people who are always taking bribes.

11But as for me, I always try to do what is right.

So rescue me and act kindly toward me.

12{Because I have conducted myself righteously} I am secure,

and when all Yahweh’s people gather together, I praise him among them.

271A psalm of David

Yahweh encourages me and nourishes my inner being. He is the one who saves me,

so I will not fear anyone.

Yahweh is the one to whom I go for refuge,

so I will not dread anyone.

2When those who do evil things come near me to attack and destroy me,

Yahweh enables me to defeat them so that they fall down.

3Even if an army sets up their tents in order to attack me,

I will not be afraid.

Even if they attack me,

I will trust {in God}.

4There is one thing that I have requested from Yahweh,

and that one thing I will repeatedly ask Yahweh for.

{This is the one thing I ask of Yahweh}: that I may worship in Yahweh’s sanctuary every day during my life,

in order to experience how wonderful Yahweh is.

When I am in his sanctuary then I will ask him {for guidance}.

5When I have troubles he will protect me in his tabernacle;

yes, he will keep me safe in his sacred tent.

He will keep me safe as if he were setting me high upon a rock {where my enemies cannot reach me}.

6Then I will triumph over my enemies who surround me.

I will shout joyfully as I offer sacrifices in his sacred tent,

and I will praise Yahweh as I sing.

7Yahweh, listen to me while I call {to you in prayer}.

Act kindly toward me and answer my prayer.

8{I sensed that I heard you say,} “Seek me and my help,”

{so,} Yahweh, I will respond by seeking you and your help.

9I am your servant;

do not be angry with me, or turn away from me.

You have always helped me.

You are the one who has saved me,

so do not abandon me now.

10My father and mother have left me,

but Yahweh will take care of me.

11Yahweh, teach me to do what you want me to do,

and guide me so that I remain safe

because I have enemies {who want to hurt me}.

12Do not allow my enemies to do to me what they want,

because they say false things about me and want violent things to happen to me.

13I would have died if I had not trusted you

to be good to me as long as I live.

14Trust in Yahweh.

Have a strong and courageous attitude,

and wait expectantly for Yahweh {to help you}.

281A psalm of David

Yahweh, I call out to you.

You are like a huge rock {on top of which I am safe}.

Do not refuse to answer me

because if you refuse to answer me, I will soon be with those who are in their graves.

2Pay attention to me and respond when I call out for you to help me

when I pray, lifting up my hands as I face your very holy place in your sacred tent.

3Do not get rid of me when you get rid of wicked people,

those who do wicked deeds.

Those people speak peacefully toward others,

while in their inner beings, they hate them and devise evil plans.

4Punish those people in the way that they deserve for what they have done;

punish them for their evil deeds.

5Yahweh will get rid of them permanently and not let them appear again.

Yahweh {will do this} because these evil people do not pay attention to the righteous things he has taught his people and do not take notice that he always judges evil deeds.

6Praise Yahweh

because he responded to me when I called out for him to help me.

7Yahweh strengthens me and he protects me like a shield;

I trust in him, and he helps me.

As a result I am glad in my inner being,

and I will praise him with my songs {of praise}.

8Yahweh strengthens and protects his people.

Yahweh saves the one he appointed to be king.

9Yahweh, rescue your people

and bless those who belong to you.

Take care of them like a shepherd takes care of his sheep;

take care of them forever.

291A psalm of David

You heavenly beings, praise Yahweh!

Declare that he is very glorious and powerful.

2Proclaim that Yahweh is glorious.

Bow down and worship Yahweh in holy attire.

3{People hear} Yahweh’s voice above the sea;

the glorious God thunders.

Yahweh’s {voice thunders} over the large sea.

4Yahweh’s voice is powerful and majestic.

5The sound of Yahweh’s voice breaks cedar trees,

the cedars that grow in Lebanon.

6He causes {the mountains in} Lebanon to jump like calves jump,

and he causes Mount Hermon to jump as a young wild bull jumps.

7Yahweh tells the lightning to flash {upon the mountains} and it hews out rocks.

8The sound of Yahweh’s voice causes the wilderness to shake;

he shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.

9The sound of Yahweh’s voice makes the deer give birth

and strips the leaves from the trees,

while the people in Yahweh’s sacred tent say, “Praise Yahweh!”

10Yahweh rules as king over the waters that are above the sky;

Yahweh rules as king forever.

11Yahweh will strengthen his people,

and he will bless them by giving them good things and causing them to be happy and peaceful.

30David wrote this psalm to be sung at the dedication of the tabernacle.

1Yahweh, I praise you

because you rescued me.

You did not allow {me to die with the result that}

my enemies could gloat.

2Yahweh my God,

I called out for you to help me {when I was sick,}

you healed me.

3Yahweh, when I was dying you restored me.

I was nearly dead,

but you caused me to get well.

4All you who are faithful to Yahweh, sing praise to him.

Think about what Yahweh, the holy one,

has done, and thank him.

5When he becomes angry,

he is angry for only a very short time,

but he is good {to us} all of our lives.

We may cry during the night,

but the next morning we will be joyful.

6As for me, when my life was going well,

I said {to myself},

“Nothing will ever trouble me.”

7Yahweh, because you were good to me,

at first you caused me to be secure as a mountain.

{But then you let me become ill when}

you stopped protecting me {from illness},

and I became greatly disturbed.

8{Then} I called out to you, Yahweh,

and I pleaded for you, the Lord, to help me.

9{I said,} “{Yahweh,} you will gain nothing if I die.

It will not benefit you at all if I go

to the place where the dead people are.

Dead people certainly are not able to praise you,

and they are not able to tell others that you are faithful.

10Yahweh, listen to me, and act mercifully to me.

Yahweh, help me.”

11{But now} you have changed my circumstances

and healed me,

and as a result I have stopped grieving

and now dance joyfully.

You have caused me to change from the clothes that showed that I was very sad

and to put on clothes that show that I am very joyful.

12{You did that} so that I would not be silent

but would sing out to praise you.

Yahweh, you are my God, and I will thank you forever.

31This is a note to the worship leader: This is a psalm of David.

1Yahweh, I come to you to protect me.

Never allow {them to defeat me, with the result that} I would be ashamed.

Since you always do what is right and just,

please rescue me.

2Respond to my prayers for help, and save me right now!

Be {like} a huge rock where I can flee for refuge,

and {like} a strong fortress in which my enemies cannot harm me.

3{Yes,} you are {like} a huge rock and {like} a fortress {where I can go to be safe}.

For the sake of your reputation you guide me {so that no harm comes to me}.

4You are the one who protects me,

so you will rescue me from the evil plans my enemies have secretly made to hurt me.

5I put myself into your care.

You have rescued me.

Yahweh, you are faithful.

6I hate those who worship useless idols,

but I trust in Yahweh.

7I will be very glad because you faithfully love me.

You have noticed that I have suffered,

and have known the troubling things I have experienced.

8You have not allowed my enemies to capture me;

instead, you brought me to a place where I was safe.

9Yahweh, act kindly toward me

because I am distressed.

Because I cry so much that my eyes are tired,

and I am completely exhausted.

10I have become very weak because I am so miserable;

my life is getting shorter.

I have become weak because of the sinful things that I have done.

I am totally exhausted.

11All of my enemies make fun of me,

and my neighbors, especially, despise me.

My friends are afraid of me {because they think that you, God, are punishing me}.

When they see me on the streets, they run away.

12People have forgotten me like they forget people who are dead.

I am {as useless as} a broken pot.

13There are terrifying things all around me.

I hear people whispering {things about me}.

My enemies are making plans

to kill me.

14But Yahweh, I trust in you.

I say {confidently} that you are the God I worship.

15You control the events and circumstances of my life.

Save me from my enemies,

from those who pursue me.

16Act kindly toward me

and rescue me because you always faithfully love me.

17Yahweh, I call out to you,

so do not allow others to shame me.

I desire that you cause wicked people to be ashamed.

I desire that they {soon die and} go down to the place where the dead people are.

18I desire that you will cause people who tell lies to be unable to speak.

{Do that to} people who arrogantly say disrespectful things about righteous people.

19Many indeed are the good things which you have prepared for the people who revere you!

You do good things for those who go to you for protection.

Everyone sees you protect them.

20You protect people {who trust in you} by being near to them and saving them from people who devise evil schemes {to harm them}.

You keep them safe from their enemies who accuse them.

21Praise Yahweh!

When my enemies surrounded the city {in which I was living,}

he showed me in a wonderful way that he faithfully loves me.

22I was alarmed and cried out, “I have been separated from Yahweh!”

But in fact you heard me {and answered} my cry for help.

23You people who belong to Yahweh, love him!

Those who are loyal to him, he protects,

but those who are proud, he punishes them severely like they deserve to be punished.

24You who confidently expect Yahweh {to do great things for you,}

be strong and be courageous!

321A song of David

Those whom God has forgiven for rebelling against him,

and those whose sin God has atoned for,

these are the ones who will have a truly good life!

2Those whose record of sins Yahweh no longer takes into account,

and those who are not deceitful,

these are the ones who will have a truly good life!

3When I did not confess my sins,

my body felt weak and sick,

and I groaned all day long.

4Day and night, Yahweh, you afflicted me.

My strength was sapped like it would be on a hot summer day. Selah

5{Then} I confessed my sinful actions to you;

I stopped trying to hide them.

I said to myself,

“I will tell Yahweh the wrong things that I have done.”

When I confessed them, you forgave me,

so now I am no longer guilty for the sinful things I did. Selah

6Therefore all the people who are godly should pray to you

when they realize they have sinned.

{If they do that,} then it is certain that difficulties will not overwhelm them like a great flood.

7You are like a place where I can hide from my enemies;

you protect me from troubles and surround me with people who are joyfully praising you for saving me from my enemies. Selah

8I will teach you about how you should conduct your life.

I will teach you personally.

9Do not be like horses and mules that do not have understanding;

they need pieces of metal put in their mouth and ropes fastened to their head

so they will go in the direction you want them to go.

10Wicked people will have many difficult things in their lives that will make them sad,

but those who trust in Yahweh will experience him faithfully loving them all the time.

11{So, all} you righteous people, rejoice about {what} Yahweh {has done for you}!

All you whose inner beings are pure, be glad and shout joyfully!

331You people who do what is right, shout joyfully because of Yahweh,

because praising him is what upright people should do.

2Praise Yahweh by playing songs on the harp.

Praise him as you make music for him with instruments that have many strings.

3Sing a new song to him;

play those instruments well, and shout joyfully as you play them!

4Do this because everything that Yahweh says is true,

and we can trust that everything that he does is right.

5He loves everything that people do that is right and just.

Yahweh faithfully loves people all over the earth.

6Yahweh created everything in the sky by commanding it.

He created all of the stars by speaking.

7He gathered all the water of the sea into one huge mass

as though scooping it into a container.

8Everyone on the earth should deeply revere Yahweh.

9They should revere him because he is the one who spoke, making the world exist.

Everything started to exist because he is the one who commanded it.

10Yahweh stops the nations from doing what they plan to do.

He prevents the peoples from carrying out what they decide.

11However, what Yahweh decides to do will last forever.

What he plans to do will never change.

12What a good life people have when Yahweh is the God of their nation;

he chose those people to belong to him.

13Yahweh looks down from heaven; he sees all human beings.

14From the place where he lives he watches

everyone who lives on the earth.

15He created each person’s heart,

and he knows everything that they do.

16It is not because a king has a great army that he is able to win {battles},

and it is not because a soldier is very strong that he is able to defeat {his enemy}.

17It is foolish to hope that a horse can save anyone;

even with its great strength, it cannot rescue {its rider}.

18Note this: Yahweh watches over those who deeply revere him;

He watches over those who confidently expect him to faithfully love them,

19to save them from dying

and to preserve them alive through any famine.

20We trust that Yahweh will take care of us;

he will help us and protect us.

21Indeed, he makes us very joyful;

we trust him because he is holy.

22Yahweh, we pray that you will always faithfully love us,

while we confidently wait for you {to help us}.

34David wrote this psalm about when he pretended to be insane in front of King Abimelech so that the king would send him away.

1I will always thank Yahweh;

I will constantly praise him out loud.

2I will boast about {what} Yahweh {has done for me}.

All of the humble people who hear me will rejoice.

3Join with me in telling others that Yahweh is great,

and let us together proclaim how glorious he is!

4I prayed to Yahweh, and he answered me;

he rescued me from everything that I was afraid of.

5Those who ask him {to help them} will be joyful;

may Yahweh always provide for them.

6I was suffering, but I called out to Yahweh, and he heard me.

He saved me from all of the things that were troubling me.

7An angel representing Yahweh guards people who deeply revere Yahweh,

and the angel rescues them {from bad things}.

8Experience for yourselves how good Yahweh is!

Everyone who trusts in Yahweh will be truly happy!

9All you people who belong to Yahweh, deeply revere him,

because those who deeply revere him will always have everything that they need.

10{Even} young lions {sometimes} go hungry and have nothing to eat,

but people who trust in Yahweh for help will always have the good {things that they need}.

11You who are my students, come and listen to me,

and I will teach you how to deeply revere Yahweh.

12If any of you want to truly live

and to enjoy a good, long life,

13then be careful to not say things that are harmful,

and to not tell lies.

14Stop doing what is evil and instead do what is good;

always strive to live peacefully with others.

15Yahweh pays attention to people who do what is right,

and he listens when they call {to him to help them}.

16But Yahweh opposes people who do what is evil.

He does not allow their descendants to remain on the earth.

17People who do what is right cry out to Yahweh, and he hears them;

he rescues them from all the things that trouble them.

18Yahweh is always ready to help people who are very sad,

and he saves people who are deeply discouraged.

19People who do what is right experience many bad things,

but Yahweh rescues them from all of those bad things.

20Yahweh protects their whole body;

he does not allow {their enemies} to break even one of their bones.

21Wicked people will cause themselves to die because of the evil things that they do,

and Yahweh will punish those who hate righteous people.

22Yahweh saves those who serve him,

and he will forgive all who trust in him.

351A psalm of David.

Yahweh, be the enemy of my enemies!

Defend me against those who attack me!

2Protect me like a soldier who has both of his shields,

and come to help me!

3Take your spear and javelin and confront those who are pursuing me!

Tell me, “I am the one who saves you.”

4Please defeat and dishonor those who want to kill me,

and make those who plan to harm me become confused and turn back.

5May an angel from Yahweh chase them away

so that they disappear like chaff in the wind.

6May their lives be like running on a path that is dark and slippery,

while an angel from Yahweh pursues them!

7Please do these things to them, because I have not done anything wrong to them, yet they try to kill me.

It is as though they hide nets and dig pits for me to walk into!

8So let disaster suddenly surprise each of them!

Let it be as though the nets that they hid catch them instead,

and as though they fall into their own {pits} and die!

9Then I will rejoice because of {what} Yahweh {has done for me},

and I will be glad because he has saved me.

10With my whole being I will say,

“Yahweh, no one is like you!

No one else rescues weak people from those who are stronger,

no one else rescues poor and needy people from those who rob them.”

11Hostile people tell lies {about me} in court

and accuse me of things that I know nothing about.

12I was good to them. But instead of being good to me, they are evil to me.

That makes me feel completely alone.

13Yet for my part, when they were sick, I put on rough cloth to mourn for them;

I went without food as I prayed for them,

bowing my head over my chest.

14I walked around grieving for them

as I would grieve for a friend or for a brother,

and I bowed down mourning for them as though for my own mother.

15But when I suffered, they all gathered together and celebrated.

People whom I did not even know gathered to attack me.

They kept slandering me and would not stop.

16Profane people mocked me for being lame

and ground their teeth at me {to show how angry they were}.

17Lord, please do more than just watch what they do!

Rescue me from these people who want to destroy me!

Save me from these people who are as fierce as young lions!

18Then I will thank you when the great crowd of your people gather together,

and I will praise you in front of all of them.

19Do not let my enemies who lie about me celebrate {because they defeated me},

and do not let those who hate me for no reason wink at each other {to show how pleased they are about it}.

20{Do not let them succeed,} because they do not speak peacefully {to anyone};

instead, they make up lies about quiet, peaceable people in the land.

21They shout loudly to accuse me,

saying, “Yes! Yes! We saw {what you did}!”

22Yahweh, you have seen all of this, so please do something about it!

Lord, please help me!

23Become active and do the right thing for me;

my God and my Lord, defend me!

24Yahweh my God, because you are righteous, declare that I am innocent,

and do not let my enemies celebrate {that they have defeated} me.

25Do not let them think to themselves, “Yes! We got what we wanted!”

Do not let them say {to each other}, “We have completely destroyed him!”

26Instead, make all those who celebrate when bad things happen to me

feel totally ashamed and disgraced.

Yes, completely humiliate those who boast that they are greater than me.

27But let those who want God to show that I am innocent

shout for joy and celebrate!

Let them always say, “Yahweh is great!

He loves to make things go well for the one who serves him.”

28Then I will tell everyone how righteous you are,

and I will praise you all day long.

36Note for the worship leader: David, a man who served Yahweh faithfully, wrote this psalm.

1Wicked people act as though they are obeying a voice from deep within themselves that is urging them to sin.

They have no respect for God at all.

2Indeed, they are so proud that they refuse

to recognize how wrongly they act

so that they might hate {doing those things}.

3Everything that they say is wicked and deceptive;

they have stopped acting wisely and {stopped} doing what is right.

4They plan sinful activities while lying on their beds;

they commit themselves to a bad way of living;

they do not refuse to do evil things.

5Yahweh, the amount that you faithfully love us is so much that it is as though it fills the heavens.

If we could measure how trustworthy you are, the amount would extend into the clouds.

6Your way of doing what is right is {as permanent} as the highest mountains;

your way of acting justly is {as vast and mysterious} as the deepest oceans.

Yahweh, you take care of {all living creatures,} both people and animals.

7God, how precious it is that you faithfully love us!

You protect people just as a bird shelters its young under its wings.

8You provide for them plenty of food from the abundant supply that you have;

you satisfy them with good things that they enjoy, as if from a never-ending stream.

9Indeed, you are the one who causes everything to live;

you are the one who makes it possible for us to understand what is true.

10Please continue to faithfully love those who know you,

and continue to do right for those who sincerely want to do what is right.

11Do not let arrogant people overcome me,

and do not let wicked people force me to flee.

12See how the people who do evil have fallen!

God has thrown them down, and they can never get up again.

371This is a psalm of David.

Do not let what wicked people do upset you;

do not wish that you had what people who do evil things have.

2{Do not worry about them} because they will soon disappear, just as grass dries up {in the sun}

and green plants quickly wither and die.

3Trust in Yahweh and do what is right;

live in the land {that he has given you},

and be faithful {to him}.

4Also, enjoy Yahweh more than anything else;

then he will give you what you desire most.

5Entrust everything that you plan to do to Yahweh;

trust in him,

and then, for his part, he will do {whatever you need him to do}.

6He will show everyone as clearly as the light of the noonday sun that you do what is right

and that you are innocent of doing anything wrong.

7Be calm before Yahweh and wait patiently for him {to act}.

Do not become upset when you see {evil} people succeed

as they do the {wicked} things that they have planned.

8Stop being angry {about what wicked people do};

do not want to punish them yourself; that only leads to doing evil.

9Do not do that because Yahweh will destroy people who do evil,

but as for the people who trust Yahweh to act, they will possess the land.

10Soon wicked people will disappear.

You will look for them where they used to be, but they will be gone.

11Humble people, however, will possess the land

and will enjoy living {there} very peacefully and well.

12Wicked people plan to harm people who do what is right.

They grind their teeth at people who do what is right {to show how much they hate them}.

13But the Lord scoffs at wicked people,

because he knows that the time when he will judge them is coming.

14Wicked people draw their swords and string their bows

to kill people who are poor and helpless

and to slaughter people who live honestly.

15But their swords will pierce their own hearts,

and the Lord will break their bows.

16It is better to be a person who does what is right and to have only a few possessions

than to have the abundant wealth of many wicked people.

17{This is so} because Yahweh will make wicked people unable to do what they want to do,

but he will take care of people who do what is right.

18Each day Yahweh watches over people who do not do wrong things,

and what he gives them will last forever.

19During times when bad things happen they will not despair;

even when there is a famine, they will still have enough {to eat}.

20But wicked people will die.

Those who hate Yahweh will be like wildflowers that look beautiful in the meadows;

but then they will disappear {as quickly} as a puff of smoke.

21Wicked people borrow {money} and never repay {it},

but people who do what is right are generous and give {freely to others}.

22Moreover, those whom Yahweh blesses will possess the land,

but he will destroy those whom he has cursed.

23Yahweh directs a person to live securely,

and he is pleased with how that person lives.

24Even if something bad happens to that person, he will not completely fail,

because Yahweh takes care of him.

25I have been young, and now I am old,

but {in all those years} I have never seen Yahweh stop caring for any person who does what is right,

nor have I seen such a person’s children {needing to} beg for food.

26People who do what is right are generous and lend freely {to others} every day,

and their children bless others.

27Avoid doing evil and do what is right.

If you do that, you {and your descendants} will live in the land forever.

28Indeed, Yahweh loves it when people do what is just,

and he will never stop caring for those who are faithful to him.

He will protect them forever,

but he will destroy the descendants of wicked people.

29People who do what is right will possess the land {that Yahweh gives them}

and will live there forever.

30People who do what is right speak wisely,

and they say what is just.

31They continually think about the instructions that their God gave to them;

they succeed in living {the way that God wants them to live}.

32Wicked people observe people who do what is right

and look for ways to kill them.

33But Yahweh will keep protecting them from what the wicked people want to do to them,

and he will not let a judge {wrongly} condemn the people who do what is right.

34Patiently rely on Yahweh {to help you} and obey what he commands.

{If you do that,} he will honor you by giving you the land.

When God destroys the wicked people, you will see it happen.

35I once saw a wicked and tyrannical person who was becoming powerful, like a large tree that was spreading out its branches over its native soil.

36But then he passed away! Suddenly, he was gone!

I looked for him, but he was not there.

37Observe {and imitate} people who are honest and who live rightly,

because people who live peacefully will have a long life.

38But Yahweh will destroy all people who rebel against him;

he will make the lives of wicked people short.

39Yahweh saves people who do what is right;

he protects them when bad things are happening.

40Yahweh helps them and rescues them

from {what} wicked people {want to do to them}.

He saves them because they have trusted in him {to help them}.

38This is a psalm of David, to ask God to remember him. 1Yahweh, please do not correct me angrily;

no, please do not punish me wrathfully.

2{I feel as though} you have shot arrows into me,

and that you have struck me with your hand.

3Because you are so angry with me,

my whole body suffers.

My body is restless

because I have sinned.

4Indeed, all my sins {are like flood waters that} rise above my head;

they are like a heavy load that is too much for me to bear.

5Because I have acted foolishly,

I have sores that keep getting worse and stink.

6My body is twisted and bent over very low.

I go around sad and grieving constantly.

7This is because there is a fever inside me,

and my whole body is sick.

8I am exhausted and feel completely broken.

I moan loudly because I feel so distressed.

9Lord, you know everything that I long for,

and you hear every time that I sigh.

10My heart beats rapidly and I am very weak.

Even my eyesight is failing me.

11My friends and the people I love keep away from me because of my disease;

even my own family stays far away from me.

12Those who want to kill me set traps for me,

and those who want to harm me talk about how to destroy me

and they constantly plot how they will deceive me.

13But I act like someone who is deaf, and I do not listen {to them}.

I act like someone who cannot speak, and I say nothing {to them}.

14I have become like a man who cannot hear

and who cannot argue back.

15{This is} because I wait for you, Yahweh{, to help me}.

You will be the one who will respond, Lord my God.

16{I know this} because I prayed,

“Do not let my enemies celebrate over me. Do not let them gloat over me if something bad happens to me.”

17Indeed, I feel that something bad will soon happen,

and I am constantly in pain.

18Certainly, I confess all the wrong things that I have done;

I feel terrible about my sin.

19But my vigorous enemies are powerful,

and there are many people who hate me for no reason.

20When I do good things for people, some of them do evil things to me in return.

Those people accuse me {of doing evil things}, even though I am trying to do what is right.

21Yahweh, please do not leave me!

My God, please stay near me!

22Come quickly to help me,

Lord, you who save me!

39This is a note to the worship leader: David wrote this song. Perform in the style of Jeduthun.

1I thought to myself, “I must be very careful about how I act

so that I do not sin by what I say.

I must keep myself from speaking

while wicked people are near me.”

2So I kept completely silent; I did not say anything, not even anything good,

but my suffering only became worse.

3I felt very agitated inside me;

the more I pondered, the more agonized I became.

Then finally I spoke and said,

4“Yahweh, let me know when I will die.

Tell me how many days I have left to live.

Help me to understand how short my life really is.

5Indeed, you have made my days very few;

the time that I have to live is practically nothing to you.

Truly, every person appears and disappears as quickly as vapor. Selah

6Truly, each person does not do anything more substantial than a shadow would do.

Truly, people become agitated about things that do not matter.

They pile up {wealth}, but they do not know

who will get it {after they die}.

7So now, Lord, I realize that it is useless for me to expect any person to make my life purposeful.

You are the only one who can do anything worthwhile for me.

8Please save me from all the ways that I sin against you.

Do not let me be someone whom foolish people ridicule.

9I kept silent and did not say anything,

because {I knew that} you were the one who caused {me to suffer}.

10{But now,} please stop punishing me!

As for me, because you have afflicted me, I am about to die.

11When you correct a person for the wrong things that he has done,

you destroy what he treasures, just as moths destroy clothing.

Truly, every person lives only a very short time. Selah

12Yahweh, please hear me as I pray {to you}

and listen {to me} when I cry out for help.

Do not ignore my tears,

because I am only living before you {on the earth} for a short time,

a temporary resident, just like all of my ancestors.

13Please leave me alone in order that I may be happy {for awhile}

before I die.”

40A note for the worship leader: David wrote this psalm.

1I patiently waited for Yahweh {to help me,}

and he was attentive to me

and listened when I called out to him.

2When bad things were happening to me, it was as though I was in a dangerous pit

that was full of mud and slime

but he rescued me from those terrible things

as though he had lifted me out of the pit and set me onto a solid rock

where I could stand securely.

3He gave me reason to sing a new song,

praising him, our God.

Many people will see {what he did for me} and will revere him

and will trust in Yahweh.

4What a good life the person has

who trusts confidently in Yahweh

and does not imitate proud people

who are loyal to what is false.

5Yahweh my God, you are the one who has done many wonderful things

and made {great} plans for us!

No one compares to you.

If I tried to tell others about all of those wonderful things,

there would be too many for me to mention.

6It is not the sacrifices and offerings that you have wanted {from me};

instead, you gave me the ability to hear and obey you.

Burnt offerings and sin offerings are not what you require {to forgive my sins}.

7So I said, “Yahweh, here I am,

{ready to do the things that} the scroll of your instruction says about me.”

8My God, I gladly do what you desire;

I deeply treasure your instruction.

9Whenever your people gather together in the large congregation,

I tell them about the righteous things {that you do}.

Indeed, Yahweh, certainly you know that I do not stop talking {about this}.

10I have not kept to myself {the good news} that you are righteous;

I have told the large gathering of your people that you are faithful and that you save us.

