Psalm 21[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

The king rejoices in your strength, Lord.(A)
    How great is his joy in the victories you give!(B)

You have granted him his heart’s desire(C)
    and have not withheld the request of his lips.[b]
You came to greet him with rich blessings
    and placed a crown of pure gold(D) on his head.(E)
He asked you for life, and you gave it to him—
    length of days, for ever and ever.(F)
Through the victories(G) you gave, his glory is great;
    you have bestowed on him splendor and majesty.(H)
Surely you have granted him unending blessings
    and made him glad with the joy(I) of your presence.(J)
For the king trusts in the Lord;(K)
    through the unfailing love(L) of the Most High(M)
    he will not be shaken.(N)

Your hand will lay hold(O) on all your enemies;
    your right hand will seize your foes.
When you appear for battle,
    you will burn them up as in a blazing furnace.
The Lord will swallow them up in his wrath,
    and his fire will consume them.(P)
10 You will destroy their descendants from the earth,
    their posterity from mankind.(Q)
11 Though they plot evil(R) against you
    and devise wicked schemes,(S) they cannot succeed.
12 You will make them turn their backs(T)
    when you aim at them with drawn bow.

13 Be exalted(U) in your strength, Lord;(V)
    we will sing and praise your might.

Psalm 22[c]

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?(W)
    Why are you so far(X) from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?(Y)
My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,(Z)
    by night,(AA) but I find no rest.[d]

Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;(AB)
    you are the one Israel praises.[e](AC)
In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.(AD)
To you they cried out(AE) and were saved;
    in you they trusted(AF) and were not put to shame.(AG)

But I am a worm(AH) and not a man,
    scorned by everyone,(AI) despised(AJ) by the people.
All who see me mock me;(AK)
    they hurl insults,(AL) shaking their heads.(AM)
“He trusts in the Lord,” they say,
    “let the Lord rescue him.(AN)
Let him deliver him,(AO)
    since he delights(AP) in him.”

Yet you brought me out of the womb;(AQ)
    you made me trust(AR) in you, even at my mother’s breast.
10 From birth(AS) I was cast on you;
    from my mother’s womb you have been my God.

11 Do not be far from me,(AT)
    for trouble is near(AU)
    and there is no one to help.(AV)

12 Many bulls(AW) surround me;(AX)
    strong bulls of Bashan(AY) encircle me.
13 Roaring lions(AZ) that tear their prey(BA)
    open their mouths wide(BB) against me.
14 I am poured out like water,
    and all my bones are out of joint.(BC)
My heart has turned to wax;(BD)
    it has melted(BE) within me.
15 My mouth[f] is dried up like a potsherd,(BF)
    and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;(BG)
    you lay me in the dust(BH) of death.

16 Dogs(BI) surround me,
    a pack of villains encircles me;
    they pierce[g](BJ) my hands and my feet.
17 All my bones are on display;
    people stare(BK) and gloat over me.(BL)
18 They divide my clothes among them
    and cast lots(BM) for my garment.(BN)

19 But you, Lord, do not be far from me.(BO)
    You are my strength;(BP) come quickly(BQ) to help me.(BR)
20 Deliver me from the sword,(BS)
    my precious life(BT) from the power of the dogs.(BU)
21 Rescue me from the mouth of the lions;(BV)
    save me from the horns of the wild oxen.(BW)

22 I will declare your name to my people;
    in the assembly(BX) I will praise you.(BY)
23 You who fear the Lord, praise him!(BZ)
    All you descendants of Jacob, honor him!(CA)
    Revere him,(CB) all you descendants of Israel!
24 For he has not despised(CC) or scorned
    the suffering of the afflicted one;(CD)
he has not hidden his face(CE) from him
    but has listened to his cry for help.(CF)

25 From you comes the theme of my praise in the great assembly;(CG)
    before those who fear you[h] I will fulfill my vows.(CH)
26 The poor will eat(CI) and be satisfied;
    those who seek the Lord will praise him—(CJ)
    may your hearts live forever!

27 All the ends of the earth(CK)
    will remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations
    will bow down before him,(CL)
28 for dominion belongs to the Lord(CM)
    and he rules over the nations.

