Psalm 28-36

New American Standard Bible

A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.

A Psalm of David.

28 To You, Lord, I call;
My ^(A)rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You ^(B)are silent to me,
I will become like those who ^(C)go down to the pit.
²Hear the ^(D)sound of my pleadings when I cry to You for help,
When I ^(E)raise my hands ^(F)toward ^[a]Your holy ^(G)sanctuary.
³^(H)Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with those who practice injustice,
Who ^(I)speak peace with their neighbors,
While evil is in their hearts.
⁴Give back to them ^(J)according to their work and according to the evil of their practices;
Give back to them according to the work of their hands;
Repay them what is due them.
⁵Because they ^(K)do not regard the works of the Lord
Nor the deeds of His hands,
He will tear them down and not build them up.

⁶Blessed be the Lord,
Because He ^(L)has heard the sound of my pleading.
⁷The Lord is my ^(M)strength and my ^(N)shield;
My heart ^(O)trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore ^(P)my heart triumphs,
And with ^(Q)my song I shall thank Him.
⁸The Lord is ^[b]their ^(R)strength,
And He is a refuge of ^(S)salvation to His anointed.
⁹^(T)Save Your people and bless ^(U)Your inheritance;
Be their ^(V)shepherd also, and ^(W)carry them forever.

The Voice of the Lord in the Storm.

A Psalm of David.

29 ^(X)Ascribe to the Lord, ^[c]sons of the mighty,
Ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
²Ascribe to the Lord the glory ^[d]due His name;
Worship the Lord ^(Y)in holy attire.

³The ^(Z)voice of the Lord is on the waters;
The God of glory ^(AA)thunders,
The Lord is over ^[e]^(AB)many waters.
⁴The voice of the Lord is ^(AC)powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
⁵The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
Yes, the Lord breaks ^(AD)the cedars of Lebanon in pieces.
⁶He makes Lebanon ^(AE)skip like a calf,
And ^(AF)Sirion like a young wild ox.
⁷The voice of the Lord divides ^[f]flames of fire.
⁸The voice of the Lord ^[g]shakes the wilderness;
The Lord shakes the wilderness of ^(AG)Kadesh.
⁹The voice of the Lord makes ^(AH)the deer give birth
And strips the forests bare;
And ^(AI)in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

¹⁰The Lord sat as King at the ^(AJ)flood;
Yes, the Lord sits as ^(AK)King forever.
¹¹^[h]The Lord will give ^(AL)strength to His people;
^[i]The Lord will bless His people with ^(AM)peace.

Thanksgiving for Rescue from Death.

A Psalm; a Song at the Dedication of the House. A Psalm of David.

30 I will ^(AN)exalt You, Lord, for You have ^(AO)lifted me up,
And have not let my ^(AP)enemies rejoice over me.
²Lord my God,
I ^(AQ)cried to You for help, and You ^(AR)healed me.
³Lord, You have ^(AS)brought up my soul from ^[j]Sheol;
You have kept me alive, ^[k]that I would not ^(AT)go down to the pit.
⁴^(AU)Sing praise to the Lord, you ^(AV)His godly ones,
And ^(AW)praise the mention of His holiness.
⁵For ^(AX)His anger is but for a moment,
His ^(AY)favor is for a lifetime;
Weeping may ^(AZ)last for the night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

⁶Now as for me, I said in my prosperity,
“I will ^(BA)never be moved.”
⁷Lord, by Your favor You have made my mountain to stand strong;
You ^(BB)hid Your face, I was dismayed.
⁸To You, Lord, I called,
And to the Lord I pleaded for compassion:
⁹“What gain is there in my blood, if I ^(BC)go down to the pit?
Will the ^(BD)dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness?

¹⁰“^(BE)Hear, Lord, and be gracious to me;
Lord, be my ^(BF)helper.”
¹¹You have turned ^(BG)my mourning into dancing for me;
You have ^(BH)untied my sackcloth and encircled me with ^(BI)joy,
¹²That my ^[l]^(BJ)soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
Lord my God, I will ^(BK)give thanks to You forever.

