⁴ Sing^(H) the praises of the Lord, you his faithful people;^(I)
    praise his holy name.^(J)
5 For his anger^(K) lasts only a moment,^(L)
    but his favor lasts a lifetime;^(M)
weeping^(N) may stay for the night,
    but rejoicing comes in the morning.^(O)

⁶ When I felt secure, I said,
    “I will never be shaken.”^(P)
7 Lord, when you favored me,
    you made my royal mountain^[c] stand firm;
but when you hid your face,^(Q)
    I was dismayed.

⁸ To you, Lord, I called;
    to the Lord I cried for mercy:
⁹ “What is gained if I am silenced,
    if I go down to the pit?^(R)
Will the dust praise you?
    Will it proclaim your faithfulness?^(S)
10 Hear,^(T) Lord, and be merciful to me;^(U)
    Lord, be my help.^(V)”

¹¹ You turned my wailing^(W) into dancing;^(X)
    you removed my sackcloth^(Y) and clothed me with joy,^(Z)
12 that my heart may sing your praises and not be silent.
    Lord my God, I will praise^(AA) you forever.^(AB)

⁵ Save us and help us with your right hand,^(K)
    that those you love^(L) may be delivered.
⁶ God has spoken from his sanctuary:
    “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem^(M)
    and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.^(N)
7 Gilead^(O) is mine, and Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim^(P) is my helmet,
    Judah^(Q) is my scepter.^(R)
8 Moab is my washbasin,
    on Edom I toss my sandal;
    over Philistia I shout in triumph.^(S)”

⁹ Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
¹⁰ Is it not you, God, you who have now rejected us
    and no longer go out with our armies?^(T)
11 Give us aid against the enemy,
    for human help is worthless.^(U)
12 With God we will gain the victory,
    and he will trample down our enemies.^(V)

³ You turn people back to dust,
    saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”^(E)
4 A thousand years in your sight
    are like a day that has just gone by,
    or like a watch in the night.^(F)
5 Yet you sweep people away^(G) in the sleep of death—
    they are like the new grass of the morning:
⁶ In the morning it springs up new,
    but by evening it is dry and withered.^(H)

⁷ We are consumed by your anger
    and terrified by your indignation.
⁸ You have set our iniquities before you,
    our secret sins^(I) in the light of your presence.^(J)
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
    we finish our years with a moan.^(K)
10 Our days may come to seventy years,^(L)
    or eighty,^(M) if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,^(N)
    for they quickly pass, and we fly away.^(O)
11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
    Your wrath^(P) is as great as the fear that is your due.^(Q)
12 Teach us to number our days,^(R)
    that we may gain a heart of wisdom.^(S)

¹³ Relent, Lord! How long^(T) will it be?
    Have compassion on your servants.^(U)
14 Satisfy^(V) us in the morning with your unfailing love,^(W)
    that we may sing for joy^(X) and be glad all our days.^(Y)
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    for as many years as we have seen trouble.
¹⁶ May your deeds be shown to your servants,
    your splendor to their children.^(Z)

¹⁷ May the favor^[a] of the Lord our God rest on us;
    establish the work of our hands for us—
    yes, establish the work of our hands.^(AA)

³ What will he do to you,
    and what more besides,
    you deceitful tongue?
⁴ He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows,^(E)
    with burning coals of the broom bush.

⁵ Woe to me that I dwell in Meshek,
    that I live among the tents of Kedar!^(F)
6 Too long have I lived
    among those who hate peace.
⁷ I am for peace;
    but when I speak, they are for war.

Praise God in his sanctuary;^(B)
    praise him in his mighty heavens.^(C)
2 Praise him for his acts of power;^(D)
    praise him for his surpassing greatness.^(E)
3 Praise him with the sounding of the trumpet,^(F)
    praise him with the harp and lyre,^(G)
4 praise him with timbrel and dancing,^(H)
    praise him with the strings^(I) and pipe,^(J)
5 praise him with the clash of cymbals,^(K)
    praise him with resounding cymbals.

⁶ Let everything^(L) that has breath praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord.

This man’s utterance to Ithiel:

“I am weary, God,
    but I can prevail.^[a]
2 Surely I am only a brute, not a man;
    I do not have human understanding.
³ I have not learned wisdom,
    nor have I attained to the knowledge of the Holy One.^(B)
4 Who has gone up^(C) to heaven and come down?
    Whose hands^(D) have gathered up the wind?
Who has wrapped up the waters^(E) in a cloak?^(F)
    Who has established all the ends of the earth?
What is his name,^(G) and what is the name of his son?
    Surely you know!

⁵ “Every word of God is flawless;^(H)
    he is a shield^(I) to those who take refuge in him.
⁶ Do not add^(J) to his words,
    or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.

⁷ “Two things I ask of you, Lord;
    do not refuse me before I die:
⁸ Keep falsehood and lies far from me;
    give me neither poverty nor riches,
    but give me only my daily bread.^(K)
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown^(L) you
    and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’^(M)
Or I may become poor and steal,
    and so dishonor the name of my God.^(N)

¹⁰ “Do not slander a servant to their master,
    or they will curse you, and you will pay for it.

¹¹ “There are those who curse their fathers
    and do not bless their mothers;^(O)
12 those who are pure in their own eyes^(P)
    and yet are not cleansed of their filth;^(Q)
13 those whose eyes are ever so haughty,^(R)
    whose glances are so disdainful;
¹⁴ those whose teeth^(S) are swords
    and whose jaws are set with knives^(T)
to devour^(U) the poor^(V) from the earth
    and the needy from among mankind.^(W)

¹⁵ “The leech has two daughters.
    ‘Give! Give!’ they cry.

“There are three things that are never satisfied,^(X)
    four that never say, ‘Enough!’:
¹⁶ the grave,^(Y) the barren womb,
    land, which is never satisfied with water,
    and fire, which never says, ‘Enough!’

¹⁷ “The eye that mocks^(Z) a father,
    that scorns an aged mother,
will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley,
    will be eaten by the vultures.^(AA)

¹⁸ “There are three things that are too amazing for me,
    four that I do not understand:
¹⁹ the way of an eagle in the sky,
    the way of a snake on a rock,
the way of a ship on the high seas,
    and the way of a man with a young woman.

²⁰ “This is the way of an adulterous woman:
    She eats and wipes her mouth
    and says, ‘I’ve done nothing wrong.’^(AB)

²¹ “Under three things the earth trembles,
    under four it cannot bear up:
²² a servant who becomes king,^(AC)
    a godless fool who gets plenty to eat,
²³ a contemptible woman who gets married,
    and a servant who displaces her mistress.

²⁴ “Four things on earth are small,
    yet they are extremely wise:
²⁵ Ants are creatures of little strength,
    yet they store up their food in the summer;^(AD)
26 hyraxes^(AE) are creatures of little power,
    yet they make their home in the crags;
²⁷ locusts^(AF) have no king,
    yet they advance together in ranks;
²⁸ a lizard can be caught with the hand,
    yet it is found in kings’ palaces.

²⁹ “There are three things that are stately in their stride,
    four that move with stately bearing:
³⁰ a lion, mighty among beasts,
    who retreats before nothing;
³¹ a strutting rooster, a he-goat,
    and a king secure against revolt.^[b]

³² “If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
    or if you plan evil,
    clap your hand over your mouth!^(AG)
33 For as churning cream produces butter,
    and as twisting the nose produces blood,
    so stirring up anger produces strife.”