Prayer for Victory over Enemies.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

20 May the Lord answer you (A)on a day of trouble!
May the (B)name of the (C)God of Jacob [a]protect you!
May He send you help (D)from the sanctuary,
And (E)support you from Zion!
May He (F)remember all your meal offerings
And [b](G)accept your burnt offering! Selah

May He grant you your (H)heart’s desire
And (I)fulfill your whole plan!
[c]We will (J)sing for joy over your [d]victory,
And in the name of our God we will (K)set up our banners.
May the Lord (L)fulfill all your desires.

Now (M)I know that the Lord saves His anointed;
He will (N)answer him from His holy heaven
With the [e](O)saving strength of His right hand.
Some praise their chariots and some their (P)horses,
But (Q)we will praise the name of the Lord, our God.
They have (R)bowed down and fallen,
But we have (S)risen and stood upright.
[f](T)Save, Lord;
May the (U)King answer us on the day we call.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 20:1 Lit make you high and inaccessible
  2. Psalm 20:3 Lit consider your...as fat
  3. Psalm 20:5 Or Let’s sing
  4. Psalm 20:5 Or salvation
  5. Psalm 20:6 Or mighty deeds of the victory of His right hand
  6. Psalm 20:9 Or O Lord, save the king; answer us

God, the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.

A Psalm of [a]Asaph.

50 (A)The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken
And summoned the earth, (B)from [b]the rising of the sun to its setting.
Out of Zion, (C)the perfection of beauty,
God (D)has shone.
May our God (E)come and not keep silent;
(F)Fire devours before Him,
And a storm is violently (G)raging around Him.
He (H)summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:
“Gather My (I)godly ones to Me,
Those who have made a (J)covenant with Me by (K)sacrifice.”
And the (L)heavens declare His righteousness,
For (M)God Himself is judge. Selah

(N)Hear, My people, and I will speak;
Israel, I will testify [c]against you;
I am God, (O)your God.
I do (P)not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
I will not take a (Q)bull from your house,
Nor male goats from your folds.
10 For (R)every animal of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every (S)bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is [d]Mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the (T)world is Mine, and [e]everything it contains.
13 Shall I eat the flesh of [f](U)bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
14 Offer God (V)a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And (W)pay your vows to the Most High;
15 (X)Call upon Me on the day of trouble;
I will (Y)rescue you, and you will (Z)honor Me.”

16 But to the wicked God says,
“What right do you have to tell of My statutes
And to take (AA)My covenant in your mouth?
17 For you yourself (AB)hate discipline,
And you (AC)throw My words behind you.
18 When you see a thief, you (AD)become friends with him,
And [g]you (AE)associate with adulterers.
19 You [h](AF)let your mouth loose in evil,
And your (AG)tongue harnesses deceit.
20 You sit and (AH)speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
21 These things you have done and (AI)I kept silent;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will (AJ)rebuke you and present the case before your eyes.

22 “Now consider this, you who (AK)forget God,
Or I will (AL)tear you in pieces, and there will be no one to save you.
23 He who (AM)offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who (AN)sets his way properly
I will (AO)show the salvation of God.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 50 Title 1 Chr 15:17; 2 Chr 29:30
  2. Psalm 50:1 I.e., the east to the west
  3. Psalm 50:7 Or to
  4. Psalm 50:11 Or in My mind; lit with Me
  5. Psalm 50:12 Lit its fullness
  6. Psalm 50:13 Lit strong ones
  7. Psalm 50:18 Lit your part is with
  8. Psalm 50:19 Lit send

God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.

For the music director; set to [a]El Shoshannim; [b]Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.

80 Listen, (A)Shepherd of Israel,
Who leads (B)Joseph like a flock;
You who (C)are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
Before (D)Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, (E)awaken Your power,
And come to save us!
God, (F)restore us
And (G)make Your face shine upon us, [c]and we will be saved.

