Psalm 49-67

English Standard Version

^5 (G)Why should I fear in ^(H)times of trouble,
    when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,
⁶ those who ^(I)trust in their wealth
    and boast of the abundance of their riches?
⁷ Truly no man ^(J)can ransom another,
    or ^(K)give to God ^(L)the price of his life,
⁸ for ^(M)the ransom of their life is costly
    and can never suffice,
⁹ that he should live on forever
    and ^(N)never see the pit.

¹⁰ For he sees ^(O)that even the wise die;
    ^(P)the fool and the stupid alike must perish
    and ^(Q)leave their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their ^(R)graves are their homes forever,^[a]
    their dwelling places ^(S)to all generations,
    though they ^(T)called lands by their own names.
¹² Man in his pomp ^(U)will not remain;
    ^(V)he is like the beasts that perish.

¹³ This is the path of those who have ^(W)foolish confidence;
    yet after them people approve of their boasts.^[b] Selah
¹⁴ Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
    death shall be their shepherd,
and the upright ^(X)shall rule over them in the morning.
    ^(Y)Their form shall be consumed ^(Z)in Sheol, with no place to dwell.
¹⁵ But God will ^(AA)ransom my soul from the power of Sheol,
    for he will ^(AB)receive me. Selah

¹⁶ Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,
    when the glory of his house increases.
^17 (AC)For when he dies he will ^(AD)carry nothing away;
    his glory will not go down after him.
¹⁸ For though, while he lives, he counts himself ^(AE)blessed
    —and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹ his soul will ^(AF)go to the generation of his fathers,
    who will never again ^(AG)see light.
^20 (AH)Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

³ Our God comes; he ^(AN)does not keep silence;^[c]
    before him is a devouring ^(AO)fire,
    around him a mighty tempest.
^4 (AP)He calls to the heavens above
    and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
⁵ “Gather to me my faithful ones,
    who made ^(AQ)a covenant with me by sacrifice!”
^6 (AR)The heavens declare his righteousness,
    for ^(AS)God himself is judge! Selah

^7 (AT)“Hear, O my people, and I will speak;
    O Israel, I will testify against you.
    ^(AU)I am God, your God.
⁸ Not for your sacrifices ^(AV)do I rebuke you;
    your burnt offerings are continually before me.
⁹ I will not accept a bull from your house
    or goats from your folds.
¹⁰ For every beast of the forest is mine,
    the cattle on a thousand hills.
^11 (AW)I know all the birds of the hills,
    and all that moves in the field is mine.

¹² “If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
    ^(AX)for the world and its fullness are mine.
¹³ Do I eat the flesh of bulls
    or drink the blood of goats?
^14 (AY)Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,^[d]
    and ^(AZ)perform your vows to the Most High,
¹⁵ and ^(BA)call upon me in the day of trouble;
    I will ^(BB)deliver you, and you shall ^(BC)glorify me.”

¹⁶ But to the wicked God says:
    “What right have you to recite my statutes
    or take my covenant on your lips?
^17 (BD)For you hate discipline,
    ^(BE)and you cast my words behind you.
¹⁸ If you see a thief, ^(BF)you are pleased with him,
    ^(BG)and you keep company with adulterers.

¹⁹ “You give your mouth free rein for evil,
    ^(BH)and your tongue frames deceit.
²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother;
    you slander your own mother's son.
²¹ These things you have done, and I ^(BI)have been silent;
    you thought that I^[e] was one like yourself.
But now I ^(BJ)rebuke you and ^(BK)lay the charge before you.

²² “Mark this, then, you who ^(BL)forget God,
    lest I tear you apart, and there be ^(BM)none to deliver!
²³ The one who ^(BN)offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me;
    to one who ^(BO)orders his way rightly
    I will show the ^(BP)salvation of God!”

