Psalm 7-18

New American Standard Bible

³ O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is ^(D)injustice in my hands,
⁴ If I have ^(E)done evil to ^[d]my friend,
Or have ^(F)plundered ^[e]my enemy for no reason,
⁵ Let the enemy pursue ^[f]my soul and overtake ^[g]it;
And let him trample my life to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. Selah

^6 (G)Arise, Lord, in Your anger;
^(H)Raise Yourself against ^(I)the rage of my enemies,
And ^(J)stir Yourself ^[h]for me; You have ordered judgment.
⁷ Let the assembly of the ^(K)peoples encompass You,
And return on high over it.
⁸ The Lord ^(L)judges the peoples;
^[i](M)Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
⁹ Please let ^(N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but ^(O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God ^(P)puts hearts and ^[j]minds to the test.
¹⁰ My ^(Q)shield is ^[k]with God,
Who ^(R)saves the upright in heart.
¹¹ God is a ^(S)righteous judge,
And a God who ^(T)shows indignation every day.

¹² If one ^(U)does not repent, He will ^(V)sharpen His sword;
He has ^(W)bent His bow and taken aim.
¹³ He has also prepared deadly weapons for Himself;
He makes His ^(X)arrows fiery shafts.
¹⁴ Behold, an evil person is pregnant with injustice,
And he ^(Y)conceives harm and gives birth to lies.
¹⁵ He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has ^(Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
¹⁶ His ^(AA)harm will return on his own head,
And his ^(AB)violence will descend on the top of his own head.

¹⁷ I will give thanks to the Lord ^(AC)according to His righteousness
And will ^(AD)sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

³ When I ^[n](AI)consider ^(AJ)Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The ^(AK)moon and the stars, which You have set in place;
^4 (AL)What is man that You think of him,
And a son of man that You are concerned about him?
⁵ Yet You have made him a ^(AM)little lower than ^[o]God,
And ^(AN)You crown him with ^(AO)glory and majesty!
⁶ You have him ^(AP)rule over the works of Your hands;
You have ^(AQ)put everything under his feet,
⁷ All sheep and oxen,
And also the animals of the field,
⁸ The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

^9 (AR)Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth!

³ When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and ^(AX)perish before You.
⁴ For You have ^(AY)maintained ^[r]my just cause;
You have sat on the throne ^[s](AZ)judging righteously.
⁵ You have ^(BA)rebuked the nations, You have eliminated the wicked;
You have ^(BB)wiped out their name forever and ever.
^6 [t]The enemy has come to an end in everlasting ruins,
And You have uprooted the cities;
The very ^(BC)memory of them has perished.

⁷ But the ^(BD)Lord ^[u]sits as King forever;
He has established His ^(BE)throne for judgment,
⁸ And He will ^(BF)judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the peoples fairly.
^9 [v]The Lord will also be a ^(BG)stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;
¹⁰ And ^[w]those who ^(BH)know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, Lord, have not ^(BI)abandoned those who seek You.

¹¹ Sing praises to the Lord, who ^(BJ)dwells in Zion;
^(BK)Declare His deeds among the peoples.
¹² For ^(BL)He who ^[x]requires blood remembers them;
He does not forget ^(BM)the cry of the needy.
¹³ Be gracious to me, Lord;
See my oppression from those ^(BN)who hate me,
You who ^(BO)lift me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴ So that I may tell of ^(BP)all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may ^(BQ)rejoice in Your ^[y]salvation.
¹⁵ The nations have sunk down ^(BR)into the pit which they have made;
In the ^(BS)net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.
¹⁶ The Lord has ^(BT)made Himself known;
He has ^(BU)executed judgment.
A wicked one is ensnared in the work of his own hands. ^[z]Higgaion Selah

¹⁷ The wicked will ^[aa](BV)return to ^[ab]Sheol,
All the nations who ^(BW)forget God.
¹⁸ For the ^(BX)needy will not always be forgotten,
Nor the ^(BY)hope of the afflicted perish forever.
^19 (BZ)Arise, Lord, do not let mankind prevail;
Let the nations be ^(CA)judged before You.
²⁰ Put them ^(CB)in fear, Lord;
Let the nations know that they are ^(CC)merely human. Selah

³ For the wicked ^(CH)boasts of his ^(CI)soul’s desire,
And ^[ae]the greedy person curses and ^(CJ)shows disrespect to the Lord.
⁴ The wicked, ^[af]in his haughtiness, ^(CK)does not seek Him.
^(CL)There is no God in all his schemes.