(H)Lord God of armies,
(I)How long will You [d]be angry with the prayer of Your people?
You have fed them with the (J)bread of tears,
And You have made them drink tears in [e]large measure.
You make us [f]an object of contention (K)to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
God of armies, restore us
And make Your face shine upon us, [g]and we will be saved.

You removed a (L)vine from Egypt;
You (M)drove out the [h]nations and (N)planted it.
You (O)cleared the ground before it,
And it (P)took deep root and filled the land.
10 The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And [i]the cedars of God with its (Q)branches.
11 It was sending out its branches (R)to the sea
And its shoots to the Euphrates River.
12 Why have You (S)broken down its [j]hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
13 A boar from the forest (T)eats it away,
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.

14 God of armies, do (U)turn back;
(V)Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
15 The [k](W)shoot which Your right hand has planted,
And of the [l]son whom You have [m]strengthened for Yourself.
16 It is (X)burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish from the (Y)rebuke of Your face.
17 Let (Z)Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You (AA)made strong for Yourself.
18 Then we will not (AB)turn back from You;
(AC)Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
19 Lord God of armies, (AD)restore us;
Make Your face shine upon us, [n]and we will be saved.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 80 Title Possibly, to the Lilies
  2. Psalm 80 Title Lit A testimony
  3. Psalm 80:3 Or that we may
  4. Psalm 80:4 Lit smoke against
  5. Psalm 80:5 Lit a third part of a
  6. Psalm 80:6 Lit strife to
  7. Psalm 80:7 Or that we may
  8. Psalm 80:8 Or Gentiles
  9. Psalm 80:10 Or its boughs are like the cedars of God
  10. Psalm 80:12 Or walls, fences
  11. Psalm 80:15 Or root
  12. Psalm 80:15 Or figuratively: branch
  13. Psalm 80:15 Or secured
  14. Psalm 80:19 Or that we may

The Lord Gives Dominion to the King.

A Psalm of David.

110 (A)The Lord says to my Lord:
(B)Sit at My right hand
Until I make (C)Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
The Lord will stretch out Your strong (D)scepter from Zion, saying,
(E)Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
Your (F)people [a]will volunteer freely on the day of Your [b]power;
(G)In [c]holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn,
[d]Your youth are to You as the (H)dew.

(I)The Lord has sworn and will (J)not [e]change His mind,
“You are a (K)priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
The Lord is (L)at Your right hand;
He [f]will (M)shatter kings in the (N)day of His wrath.
He will (O)judge among the nations,
He [g]will fill them with (P)corpses,
He [h]will (Q)shatter the [i]chief men over a broad country.
He will (R)drink from the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He will (S)lift up His head.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 110:3 Lit will be voluntary offerings
  2. Psalm 110:3 Or army
  3. Psalm 110:3 Or the splendor of holiness
  4. Psalm 110:3 Or The dew of Your youth is Yours
  5. Psalm 110:4 Lit be sorry
  6. Psalm 110:5 Or has shattered
  7. Psalm 110:6 Or has filled
  8. Psalm 110:6 Or has shattered
  9. Psalm 110:6 Lit head over

Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

140 (A)Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
Protect me from (B)violent men
Who (C)devise evil things in their hearts;
They (D)continually stir up wars.
They (E)sharpen their tongues like a snake;
(F)The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah

(G)Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
(H)Protect me from violent men
Who [a]intend to [b](I)trip up my feet.
The proud have (J)hidden a trap for me, and snares;
They have spread a (K)net at the [c]wayside;
They have set (L)snares for me. Selah

I (M)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
(N)Listen, Lord, to the (O)sound of my pleadings.
[d]God the Lord, (P)the strength of my salvation,
You have (Q)covered my head on the day of [e]battle.
Do not grant, Lord, the (R)desires of the wicked;
Do not bring about (S)his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah

“As for the head of those who surround me,
May the (T)harm of their lips cover them.
10 May (U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be (V)cast into the fire,
Into bottomless pits from which they (W)cannot rise.
11 May a [f]slanderer not endure on the earth;
(X)May evil hunt a violent person [g]violently.”

