Psalm 27

English Standard Version

The Lord Is My Light and My Salvation

Of David.

27 The Lord is my ^(A)light and my ^(B)salvation;
^(C)whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold^[a] of my life;
of whom shall I be afraid?

²When evildoers assail me
to ^(D)eat up my flesh,
my adversaries and foes,
it is they who stumble and fall.

³^(E)Though an army encamp against me,
my heart shall not fear;
though war arise against me,
yet^[b] I will be confident.

⁴^(F)One thing have I asked of the Lord,
    that will I seek after:
that I may ^(G)dwell in the house of the Lord
    all the days of my life,
to gaze upon ^(H)the beauty of the Lord
    and to inquire^[c] in his temple.

⁵For he will ^(I)hide me in his shelter
in the day of trouble;
he will conceal me under the cover of his tent;
he will ^(J)lift me high upon a rock.

⁶And now my ^(K)head shall be lifted up
above my enemies all around me,
and I will offer in his tent
sacrifices with shouts of ^(L)joy;
^(M)I will sing and make melody to the Lord.

⁷^(N)Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me!
⁸You have said, ^(O)“Seek^[d] my face.”
My heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”^[e]
⁹    ^(P)Hide not your face from me.
Turn not your servant away in anger,
    O you who have been my help.
Cast me not off; forsake me not,
    ^(Q)O God of my salvation!
¹⁰For ^(R)my father and my mother have forsaken me,
    but the Lord will ^(S)take me in.

¹¹^(T)Teach me your way, O Lord,
    and lead me on ^(U)a level path
    because of my enemies.
¹²^(V)Give me not up to the will of my adversaries;
    for ^(W)false witnesses have risen against me,
    and they ^(X)breathe out violence.

¹³I believe that I shall look^[f] upon ^(Y)the goodness of the Lord
    in ^(Z)the land of the living!
¹⁴^(AA)Wait for the Lord;
    ^(AB)be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord!

Footnotes

Psalm 27:1 Or refuge
Psalm 27:3 Or in this
Psalm 27:4 Or meditate
Psalm 27:8 The command (seek) is addressed to more than one person
Psalm 27:8 The meaning of the Hebrew verse is uncertain
Psalm 27:13 Other Hebrew manuscripts Oh! Had I not believed that I would look

Psalm 1

English Standard Version

Book One

The Way of the Righteous and the Wicked

1 Blessed is the man^[a]
    who ^(A)walks not in ^(B)the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in ^(C)the way of sinners,
    nor ^(D)sits in ^(E)the seat of ^(F)scoffers;
²but his ^(G)delight is in the law^[b] of the Lord,
    and on his ^(H)law he meditates day and night.

³He is like ^(I)a tree
    planted by ^(J)streams of water
that yields its fruit in its season,
    and its ^(K)leaf does not wither.
^(L)In all that he does, he prospers.
⁴The wicked are not so,
    but are like ^(M)chaff that the wind drives away.

⁵Therefore the wicked ^(N)will not stand in the judgment,
nor sinners in ^(O)the congregation of the righteous;
⁶for the Lord ^(P)knows ^(Q)the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.

Footnotes

Psalm 1:1 The singular Hebrew word for man (ish) is used here to portray a representative example of a godly person; see Preface
Psalm 1:2 Or instruction