I have not hidden from them that you faithfully love us and are always trustworthy.

11Yahweh, you will not stop being merciful to me.

Because you faithfully love me and are always trustworthy,

{I know that} you will continually protect me.

12I assure myself of this because so many bad things are happening to me that it seems that I cannot even count them.

the wrong things that I have done are now affecting me badly,

and I cannot see {a way to fix them}.

It seems that they are more numerous than the hairs on my head,

and I am very discouraged.

13Yahweh, please rescue me!

Yahweh, please come quickly to help me!

14May God completely disgrace

all of the people who want to kill me.

May God frustrate the people who want me to suffer

and may he humiliate them.

15May those who mock me, saying, “Ha, Ha!”

feel horrified because God has so humiliated them.

16May all those who come to worship you

be very joyful because of you.

May those who love that you save them say continually,

“Yahweh is great!”

17As for me, I am very poor,

but the Lord cares about me.

You are the one who rescues me;

my God, please do not wait any longer!

41Note for the worship leader: David wrote this psalm.

1What a good life those people have who help powerless people!

When bad things happen to them, Yahweh will rescue them.

2Yahweh will protect them

and people will see that things turn our well for them as they live in the land.

{Yahweh,} please do not let their enemies do what they want with them.

3Yahweh will strengthen them when they are sick;

{Yahweh,} you completely restore them whenever they become ill.

4As for me, I said, “Yahweh, please be merciful to me and heal me.

{I am sick} because I have sinned against you.”

5My enemies say hateful things about me;

they say, “We want him to die so that everyone will forget him!”

6Whenever one of them comes to visit {me}, he says things that mean nothing.

He secretly collects harmful information,

then he goes outside and tells {it to everyone}.

7Everyone who hates me whispers about me to one another;

they plot how to harm me.

8{They say about me,} “Something terrible has happened to him,

and he will never get up from where he is lying.”

9Even my closest friend, the one I trusted,

who shared meals with me,

has greatly betrayed me.

10However, Yahweh, please be merciful to me and make me well,

so that I can do to them what they did to me.

11When you do this, I will know that you are pleased with me,

when my enemies {will not be able to defeat me and so} cannot rejoice about it.

12As for me, you have helped me because I live honestly,

and you will allow me to be with you forever.

13We should all praise Yahweh, the God whom the people of Israel worship!

People should praise him at all times, now and forever!

Yes, let it be so!

Book Two

42This is a note for the worship leader: One of the Korahites wrote this song.

1When a wild deer is very thirsty,

it takes short, quick breaths because it wants so badly

to find a brook from which it can drink water.

That is how much I want you, God.

It is as if I am taking short, quick breaths.

2You are the only true God,

and I desire very greatly to be in your temple again

and worship in your presence.

I desire that so much

that it is as if I am very thirsty.

3I have been crying continually.

I have been crying so much that I have not been able to eat.

This is because my enemies keep telling me,

“Your God will certainly not help you!”

4It is appropriate for me to weep to express my great sorrow.

But {to encourage myself,} I should also remember

how I used to go with large groups of people

to celebrate festivals at God’s temple.

{Because I was one of the worship musicians,}

I would lead the people as they walked to the temple.

{On the way there,}

we all shouted joyfully and praised God.

5So I certainly should not be so sad and upset!

I can confidently expect God to rescue me!

When he does, I will have the opportunity

to praise him as my savior and

6my God. But I do feel very sad.

So {even though I am a long distance from your temple, God}

I will remember you from here at Mount Mizar

in the land near Mount Hermon where the Jordan River begins.

7The waterfalls you created make such a loud sound

that it is as if one deep stream were shouting to another deep stream within the river.

I feel such anguish that it is as if

one wave after another were crashing over me.

8Yahweh continually loves me faithfully as he promised.

In response, as he inspires me, I continually sing prayers to him.

He is the God who keeps me alive.

9God is like a huge rock on top of which I am safe.

So I will pray to him,

“Please pay attention to me!

I am living sorrowfully because my enemies are afflicting me!”

10Those enemies are continually insulting me.

They keep telling me, “Your God will certainly not help you!”

When they insult me like that,

it is as painful as if they were breaking my bones.

11But I certainly should not be so sad and upset!

I can confidently expect God to rescue me!

When he does, I will have the opportunity

to praise him as my savior and my God.

431Please protect me, God, from the people who are being so cruel to me.

Please consider that I do not deserve that.

Rescue me from people who would deceive me and treat me unfairly. 2{I ask you to do this} because you are the God who protects me,

and yet I feel as if you have abandoned me!

I am living sorrowfully because my enemies are afflicting me. 3Treat me favorably, as if you were smiling at me.

Help me, as you have promised to do for those who are loyal to you.

Guide me so that I can return

to your temple on Mount Zion.

4{When I do come to Zion,} I will go to your altar {to worship you}.

O God, you make me very joyful! {At your altar,} I will sing praise to you,

the God whom I worship, as I play the harp.

5So I certainly should not be so sad and upset!

I can confidently expect God to rescue me!

When he does, I will have the opportunity

to praise him as my savior and my God.

44This is a note for the worship leader: One of the Korahites wrote this song.

1God, we listened carefully when our ancestors told us

about the great things you did long ago

when the Israelites first came into the land of Canaan.

2{They told us about} how powerfully you forced the other nations to leave

and established our ancestors securely in their land.

It was as if they had been plants that you put firmly in the ground.

You destroyed the people groups that had lived there

and enabled our ancestors to settle there.

3Our ancestors did not conquer this land with their own weapons

or by their own power.

Instead, you helped them and defeated their enemies

by your own great power.

You did that because you loved them.

4You are our real king, O God.

Please enable the people of Israel to defeat their enemies.

5You enable us to defeat our enemies.

Because you help us, we destroy armies that fight against us.

6We do not expect to win victories

because of the weapons we have.

7Instead, you rescue us from our enemies.

You disgrace our opponents {by defeating them}.

8We regularly celebrate what God has done for us.

We will always praise him. Selah

9But now it appears that you no longer want to help us.

This has embarrassed us.

When our armies march out to fight a battle,

you no longer enable them to win victories.

10You make us retreat from our enemies.

We must leave behind weapons and possessions,

and they take as many of those as they want.

11You have allowed our enemies to slaughter us as if we were sheep.

Foreign armies have captured many of our people

and taken them back to their countries as slaves.

12You did not even receive any money

for allowing others to take your people as their slaves.

You did not become any richer

as a result of that.

13Because you no longer help us,

the people groups around us insult us.

They express contempt for us

and laugh at us.

14People in other nations are using us Israelites

as an example of an unfortunate people group.

They are shaking their heads at us

to ridicule us.

15I am constantly aware of my disgrace.

I feel complete shame

16because people are speaking so harshly to me.

Those people are my enemies, and they want to harm me.

17These things have happened to us

even though we have not stopped worshiping you

and we have not disobeyed the solemn agreement that you made with our ancestors.

18We still love you as our God,

and we have continued to do what you have commanded us to do.

19But {you have allowed} our enemies to ruin our land and leave it desolate.

You have left us feeling as though we are going to die.

20If we had stopped worshiping you as our God

and had started worshiping a foreign god,

21you would surely have known that.

That is because you know even what people secretly think.

22Because you are not helping us,

our enemies are continuing to kill our people.

They believe they can kill us

as easily as if we were sheep,

which people slaughter easily.

23Protect us! Do not fail to act, Lord, as if you were asleep!

Defend us! Do not keep treating us as if we were not your people!

24Please be favorable to us and help us!

Consider how badly our enemies are harming us

and how greatly we are suffering!

25We ask you to do this because we are helpless,

as if we had fallen down

and were lying on the ground and could not get up.

26You have promised to love us faithfully because we belong to you.

So please do something to rescue us from our enemies!

45This is a note for the worship leader: One of the Korahites wrote this song. It is a love song. The tune is “Lilies.”

1There is something wonderful that I feel so strongly about that I must sing about it.

I will sing a song that I have composed in honor of the king.

As I sing, I will express my ideas in an orderly and complete way,

just like a scribe who records quickly and accurately what he hears people say.

2O King, you are the most handsome man in the world!

You speak very graciously!

So we know that God has always blessed you.

3Prepare yourself to keep fighting powerfully {for justice}!

You are glorious and majestic when you do that.

4Go and win victories to establish yourself as a king who is honest,

who does not proudly oppress his people,

and who does what is right.

As you do that, may you find that your skill as a warrior

terrifies anyone who would resist you.

5Your sharp arrows pierce into the hearts of your enemies.

You defeat the people groups that fight against you.

6Your Majesty, you will be the king for a very long time.

You decide people’s cases fairly as you rule your kingdom.

7You love it when people do what is right,

and you hate it when people do what is wrong.

That is why God, whom you worship, has made you so happy.

You are happier than all the people around you.

8Your royal robes smell beautifully of {the spices} myrrh, aloes, and cassia.

From within your palace, which has ivory decorations,

you hear people playing stringed instruments.

That music makes you happy.

9The honored women of your court include foreign princesses.

{Your bride,} the queen, is standing at your right side.

Threads of gold fine gold from Ophir

decorate her robe.

10And as for you, dear bride,

please listen carefully to my advice.

From now on, regard this as your country

and these people as your family.

11If you do that, the king will love and appreciate you even more.

Bow down in front of him to honor him as your husband and king.

12Representatives of {foreign kingdoms such as the wealthy kingdom} of Tyre will bring gifts to you.

The wealthy people of this kingdom will ask you to treat them favorably.

13This royal princess looked so beautiful in her private room where she had dressed for the wedding!

She had put on a robe that gold threads richly decorated.

14As she came in procession to where you are, O king,

people could see that her robe also had beautiful designs of colored thread.

Other young women, her bridesmaids,

followed her in that procession.

15As they came in procession into your palace,

this made everyone very happy.

16You will be famous not because of your ancestors but because of your descendants.

They will have influence and authority all over the world.

17{By this song,} I want to make the people of future generations remember what a great king you are.

Then people will always say good things about you.

46This is a note for the worship leader: One of the Korahites wrote this song. The tune is “Maidens.”

1God keeps us safe,

as if he were a secure place where we could go if we were in danger.

God strengthens us.

He is always present to help us when we have troubles.

2So we would not be afraid even if there were an earthquake

that caused huge chunks of mountains to fall deep into the sea.

3We would not be afraid even if there were a great storm in the ocean

whose surging waves battered the coastline. Selah

4A stream flows down from the mountains into Jerusalem.

Its cool waters refresh the people who live there.

Jerusalem is the location of God’s holy temple.

He is greater than all other spirit beings.

5God is present in Jerusalem in a special way,

so no one destroys it.

God rescues the people of that city,

and it is as if a dark night ends and a bright new day begins.

6Sometimes foreign armies invade kingdoms and conquer them.

{But that does not happen to us, because} God powerfully defends us and defeats our enemies.

7Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, helps us.

The God whom we Israelites worship keeps us safe. Selah

8Let me tell you what Yahweh does.

He destroys our enemies.

9He stops wars all over the world.

It is as if he breaks bows and arrows, destroys spears,

and burns up war wagons.

10God says, “Calm down and remember that I am God.

The people of nations throughout the earth will honor me.”

11Yahweh, the commander of the heavenly armies, helps us.

The God whom we Israelites worship keeps us safe. Selah

47This is a note for the worship leader: One of the Korahites wrote this psalm.

1People all over the world, clap your hands!

Shout joyfully to praise God!

2Everyone should revere Yahweh, who is much greater than any other spirit being.

He rules powerfully over the whole world!

3He enables us to conquer people groups that oppose us.

4He loved our ancestor Jacob,

and so he chose this land to be our possession.

We are proud of the land he gave us. Selah

5People have acclaimed Yahweh their God as their king

by shouting and blowing ram’s horns.

6Sing songs to praise God our King!

Yes, sing songs to praise him!

7Do that because God rules the whole world.

Sing a special song about that.

8God rules over all people groups.

He rules them completely fairly, not the way many human kings do.

9The rulers of the people groups will assemble

to join those who worship the same God whom Abraham worshiped.

They will do that because the leaders of the world must obey God.

He is the supreme ruler of the world.

48One of the Korahites wrote this psalm.

1Yahweh is great, and he deserves to have people praise him greatly

in {Jerusalem}, the city that belongs to him.

That city is high up on the mountain that he chose

as the place where people would worship him.

2The height of Mount Zion is magnificent.

People from all over the world are happy when they see it.

The city {of Jerusalem,} where Yahweh rules as the great king,

is on the northern ridge of that mountain.

3God is present {as a defender} in the city’s fortifications.

He has shown that he protects the people of the city.

4Listen to why Yahweh deserves our praise.

Kings joined together and led their armies to attack our city.

5However, when they saw it,

its secure position and defenses amazed them.

They became so frightened

that they ran away.

6Their bodies shook because they were so afraid.

They screamed as if they were women who were giving birth.

7Just as you, Yahweh, can sent a strong east wind

that wrecks even the sturdiest ships at sea{,

so you destroyed the armies

that were attacking us}.

8Jerusalem belongs to Yahweh,

the commander of the heavenly armies, who is our God.

We had heard {from our ancestors} that God would always keep the city secure.

Now we who live in the city have seen for ourselves that this is true. Selah

9We went into your temple, God,

and recognized that you faithfully kept your covenant when you protected us.

We acknowledged that you had been just as faithful to us

as you were to our ancestors.

10People throughout the world praise you as you deserve.

You use your power to make sure that people treat each other right.

11The people who live in Jerusalem and in other parts of the kingdom of Judah

should celebrate the way you judge people fairly.

12You Judeans should walk around the walls of the city of Jerusalem.

See how many defensive towers it has!

13You should observe the strength of the walls and the fortifications

so that you can tell your descendants about them.

14The people of Judah and Jerusalem should praise Yahweh

because he is our God and he will always be our God.

He will lead us for as long as we live.

49This is a note for the worship leader: One of the Korahites wrote this psalm.

1Listen to me, members of people groups

from throughout the world,

2whether or not you are famous

and whether or not you are rich!

3I have thought carefully about what I am going to say,

so it will be wise, and it will help you understand things better.

4There is a popular saying about something that people find difficult to understand.

I have considered it, and I will explain it as I {sing and} play my harp.

5I do not have to be afraid during difficult times

when wicked people around me try to harm me.

6These wicked people believe that they will be able to use their money to overcome any difficulty.

They boast about how rich they are.

7No one can use his money to keep a person from dying.

No, no one can pay God money so that another person will not die.

8No matter how much money a person has,

it is never enough to keep someone else from dying

9so that the person will live forever

and never leave this world.

10Whether people are wise or foolish and brutish, they all die.

Then other people inherit their money.

11They imagine that the houses they live in will always exist.

They call their properties by their own names

{as if they would always have them}.

12Even if someone is great, he does not stay that way.

He still dies, just as animals do.

13Those who think and act as if they will never die are living in a foolish manner.

Even so, some other people admire them and approve of what they say. Selah

14God has determined that they will die, as easily as sheep die,

and go to the place where dead people are.

They will remain there, as if death were a shepherd keeping them in a pen.

One day God will make righteous people rule over wicked people.

Wicked people will no longer live in comfortable homes.

Instead, their bodies will decay in their graves.

15But God will take me to himself.

In that way, he will rescue me from the place where dead people are. Selah

16Do not let it trouble you when a person becomes rich

and has many valuable possessions.

17After all, when that person dies,

he will take nothing with him {to the place where dead people are}.

He will not be able to bring his money there with him.

18While a rich person is alive, he says to himself that he is successful.

(People tend to praise anyone who is successful.)

19Nevertheless, he will die and go to where his dead ancestors are.

All of them will remain in that dark place forever.

20If someone is great but does not understand these things,

he will die, just as animals do.

501A Levite from the clan of Asaph wrote this song.

Yahweh is the only true God.

He has decreed that people from all over the world

should come to him.

2Mount Zion is as wonderful as a place can be {because God’s temple is there}.

God’s presence there is like a light that shines brightly.

3Our God is approaching us {to judge us}.

He will now tell us {what we have done right and what we have done wrong}.

He is coming very powerfully, as he did at Mount Sinai,

when there was a great thunderstorm and a burning fire on the mountain as he approached it.

4He calls upon the sky and the land {to serve as witnesses of his covenant with the Israelites}.

This demonstrates that he will judge them fairly {according to that covenant}.

5He says, “Summon those who worship me faithfully,

those who made a covenant with me

that involved offering sacrifices to me.”

6The sky displays the character of God so clearly,

it is as though it is saying,

“God is righteous, and he is the supreme judge.” Selah

7God says, “You Israelite people who belong to me, listen as I speak to you.

I am the God whom you worship. I am going to tell you what you have done right and what you have done wrong.

8You continually burn animals completely on the temple altar as sacrifices to me,

so I have no complaint that you have failed to offer sacrifices to me.

9However, I do not really need the bulls from your herds

or the goats from your pens {that you sacrifice to me}.

10I do not need them, because all of the animals that live in the forests belong to me.

All of the cattle everywhere on earth also belong to me.

11I own all the birds that live in the mountains.

All the little creatures that move around in the fields also belong to me.

12Because everything in the world belongs to me,

if I were hungry, I would not tell you

{so that you would bring me some food to eat}.

13When you sacrifice bulls to me, I do not eat their flesh,

and when you offer goats to me, I do not drink their blood.

14I want you to offer sacrifices to me, your God,

because you have promised to do that to thank me for helping you.

I am the God who is greater than all other spirit beings.

15So pray to me when you are in trouble.

If you do that, I will rescue you,

and then you will honor me {publicly by offering a sacrifice}.”

16But God says to wicked people,

“You should not be reciting my commandments

or talking about the covenant that I made with you!

17You should not do that, because you hate it when I correct you,

and when I tell you to do something, you refuse to obey me.

18When you see someone stealing,

you decide that it is acceptable for him to steal.

When you learn that people are having sexual relations with people other than their spouses,

you do the same thing.

19You do not restrain yourselves from saying wicked things,

and you make up things to say to deceive people.

20You consistently say bad things about members of your own family,

even about your closest relatives.

21You do all those things,

and I have not said anything to you about them,

so you think that I do not care about them any more than you do.

But now I am going to show you {all the wicked things you have done},

and I am going to judge and punish you for doing them.

22Many of you have been ignoring me.

Pay attention to what I am saying now!

If you do not, I will destroy you.

No one will be able to rescue you.

23When people publicly offer sacrifices to thank me for helping them,

that honors me greatly.

If people live as I want people to live,

I will rescue them when they are in trouble.”

51This is a note for the worship leader: King David wrote this song after the prophet Nathan came and rebuked him for having sexual relations with {another man’s wife,} Bathsheba.

1Oh God, since you promised to faithfully love me,

please act mercifully toward me.

You gently love people in many ways,

so please forgive me for disobeying you so badly.

2Remove my sin completely, as if it were dirt that you were washing off me

to make me clean.

3I ask this because I know that I have disobeyed you in many ways.

I am continually aware of that.

4What grieves me most is how I have sinned against you.

I have done things that you consider to be very wrong.

So when you declare that I am guilty, you are right.

When you judge me, you are completely fair.

5Indeed, I have been a sinner from birth.

In fact, I have been a sinner since my mother conceived me.

6I know that you want me to have honest intentions.

You help me understand very well how to act wisely.

7Make me acceptable to you again,

as if you were using hyssop to sprinkle water on me to purify me.

Remove my sin as if it were dirt that you were washing off me.

Then I will be completely pure, like snow that has just fallen.

8Please tell me {that you have forgiven me}.

That would make me very happy.

My guilt feels like a heavy weight on me,

but may I rejoice {in your forgiveness}.

9Please forgive all the wrong things I have done

so that it will be as if I never did them.

10O God, please make me want to do only things that please you.

Help me to be loyal to you consistently.

11Please allow me to come into your presence.

Please do not make your Holy Spirit leave me.

12Please save me {from the guilt and punishment of my sin}.

That will make me very happy again.

Please make me eager to obey you

so that I do not sin again.

13Please make me so obedient that I can even teach people who are doing wrong things

how you want them to live instead.

That way people who have been disobeying you

will start obeying you again.

14God, I admit that I deserve to die because I murdered someone,

but please rescue me from that punishment.

You can save me {from the guilt and punishment of my sin} because you are God.

When you do that, I will sing joyfully about how good you are.

15Lord, {please do these things so that} I will have a reason to speak publicly

and say things to praise you.

16If you had wanted me to offer a sacrifice {because of the sin I committed},

I would certainly have done that.

But you do not accept burnt offerings

{from people who bring them to try to make things right with you after committing murder}.

17What you really want is for people to pray to you in genuine humility {and ask for forgiveness}.

When a person is very sorrowful for his sin, you, God, do not reject him.

18Please regard us Israelites favorably and help us.

Protect us from our enemies.

19Then people will offer sacrifices to you for the right reasons.

They will bring animals that they will burn completely as offerings to you.

They will completely burn up young bulls on your altar.

You will gladly accept these sacrifices.

52This is a note for the worship leader: David wrote this song when Doeg the Edomite went to King Saul and told him, “David went to Ahimelech’s house.”

1{Doeg,} you are boasting as if you were a great warrior because you killed so many people{,

but you are wrong to boast, because they were helpless}.

God always protects me because he is kind to me.

2You say things that you know will cause great harm to other people.

It is as if your tongue is a sharp knife slashing people.

People did something innocently,

but you reported it in such a way that they seemed to be guilty.

3You like to do what is wrong more than you like to do what is right.

You like to tell lies more than you like to tell the truth. Selah

4You like to say anything that will cause harm to people.

What you say causes innocent people to suffer.

5But God will destroy you permanently, just as you have destroyed others.

You may feel safe in your home, but God will take you from there

and remove you from this world in which people are alive. Selah

6When good people see that, they will respect God {for being just}.

They will laugh at you.

7{They will say,} “Look what happened to this man who did not trust God to protect him.

He thought that because he had a lot of money, he could avoid trouble.

He believed that harming other people would make him powerful.”

8But I am safe, just like the olive trees that the priests plant and care for in the courtyard of the place where we worship God.

I know that God will always be kind to me.

9I am confident that you, God, are going to do what I have described,

and I will always praise you for that.

You have demonstrated to the people who are faithful to you that you are good.

So I will wait patiently for you to act according to your good character.

53This is a note for the worship leader: David wrote this song to the tune of “Weakness.”

1People who do not want to obey God tell themselves that God does not exist.

People like that are bad. They do terrible things.

Every one of them acts wickedly.

2God looks down from heaven at the people on the earth.

He wants to find out whether any of them are wise and want to know him.

3But they have all chosen to disobey God.

They have all become bad people.

Every single one of them acts wickedly.

4They take away people’s possessions until they have nothing left.

They do that as easily as they would eat a loaf of bread.

The people who do such bad things ought to realize {that God is going to punish them}.

But they do not worship God.

5An army came and attacked the Israelites.

Its soldiers did not have to be afraid that the Israelites would defeat them.

But God made them lose in battle so badly that the survivors were not even able to bury the dead soldiers.

This made them very afraid.

God regarded this army as insignificant {compared with his great power}.

{He helped} the Israelites{, and so they} were able to humiliate those soldiers {by defeating them}.

6I wish that God, whose sanctuary is on Mount Zion, would rescue the Israelite people!

When God makes his people prosperous again, the Israelites, those descendants of Jacob, will be very happy.

54This is a note for the worship leader: Musicians playing stringed instruments should accompany this song. David wrote this song when the people of the region of Ziph went to Saul and told him that David was hiding in their area.

1God, please use your power to save me {from my enemies}!

If you do that, people will realize that I have not done anything wrong.

2God, please listen to what I say

as I pray to you.

3I am praying for your help because even my fellow Judeans are treacherously acting against me.

These are violent men, and they want to kill me.

They do not respect you. Selah

4But God is helping me.

The Lord is helping the people who are protecting me so that I stay alive.

5My enemies want to do harmful things to me,

but God will cause those things to happen to them instead.

Because you faithfully do what you promise,

destroy them {so that they do not kill me}!

6I promise that {when you rescue me,} I will publicly offer a sacrifice to honor you.

I will praise you, Yahweh, for how good you are.

7I will be able to do this because he rescues me from all my troubles

and, as a result, I see that he has defeated my enemies.

55This is a note for the worship leader: Musicians playing stringed instruments should accompany this song. David wrote this song.

1God, please listen to me as I pray to you.

Please do not ignore me as I am pleading with you.

2Please pay attention to me and do what I ask.

The things I am praying about are agitating me and making me moan {in distress}.

3This is because my enemies are saying things {to threaten me}.

Wicked people are attacking me.

They are causing me to have great troubles.

Because they are so hostile to me, they never stop trying to harm me.

4My heart is pounding inside me because I am so upset.

I strongly feel many fears because I know that my enemies are trying to kill me.

5I am shaking because I am so afraid.

The only thing I feel is fear.

6I have been thinking, “How good it would be if I had wings like a dove!

I would fly away and find a place to rest.

7If I could, I would go far away

and stay in a desolate area. Selah

8I would quickly find a safe place

where my enemies could not harm me in the way that a powerful storm causes damage.”

9Lord, please destroy my enemies!

Make them disagree about what to do {so that they cannot make successful plans against me}.

I ask this because I know that they are fighting with people in the city and hurting them.

10The fighting is constant, and the people in the city cannot get away from it.

Bad people are causing much trouble right in the middle of the city.

11These bad people harm others right in the middle of the city.

Dishonest people continually deceive and cheat others in the marketplace.

12If it were an enemy who was saying bad things about me,

I could endure it.

If it were someone who hated me who was powerfully opposing me,

I could hide from him.

13But the person who is doing those things to me is someone I treated not as a subject but as an equal.

I knew him well, and we were together often.

14We used to talk together in a wonderful way.

We also used to go to the temple courtyard together {to worship God} with the other Israelites who gathered there.

15My enemies are so wicked in their inner beings that it is as if wickedness lives in their homes {and influences what they do}.

So I hope that bad things happen to them that destroy them!

I wish that {the earth would open up under them so that}

they would go down alive to the place where dead people are.

16But I will ask Yahweh, my God, to help me,

and he will rescue me.

17I will continually pray to him,

whether I can express my concerns in words

or whether I am only able to moan {as a plea to him}.

He will answer my prayer by helping me.

18My enemies are coming with many soldiers to fight against me,

but God will keep me safe and save my life when we fight a battle.

19My enemies have no difficulties in life,

so they do not respect God. Selah

But God, who has ruled forever,

will answer my prayer and punish them as they deserve.

20The man I knew well is attacking me even though I was his friend.

He should have remained loyal to me, but he has not.

21What he said was as easy to believe as butter is easy to swallow,

but secretly he hated me.

The words he spoke were as soothing as olive oil,

but all along he intended to use words to hurt people as sharp swords do.

22Depend on Yahweh to help you when you are in trouble, and he will take care of you.

He will never allow anyone to destroy people who are righteous.

23God, you will cause people who deceive and kill others

to die before they have lived half as long as most people do.

But as for me, I will trust you {to protect me}.

56This is a note for the worship leader: David wrote this song when the Philistines made him their prisoner in the city of Gath. The tune is “A Faraway Silent Dove.”