^3 (BW)For I know my transgressions,
    and my sin is ever before me.
^4 (BX)Against you, you only, have I sinned
    and done what is evil ^(BY)in your sight,
^(BZ)so that you may be justified in your words
    and blameless in your judgment.
⁵ Behold, ^(CA)I was brought forth in iniquity,
    and in sin did my mother conceive me.
⁶ Behold, you delight in truth in ^(CB)the inward being,
    and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

⁷ Purge me ^(CC)with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
    ^(CD)wash me, and I shall be ^(CE)whiter than snow.
⁸ Let me hear joy and gladness;
    ^(CF)let the bones ^(CG)that you have broken rejoice.
^9 (CH)Hide your face from my sins,
    and ^(CI)blot out all my iniquities.
^10 (CJ)Create in me a ^(CK)clean heart, O God,
    and ^(CL)renew a right^[g] spirit within me.
^11 (CM)Cast me not away from your presence,
    and take not ^(CN)your Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
    and uphold me with a willing spirit.

¹³ Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
    and sinners will ^(CO)return to you.
¹⁴ Deliver me from ^(CP)bloodguiltiness, O God,
    O ^(CQ)God of my salvation,
    and ^(CR)my tongue will sing aloud of your ^(CS)righteousness.
¹⁵ O Lord, open my lips,
    and my mouth will declare your praise.
^16 (CT)For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
    you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are ^(CU)a broken spirit;
    a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

^18 (CV)Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
    ^(CW)build up the walls of Jerusalem;
¹⁹ then will you delight in ^(CX)right sacrifices,
    in burnt offerings and ^(CY)whole burnt offerings;
    then bulls will be offered on your altar.

⁵ But God will break you down forever;
    he will snatch and ^(DE)tear you from your tent;
    he will uproot you from ^(DF)the land of the living. Selah
⁶ The righteous shall ^(DG)see and fear,
    and shall ^(DH)laugh at him, saying,
⁷ “See the man who would not make
    God his refuge,
but ^(DI)trusted in the abundance of his riches
    and sought refuge in his own destruction!”^[i]

⁸ But I am like ^(DJ)a green olive tree
    in the house of God.
I trust in the steadfast love of God
    forever and ever.
⁹ I will thank you forever,
    because you have done it.
I will wait for your name, ^(DK)for it is good,
    in the presence of the ^(DL)godly.

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

³ They have all fallen away;
    together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
    not even one.

⁴ Have those who work evil no knowledge,
    who eat up my people as they eat bread,
    and do not call upon God?

⁵ There they are, in great terror,
    ^(DO)where there is no terror!
For God ^(DP)scatters the bones of him who encamps against you;
    you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

⁶ Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
    When God restores the fortunes of his people,
    let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

^3 (DU)For ^(DV)strangers^[m] have risen against me;
    ruthless men ^(DW)seek my life;
    they do not set God before themselves. Selah

⁴ Behold, ^(DX)God is my helper;
    the Lord is the upholder of my life.
⁵ He will return the evil to my enemies;
    in your ^(DY)faithfulness ^(DZ)put an end to them.

⁶ With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;
    I will give thanks to your name, O Lord, ^(EA)for it is good.
⁷ For he has delivered me from every trouble,
    and my eye has ^(EB)looked in triumph on my enemies.

⁴ My heart is in anguish within me;
    ^(EH)the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
⁵ Fear and trembling come upon me,
    and ^(EI)horror ^(EJ)overwhelms me.
⁶ And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest;
^7 (EK)yes, I would wander far away;
    I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
⁸ I would hurry to find a shelter
    from ^(EL)the raging wind and tempest.”

⁹ Destroy, O Lord, ^(EM)divide their tongues;
    for I see ^(EN)violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰ Day and night they go around it
    on its walls,
and ^(EO)iniquity and trouble are within it;
¹¹     ruin is in its midst;
^(EP)oppression and fraud
    do not depart from its marketplace.

¹² For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
    then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who ^(EQ)deals insolently with me—
    then I could hide from him.
^13 (ER)But it is you, a man, my equal,
    my companion, my familiar friend.
¹⁴ We used to take sweet counsel together;
    within God's house we walked in ^(ES)the throng.
¹⁵ Let death steal over them;
    let them go down to Sheol ^(ET)alive;
    for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

¹⁶ But I call to God,
    and the Lord will save me.
^17 (EU)Evening and ^(EV)morning and at ^(EW)noon
    I ^(EX)utter my complaint and moan,
    and he hears my voice.
¹⁸ He redeems my soul in safety
    from the battle that I wage,
    for ^(EY)many are arrayed against me.
¹⁹ God will give ear and humble them,
    he who is ^(EZ)enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not ^(FA)change
    and do not fear God.

