Psalm 31
New American Standard Bible
A Psalm of Complaint and of Praise.
For the music director. A Psalm of David.
31 (A)In You, Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never (B)be [a]put to shame;
(C)In Your righteousness rescue me.
2 (D)Incline Your ear to me, rescue me quickly;
Be a (E)rock of [b]strength for me,
A [c]stronghold to save me.
3 For You are my rock and (F)my fortress;
For the (G)sake of Your name You will lead me and guide me.
4 You will (H)pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my (I)strength.
5 (J)Into Your hand I entrust my spirit;
You have (K)redeemed me, Lord, (L)God of [d]truth.
6 I hate those who (M)devote themselves to worthless [e]idols,
But I (N)trust in the Lord.
7 I will (O)rejoice and be glad in Your faithfulness,
Because You have (P)seen my misery;
You have known the troubles of my soul,
8 And You have not (Q)handed me over to the enemy;
You have set my feet in a large place.
9 Be gracious to me, Lord, for (R)I am in distress;
My (S)eye is wasted away from grief, (T)my soul and my body too.
10 For my life is spent with (U)sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My (V)strength has failed because of my guilt,
And (W)my [f]body has wasted away.
11 Because of all my adversaries, I have become a (X)disgrace,
Especially to my (Y)neighbors,
And an object of dread to my acquaintances;
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I am (Z)forgotten like a dead person, out of mind;
I am like a broken vessel.
13 For I have heard the [g](AA)slander of many,
(AB)Terror is on every side;
While they (AC)took counsel together against me,
They (AD)schemed to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, Lord,
I say, “(AE)You are my God.”
15 My (AF)times are in Your hand;
(AG)Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who persecute me.
16 Make Your (AH)face shine upon Your servant;
(AI)Save me in Your faithfulness.
17 Let me not be (AJ)put to shame, Lord, for I call upon You;
Let the (AK)wicked be put to shame, let them (AL)be silent in [h]Sheol.
18 Let the (AM)lying lips be speechless,
Which (AN)speak arrogantly against the righteous
With pride and contempt.
19 How great is Your (AO)goodness,
Which You have stored up for those who fear You,
Which You have performed for those who (AP)take refuge in You,
(AQ)Before the sons of mankind!
20 You hide them in the (AR)secret place of Your presence from the (AS)conspiracies of mankind;
You keep them secretly in a [i]shelter from the (AT)strife of tongues.
21 (AU)Blessed be the Lord,
For He has shown His (AV)marvelous faithfulness to me in a besieged (AW)city.
22 As for me, (AX)I said in my alarm,
“I am (AY)cut off from Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You (AZ)heard the sound of my pleadings
When I called to You for help.
23 Love the Lord, all (BA)His godly ones!
The Lord (BB)watches over the faithful
But fully (BC)repays the one who acts arrogantly.
24 (BD)Be strong and let your heart take courage,
All you who wait for the Lord.
Footnotes
- Psalm 31:1 Or ashamed;
- Psalm 31:2 Or refuge, protection
- Psalm 31:2 Lit house of a stronghold
- Psalm 31:5 Or faithfulness
- Psalm 31:6 Lit futilities
- Psalm 31:10 Or bones, substance
- Psalm 31:13 Lit whispering
- Psalm 31:17 I.e., the netherworld
- Psalm 31:20 Or pavilion
Psalm 31
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 31
Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1 In you, O Lord, I seek refuge;
do not let me ever be put to shame;
in your righteousness deliver me.(A)
2 Incline your ear to me;
rescue me speedily.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a strong fortress to save me.(B)
3 You are indeed my rock and my fortress;
for your name’s sake lead me and guide me;(C)
4 take me out of the net that is hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.(D)
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O Lord, faithful God.(E)
6 You hate[a] those who pay regard to worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.(F)
7 I will exult and rejoice in your steadfast love,
because you have seen my affliction;
you have taken notice of my adversities(G)
8 and have not delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
you have set my feet in a broad place.(H)
9 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;
my eye wastes away from grief,
my soul and body also.