1O God, men are attacking me, so please help me!

They keep fighting me and making me suffer.

2Many proud enemies are fighting against me,

so there is continually someone attacking me.

3But whenever I am afraid,

I trust you {to help me}.

4I praise you, God, because you have promised {to take care of me}.

I trust you to do that, so I am not afraid.

I know that mere humans will not be able to harm me!

5My enemies are continually trying to interfere in my activities. They keep planning ways to harm me.

6Together they secretly watch where I am going

because they are looking for an opportunity to kill me.

7They should not be able to avoid punishment for the wicked things they are doing.

O God, in your anger, please defeat all of our foreign enemies!

8You have watched me carefully as I have wandered to this place.

Please stay close to me as I have sad experiences here.

I know that you have watched me closely as I have had these experiences.

9When I cry to God for help, my enemies will stop attacking me.

I know that will happen because God favors me.

10I praise you, Yahweh my God,

because you have promised {to take care of me}.

11I trust you to do that, so I am not afraid.

I know that mere humans will not be able to harm me!

12God, I have vowed {that I will thank you publicly when you help me},

so I will offer a sacrifice to thank you.

13I will be able to do that because you will have rescued me.

No one will have killed me.

Because you protect me, I will be able to live in your presence

here in this world where people are alive.

57This is a note for the worship leader: David wrote this song when he fled into a cave to escape from Saul. The tune is “Do Not Destroy.”

1O God, please help me!

I ask you to do that because I depend on you to protect me.

I pray that you will protect me just as a mother bird protects her chicks under her wings.

I ask you to do that until the troubles I am having are over.

2I am crying {for help} to God, who is greater than all other spirit beings.

God will complete what he has begun to do for me.

3May he act from where he is in heaven to rescue me.

Someone is trying to harm me; may God prevent him from doing that. Selah

God is kind and loyal to the people who trust him,

so may he help me.

4Men who are as dangerous as lions are all around me.

I have no safe place to sleep far away from those men who are trying to kill me.

They say things about me that make other people want to harm me.

5May you have the most glory, God,

of anyone in heaven or on earth!

6My enemies are trying to capture me, as if they had set out a net to trap me.

This has distressed me greatly.

Yes, they are trying to capture me, as if they had dug a deep pit along the path where I walk, hoping that I would fall into it.

But I believe that God will use what they are doing against them, as if they had fallen into that pit themselves. Selah

7God, I trust you completely.

So {instead of worrying,} I will sing praises to you.

8I will do that enthusiastically.

I will begin the day by praising you as I play my harp and lyre.

9I will sing songs to praise you, Lord,

so that people of other nations can find out about you.

10You deserve this praise because your kindness and loyalty are much greater than anything on earth,

just as the clouds in the sky are much higher than anything on earth.

11May you have the most glory, God, of anyone in heaven or on earth!

58Here is a note to the worship leader: The tune is “Do Not Destroy.” David wrote this song.

1You {judges} should not think that you can ensure justice if you do not speak out {to condemn wickedness}.

You are not judging cases fairly, and that shows that you are acting only as humans{, not as God’s representatives}.

2In fact, you keep thinking about doing things that are wrong.

The decisions that you make encourage people to commit violent crimes.

3Wicked people do wrong things and tell lies

from the time when they are born.

4Wicked people harm other people just as poisonous snakes harm people.

They do not pay attention to God’s commandments, as if they were cobras that refused to listen

5and so did not respond to the music that snake charmers were playing.

Even the most skillful charmer could not get them to respond to music.

6Yahweh my God, wicked people are as dangerous as young lions,

but destroy them as if you were breaking the large teeth of such lions.

7Make them disappear like water that flows away.

When they try to harm people as if they were shooting arrows at them,

keep them from hurting those people, as if those arrows had no heads!

8May they be like a snail that dissolves as it moves along.

May they be like a baby that never lives on earth because it dies before its mother gives birth to it.

9God will punish and destroy them as powerfully as if a whirlwind were carrying them away.

He will do that more quickly than thorns can catch fire and heat a pot, even if the thorns are dry, not fresh.

10Righteous people will celebrate when they see God punish wicked people.

It will be as if wicked people were an army that God destroyed

and righteous people were walking triumphantly through the battlefield afterwards.

11Then people will say, “It is true that there is a reward for righteous people!

It is true that God judges fairly the people who live on the earth!”

59This is a note for the worship leader: David wrote this song when Saul sent men to watch his house so that they could kill him {when he left it}. The tune is “Do Not Destroy.”

1My God, please rescue me from my enemies!

Protect me from those who want to attack me!

2Rescue me from wicked men

who are trying to kill me!

3Look! They are hiding and waiting for a chance to kill me!

Fierce men have gathered to harm me.

Yahweh, they are doing that even though I have not done anything that is wrong!

4I have not committed any sin, but they are hurrying to get ready to attack me.

Please consider my situation and come quickly to help me.

5Yahweh, you are the God who commands the heavenly armies.

You are the God whom we Israelites worship.

So I ask you to take action and punish all the people who do not honor you.

Do not act mercifully toward those wicked people who have acted treacherously toward me. Selah

6They are like wild dogs that come out in {the cool of} the evening

and growl as they roam around this city {looking for scraps of food}.

7They make violent threats so loudly that it is as if they are belching.

They think, “No one who hears us {will stop us}!”

8But you mock them, Yahweh.

You scoff at people who do not honor you.

9Because you, God, are the one who protects me and makes me strong,

I will depend on you.

10You, God, are faithfully loving to me, and you will come to help me.

You will defeat my enemies so that I can look triumphantly at them.

11But do not kill them {right away}.

Otherwise, the Israelite people might forget how you punished them.

Instead, use your power to make them wander around helplessly,

and then destroy them.

Lord, you are like a shield that protects us.

12The things that they say are sinful.

They curse people falsely.

May their pride be like a trap that catches them

{and keeps them from doing what they are planning}.

13Become angry with them and destroy them so that they do not exist anymore.

That way people will know that you, God, rule over the Israelite people and the entire world. Selah

14They are like wild dogs that come out in {the cool of} the evening

and growl as they roam around this city {looking for scraps of food}.

15They roam around searching for food.

If they do not get enough to eat, they keep roaming around all night.

16But as for me, I will sing each morning about how powerful you are.

I will sing joyfully about how faithfully loving you are to me.

I will sing about how you protect me when I am in danger.

17I will praise you, who enables me to be strong,

because you, God, protect me and faithfully love me as you promised.

60This is a note for the worship leader: The tune is “The Lily.” David wrote this song when he was leading the Israelite army to fight against Aramean armies from Naharaim and Zobah and his general Joab had to leave and fight the Edomites in the Valley of Salt, where he killed 12,000 of their soldiers. David wanted to testify to the Israelite people so that they would learn from this song {that they should depend on God to help them}.

1God, you have stopped helping us Israelites!

Because you have become angry with us, our enemies have been able to break through our ranks.

Please enable us to fight victoriously again!

2It is as if you have caused a great earthquake that has split open the ground.

Our army is struggling, but please make it strong again.

3You have caused us Israelites to experience great difficulties.

It is as if you have made us drink strong wine that is making us fall down as if we were drunk.

4But you have raised a battle flag for those who honor you.

They can rally around it when their enemies attack them. Selah

5That way you will rescue the people whom you love.

Please answer my prayer and use your power to save us.

6God is holy {and does not lie}, and he has said,

“I delight in the territory that I have measured and divided up for you Israelites to live in.

That territory includes land on the east side of the Jordan River, where the Valley of Succoth is,

and land on the west side of the Jordan River, where Shechem is.

7I own the region of Gilead {east of the Jordan River},

and I own the territory of Manasseh {west of the Jordan River}.

The mighty soldiers of the tribe of Ephraim {who fight to protect Israel} are like my helmet,

and I have given Israel a ruler from the tribe of Judah.

8The Moabites are my servants, like slaves who wash my feet.

I own the land of Edom; it is as if I have thrown my sandal onto it to show that it belongs to me.

And you Philistines might shout your battle cry against me{, but I will defeat you}.”

9But I still need someone to lead my army to the land of Edom

and conquer their {capital} city that has strong walls around it.

10It seems that you, God, have stopped helping us Israelites.

It seems that you do not enable our armies to defeat our enemies when they march out to fight them.

11Any help that human beings could give us would not be at all sufficient.

So we need you to help us to defeat our enemies.

12If you, God, help us defeat our enemies,

then we will be able to fight very valiantly.

61This is a note for the worship leader: A musician playing a stringed instrument should accompany this song. David wrote this song.

1O God, I am calling to you for help.

Please do what I ask.

2I am far from home, and I feel sad, so I am calling out to you {for help}.

Please keep me safe, as if you had put me on top of a high rock.

3You protect me.

You are like a strong tower into which I can go so that my enemies cannot harm me.

4I wish I could always be a guest in your home!

Keep me as safe as a baby bird is under its mother’s wings. Selah

5God, you know that I have solemnly promised to offer sacrifices to acknowledge you, so please help me.

You have given me the blessings that belong to people who honor you.

6Please allow me, the king of Israel, to live and rule for many years.

Please allow my descendants to rule also.

7May I reign for a long time as you watch over me.

You are faithful, and you keep your promises, so please protect me.

8If you do that, I will always sing songs to praise you,

and each day I will offer the sacrifices that I promised to give you.

62This is a note for the worship leader: Perform in the style of Jeduthun. David wrote this psalm.

1God is the one who saves me from my enemies,

and I am waiting quietly for him to do that.

2He is the only one who can save me.

He protects me as if he were a rock I could climb onto in order to be safe.

No one would harm me at all.

3My enemies are threatening me,

but they will not be able to keep doing that.

God will destroy all of them, just as a leaning wall falls down

and just as people can push a fence onto the ground.

4My enemies are plotting together to do one thing.

They want to remove me from my important position.

They enjoy telling lies.

They say things to bless people,

but in their inner beings, they are cursing those people. Selah

5Because I am expecting God to help me,

I will wait quietly for him alone to do that.

6He is the only one who can save me.

He protects me as if he were a rock I could climb onto in order to be safe.

No one would harm me.

7God is the one who saves me and honors me.

God is like a huge rock to which I can go to be safe.

He makes me strong.

8You Israelite people should always trust in God.

Pray earnestly to him in his presence.

He is the one who keeps us safe. Selah

9Certainly, ordinary people lack the power to help,

and important people are not as powerful as they seem.

If you put them all on a scale,

it would be as if they weighed less than air.

10It is foolish to expect to get rich by cheating other people or by stealing from them.

If you become wealthy, do not rely on your money.

11God has said very reliably

that he is the one who truly has power.

12God is also the one who always keeps his promises.

He punishes people who do wrong things but rewards people who do good things.

63David wrote this song when he was in the desolate area that belongs to the tribe of Judah.

1God, you are the God whom I worship.

I greatly desire to be with you.

It is as if my body aches for you,

just as a person in a dry, hot wilderness greatly desires water.

2I have worshiped you in your sanctuary

and recognized how powerful and glorious you are.

3You are always kind to me, as you promised in your covenant.

This is worth more to me than even being alive,

so I will always praise you.

4I will praise you for as long as I am alive.

I will lift up my hands and pray to you.

5You satisfy me as if I had just eaten a delicious banquet of rich foods.

I will praise you very joyfully.

6Sometimes I think about you when I am lying in bed.

When that happens, I reflect during the night on how wonderful you are.

7{I realize that you are wonderful} because you have always helped me.

I sing to you joyfully because I am aware that you protect me

just as a mother bird protects her chicks under her wings.

8I remain completely loyal to you,

and you protect me by your power.

9Some people are trying to kill me,

but they will die and go to the place where dead people are.

10They may die in a battle,

and then wild dogs will eat their corpses.

11But I, the king {of Israel}, will rejoice in what God has done for me.

All those who swear oaths in the name of God will praise him

because he will have stopped people from saying things that are not true.

64This is a note for the worship leader: David wrote this song.

1God, please listen to me as I tell you about what worries me.

I am afraid of my enemies; please save me from them.

2Protect me from what wicked men are planning to do to me.

Protect me from that group of men who do evil things.

3The hostile things they say are like sharp swords;

their cruel words are like arrows.

4They are not afraid of anyone.

They falsely accuse people who have done nothing wrong. They are like a person who suddenly jumps up from a hiding place

and shoots an arrow at someone.

5They encourage each other to do the evil things they are planning.

They boast about how they have deceived people.

They say, “No one will realize what we are doing!”

6They carefully plan the wicked things they want to do.

They brag, “We have planned this out perfectly!”

It is very difficult to know what people are thinking privately.

7But God will suddenly judge and punish them,

as if he were shooting an arrow at them and wounding them.

8The deceitful things they say will get them into trouble.

Everyone who sees what happens to them will stay away from them.

9People will think about how God has punished them,

and they will tell others about it.

As a result, people will not dare to be wicked.

10People who do what is right will be very happy that Yahweh has punished those wicked people.

They will trust Yahweh to protect them.

Yes, those who really want to do good things will be glad.

65This is a note for the worship leader: David wrote this song.

1God, when you come to your sanctuary on Mount Zion,

you will find that we have been waiting quietly to praise you

and to do what we promised we would do to honor you.

2Because you help people when they pray,

people everywhere will pray to you.

3When we feel very badly because we have done wrong things,

you forgive our sins and make it as if we had not committed them.

4When you invite people to come and worship you in your sanctuary,

that makes them very happy!

When we come to your sanctuary,

we realize how good and holy you are,

and that satisfies us completely.

5When we pray to you, you do good and powerful things to help us.

You are the God who saves us.

Even people who live in very remote places on the earth,

on the other side of the oceans, trust in you.

6You are so strong, you were able to use your power

to set the mountains in their places.

7When there is a storm at sea, you can calm it

and stop its waves from crashing on the shore.

In the same way, you can keep nations from causing trouble.

8People who live in very remote places on the earth

deeply respect you because of the miracles that you perform.

People who live all over the world celebrate what you do.

9You send rain to make the soil fertile

so that it will produce good crops.

It is as if you bring water to the fields in a stream.

That is how you prepare the earth

to produce abundant crops.

10You send rain on the plowed fields,

and you fill their furrows with water.

You soften the hard clods of soil with showers,

and you help young plants to grow in the fields.

11When harvest time comes, the fields are glorious with crops,

as if you had put a golden crown on them.

You provide food for people in great abundance.

12There is plenty of food for sheep and goats to eat in the pastures where they graze.

So many crops grow on the hills that it is as if the hills were celebrating.

13Flocks of sheep and goats cover the meadows like a garment,

and there is so much grain in the valleys that the ground is not visible.

It is as if the meadows and valleys are singing and shouting joyfully.

661This is a note for the worship leader: This is a song, a psalm.

Everyone on earth should shout joyfully to praise God!

2They should sing songs that tell how glorious God is

and how much he deserves praise for being glorious.

3Everyone should tell God, “You do such amazing things!

You are so powerful

that your enemies come and bow down fearfully in front of you.

4Everyone on earth should worship you

and sing to praise you

for your excellent character.” Selah

5Come and consider what God has done!

Think about the amazing things that he has done among people.

6He made a dry path through the Sea of Reeds

so that our ancestors could walk right through it.

They also walked across the Jordan River {when he stopped it from flowing}.

After they crossed, they celebrated what God had done,

and we should still celebrate that today.

7He is so powerful that he rules forever.

He observes what all the people groups do,

so anyone who considers rebelling against him

should not think that he will be able to do that. Selah

8People from every nation, praise our God!

Praise him loudly so that others will hear you as you praise him.

9He has kept us alive,

and he has not allowed anyone to destroy us.

10God, you have allowed us to experience great difficulties {in order to make us pure},

just as people put silver in a hot fire so they can purify it.

11It is as if you allowed someone to catch us in a trap

or made us carry a load that was almost too heavy for us.

12It is as if you allowed our enemies to trample on us.

We experienced troubles that were like walking through fires and floods.

But now you have brought us to a place where we are safe and have plenty of food.

13God, I have come to your temple bringing offerings for the priests to burn completely on the altar.

I am doing what I promised to do for you.

14When I was experiencing great trouble,

I said that I would bring these offerings to you {if you rescued me}.

15So I have brought fat sheep to burn on the altar,

and I have also brought bulls and goats.

When they are burning, you will enjoy the smell of the smoke. Selah

16All you people who deeply respect God, come and listen

as I tell you what he has done for me.

17I called out to him to help me,

and I praised him as I was praying to him.

18If I had secretly intended to commit sins,

the Lord would not have done what I asked.

19{But I did not do that,}

so God has done what I asked.

20I praise God

because he did what I asked him to do.

He has continued to be kind to me, as he promised.

67This is a note for the worship leader: This is a song, a psalm. Musicians playing stringed instruments should accompany this song.

1May God always be kind to us and bless us.

May he consider us favorably. Selah

2God, please do that so that all of the people in the world will know

how you want them to live and that you are the one who saves them.

3May all the people in the world praise you, God!

4You judge those nations fairly and show them what they should do.

So may they praise you loudly and joyfully! Selah

5May all the people in the world praise you, God!

6Good crops have grown on our land.

May the God whom we Israelites worship continue to give us good harvests.

7May God bless us,

and may that cause people throughout the world to respect him greatly.

68This is a note for the worship leader: David wrote this psalm. It is a song.

1God, take action and chase away your enemies!

Make those who hate you run away from you.

2Chase your enemies away just as wind blows smoke away.

Make bad people go away, God, just as wax melts when it is near a fire.

3But make good people happy.

May they rejoice when they are in your presence;

may they be very joyful.

4Sing praise to God!

Sing a song for him who even cares for desolate regions.

His name is Yahweh;

be glad when you are in his presence.

5God, who is present in his sanctuary,

is like a father to those who are orphans,

and he protects widows.

6He provides families for those who have no one to live with.

He frees prisoners and enables them to be successful.

But those who rebel against him will not be successful.

It will be as if they live in a place where it is very hard to grow crops.

7God, you led your people out of Egypt,

and then you marched with them through the desert. Selah

8After you did that, the earth shook at Mount Sinai when you appeared to your people.

Rain poured down from the sky, and your people worshiped you.

9You caused much rain to fall there in the wilderness,

and so you enabled good crops to grow again on that land that you gave to us Israelites.

10Your people built homes there.

You were kind to poor people and provided food for them.

11-12Kings led their armies to fight against the Israelites,

but God defeated them and they ran away.

The Lord declared victory over them,

and a great crowd of Israelite women sang and danced to celebrate.

The men who fought against these enemies captured many valuable possessions

and brought them back to the women who were at home.

13Some men had to take care of the sheep {instead of fighting},

but the soldiers captured enough valuable possessions to give them some as well.

They received treasures such as a dove statue with silver wings and feathers shimmering with fine gold.

14Shaddai defeated the enemy kings and their armies

by making it snow on Mount Zalmon!

15Mount Bashan is a very high mountain.

It has many peaks.

16Because it is such a great mountain, if it could think,

it might think that God should have chosen it as the place for his sanctuary.

But Yahweh chose Mount Zion instead, and he will always be present there.

17God is so powerful that it is as if he has thousands and thousands of chariots.

In fact, it is as if he has ten thousands and ten thousands of them!

The same God who appeared to the Israelites on Mount Sinai

is now present in his sanctuary on Mount Zion.

18{After he defeated his enemies,} he went up to the sacred mountain where his sanctuary is.

He led many captured prisoners in a victory procession.

He received gifts from the enemies whom he had defeated.

He even received gifts from those who had rebelled against him.

Now Yahweh, our God, will always be present in his sanctuary.

19Praise the Lord, who helps us every day as if he were carrying a heavy load for us.

He is the God who saves us. Selah

20Our God is the God who saves us;

Yahweh our Lord is the one who rescues us from dying.

21But God will completely destroy his enemies.

If anyone continues to behave sinfully, God will destroy that person.

22The Lord said, “Even if my enemies try to climb a high mountain to be safe,

or even if they try to hide at the bottom of the ocean, I will bring them back

23so that you can trample on their heads.

Your dogs will lick up the blood that comes out of their heads.”

24And now you are parading triumphantly into your sanctuary, God.

You are our king, and you are leading a great crowd the way a king does.

25There are singers at the front of the parade.

Musicians playing stringed instruments are at the back of the parade.

In the middle there are girls playing tambourines.

26Praise God, you who have gathered together!

Praise Yahweh, you descendants of Israel!

27People from the tribe of Benjamin, the smallest tribe, are marching first.

Leaders and many other people from the tribe of Judah come next.

There are even leaders from the {far northern} tribes of Zebulun and Naphtali in the parade.

28Our God has made our Israelite tribes strong.

God, continue to help us with your power as you helped us in the past.

29Since you have now established your sanctuary on a mountain above Jerusalem,

kings will send tribute to you there.

30Show the king of Egypt that even though he has a powerful army, he cannot defeat you.

Many kings who are strong like bulls may gather together.

They may form armies from their subject nations, which are like bulls’ calves,

{but they will not be able to defeat you either}.

Instead, they will come submissively and pay you tribute in silver.

Some nations are eager to fight wars; make their armies run away!

31Then envoys will come from Egypt {bringing gifts to you}.

The ruler of Cush will hasten to send tribute to God.

32People of nations throughout the world, sing praise to God!

He is the Lord Selah

33who dwells above the sky that he created long ago.

When you hear thunder, it is as if he is shouting with his very powerful voice.

34Proclaim how powerful God is!

He is the king who reigns over Israel

as he rules powerfully from the sky.

35God, you are in your sanctuary, and you are very powerful.

This is the God whom we Israelite people worship.

He makes us very strong. Praise God!

69This is a note for the worship leader: David wrote this song. The tune is “Lilies.”

1Please rescue me, God!

I am in great danger, as if I were just about to drown in a flood.

2It is as if I am sinking in deep mud where there is no solid ground for me to stand on.

It is as if I am in deep water and a flood is swirling around me.

3I am tired and my throat is dry

because I have been calling to you for help for so long.

I have been looking for so long for you to come and help me

that I have worn out my eyes.

4There are people who hate me for no reason.

There are so many of these people, it is as if there are more of them than there are hairs on my head!

The enemies who want to harm me are powerful,

and they are telling lies about me.

They are demanding that I pay back things that I did not steal!

5O God, you know that I have foolishly disobeyed your laws;

you are aware of the sins that I have committed.

6But Yahweh my Lord, commander of the heavenly armies,

may the wrong things I have done not disappoint the people who trust you.

You are the God whom we Israelite people should worship.

Please do not let me embarrass those who do worship you.

7People have insulted me because I am loyal to you.

They have thoroughly humiliated me.

8Even my own family members act as if they do not know me.

9I care so much about your temple that people are causing trouble for me.

People are speaking disrespectfully of you, and it is as if they are also insulting me.

10I wept and fasted very sincerely,

but they mocked me for doing that.

11I wore rough clothing {to show that I was sad},

but they used me as an example of a foolish person.

12Even the elders of the city say bad things about me.

The drunkards in the city sing insulting songs about me.

13But I will continue praying to you, Yahweh.

You are always very kind to me, as you have promised.

So at the time that you choose,

please answer my prayer by rescuing me,

since you love me faithfully.

14Rescue me so that it will no longer be as if I were sinking in mud.

Rescue me from my enemies so that it will no longer be as if I were drowning.

15Make it so that it will no longer be as if a flood were swirling around me

and I was about to go down to the bottom of deep water.

Rescue me so that I do not go to the place where dead people are.

16Yahweh, it is so good that you faithfully love me,

so please do what I ask.

Because you are very merciful, please help me.

17I am experiencing much trouble,

so please consider my situation

and act quickly to help me.

18Come and save me;

please rescue me from my enemies.

19You know personally how people are insulting, shaming, and dishonoring me.

You know who all my enemies are.

20Their insults have deeply offended me, and I feel very badly.

I wanted someone to feel sorry for me and encourage me,

but no one did.

21Instead, they put poison in my food,

and when I was thirsty, they gave me sour wine to drink.

22May their own food be like a trap that they walk into!

May it harm their health.

23May their eyes become dim so that they cannot see anything.

May their bodies keep getting weaker.

24Become angry with them and punish them!

Angrily pursue them until you catch them.

25Make them abandon their towns

so that no one lives in them anymore.

26Do this because they did things to harm

people whom you were already disciplining.

They said that people whom you were correcting

were suffering {because they had done bad things}.

27Punish them for every wrong thing they have done.

Do not forgive them!

28Remove their names from the book that records the names of people who have everlasting life;

do not include them in your list of righteous people.

29As for me, I am in bad circumstances, and I am suffering.

O God, please protect me and save me.

30When God does that, I will sing a song to praise God,

and I will honor him by thanking him.

31When I do that, it will please Yahweh more than if I had sacrificed oxen,

yes, he will like that better than if I had offered him full-grown bulls.

32Humble people will be happy when they see {that God has rescued me}.

This will encourage people who worship God sincerely.

33When needy people pray to Yahweh, he does what they ask.

He greatly respects people who suffer for him.

34May the entire creation praise God:

the birds in the sky, the animals on the land, and the creatures in the sea.

35May God protect the people who live in Jerusalem and in other places in Judah.

May he strengthen their cities so that they keep living in them as their territory.

36May the descendants of the people who are loyal to him inherit that territory,

and may those who love him live there safely.

70This is a note for the worship leader: David wrote this psalm to remind {God that he had promised to help him}.

1Yahweh my God, please act quickly to rescue me!

2Some people are trying to kill me.

Embarrass them by making them fail to do that.

Some people would be happy to harm me.

Humiliate them by making them abandon that plan.

3Some people are saying that I am suffering because I am a bad person.

Make them ashamed of saying that so that they stop saying it.

4{Rescue me so that} everyone who is loyal to you will greatly celebrate.

Then the people who depend on you to rescue them will keep saying, “God certainly is great!”

5But right now I am in very difficult circumstances,

so please act quickly to help me, God!

Yahweh, you are the one who helps me and saves me,

so please help me right away!

711You, Yahweh, are the one who keeps me safe.

May it always be clear that I was right to trust you.

2Because you always do what is right,

take action to help me.

Consider my situation and save me!

3You declare that I will be safe,

since you are the one who keeps me safe and protects me,

so please be like a huge rock on top of which I can always go to be safe.

4My God, please rescue me from what wicked people want to do to me.

Rescue me from the power of violent, evil men.

5Yahweh my Lord, you are the one whom I confidently expect to help me.

I have trusted in you ever since I was young.

6I have depended on you for my entire life;

you even made sure that I was born safely,

so I will always praise you.

7It shocks many people to see me now,

but you are my mighty protector.

8I praise you lavishly throughout the day for how glorious you are.

9Please keep helping me now that I have become an old man.

Please help me even though I am not strong anymore.

10My enemies are saying that they want to kill me,

and they are planning together how to do that.

11They are saying, “No one will rescue him,

since God is not helping him anymore,

so we can pursue him and capture him.”

12My God, do not neglect me;

hurry to help me!

13Embarrass the people who want to kill me by making their plans fail.

Yes, completely shame and disgrace those who want to harm me!

14But as for me, I will always trust you,

and I will praise you even more {now than I have in the past}.

15I will tell people how you have saved me because you are good.

I will do that continually because there will always be more for me to say about this.