A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

31 ^(BL)In You, Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never ^(BM)be ^[m]put to shame;
^(BN)In Your righteousness rescue me.
²^(BO)Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be a ^(BP)rock of ^[n]strength for me,
A ^[o]stronghold to save me.
³For You are my rock and ^(BQ)my fortress;
For the ^(BR)sake of Your name You will lead me and guide me.
⁴You will ^(BS)pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my ^(BT)strength.
⁵^(BU)Into Your hand I entrust my spirit;
You have ^(BV)redeemed me, Lord, ^(BW)God of ^[p]truth.

⁶I hate those who ^(BX)devote themselves to worthless ^[q]idols,
But I ^(BY)trust in the Lord.
⁷I will ^(BZ)rejoice and be glad in Your faithfulness,
Because You have ^(CA)seen my misery;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
⁸And You have not ^(CB)handed me over to the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.

⁹Be gracious to me, Lord, for ^(CC)I am in distress;
My ^(CD)eye is wasted away from grief, ^(CE)my soul and my body too.
¹⁰For my life is spent with ^(CF)sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My ^(CG)strength has failed because of my guilt,
And ^(CH)my ^[r]body has wasted away.
¹¹Because of all my adversaries, I have become a ^(CI)disgrace,
Especially to my ^(CJ)neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
¹²I am ^(CK)forgotten like a dead person, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
¹³For I have heard the ^[s]^(CL)slander of many,
^(CM)Terror is on every side;
While they ^(CN)took counsel together against me,
They ^(CO)schemed to take away my life.

¹⁴But as for me, I trust in You, Lord,
I say, “^(CP)You are my God.”
¹⁵My ^(CQ)times are in Your hand;
^(CR)Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
¹⁶Make Your ^(CS)face shine upon Your servant;
^(CT)Save me in Your faithfulness.
¹⁷Let me not be ^(CU)put to shame, Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the ^(CV)wicked be put to shame, let them ^(CW)be silent in ^[t]Sheol.
¹⁸Let the ^(CX)lying lips be speechless,
Which ^(CY)speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.

¹⁹How great is Your ^(CZ)goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have performed for those who ^(DA)take refuge in You,
^(DB)Before the sons of mankind!
²⁰You hide them in the ^(DC)secret place of Your presence from the ^(DD)conspiracies of mankind;
You keep them secretly in a ^[u]shelter from the ^(DE)strife of tongues.
²¹^(DF)Blessed be the Lord,
For He has shown His ^(DG)marvelous faithfulness to me in a besieged ^(DH)city.
²²As for me, ^(DI)I said in my alarm,
“I am ^(DJ)cut off from Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You ^(DK)heard the sound of my pleadings
When I called to You for help.

²³Love the Lord, all ^(DL)His godly ones!
The Lord ^(DM)watches over the faithful
But fully ^(DN)repays the one who acts arrogantly.
²⁴^(DO)Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All you who wait for the Lord.

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A ^[v]Maskil.

32 ^(DP)How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
²How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord ^(DQ)does not take into account,
And in whose spirit there is ^(DR)no deceit!

³When ^(DS)I kept silent about my sin, ^(DT)my ^[w]body wasted away
Through my ^[x]^(DU)groaning all day long.
⁴For day and night ^(DV)Your hand was heavy upon me;
My ^[y]^(DW)vitality failed as with the dry heat of summer. Selah
⁵I ^(DX)acknowledged my sin to You,
And I ^(DY)did not hide my guilt;
I said, “^(DZ)I will confess my wrongdoings to the Lord”;
And You ^(EA)forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
⁶Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You ^[z]^(EB)in a time when You may be found;
Certainly ^(EC)in a flood of great waters, they will not reach him.
⁷You are ^(ED)my hiding place; You ^(EE)keep me from trouble;
You surround me with ^[aa]^(EF)songs of deliverance. Selah

⁸I will ^(EG)instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will advise you ^(EH)with My eye upon you.
⁹Do not be ^(EI)like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
¹⁰The ^(EJ)sorrows of the wicked are many,
But ^(EK)the one who trusts in the Lord, goodness will surround him.
¹¹Be ^(EL)glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are ^(EM)upright in heart.

Praise to the Creator and Protector.