29 All the rich(CN) of the earth will feast and worship;(CO)
    all who go down to the dust(CP) will kneel before him—
    those who cannot keep themselves alive.(CQ)
30 Posterity(CR) will serve him;
    future generations(CS) will be told about the Lord.
31 They will proclaim his righteousness,(CT)
    declaring to a people yet unborn:(CU)
    He has done it!(CV)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 21:1 In Hebrew texts 21:1-13 is numbered 21:2-14.
  2. Psalm 21:2 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
  3. Psalm 22:1 In Hebrew texts 22:1-31 is numbered 22:2-32.
  4. Psalm 22:2 Or night, and am not silent
  5. Psalm 22:3 Or Yet you are holy, / enthroned on the praises of Israel
  6. Psalm 22:15 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text strength
  7. Psalm 22:16 Dead Sea Scrolls and some manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Septuagint and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text me, / like a lion
  8. Psalm 22:25 Hebrew him

21 The king shall joy in thy strength, O Lord; and in thy salvation how greatly shall he rejoice!

Thou hast given him his heart's desire, and hast not withholden the request of his lips. Selah.

For thou preventest him with the blessings of goodness: thou settest a crown of pure gold on his head.

He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever.

His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him.

For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.

For the king trusteth in the Lord, and through the mercy of the most High he shall not be moved.

Thine hand shall find out all thine enemies: thy right hand shall find out those that hate thee.

Thou shalt make them as a fiery oven in the time of thine anger: the Lord shall swallow them up in his wrath, and the fire shall devour them.

10 Their fruit shalt thou destroy from the earth, and their seed from among the children of men.

11 For they intended evil against thee: they imagined a mischievous device, which they are not able to perform.

12 Therefore shalt thou make them turn their back, when thou shalt make ready thine arrows upon thy strings against the face of them.

13 Be thou exalted, Lord, in thine own strength: so will we sing and praise thy power.

22 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

O my God, I cry in the day time, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent.

But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel.

Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them.

They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.

But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people.

All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying,

He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.

But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts.

10 I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly.

11 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

19 But be not thou far from me, O Lord: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.

21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns.

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

23 Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

24 For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.

25 My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him.

26 The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.

27 All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.

28 For the kingdom is the Lord's: and he is the governor among the nations.

29 All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship: all they that go down to the dust shall bow before him: and none can keep alive his own soul.

30 A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.

31 They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.

Babylon, the Prostitute on the Beast

17 One of the seven angels(A) who had the seven bowls(B) came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the punishment(C) of the great prostitute,(D) who sits by many waters.(E) With her the kings of the earth committed adultery, and the inhabitants of the earth were intoxicated with the wine of her adulteries.”(F)

Then the angel carried me away in the Spirit(G) into a wilderness.(H) There I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet(I) beast that was covered with blasphemous names(J) and had seven heads and ten horns.(K) The woman was dressed in purple and scarlet, and was glittering with gold, precious stones and pearls.(L) She held a golden cup(M) in her hand, filled with abominable things and the filth of her adulteries.(N) The name written on her forehead was a mystery:(O)

babylon the great(P)

the mother of prostitutes(Q)

and of the abominations of the earth.

I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of God’s holy people,(R) the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus.

When I saw her, I was greatly astonished. Then the angel said to me: “Why are you astonished? I will explain to you the mystery(S) of the woman and of the beast she rides, which has the seven heads and ten horns.(T) The beast, which you saw, once was, now is not, and yet will come up out of the Abyss(U) and go to its destruction.(V) The inhabitants of the earth(W) whose names have not been written in the book of life(X) from the creation of the world will be astonished(Y) when they see the beast, because it once was, now is not, and yet will come.

“This calls for a mind with wisdom.(Z) The seven heads(AA) are seven hills on which the woman sits. 10 They are also seven kings. Five have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come; but when he does come, he must remain for only a little while. 11 The beast who once was, and now is not,(AB) is an eighth king. He belongs to the seven and is going to his destruction.

12 “The ten horns(AC) you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but who for one hour(AD) will receive authority as kings along with the beast. 13 They have one purpose and will give their power and authority to the beast.(AE) 14 They will wage war(AF) against the Lamb, but the Lamb will triumph over(AG) them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings(AH)—and with him will be his called, chosen(AI) and faithful followers.”

15 Then the angel said to me, “The waters(AJ) you saw, where the prostitute sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations and languages.(AK) 16 The beast and the ten horns(AL) you saw will hate the prostitute.(AM) They will bring her to ruin(AN) and leave her naked;(AO) they will eat her flesh(AP) and burn her with fire.(AQ) 17 For God has put it into their hearts(AR) to accomplish his purpose by agreeing to hand over to the beast their royal authority,(AS) until God’s words are fulfilled.(AT) 18 The woman you saw is the great city(AU) that rules over the kings of the earth.”

17 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:

With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.

So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.

And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.

And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns.

The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful.

15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.