16Yahweh my Lord, you are the one who gives me great strength.

I will recall {to others} how you do what is right in a way that no one else does.

17God, you have taught me many things ever since I was young,

and I still tell people today about the wonderful things you do.

18God, please keep helping me now that I am old and my hair is gray.

That way I will be able to tell my descendants how powerfully you have helped me.

19God, you do so many great things because you are good,

it is as if they have piled up to the sky.

There is no one else like you, God!

20You have allowed me to experience many very difficult things,

and it has seemed as if I was about to go to the place where dead people are,

but now please give me a good life again.

21Please make me even greater than I was before,

and comfort me rather than allow me to have difficult experiences.

22When you do that, then I will play my lute and praise you,

my God, for faithfully helping me.

I will play my harp as I sing to praise you.

You are the holy God whom we Israelites worship.

23I will shout joyfully while I sing.

Because you will have rescued me,

I will sing to you wholeheartedly.

24You will have defeated and disgraced the people who wanted to harm me,

so throughout the day I will describe how you did what was right.

721A psalm of Solomon.

O God, please enable the man who is now succeeding his father as king

to judge cases rightly, as you would do.

2Enable him to judge the cases of Israelite people fairly,

especially for people who are vulnerable.

3May the people live rightly so that they will be prosperous

as crops grow abundantly on the hillsides of the land.

4Help the king to defend poor people and rescue needy people

and defeat those who are oppressing them.

5May each successive generation of the people respect you.

May they do that for as long as the sun and the moon are in the sky!

6May this king make the nation prosperous,

just as heavy rains soak the soil

and enable more hay to grow after a first cutting.

7May people who live rightly prosper during the time when he reigns,

and may the nation be very prosperous for as long as the moon is in the sky.

8May he rule over all of the surrounding territory, right up to the shores of the seas.

May his realm extend from the Euphrates River to the limits of the lands that people know.

9May the leaders of the desert tribes bow down in front of him {to acknowledge him as their ruler},

and may his enemies lie facedown on the ground {in submission to him}.

10May the kings who rule the land of Tarshish and other coastal areas pay tribute to him.

May the king of Sheba and the king of Seba give him gifts.

11In fact, may all the kings in the world acknowledge him as their ruler,

and may every nation obey him.

12May all these things happen because he rescues needy people when they cry out for help

and he helps poor people who have no one else to help them.

13May he feel compassion for people who are weak and needy and save their lives.

14May their lives be important to him

so that he rescues them from people who are oppressing and harming them.

15May this king live for a long time!

May he receive much fine gold.

May people always pray for him and ask God to bless him.

16May the fields produce such abundant crops

that grain grows all the way up to the tops of the hills

and sways in the wind like the branches of the trees in Lebanon.

May the cities in Israel be as full of people as the fields are full of grass.

17May people always remember what a good king this was,

for as long as the sun is in the sky!

May he do good things for many people,

and may the people of other nations say that he has a good life.

18Praise Yahweh, the God whom we Israelites worship;

he does amazing things that no one else can do.

19Praise him forever for how glorious he is!

May his glory fill the whole world! Amen! Yes, amen!

20This is the end of the prayers that David, the son of Jesse, wrote.

Book Three

731Asaph wrote this psalm.

God truly is good to us Israelite people,

to those who want to do what pleases God.

2As for me, I almost stopped trusting in God;

I was almost guilty of committing a great sin against him

3because I envied those who proudly acted as if they did not need God,

when I realized that they prospered even though they were wicked.

4Those people do not suffer;

they always have plenty of food to eat.

5They do not experience the difficult things that other people do;

they do not experience catastrophes and sicknesses like other people.

6So they are proud and violent.

Their being prideful is like a necklace that they show off to others, and they openly display their violent actions like people openly display the clothes they wear.

7Their eyes protrude because their faces are fat,

and they are always thinking about more evil things to do.

8They scoff at other people, and wickedly talk about doing unjust things to them;

they speak pridefully.

9They exalt themselves and talk as if they are God in heaven,

and they go about the earth talking boastfully.

10The result is that people pay attention to them

and listen to everything they say.

11Wicked people say to themselves, “God certainly does not care what we do;

the Most High certainly will not judge us for what we do!”

12Look at how these wicked people live;

their lives are so easy that they never have to worry about anything, and they are always becoming richer.

13{When I saw this I thought that} certainly it is useless that I have thought about things that are pleasing to you

and have not sinned.

14Every day I suffer,

and every morning you punish me.

15If I had said these things out loud in front of others,

surely I would have been sinning against your people.

16When I tried to think about all this,

it was very difficult for me to understand it.

17But when I went to the temple where people worship God,

then I understood what will happen to wicked people in the future.

18I know that you make their future insecure;

you will cause them to be ruined.

19God will suddenly destroy these wicked people;

they will die in terrible ways.

20Lord, when you act, you will cause the wicked to quickly vanish;

they will vanish like a dream which disappears as soon as a person awakes from their sleep.

21When I was grieved in my inner being

and felt emotionally hurt,

22I was stupid and ignorant;

I behaved like an animal toward you.

23Nevertheless I am always with you;

you constantly stay close to me.

24You lead me by instructing me,

and when I die, you will take me into your glorious presence.

25You are the only one I have in heaven!

There is nothing on this earth that I desire more than you.

26My body and my spirit may become very weak,

but God enables me to feel encouraged;

he has granted to me that I would belong to him forever.

27People who abandon you will perish;

you will ruin every person who is not loyal to you.

28But for me, the only thing I need is to be close to God.

I trust in the Lord Yahweh to keep me safe

so that I may tell others everything you have done for me.

741A Levite from the clan of Asaph wrote this song.

God, it feels as if you have permanently abandoned us!

You care for us Israelites the way a shepherd cares for his flock.

So please do not continue to be angry with us.

2Think about your people whom you chose long ago.

You rescued us from slavery so that we would belong to you.

Think about Mount Zion, where you have been present {in your temple}.

3Come and walk through the ruins of your temple.

It seems that no one will ever rebuild it.

Look at all the damage that the enemy soldiers did to your temple.

4Your enemies shouted in triumph right there in the place where you met with us Israelites.

They set up their battle flags to show that they had conquered it.

5They acted like woodsmen who were swinging axes to cut down trees in a forest.

6They smashed all the carved wooden panels with their axes and hammers.

7Then they burned down your temple completely.

They treated the temple where you were present as if it were not a sacred place.

8They said to themselves, “We will completely subdue the Israelites.”

They burned down every place in the land where people gathered to worship God.

9You no longer give us any signs,

and there are no prophets anymore.

None of us knows how long this will last.

10God, do not allow your opponents to continue to insult you!

Do not allow your enemies to keep treating you with disrespect anymore!

11You should not fail to use your great power.

Use your power to destroy your enemies!

12God, I acknowledge that you have ruled from ancient times.

You have been saving people throughout the earth.

13By your great power, you pushed back the sea so that the dry land would appear.

You created order out of the watery chaos.

14It was as if you smashed the heads of a chaos monster that lived in the sea

and left his body in the desert for scavengers to eat.

15You are able to make springs and streams flow in dry areas,

but you are also able to dry up rivers that usually flow all the time.

16You determine when it becomes day and when it becomes night.

You make it light during the day when the sun shines.

17You are the one who set all the boundaries of the earth.

You are the one who created the seasons of summer and winter.

18Yahweh, remember that your enemies have insulted you

and that foolish people have mocked your reputation.

19Do not allow cruel enemies to destroy the people whom you cherish.

Save the lives of your vulnerable people before it is too late.

20People are committing violent acts in places where they think others will not see them.

So we need you to help us. Please do that because of the covenant that you made with us.

21We are asking you to help us; please do not disappoint us.

Then we poor and needy people will praise you for what you have done.

22Take action to defend yourself, God!

Do not allow foolish people to keep insulting you!

23Do not ignore what your enemies are saying.

Your opponents keep shouting things against you.

75This is a note for the worship leader: Asaph wrote this song. The tune is “Do Not Destroy.”

1We thank you, God!

We thank you because you are close {to us}.

We tell people about the wonderful things that you have done.

2{You say,} “I have set a time {to judge people}.

At that time, I will judge everyone fairly.

3The earth may shake,

and everyone who lives on it may tremble.

But I am the one who holds it steady.” Selah

4I warn those who boast, “Stop boasting!”

I tell wicked people, “Do not be proud!

5Do not brag about your power!

Do not speak arrogantly!”

6{The one who judges and} honors people does not come from the east, west, or south.

7God is the one who judges people;

he shames and punishes some people, and he honors other people.

8It is as if Yahweh holds a cup {full of punishment} in his hand.

It is full of {punishment that is like} foaming wine mixed with spices.

He pours it out {to punish the wicked},

and all the wicked people on earth must drink it.

{He punishes them fully like} they were drinking the cup to the last drop.

9But as for me, I will never stop saying what the God whom Jacob worshiped has done;

I will never stop singing to praise him.

10God promises this: “I will destroy the power of wicked people,

but I will increase the power of righteous people.”

76This is a note for the worship leader: to be accompanied by stringed instruments. Asaph wrote this psalm.

1People in Judah know God.

He is famous in Israel.

2His home is in Jerusalem.

He lives on Mount Zion.

3There he shattered the flaming arrows.

He destroyed the shields, the swords, and the weapons of war. Selah

4You are glorious and excellent.

You are more majestic than the mountains where you destroyed your enemies.

5Enemy soldiers plundered the brave soldiers.

They have fallen into their final sleep.

None of the warriors were able to lift their hands {to defend themselves}.

6When you, the God whom Jacob worshiped, shouted at them,

their war horses and their riders fell down dead.

7You are the one whom everyone must fear.

No one can survive in your presence when you are angry.

8You gave your decision from heaven.

The whole world was scared and silent.

9This happened when you stood up to judge, O God,

to rescue all the oppressed people of the world. Selah

10Even human anger will bring you praise.

You will use the rest of their anger as a weapon.

11Make promises to Yahweh your God and keep them.

Let everyone around him bring gifts to the Awesome One.

12He humbles the leaders,

and terrifies all the kings.

77This is a note for the worship leader: Perform in the style of Jeduthun. Asaph wrote this song.

1I cried out to God;

I cried aloud to him, and he listened to me.

2When I was in trouble, I prayed to the Lord;

all during the night I lifted up my hands {while I prayed},

and I did not stop {praying}.

But nothing could comfort me.

3When I thought about God, I despaired;

as I thoughtfully considered {him}, I became weak and discouraged. Selah

4All during the night he prevented me from sleeping;

I was so worried that I did not know what to say.

5I thought about days that had passed;

I remembered what had happened in previous years.

6During the night, I remembered the songs that I used to sing;

I thoughtfully considered, and I pondered these things:

7{I feared that} the Lord would reject {me} forever

and that he would never be kind {to me} again.

8{I wondered whether} {the Lord} had completely stopped being faithful

and had broken his promise to all future generations.

9{I asked myself whether} God had forgotten to be gracious

{and whether} his anger had caused him to stop being compassionate. Selah

10I said, “What causes me to be sad the most is that

it seems that God, who is greater than any other spirit being, is no longer using his power for us.”

11But then, Yahweh, I recall your great deeds;

I remember the wonderful things that you did in the past.

12I contemplated all that you have done,

and I thought carefully about your mighty acts.

13God, everything that you do is amazing;

there is certainly no god who is great like you are!

14You are God, the one who performs miracles;

you showed to the people of many people groups that you are powerful.

15By your power you rescued your people {from Egypt};

you saved those who were descendants of Jacob and his son Joseph. Selah

16It was as though the waters saw you and became very afraid,

and even the deepest part of the water shook.

17Rain poured down from the clouds;

it thundered very loudly,

and lightning flashed in all directions.

18Thunder crashed in the whirlwind—your voice!

Lightning lit up,

and the earth shook violently.

19Then you walked through the sea

in a path that you made through the deep water,

but your footprints could not be seen.

20You led your people as a shepherd leads his flock of sheep

while Moses and Aaron were the leaders of your people.

781A song of Asaph.

My friends, listen to what I am going to teach you;

pay careful attention to what I will say.

2I am going to give you some sayings that wise people have said.

They will be sayings about things that happened long ago,

things that were difficult to understand.

3These are things that we have heard and known previously,

things that our parents and grandparents told us.

4We will tell these things to our children,

but we will also tell our grandchildren to praise Yahweh

for his power and the glorious things that he has done.

5He gave requirements and instructions to the Israelites,

those who are descended from Jacob,

and he told our ancestors to teach them to their children.

6He commanded this so that their children would also know them

and so that they would teach them to their own children.

7In that way, they also would trust in God

and would not forget the things that he has done;

instead, they would obey his commandments.

8They would not be like their ancestors,

who were very stubborn and kept rebelling against God;

they did not continue firmly trusting in God,

and they did not worship him alone.

9The soldiers of the tribe of Ephraim had bows and arrows,

but they ran away from their enemies on the day that they fought with their enemies.

10They did not do what they had agreed with God that they would do;

they refused to obey his laws.

11They forgot what he had done;

they forgot about the miracles that they had seen him perform.

12While our ancestors were watching,

God performed miracles in the area around the city of Zoan in Egypt.

13Then he caused the Sea of Reeds to divide,

causing the water on each side to pile up like a wall,

with the result that our ancestors walked through it on dry ground.

14He led them by a bright cloud during the day

and by a fiery light during the night.

15He split rocks open in the wilderness

and gave to our ancestors plenty of water from deep inside the earth.

16He caused a stream of water to flow from the rock;

the water flowed like a river.

17But our ancestors continued to sin against God;

in the desert they rebelled against the one who is greater than any other spirit being.

18By demanding that God give them the food that they desired,

they tried to find out if he would always do what they requested him to do.

19They insulted God by saying,

“God surely cannot supply food for us here in this desert.

20It is surely true that Moses struck the rock,

and God made a huge amount of water gush out,

but we, his people, {doubt} that he can also provide bread and meat for us.”

21So when Yahweh heard that, he became very angry,

and he sent a fire to burn up some of his Israelite people.

22He did that because they did not trust in him,

and they did not believe that he would rescue them.

23But God spoke to the sky above them

and commanded it to open like a door,

24and then food fell down like rain,

food that they named “manna.”

God gave them grain from heaven.

25So the people ate the food that angels eat.

God gave to them all the manna that they wanted.

26Later, he caused the wind to blow from the east,

and by his power he also sent wind from the south.

27The wind brought birds to eat which fell like rain.

They were as uncountable as the grains of sand on the seashore.

28God caused those birds to fall in the middle of their camp.

There were birds all around their tents.

29So the people {cooked the birds and} ate the meat; their stomachs were full

because God had given them what they wanted.

30But they had not yet eaten all that they wanted,

31when God angrily killed some of their strongest men.

He even sent young Israelite men to their graves.

32In spite of all this, the people continued to sin;

in spite of all the miracles that God had performed,

they still did not trust that he would take care of them.

33So he shortened their lives so they seemed to only be a few days or like they were gone as quickly as a breath of air,

and he terrified them during even those few years.

34Whenever God caused some of the Israelites to die,

the others would repent;

they would be sorry and seriously ask God to save them.

35They would remember that God was like a huge rock on which they would be safe,

and that he, who was greater than any other spirit being, was the one who would buy them back.

36But they tried to trick God by lying to him.

37They were not loyal to him;

they did not keep the promises between God and them.

38But God acted mercifully toward his people.

He forgave them for having sinned

and did not get rid of them.

Many times he decided not to become angry with them

and did not furiously punish them.

39He remembered that they were only humans who die,

humans who disappear as quickly as a wind that blows by and then is gone.

40Many times our ancestors rebelled against God in the wilderness

and made him very sad.

41Many times they did evil things to find out if they could do those things without God punishing them.

They frequently caused the holy God whom the Israelites worship to become sad.

42They did not remember how powerfully he had acted,

and they {forgot} about the time when he rescued them from their enemies.

43They forgot about all the wonderfully powerful things he did near Zoan in Egypt.

44He turned the rivers of {Egypt} to blood,

so that the people could not drink their streams.

45He sent swarms of flies among the people of Egypt that bit them,

and he sent frogs that destroyed everything.

46He gave their crops to the locusts.

He let swarming locusts eat everything they had worked for.

47He killed their grape vines with hail,

and killed their sycamore trees with frost.

48He sent a terrible thunderstorm with hail to kill all their domestic animals.

49Because God was fiercely angry with the people of Egypt,

he caused them to be very distressed.

The disasters that struck them were like a group of angels that destroyed everything.

50He let himself be angry with them,

and he did not prevent them from dying;

he sent a serious illness that killed many of them.

51In that plague he caused all the firstborn sons of the people of Egypt to die.

52Then he led his people out of Egypt like a shepherd leads his sheep,

and he guided them like a flock in the desert.

53He led them safely, and they were not afraid,

but their enemies drowned in the sea.

54Later God used his power to bring the Israelite people to the land he had set apart,

to this hill country that he had taken for himself.

55He drove out the people groups as the Israelites advanced;

he distributed the land for each tribe to possess as their own,

and he settled the tribes of Israel in the homes of those peoples.

56But the Israelites defied the God who is greater than all other spirit beings and disobeyed him to see what he would do.

They did not obey what he had required them to do.

57They turned away and were unfaithful, just as their ancestors had been;

they were as unreliable as a bow that does not shoot straight.

58They made God angry by worshiping at shrines on the hilltops,

and they made him jealous by worshiping carved idols.

59When God saw what they were doing, he became very angry

and completely rejected the Israelite people.

60He stopped living at Shiloh,

the place where he had set up his tent and lived among people.

61He let enemies capture the sacred chest which showed how strong and glorious he was.

62He let enemies kill his people in battle,

because he was very angry with the people who belonged to him.

63Fire destroyed the young men,

and no one sang wedding songs for the young women.

64Enemies killed the priests in battle,

and the wives they left behind were not able to mourn for them.

65Then the Lord acted as though he had been sleeping and had woken up,

like a warrior who becomes alert after drinking wine.

66He drove his enemies back

and disgraced them forever.

67He did not choose the descendants of Joseph to be the leading tribe,

and he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.

68Instead he chose the tribe of Judah

whose capital is on Mount Zion, which he loves.

69He had them build his temple there, high up like the heavens,

and he established it to last as long as the earth.

70He chose David, who served him,

and took him away from tending the sheep.

71He took David from caring for the mother sheep and their lambs

and appointed him to lead the people of Israel, the people who belonged to God.

72David led them with a sincere and devoted heart,

and he guided them with great skill.

791A Levite from the clan of Asaph wrote this song.

God, foreign nations have invaded the land that belongs to you.

They have made your holy temple unfit for worship,

and they have made Jerusalem a pile of ruins.

2They left the dead bodies of the people who were faithful to you

for birds and wild animals to eat.

3They killed so many of your people that blood flowed like water all around Jerusalem.

There were not enough people still alive to bury them.

4The people of the nations around us insult us and laugh at us.

5Yahweh, please do not stay so very angry with us,

even though we sinned against you by worshiping other gods.

6The people of other nations do not honor you as God.

You should be angry with them and punish them,

7because they are the ones who have killed so many Israelites

and destroyed the land in which they lived.

8Please forgive the wicked things we did in the past.

Quickly be merciful to us,

because we are desperate.

9God, you are the one who saves us, so please help us!

Do that for the sake of your glorious reputation.

Forgive us for our sins so that people will honor you.

10Do not let the other nations say, “Their God was not able to help them!”

We want to see you punish those nations

for killing the people who serve you.

11Listen to the moans of your people who are now captives,

and use your great power to save those who are about to die.

12Lord, pay back our neighbors directly, seven times over,

for the insults they have spoken against you!

13Then we will always thank you.

You care for us, your people, the way a shepherd cares for his sheep.

Each generation of Israelites will tell their children how wonderful you are.

80This is a note for the worship leader: The tune is “Lilies.” A Levite from the clan of Asaph wrote this song as an appeal to Yahweh for help.

1God, you are like a shepherd to the people of Israel, so please listen to me.

You lead the descendants of Joseph the way a shepherd leads his flock.

You were present with us in your temple above the statues of the cherubim;

reveal your glory to us again!

2Just as you moved powerfully through the wilderness

right ahead of the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh,

come powerfully once again and save us.

3God, make us strong again.

Regard us favorably and save us.

4Yahweh, you are the God who commands the heavenly armies.

You have been angry with us, and so you have not been doing what we ask

when we pray to you. But please now answer our prayers.

5You have caused us to experience constant sorrow.

It feels as if you are punishing us three times as much as we deserve.

6The nations around us have become hostile to us,

and our enemies make fun of us.

7God, you who command the heavenly armies, make us strong again!

Regard us favorably and save us.

8You brought your people out of Egypt as if you were transplanting a vine from there.

You forced other nations to leave this land

and you allowed your people to settle in it,

as if you were planting that vine here.

9You removed the foreign nations, just as a farmer clears the ground for a new plant.

This enabled your people to become a strong nation that occupied the entire country.

10It was as if that vine became so large that its shadow darkened the mountains

and its branches were like great cedar trees.

11They controlled the territory from the Great Sea in the west

to the Euphrates River in the east.

12But now you have allowed enemies to invade and conquer us,

as if you had torn down a fence that protected that vine,

so that everyone who walked past it

could take whatever fruit they wanted from it.

13Those enemies have destroyed the country,

as if a wild boar had chewed up that vine

and wild animals ate what remained.

14God, commander of the heavenly armies, please help us again!

Look down from heaven and see what is happening to us!

Come and care for your people, who are like a vine that you planted

15and worked hard to make sure that it would grow well.

Your people are also like your own son whom you helped grow up to be strong.

16But now, because you do not regard them favorably,

their enemies are destroying them

as if someone had cut down that vine and burned it.

17Even though we are human, we are like your own son

whom you helped grow up to be strong,

so please help us with your power.

Restore us to a position of honor.

18Then we will not worship other gods again.

Give us new life, and we will worship only you.

19Yahweh, the God who commands the heavenly armies, make us strong again!

Regard us favorably and save us.

81This is a note for the worship leader: Accompany the song with a stringed instrument. A Levite from the clan of Asaph wrote this song.

1Sing joyfully to God, who makes us strong!

Shout with joy to the God whom we Israelites worship!

2Start playing music! Beat tambourines

and play lyres and pleasant-sounding harps.

3Blow a ram’s horn for the new-moon festival {each month}

and on the day of the full moon when the Festival of Shelters begins.

4Do this because the God whom we Israelite people worship

has commanded us to do it.

5God told our ancestors to observe these festivals

when he delivered them from slavery to the Egyptians,

a people whose language they did not understand.

6{Yahweh says,} “They had to hold on to heavy baskets full of bricks

as they carried them on their shoulders,

but I freed them from doing that.

7When they were suffering, they cried to me for help, and I rescued them.

{At Mount Sinai,} I spoke to them from dark clouds {and gave them laws}.

Then I saw whether they trusted me

when they complained at Meribah that they had no water. Selah

8Listen to me, my people, while I warn you!

I wish that you Israelites would pay attention to me!

9You must not make any idols that represent any of the gods that other nations worship.

You must never bow down to worship any of those gods.

10I am Yahweh your God.

I am the one who rescued you from slavery in Egypt.

If you depend on me,

I will provide everything that you need.

11However, my people would not listen to what I said;

the Israelites refused to obey me.

12So I let them do whatever they stubbornly wanted to do;

they did whatever they had decided to do.

13I wish that my people would obey me!

Yes, I wish that the Israelites would live the way I want them to!

14Then I would use my power against those who are opposing them,

and I would easily defeat their enemies.

15Then those who had rebelled against Yahweh

would bow down fearfully in front of him {to submit to his authority}.

But the Israelites would always prosper.

16I would make their fields produce abundant crops,

and they would even find all the honey they wanted

in wild bee hives in rocky places.”

821A Levite from the clan of Asaph wrote this song.

God has taken his place in the assembly that he governs;

he pronounces judgment on the rulers there.

2He says, “You must stop making unjust decisions

and favoring wicked people! Selah

3Defend poor people and orphans,

and decide cases fairly for people who have no one else to help them.

4Save defenseless people

from what wicked people want to do to them!

5You are foolish and ignorant!

You do not recognize the right things to do.

People are no longer living by the basic principles that make a society fair.

6I said, ‘You are spiritual beings;

you are all rulers over creation like the Most High.

7But you will die as humans do;

you will lose your power just as rulers do.’”

8God, you rule all the nations,

so take action and judge the people who live on the earth!

83A Levite from the clan of Asaph wrote this song.

1God, please take action to help us!

Please do that right away!

2I ask this because the enemies who hate you

are defiantly approaching us with a large army.

3They have plotted deviously together

to fight against us Israelites whom you cherish.

4They have said to each other, “Come on, let us destroy them so completely

that no one will ever remember that Israel existed!”

5They have all agreed to do this,

and they have made an alliance against you.

6This army includes soldiers who are Edomites, Ishmaelites,

Moabites, Hagrites,

7Gebalites, Ammonites, Amalekites,

Philistines, and Tyrians.

8The Assyrians are helping them.

They have given military support to the Moabites and Ammonites

{who are leading this army}. Selah

9Defeat them just as you helped Gideon defeat the Midianites,

and just as you helped Barak defeat Sisera{,

the commander of the Canaanite king} Jabin at the Kishon River!

10You destroyed those Canaanites at En Dor,

and their dead bodies rotted on the ground.

11Kill the leaders of this invading army

just as Gideon killed Oreb and Zeeb, the Midianite commanders.

Defeat all their rulers just as Gideon defeated Zebah and Zalmunna{, the Midianite rulers}.

12They too had said, “Let us take for ourselves

the land where God’s people dwell.”

13My God, please defeat them so that they run away

just as tumbleweed rolls away

and just as chaff flies away in the wind!

14Just as a forest fire burns down trees

and flames burn up the dry vegetation on hillsides,

15make them run away afraid

as if a great storm were driving them off.

16Completely disgrace them

so that they will acknowledge who you are, Yahweh.

17Embarrass them and make them always afraid.

Humiliate them until they die.

18Then they will know that you alone, Yahweh,

are the Most High God who rules over everyone in the world.

84This is a note for the worship leader: Accompany the song with a stringed instrument. One of the Korahites wrote this psalm.

1Yahweh, commander of the heavenly armies,

what a wonderful place your temple is!

2I long greatly, deep inside,

to be in the courtyards of Yahweh’s temple.

With my whole being I call out

to the only true God.

3Even little birds have built their nests near your temple,

and that is where they are taking care of their babies.

Yahweh, commander of the heavenly armies,

you are my king and my God.

4What a good life people have who live by your temple!

They worship you continually there. Selah

5What a good life people have whom you make strong

so that they can travel to your temple as they greatly desire!

6As they pass through the {arid} Valley of Baca, they dig wells to look for water,

and God sends autumn rains that fill those wells with life-giving water.

7They become stronger as they go,

and each of them arrives at the temple in Zion

where God is present.

8Yahweh, you are the God who commands the heavenly armies.

Please answer my prayer.

You are the God whom we Israelite people worship.

Please do what I ask. Selah

9God, please treat favorably the king you have appointed

to protect us.

10It is better be in your temple courtyards for a single day

than to be anywhere else for a thousand days.