12 I know that the Lord will (Y)maintain the cause of the afflicted,
And (Z)justice for the poor.
13 Certainly the (AA)righteous will give thanks to Your name;
The (AB)upright will dwell in Your presence.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 140:4 Or devise
  2. Psalm 140:4 Lit push
  3. Psalm 140:5 Lit track
  4. Psalm 140:7 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  5. Psalm 140:7 Lit weapons
  6. Psalm 140:11 Lit man of tongue
  7. Psalm 140:11 Lit blow upon blow

On Life and Conduct

20 (A)Wine is a mocker, (B)intoxicating drink a brawler,
And whoever [a]is intoxicated by it is not wise.
The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
One who provokes him to anger [b](C)forfeits his own life.
(D)Avoiding strife is an honor for a person,
But any fool will [c]quarrel.
The [d](E)lazy one does not plow after the autumn,
So he [e]begs during the harvest and has nothing.
A plan in the heart of a person is like deep water,
But a person of understanding draws it out.
Many a person (F)proclaims his own loyalty,
But who can find a (G)trustworthy person?
A righteous person who (H)walks in his integrity—
(I)How blessed are his sons after him.
(J)A king who sits on the throne of justice
[f]Disperses all evil with his eyes.
(K)Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,
I am pure from my sin”?
10 [g](L)Differing weights and differing measures,
Both of them are abominable to the Lord.
11 It is by his deeds that a boy [h](M)distinguishes himself,
If his conduct is pure and right.
12 The hearing (N)ear and the seeing eye,
The Lord has made both of them.
13 (O)Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with [i]food.
14 “Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
But when he goes his way, then he boasts.
15 There is gold, and an abundance of [j]jewels;
But lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.
16 Take his garment when he becomes guarantor for a stranger;
And for foreigners, seize a pledge from him.
17 (P)Bread obtained by a lie is sweet to a person,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
18 Prepare (Q)plans by consultation,
And (R)make war by wise guidance.
19 One who (S)goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with [k](T)a gossip.
20 He who (U)curses his father or his mother,
His (V)lamp will go out in time of darkness.
21 An inheritance gained in a hurry at the beginning
Will not be blessed in the end.
22 (W)Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
(X)Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
23 [l](Y)Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord,
And a [m](Z)false scale is not good.
24 (AA)A man’s steps are ordained by the Lord;
How then can a person understand his way?
25 It is a trap for a person to say carelessly, “It is holy!”
And (AB)after the vows to make inquiry.
26 A (AC)wise king scatters the wicked,
And [n]drives a (AD)threshing wheel over them.
27 The [o](AE)spirit of a person is the lamp of the Lord,
Searching all the [p]innermost parts of his being.
28 [q]Loyalty and (AF)truth watch over the king,
And he upholds his throne by [r]loyalty.
29 The glory of young men is their strength,
And the [s](AG)honor of old men is their gray hair.
30 (AH)Bruising wounds clean away evil,
And blows cleanse the [t]innermost parts.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 20:1 Lit errs
  2. Proverbs 20:2 Lit sins against
  3. Proverbs 20:3 Lit burst out
  4. Proverbs 20:4 Lit idle
  5. Proverbs 20:4 Lit asks
  6. Proverbs 20:8 Or Sifts
  7. Proverbs 20:10 Lit A stone and a stone, an ephah and an ephah
  8. Proverbs 20:11 Or makes himself known
  9. Proverbs 20:13 Lit bread
  10. Proverbs 20:15 Or corals
  11. Proverbs 20:19 Lit one who opens his lips
  12. Proverbs 20:23 Lit A stone and a stone
  13. Proverbs 20:23 Lit balance of deceit
  14. Proverbs 20:26 Lit turns
  15. Proverbs 20:27 Lit breath
  16. Proverbs 20:27 Lit chambers of the body
  17. Proverbs 20:28 I.e., covenant loyalty
  18. Proverbs 20:28 I.e., covenant loyalty
  19. Proverbs 20:29 Or splendor
  20. Proverbs 20:30 Lit chambers of the body

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