Psalm 22-26

New American Standard Bible

A Cry of Anguish and a Song of Praise.

For the music director; upon ^[a]Aijeleth Hashshahar. A Psalm of David.

22 ^(A)My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
^(B)Far from my ^[b]help are the words of my ^[c]^(C)groaning.
²My God, I ^(D)cry out by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but ^[d]I have no rest.
³Yet ^(E)You are holy,
You who ^[e]are enthroned upon ^(F)the praises of Israel.
⁴In You our fathers ^(G)trusted;
They trusted and You ^(H)rescued them.
⁵To You they cried out and they fled to safety;
^(I)In You they trusted and were not ^[f]disappointed.

⁶But I am a ^(J)worm and not a person,
A ^(K)disgrace of mankind and ^(L)despised by the people.
⁷All who see me ^(M)deride me;
They ^[g]sneer, they ^(N)shake their heads, saying,
⁸“^[h]Turn ^[i]him over to the Lord; ^(O)let Him save him;
Let Him rescue him, because He delights in him.”

⁹Yet You are He who ^(P)brought me forth from the womb;
You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.
¹⁰I was cast upon You ^(Q)from ^[j]birth;
You have been my God from my mother’s womb.

¹¹^(R)Do not be far from me, for ^[k]trouble is near;
For there is ^(S)no one to help.
¹²Many ^(T)bulls have surrounded me;
Strong bulls of ^(U)Bashan have encircled me.
¹³They ^(V)open their mouths wide at me,
As a ravening and roaring ^(W)lion.
¹⁴I am ^(X)poured out like water,
And all my ^(Y)bones are out of joint;
My ^(Z)heart is like wax;
It is melted within ^[l]me.
¹⁵My ^(AA)strength is dried up like a piece of pottery,
And ^(AB)my tongue clings to my jaws;
And You ^(AC)lay me ^[m]in the dust of death.
¹⁶For ^(AD)dogs have surrounded me;
^[n]A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
^[o]They ^(AE)pierced my hands and my feet.
¹⁷I can count all my bones.
^(AF)They look, they stare at me;
¹⁸They ^(AG)divide my garments among them,
And they cast lots for my clothing.

¹⁹But You, Lord, ^(AH)do not be far away;
You who are my help, ^(AI)hurry to my assistance.
²⁰Save my ^[p]soul from ^(AJ)the sword,
My ^(AK)only life from the ^[q]power of the dog.
²¹Save me from the ^(AL)lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the ^(AM)wild oxen You ^(AN)answer me.

²²I will ^(AO)proclaim Your name to my brothers;
In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
²³^(AP)You who fear the Lord, praise Him;
All you ^[r]descendants of Jacob, ^(AQ)glorify Him,
And ^(AR)stand in awe of Him, all you ^[s]descendants of Israel.
²⁴For He has ^(AS)not despised nor scorned the suffering of the afflicted;
Nor has He ^(AT)hidden His face from him;
But ^(AU)when he cried to Him for help, He heard.

²⁵From You comes ^(AV)my praise in the great assembly;
I shall ^(AW)pay my vows before those who fear Him.
²⁶The ^[t]afflicted will eat and ^(AX)be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will ^(AY)praise the Lord.
May your ^(AZ)heart live forever!
²⁷All the ^(BA)ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord,
And all the ^(BB)families of the nations will worship before ^[u]You.
²⁸For the ^(BC)kingdom is the Lord’s
And He ^(BD)rules over the nations.
²⁹All the ^[v]^(BE)prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
All those who ^(BF)go down to the dust will kneel before Him,
Even he who ^[w]^(BG)cannot keep his soul alive.
³⁰A ^[x]^(BH)posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord to ^(BI)the coming generation.
³¹They will come and ^(BJ)will declare His righteousness
To a people ^(BK)who will be born, that He has performed it.

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Shepherd.

A Psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my ^(BL)shepherd,
I will ^(BM)not be in need.
²He lets me lie down in ^(BN)green pastures;
He ^(BO)leads me beside ^[y]^(BP)quiet waters.
³He ^(BQ)restores my soul;
He ^(BR)guides me in the ^[z]^(BS)paths of righteousness
For the sake of His name.

⁴Even though I ^(BT)walk through the ^[aa]valley of the shadow of death,
I ^(BU)fear no ^[ab]evil, for ^(BV)You are with me;
Your ^(BW)rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
⁵You ^(BX)prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
You ^[ac]have ^(BY)anointed my head with oil;
My ^(BZ)cup overflows.
⁶^[ad]Certainly ^(CA)goodness and ^[ae]faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life,
And my ^(CB)dwelling will be in the house of the Lord ^[af]forever.

The King of Glory Entering Zion.

A Psalm of David.