I would rather stand at the entrance to the courtyard of my God’s temple

than stay in any of the {comfortable} homes where wicked people live.

11Yahweh our God makes us prosper, just as the sun makes crops grow,

and he protects us, just as a shield protects a warrior.

He is kind to us and honors us.

Yahweh gives people who live rightly

every good thing that they need.

12Yahweh, commander of the heavenly armies,

what a good life people have who trust you!

85This is a note for the worship leader: One of the Korahites wrote this psalm.

1Yahweh, you have brought back the Israelites who were exiles

so that this land can be prosperous again.

2You forgave all the sins that your people committed. Selah

3You completely ceased being angry with us

and stopped punishing us severely.

4God, you are the one who saves us.

Please stop being upset with us, and make us strong again.

5Please do not be continually angry with us

and with our children and grandchildren.

6Please help us so that we will thrive again.

Then we, your people, will be happy because of you.

7Yahweh, please treat us kindly as you promised

and rescue us from our troubles.

8I am going to listen to what Yahweh, my God, says to me.

I believe he will say that he will make his people thrive if they are loyal to him.

However, they must not do foolish things anymore.

9He is surely ready to help people who deeply respect him.

Then he will be gloriously present with us in our land.

10He will be faithfully kind and true to us.

He will do what is right and make us peaceful.

11People on earth will be faithful to God,

and God will act justly toward us from heaven.

12Yes, Yahweh will give us good things,

and our land will produce abundant harvests.

13As he considers what to do,

he will recognize what the right thing is to do,

and he will do that.

861A prayer of David.

Yahweh, I am poor and helpless,

so please do what I ask.

2I am loyal to you, so please protect me.

I worship you as my God and I trust you,

so please save me.

3I have been crying out to you continually, Lord,

so please be kind to me.

4I am asking you to help me, Lord, as someone who worships you,

so please make me happy by doing that.

5Do this, Lord, because you are good and you forgive people’s sins.

You very faithfully love everyone who prays to you.

6Yahweh, I am pleading with you in prayer to help me;

please do what I ask.

7Whenever I am in trouble, I call out to you,

because I know that you will help me.

8Lord, among all the gods that the nations worship,

there is none like you;

none of them has done the great things that you have done.

9Lord, the nations that you have made

will all come and bow down before you,

and they will praise you.

10They will do this because you are great and you do amazing things;

you are the only true God.

11Yahweh, please teach me how you want me to live

so that I will act properly, as you wish.

Give me a sincere desire to honor you.

12Lord my God, I will thank you wholeheartedly,

and I will praise you forever.

13I will do that because you have been so faithfully kind to me;

you have kept me from going way down into the place where dead people are.

14God, proud people are attacking me.

Yes, a group of cruel people is trying to kill me;

those people do not respect you.

15But you, Lord, are a God who is merciful and kind.

You do not quickly become angry,

and you are so faithfully kind and true to us.

16Consider my situation and be kind to me;

make me, your servant, strong.

Help me as if I had been born in your household.

17Do something to show that you are helping me

so that my enemies will see it, and it will embarrass them.

I believe that you, Yahweh, will help me

and comfort me.

871One of the Korahites wrote this song.

Yahweh established his city on mountains that he made holy.

2He loves the city of Zion

more than any other place where Israelites live.

3People say wonderful things about this city that belongs to God. Selah

4{Yahweh says,} “When I talk about people who know me,

this will include Egyptians and Babylonians.

Indeed, I will also say about Philistines and Tyrians and Cushites,

‘This person is a native of Zion.’”

5People will say about Zion, “Every one of those people is a native of that city,”

and God Most High will personally keep Zion strong.

6When Yahweh registers each of those people,

he will record, “This person is a native of Zion.” Selah

7Singers and musicians {will celebrate and say},

“Zion, everything that makes me flourish comes from you!”

88One of the Korahites wrote this song. This is a note for the worship leader: The tune is “Weakness of Afflicting.” Heman the Ezrahite wrote this song.

1Yahweh, you are the God who saves me.

I continually ask you to help me.

2Please pay attention to what I am saying as I pray to you.

3I ask this because I have experienced so many bad things that I cannot endure any more;

I am about to die and go to the place where dead people are.

4People expect me to die soon

because I have so little strength left.

5It is as if I belong among dead people

who are lying in their graves.

It seems that you are no longer aware of such people

and you stop taking care of them.

6It is as though you have thrown me down to the bottom of a deep, dark pit.

7I feel as if you are angry with me, and that is like an oppressive burden to me.

It is as if I am drowning in your anger. Selah

8Because my illness is so unpleasant and you have not healed me,

my friends stay away from me,

and I am not able to leave my home {to visit anyone}.

9My eyes are swollen because I cry so much.

Yahweh, throughout the day I call out to you for help

as I spread out my hands toward you {in prayer}.

10If I were to die, it would be too late for you to do a miracle to help me.

Dead people do not come back to life and praise you! Selah

11Dead bodies in graves do not talk about how you faithfully love us.

In the place where dead people go, no one talks about how faithful you are.

12No one in that dark place sees the amazing things you do;

no one in the place where no one remembers anything knows how good you are.

13But I {am still alive,} Yahweh, and I am calling out to you to help me.

It is as if my prayer is already there waiting for you when you get up in the morning.

14Yahweh, please do not reject me!

Please do not ignore me!

15Since I was young, I have been so ill that I have nearly died.

I have been sick for so long with this terrible illness that you permit

that I have no more hope.

16I feel as if you are very angry with me.

This terrible illness that you permit has destroyed the good life I could have had.

17The bad things that are happening to me are like floodwaters

that continually surround me and are about to drown me.

18Because you have allowed this illness,

my friends and family members stay away from me.

I can no longer see where they are.

89Ethan the Ezrahite wrote this song.

1Yahweh, I will always sing about how faithfully you love your people.

I will tell my children and grandchildren that you always do what you promise.

2I know that you will always love us faithfully.

Just as the sky is permanent, so you will always be faithful to us.

3Yahweh has said, “I made a covenant with the man I chose {to be the king of Israel}.

That was David, who loyally obeyed me.

I made a solemn promise to him.

4I said, ‘I will make sure that your descendants always rule as kings;

yes, I will make sure that your dynasty never ends.’” Selah

5Yahweh, the angels in heaven praise you for the wonderful things you do,

When those holy beings gather, they celebrate how you always do what you promise.

6No one in the sky is equal to Yahweh!

None of the heavenly beings is like Yahweh!

7When the holy beings gather together, they all respect God greatly.

Everyone around his throne honors him.

8Yahweh, you are the God who commands the heavenly armies.

No one is as mighty as you are!

You are always faithful in every way.

9You control the sea so that it does not become too violent;

when its waves become too large, you make them smaller.

10It was you who {put the world in order as you created it, as if you had} completely destroyed the sea monster Rahab;

You used your great power to defeat your enemies.

11Because you created the world and everything in it,

the sky belongs to you, and the earth also belongs to you.

12You created the full extent of the world around us.

You made everything to the north and to the south.

You made everything to the west, where Mount Tabor is,

and you made everything to the east, where Mount Hermon is.

People throughout the world joyfully praise you because of who you are.

13You are very powerful; yes, you are very strong,

and you use your power to do great things.

14As you rule, you always do what is right and just,

and you are always faithful and true in everything you do.

15Yahweh, the people who worship you with joyful shouts have truly good lives;

they enjoy your favor as they live.

16They rejoice continually because of who you are,

and they celebrate how you always do what is right.

17You make your people strong and glorious,

and because you were pleased with us, you gave us a good king.

18The one who protects us belongs to you, Yahweh;

yes, our king belongs to you, the holy God whom we Israelites worship.

19Long ago you spoke in a vision to the Israelites who were loyal to you.

You said, “I have given strength to a mighty warrior;

I have chosen a young man from among the people {to be the king}.

20I have found David, who loyally obeys me,

and I have had people anoint him with my holy oil {to appoint him as king}.

21I will always support him with my power;

indeed, I will make him strong.

22He will never have to pay tribute to a foreign ruler,

and no wicked enemy will defeat him.

23I will defeat his opponents when they fight against him;

yes, I will destroy his enemies.

24I will always be faithful to him and treat him kindly,

and I will make him a great ruler by my own authority.

25I will make his realm extend from the Great Sea to the Euphrates River.

26He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father;

you are my God, the one who protects me and saves me!’

27For my part, I will treat him as if he were my firstborn son,

and I will make him the greatest of all the kings on the earth.

28I will always love him faithfully,

and I will always honor my covenant with him.

29I will make sure that his descendants always rule as kings,

so that his dynasty lasts as long as the sky exists.

30However, if his descendants disobey my instructions

and do not live according to what I have decreed,

31if they treat my decrees as something they can ignore,

and if they do not obey my commands,

32then I will punish them to correct them

because of the wrong things they have done

as if I were hitting them with a rod.

33But I will not stop faithfully loving David;

I will not fail to do what I promised {for his descendants}.

34I will not break my covenant;

no, I will not take back what I said.

35I guaranteed my promise to David by my own holy character.

I said that I was not lying to him, and I meant it.

36I promised solemnly that his descendants would rule as kings forever.

Yes, I said that I would preserve his dynasty

just as I have made the sun to shine in the sky always.

37The moon appears in the sky dependably each month,

and in the same way, David’s dynasty will always endure.” Selah

38Yet now it appears that you have completely rejected

David’s descendant who was our king.

It appears that you have abandoned him.

39It seems as though you are disregarding the covenant you made with David.

You have allowed his dynasty to end, as if you had not promised to preserve it.

40You have allowed enemies to break down

all the walls that protected his city {of Jerusalem}.

It had strong defenses, but you have allowed those enemies to reduce them to ruins.

41Now people can come along and steal the things that remain in the city.

People in the surrounding countries are ridiculing us Israelites.

42You have allowed our enemies to become strong,

and they are celebrating how they have defeated us.

43Our armies have had to retreat from battles

because you have not helped us when we fight.

44Our kingdom is no longer glorious,

and we no longer have a king.

45We are no longer strong, as young men are.

This has disgraced us completely. Selah

46Yahweh, please help us, and do not delay! Do not keep neglecting us!

Do not keep being so angry with us!

47Please remember how short human lives are!

Please remember that you created us human beings as mere mortals!

48No one can live forever and never die;

everyone must go to the place where dead people are. Selah

49Lord, you promised David that you would faithfully love us Israelites, and you did.

You always keep your promises{, so please help us}!

50Lord, consider the insulting things that many people are saying

about us who loyally obey you!

I deeply feel the pain of all those insults.

51Yahweh, do something to stop your enemies

from mocking the actions of the king you appointed.

52May people always bless Yahweh!

Amen! Yes, amen!

Book Four

901A prayer by the prophet Moses

Lord, you have been like a home for us

throughout our generations.

2Before you created the mountains,

before you formed the earth and everything that is in it,

you were eternally God,

and you will be God forever.

3{When people die,} you cause their corpses to become soil again;

you change their corpses to become dirt like that from which {the first} man was created.

4When you consider time,

a thousand years are {as short as} one day that passes;

you consider that they are {as short as} a few hours in the night.

5You cause people to die suddenly;

they live {only a short time} as a dream lasts {only a short time}.

They are like grass in the morning that comes and goes.

6In the morning the grass sprouts and develops,

then in the evening it dries up and completely withers.

7Similarly, {because of the sins that we commit,} you become angry with us;

you terrify us and then you destroy us.

8It is as though you place our sins in front of you;

spreading out even our secret sins where you can see them.

9Because you are angry with us, you cause our lives to end;

the years that we live pass as quickly as a sigh passes.

10People live for {only} seventy years;

if they are strong, {some of them live} for eighty years.

But throughout our time we have much pain and troubles;

our lives soon end, and we die.

11No one has fully experienced the powerful things that you can do to people when you are angry with them,

No, people are not adequately afraid of how you can punish them because you are angry with them.

12So teach us to realize that we live for only a short time

in order that we may think wisely {about how we use our time}.

13Yahweh, how long will you be angry with us?

Pity us who serve you.

14Each morning, show us that it is enough for us if you love us faithfully as you have promised that you would do.

{Show us this} so that we may shout joyfully and be happy all during the years that we live.

15Cause us now to be happy for as many years as you afflicted us and we experienced bad things.

16Enable us who serve you to see the {great} things that you do,

and enable our descendants to see your glorious power {also}.

17Lord, our God, give us your blessings

and enable us to be successful;

yes, cause us to be successful in everything that we do!

911Those people whom God Most High protects

will be able to rest safely because Shaddai cares for them.

2I will declare to Yahweh,

“You protect me;

you are like a stronghold in which I am safe.

You are my God, the one in whom I trust.”

3He will rescue you from all hidden traps

and save you from deadly diseases.

4He will protect you as a bird does who covers her young under her wings.

You will be safe in his care.

As he faithfully does what he has promised, that is like a shield or strong wall that will protect you.

5You will not be afraid of things that happen during the night that could terrorize you

or of arrows {that your enemies will shoot at you} during the day.

6You will not be afraid of plagues that infect people in the night

or of other evil forces that kill people in the light of day.

7Even if a thousand people fall dead alongside you,

even if ten thousand people are dying around you,

the deadly thing will not harm you.

8All you need to do is watch

and you will see that God is punishing evil people!

9This is because you trust Yahweh, God Most High, who protects me,

to also protect you.

10Therefore, nothing evil will happen to you;

no plague will affect your family

11because Yahweh will command his angels

to protect you in whatever you are doing.

12They will even hold you up with their hands

so that you will not hurt your foot on a big stone.

13Yahweh will not allow your enemies to harm you;

even if strong lions and poisonous snakes attack you, you will defeat them!

14Yahweh says, “I will rescue those who love me;

I will protect them because they know me.

15When they call out to me, I will answer them.

I will help them when they are experiencing trouble;

I will rescue them and honor them.

16I will reward them by enabling them to live a long time,

and I will save them.”

92A psalm that is to be sung on Sabbath days.

1Yahweh, it is good for people to thank you

and to sing as they praise you, the Most High God.

2It is good to proclaim every morning that you faithfully love us

and to declare each night that everything that you say is true,

3{singing} {to the music} of {instruments that have} ten {strings}

and of lyres

{and} with {musicians playing} melodies on a harp.

4I do this, Yahweh, because what you have done makes me happy;

I sing joyfully because of the things that you do.

5Yahweh, the things that you do are great!

We cannot understand all that you think.

6These are things that foolish people do not know about,

things that dolts cannot understand:

7{They do not understand that} when the number of wicked people increases as blades of grass increase,

and {when it seems that} all those who do what is evil prosper,

Yahweh will destroy them forever.

8But Yahweh, you will rule forever.

9Just look at your enemies, Yahweh! Your enemies will certainly die.

You will destroy everyone who does wicked things.

10But you have caused me to be as strong as a wild ox;

you have caused me to be very joyful.

11I have observed my enemies as they oppose me,

and I have heard those evil men.

12But righteous {people} will prosper like {flourishing} palm trees,

they will grow like the {tall} cedar trees in Lebanon.

13They belong to Yahweh as securely as if they were trees with roots deep in his temple grounds.

They are as prosperous and healthy as if they were trees growing in our God’s courtyard.

14They are like trees that continue to bear fruit even when they are old.

They remain strong and full of energy, like trees that are full of sap and have abundant leaves.

15That shows that Yahweh is just;

he is like a huge rock behind which I am safe,

and he never does anything that is unjust.

931Yahweh, you are the King!

It is as though you are wearing royal robes that are majestic and powerful.

You are the one who put the world firmly in place, and no one can move it {out of its place}.

2You have been king since long ago;

you have always existed.

3Yahweh, the oceans rise up;

their waves {loudly} pound {against the shore};

{it is as though} they roar with a powerful voice.

4But you are more powerful than the roar of those oceans;

you are more powerful than the huge ocean waves!

You are Yahweh, the one who is great and powerful!

5Yahweh, your laws are completely reliable;

your temple is a beautifully holy place.

{That will be true} forever.

941Yahweh, you are a God who punishes {your enemies}.

So reveal {to them} who you are!

2You are the one who judges all people on the earth;

so take action and give the arrogant people what they deserve.

3Yahweh, wicked people just continue to be glad,

and that is not right!

4They abundantly speak arrogant things;

all people who do evil things say that they are great people.

5Yahweh, it is as though those wicked people were crushing us, your people;

they distress the people who belong to you alone.

6They murder widows, people from other countries,

and also young people who have no fathers.

7Those wicked people think to themselves, “Yahweh does not see {any of this};

the God whom the Israelites worship does not notice {the evil things that we do}.”

8You wicked people in Israel need to understand {what is right};

you have been stupid and foolish far too long!

9Since Yahweh is the one who made ears,

of course he can hear {what you say}!

Not only that, he created eyes;

so of course he can see {the evil things that you do}!

10He corrects {the leaders of} other nations,

so he will punish {you}, as well.

He has taught people everything that they know,

so of course he knows everything {that you do}.

11Yahweh knows everything that people are thinking;

he knows that what they think is evil and useless.

12Yahweh, how fortunate are those who allow you to discipline them,

{how fortunate are} those whom you teach from your laws!

13You relieve those people from bad things when they happen,

and someday you will punish the wicked people

and stop them from doing wicked things.

14This will happen because Yahweh will not reject his people;

he will not desert those who belong to him.

15Yes, someday judges will again decide matters fairly for people,

and all honest people will be pleased about that.

16{But when evil people oppressed me,}

I could find no one to defend me

against the wicked things that evil people did to me.

17If Yahweh had not helped me {at that time},

I would have gone quickly to the place where dead people say nothing.

18Just when I thought, “I am about to die,”

then, Yahweh, you saved me by being faithful and loving to me.

19Whenever I am very worried,

you comfort me and cause me to be happy.

20Corrupt rulers,

those who establish laws that allow people to do what is not right,

cannot be your friends.

21They plot together how to destroy righteous people,

and they declare that innocent people must die.

22But Yahweh has become like a fortress for me;

my God is like a huge rock that protects me.

23He will do to those wicked leaders the terrible things that they have done to others;

he will get rid of them because they do wicked things.

Yes, Yahweh our God will get rid of them.

951{Everyone,} come and let us sing to Yahweh;

let us shout joyfully to the one who protects us and saves us!

2Let us thank him as we come before him

and sing joyful psalms as we praise him.

3Because Yahweh is a great God.

He is a great king who rules over all other spirit beings.

4He controls the whole earth.

From the deepest places to the highest mountains, it belongs to him.

5The seas are his because he is the one who made them.

He also made the dry land.

6{Everyone,} come, let us worship him and bow down {before him}.

Let us kneel before Yahweh, who is the one who made us.

7{Do this} because he is our God,

and we are the people whom he protects,

like sheep that a shepherd takes care of.

I desire that today you may hear what Yahweh is saying to you.

8He says, “Do not become stubborn as your ancestors did at Meribah,

and as they did long ago at Massah in the wilderness.

9There your ancestors tested whether I would continue to be patient with them.

They wanted to see if they could do evil things and not have me punish them.

They did this even though they had seen me perform many miracles.

10For 40 years I was angry with those people.

I said about them, ‘Those people are unreliable.

They completely refuse to obey my commands.’

11So because I was very angry, I solemnly said about them,

‘They will never enter {the land of Canaan} where I would have allowed them to rest!’”

961Sing to Yahweh a new song!

All you people throughout the earth, sing to Yahweh!

2Sing to Yahweh and praise him!

Every day proclaim to others that he has saved us.

3Tell about how glorious he is to all people groups;

tell all peoples everywhere the marvelous things that he has done.

4Do this because Yahweh is great, and he deserves very much for people to praise him;

people should revere him more than all other gods.

5This is true because all of the gods that the other peoples worship are only idols,

but it is Yahweh who made the heavens!

6Yahweh is magnificent and majestic.

His holy house shows how strong and beautiful he is.

7You peoples in nations all over the earth,

Proclaim that Yahweh is the one who is truly glorious and strong!

8Praise Yahweh as he deserves for us to praise him;

bring an offering and come to his temple.

9Bow down before Yahweh because he is marvelously holy.

Everyone on earth should tremble because of who he is.

10Say to {all} the people groups, “Yahweh is the king!”

He put the world in its place, and nothing will ever be able to move it.

He judges {all} the peoples fairly.

11All the beings that are in the heavens should be glad, and all the people on the earth should rejoice.

The oceans and all the creatures that are in the oceans should roar {to praise Yahweh}.

12Let it be as though the fields and everything that is in them are rejoicing.

Then let it be as though all the trees in the forests are singing joyfully

13in front of Yahweh.

They should do this because he is coming to judge everyone on the earth, and this is certain.

He will judge all the people fairly according to what he knows is true.

971Yahweh is the king!

I want everyone on the earth to be glad

and I want all the people who live on the land in and around the oceans to {also} rejoice {about that}!

2There are very dark clouds all around him;

he always rules righteously and justly.

3He sends fire out in front of him,

and {that fire} burns all of his enemies.

4All around the world he sends his bright lightning;

people on the earth see {it}, and it causes them {to be afraid and} to tremble.

5The mountains melt like wax before Yahweh;

he is the Lord who rules over all of the earth.

6Everything that people can see in the heavens makes it clear that he is righteous,

and all the people groups see how glorious he is.

7Everyone who worships carved images should be ashamed;

all those who are proud of their useless false gods should be ashamed.

All those gods should bow down to worship Yahweh!

8The people of Jerusalem heard {Yahweh’s just decrees} and they were happy {about them};

people in the other cities in Judah also {heard and} rejoiced

because you judge {people} justly, Yahweh.

9Of course, Yahweh, you are the supreme king who rules over all the earth;

You are far more powerful than any other spirit beings.

10All you who love Yahweh, you must hate every evil thing {that people do}!

Yahweh protects those who are faithful to him;

he rescues them when wicked people try to harm them.

11He makes good things happen for righteous people

and he causes those who are honest to rejoice.

12You righteous people, let Yahweh make you glad,

and thank him, the one we all know to be holy!

981A psalm.

Sing to Yahweh a new song

because he has done wonderful things!

By being powerfully holy he has saved {his people}.

2Yahweh has shown openly that he saves {his people};

he has revealed to people all over the world that he always does what is right.

3He is always loyal to his covenant to be faithful to the Israelite people.

Even the people who live in the most remote places of the earth

will see that our God saves {his people}.

4All you people everywhere should shout joyfully to Yahweh;

praise him while you sing joyfully and make music!

5Play to Yahweh on a harp,

and sing along as you play.

6{Some of you should} blow trumpets and ram’s horns

{while others} shout joyfully to Yahweh, our king!

7The oceans and all {the creatures} that are in the oceans should roar {to praise Yahweh}.

The earth itself and everyone on it should do the same!

8It should seem as though the rivers were clapping their hands {to praise Yahweh}

and that the hills were singing together joyfully

9before Yahweh because he will come to judge everyone on the earth!

He will judge all the people in the world justly and fairly.

991Yahweh is the supreme king,

so all people should tremble {in front of him}!

He sits on his throne {in the temple} above the {statues of} the cherubim,

so the earth should quake!

2Yahweh is a mighty king in Jerusalem;

he is also the supreme ruler of all peoples.

3They should praise you, Yahweh, because you are great and awesome!

{They should say,} “He is holy!”

4Yahweh is a mighty king {because} he loves what is just.

You, Yahweh, have established what is fair.

You have acted justly and righteously for the people of Israel.

5Praise Yahweh, the God whom we worship!

Bow down to him at {the temple, which is} his footstool.

He is holy!

6Moses and Aaron were two of his priests;

Samuel also was someone who prayed to him.

Those {three} cried out to Yahweh {to help them},

and he helped them.

7He spoke to Moses and Aaron from the cloud that was {like} a {huge} pillar.

They obeyed {all} the laws and commandments that he gave to them.

8Yahweh, our God, you helped Moses, Aaron, and Samuel

{when they cried out to you to help them};

you are the God who forgave them {for the sins that they had committed},

even though you punished them for the things that they did that were wrong.

9Praise Yahweh, our God,

and worship him {at the temple} on his holy hill;

{it is right to do that} because Yahweh, our God, is holy!

1001A psalm of thanksgiving.

Everyone in the world should shout joyfully to Yahweh!

2We should worship Yahweh gladly!

We should come before him singing joyfully.

3We should acknowledge that Yahweh is God.

It is he who made us; we did not make ourselves.

We are the people who belong to him;

we are like sheep that he cares for as a shepherd does.

4Enter the gates {of his temple} thanking him;

enter the courtyard {of his temple} singing songs to praise him!

Thank him and praise him

5because Yahweh always does good things for us.

He will faithfully love us forever,

and he will always fulfill everything that he has promised.

1011David wrote this psalm.

Yahweh, I will praise you with singing!

I will sing that you are just and that you faithfully love us.

2I will examine how to live in the right way.

Yahweh, I need you to come and help me!

In everything that I do in my household, I will sincerely try to do what is right.

3I will not tempt myself to do any bad thing.

I hate any kind of sinful action;

I will not allow myself to think about doing those things.

4I will not be dishonest,

and I will not do anything evil.

5I will get rid of anyone who secretly slanders someone else.

I will not tolerate anyone who is proud or arrogant.

6I look for people in this land who are loyal to God

to help me rule {this nation}.

Only people who behave honestly may work for me.

7I will not allow anyone who deceives others {to work} in my palace,

and I will not allow anyone who tells lies to continue working for me.

8I will start every day by working to get rid of all of the wicked people in this land.

I will expel everyone who does what is evil from this city that belongs to Yahweh.

102Someone wrote this prayer when he was feeling discouraged and pleads for Yahweh to help him.

1Yahweh, please listen to me when I pray to you;

yes, please be attentive as I cry out to you!

2When distressing things happen to me, please do not ignore me!

Listen to me,

and answer me quickly as soon as I call out to you!

3Please hurry because my life is ending as quickly as smoke that disappears;

my body feels like a fire is burning it.

4I feel as though I am withering away like grass that the sun has scorched.

You see, I do not even remember to eat any food.

5I groan aloud so much

that my bones protrude under my skin.

6I am {lonely and despised} like an owl in the desert;

I have become like a screech owl in the ruins {of a town}.

7I lie awake {at night};

I am like a lonely bird sitting on a housetop.

8During the whole of each day my enemies insult me.

Those who make fun of me use my name when they curse people,

saying, “May you be like him.”

9-10It feels as though you have picked me up and thrown me away!

Because you are so very angry with me,

my food tastes like ashes

and my tears fall into my drink.

11My time to remain alive is {coming to an end}

like an evening shadow {that will soon be gone}.

I have withered as grass withers {in the hot sun}.

12But Yahweh, you will rule forever on your royal throne;

people of all times will talk about you.

13You yourself will now act and be merciful to the people of Jerusalem;

you will do this because it is now the time that you have set

for you to be kind to them.

14It is true that we who serve you love everything about Jerusalem.

15Yahweh, someday the people of all nations will revere you,

and all the kings on the earth will recognize how very glorious you are.

16You see, it is Yahweh who builds Jerusalem;

he will appear {there} gloriously.

17Yahweh listens to the prayers of {his} people who are homeless.

He does not ignore them

when they pray for him to help them.

18I will write these things down

so that people in future years will know {what he has done},

{in order that} people who are not born yet will praise Yahweh.

