Psalm 7-8
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 7
Prayer for Justice
A Shiggaion[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush,[b] a Benjaminite.
1 Yahweh my God, I seek refuge in You;(A)
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me(B)
2 or they[c] will tear me like a lion,
ripping me apart with no one to rescue me.[d](C)
3 Yahweh my God, if I have done this,
if there is injustice on my hands,(D)
4 if I have done harm to one at peace with me(E)
or have plundered[e] my adversary without cause,(F)
5 may an enemy pursue and overtake me;
may he trample me to the ground(G)
and leave my honor in the dust.(H)
6 Rise up, Lord, in Your anger;
lift Yourself up against the fury of my adversaries;(I)
awake for me;[f](J)
You have ordained[g] a judgment.(K)
7 Let the assembly of peoples gather around You;(L)
take Your seat[h] on high over it.(M)
8 The Lord judges the peoples;(N)
vindicate me, Lord,
according to my righteousness and my integrity.[i](O)
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,(P)
but establish the righteous.(Q)
The One who examines the thoughts and emotions[j]
is a righteous God.(R)
10 My shield is with[k] God,(S)
who saves the upright in heart.(T)
11 God is a righteous judge
and a God who shows His wrath every day.(U)
12 If anyone does not repent,
God[l] will sharpen His sword;(V)
He has strung[m] His bow and made it ready.(W)
13 He has prepared His deadly weapons;
He tips His arrows with fire.(X)
14 See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil,
conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit.(Y)
15 He dug a pit and hollowed it out
but fell into the hole he had made.(Z)
16 His trouble comes back on his own head,
and his violence falls on the top of his head.(AA)
17 I will thank the Lord for His righteousness;
I will sing about the name of Yahweh the Most High.(AB)
Psalm 8
God’s Glory, Man’s Dignity
For the choir director: on the Gittith.(AC) A Davidic psalm.
1 Yahweh, our Lord,
how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!(AD)
You have covered the heavens with Your majesty.[n](AE)
2 Because of Your adversaries,
You have established a stronghold[o]
from the mouths of children and nursing infants(AF)
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I observe Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You set in place,(AG)
4 what is man that You remember him,
the son of man that You look after him?(AH)
5 You made him little less than God[p][q]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him lord over the works of Your hands;
You put everything under his feet:[r](AI)
7 all the sheep and oxen,
as well as the animals in the wild,
8 the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea
that pass through the currents of the seas.(AJ)
9 Yahweh, our Lord,
how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!
Footnotes
- Psalm 7:1 Perhaps a passionate song with rapid changes of rhythm, or a dirge
- Psalm 7:1 LXX, Aq, Sym, Theod, Jer read of the Cushite
- Psalm 7:2 Lit he
- Psalm 7:2 Lit ripping, and without a rescuer
- Psalm 7:4 Or me and have spared
- Psalm 7:6 LXX reads awake, Lord my God
- Psalm 7:6 Or me; ordain
- Psalm 7:7 MT reads and return
- Psalm 7:8 Lit integrity on me
- Psalm 7:9 Lit examines hearts and kidneys
- Psalm 7:10 Lit on
- Psalm 7:12 Lit He
- Psalm 7:12 Lit bent; that is, bent the bow to string it
- Psalm 8:1 Lit earth, which has set Your splendor upon the heavens
- Psalm 8:2 LXX reads established praise
- Psalm 8:5 LXX reads angels
- Psalm 8:5 Or gods, or a god, or heavenly beings; lit Elohim
- Psalm 8:6 Or authority
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