Psalm 57-59

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for Rescue from Persecutors.

For the music director; set to ^[a]Al-tashheth. A ^[b]Mikhtam of David, ^[c]when he fled from Saul in the cave.

57 Be gracious to me, God, be gracious to me,
For my soul ^(A)takes refuge in You;
And in the ^(B)shadow of Your wings I will take refuge
Until destruction ^(C)passes by.
²I will cry to God Most High,
To God who ^(D)accomplishes all things for me.
³He will ^(E)send from heaven and save me;
He rebukes the one who ^[d]^(F)tramples upon me. Selah
God will send His ^[e]^(G)favor and His truth.

⁴My soul is among ^(H)lions;
I must lie among those who devour,
Among sons of mankind whose ^(I)teeth are spears and arrows,
And their ^(J)tongue is a sharp sword.
⁵^(K)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.
⁶They have prepared a ^(L)net for my steps;
My soul is ^(M)bowed down;
They ^(N)dug a pit before me;
They themselves have ^(O)fallen into the midst of it. Selah

⁷^(P)My ^(Q)heart is steadfast, God, my heart is steadfast;
I will sing, yes, I will sing praises!
⁸Awake, ^(R)my glory!
Awake, ^(S)harp and lyre!
I will awaken the dawn.
⁹^(T)I will praise You, Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing praises to You among the ^[f]nations.
¹⁰For Your ^(U)goodness is great to the heavens
And Your ^[g]truth to the clouds.
¹¹^(V)Be exalted above the heavens, God;
May Your glory be above all the earth.

Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.

For the music director; set to ^[h]Al-tashheth. A ^[i]Mikhtam of David.

58 Do you indeed ^[j]speak righteousness, you ^[k]gods?
Do you ^(W)judge ^[l]fairly, you sons of mankind?
²No, in heart you ^(X)practice injustice;
On earth you ^(Y)clear a way for the violence of your hands.
³The wicked have turned away ^(Z)from the womb;
These who speak lies ^(AA)go astray from ^[m]birth.
⁴They have venom like the ^(AB)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
⁵So that it ^(AC)does not hear the voice of ^[n]^(AD)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.

⁶God, ^(AE)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, Lord.
⁷May they ^(AF)flow away like water that runs off;
When he ^[o]^(AG)aims his arrows, may they be as ^[p]headless shafts.
⁸May they be like a snail which goes along in slime,
Like the ^(AH)miscarriage of a woman that never sees the sun.
⁹Before your ^(AI)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will ^(AJ)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the ^[q]green and the burning alike.

¹⁰The ^(AK)righteous will rejoice when he ^(AL)sees vengeance;
He will ^(AM)wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
¹¹And people will say, “There certainly is ^[r]^(AN)a reward for the righteous;
There certainly is a God who ^(AO)judges on the earth!”

Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.

For the music director; set to ^[s]Al-tashheth. A ^[t]Mikhtam of David, ^[u]when Saul sent men and they watched the house in order to kill him.

59 ^(AP)Rescue me from my enemies, my God;
^[v]^(AQ)Set me securely on high away from those who rise up against me.
²Rescue me from ^(AR)those who practice injustice,
And save me from ^(AS)men of bloodshed.
³For behold, they ^(AT)have ^[w]set an ambush for my ^[x]life;
^[y]Fierce men ^(AU)attack me,
^(AV)Not for my wrongdoing nor for my sin, Lord,
⁴^[z]^(AW)For no guilt of mine, they run and take their stand against me.
^(AX)Stir Yourself to ^[aa]help me, and see!
⁵You, ^(AY)Lord God of armies, the God of Israel,
Awake to ^[ab]^(AZ)punish all the nations;
^(BA)Do not be gracious to any who deal treacherously in wrongdoing. Selah
⁶They ^(BB)return at evening, they howl like a ^(BC)dog,
And prowl around the city.
⁷Behold, they ^(BD)gush forth with their mouths;
^(BE)Swords are in their lips,
For, they say, “^(BF)Who hears?”
⁸But You, Lord, ^(BG)laugh at them;
You ^(BH)scoff at all the nations.

⁹Because of ^[ac]his ^(BI)strength I will watch for You,
For God is my ^(BJ)refuge.
¹⁰^[ad]My God ^(BK)in His faithfulness will meet me;
God will let me ^(BL)look triumphantly upon my enemies.
¹¹Do not kill them, ^(BM)or my people will forget;
^[ae]^(BN)Scatter them by Your power and bring them down,
Lord, ^(BO)our shield.
¹²^[af]On account of the ^(BP)sin of their mouths and the words of their lips,
May they even be ^(BQ)caught in their pride,
And on account of ^(BR)curses and lies which they tell.
¹³^[ag]^(BS)Destroy them in wrath, ^[ah]destroy them so that they will no longer exist;
So that people may ^(BT)know that God ^[ai]rules in Jacob,
To the ends of the earth. Selah
¹⁴They ^(BU)return at evening, they howl like a dog,
And prowl around the city.
¹⁵They ^(BV)wander about ^[aj]for food
And ^[ak]murmur if they are not satisfied.