19{They will describe} how Yahweh looked down from his holy place in heaven

and saw {what was happening on} the earth.

20Yahweh looked down in order to help the groaning prisoners.

He looked down in order to set free the people whom their enemies were about to kill.

21As a result, people in Jerusalem will tell what Yahweh has done and praise him for it.

22This will happen when many peoples, including those from other kingdoms, gather to worship Yahweh together.

23{But now} he has caused me to become weak while I am still young;

{I think that} I will not remain alive very long.

24I say {to you}, “My God, do not let me die when I am only half-way through my lifetime!

In contrast, you live forever!

25You created the world long ago,

and you are the one who made the heavens.

26As for the earth and the heavens, they will disappear, but as for you, you will remain.

All of it will wear out as clothes wear out.

You will get rid of them as people get rid of old clothes,

and they will no longer exist.

27But you are Yahweh;

you will always be.

28The children of those who worship you will live safely {in Jerusalem},

and you will protect their descendants as they live in your presence.”

1031A psalm of David

I tell myself, “Praise Yahweh!”

To everything that is within me, I say, “Praise him because he is holy!”

2I tell myself, “Praise Yahweh,

and think about all of the kind things that he has done for me.”

3He forgives all of my sins,

and he heals me from all of my sicknesses.

4He rescues me from things that would kill me;

he blesses me by faithfully loving me and acting mercifully to me.

5He gives me plenty of good things {during my entire life}.

He makes me feel young {and strong} {as though I could fly high} like an eagle.

6It is Yahweh who does all this! He does what is right and judges justly for all those whom people have been treating unfairly.

7{Long ago} he revealed to Moses the way that he works;

he showed to {our ancestors,} the people of Israel, the {mighty} things that he can do.

8Yahweh acts mercifully and kindly;

he does not quickly get angry {when we sin};

he always faithfully loves us.

9He will not always rebuke us,

and he will not remain angry forever.

10He does not punish us for our sins nearly as much as we deserve.

11Indeed, as high as the sky is above the earth,

that is how much Yahweh faithfully loves everyone who reveres him.

12He has taken away the guilt for our sins

and put it as far from us as the east is from the west.

13Just as parents always love their children,

Yahweh always loves those who revere him.

14Indeed, he certainly knows how weak we are;

he remembers that he created us from dust.

15The lifetime of humans passes quickly, like that of grass.

We are like wild flowers that bloom for a short while,

16but then the wind blows over them and they disappear,

and no one knows they were ever there.

17But Yahweh will continue to faithfully love

all those who revere him, forever.

He will do what is right for generations of their children,

18that is, he will act that way to all those who obey the covenant that he made with them.

Yes, he will act that way to all those who obey what he has commanded us to do.

19Yahweh rules as king in heaven.

From there, he rules over everything.

20Praise Yahweh, you angels who belong to Yahweh,

You powerful warriors who do what he tells you to do,

you who obey what he commands!

21Praise Yahweh, all you armies of his angels,

you who serve him and do what he desires!

22All of the creatures that Yahweh has created should praise him!

They should praise him in every place where he rules, {which is everywhere}!

I say to myself, “Praise Yahweh!”

1041I tell myself, “Bless Yahweh!”

Yahweh, my God, you are magnificent!

You are more majestic than a king appearing in his beautiful robes!

2You use light {itself} as your robe;

you spread out {all of} heaven as your tent.

3The rain clouds are like the upper rooms of your palace.

The clouds are like chariots for you;

the wind is like a bird that takes you wherever you want to go.

4You send the winds like your messengers,

{and you control} fire as your servant.

5You created the world to be secure,

so that nothing can ever move it from its place.

6Later, you covered the earth with a flood, like covering someone with clothing;

water even covered the mountains.

7Then you commanded the water, and it receded;

yes, you spoke loudly,

and the water rushed away.

8Part of the water ascended {to its place} above the mountains,

and part of it descended the valleys {to its place in the earth}.

All of it went {back} to the place that you had determined for it.

9Then you set a boundary for the water that it cannot cross over.

That boundary ensures that the water will never again cover the whole earth.

10You make the springs that pour water into the stream beds;

their water flows between the mountains.

11Those streams provide water for all of his wild animals to drink.

The wild donkeys {drink the water and} are no longer thirsty.

12Birds make their nests beside the streams.

They sing among the branches {of the trees}.

13From the heavens you send rain down on the mountains.

As a result of doing this, you satisfy all of the creatures on earth {with many good things}.

14You make grass to grow for the cattle {to eat},

and you make plants to grow for people to cultivate,

so that they can make bread from {those plants that grew in} the soil.

15You give us {grapes that produce} wine that makes us cheerful;

you give us {olives that produce} oil to make our faces shine,

and you give us {grain to make} bread that makes us strong.

16Yahweh, you send plenty of rain to water

your cedar trees that you planted in Lebanon.

17Birds make their nests in those trees,

and storks make their nests in the cypress trees.

18High up in the mountains is where the wild goats live,

and hyraxes live in the rocky cliffs.

19Yahweh, you made the moon to indicate the times for our festivals,

and you made the sun to always go down at the right time.

20You bring darkness, and it becomes night

when all of your forest animals prowl around.

21The young lions roar then as they seek their prey,

looking for the food that you have provided for them.

22At dawn, they go back to their dens and lie down.

23{That is when} people go to their work;

and they do their work until it is evening.

24Yahweh, you have made so many different kinds of things!

You were very wise as you made them all.

The earth is full of the creatures that you made.

25We see the ocean, which is vastly wide between its shores!

It is full of many kinds of wriggling creatures,

so many that no one can count them.

There are creatures ranging from small to big.

26Ships sail on the sea.

Leviathan is also there, the creature that you made to splash around in it.

27All of these creatures depend on you

to give them the food that they need at the right time.

28When you give them the food that they need,

then they gather it.

You give it to them freely.

They eat until they are full of your good things.

29But when you refuse to give food to them,

they panic.

When you cause them to stop breathing, they die;

their bodies decay and become part of the soil.

30When you cause {newborn} creatures to begin to breathe,

they begin to live.

You give new life to {all the living creatures on} the earth.

31I want all of Yahweh’s creatures to glorify him forever!

I want Yahweh to rejoice about everything that he has created!

32He makes the earth shake just by looking at it!

When he {merely} touches the mountains they start to burn!

33I will sing to Yahweh as long as I live.

I will praise my God until the day that I die.

34May Yahweh be pleased by all {these things} that I have thought about him.

As for me, I will rejoice because I know him.

35However, I want sinners to disappear from the earth,

and for there to be no more wicked people!

I tell myself, “Bless Yahweh!”

Praise Yahweh!

1051Give thanks to Yahweh; worship him and pray to him.

Tell everyone in the world what he has done!

2Sing to him; praise him with instruments;

tell others about all of his wonderful miracles!

3Be proud of Yahweh, who is the holy one.

You people who worship Yahweh, rejoice!

4Ask Yahweh to help you and to make you strong;

always try to be with him!

5-6You people who are descendants of Yahweh’s servant Abraham,

you descendants of Jacob, the people whom Yahweh has chosen,

think about all of the wonderful things that he has done;

he performed miracles, and he proclaimed {righteous} judgments.

7He is Yahweh, the God whom we worship.

He rules over people throughout the earth.

8He never forgets the covenant that he made;

that is, he will maintain what he promised for countless generations.

9That is the covenant that he made with Abraham,

and that he repeated with an oath to Isaac.

10Then he repeated it as a reliable covenant with Jacob,

that is, with Israel, and it was a covenant that would last forever.

11What Yahweh said to them was, “I will give to you the region of Canaan;

that will be what you {and your descendants} inherit from me.”

12Yahweh said that to the people of Israel when there were only a few of them.

They were just a tiny group of people who were living in that land like strangers.

13They continually wandered from one place to another,

living in various kingdoms and people groups.

14But Yahweh did not allow others to oppress the people of Israel.

On their behalf, he warned kings {by saying to them},

15“Do not harm the people whom I have chosen!

Do nothing bad to my prophets!”

16Yahweh created a famine in the land of Canaan,

that is, all of the people there had no food to eat.

17{So the people of Israel went to Egypt, but} before they went, Yahweh had already sent someone {there}.

{He sent} Joseph, whom his brothers had sold to be a slave.

18{Later, while Joseph was in prison in Egypt,}

the guards trapped his feet in shackles,

and they put an iron collar around his neck.

19{Joseph was in prison} until the time

when the events that he had predicted happened.

Yahweh spoke to him {during this time} and taught Joseph to trust him more.

20The king of Egypt, the ruler of the people, commanded his servants

who went to the prison and set Joseph free.

21Then the king chose Joseph as the one to decide about everything in the king’s household,

that is, to be in charge of everything that the king possessed.

22The king permitted Joseph to command the king’s officials

to do anything that Joseph wanted them to do,

and Joseph taught the king’s advisors how to be wise.

23{Later, Joseph’s father} Jacob, also called Israel, arrived in Egypt.

He lived like a foreigner in that land that belonged to the descendants of Ham.

24Over the years, Yahweh caused the descendants of Jacob to become very numerous.

As a result, the enemies of the people of Israel considered that the people of Israel were becoming too strong.

25So Yahweh caused the rulers of Egypt to hate Yahweh’s people,

and they devised ways to oppress his people.

26But then Yahweh sent his servant Moses

along with {Moses’ older brother} Aaron, whom Yahweh had also chosen {to serve him}.

27Those two performed Yahweh’s amazing miracles among the people of Egypt

in that land where the descendants of Ham lived.

28Yahweh sent darkness so that the land of Egypt was dark,

and Moses and Aaron obeyed what Yahweh told them to do.

29Yahweh caused all of the water in Egypt to become blood,

which caused all of their fish to die.

30Then he caused the land to become full of frogs;

the royal family even had frogs in their bedrooms!

31Then Yahweh commanded {that flies come}, and {swarms of} flies descended {on the people of Egypt}.

Gnats also swarmed across the whole country.

32Yahweh sent them hail instead of rain,

and he started fires that burned throughout their land.

33The hail ruined their grapevines, fig trees,

and destroyed all the other trees in their country.

34Yahweh commanded locusts to come, and hordes of them came of different kinds;

so many came that no one could count them.

35The locusts ate every green plant in their land,

including all of the crops.

36Then Yahweh killed every firstborn son, the one who first demonstrated that the man was virile, {in every house} of the people of Egypt.

37Then Yahweh brought the Israelite people out {from Egypt}.

They were carrying {many heavy things made of} silver and gold {that the people of Egypt had given to them},

and yet none of his people stumbled as they went.

38The people of Egypt were glad when the Israelite people left

because the people of Egypt had become very afraid of the Israelites.

39{Then} Yahweh spread a cloud to cover the Israelites;

and at night {it became} a {big} fire {in the sky} to give them light.

40{Then} the Israelites asked {for meat to eat},

and Yahweh sent {flocks of} quail to them,

and he gave them plenty of {manna} bread from the sky {each morning}.

41{One day} Yahweh split open a rock, and water poured out {from the opening for the people to drink}.

The water became a river flowing in the desert.

42Yahweh did those things because he continually thought about the sacred promise that he had given to his servant, Abraham.

43So his people were joyful as Yahweh brought them out {from Egypt}.

These people whom he had chosen were shouting joyfully as they went.

44Then Yahweh gave to the people of Israel the land that had belonged to the people groups {that lived there in Canaan}.

So the Israelites took over the fields that those peoples had planted.

45Yahweh did all these things

so that his people would do all the things that he had commanded them to do.

Praise Yahweh!

1061Praise Yahweh!

Thank Yahweh because he is good

and because he faithfully loves us forever!

2Because Yahweh has done so many great things,

no one can tell all the great things that Yahweh has done,

and no one can praise him enough.

3How happy are those who act fairly,

always doing what is right!

4Yahweh, be kind to me when you help your people!

Include me when you rescue them!

5Allow me to see the people whom you have chosen become prosperous again.

Allow me to be happy with the people of your nation when they become happy again.

Allow me to praise you along with all those others who belong to you.

6We have sinned just as our ancestors did;

we have done all kinds of evil.

7Our ancestors did not appreciate the wonderful things that you did when they were in Egypt.

They forgot about the many times that you showed that you faithfully loved them.

Instead, when they were at the Sea of Reeds,

they rebelled against you.

8Even so, he rescued them because of who he is,

so that he could show that he is very powerful.

9He rebuked the Sea of Reeds and it became dry.

Then he led our ancestors through it and even the deepest parts were as dry as a desert.

10In that way he rescued them from their hateful enemies.

11Then their enemies drowned under the water {of the Sea of Reeds};

not one of them remained {alive}.

12When that happened, our ancestors believed that Yahweh had truly done for them what he had promised to do,

and they sang to praise him.

13But they soon forgot what he had done for them;

they did things without waiting to find out what Yahweh wanted them to do.

14They intensely wanted certain foods in the wilderness.

They did evil things there that challenged God to punish them.

15So he gave them what they requested,

but then he made many of them sick so that they died.

16Later when some of the men in the camp became resentful of Moses

and of {his older brother} Aaron, who was dedicated to serve Yahweh {by being a priest},

17the ground opened up and Dathan fell into it

and it also buried Abiram and his people.

18God made a fire start among their people

that burned up all the wicked people {who agreed with them}.

19Then the Israelite leaders made a metal statue of a calf at Mount Horeb

and they worshiped it.

20So instead of worshiping their glorious God,

they worshiped a statue of a bull that eats grass!

21They ignored God, who had rescued them by the great miracles that he performed in Egypt.

22They stopped thinking about the wonderful things that he did for them in Egypt

and the amazing things that he did for them at the Sea of Reeds.

23Because of that, God said that he would get rid of the Israelites;

but Moses, whom God had chosen {to serve him},

confronted God to persuade him not to destroy {them}.

24Then our ancestors refused to enter the beautiful land {of Canaan}

because they did not believe that God would fulfill his promise {that he would enable them to take the land from the people who were living there}.

25Instead, they stayed in their tents and complained.

They did not obey what Yahweh said that they should do.

26So Yahweh solemnly swore to them

that he would cause them to die there in the wilderness,

27and that he would spread their descendants among the people of other nations,

yes, that he would disperse them in those {foreign} lands.

28Later the Israelite people began worshiping the statue of Baal at Mount Peor,

and they ate meat that had been sacrificed to dead {ancestors}.

29When the people did these things, that made Yahweh angry,

so {again} he caused many of them to get a terrible disease.

30But Phinehas stood up and punished {the ones who had sinned},

and as a result the plague ended.

31Because of what Phinehas did, people have considered him to be a righteous man,

and people in all future years will continue to remember him as righteous.

32Then at Meribah, where the water came out {of the rock}, our ancestors caused Yahweh to become angry {again},

and Moses suffered because of what they did.

33Moses suffered because they caused him to become very angry,

and he said things that were foolish.

34Our ancestors did not destroy the other people groups

as Yahweh had told them to do.

35Instead, the men married women from those people groups,

and they started doing the {evil} things that those people did.

36Our ancestors worshiped the idols of those people,

and that is how they began to reject Yahweh and his ways.

37{Many of} the Israelites sacrificed their sons and daughters to the demons {that those idols represented}.

38They killed their own sons and daughters, who had done nothing wrong,

by offering them as sacrifices to the idols of the Canaanites.

Because of those murders, the land of Canaan became defiled.

39Because of what they did they made it impossible for Yahweh to accept them.

By worshiping idols instead of faithfully worshiping only Yahweh,

they became like prostitutes.

40So Yahweh became very angry with his people;

he was completely disgusted with them.

41As a result, he allowed other people groups to conquer our ancestors,

so that those who hated our ancestors were their rulers.

42Their enemies oppressed our ancestors

and completely controlled them.

43Many times Yahweh saved his people,

but they insisted on rebelling against him,

and they destroyed themselves by being more and more sinful.

44However, Yahweh saw everything that was distressing to them,

and he listened to them when they cried out to him for help.

45He thought about the covenant that he had made with them,

and because he was completely committed to faithfully loving them,

he decided that he would stop {punishing them}.

46He caused all those who had captured the Israelites to feel sorry for them.

47Yahweh our God, rescue us

and bring us back to Israel from among those other people groups

so that we may thank you who are holy

and joyfully praise you!

48Praise Yahweh, the God whom we Israelites worship!

Praise him now and forever!

Let all the people say, “We agree!

Praise Yahweh!”

Book Five

1071Thank Yahweh because he is good

and because he faithfully loves us forever!

2Those whom Yahweh has saved should tell others

that he has rescued them from their enemies.

3He has gathered them together from {many foreign} lands;

he has gathered them from the east and the west,

from the north and from the {southern} sea.

4Some of those who returned from those countries wandered in the trackless desert;

they could find no town to live in.

5They were hungry and thirsty,

and they became weak and discouraged.

6Then because they were distressed, they called out to Yahweh,

and he rescued them from what was distressing them.

7He led them along a straight road where they walked {safely}

to cities where they could live.

8They should praise Yahweh for how he has loved them faithfully

and for the wonderful things that he does for all people!

9They should thank him because he satisfies people who are thirsty,

and he gives hungry people plenty of good food to eat.

10Some of them sat in deep darkness;

they were prisoners, suffering in iron {chains fastened to their hands and feet}.

11They were suffering in prison because they had rebelled against God;

they actually rejected the instructions that the Most High God gave to them.

12God made them experience difficult things so that they would no longer be proud.

When bad things happened to them, there was no one who would help them.

13Then because they were so distressed, they called out to Yahweh,

and he rescued them from what was distressing them.

14He broke the chains that were on their hands and feet

and brought them out of those very dark prisons.

15-16Yahweh broke down the bronze gates

and he cut through the iron bars of their prison.

Therefore they should praise Yahweh for how he has loved them faithfully

and for the wonderful things that he does for all people!

17Some of them foolishly rebelled {against God},

and they suffered because of their sins.

18They did not want to eat any food,

and they almost died.

19Then because they were so distressed, they called out to Yahweh,

and he rescued them from what was distressing them.

20Then Yahweh healed them by speaking a message of healing;

in this way he saved them from dying.

21They should praise Yahweh for how he has loved them faithfully

and for the wonderful things that he does for all people!

22They should give offerings to him to show that they are thankful,

and they should tell about the miracles that he has performed by singing joyfully!

23Some of them sailed in ships;

they bought and sold things far away across the sea.

24These people saw the creatures that Yahweh created;

they saw the amazing things that he had made {as they traveled} across the very deep seas.

25Then he commanded the winds to become strong.

They became a storm and stirred up very high waves.

26The ships in which they were sailing went up on the high waves,

then they went down into the troughs between the waves.

This dangerous action terrified the sailors.

27They stumbled about and staggered as drunken men do,

and everything that they tried to do was useless.

28Then because they were distressed, they called out to Yahweh,

and he rescued them from what was distressing them.

29He calmed the storm

and he stilled the waves.

30Then they were very glad that the storm had become calm

and Yahweh brought them {safely} into the harbor where they had wanted to go.

31They should praise Yahweh for how he has loved them faithfully

and for the wonderful things that he does for all people!

32They should praise him among the Israelite people when they have gathered together,

and they should praise him in front of the leaders of the community.

33Yahweh causes rivers to become dry

so that the land becomes barren,

and he makes springs of water to become dusty ground.

34Yahweh causes land that normally produces a lot of crops to become salty wastelands.

He does that because the people who live there are very wicked.

35But Yahweh also creates pools of water in deserts,

that is, he causes springs to flow where the ground had been dry.

36Then he brings people who are hungry into that land,

to live there and to build cities there.

37Then they sow {some of} the fields with seeds

and {in other fields} they plant grapevines

and it all produces {a large amount of} crops.

38He blesses those people so that they have very many children,

and so that their herds of cattle become very large.

39Then the people become fewer because the leaders oppress them

and cause them to become distressed and to suffer.

40Then Yahweh shows that he despises the leaders {who oppress them},

and makes those leaders wander in a wilderness where there are no roads.

41But he rescues poor people from those who oppress them

and causes {their} families to increase in number as flocks of sheep do.

42People who live rightly see {Yahweh do these things}, and they rejoice;

wicked people {know about these things, too,}

{but they} have nothing to say in reply.

43Those who are wise should think carefully about these things;

they should thoughtfully consider all the things that Yahweh has done to show that he faithfully loves them.

108David wrote this psalm. It is a song.

1God, I am completely committed to {worshiping} you.

I will sing and I will play music {to praise you}.

I will do this with my whole being!

2I will arise before the sun rises,

and I will praise you while I play my lyre and my harp.

3Yahweh, I will thank you as foreign people listen;

yes, I will play music to praise you before other people groups.

4I will do that because the way that you faithfully love us is so great that it is like the distance between the heavens and the earth,

and the way that you faithfully keep your promises is so great that it is like the distance between the earth and the clouds.

5God, show {all creatures} that you are greater than anything in the heavens!

Show how wonderful you are {to people} all over the earth!

6Please answer our prayers and rescue us from our enemies by your power

so that we, the people whom you love, may be safe.

7Because God is holy, he answered, “I will joyfully divide the area of Shechem {for you}

and I will distribute {among my people} the land in the Valley of Succoth.

8{The region of} Gilead is mine;

{the area of the tribe of} Manasseh is mine;

{the tribe of} Ephraim is {like} my war helmet;

and {the tribe of} Judah is {like} my royal scepter.

9The people of Moab serve me as those who wash my feet;

the people of Edom also belong to me as menial servants;

I have defeated the people of Philistia.”

10I wait for God to lead us to {fight against the people of} Edom;

I wait for God to lead my army to {attack} their {capital} city that has strong walls around it.

11God, we hope that you have not abandoned us;

{we are distressed that} you have not been going with us when our army marches out {to fight our enemies}.

12Please help us when we fight against our enemies

because the help that humans can give {to us} is worthless.

13{But} with you {helping us}, we will win;

you are the one who will {enable us to} defeat our enemies.

1091A note to the worship leader: David wrote this psalm.

God, you are the one whom I praise,

so please answer my prayer

2because evil and dishonest people slander me

and tell lies about me.

3On all sides of me they say things that show that they hate me,

and they harm me for no reason.

4I show them that I love them

but instead of being kind to me, they say that I have done evil things.

So I pray to God {about it}.

5I do good things for them and they respond by doing evil things to me.

I love them and they respond by hating me.

6So appoint a wicked judge who will judge my enemy,

and bring one {of his enemies} who will stand next to him and accuse him {of doing evil things}.

7Let that judge declare that my enemy is guilty,

and may you judge that even his prayer {to you} is a sin.

8Then cause him to die soon;

let people honor someone else rather than him.

9Cause his children not to have a father anymore,

and cause his wife to become a widow.

10Cause his children to wander far from their ruined homes,

begging and looking for food.

11Let the people to whom he owed money seize all of his property;

let strangers take away everything that he worked to acquire.

12Make sure that no one is faithfully loving to him;

make sure that no one pities his fatherless children.

13Cause all his children to die,

so that there will not be another generation to continue his name.

14Yahweh, consider all of the evil things that his ancestors did

and do not forgive the sins that his mother committed.

15Please think about their sins always,

but cause everyone on earth to completely forget who they were.

16I pray these things because that man{, my enemy,} was never faithful toward anyone as your covenant says we must be;

instead, he persecuted poor, needy, and grieving people

until they were dead.

17He enjoyed cursing {other people},

so now people are cursing him.

He did not want to bless {other people},

so there will be no one who blesses him.

18Cursing {other people} is as natural for him as wearing clothes.

Cursing {other people} is so much a part of who he is that it is like the water that he drinks;

it is so much a part of who he is that it is like olive oil that has soaked into his bones.

19Cause those terrible curses to continually afflict him like clothes that cling to him

and like the belt that he wears every day.

20Yahweh, let this {curse} be the way that you punish all of those who accuse me {of doing bad things}

and all of those who say evil things about me.

21But you, Yahweh, my God, please be kind to me

because of who you are!

Rescue me {from my enemies}

because you faithfully love me as you promised.

22I ask you to do this because I am destitute

and I am intensely sorrowful.

23I think that my time to remain alive will end

as quickly as an evening shadow disappears.

I will be gone as quickly as a man shakes off a locust.

24My knees are weak because I have fasted very often,

and my body has become very thin; any fat is gone.

25The people who accuse me despise me;

when they see me, they insult me by shaking their heads at me.

26Yahweh, the God whom I worship, please help me!

Rescue me because you faithfully love me!

27Then my enemies will know

that you, Yahweh, are the one who has done it!

28As for them, they will curse {me}, but you, in contrast, will bless {me}.

When they persecute {me}, {the result will be that} you make them ashamed,

but you cause {me,} your servant, to be glad!

29Please let everyone see that those who accuse me are completely disgraceful!

Yes, cause other people to see that they are shameful as easily as someone sees the clothes that they wear!

30I will thank Yahweh very much out loud;

I will praise him when I am among the crowd of people who are worshiping him.

31I will do that because he defends poor people {like me}

in order to save {us} from those who would condemn us to die.

1101David wrote this psalm.

Yahweh said to my lord,

“Sit {here,} close to me, in the place of highest honor

until I completely defeat your enemies

and make them {like} a stool for your feet!”

2Yahweh will extend your powerful kingdom

from Zion {to other lands};

you are to rule over all your enemies.

3When you lead your army into battle,

your people will offer themselves freely {to join your army}.

The way that they are completely devoted to you will be beautiful.

You will be as strong as you were as a young man every day,

as surely as the dew comes that waters the earth every morning.

4Yahweh has made a solemn promise

and he will never change his mind {about it};

{he said to the king,} “You are an eternal priest

in the way that Melchizedek was a priest.”

5The Lord fights for you;

when he becomes angry, he defeats many kings.

6He will punish the people of many nations;

he will cause many {enemy soldiers} to fall dead, with crushed heads,

all over a broad land.

7But the king will drink from the stream alongside the road;

because of {all} this, he will be victorious.

1111Praise Yahweh!

I will thank Yahweh with my entire inner being

every time that those who do what is right meet together.

2The things that Yahweh does are wonderful!

All those who delight in those things study them carefully.

3The things that he does show how wonderful and glorious he is,

and that he is eternally righteous.

4He has done wonderful things that people will always remember;

Yahweh always acts kindly and mercifully.

5He provides food for those who profoundly respect him;

he never forgets the covenant that he made {with our ancestors}.

6By enabling his people to capture the lands that had belonged to other people groups,

he showed to {us,} his people, that he is very powerful.

7He does everything fairly and in the right way,

and we can trust that everything that he tells us to do is for our good.

8We must obey his instructions forever;

he created them in order to do what is best for us, and they are completely right.

9He rescued us, his people, {from being slaves in Egypt,}

and he made a covenant {with us} that will last forever.

He is holy and awesome!

10Having a profound respect for Yahweh is the way to become wise.

All those who obey his instructions will come to understand why it is good to do them.

We should praise him forever!

1121Praise Yahweh!

How fortunate are those who have a profound respect for Yahweh;

How fortunate are those who happily obey his commands!

2Their descendants will prosper in their land;

Yahweh will bless all who do what is right.

3Their families will be wealthy,

and their righteous deeds will endure forever.

4For those who honor God, it is as if a light were shining on them in the darkness,

on those who are kind, merciful, and righteous.

