Psalm 7-9

New Living Translation

¹ I come to you for protection, O Lord my God.
    Save me from my persecutors—rescue me!
² If you don’t, they will maul me like a lion,
    tearing me to pieces with no one to rescue me.
³ O Lord my God, if I have done wrong
    or am guilty of injustice,
⁴ if I have betrayed a friend
    or plundered my enemy without cause,
⁵ then let my enemies capture me.
    Let them trample me into the ground
    and drag my honor in the dust. Interlude

⁶ Arise, O Lord, in anger!
    Stand up against the fury of my enemies!
    Wake up, my God, and bring justice!
⁷ Gather the nations before you.
    Rule over them from on high.
⁸     The Lord judges the nations.
Declare me righteous, O Lord,
    for I am innocent, O Most High!
⁹ End the evil of those who are wicked,
    and defend the righteous.
For you look deep within the mind and heart,
    O righteous God.

¹⁰ God is my shield,
    saving those whose hearts are true and right.
¹¹ God is an honest judge.
    He is angry with the wicked every day.

¹² If a person does not repent,
    God^[b] will sharpen his sword;
    he will bend and string his bow.
¹³ He will prepare his deadly weapons
    and shoot his flaming arrows.

¹⁴ The wicked conceive evil;
    they are pregnant with trouble
    and give birth to lies.
¹⁵ They dig a deep pit to trap others,
    then fall into it themselves.
¹⁶ The trouble they make for others backfires on them.
    The violence they plan falls on their own heads.

¹⁷ I will thank the Lord because he is just;
    I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

¹ O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!
    Your glory is higher than the heavens.
² You have taught children and infants
    to tell of your strength,^[d]
silencing your enemies
    and all who oppose you.

³ When I look at the night sky and see the work of your fingers—
    the moon and the stars you set in place—
⁴ what are mere mortals that you should think about them,
    human beings that you should care for them?^[e]
5 Yet you made them only a little lower than God^[f]
    and crowned them^[g] with glory and honor.
⁶ You gave them charge of everything you made,
    putting all things under their authority—
⁷ the flocks and the herds
    and all the wild animals,
⁸ the birds in the sky, the fish in the sea,
    and everything that swims the ocean currents.

⁹ O Lord, our Lord, your majestic name fills the earth!

¹ I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart;
    I will tell of all the marvelous things you have done.
² I will be filled with joy because of you.
    I will sing praises to your name, O Most High.

³ My enemies retreated;
    they staggered and died when you appeared.
⁴ For you have judged in my favor;
    from your throne you have judged with fairness.
⁵ You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked;
    you have erased their names forever.
⁶ The enemy is finished, in endless ruins;
    the cities you uprooted are now forgotten.

⁷ But the Lord reigns forever,
    executing judgment from his throne.
⁸ He will judge the world with justice
    and rule the nations with fairness.
⁹ The Lord is a shelter for the oppressed,
    a refuge in times of trouble.
¹⁰ Those who know your name trust in you,
    for you, O Lord, do not abandon those who search for you.

¹¹ Sing praises to the Lord who reigns in Jerusalem.^[h]
    Tell the world about his unforgettable deeds.
¹² For he who avenges murder cares for the helpless.
    He does not ignore the cries of those who suffer.

¹³ Lord, have mercy on me.
    See how my enemies torment me.
    Snatch me back from the jaws of death.
¹⁴ Save me so I can praise you publicly at Jerusalem’s gates,
    so I can rejoice that you have rescued me.

¹⁵ The nations have fallen into the pit they dug for others.
    Their own feet have been caught in the trap they set.
¹⁶ The Lord is known for his justice.
    The wicked are trapped by their own deeds. Quiet Interlude^[i]

¹⁷ The wicked will go down to the grave.^[j]
    This is the fate of all the nations who ignore God.
¹⁸ But the needy will not be ignored forever;
    the hopes of the poor will not always be crushed.

¹⁹ Arise, O Lord!
    Do not let mere mortals defy you!
    Judge the nations!
²⁰ Make them tremble in fear, O Lord.
    Let the nations know they are merely human. Interlude