10 For my life is spent with sorrow
and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my misery,[b]
and my bones waste away.(I)
11 I am the scorn of all my adversaries,
a horror[c] to my neighbors,
an object of dread to my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street flee from me.(J)
12 I have passed out of mind like one who is dead;
I have become like a broken vessel.(K)
13 For I hear the whispering of many—
terror all around!—
as they scheme together against me,
as they plot to take my life.(L)
14 But I trust in you, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”(M)
15 My times are in your hand;
deliver me from the hand of my enemies and persecutors.(N)
16 Let your face shine upon your servant;
save me in your steadfast love.(O)
17 Do not let me be put to shame, O Lord,
for I call on you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
let them go dumbfounded to Sheol.(P)
18 Let the lying lips be stilled
that speak insolently against the righteous
with pride and contempt.(Q)
19 O how abundant is your goodness
that you have laid up for those who fear you
and accomplished for those who take refuge in you,
in the sight of everyone!(R)
20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them
from human plots;
you hold them safe under your shelter
from contentious tongues.(S)
21 Blessed be the Lord,
for he has wondrously shown his steadfast love to me
when I was beset as a city under siege.(T)
22 I had said in my alarm,
“I am driven far[d] from your sight.”
But you heard my supplications
when I cried out to you for help.(U)
Psalm 31
Douay-Rheims 1899 American Edition
31 To David himself, understanding. Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the man to whom the Lord hath not imputed sin, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
3 Because I was silent my bones grew old; whilst I cried out all the day long.
4 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: I am turned in my anguish, whilst the thorn is fastened.
5 I have acknowledged my sin to thee, and my injustice I have not concealed. I said I will confess against myself my injustice to the Lord: and thou hast forgiven the wickedness of my sin.
6 For this shall every one that is holy pray to thee in a seasonable time. And yet in a flood of many waters, they shall not come nigh unto him.
7 Thou art my refuge from the trouble which hath encompassed me: my joy, deliver me from them that surround me.
8 I will give thee understanding, and I will instruct thee in this way, in which thou shalt go: I will fix my eyes upon thee.
9 Do not become like the horse and the mule, who have no understanding. With bit and bridle bind fast their jaws, who come not near unto thee.
10 Many are the scourges of the sinner, but mercy shall encompass him that hopeth in the Lord.
11 Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, ye just, and glory, all ye right of heart.
Psalm 31
The Message
31 1-2 I run to you, God; I run for dear life.
Don’t let me down!
Take me seriously this time!
Get down on my level and listen,
and please—no procrastination!
Your granite cave a hiding place,
your high cliff nest a place of safety.
3-5 You’re my cave to hide in,
my cliff to climb.
Be my safe leader,
be my true mountain guide.
Free me from hidden traps;
I want to hide in you.
I’ve put my life in your hands.
You won’t drop me,
you’ll never let me down.
6-13 I hate all this silly religion,
but you, God, I trust.
I’m leaping and singing in the circle of your love;
you saw my pain,
you disarmed my tormentors,
You didn’t leave me in their clutches
but gave me room to breathe.
Be kind to me, God—
I’m in deep, deep trouble again.
I’ve cried my eyes out;
I feel hollow inside.
My life leaks away, groan by groan;
my years fade out in sighs.
My troubles have worn me out,
turned my bones to powder.
To my enemies I’m a monster;
I’m ridiculed by the neighbors.
My friends are horrified;
they cross the street to avoid me.
They want to blot me from memory,
forget me like a corpse in a grave,
discard me like a broken dish in the trash.
The street-talk gossip has me
“criminally insane”!
Behind locked doors they plot
how to ruin me for good.
14-18 Desperate, I throw myself on you:
you are my God!
Hour by hour I place my days in your hand,
safe from the hands out to get me.
Warm me, your servant, with a smile;
save me because you love me.
Don’t embarrass me by not showing up;
I’ve given you plenty of notice.
Embarrass the wicked, stand them up,
leave them stupidly shaking their heads
as they drift down to hell.
Gag those loudmouthed liars
who heckle me, your follower,
with jeers and catcalls.
19-22 What a stack of blessing you have piled up
for those who worship you,
Ready and waiting for all who run to you
to escape an unkind world.
You hide them safely away
from the opposition.
As you slam the door on those oily, mocking faces,
you silence the poisonous gossip.
Blessed God!
His love is the wonder of the world.
Trapped by a siege, I panicked.
“Out of sight, out of mind,” I said.
But you heard me say it,
you heard and listened.
23 Love God, all you saints;
God takes care of all who stay close to him,
But he pays back in full
those arrogant enough to go it alone.
24 Be brave. Be strong. Don’t give up.
Expect God to get here soon.
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