5It is good to be kind to others and to generously lend money to them.

A person like that does everything honestly.

6Righteous people do this because they know that bad things will never overwhelm them;

other people will always {joyfully} remember them.

7Righteous people are not afraid when they receive bad news;

they confidently trust in Yahweh.

8They are confident and not afraid

because they know that they will see God defeat their enemies.

9They give things generously to poor people;

their kind deeds will endure forever;

people will greatly honor them.

10Wicked people will see {those things} and become angry;

they will gnash their teeth {angrily},

then people will stop hearing from them and they will die.

The wicked things that they want to do will never happen.

1131Praise Yahweh!

You people who serve Yahweh, praise him!

Praise Yahweh for who he is!

2Everyone should praise Yahweh for who he is, both now and forevermore!

3From the people who live in the far east to the people who live in the far west,

everyone should praise Yahweh for who he is!

4Yahweh rules over all the nations,

he is more glorious than anything under the heavens.

5There is no one who is like Yahweh, the God whom we worship,

who sits on his throne in the highest heaven

6and who stoops down to look at the sky and at the earth.

7He rescues very poor people from the very poor way that they live

8and causes people to honor them by making them

leaders among those who rule his people.

9He also enables women who have had no children to live in their houses

as happy mothers with children.

Praise Yahweh!

1141When the Israelite people left Egypt,

yes, when the descendants of Jacob left those people who spoke a foreign language,

2the land of Judah became the place where people worshiped God;

and the land of Israel became the area that he ruled over.

3{When they came to} the Sea {of Reeds},

{it was as though the water} saw {them} and ran away!

{When they came to} the Jordan River,

{the water in the river} stopped flowing {so that the Israelites could cross it}.

4{When Mount Sinai shook,}

{it was as though} the mountains skipped like rams

and the hills jumped like lambs.

5{If someone asks,} “What happened at the Sea {of Reeds} that made it seem to run away?

What happened that caused {the water in} the Jordan {River} to stop flowing?

6{What happened at Mount Sinai that made the} mountains {seem to} skip like rams

and made the hills {seem to} jump like lambs?”

7{I would reply,} “The earth trembles because the Lord is there!

Everyone should tremble because of the presence of the God whom Jacob worshiped!”

8He is the one who caused pools of water to flow from a rock {for the Israelite people to drink};

indeed, he caused a spring to flow from a solid rock!

115A psalm written by David

1Yahweh, {we ask} not so people will honor us, no, not that at all;

rather, we want people to honor you alone

because of seeing how you faithfully love us and by seeing you do what you have promised to do.

2It is not right that other people groups should say {about us},

“We do not see their God doing anything {to help them}.”

3Well, the God whom we worship lives in heaven;

he does whatever he wants!

4But the idols of those people groups are only silver and gold {statues};

humans made them.

5Their idols have mouths, but they cannot say anything;

they have eyes, but they cannot see anything.

6They have ears, but they cannot hear anything;

they have noses, but they cannot smell anything.

7They have hands, but they cannot feel anything;

they have feet, but they cannot walk;

they cannot even make any sounds in their throats!

8The people who make those idols are {as powerless} as those idols,

Everyone who trusts in those idols {to do anything} is also {powerless}!

9You, my fellow Israelite people, trust in Yahweh!

He is the one who helps you and protects you like a shield.

10You {priests, the} descendants of Aaron, trust in Yahweh!

He is the one who helps you and protects you like a shield.

11All you who deeply respect Yahweh, trust in Yahweh!

He is the one who helps you and protects you like a shield.

12Yahweh has not forgotten us; he will bless {us}.

he will bless us Israelite people!

He will bless the priests!

13Yahweh will bless all those who deeply respect him—

those who are less important as well as the important people, that is, each one!

14I pray that Yahweh may give {many children}

{both} to you, {my fellow Israelite people,} and to your children {after you}.

15I pray that Yahweh, the one who made heaven and the earth, may bless all of you!

16The highest heavens belong to Yahweh,

but he gave everything that is on the earth to humankind.

17People who are dead are not able to praise Yahweh;

when they go to the place where dead people are,

they become silent and cannot praise him.

18But we who are alive will praise Yahweh,

both now and forevermore.

Praise Yahweh!

1161I love Yahweh

because he hears me when I cry out for him to help me.

2I love him because he listens to me,

so I will call out to him all during my life.

3Everything around me caused me to think that I was about to die;

it seemed to me that I was already dying.

I was distressed and very sad.

4But then I called out to Yahweh.

I said, “Yahweh, I plead with you to save me!”

5Yahweh is kind and does what is right.

He is the God whom we worship, and he loves us.

6Yahweh protects those who are helpless;

when I was experiencing bad things, he saved me.

7I encourage myself to relax once again

because Yahweh has restored me.

8Indeed, Yahweh has saved me from dying,

he has delivered me from being sorrowful,

and he has kept me from making bad mistakes.

9So while I am still alive,

I will live as Yahweh directs me.

10I continued to trust {in Yahweh},

even when I said, “As for me, I am greatly suffering.”

11For my part, I was so distressed that I thought,

“I cannot trust anyone.”

12I can never repay Yahweh

for all the good things that he has done for me.

13{But I can do this:} I will present a cup {of wine as a thank offering}

as I call out to thank him for saving me.

14Also, as the people who belong to Yahweh watch,

I will give to him the offerings that I solemnly promised to give to him.

15Yahweh is very grieved when one of his people dies.

16Certainly I am one of Yahweh’s people;

I am his servant; I have belonged to him since my mother bore me.

So he saved me from what was going to kill me.

17So I will offer to him a sacrifice to thank him,

and I will pray to Yahweh.

18-19As the people who belong to Yahweh watch,

in the courtyard outside his temple,

in the middle of Jerusalem,

I will give to him the offerings that I solemnly promised to give to him.

Praise Yahweh!

1171You people of all nations, praise Yahweh!

All you people groups, greatly praise him!

2Do this, because he is fully committed to love us faithfully, just as he promised to do,

and we can trust that Yahweh will be faithful forever.

Praise Yahweh!

1181Thank Yahweh because he is good

and because he faithfully loves us forever!

2All Israelite people should repeatedly shout,

“because he faithfully loves us forever!”

3You {priests} who are descendants of Aaron should repeatedly shout,

“because he faithfully loves us forever!”

4All you who deeply revere Yahweh should repeatedly shout,

“because he faithfully loves us forever!”

5When I was distressed, I called out to Yahweh,

and Yahweh answered me and set me free.

6Yahweh is on my side,

so I will not be afraid of anything.

I know that humans cannot really harm me!

7Yes, Yahweh is on my side. He helps me defeat my enemies,

so I know that I will look {triumphantly} on them.

8It is better to rely on Yahweh

than to depend on people.

9It is better to rely on Yahweh

than to trust that influential people will protect us.

10Armies of many nations surrounded me,

but Yahweh powerfully enabled me to make them retreat.

11They completely surrounded me,

but Yahweh powerfully enabled me to make them retreat.

12They swarmed around me like {angry} bees,

but they diminished as quickly as a fire that is burning only thorns;

Yahweh powerfully enabled me to make them retreat.

13My enemies attacked me fiercely and thought that they would defeat me,

but Yahweh helped me.

14Yahweh is the one who makes me strong,

and who gives me a reason to sing;

and he saves me from my enemies.

15Listen to the joyful songs of how Yahweh saves people!

They come from the tents of the people who honor God!

They sing, “Yahweh has powerfully defeated our enemies;

16Yahweh has shown himself to be victorious!

Yahweh has powerfully defeated our enemies!”

17My enemies will not kill me;

no, I will live to proclaim the great things that Yahweh has done.

18Yahweh has punished me severely,

but he has not allowed me to die.

19{You gatekeepers,} open for me the gates through which those who obey Yahweh may enter,

so that I may enter through them and thank Yahweh.

20{The gatekeeper says,} “This is Yahweh’s gate;

all who obey him may enter through it.”

21{Yahweh,} I thank you that you answered my prayer

and saved me {from my enemies}.

22{People considered me worthless, like} a stone that builders rejected,

{but then Yahweh showed that he highly values me,

as if} that stone then became the most important stone in the building.

23The people said, “Yahweh made that happen,

and for us, it is a wonderful thing.

24Yahweh made possible everything that we are celebrating today;

we should be extremely happy about all of it!

25Yahweh, we plead with you to keep rescuing us {from our enemies}.

Yahweh, please continue to help us to succeed {against our enemies}.

26Yahweh, bless the one who will come with your power.

From the temple we bless all of you.

27Yahweh is God,

and he has made us victorious.

Bring an animal sacrifice {for him} and tie it to the horns of the altar.”

28Yahweh, you are the God whom I worship, and I will praise you!

You are the only God whom I worship, and I will tell everyone that you are great!

29Thank Yahweh because he is good

and because he faithfully loves us forever!

119ALEPH

1How fortunate are those about whom no one can say truthfully that they have done things that are wrong!

Those are the people who always obey Yahweh’s instructions.

2How fortunate are those who do what he tells them to do!

Those are the people who sincerely want to know him.

3They certainly do not want to cheat other people;

they live in a way that pleases Yahweh.

4Yahweh, you have given us your instructions

so that we would carefully obey them.

5I want very much to continually obey everything that you command!

6If I did that, then I would not be ashamed

when I think about everything that you command.

7As I learn all of your just regulations,

I thank you sincerely.

8I will obey your regulations;

do not desert me!

BETH

9I know how a young person can live in the right way;

it is by obeying your commands.

10I eagerly want to please you.

Do not allow me to disobey what you have commanded.

11I have memorized your commands

in order to not sin against you.

12Yahweh, I praise you;

teach me your rules.

13I have proclaimed to the people all of the things that you have commanded us to do.

14I delight in obeying your instructions;

I enjoy that more than being very rich.

15I will carefully think about everything that you have commanded me,

yes, I will pay attention to the way of living that you have taught me.

16I am happy to obey your decrees;

I will not forget what you have said.

GIMEL

17Do good things for me, the one who serves you,

in order that I may continue to live and obey you.

18Help me to understand

how wonderful your instructions are.

19I am living here on the earth for only a short time;

please let me know your instructions.

20I am weak from constantly desiring to know your instructions.

21You rebuke people who are proud;

you curse people who disobey your commands.

22Do not allow them to continue to insult and scorn me;

{I request this} because I have obeyed what you have required.

23Rulers gather together and plan ways to harm me,

but I, your servant, will meditate on what you have commanded me.

24Yes, I am delighted with your requirements;

they are like {good} advisors for me.

DALETH

25{Sometimes} I feel like I will soon die;

allow me to live as you have told me that you would do.

26When I told you about what was happening with me, you responded to me;

teach me the things that you want me to do.

27Help me to understand how you want me to behave,

and then I can think about how amazing your instructions are.

28I am very sad, with the result that I am becoming weak;

enable me to be strong again through a message from you.

29Prevent me from telling lies,

and be kind to me by teaching me your instructions.

30I have decided that I will faithfully obey you;

I know that what you say is right.

31Yahweh, I try to carefully obey what you say;

please do not allow me to do anything shameful.

32I eagerly obey your instructions

because you help me increasingly to understand {how they benefit me}.

HE

33Yahweh, teach me what your regulations mean,

and then I will always obey them.

34Help me to understand your instructions

so that I may eagerly obey them.

35I am happy to do the things that you command,

so teach me the best way to obey them.

36Cause me to want to do what you say

rather than to want to get things {that belong to other people}.

37Do not allow me to desire things that are not good for me;

make me able to live as you want me to live.

38Please do what you promised to do for me, your servant.

Your promises are what cause people to deeply revere you.

39I become afraid when my enemies insult me {for obeying you};

so please stop them,

because it is good to do what you tell us to do.

40Indeed, I very much desire to obey what you have declared that we should do!

Because you are righteous, please make me joyful again in living {for you}.

WAW

41Then I will know that you faithfully love me, Yahweh;

and that you will save me as you promised that you would do.

42After you do that, I will be able to reply to those who insult me

because I trust what you have said.

43Please do allow me to truthfully tell {them how you saved me};

you see, I am patiently waiting for you to act justly.

44I will consistently obey your instructions,

for as long as I live.

45I will live freely and safely

because I {always} try to obey your regulations.

46I will tell kings the things that you have said;

I will not be ashamed {to do so}.

47I am very happy to obey the things that you command me to do;

I love to do them.

48I eagerly ask to receive more of your commandments.

I love them,

and I will think deeply about everything that you require us to do.

ZAYIN

49Please do what you said you would do for me, the one who serves you,

because what you have said has caused me to confidently expect good things from you.

50When I am suffering, your promise to me comforts me;

knowing that you will do what you have said makes me joyful again in living {for you}.

51Proud people are always making fun of me,

but I do not stop obeying your instructions.

52Yahweh, I think about your regulations that you gave to us long ago.

Doing that comforts me.

53When I see wicked people disregard your instructions,

I become very angry.

54During this short time that I am living here on the earth,

the regulations that you have given to us are like music to me.

55Yahweh, {even} during the night I think about you,

so that I {always} obey your instructions.

56This is what I do;

I obey your regulations.

HETH

57Yahweh, you have granted to me that I would belong to you,

and I promise to obey what you tell me to do.

58I earnestly plead with you {to be good to me};

act kindly to me as you promised that you would do.

59I think about my behavior,

and {when it is wrong,} I once again obey what you tell me to do.

60{When I understand} your instructions,

I do them immediately.

61Wicked people try to make me do bad things,

but I continue to obey your instructions.

62In the middle of the night I get up,

in order to praise you

because everything that you say is completely right.

63I am a friend of all those who deeply revere you,

yes, to all those who obey what you tell us to do.

64Yahweh, you faithfully love people all over the earth;

please {continue to} teach me how you want people to live.

TETH

65Yahweh, you have done good things for me, your servant,

just as you promised that you would do.

66Teach me to understand {what is happening around me} and to think carefully {before I decide what to do},

because I believe that the best way to live is to obey what you tell us to do.

67Before you afflicted me, I did things that were wrong,

but now I obey what you say to do.

68You are good, and what you do is good;

teach me the {good} things that you have told us to do.

69Proud people tell many lies about me,

but as for me, I enthusiastically obey what you have told us to do.

70Those people are stupid,

but as for me, I happily obey your instructions.

71It was good for me that you afflicted me

because the result was that I learned {how good} your regulations {are}.

72The instructions that you give {to us} are beneficial to me.

They are more beneficial than thousands of pieces of gold and silver.

YODH

73You created me and made me who I am;

please help me to be wise so that I may learn {to obey} what you tell me to do.

74I want everyone who deeply reveres you to see {what you have done for} me.

Then they will be glad, because they will see {how good it is} that I have trusted you to do what you said.

75Yahweh, I know that when you judge people, you are always right.

I know that you have made me suffer only because you faithfully love me.

76Please comfort me by showing that you faithfully love me

as you said to me, your servant, that you would do.

77I want you to act mercifully to me in order that I may continue to live,

because I am delighted with your instruction.

78Cause the proud people who falsely accuse me to be ashamed;

but as for me, I will continue meditating on what you have commanded that I should do.

79Cause those who deeply revere you to come to me

in order that they may learn what you say to us.

80Enable me to want to perfectly obey your regulations

in order that I may not be ashamed {because of not doing that}.

KAPH

81I desperately long for you to save me {from my enemies},

but I will wait, knowing that you will answer {my prayer}.

82My eyes are tired from watching for you to do what you promised that you would do,

and I ask, “When will you help me?”

83Indeed, I feel as {weak and useless as} a wineskin that is {shriveled up from} hanging {a long time} in the smoke,

but I have not forgotten your regulations.

84I, your servant, cannot wait any longer!

I want you to punish those who persecute me soon!

85It is as though my proud enemies have dug deep pits for me {to fall into}.

These people disobey your instructions {to us}.

86Everything that you tell us to do is truly good {for us};

but people are persecuting me by telling lies {about me}, so please help me!

87Those people have come very close to killing me,

but as for me, I have not stopped obeying what you have told us to do.

88Because you faithfully love {me}, allow me to {continue to} live

so that I may {continue to} obey what you have instructed {us to do}.

LAMEDH

89Yahweh, what you have proclaimed is eternal;

it exists forever in heaven.

90You will continue to act faithfully for people of every generation;

you have put the earth in its place, and it remains firmly {there}.

91To this day, all things on the earth remain because you decided that they should remain;

that is because everything on the earth serves you.

92If I had not been delighted to obey your instructions,

then I would have died because of what I was suffering.

93I will always remember what you have declared that we should do.

I obeyed those things, and as a result, you have enabled me to continue to live.

94I belong to you; please save me from my enemies

because I intentionally obey what you have declared that we should do.

95Wicked men are waiting to ambush and kill me,

but I think about what you have instructed {us to do}.

96I have learned that there is a limit to {even} the best {that people can achieve},

but what you decree is limitless.

MEM

97I love your instructions very much!

I meditate on them throughout the day.

98Because I know what you have told us to do

and because I think about those things all the time,

I have become wiser than my enemies.

99I understand more than any of my teachers do

because I continually think about everything that you tell {us}.

100I behave more intelligently than many old people do

because I obey what you have declared that we should do.

101I have avoided all evil behavior

in order that I may obey what you have told us to do.

102I have not stopped obeying your regulations

because you are the one who taught {them} to me.

103When I read your words,

it is like eating something sweet;

{yes,} it is even better than eating honey!

104Because I have learned what you have declared that we should do,

I am able to understand {many things};

therefore, I hate all evil activities.

NUN

105Your instruction is like a lamp that guides me;

yes, it is like a light that shows me where to walk.

106I have solemnly promised, and I am solemnly promising it again,

that I will always obey your regulations;

they are always right.

107Yahweh, I am suffering very much;

cause me to be strong again as you have promised to do.

108Yahweh, sometimes the sacrifices that I offer to you are just my prayers to thank and praise you.

Please accept them,

and teach me the things that you tell us to do.

109My enemies are constantly trying to kill me,

but I do not forget your instructions.

110Wicked people have tried to seize me {as a hunter tries to catch little animals} with a trap,

but I have not disobeyed what you declared that we should do.

111You have given me your instructions and they are mine forever;

Indeed, they are what make me joyful.

112I have determined that I will always obey your commands as long as I live, to the very end.

SAMEKH

113I hate people who cannot decide what to commit to,

but I love your instructions.

114You are like a place where I can hide {from my enemies},

and you are like a shield {behind which I am protected from them};

I will wait, knowing that you will answer {my prayer}.

115You people who do evil things, go away from me

so that I may obey what my God has commanded!

116Please enable me to be strong as you promised that you would do,

in order that I may {continue to} live.

I am confidently expecting {that you will restore me};

please do not disappoint me.

117Please take care of me so that I can be safe

and so that I can always pay attention to what you have decreed that we should do.

118You despise everyone who disregards what you have decreed that we should do;

indeed, they deceive others by lying.

119You get rid of all the wicked people on the earth as {people get rid of} trash;

therefore, I love what you say to us.

120I tremble because I am afraid of you;

I am afraid {because you punish those who do not obey} the rules that you have given to us.

AYIN

121But I have done what is right and fair;

so please do not allow people to oppress me.

122Please ensure that good things will happen for me, your servant,

and do not allow proud people to oppress me.

123My eyes are tired from watching for you to save me,

yes, from watching for you to do what is right, as you promised to do.

124Please do {things} for me, your servant, to show that you faithfully love me,

and teach me how to do what you have decreed that we should do.

125I am one who serves you;

please enable me to understand {what you want me to know}

in order that I may learn what you have instructed us to do.

126Yahweh, you should punish {people} now

because they have disobeyed your laws.

127Because {I do not want to be like those people,} I love your instructions more than I love gold;

I love them more than I love very pure gold.

128So I am careful to obey everything that you have declared that we should do,

and I hate all of the evil things that people do.

PE

129All the things that you have instructed us to do are wonderful,

so I obey them enthusiastically.

130When someone explains what you have said {to us},

it is as though he is opening a door to a bright light {that allows people to see what they did not see before};

what he says causes {even} people who have not studied your instructions to be wise.

131I eagerly desire to know what you have commanded {us},

as eagerly as though I were panting {for food and water}.

132Pay attention to me and act kindly to me

as is right {for you to do} for {all} those who love you.

133Please guide me by your instructions;

do not allow me to desire to do sinful things more than to obey you.

134Rescue me from the people who oppress me

so that I may obey what you have declared that we should do.

135Please act kindly toward me, your servant,

and teach me what you have decreed that we should do.

136I cry very much

because many people do not obey your instructions.

TSADHE

137Yahweh, you are righteous

and the rules that you have given to us are just.

138All of the things that you have instructed us to do are absolutely right

and exactly what we need.

139I am furious

because my enemies disregard what you have told us to do.

140All of the things that you have said are perfectly dependable,

and I, your servant, love them.

141I am not important, and people despise me,

but I do not forget what you have declared that we should do.

142You are righteous and you will be righteous forever,

and your instructions are completely reliable.

143I am constantly stressed and anxious,

but what you have commanded {us} causes me to rejoice.

144All of the things that you have instructed us to do are always right;

help me to understand them in order that I may {continue to} live.

QOPH

145Yahweh, fervently I call out to you; please answer me!

I fully intend to obey what you have decreed that we should do.

146I call out to you, “Save me,

in order that I may obey the things that you have instructed us to do.”

147{Each morning} I arise before dawn and call to you to help me;

I confidently wait for you to do what you have promised to do.

148All during the night I am awake,

so that I can think about what you have said {to us}.

149Yahweh, because you faithfully love me,

please listen to me {while I pray};

because you do what is right, make me joyful again in living {for you}.

150People who intend to harm me are approaching me;

they completely disregard your instructions.

151But Yahweh, you are near to me,

and {I know that} what you command is completely right.

152Long ago, I learned from what you have said

that you established your commandments to last forever.

RESH

153Please acknowledge that I am suffering, and save me {from it},

because I continually obey your instructions.

154Defend me {when others accuse me} and rescue me {from them};

allow me {to continue} to live as you promised that you would do.

155Wicked people do not obey what you have decreed that we should do,

so you will certainly not save them.

156Yahweh, you are constantly being merciful {to me} in many ways;

because you always do what is right, please allow me {to continue} to live.

157Many people cause me to suffer,

but I continue to obey what you have instructed us to do.

158When I look at those who are not faithful to you, I feel disgust

because they do not obey what you have instructed us to do.

159Yahweh, please notice that I love what you have declared that we should do;

because you faithfully love me, please allow me {to continue} to live.

160Everything that you have said is true;

every statement that you have made is right and will endure forever.

SIN and SHIN

161Rulers persecute me for no reason,

but I deeply respect your words.

162The things that you say make me very happy,

as happy as someone who has found a great treasure.

163I thoroughly hate {all} lies

but I love your instructions.

164I praise you throughout the day

because everything that you tell us to do is completely right.

165Those who love your instructions live very peacefully;

they will continually do the right thing.

166Yahweh, I confidently expect that you will rescue me,

and I obey what you have commanded {us}.

167I obey what you have told us to do;

I love all of it very much.

168I obey what you have instructed us to do,

because you know everything that I do.

TAW

169Yahweh, please listen as I call out to you {to help me};

help me to understand {your message}, as you said that you would do.

170Please pay attention to me while I pray to you to help me,

and rescue me as you said that you would do.

171I intend to continue praising {you} abundantly

because you teach me what you have told us to do.

172I intend to continue singing about your instructions

because everything that you command us to do is right.

173Please be always ready to help me

because I have chosen to obey what you have declared that we should do.

174Yahweh, I eagerly desire for you to rescue me {from my enemies},

and I greatly enjoy your instructions.

175Please allow me to {continue to} live in order that I may {continue to} praise you

and may the things that you tell us to do {continue to} help me.

176I am as vulnerable as a sheep that has left its flock;

please search for me, your servant, because I have not forgotten what you have commanded {us}.

1201A psalm for people going up to the temple to worship.

When I was distressed, I called out to Yahweh,

and he answered me.

2{I prayed,} “Yahweh, rescue me from people who tell lies,

who say things to deceive me!”

3You people who lie, God will certainly punish you.

He will do even more to you than that.

4He will punish you severely as with a warrior’s sharp arrows,

and as with burning coals from broom tree wood.

5It is terrible for me that I {have to} live among {people like those in} Meshech,

{that} I {have to} dwell with {people like those who live in} the tents of Kedar.

6I have lived too long among people

who hate to live peacefully with others.

7I want to live peacefully, but whenever I speak {about it},

they want to fight.

1211A psalm for people going up to the temple to worship.

I look toward the hills

{and I ask myself,} “Where will anyone to help me come from?”

2{I answer myself,} “Yahweh is the one who helps me.”

He is the one who made everything that exists.

3{You say,} “May Yahweh not let you stumble.

May Yahweh, who protects you, not become drowsy!”

4{I reply,} “Listen to me, the one who protects the people of Israel

will never become drowsy; he never sleeps!”

5Yahweh watches over you.

He stays between you and what might harm you, like a shade {from the sun}.

6The sun will not harm you during the day,

and the moon will not harm you at night.

7Yahweh will protect you from everything that could harm you.

He will keep you safe.

8Yahweh will protect you in everything that you do.

{He will do that} now, and {he will do that} forever.

1221A psalm for people going up to the temple to worship. This is a psalm of David.

I was very happy when people said to me, “We should go to Yahweh’s temple {in Jerusalem}!”

2Now we are standing inside the gates of Jerusalem.

3This is Jerusalem, the city that people have built in a way that everything fits closely together.

4The tribes of Israel who belong to Yahweh go there,

as Yahweh told them to do,

in order to thank him.

5Indeed, the kings who belong to King David’s family

sit on their thrones there and judge {the people}.

6Pray that people will live peacefully in Jerusalem!

May those who love Jerusalem be successful.

7May everyone inside the city walls live well and prosper.

8Because I love my fellow Israelites and my friends,

I want to say,

“May the people in Jerusalem live well.”

9Because Yahweh our God has his temple there,

I intend to always do what is best for Jerusalem.

1231A psalm for people going up to the temple to worship.

Yahweh, I look up toward you

who live in heaven.

2You see, just as servants watch their master closely,

waiting for him to provide for them,

and just as a female servant watches her mistress,

in the same way, we look to Yahweh our God,

waiting for him to be merciful to us.

3Yahweh, please be very merciful to us,

because people have despised us so much that we cannot endure any more.

4We have endured far too much mocking

from people who are arrogant,

yes, from proud people who despise us.

1241A psalm for people going up to the temple to worship; of David.

If Yahweh had not been helping us—

All Israelites should repeat this—

2If Yahweh had not been helping us

when our enemies attacked us,

3then they would have destroyed us completely,

because they were so angry with us.

4They would have overwhelmed us like a flood;

they would have swept over us like a raging river.

5{They would have destroyed us as completely as} raging waters would have drowned us.

6We praise Yahweh

because he did not let our enemies destroy us

as wild animals devour their prey.

7We escaped from them like a bird that gets free from a hunter’s trap.

It was as though the trap broke, and, as for us, we went free!

8Yahweh is the one who helps us;

he is the one who made everything that exists.

1251A psalm for people going up to the temple to worship.