33 ^(EN)Sing for joy in the Lord, you righteous ones;
Praise is ^(EO)becoming to the upright.
²Give thanks to the Lord with the ^(EP)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a ^(EQ)harp of ten strings.
³Sing to Him a ^(ER)new song;
Play skillfully with ^(ES)a shout of joy.
⁴For the word of the Lord ^(ET)is right,
And all His work is done ^(EU)in faithfulness.
⁵He ^(EV)loves righteousness and justice;
The ^(EW)earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

⁶By the ^(EX)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And ^(EY)by the breath of His mouth ^(EZ)all their ^[ab]lights.
⁷He gathers the ^(FA)waters of the sea together ^[ac]as a heap;
He puts the depths in storehouses.
⁸Let ^(FB)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world ^(FC)stand in awe of Him.
⁹For ^(FD)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it ^[ad]stood firm.
¹⁰The Lord ^(FE)nullifies the plan of nations;
He frustrates the plans of peoples.
¹¹The ^(FF)plan of the Lord stands forever,
The ^(FG)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
¹²Blessed is the ^(FH)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has ^(FI)chosen for His own inheritance.

¹³The Lord ^(FJ)looks from heaven;
He ^(FK)sees all the sons of mankind;
¹⁴From ^(FL)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
¹⁵He who ^(FM)fashions ^[ae]the hearts of them all,
He who ^(FN)understands all their works.
¹⁶^(FO)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not rescued by great strength.
¹⁷A ^(FP)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength.

¹⁸Behold, ^(FQ)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who ^(FR)wait for His faithfulness,
¹⁹To ^(FS)rescue their soul from death
And to keep them alive ^(FT)in famine.
²⁰Our soul ^(FU)waits for the Lord;
He is our ^(FV)help and our shield.
²¹For our ^(FW)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
²²Let Your favor, Lord, be upon us,
Just as we have waited for You.

The Lord, a Provider and the One Who Rescues Me.

A Psalm of David, when he pretended to be insane before ^[af]Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.

34 I will ^(FX)bless the Lord at all times;
His ^(FY)praise shall continually be in my mouth.
²My soul will ^(FZ)make its boast in the Lord;
The ^(GA)humble will hear it and rejoice.
³^(GB)Exalt the Lord with me,
And let’s ^(GC)exalt His name together.

⁴I ^(GD)sought the Lord and He answered me,
And ^(GE)rescued me from all my fears.
⁵They ^(GF)looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will ^(GG)never be ashamed.
⁶This wretched man cried out, and ^(GH)the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷The ^(GI)angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.

⁸^(GJ)Taste and see that the Lord is good;
How ^(GK)blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
⁹Fear the Lord, you ^(GL)His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is ^(GM)no lack of anything.
¹⁰The young lions do without and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord will ^(GN)not lack any good thing.
¹¹^(GO)Come, you children, listen to me;
^(GP)I will teach you ^(GQ)the fear of the Lord.
¹²^(GR)Who is the person who desires life
And loves length of days, that he may ^(GS)see good?
¹³Keep ^(GT)your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking ^(GU)deceit.
¹⁴^(GV)Turn from evil and do good;
Seek peace and ^(GW)pursue it.

¹⁵The ^(GX)eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears are toward their cry for help.
¹⁶The ^(GY)face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To ^(GZ)eliminate the memory of them from the earth.
¹⁷The righteous ^(HA)cry out, and the Lord hears
And rescues them from all their troubles.
¹⁸The Lord ^(HB)is near to the ^(HC)brokenhearted
And saves those who are ^[ag]^(HD)crushed in spirit.

¹⁹^(HE)The ^(HF)afflictions of the righteous are many,
But the Lord ^(HG)rescues him from them all.
²⁰He protects all his bones,
^(HH)Not one of them is broken.
²¹^(HI)Evil will bring death to the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will suffer for their guilt.
²²The Lord ^(HJ)redeems the souls of His servants,
And none of those who ^(HK)take refuge in Him will suffer for their guilt.

Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.

A Psalm of David.

