Psalm 9-16

English Standard Version

³ When my enemies turn back,
    they stumble and perish before^[c] your presence.
⁴ For you have ^(E)maintained my just cause;
    you have ^(F)sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

⁵ You have ^(G)rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
    you have ^(H)blotted out their name forever and ever.
⁶ The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
    their cities you rooted out;
    the very memory of them has perished.

⁷ But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
    he has established his throne for justice,
⁸ and he ^(I)judges the world with righteousness;
    he ^(J)judges the peoples with uprightness.

⁹ The Lord is ^(K)a stronghold for ^(L)the oppressed,
    a stronghold in ^(M)times of trouble.
¹⁰ And those who ^(N)know your name put their trust in you,
    for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

¹¹ Sing praises to the Lord, who ^(O)sits enthroned in Zion!
    Tell among the peoples his ^(P)deeds!
¹² For he who ^(Q)avenges blood is mindful of them;
    he ^(R)does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

^13 (S)Be gracious to me, O Lord!
    See my affliction from those who hate me,
    O you who lift me up from ^(T)the gates of death,
¹⁴ that I may recount all your praises,
    that in the gates of ^(U)the daughter of Zion
    I may ^(V)rejoice in your salvation.

¹⁵ The nations have sunk in ^(W)the pit that they made;
    in ^(X)the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
¹⁶ The Lord has made himself ^(Y)known; he has executed judgment;
    the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion.^[d] Selah

¹⁷ The wicked shall ^(Z)return to Sheol,
    all the nations that ^(AA)forget God.

¹⁸ For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
    and ^(AB)the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

^19 (AC)Arise, O Lord! Let not ^(AD)man prevail;
    let the nations be judged before you!
²⁰ Put them in fear, O Lord!
    Let the nations know that they are but ^(AE)men! Selah

² In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
    let them ^(AI)be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
³ For the wicked ^(AJ)boasts of the desires of his soul,
    and the one greedy for gain ^(AK)curses^[e] and ^(AL)renounces the Lord.
⁴ In the pride of his face^[f] the wicked does not ^(AM)seek him;^[g]
    all his thoughts are, ^(AN)“There is no God.”
⁵ His ways prosper at all times;
    your judgments are on high, ^(AO)out of his sight;
    as for all his foes, he ^(AP)puffs at them.
⁶ He ^(AQ)says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
    throughout all generations I ^(AR)shall not meet adversity.”
^7 (AS)His mouth is filled with cursing and ^(AT)deceit and ^(AU)oppression;
    ^(AV)under his tongue are ^(AW)mischief and ^(AX)iniquity.
⁸ He sits in ambush in the villages;
    in ^(AY)hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
⁹     he lurks in ambush like ^(AZ)a lion in his ^(BA)thicket;
he ^(BB)lurks that he may seize the poor;
    he seizes the poor when he draws him into his ^(BC)net.
¹⁰ The helpless are crushed, sink down,
    and fall by his might.
¹¹ He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
    he has ^(BD)hidden his face, he ^(BE)will never see it.”

^12 (BF)Arise, O Lord; O God, ^(BG)lift up your hand;
    ^(BH)forget not the afflicted.
¹³ Why does the wicked ^(BI)renounce God
    and say in his heart, “You will not ^(BJ)call to account”?
¹⁴ But you do see, for you ^(BK)note mischief and vexation,
    that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless ^(BL)commits himself;
    you have been ^(BM)the helper of the fatherless.
^15 (BN)Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
    ^(BO)call his wickedness to account till you find none.

^16 (BP)The Lord is king forever and ever;
    the ^(BQ)nations perish from his land.
¹⁷ O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
    you will ^(BR)strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
¹⁸ to ^(BS)do justice to the fatherless and ^(BT)the oppressed,
    so that ^(BU)man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

^4 (BZ)The Lord is in his holy temple;
    the Lord's ^(CA)throne is in heaven;
    his eyes see, his eyelids ^(CB)test the children of man.
⁵ The Lord ^(CC)tests the righteous,
    but ^(CD)his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
⁶ Let him rain coals on the wicked;
    ^(CE)fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be ^(CF)the portion of their cup.
⁷ For the Lord is righteous;
he ^(CG)loves righteous deeds;
    ^(CH)the upright shall behold his face.

³ May the Lord cut off all ^(CM)flattering lips,
    the tongue that makes ^(CN)great boasts,
⁴ those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
    our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

⁵ “Because ^(CO)the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
    ^(CP)I will now arise,” says the Lord;
    “I will place him in the ^(CQ)safety for which he longs.”
^6 (CR)The words of the Lord are pure words,
    like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
    purified seven times.

⁷ You, O Lord, will keep them;
    you will guard us^[j] from this generation forever.
⁸ On every side the wicked prowl,
    as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

^3 (CW)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
    ^(CX)light up my eyes, lest ^(CY)I sleep the sleep of death,
^4 (CZ)lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
    lest my foes rejoice because I am ^(DA)shaken.

⁵ But I have ^(DB)trusted in your steadfast love;
    my heart shall ^(DC)rejoice in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing to the Lord,
    because he has dealt bountifully with me.

² The Lord ^(DI)looks down from heaven on the children of man,
    to see if there are any who understand,^[k]
    who ^(DJ)seek after God.

³ They have all turned aside; together they have become ^(DK)corrupt;
    there is none who does good,
    not even one.

⁴ Have they no ^(DL)knowledge, all the evildoers
    who ^(DM)eat up my people as they eat bread
    and ^(DN)do not call upon the Lord?

⁵ There they are in great terror,
    for God is with ^(DO)the generation of the righteous.
⁶ You would shame the plans of the poor,
    but^[l] the Lord is his ^(DP)refuge.

⁷ Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
    When the Lord ^(DQ)restores the fortunes of his people,
    let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

² He who ^(DU)walks blamelessly and ^(DV)does what is right
    and ^(DW)speaks truth in his heart;
³ who ^(DX)does not slander with his tongue
    and does no evil to his neighbor,
    nor ^(DY)takes up a reproach against his friend;
^4 (DZ)in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
    but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who ^(EA)swears to his own hurt and does not change;
⁵ who ^(EB)does not put out his money at interest
    and ^(EC)does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be ^(ED)moved.

³ As for ^(EH)the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones,
    in whom is all my delight.^[n]

⁴ The sorrows of those who run after^[o] another god shall multiply;
    their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
    or ^(EI)take their names on my lips.

⁵ The Lord is ^(EJ)my chosen portion and my ^(EK)cup;
    you hold my ^(EL)lot.
^6 (EM)The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
    indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.

⁷ I bless the Lord who ^(EN)gives me counsel;
    in ^(EO)the night also my ^(EP)heart instructs me.^[p]
8 (EQ)I have ^(ER)set the Lord always before me;
    because he is at my ^(ES)right hand, I shall not be ^(ET)shaken.

⁹ Therefore my heart is glad, and my ^(EU)whole being^[q] rejoices;
    my flesh also dwells secure.
¹⁰ For you will not abandon my soul to ^(EV)Sheol,
    ^(EW)or let your ^(EX)holy one see ^(EY)corruption.^[r]

¹¹ You make known to me ^(EZ)the path of life;
    in your presence there is ^(FA)fullness of joy;
    at your right hand are ^(FB)pleasures forevermore.