¹⁶But as for me, I will ^(BW)sing of Your strength;
Yes, I will ^(BX)joyfully sing of Your faithfulness in the ^(BY)morning,
For You have been my ^(BZ)refuge
And a ^(CA)place of refuge on the day of my distress.
¹⁷^(CB)My strength, I will sing praises to You;
For God is my ^(CC)refuge, the ^[al]God who shows me favor.

Footnotes

Psalm 57 Title Lit Do Not Destroy
Psalm 57 Title Possibly, Epigrammatic Poem; or Atonement Psalm
Psalm 57 Title 1 Sam 22:1; 24:3
Psalm 57:3 Or snaps at
Psalm 57:3 Or faithfulness
Psalm 57:9 Lit peoples
Psalm 57:10 Or faithfulness
Psalm 58 Title Lit Do Not Destroy
Psalm 58 Title Possibly Epigrammatic Poem or Atonement Psalm
Psalm 58:1 Another reading is speak righteousness in silence
Psalm 58:1 Or mighty ones; or judges
Psalm 58:1 Or mankind fairly?
Psalm 58:3 Lit the womb
Psalm 58:5 Or whisperers
Psalm 58:7 Lit bends
Psalm 58:7 Lit though they were cut off
Psalm 58:9 Lit living
Psalm 58:11 Lit fruit
Psalm 59 Title Lit Do Not Destroy
Psalm 59 Title Possibly Epigrammatic Poem or Atonement Psalm
Psalm 59 Title 1 Sam 19:11
Psalm 59:1 Or May You put me in an inaccessibly high place
Psalm 59:3 Or lain in wait
Psalm 59:3 Lit soul
Psalm 59:3 Or Strong
Psalm 59:4 Lit Without guilt
Psalm 59:4 Lit meet
Psalm 59:5 Lit visit
Psalm 59:9 LXX, some mss and some ancient versions my strength (cf. v 17)
Psalm 59:10 Many mss and some ancient versions The God of my faithfulness
Psalm 59:11 Or Make them wander
Psalm 59:12 Or The sin of their mouth is the word of their lips,
Psalm 59:13 Lit Bring to an end
Psalm 59:13 Lit Bring to an end
Psalm 59:13 Or is Ruler
Psalm 59:15 Lit to eat
Psalm 59:15 Another reading is linger all night
Psalm 59:17 Lit God of my favor

Romans 4

New American Standard Bible

Abraham’s Justification by Faith

4 What then shall we say that Abraham, ^[a]our forefather ^(A)according to the flesh, has found? ²For if Abraham was justified ^[b]by works, he has something to boast about; but ^(B)not ^[c]before God. ³For what does the Scripture say? “^(C)Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.” ⁴Now to the one who ^(D)works, the wages are not credited as a favor, but as what is due. ⁵But to the one who does not work, but ^(E)believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness, ⁶just as David also speaks of the blessing of the person to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:

⁷“^(F)Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven,
And whose sins have been covered.
⁸^(G)Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will not ^(H)take into account.”

⁹Is this blessing then on ^[d]^(I)the circumcised, or on ^[e]the uncircumcised also? For ^(J)we say, “^(K)Faith was credited to Abraham as righteousness.” ¹⁰How then was it credited? While he was ^[f]circumcised, or ^[g]uncircumcised? Not while ^[h]circumcised, but while ^[i]uncircumcised; ¹¹and he ^(L)received the sign of circumcision, ^(M)a seal of the righteousness of the faith which ^[j]he had while uncircumcised, so that he might be ^(N)the father of ^(O)all who believe without being circumcised, that righteousness might be credited to them, ¹²and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also follow in the steps of the faith of our father Abraham which ^[k]he had while uncircumcised.

¹³For ^(P)the promise to Abraham or to his ^[l]descendants ^(Q)that he would be heir of the world was not ^[m]through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith. ¹⁴For ^(R)if those who are ^[n]of the Law are heirs, then faith is made void and the promise is nullified; ¹⁵for ^(S)the Law brings about wrath, but ^(T)where there is no law, there also is no violation.

¹⁶For this reason it is ^[o]by faith, in order that it may be in accordance with ^(U)grace, so that the promise will be guaranteed to ^(V)all the ^[p]descendants, not only to ^[q]those who are of the Law, but also to ^[r]^(W)those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is ^(X)the father of us all, ¹⁷(as it is written: “I have made you ^(Y)a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed, that is, God, ^(Z)who gives life to the dead and ^(AA)calls into being ^(AB)things that do not exist. ¹⁸In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become ^(AC)a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “^(AD)So shall your ^[s]descendants be.” ¹⁹Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now ^(AE)as good as dead since ^(AF)he was about a hundred years old, and ^(AG)the deadness of Sarah’s womb; ²⁰yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, ^(AH)giving glory to God, ²¹and ^(AI)being fully assured that ^(AJ)what God had promised, He was able also to perform. ²²Therefore ^(AK)it was also credited to him as righteousness. ²³Now ^(AL)not for his sake only was it written that it was credited to him, ²⁴but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, to us ^(AM)who believe in Him who ^(AN)raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, ²⁵He who was ^(AO)delivered over because of our wrongdoings, and was ^(AP)raised because of our justification.