²⁰ My companion^{[o] (FB)}stretched out his hand against his friends;
    he violated his covenant.
²¹ His ^(FC)speech was ^(FD)smooth as butter,
    yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
    yet they were ^(FE)drawn swords.

^22 (FF)Cast your burden on the Lord,
    and he will sustain you;
^(FG)he will never permit
    the righteous to be moved.

²³ But you, O God, ^(FH)will cast them down
    into ^(FI)the pit of destruction;
men of ^(FJ)blood and treachery
    shall not ^(FK)live out half their days.
But I will ^(FL)trust in you.

⁵ All day long they injure my cause;^[q]
    all their thoughts are against me for evil.
⁶ They ^(FS)stir up strife, they ^(FT)lurk;
    they ^(FU)watch my steps,
    as they have waited for my life.
⁷ For their crime will they escape?
    ^(FV)In wrath ^(FW)cast down the peoples, O God!

⁸ You have kept count of my tossings;^{[r]
    (FX)}put my tears in your bottle.
    ^(FY)Are they not in your book?
⁹ Then my enemies will turn back
    ^(FZ)in the day when I call.
    This I know, that^{[s] (GA)}God is for me.
¹⁰ In God, whose word I praise,
    in the Lord, whose word I praise,
¹¹ in God I trust; ^(GB)I shall not be afraid.
    What can man do to me?

¹² I must perform my ^(GC)vows to you, O God;
    I will ^(GD)render thank offerings to you.
^13 (GE)For you have delivered my soul from death,
    yes, my feet from falling,
^(GF)that I may walk before God
    ^(GG)in the light of life.

⁴ My soul is in the midst of ^(GT)lions;
    I lie down amid fiery beasts—
the children of man, whose ^(GU)teeth are spears and arrows,
    whose ^(GV)tongues are sharp swords.

^5 (GW)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!

⁶ They set ^(GX)a net for my steps;
    my soul was ^(GY)bowed down.
They ^(GZ)dug a pit in my way,
    but they have fallen into it themselves. Selah
^7 (HA)My heart is ^(HB)steadfast, O God,
    my heart is steadfast!
I will sing and make melody!
^{8     (HC)}Awake, ^(HD)my glory!^[u]
Awake, ^(HE)O harp and lyre!
    I will awake the dawn!
⁹ I will give thanks to you, O Lord, among the peoples;
    I will sing praises to you among the nations.
¹⁰ For your ^(HF)steadfast love is great to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the clouds.

^11 (HG)Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!

³ The wicked are ^(HK)estranged from the womb;
    they go astray from birth, speaking lies.
^4 (HL)They have venom like the venom of a serpent,
    like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
⁵ so that it ^(HM)does not hear the voice of charmers
    or of the cunning enchanter.

⁶ O God, ^(HN)break the teeth in their mouths;
    tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
⁷ Let them ^(HO)vanish like water that runs away;
    when he ^(HP)aims his arrows, let them be blunted.
⁸ Let them be like the snail ^(HQ)that dissolves into slime,
    like ^(HR)the stillborn child who never sees the sun.
⁹ Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of ^(HS)thorns,
    whether green or ablaze, may he ^(HT)sweep them away!^[x]

^10 (HU)The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance;
    he will ^(HV)bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
¹¹ Mankind will say, “Surely there is ^(HW)a reward for the righteous;
    surely there is a God who ^(HX)judges on earth.”

³ For behold, they ^(IG)lie in wait for my life;
    fierce men ^(IH)stir up strife against me.
^(II)For no transgression or sin of mine, O Lord,
⁴     for no fault of mine, they run and make ready.
^(IJ)Awake, come to meet me, and see!
⁵     You, ^(IK)Lord God of hosts, are God of Israel.
Rouse yourself to punish all the nations;
    spare none of those who treacherously plot evil. Selah

⁶ Each evening they ^(IL)come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
⁷ There they are, ^(IM)bellowing with their mouths
    with ^(IN)swords in their lips—
    for ^(IO)“Who,” they think,^[z] “will hear us?”