⁵ His ways ^(CM)succeed at all times;
Yet Your judgments are on high, ^(CN)out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he snorts at them.
⁶ He says to himself, “^(CO)I will not be moved;
^[ag]Throughout the generations ^(CP)I will not be in adversity.”
⁷ His ^(CQ)mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and ^(CR)oppression;
^(CS)Under his tongue is harm and injustice.
⁸ He sits in the ^(CT)lurking places of the villages;
He ^(CU)kills the innocent in the secret places;
His eyes ^[ah]surreptitiously watch for the ^[ai](CV)unfortunate.
⁹ He lurks in secret like ^(CW)a lion in his ^[aj]lair;
He ^(CX)lurks to catch ^(CY)the needy;
He catches the needy when he pulls him into his ^(CZ)net.
¹⁰ Then he crushes the needy one, who cowers;
And ^[ak]unfortunate people fall by his mighty power.
¹¹ He ^(DA)says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”

¹² Arise, Lord; God, ^(DB)lift up Your hand.
^(DC)Do not forget the humble.
¹³ Why has the wicked ^(DD)treated God disrespectfully?
He has said to himself, “^[al]You will not require an account.”
¹⁴ You have seen it, for You have looked at ^(DE)harm and provocation to ^[am]take it into Your hand.
The ^[an](DF)unfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the ^(DG)helper of the orphan.
^15 (DH)Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
^[ao](DI)Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

¹⁶ The Lord is ^(DJ)King forever and ever;
^(DK)Nations have perished from His land.
¹⁷ Lord, You have heard the ^(DL)desire of the humble;
You will ^(DM)strengthen their heart, ^(DN)You will make Your ear attentive
¹⁸ To ^[ap]vindicate the ^(DO)orphan and the ^(DP)oppressed,
So that mankind, which is of the earth, will no longer cause ^(DQ)terror.

⁴ The Lord is in His ^(DX)holy temple; the ^[ar]Lord’s ^(DY)throne is in heaven;
His ^(DZ)eyes see, His eyelids test the sons of mankind.
⁵ The Lord ^(EA)tests the righteous and ^(EB)the wicked,
And His soul hates one who loves violence.
⁶ He will ^(EC)rain ^[as]coals of fire upon the wicked,
^(ED)And brimstone and ^(EE)burning wind will be the portion of ^(EF)their cup.
⁷ For the Lord is ^(EG)righteous, ^(EH)He loves ^[at]righteousness;
The upright will ^(EI)see His face.

⁶ The ^(ER)words of the Lord are pure words;
Like silver ^(ES)refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times.
⁷ You, Lord, will keep them;
You will ^(ET)protect him from this generation forever.
⁸ The ^(EU)wicked strut about on every side
When ^[az](EV)vileness is exalted among the sons of mankind.

^3 (FA)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
^(FB)Enlighten my eyes, or I will ^(FC)sleep the sleep of death,
⁴ And my enemy will ^(FD)say, “I have overcome him,”
And ^(FE)my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

⁵ But I have ^(FF)trusted in Your faithfulness;
My heart shall ^(FG)rejoice in Your salvation.
⁶ I will ^(FH)sing to the Lord,
Because He has ^(FI)looked after me.

⁴ Do all the workers of injustice ^(FQ)not know,
Who ^(FR)devour my people as they eat bread,
And ^(FS)do not call upon the Lord?
⁵ There they are in great dread,
For God is with a ^(FT)righteous generation.
⁶ You would put to shame the plan of the poor,
But the Lord is his ^(FU)refuge.