24 The ^(CC)earth is the Lord’s, and ^[ag]all it contains,
The ^(CD)world, and those who live in it.
²For He has ^(CE)founded it upon the seas
And established it upon the rivers.
³Who may ^(CF)ascend onto the ^(CG)hill of the Lord?
And who may stand in His holy ^(CH)place?
⁴One who has ^(CI)clean hands and a ^(CJ)pure heart,
Who has not ^(CK)lifted up his soul to deceit
And has not ^(CL)sworn deceitfully.
⁵He will receive a ^(CM)blessing from the Lord
And ^[ah]^(CN)righteousness from the God of his salvation.
⁶^[ai]This is the generation of those who ^(CO)seek Him,
Who seek Your face—even Jacob. Selah

⁷^(CP)Lift up your heads, you gates,
And be lifted up, you ^[aj]ancient doors,
That the King of ^(CQ)glory may come in!
⁸Who is the King of glory?
The Lord ^(CR)strong and mighty,
The Lord ^(CS)mighty in battle.
⁹Lift up your heads, you gates,
And lift them up, you ^[ak]ancient doors,
That the King of ^(CT)glory may come in!
¹⁰Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of ^(CU)armies,
He is the King of glory. Selah

Prayer for Protection, Guidance, and Pardon.

A Psalm of David.

25 To You, Lord, I ^(CV)lift up my soul.
²My God, in You ^(CW)I trust,
Do not let me ^(CX)be ashamed;
Do not let my ^(CY)enemies rejoice over me.
³Indeed, ^(CZ)none of those who wait for You will be ashamed;
^[al]Those who ^(DA)deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed.

⁴^(DB)Make me know Your ways, Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
⁵Lead me in ^(DC)Your truth and teach me,
For You are the ^(DD)God of my salvation;
For You I ^(DE)wait all the day.
⁶^(DF)Remember, Lord, Your compassion and Your faithfulness,
For they have been ^[am]^(DG)from of old.
⁷Do not remember the ^(DH)sins of my youth or my wrongdoings;
^(DI)Remember me according to Your faithfulness,
For Your ^(DJ)goodness’ sake, Lord.

⁸^(DK)The Lord is good and ^(DL)upright;
Therefore He ^(DM)instructs sinners in the way.
⁹He ^(DN)leads the ^[an]humble in justice,
And He ^(DO)teaches the ^[ao]humble His way.
¹⁰All the paths of the Lord are ^(DP)faithfulness and truth
To ^(DQ)those who comply with His covenant and His testimonies.
¹¹For the ^(DR)sake of Your name, Lord,
^(DS)Forgive my wrongdoing, for it is great.

¹²Who is the person who ^(DT)fears the Lord?
He will ^(DU)instruct him in the way he should choose.
¹³His soul will ^(DV)dwell in ^[ap]prosperity,
And his ^[aq]descendants will ^(DW)inherit the ^[ar]land.
¹⁴The ^[as]^(DX)secret of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
^[at]And He will ^(DY)make them know His covenant.
¹⁵My ^(DZ)eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will ^[au]^(EA)rescue my feet from the net.

¹⁶^(EB)Turn to me and be gracious to me,
For I am ^(EC)lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷^[av]The ^(ED)troubles of my heart are enlarged;
Bring me ^(EE)out of my distresses.
¹⁸^(EF)Look at my misery and my trouble,
And ^(EG)forgive all my sins.
¹⁹Look at my enemies, for they ^(EH)are many,
And they ^(EI)hate me with violent hatred.
²⁰^(EJ)Guard my soul and save me;
Do not let me ^(EK)be ashamed, for I take refuge in You.
²¹Let ^(EL)integrity and uprightness protect me,
For ^(EM)I wait for You.
²²^(EN)Redeem Israel, God,
From all his distress.

Protestation of Integrity and Prayer for Protection.

A Psalm of David.

26 ^[aw]^(EO)Vindicate me, Lord, for I have ^(EP)walked in my integrity,
And I have ^(EQ)trusted in the Lord ^[ax]^(ER)without wavering.
²^(ES)Examine me, Lord, and put me to the test;
^(ET)Refine my ^[ay]mind and my heart.
³For Your ^(EU)^[az]goodness is before my eyes,
And I have ^(EV)walked in Your truth.
⁴I do not ^(EW)sit with ^[ba]deceitful people,
Nor will I go with ^[bb]^(EX)pretenders.
⁵I ^(EY)hate the assembly of evildoers,
And I will not sit with the wicked.
⁶I will ^(EZ)wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go around ^(FA)Your altar, Lord,
⁷That I may proclaim with the voice of ^(FB)thanksgiving
And declare all Your ^[bc]wonders.

⁸Lord, I ^(FC)love the dwelling of Your house,
And the place ^[bd]where Your ^(FD)glory remains.
⁹^(FE)Do not ^[be]take my soul away along with sinners,
Nor my life with ^(FF)men of bloodshed,
¹⁰In whose hands is a ^(FG)wicked scheme,
And whose right hand is full of ^(FH)bribes.
¹¹But as for me, I will ^(FI)walk in my integrity;
^(FJ)Redeem me, and be gracious to me.
¹²^(FK)My foot stands on ^(FL)level ground;
In the ^(FM)congregations I will bless the Lord.