People who trust in Yahweh are as secure as Mount Zion,

which will stand firm forever.

2Just as the hills surrounding Jerusalem protect the city,

so Yahweh protects his people,

and he will protect them forever.

3Indeed, wicked people will not rule over the land that God gave to righteous people,

so that righteous people will not start doing what is wrong.

4Yahweh, please do good things for people who do good things for others,

yes, for those who obey you sincerely.

5But as for those people who choose to do evil things,

Yahweh will send them away along with everyone else who does evil things.

May Yahweh bless the people of Israel!

1261A psalm for people going up to the temple to worship.

When Yahweh brought us back to Zion after our enemies had captured us {and taken us away},

we felt as if we were dreaming.

2We laughed and shouted joyfully.

Then people from other people groups said about us,

“Yahweh has done great things for them!”

3{Yes!} Yahweh {truly} has done great things for us,

and we are very happy.

4Yahweh, restore us as before our enemies captured us,

as you restore the streams in the Negev {that flow again after being dry}.

5Those who sow seeds while crying

will shout joyfully when they gather the harvest.

6They may indeed walk {through the field} crying,

as they spread the seed from their bags.

But they will surely come back shouting joyfully,

carrying their bundles of grain.

1271This is a psalm for people going up to the temple to worship. It is of Solomon.

If people are building a house, but Yahweh does not approve of it,

those who build it are doing nothing useful.

If Yahweh does not protect a city,

it is useless for the guards to stay awake watching it.

2It is useless for you to get up very early and stay up very late,

working hard to get food,

because Yahweh wants to give sleep to those whom he loves.

3Children are a gift that Yahweh gives;

Offspring are a benefit {from him}.

4When a man has sons while he is still young,

those sons become as useful as arrows are in the hand of a warrior.

5A man who has many sons has such a good life!

When he argues with an opponent at the place where people settle disputes,

the opponent will not defeat him.

1281This is a psalm for those going up to the temple to worship.

How good life is for all who deeply revere Yahweh

and who do what he tells them to do!

2You will enjoy eating the food that you have worked hard for,

and it will make you healthy.

3Your wife will bear many children in the innermost rooms of your house,

like a grapevine that produces many grapes.

Your children will grow strong like young olive trees

as they fill the room around your table.

4Yes, that is how Yahweh will bless every person

who deeply reveres him.

5May Yahweh bless you from {where he lives} in Zion,

so that you may be able to experience how the people of Jerusalem prosper

during the whole time that you live,

6and so that you may live long enough to see your grandchildren!

May the people of Israel live well!

1291A psalm for people going up to the temple to worship.

Ever since I was young, my enemies have oppressed me frequently.

All of the people of Israel should say this {with me}:

2Ever since I was young, my enemies have oppressed me frequently,

but they have never defeated me!

3{They oppressed me severely as though} they were plowing across my back,

making long wounds like furrows in a field.

4Yahweh does what is right;

he no longer allows wicked people to control me.

5May everyone who hates the people of Zion be ashamed and go away.

6May they be {as insignificant} as the grass that grows on the rooftops

that dries up before anyone can pull it out,

7that no harvester would {bother to} pick up

and that no one gathering bundles would {want to} wrap his arms around {to tie it up}.

8They will never hear someone walking by {the reapers} say,

“May Yahweh bless you!”

{They will not hear the reapers reply,} “We bless you as representatives of Yahweh.”

1301This is a psalm for people going up to the temple to worship.

Yahweh, I am very distressed, so I call out to you.

2Lord, please listen to me;

please listen attentively as I call out to you to have mercy on me!

3Yahweh, if you kept a record of {the} sins {that we have committed},

Lord, you would have to condemn and punish every one of us!

4But you forgive us,

with the result that we deeply revere you.

5Yahweh has said {that he would help me};

I trust what he said, and so I wait eagerly for him {to do that}.

6I wait for the Lord {to help me}

more {eagerly} than watchmen wait for the morning {to come};

yes, I wait more eagerly than watchmen wait for the morning!

7{My fellow} Israelites, confidently expect that Yahweh will help us.

{He will help us} because he faithfully loves us,

and he is very willing to save us.

8It is he who will make it so he will not need to punish {us} Israelite people for all the sins that {we} have committed.

1311This is a psalm for people going up to the temple to worship. It is a psalm of David.

Yahweh, I am not a proud, haughty person.

I do not concern myself with things that are too great or too amazing for me.

2Instead, I have calmed myself,

like a weaned child who rests {calmly} on {the breast of} his mother.

Yes, my inner being is peaceful like that contented child.

3Israelites, confidently expect Yahweh {to do good things for you},

now and forever!

1321This is a psalm for people going up to the temple to worship.

Yahweh, think about {King} David

and the many ways that he suffered.

2He made a solemn promise to Yahweh,

the Mighty God whom Jacob worshiped.

3{He said,} “I will not go home

or lie down on my bed to rest.

4I will not allow myself to sleep at all

5until I build a home for Yahweh,

the Mighty God whom Jacob worshiped.”

6Listen, we heard about the sacred chest in Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields near Jaar (Kiriath-Jearim).

7{We said}, “Let us go to the place where Yahweh lives;

let us worship {before the sacred chest} where he rests his feet.”

8Yahweh, come to the place where you will stay,

together with the sacred chest that represents your powerful presence.

9May your priests always do what is right,

and may the people who are faithful to you shout joyfully.

10Because of what you promised to David, who served you,

do not reject the king whom you chose.

11Yahweh swore a promise to David,

and he will certainly not take it back: “I will place one of your own descendants

{to rule as king} on your throne.

12If your sons obey my covenant

and the commands that I will teach them,

then their sons will also rule as kings on your throne forever.”

13Indeed, Yahweh has chosen Zion

because he wanted it to be the place where he lives.

14{He said,} “This is the place where I will stay forever;

I will live here because I have chosen this place.

15I will certainly give the people of Zion everything that they need;

I will give enough food to satisfy {even} the poor people who live there.

16I will enable the priests of Zion to show others what a person looks like whom I have saved,

and the people there who are faithful to me will shout very joyfully.

17In Zion I will cause a powerful king to come from David’s family;

I have arranged for the king whom I have chosen that a son of his will always rule.

18I will cause his enemies to be very ashamed,

but his kingdom will prosper.”

1331This is a psalm for people going up to the temple to worship. It is of David.

Think about how wonderful and delightful it is when God’s people live together {in a unified way}!

2It is as delightful as {watching someone pour} fine olive oil on the head of Aaron, {the priest,}

oil that runs down onto his beard

and flows down to the collar of his robes.

3It is as delightful as {feeling} the dew from Mount Hermon

coming down on the mountains of Zion.

That is where Yahweh blessed {his people},

giving them a way to live forever.

1341This is a psalm for people going up to the temple to worship.

Listen! Praise Yahweh,

all you who serve Yahweh,

you who stand in Yahweh’s temple during the night hours.

2Raise your hands {to pray toward} the holy place

and praise Yahweh.

3I pray that Yahweh will bless you from {his temple on} Mount Zion,

{for} he is the one who made everything that exists.

1351Praise Yahweh!

Praise him because of who he is!

You who serve Yahweh, praise him,

2you who stand {and serve} in Yahweh’s temple,

in the courtyards of the house of our God!

3Praise Yahweh, because he is good;

sing praises to him, because doing that is delightful.

4Praise him because Yahweh chose {us,} the descendants of Jacob,

the people of Israel, to belong only to him.

5Indeed, I know very well that Yahweh is great

and that our Lord is more powerful than all other spirit beings.

6Yahweh does whatever he wants to do,

everywhere, whether it is in heaven or on the earth

or in the ocean, even deep down in the ocean.

7He causes clouds to form in distant places on the earth;

he makes lightning flash along with the rain,

and he sends out wind from the places where he stores it.

8He killed every firstborn in Egypt,

including those from both people and animals.

9He did amazing miracles

among the people of Egypt

to punish Pharaoh and all of his officials.

10He defeated many nations

and killed their powerful kings.

11He killed Sihon, king of the Amorites,

and Og, king of Bashan,

and all the kings of Canaan.

12Then he gave the land that those kings had ruled over

to his own people, that is, to {us,} the people of Israel, to be our own land.

13Yahweh, people will always know how great you are;

Yahweh, people in every generation will remember you,

14because Yahweh defends his people

and is merciful to those who serve him.

15The idols that other people groups worship are only statues made of silver and gold;

people made them with their own hands.

16Those idols have mouths, but they cannot say anything;

they have eyes, but they cannot see anything.

17They have ears, but they cannot hear anything;

In fact, they do not even breathe.

18The people who make those idols will become as helpless as they are,

and so will everyone who trusts in them.

19You Israelites, praise Yahweh!

You descendants of Aaron, praise Yahweh!

20You descendants of Levi, praise Yahweh!

All you who deeply revere Yahweh, praise him!

21Praise Yahweh from his temple on Mount Zion,

where he lives in Jerusalem!

Praise Yahweh!

1361Thank Yahweh because he is good {to us},

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

2Thank God, the one who is greater than all other spirit beings,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

3Thank the Lord, the one who is greater than all other rulers;

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

4{Thank} him, the only one who does wonderful miracles,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

5{Thank} him, the one who wisely created the heavens;

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

6{Thank} him, the one who formed the earth over the waters;

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

7{Thank} him, the one who created the great lights {in the sky};

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

8{He made} the sun to light up the daytime,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

9{He made} the moon and stars to light up the nighttime,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

10{Thank} him, who killed the firstborn {sons} of the Egyptians;

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

11He brought the Israelite people out from among them,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

12He did that by being very powerful,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

13{Thank} him, the one who divided the Sea of Reeds into {two} parts;

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

14He enabled the Israelite people to walk through the middle of it {on dry land},

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

15But he caused Pharaoh and his army to drown in the Sea of Reeds,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

16{Thank} him, the one who led his people {safely} through the desert,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

17{Thank} him, the one who defeated powerful kings,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

18He killed powerful kings,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

19{He killed} Sihon, the king of the Amorites,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

20{He killed} Og, the king of Bashan;

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

21He gave their land to the people of Israel to possess;

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

22{He gave it} to the people of Israel, who serve him, to be our own land,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

23He did not forget about us when our enemies were oppressing us,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

24He rescued us from our enemies,

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

25He gives food to every living creature;

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

26Thank God, who rules from heaven;

because he faithfully loves {us} forever!

1371{After soldiers had taken us to} Babylon, we sat down by the rivers there,

and we cried when we thought about {the temple on Mount} Zion {in Jerusalem}.

2We hung our harps on the willow trees there

{and did not play them}.

3We did that because those who had captured us {and taken us} there demanded that we sing for them.

They tormented us and told us to sing a joyful song. {They said,} “Sing for us one of the songs about Zion!”

4{We thought}, “We are not able to sing {joyful} songs about Yahweh

in this foreign land!”

5If I ever forget about Jerusalem,

may my right hand be unable {to play the harp}!

6May my tongue and my mouth make me unable to sing

if I forget about Jerusalem,

or {even} if I do not consider that Jerusalem causes me to be more joyful

than anything else does.

7Yahweh, please punish the Edomites for what they did

when the enemy destroyed Jerusalem. They shouted,

“Completely tear it down to its foundations!”

8Concerning the people of Babylon, who devastate {other nations},

How good it will be for the person who completely pays them back

with what they did to us!

9How good it will be for the one who seizes your babies

and smashes them against the rocks!

1381This is a psalm of David.

Yahweh, I sincerely thank you.

In the presence of {idols of} other gods, I sing to praise you.

2I bow down toward your sacred temple {to worship you}

and I thank you because you faithfully love us and because we can trust you to do all that you have promised.

You have given cause for people everywhere to honor you and what you have said more than anything else.

3When I called out to you, you helped me;

you enabled me to be brave and strong.

4Yahweh, {someday} all the kings of this earth should praise you

because they will have heard what you have said.

5They should sing about what you have done

because you are very glorious.

6Yahweh, although you live in heaven,

you take care of humble people.

Proud people, however, you identify from far away.

7Even when dangerous things happen all around me,

you keep me safe.

You rescue me from my enemies who are angry with me.

8Yahweh, I know that you will continue to do what is good for me;

Yahweh, you faithfully love {us} forever.

Please do not abandon {us,} the people that you have made!

1391This is a note for the worship leader: This is a psalm of David.

Yahweh, you have thoroughly examined me,

and you know {me completely}.

2You are the one who knows everything that I do, including when I sit and when I stand.

Even from far away, you know what I am thinking.

3You have examined in detail all of my movements, from the time I go out until I lie down,

and you know intimately all of my habits.

4Indeed, even before I say anything,

Yahweh, you already know everything that I am going to say!

5You guard me on every side,

and you put your hand on me {to protect me}.

6I am in awe that you know everything about me.

I am not able to comprehend that.

7There is nowhere I could go to get away from your Spirit!

There is nowhere I could run to escape from your presence!

8If I went up to heaven, you would be there.

Even if I lay down in the place where dead people go, you would be there!

9If I rose up and flew to where the sun rises in the east,

or if I settled in the farthest place across the {western} sea,

10even there you would guide me

and you would keep me secure.

11Even if I said, “Let the darkness completely overwhelm me,

and the light around me turn to night,”

12even darkness is not dark to you,

and the night shines as bright as the daytime.

For you, darkness and light are the same.

13Indeed, you are the one who created my deepest inner parts;

you formed me inside my mother’s womb.

14I praise you because you made me in such an awesome and wonderful way.

Everything that you do is wonderful!

I know that very well.

15You saw my bones when you made me in that hidden place.

As you wove me together deep in the womb,

16you saw me before I had any form.

You wrote in your book each day that you had planned for me to live,

before any of those days had even started.

17God, the things that you think are very valuable to me!

There are so many of them!

18If I tried to count them, {I would not be able to do that, because} they are more than the grains of sand {on the earth}.

{Every morning} I wake up, I am still with you, {and there are still more of them to count}.

19God, I wish that you would kill all wicked people!

I wish that all violent men would go away from me!

20They say wicked things about you and plan evil things;

your enemies misuse your name.

21Yahweh, I certainly hate those who hate you,

and I am disgusted with those who rise up against you.

22I hate them completely;

I consider them to be my enemies.

23God, I invite you to search me and to know what I am thinking;

please examine me and know what I worry about.

24See if there is any harmful way in me,

and teach me to live in the way that lasts forever.

140This is a note to the worship leader: David wrote this psalm.

1Yahweh, please save me from evil people;

protect me from people who want to attack me.

2They are always planning how to do evil things,

and every day they provoke fights.

3They say things {to people} that hurt {them};

what comes from their mouths is as deadly as the venom of a viper. Selah

4Yahweh, protect me from wicked people who want to harm me;

keep me safe from violent people

who have planned to destroy me.

5Proud people are trying to destroy me.

{It is as though} they have hidden a snare for me;

{It is as though} they have spread out a net along my path;

{It is as though} they have set traps to catch me. Selah

6I say to you, “Yahweh, you are my God.”

Yahweh, please listen to me as I plead with you to help me!

7Yahweh, my Lord, you are the one who powerfully saves me;

you have protected me during battles as though you had covered my head {with a helmet}.

8Yahweh, do not give wicked people what they want;

do not let their plans succeed, or they will become proud. Selah

9As for the leaders of those who surround me,

let the harmful things that they have said {to others} happen to them.

10Pour burning coals on them!

Throw them into a fire!

Throw them into deep holes from which they will never get out!

11Yahweh, please do not allow people who slander others to prosper in this land;

Cause evil things to continually happen to violent people and destroy them.

12Yahweh, I know that you do what is just

and right for poor people.

13People who do what is right will surely thank you,

and they will live with you.

1411This is a psalm of David.

Yahweh, I call out to you; please help me quickly!

Please listen to me when I am calling out to you.

2Please accept my prayer {as though it were} an offering of incense to you.

Please accept me while I lift up my hands {to pray to you},

just as you accept the sacrifices that people offer to you each evening.

3Yahweh, do not allow me to say things that are bad or wrong.

Do not allow me to say those things as a sentry does not allow the wrong people to go through a doorway.

4Prevent me from wanting to do anything that is wrong

and from joining with wicked men when they want to do evil deeds.

Do not even allow me to share in eating their delightful food!

5It is all right if righteous people strike me

because they are acting faithfully and kindly toward me to correct me.

{If they do that, it will be as if they have honored me by} anointing my head with {olive} oil, and may I never refuse to accept it.

but I am always praying that you will punish the wicked because of the wicked deeds that they do.

6When their rulers are thrown down from the top of rocky cliffs,

the wicked will hear what I am saying, and will know that what I am saying is right and good.

7{They will say,} “Just as one scatters {clods of earth} when he breaks up the ground, {soon} our bodies will lie scattered on the way to the place where dead people are.”

8But Lord Yahweh, I continue to rely on you.

I ask you to protect me;

please do not stop protecting my life!

9People who do evil things are trying to trick me and destroy me.

It is as though they have laid out snares and set traps for me.

Please keep me safe from what they are trying to do to me.

10I desire that wicked people fall together into the traps that they have set {to catch me},

while, for my part, I escape {from them}.

142This is a psalm that David prayed when he was hiding in a cave.

1Yahweh, I cry out to you;

I plead for you to help me.

2I am complaining to you about {all of} my problems;

I am telling you {all of} my troubles.

3When I am very discouraged,

you are the one who knows what I must do.

As I go about my activities, {it is as though} my enemies have hidden traps along my path for me {to fall into}.

4If you look to my right you will see

that there is no one who watches over me.

There is nowhere I can go to be safe,

and no one cares what happens to me.

5So Yahweh, I called out to you {to help me};

I said, “You are the one who protects me;

you are all that I need while I am alive.”

6Please listen to me while I call out to you {to help me}

because I am very distressed.

Save me from those who are making me suffer,

because they are stronger than I am.

7Please free me from those who are distressing me

so that I may thank you.

When you do that, the other righteous people will gather with me {to praise you together}

because you will have fulfilled my request.

1431This is a psalm of David.

Yahweh, please listen to me as I pray to you, pleading for you to help me!

Because you are righteous

and because you faithfully do what you have promised,

please do what I am asking you to do for me!

2Please do not judge me, your servant,

because you know that there is no one alive who is completely innocent.

3Please help me because my enemies have pursued me;

they have completely defeated me.

{It is as though} they have already put me in a grave

like people who are dead for eternity.

4So I am very discouraged;

I feel very dismayed.

5I remember what has happened previously;

I think about all the things that you have done;

I consider the {great} deeds that you have performed.

6I lift up my hands to you {as I pray};

I need you, just as much as a very dry land needs water. Selah

7Yahweh, I am absolutely despairing,

so please answer me right now!

Do not keep away from me

because if you do that, I will {soon} be among those who descend to where the dead people are.

8Every morning cause me to remember that you faithfully love me

because I trust in you.

show me the things that I should do

because I depend on you for my life.

9Yahweh, please save me from my enemies;

I rely on you to protect me.

10You are the God to whom I belong,

so teach me to do what pleases you.

I want your good Spirit to show me the best way to live.

11Yahweh, please keep me alive because of who you are;

because you are righteous, please rescue me from {the people who are} oppressing me!

12I am one who serves you;

so because you faithfully love me as you promised to do,

please kill all of my enemies who want to kill me.

1441This is a psalm of David.

I praise Yahweh, who protects me!

He equips me to fight well in wars.

2He is always faithful and kind to me.

He keeps me safe and helps me escape from danger,

as if he were my shield

or a place where I could go to be safe.

He enables me to rule other peoples.

3Yahweh, people are so insignificant;

it is amazing that you pay any attention to them!

4People live for only a very short time,

just as a mist or a shadow quickly disappears.

5Yahweh, please come down from the sky

and split open the mountains so that smoke pours from them.

6Please send lightning bolts like arrows

against my enemies to make them run away.

7Reach down from heaven and rescue me from my enemies

who are surrounding me like a dangerous flood.

Save me from the power of these foreign people.

8They say things that are not true

and raise their right hands to swear oaths that are false.

9God, I will sing a new song to you

and play my ten-stringed harp to praise you,

10because you are the one who saves kings

and who rescues me, your servant David, from danger in battle.

11Save me from the power of these foreign people.

They say things that are not true

and raise their right hands to swear oaths that are false.

12Then our sons will be like strong plants

that grow tall when they are young,

and our daughters will be as beautiful and stately

as pillars that craftsmen carve to decorate a palace.

13May our barns overflow with many kinds of crops.

May our sheep give birth to great numbers of lambs,

yes, very great numbers as they graze in our pastures.

14May our oxen be strong to pull plows.

May no one break through our walls, may no one go into exile,

and may no one cry out {in distress} in our city squares.

15What a good life people have when these things happen for them!

What a good life people have who worship Yahweh as their God!

1451This is a psalm of David.

My God and king, I will proclaim that you are very great;

I will praise you now and always.

2I will bless you every day;

I will praise you forever.

3Yahweh, you are great, and people should praise you very much;

no one can fully understand how great you are.

4People of every generation will tell the next generation about what you have done;

they will tell about your mighty deeds.

5I will think about how very glorious and majestic you are,

and I will think about your wonderful deeds.

6People will talk about how powerful your awesome deeds are,

and I will proclaim how great you are.

7People will celebrate how very good you are,

and they will sing joyfully about how righteous you are.

8Yahweh acts kindly and mercifully;

he does not quickly become angry, and he faithfully loves us very much.

9Yahweh is good to everyone,

and he acts mercifully toward everything that he has made.

10Yahweh, all the creatures that you have made will praise you,

and the people who are faithful to you will bless you.

11They will tell others about how gloriously you rule as king

and about how powerful you are,

12so that all people will know about your mighty deeds

and about how gloriously and majestically you rule.

13You will never stop ruling as king;

you will rule throughout every generation.

14Yahweh sustains people who are in difficult circumstances,

and he helps those who are struggling.

15All creatures look to you expectantly,

and you give them food when they need it.

16You give generously

and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17Yahweh does everything rightly;

indeed, he acts faithfully in all that he does.

18Yahweh is ready to help everyone who asks him for help

when they do that sincerely.

19He gives those who deeply respect him what they need.

He responds to them when they call for help,

and he rescues them.

20Yahweh protects all those who love him,

but he destroys wicked people.

21I will always say things to praise Yahweh;

I want all people always to praise him because he is so holy.

1461Praise Yahweh!

I will praise Yahweh with my whole being.

2I will praise Yahweh for as long as I am alive;

Yes, I will sing to praise my God for the rest of my life.

3Since no human being can save you,

do not rely on your leaders.

4When they die, their bodies decay and become soil again.

When that happens, they can no longer carry out their plans.

5Some people confidently expect Yahweh their God to help them.

He is the God whom Jacob worshiped.

He does help them, and they have a very good life.

6He is the one who created the sky and the land.

He also created the oceans and all the creatures that are in them.

He always does what he has promised to do.

7He defends people whom others oppress,

and he provides food for people who are hungry.

Yahweh frees people who are in prison.

8Yahweh enables people who are blind to see again;

Yahweh helps people who are struggling;

Yahweh loves people who do what is right.

9Yahweh protects foreigners;

he preserves the property of orphans and widows,

but he makes the plans of wicked people fail.

10Yahweh will be the king forever;

yes, the God of the people of Jerusalem will always reign.

Praise Yahweh!

1471Praise Yahweh!

Singing praises to our God is a good thing to do.

He deserves it, and it makes us happy.

2Yahweh is rebuilding Jerusalem

and bringing back the Israelites whom our enemies had scattered.

3He comforts people who are very sad

and heals their pain.

4He knows how many stars there are,

and he has given each one its name.

5Our Lord is great and very powerful;

no one can measure how much he understands.

6Yahweh helps humble people,

but he makes wicked people fail in what they want to do.

7Thank Yahweh, our God, for all he has done for us

as you play the harp and sing to him.

8He makes the sky form rain clouds

so that they will rain on the earth

and make grass grow on the mountains.

9He provides food for wild animals.

He even feeds young ravens when they cry out for food.

10He does not value the strength of a horse

or the speed of a human runner.

11Instead, Yahweh values people who deeply respect him.

He values people who confidently expect him

to be faithful to his covenant promises.

12Praise Yahweh our God, you people of Jerusalem

who live on Mount Zion!

13He has made the defenses of your city strong,

and he has blessed the people who live among you.

14He keeps your borders safe,

and gives you plenty of wheat to eat.

15He gives commands about what will happen on the earth,

and these things happen right away.

16He makes snow that covers the ground like a white wool blanket,

and he scatters frost on the ground like ashes.

17He hurls down hail like small stones.

When he makes it cold, no one can stand outside.

18But then he gives a command, and the snow and ice melt.

He sends a warm wind, and the water flows again.

19He told the descendants of Jacob how he wanted them to live.

Yes, he gave decrees and laws to the Israelites.

20He has not done this for any other nation;

they do not know his laws.

Praise Yahweh!

1481Praise Yahweh!

You who are in heaven, praise Yahweh;

yes, you who are in the highest places, praise him.

2All you angels, praise him;

all you heavenly armies, praise him.

3Sun and moon, praise him;

all you shining stars, praise him.

4You highest heavens, praise him,

and you waters above the sky, praise him.

5Let all of these praise Yahweh,

because he created them by his own command.

6He set them in their places permanently;

{to do that,} he made a decree that will always be in effect.

7You who are on the earth, praise Yahweh!

You great sea creatures and everything deep in the ocean,

8lightning and hail, snow and clouds,

and strong winds that obey what he commands,

9all you mountains and hills,

all you fruit trees and cedar trees,

10all you wild animals and livestock,

all you creatures that crawl on the ground

and all you birds that fly in the sky,

11you kings of the earth and all your peoples,

you rulers and all you judges,

12you young men and young women,

you old people and children,

13you should all praise Yahweh,

because he alone is truly great.

He is more glorious than everything on earth and in heaven.

14He has made his people strong,

and other nations respect them.

His people are the Israelite people,

who are close to him.

Praise Yahweh!

1491Praise Yahweh!

Sing a new song to Yahweh!

Let his faithful people praise him when they gather together.

2You Israelite people, God made you.

Be happy because of what he has done for you.

You people of Jerusalem, rejoice because God is your king.

3Praise Yahweh by dancing.

Play tambourines and harps to honor him.

4Do that because Yahweh loves his people;

he honors poor people by rescuing them.

5God’s faithful people should celebrate because he has honored them.

Even on their beds at night, they should praise him with joyful songs.

6They should also shout loudly to praise God

when they go into battle holding swords that have two sharp edges.

7{They should be ready} to punish the people of other nations

for the sins they have committed against God.

8They should bind their kings with chains

and put iron shackles on their leaders.

9In that way, they will carry out the judgment that God has decreed against them.

God will give his faithful people the honor {of doing that for him}.

Praise Yahweh!

1501Praise Yahweh!

Praise God in his temple here on earth,

and praise him in the heavens that he created by his power!

2Praise him for the mighty things he has done!

Praise him because he is so very great!

3Praise him by blowing horns loudly!

Praise him by playing lyres and harps!

4Praise him by beating tambourines and by dancing!

Praise him by playing stringed instruments and flutes!

5Praise him by playing loud cymbals

and cymbals that make high notes!

6Let everything that breathes praise Yahweh!

Praise Yahweh!