⁷ Oh, that ^(FV)the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord ^(FW)restores the fortunes of His people,
Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

⁵ The Lord is the ^(GR)portion of my inheritance and my ^(GS)cup;
You support my ^(GT)lot.
⁶ The measuring ^(GU)lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my inheritance is ^(GV)beautiful to me.

⁷ I will bless the Lord who has ^(GW)advised me;
Indeed, my ^[bk](GX)mind instructs me in the night.
^8 (GY)I have ^(GZ)set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is ^(HA)at my right hand, ^(HB)I will not be shaken.
⁹ Therefore ^(HC)my heart is glad and ^(HD)my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will ^(HE)dwell securely.
¹⁰ For You ^(HF)will not abandon my soul to ^[bl]Sheol;
You will not ^[bm](HG)allow Your ^[bn]Holy One to ^[bo]undergo decay.
¹¹ You will make known to me ^(HH)the way of life;
In ^(HI)Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are ^(HJ)pleasures forever.

⁶ I have ^(HY)called upon You, for You will answer me, God;
^(HZ)Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.
^7 (IA)Show Your wonderful faithfulness,
^(IB)Savior of those who take refuge ^[bs]at Your right hand
From those who rise up against them.
⁸ Keep me as ^[bt]the ^(IC)apple of the eye;
Hide me ^(ID)in the shadow of Your wings
⁹ From the ^(IE)wicked who deal violently with me,
My ^(IF)deadly enemies who surround me.
¹⁰ They have ^(IG)closed their ^[bu]unfeeling hearts,
With their mouths they ^(IH)speak proudly.
¹¹ They have now ^(II)surrounded us in our steps;
They set their eyes ^(IJ)to cast us down to the ground.
¹² He is ^(IK)like a lion that is eager to tear,
And as a young lion ^(IL)lurking in secret places.

^13 (IM)Arise, Lord, confront him, ^(IN)make him bow down;
^(IO)Save my soul from the wicked with ^(IP)Your sword,
¹⁴ From people by ^(IQ)Your hand, Lord,
From people ^[bv]of the world, ^(IR)whose portion is in this life,
And whose belly You ^(IS)fill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And leave their abundance to their babies.
¹⁵ As for me, I shall ^(IT)behold Your face in righteousness;
^(IU)I shall be satisfied with Your ^(IV)likeness when I awake.

⁴ The ^(JF)ropes of death encompassed me,
And the ^(JG)torrents of ^[bx]destruction ^[by]terrified me.
⁵ The ^(JH)ropes of ^[bz]Sheol surrounded me;
The snares of death confronted me.
⁶ In my ^(JI)distress I called upon the Lord,
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice ^(JJ)from His temple,
And my ^(JK)cry for help before Him came into His ears.

⁷ Then the ^(JL)earth shook and quaked;
And the ^(JM)foundations of the mountains were trembling
And were shaken, because He was angry.
⁸ Smoke went up ^[ca]out of His nostrils,
And ^(JN)fire from His mouth was devouring;
Coals burned from it.
⁹ He also ^(JO)bowed the heavens down low, and came down
With thick ^(JP)darkness under His feet.
¹⁰ He rode on a ^(JQ)cherub and flew;
And He sped on the ^(JR)wings of the wind.
¹¹ He made ^(JS)darkness His hiding place, ^(JT)His ^[cb]canopy around Him,
Darkness of waters, thick clouds.
¹² From the ^(JU)brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and ^(JV)coals of fire.
¹³ The Lord also ^(JW)thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.
¹⁴ He ^(JX)sent out His arrows, and scattered them,
And lightning flashes in abundance, and ^[cc]routed them.
¹⁵ Then the ^(JY)channels of water appeared,
And the foundations of the world were exposed
By Your ^(JZ)rebuke, Lord,
At the blast of the ^(KA)breath of Your nostrils.

¹⁶ He ^(KB)sent from on high, He took me;
He drew me out of ^(KC)many waters.
¹⁷ He ^(KD)saved me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were ^(KE)too mighty for me.
¹⁸ They confronted me in ^(KF)the day of my disaster,
But ^(KG)the Lord was my support.
¹⁹ He also brought me out into an ^(KH)open place;
He rescued me, because ^(KI)He delighted in me.