⁸ But you, O Lord, ^(IP)laugh at them;
    you hold all the nations in derision.
⁹ O my Strength, I will watch for you,
    for you, O God, are ^(IQ)my fortress.
^10 (IR)My God in his steadfast love^{[aa] (IS)}will meet me;
    God will let me ^(IT)look in triumph on my enemies.

¹¹ Kill them not, lest my people forget;
    make them totter^[ab] by your power and ^(IU)bring them down,
    O Lord, our ^(IV)shield!
¹² For ^(IW)the sin of their mouths, the words of their lips,
    let them be trapped in their pride.
For the cursing and lies that they utter,
^{13     (IX)}consume them in wrath;
    consume them till they are no more,
that they may ^(IY)know that God rules over Jacob
    to ^(IZ)the ends of the earth. Selah

^14 (JA)Each evening they come back,
    howling like dogs
    and prowling about the city.
¹⁵ They ^(JB)wander about for food
    and growl if they do not get their fill.

¹⁶ But I will sing of your strength;
    I will sing aloud of your steadfast love in the morning.
For you have been to me ^(JC)a fortress
    and ^(JD)a refuge in ^(JE)the day of my distress.
¹⁷ O my Strength, I will sing praises to you,
    for you, O God, ^(JF)are my fortress,
    ^(JG)the God who shows me steadfast love.

⁴ You have set up ^(JS)a banner for those who fear you,
    that they may flee to it ^(JT)from the bow.^[ad] Selah
^5 (JU)That your ^(JV)beloved ones may be delivered,
    give salvation by your right hand and answer us!

⁶ God has spoken ^(JW)in his holiness:^[ae]
    “With exultation ^(JX)I will divide up ^(JY)Shechem
    and portion out the Vale of ^(JZ)Succoth.
^7 (KA)Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
    ^(KB)Ephraim is ^(KC)my helmet;
    Judah is my ^(KD)scepter.
^8 (KE)Moab is my washbasin;
    upon Edom I ^(KF)cast my shoe;
    over ^(KG)Philistia I shout in triumph.”^[af]

⁹ Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    ^(KH)Who will lead me to Edom?
¹⁰ Have you not ^(KI)rejected us, O God?
    You ^(KJ)do not go forth, O God, with our armies.
¹¹ Oh, grant us help against the foe,
    for ^(KK)vain is the salvation of man!
¹² With God we shall ^(KL)do valiantly;
    it is he who will ^(KM)tread down our foes.

⁴ Let me ^(KT)dwell in your tent forever!
    Let me take refuge under ^(KU)the shelter of your wings! Selah
⁵ For you, O God, have heard my vows;
    you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

^6 (KV)Prolong ^(KW)the life of the king;
    may his years endure to all generations!
⁷ May he be enthroned forever before God;
    appoint ^(KX)steadfast love and faithfulness to watch over him!

⁸ So will I ever sing praises to your name,
    as I ^(KY)perform my vows day after day.

³ How long will all of you attack a man
    to batter him,
    like ^(LF)a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
⁴ They only plan to thrust him down from his ^(LG)high position.
    They take pleasure in falsehood.
^(LH)They bless with their mouths,
    but inwardly they curse. Selah

⁵ For God alone, O ^(LI)my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
^6 (LJ)He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
⁷ On God rests my ^(LK)salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, ^(LL)my refuge is God.

^8 (LM)Trust in him at all times, O people;
    ^(LN)pour out your heart before him;
    God is ^(LO)a refuge for us. Selah

^9 (LP)Those of low estate are but a breath;
    those of high estate ^(LQ)are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
    ^(LR)they are together lighter than a breath.
¹⁰ Put no trust in extortion;
    ^(LS)set no vain hopes on robbery;
    ^(LT)if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

^11 (LU)Once God has spoken;
    ^(LV)twice have I heard this:
that ^(LW)power belongs to God,
¹²     and that to you, O Lord, ^(LX)belongs steadfast love.
For you will ^(LY)render to a man
    according to his work.

