Psalm 5-8

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.

For the music director; for ^[a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.

5 ^(A)Listen to my words, Lord,
Consider my ^(B)sighing.
²Listen to ^(C)the sound of my cry for help, ^(D)my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
³In the morning, Lord, ^[b]You will hear my voice;
In the ^(E)morning I will present my ^[c]prayer to You and be on the ^(F)watch.

⁴For You are not a God ^(G)who takes pleasure in wickedness;
^(H)No evil can dwell with You.
⁵The ^(I)boastful will not ^(J)stand before Your eyes;
You ^(K)hate all who do injustice.
⁶You ^(L)destroy those who speak lies;
The Lord loathes ^(M)the person of bloodshed and deceit.
⁷But as for me, ^(N)by Your abundant graciousness I will enter Your house,
^[d]At Your holy temple I will ^(O)bow in ^(P)reverence for You.

⁸Lord, ^(Q)lead me ^(R)in Your righteousness ^(S)because of my enemies;
Make Your way ^[e]straight before me.
⁹For there is ^(T)nothing ^[f]trustworthy in ^[g]their mouth;
Their ^(U)inward part is destruction itself.
Their ^(V)throat is an open grave;
They ^[h]flatter with their tongue.
¹⁰Make them pay, God;
^(W)Have them fall by their own schemes!
^(X)Scatter them in the multitude of their wrongdoings,
For they are ^(Y)rebellious against You.

¹¹But ^(Z)rejoice, all who ^(AA)take refuge in You,
Sing for joy forever!
And ^[i]may You ^(AB)shelter them,
That those who ^(AC)love Your name may rejoice in You.
¹²For You ^(AD)bless the righteous person, Lord,
You ^(AE)surround him with favor as with a shield.

Prayer for Mercy in Time of Trouble.

For the music director; with stringed instruments, ^[j]upon an eight-string lyre. A Psalm of David.

6 Lord, ^(AF)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor discipline me in Your wrath.
²Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am ^(AG)frail;
^(AH)Heal me, Lord, for ^(AI)my bones are horrified.
³And my ^(AJ)soul is greatly horrified;
But You, Lord—^(AK)how long?

⁴Return, Lord, ^(AL)rescue my ^[k]soul;
Save me because of Your mercy.
⁵For ^(AM)there is no ^[l]mention of You in death;
In ^[m]Sheol, who will praise You?

⁶I am ^(AN)weary with my sighing;
Every night I make my bed swim,
I flood my couch with ^(AO)my tears.
⁷My ^(AP)eye has wasted away with grief;
It has grown old because of all my enemies.

⁸^(AQ)Leave me, all you who practice injustice,
For the Lord ^(AR)has heard the sound of my weeping.
⁹The Lord ^(AS)has heard my pleading,
The Lord ^(AT)receives my prayer.
¹⁰All my enemies will ^(AU)be put to shame and greatly horrified;
They shall ^[n]turn back, they will ^(AV)suddenly be put to shame.

The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.

A ^[o]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord ^[p]concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.

7 O Lord my God, ^(AW)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and ^(AX)rescue me,
²Or he will tear ^[q]my soul ^(AY)like a lion,
Dragging me away, while there is no one to rescue me.

³O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is ^(AZ)injustice in my hands,
⁴If I have ^(BA)done evil to ^[r]my friend,
Or have ^(BB)plundered ^[s]my enemy for no reason,
⁵Let the enemy pursue ^[t]my soul and overtake ^[u]it;
And let him trample my life to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. Selah

⁶^(BC)Arise, Lord, in Your anger;
^(BD)Raise Yourself against ^(BE)the rage of my enemies,
And ^(BF)stir Yourself ^[v]for me; You have ordered judgment.
⁷Let the assembly of the ^(BG)peoples encompass You,
And return on high over it.
⁸The Lord ^(BH)judges the peoples;
^[w]^(BI)Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
⁹Please let ^(BJ)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but ^(BK)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God ^(BL)puts hearts and ^[x]minds to the test.
¹⁰My ^(BM)shield is ^[y]with God,
Who ^(BN)saves the upright in heart.
¹¹God is a ^(BO)righteous judge,
And a God who ^(BP)shows indignation every day.

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

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

The Lord’s Glory and Mankind’s Dignity.

For the music director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of David.

8 Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
You who have ^[z]^(CA)displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
²^(CB)From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have established ^[aa]^(CC)strength
Because of Your enemies,
To do away with ^(CD)the enemy and the revengeful.

³When I ^[ab]^(CE)consider ^(CF)Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The ^(CG)moon and the stars, which You have set in place;
⁴^(CH)What is man that You think of him,
And a son of man that You are concerned about him?
⁵Yet You have made him a ^(CI)little lower than ^[ac]God,
And ^(CJ)You crown him with ^(CK)glory and majesty!
⁶You have him ^(CL)rule over the works of Your hands;
You have ^(CM)put everything under his feet,
⁷All sheep and oxen,
And also the animals of the field,
⁸The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.