Psalm 26-31

English Standard Version

⁴ I do not ^(I)sit with men of ^(J)falsehood,
    nor do I consort with hypocrites.
⁵ I ^(K)hate the assembly of evildoers,
    and I will not sit with the wicked.

⁶ I ^(L)wash my hands in innocence
    and go around your altar, O Lord,
⁷ proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
    and telling all your ^(M)wondrous deeds.

⁸ O Lord, I ^(N)love the habitation of your house
    and the place where your glory dwells.
^9 (O)Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
    nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
¹⁰ in whose hands are evil devices,
    and whose right hands are full of ^(P)bribes.

¹¹ But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
    redeem me, and be gracious to me.
¹² My foot stands on ^(Q)level ground;
    in ^(R)the great assembly I will bless the Lord.

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

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

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

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

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

^7 (AF)Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
    be gracious to me and answer me!
⁸ You have said, ^(AG)“Seek^[e] my face.”
My heart says to you,
    “Your face, Lord, do I seek.”^{[f]
9     (AH)}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,
    ^(AI)O God of my salvation!
¹⁰ For ^(AJ)my father and my mother have forsaken me,
    but the Lord will ^(AK)take me in.

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

¹³ I believe that I shall look^[g] upon ^(AQ)the goodness of the Lord
    in ^(AR)the land of the living!
^14 (AS)Wait for the Lord;
    ^(AT)be strong, and let your heart take courage;
    wait for the Lord!

³ Do not ^(BA)drag me off with the wicked,
    with the workers of evil,
^(BB)who speak peace with their neighbors
    while evil is in their hearts.
^4 (BC)Give to them according to their work
    and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands;
    ^(BD)render them their due reward.
⁵ Because they ^(BE)do not regard the works of the Lord
    or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and build them up no more.

⁶ Blessed be the Lord!
    For he has ^(BF)heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
⁷ The Lord is my strength and ^(BG)my shield;
    in him my heart ^(BH)trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
    and with my ^(BI)song I give thanks to him.

⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people;^[i]
    he is ^(BJ)the saving refuge of his anointed.
⁹ Oh, save your people and bless ^(BK)your heritage!
    ^(BL)Be their shepherd and ^(BM)carry them forever.

³ The voice of the Lord is over ^(BP)the waters;
    the God of glory ^(BQ)thunders,
    the Lord, over many waters.
⁴ The voice of the Lord is ^(BR)powerful;
    the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.

⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
    the Lord breaks ^(BS)the cedars of Lebanon.
⁶ He makes Lebanon to ^(BT)skip like a calf,
    and ^(BU)Sirion like a young ^(BV)wild ox.

⁷ The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
⁸ The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness;
    the Lord shakes the wilderness of ^(BW)Kadesh.

⁹ The voice of the Lord makes ^(BX)the deer give birth^[l]
    and strips the forests bare,
    and in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

¹⁰ The Lord sits enthroned over ^(BY)the flood;
    the Lord sits enthroned ^(BZ)as king forever.
¹¹ May the Lord give ^(CA)strength to his people!
    May the Lord bless^[m] his people with ^(CB)peace!

⁴ Sing praises to the Lord, O you ^(CJ)his saints,
    and ^(CK)give thanks to his holy name.^[o]
5 (CL)For his anger is but for a moment,
    and ^(CM)his favor is for a lifetime.^[p]
(CN)Weeping may tarry for the night,
    but ^(CO)joy comes with the morning.

⁶ As for me, I said in my ^(CP)prosperity,
    “I shall never be ^(CQ)moved.”
⁷ By your favor, O Lord,
    you made my ^(CR)mountain stand strong;
you ^(CS)hid your face;
    I was ^(CT)dismayed.

⁸ To you, O Lord, I cry,
    and ^(CU)to the Lord I plead for mercy:
⁹ “What profit is there in my death,^[q]
    if I go down to the pit?^[r]
Will ^(CV)the dust praise you?
    Will it tell of your faithfulness?
^10 (CW)Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me!
    O Lord, be my helper!”

¹¹ You have turned for me my mourning into ^(CX)dancing;
    you have loosed my sackcloth
    and clothed me with gladness,
¹² that my ^(CY)glory may sing your praise and not be silent.
    O Lord my God, I will give thanks to you forever!

³ For you are my rock and my fortress;
    and for your ^(DF)name's sake you lead me and guide me;
⁴ you ^(DG)take me out of ^(DH)the net they have hidden for me,
    for you are my ^(DI)refuge.
^5 (DJ)Into your hand I commit my spirit;
    you have redeemed me, O Lord, ^(DK)faithful God.

⁶ I ^(DL)hate^[s] those who pay ^(DM)regard to worthless ^(DN)idols,
    but I trust in the Lord.
⁷ I will rejoice and be glad in your steadfast love,
    because you have seen my affliction;
    you have ^(DO)known the distress of my soul,
⁸ and you have not ^(DP)delivered me into the hand of the enemy;
    you have set my feet in ^(DQ)a broad place.

⁹ Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am ^(DR)in distress;
    ^(DS)my eye is wasted from grief;
    my soul and my body also.
¹⁰ For my life is spent with sorrow,
    and my years with sighing;
my strength fails because of my iniquity,
    and ^(DT)my bones waste away.

¹¹ Because of all my adversaries I have become ^(DU)a reproach,
    especially to my ^(DV)neighbors,
and an object of dread to my acquaintances;
    those who see me in the street ^(DW)flee from me.
¹² I have been ^(DX)forgotten like one who is dead;
    I have become like ^(DY)a broken vessel.
¹³ For I ^(DZ)hear the whispering of many—
    terror on every side!—
^(EA)as they scheme together against me,
    as they plot to take my life.

¹⁴ But I ^(EB)trust in you, O Lord;
    I say, “You are my God.”
¹⁵ My ^(EC)times are in your hand;
    ^(ED)rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from my persecutors!
^16 (EE)Make your face shine on your servant;
    save me in your steadfast love!
¹⁷ O Lord, ^(EF)let me not be put to shame,
    for I call upon you;
let the wicked be put to shame;
    let them go ^(EG)silently to Sheol.
¹⁸ Let the lying lips be mute,
    which ^(EH)speak ^(EI)insolently against the righteous
    in pride and contempt.

¹⁹ Oh, how abundant is your goodness,
    which you have stored up for those who fear you
and worked for those who take refuge in you,
    ^(EJ)in the sight of the children of mankind!
²⁰ In ^(EK)the cover of your presence you hide them
    from the plots of men;
you ^(EL)store them in your shelter
    from the strife of tongues.

²¹ Blessed be the Lord,
    for he has wondrously ^(EM)shown his steadfast love to me
    when I was in ^(EN)a besieged city.
²² I had said in my ^(EO)alarm,^[t]
    “I am ^(EP)cut off from ^(EQ)your sight.”
But you heard the voice of my pleas for mercy
    when I cried to you for help.

²³ Love the Lord, all you his ^(ER)saints!
    The Lord preserves the faithful
    but abundantly ^(ES)repays the one who acts in pride.
^24 (ET)Be strong, and let your heart take courage,
    all you who wait for the Lord!