Psalm 11-15

English Standard Version

The Lord Is in His Holy Temple

To the choirmaster. Of David.

11 In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
    ^(A)“Flee like a bird to your mountain,
²for behold, the wicked ^(B)bend the bow;
    ^(C)they have fitted their arrow to the string
    to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
³if ^(D)the foundations are destroyed,
    what can the righteous do?”^[a]

⁴^(E)The Lord is in his holy temple;
    the Lord's ^(F)throne is in heaven;
    his eyes see, his eyelids ^(G)test the children of man.
⁵The Lord ^(H)tests the righteous,
    but ^(I)his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
⁶Let him rain coals on the wicked;
    ^(J)fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be ^(K)the portion of their cup.
⁷For the Lord is righteous;
he ^(L)loves righteous deeds;
    ^(M)the upright shall behold his face.

The Faithful Have Vanished

To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith.^[b] A Psalm of David.

12 Save, O Lord, for ^(N)the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
²Everyone ^(O)utters lies to his neighbor;
with ^(P)flattering lips and ^(Q)a double heart they speak.

³May the Lord cut off all ^(R)flattering lips,
the tongue that makes ^(S)great boasts,
⁴those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

⁵“Because ^(T)the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
    ^(U)I will now arise,” says the Lord;
    “I will place him in the ^(V)safety for which he longs.”
⁶^(W)The words of the Lord are pure words,
    like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
    purified seven times.

⁷You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us^[c] from this generation forever.
⁸On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

How Long, O Lord?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

13 ^(X)How long, O Lord? Will you ^(Y)forget me forever?
How long will you ^(Z)hide your face from me?
²How long must I take ^(AA)counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

³^(AB)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
^(AC)light up my eyes, lest ^(AD)I sleep the sleep of death,
⁴^(AE)lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am ^(AF)shaken.

⁵But I have ^(AG)trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall ^(AH)rejoice in your salvation.
⁶I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

The Fool Says, There Is No God

To the choirmaster. Of David.

14 ^(AI)The ^(AJ)fool says in his heart, ^(AK)“There is no God.”
They are ^(AL)corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
^(AM)there is none who does good.

²The Lord ^(AN)looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,^[d]
who ^(AO)seek after God.

³They have all turned aside; together they have become ^(AP)corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.

⁴Have they no ^(AQ)knowledge, all the evildoers
who ^(AR)eat up my people as they eat bread
and ^(AS)do not call upon the Lord?

⁵There they are in great terror,
for God is with ^(AT)the generation of the righteous.
⁶You would shame the plans of the poor,
but^[e] the Lord is his ^(AU)refuge.

⁷Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord ^(AV)restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill?

A Psalm of David.

15 O Lord, ^(AW)who shall sojourn in your ^(AX)tent?
Who shall dwell on your ^(AY)holy hill?

²He who ^(AZ)walks blamelessly and ^(BA)does what is right
    and ^(BB)speaks truth in his heart;
³who ^(BC)does not slander with his tongue
    and does no evil to his neighbor,
    nor ^(BD)takes up a reproach against his friend;
⁴^(BE)in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
    but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who ^(BF)swears to his own hurt and does not change;
⁵who ^(BG)does not put out his money at interest
    and ^(BH)does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be ^(BI)moved.

Footnotes

Psalm 11:3 Or for the foundations will be destroyed; what has the righteous done?
Psalm 12:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 12:7 Or guard him
Psalm 14:2 Or that act wisely
Psalm 14:6 Or for