²⁰ The Lord has ^(KJ)rewarded me according to my righteousness;
According to the ^(KK)cleanness of my hands He has repaid me.
²¹ For I have ^(KL)kept the ways of the Lord,
And have ^(KM)not acted wickedly against my God.
²² For all ^(KN)His judgments were before me,
And I did not put away His ^(KO)statutes from me.
²³ I was also ^[cd](KP)blameless with Him,
And I ^(KQ)kept myself from my wrongdoing.
²⁴ Therefore the Lord has ^(KR)repaid me according to my righteousness,
According to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes.

²⁵ With ^(KS)the faithful You show Yourself faithful;
With the ^[ce]blameless ^(KT)You prove Yourself blameless;
²⁶ With the pure You show Yourself ^(KU)pure,
And with the crooked ^(KV)You show Yourself ^[cf]astute.
²⁷ For You ^(KW)save an afflicted people,
But You humiliate ^(KX)haughty eyes.
²⁸ For You ^(KY)light my lamp;
The Lord my God ^(KZ)illumines my darkness.
²⁹ For by You I can ^(LA)run at a ^[cg]troop of warriors;
And by my God I can ^(LB)leap over a wall.

³⁰ As for God, His way is ^[ch](LC)blameless;
The ^(LD)word of the Lord is refined;
He is a ^(LE)shield to all who take refuge in Him.
³¹ For ^(LF)who is God, but the Lord?
And who is a ^(LG)rock, except our God,
³² The God who ^(LH)encircles me with strength,
And ^[ci]makes my way ^[cj](LI)blameless?
³³ He ^(LJ)makes my feet like deer’s feet,
And ^(LK)sets me up on my high places.
³⁴ He ^(LL)trains my hands for battle,
So that my arms can ^(LM)bend a bow of bronze.
³⁵ You have also given me ^(LN)the shield of Your salvation,
And Your ^(LO)right hand upholds me;
And ^(LP)Your ^[ck]gentleness makes me great.
³⁶ You ^(LQ)enlarge my steps under me,
And my ^[cl](LR)feet have not slipped.

³⁷ I ^(LS)pursued my enemies and overtook them,
And I did not turn back ^(LT)until they were consumed.
³⁸ I shattered them, so that they were ^(LU)not able to rise;
They fell ^(LV)under my feet.
³⁹ For You have ^(LW)encircled me with strength for battle;
You have forced those who rose up against me ^(LX)to bow down under me.
⁴⁰ You have also made my enemies ^(LY)turn their backs to me,
And I ^[cm](LZ)destroyed those who hated me.
⁴¹ They cried for help, but there was ^(MA)no one to save,
They cried to the Lord, but ^(MB)He did not answer them.
⁴² Then I beat them fine like the ^(MC)dust before the wind;
I emptied them out like the mud of the streets.

⁴³ You have rescued me from the ^(MD)contentions of the people;
You have placed me as ^(ME)head of the nations;
A ^(MF)people whom I have not known serve me.
⁴⁴ As soon as they hear, they obey me;
Foreigners ^(MG)pretend to obey me.
⁴⁵ Foreigners ^(MH)lose heart,
And ^(MI)come trembling out of their ^[cn]fortresses.

⁴⁶ The Lord ^(MJ)lives, and blessed be ^(MK)my rock;
And exalted be ^(ML)the God of my salvation,
⁴⁷ The God who ^(MM)executes vengeance for me,
And ^(MN)subdues peoples under me.
⁴⁸ He ^(MO)rescues me from my enemies;
You indeed ^(MP)lift me above those who rise up against me;
You rescue me from a ^(MQ)violent man.
⁴⁹ Therefore I will ^(MR)give thanks to You among the nations, Lord,
And I will ^(MS)sing praises to Your name.
⁵⁰ He gives great ^[co](MT)salvation to His king,
And shows faithfulness to ^(MU)His anointed,
To David and ^(MV)his ^[cp]descendants forever.