35 Contend, Lord, with those who ^(HL)contend with me;
Fight against those who ^(HM)fight against me.
²Take hold of ^[ah]^(HN)buckler and shield
And rise up as ^(HO)my help.
³Draw also the spear and ^[ai]the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am ^(HP)your salvation.”
⁴Let those be ^(HQ)ashamed and dishonored who seek my ^[aj]life;
Let those be ^(HR)turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
⁵Let them be ^(HS)like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
⁶Let their way be dark and ^(HT)slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
⁷For ^(HU)they ^(HV)hid their net for me without cause;
Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.
⁸Let ^(HW)destruction come upon him when he is unaware,
And ^(HX)let the net which he hid catch him;
Let him fall into that very ^(HY)destruction.

⁹So my soul shall ^(HZ)rejoice in the Lord;
It shall ^(IA)rejoice in His salvation.
¹⁰All my ^(IB)bones will say, “Lord, ^(IC)who is like You,
Who rescues the afflicted from one ^(ID)who is too strong for him,
And ^(IE)the afflicted and the poor from one who robs him?”
¹¹^(IF)Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
¹²They ^(IG)repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
¹³But as for me, ^(IH)when they were sick, my ^(II)clothing was sackcloth;
I ^(IJ)humbled my soul with fasting,
But my ^(IK)prayer kept returning to ^[ak]me.
¹⁴I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I ^(IL)bowed down ^[al]in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother.
¹⁵But ^(IM)at my ^[am]stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The ^[an]^(IN)afflicted people whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They ^[ao]^(IO)slandered me without ceasing.
¹⁶Like godless jesters at a feast,
They ^(IP)gnashed at me with their teeth.

¹⁷Lord, ^(IQ)how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul ^(IR)from their ravages,
My ^(IS)only life from the lions.
¹⁸I will ^(IT)give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will ^(IU)praise You among a mighty people.
¹⁹^(IV)Do not let those who are wrongfully ^(IW)my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those ^(IX)who hate me for no reason ^[ap]^(IY)wink maliciously.
²⁰For they do not speak peace,
But they devise ^(IZ)deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
²¹They ^(JA)opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “^(JB)Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it!”

²²^(JC)You have seen it, Lord, ^(JD)do not keep silent;
Lord, ^(JE)do not be far from me.
²³^(JF)Stir Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
²⁴^(JG)Judge me, Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
And ^(JH)do not let them rejoice over me.
²⁵Do not let them say in their heart, “^(JI)Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have ^(JJ)swallowed him up!”
²⁶May ^(JK)those be ashamed and altogether humiliated who rejoice at my distress;
May those who ^(JL)exalt themselves over me be ^(JM)clothed with shame and dishonor.

²⁷May those ^(JN)shout for joy and rejoice, who take delight in ^(JO)my vindication;
And ^(JP)may they say continually, “The Lord be exalted,
Who ^(JQ)delights in the prosperity of His servant.”
²⁸And ^(JR)my tongue shall proclaim Your righteousness
And Your praise all day long.

Wickedness of Humanity and Goodness of God.

For the music director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.

36 ^[aq]Wrongdoing speaks to the ungodly within ^[ar]his heart;
There is ^(JS)no fear of God before his eyes.
²For it ^(JT)flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his wrongful deed and the hatred of it.
³The ^(JU)words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ^(JV)ceased to ^[as]be wise and to do good.
⁴He ^(JW)plans wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself on a ^(JX)path that is not good;
He ^(JY)does not reject evil.

⁵Your ^(JZ)mercy, Lord, ^[at]extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
⁶Your ^(KA)righteousness is like the ^[au]mountains of God;
Your ^(KB)judgments are like the great deep.
Lord, You ^[av]^(KC)protect mankind and animals.
⁷How ^(KD)precious is Your mercy, God!
And the sons of mankind ^(KE)take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
⁸They ^(KF)drink their fill of the ^[aw]abundance of Your house;
And You allow them to drink from the ^(KG)river of Your delights.
⁹For the ^(KH)fountain of life is with You;
In Your light we see light.

¹⁰Prolong Your mercy to ^(KI)those who know You,
And Your ^(KJ)righteousness to the upright of heart.
¹¹May the foot of pride not come upon me,
And may the hand of the wicked not drive me away.
¹²Those who do injustice have fallen there;
They have been thrust down and ^(KK)cannot rise.