Psalm 9-17
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 9
God’s Power and Justice
To the leader: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.
1 [a]I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.(A)
2 I will be glad and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.(B)
3 When my enemies turned back,
they stumbled and perished before you.(C)
4 For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.(D)
5 You have rebuked the nations; you have destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name forever and ever.(E)
6 The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;
their cities you have rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.(F)
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.(G)
8 He judges the world with righteousness;
he judges the peoples with equity.(H)
9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of trouble.(I)
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.(J)
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
Declare his deeds among the peoples.(K)
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.(L)
13 Be gracious to me, O Lord.
See what I suffer from those who hate me;
you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,(M)
14 so that I may recount all your praises
and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
rejoice in your deliverance.(N)
15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.(O)
16 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah(P)
17 The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
all the nations that forget God.(Q)
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
nor the hope of the poor perish forever.(R)
19 Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;
let the nations be judged before you.(S)
20 Put them in fear, O Lord;
let the nations know that they are only human. Selah(T)
Psalm 10
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
1 [b]Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
2 In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(U)
3 For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart;
those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.(V)
4 In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, “God will not seek it out”;
all their thoughts are, “There is no God.”(W)
5 Their ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, out of their sight;
as for their foes, they scoff at them.
6 They think in their heart, “We shall not be moved;
throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.”(X)
7 Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.(Y)
8 They sit in ambush in the villages;
in hiding places they murder the innocent.
Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;(Z)
9 they lurk in secret like a lion in its den;
they lurk that they may seize the poor;
they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.(AA)
10 They stoop, they crouch,
and the helpless fall by their might.
11 They think in their heart, “God has forgotten;
he has hidden his face; he will never see it.”(AB)
12 Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
do not forget the oppressed.(AC)
13 Why do the wicked renounce God
and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”?
14 But you do see! Indeed, you note trouble and grief,
that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
you have been the helper of the orphan.(AD)
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
seek out their wickedness until you find none.(AE)
16 The Lord is king forever and ever;
the nations shall perish from his land.(AF)
17 O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear(AG)
18 to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
so that those from earth may strike terror no more.[c](AH)
Psalm 11
Song of Trust in God
To the leader. Of David.
1 In the Lord I take refuge; how can you say to me,
“Flee like a bird to the mountains,[d](AI)
2 for look, the wicked bend the bow,
they have fitted their arrow to the string,
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart.(AJ)
3 If the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”(AK)
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes behold; his gaze examines humankind.(AL)
5 The Lord tests the righteous and the wicked,
and his soul hates the lover of violence.(AM)
6 On the wicked he will rain coals of fire and sulfur;
a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup.(AN)
7 For the Lord is righteous;
he loves righteous deeds;
the upright shall behold his face.(AO)
Psalm 12
Plea for Help in Evil Times
To the leader: according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1 Help, O Lord, for there is no longer anyone who is godly;
the faithful have disappeared from humankind.(AP)
2 They utter lies to each other;
with flattering lips and a deceitful heart they speak.(AQ)
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,(AR)
4 those who say, “With our tongues we will prevail;
our lips are our own—who is our master?”
5 “Because the poor are despoiled, because the needy groan,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord;
“I will place them in the safety for which they long.”(AS)
6 The promises of the Lord are promises that are pure,
silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.(AT)
7 You, O Lord, will protect us;
you will guard us from this generation forever.(AU)
8 On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among humankind.(AV)
Psalm 13
Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader. A Psalm of David.
1 How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?(AW)
2 How long must I bear pain[e] in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all day long?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?(AX)
3 Consider and answer me, O Lord my God!
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,(AY)
4 and my enemy will say, “I have prevailed”;
my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.(AZ)
5 But I trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall rejoice in your salvation.(BA)
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he has dealt bountifully with me.(BB)
Psalm 14
Denunciation of Godlessness
To the leader. Of David.
1 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt; they do abominable deeds;
there is no one who does good.(BC)
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on humankind
to see if there are any who are wise,
who seek after God.(BD)
3 They have all gone astray; they are all alike perverse;
there is no one who does good,
no, not one.(BE)
4 Have they no knowledge, all the evildoers
who eat up my people as they eat bread
and do not call upon the Lord?(BF)
5 There they shall be in great terror,
for God is with the company of the righteous.(BG)
6 You would confound the plans of the poor,
but the Lord is their refuge.(BH)
7 O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,
Jacob will rejoice; Israel will be glad.(BI)
Psalm 15
Who Shall Abide in God’s Sanctuary?
A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, who may abide in your tent?
Who may dwell on your holy hill?(BJ)
2 Those who walk blamelessly and do what is right
and speak the truth from their heart;(BK)
3 who do not slander with their tongue
and do no evil to their friends
nor heap shame upon their neighbors;(BL)
4 in whose eyes the wicked are despised
but who honor those who fear the Lord;
who stand by their oath even to their hurt;(BM)
5 who do not lend money at interest
and do not take a bribe against the innocent.
Those who do these things shall never be moved.(BN)
Psalm 16
Song of Trust and Security in God
A Miktam of David.
1 Protect me, O God, for in you I take refuge.(BO)
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have no good apart from you.”[f]
3 As for the holy ones in the land, they are the noble ones
in whom is all my delight.(BP)
4 Those who choose another god multiply their sorrows;[g]
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or take their names upon my lips.(BQ)
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.(BR)
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
I have a goodly heritage.(BS)
7 I bless the Lord, who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.(BT)
8 I keep the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.(BU)
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
my body also rests secure.(BV)
10 For you do not give me up to Sheol
or let your faithful one see the Pit.(BW)
11 You show me the path of life.
In your presence there is fullness of joy;
in your right hand are pleasures forevermore.(BX)
Psalm 17
Prayer for Deliverance from Persecutors
A Prayer of David.
1 Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry;
give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit.
2 From you let my vindication come;
let your eyes see the right.
3 If you try my heart, if you visit me by night,
if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me;
my mouth does not transgress.(BY)
4 As for what others do, by the word of your lips
I have avoided the ways of the violent.(BZ)
5 My steps have held fast to your paths;
my feet have not slipped.(CA)
6 I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
incline your ear to me; hear my words.(CB)
7 Wondrously show your steadfast love,
O savior of those who seek refuge
from their adversaries at your right hand.(CC)
8 Guard me as the apple of the eye;
hide me in the shadow of your wings,(CD)
9 from the wicked who despoil me,
my deadly enemies who surround me.
10 They close their hearts to pity;
with their mouths they speak arrogantly.(CE)
11 They flush me out;[h] now they surround me;
they set their eyes to cast me to the ground.
12 They are like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.(CF)
13 Rise up, O Lord, confront them, overthrow them!
By your sword deliver my life from the wicked,(CG)
14 from mortals—by your hand, O Lord—
from mortals whose portion in life is in this world.
May their bellies be filled with what you have stored up for them;
may their children have more than enough;
may they leave something over to their little ones.(CH)
15 As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.(CI)
Footnotes
- 9.1 Psalms 9–10 were originally one psalm, as in the Greek and Latin traditions. In Hebrew, Psalms 9–10 formed an acrostic.
- 10.1 Psalms 9–10 were originally one psalm, as in the Greek and Latin traditions. In Hebrew, Psalms 9–10 formed an acrostic.
- 10.18 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 11.1 Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb flee to your mountain, O bird
- 13.2 Syr: Heb hold counsels
- 16.2 Jerome Tg: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 16.4 Cn: Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 17.11 Q ms Gk: MT Our steps
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.