³ Our God comes; he ^(F)does not keep silence;^[a]
    before him is a devouring ^(G)fire,
    around him a mighty tempest.
^4 (H)He calls to the heavens above
    and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
⁵ “Gather to me my faithful ones,
    who made ^(I)a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
^6 (J)The heavens declare his righteousness,
    for ^(K)God himself is judge! Selah

^7 (L)“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
    O Israel, I will testify against you.
    ^(M)I am God, your God.
⁸ Not for your sacrifices ^(N)do I rebuke you;
    your burnt offerings are continually before me.
⁹ I will not accept a bull from your house
    or goats from your folds.
¹⁰ For every beast of the forest is mine,
    the cattle on a thousand hills.
^11 (O)I know all the birds of the hills,
    and all that moves in the field is mine.

¹² “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
    ^(P)for the world and its fullness are mine.
¹³ Do I eat the flesh of bulls
    or drink the blood of goats?
^14 (Q)Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,^[b]
    and ^(R)perform your vows to the Most High,
¹⁵ and ^(S)call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will ^(T)deliver you, and you shall ^(U)glorify me.”

¹⁶ But to the wicked God says:
    “What right have you to recite my statutes
    or take my covenant on your lips?
^17 (V)For you hate discipline,
    ^(W)and you cast my words behind you.
¹⁸ If you see a thief, ^(X)you are pleased with him,
    ^(Y)and you keep company with adulterers.

¹⁹ “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
    ^(Z)and your tongue frames deceit.
²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother;
    you slander your own mother's son.
²¹ These things you have done, and I ^(AA)have been silent;
    you thought that I^[c] was one like yourself.
But now I ^(AB)rebuke you and ^(AC)lay the charge before you.

²² “Mark this, then, you who ^(AD)forget God,
    lest I tear you apart, and there be ^(AE)none to deliver!
²³ The one who ^(AF)offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
    to one who ^(AG)orders his way rightly
    I will show the ^(AH)salvation of God!”

³ For behold, they ^(I)lie in wait for my life;
    fierce men ^(J)stir up strife against me.
^(K)For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
⁴     for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
^(L)Awake, come to meet me, and see!
⁵     You, ^(M)Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
    spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

⁶ Each evening they ^(N)come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
⁷ There they are, ^(O)bellowing with their mouths
    with ^(P)swords in their lips—
    for ^(Q)“Who,” they think,^[b] “will hear us?”

⁸ But you, O Lord, ^(R)laugh at them;
    you hold all the nations in derision.
⁹ O my Strength, I will watch for you,
    for you, O God, are ^(S)my fortress.
^10 (T)My God in his steadfast love^{[c] (U)}will meet me;
    God will let me ^(V)look in triumph on my enemies.

¹¹ Kill them not, lest my people forget;
    make them totter^[d] by your power and ^(W)bring them down,
    O Lord, our ^(X)shield!
¹² For ^(Y)the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
    let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
^{13     (Z)}consume them in wrath;
    consume them till they are no more,
that they may ^(AA)know that God rules over Jacob
    to ^(AB)the ends of the earth. Selah

^14 (AC)Each evening they come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
¹⁵ They ^(AD)wander about for food
    and growl if they do not get their fill.

¹⁶ But I will sing of your strength;
    I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me ^(AE)a fortress
    and ^(AF)a refuge in ^(AG)the day of my distress.
¹⁷ O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
    for you, O God, ^(AH)are my fortress,
    ^(AI)the God who shows me steadfast love.