⁵ My soul will be ^(MI)satisfied as with fat and rich food,
    and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
⁶ when I remember you ^(MJ)upon my bed,
    and meditate on you in ^(MK)the watches of the night;
⁷ for you have been my help,
    and in ^(ML)the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
⁸ My soul ^(MM)clings to you;
    your right hand ^(MN)upholds me.

⁹ But those who seek to destroy my life
    ^(MO)shall go down into ^(MP)the depths of the earth;
¹⁰ they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
    they shall be a portion for jackals.
¹¹ But ^(MQ)the king shall rejoice in God;
    all who ^(MR)swear by him shall exult,
    ^(MS)for the mouths of ^(MT)liars will be stopped.

^7 (NE)But God shoots his arrow at them;
    they are wounded suddenly.
⁸ They are brought to ruin, with their own ^(NF)tongues turned against them;
    all who ^(NG)see them will ^(NH)wag their heads.
⁹ Then all mankind ^(NI)fears;
    they ^(NJ)tell what God has brought about
    and ponder what he has done.

¹⁰ Let ^(NK)the righteous one rejoice in the Lord
    and ^(NL)take refuge in him!
Let all ^(NM)the upright in heart exult!

⁵ By ^(NW)awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness,
    O God of our salvation,
the hope of all ^(NX)the ends of the earth
    and of the farthest seas;
⁶ the one who by his strength established the mountains,
    being ^(NY)girded with might;
⁷ who ^(NZ)stills the roaring of the seas,
    the roaring of their waves,
    ^(OA)the tumult of the peoples,
⁸ so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.

⁹ You visit the earth and ^(OB)water it;^[ah]
    you greatly enrich it;
^(OC)the river of God is full of water;
    ^(OD)you provide their grain,
    for so you have prepared it.
¹⁰ You water its furrows abundantly,
    settling its ridges,
softening it with ^(OE)showers,
    and blessing its growth.
¹¹ You crown the year with your bounty;
    your wagon tracks ^(OF)overflow with abundance.
^12 (OG)The pastures of the wilderness overflow,
    the hills ^(OH)gird themselves with joy,
^13 (OI)the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
    the valleys deck themselves with grain,
    they ^(OJ)shout and sing together for joy.

^5 (OP)Come and see what God has done:
    ^(OQ)he is awesome in his deeds toward the children of man.
⁶ He ^(OR)turned the sea into dry land;
    they ^(OS)passed through the river on foot.
There did we rejoice in him,
⁷     who rules by his might forever,
whose ^(OT)eyes keep watch on the nations—
    let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah

⁸ Bless our God, O peoples;
    let the sound of his praise be heard,
⁹ who has kept our soul among the living
    and ^(OU)has not let our feet slip.
¹⁰ For you, O God, have ^(OV)tested us;
    you have tried us as silver is tried.
¹¹ You brought us into ^(OW)the net;
    you laid a crushing burden on our backs;
¹² you let men ^(OX)ride over our heads;
    we went through fire and through ^(OY)water;
yet you have brought us out to a place of abundance.

¹³ I will come into your house with burnt offerings;
    I will ^(OZ)perform my vows to you,
¹⁴ that which my lips uttered
    and my mouth promised ^(PA)when I was in trouble.
¹⁵ I will offer to you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
    with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls and goats. Selah

^16 (PB)Come and hear, all you who fear God,
    and I will tell what he has done for my soul.
¹⁷ I cried to him with my mouth,
    and high praise was on^[ai] my tongue.^[aj]
18 If I had ^(PC)cherished iniquity in my heart,
    ^(PD)the Lord would not have listened.
¹⁹ But truly ^(PE)God has listened;
    he has attended to the voice of my prayer.

²⁰ Blessed be God,
    because he has not rejected my prayer
    or removed his steadfast love from me!

⁴ Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
    for you ^(PL)judge the peoples with equity
    and guide the nations upon earth. Selah
^5 (PM)Let the peoples praise you, O God;
    let all the peoples praise you!