Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.

For the music director; for [a]flute accompaniment. A Psalm of David.

(A)Listen to my words, Lord,
Consider my (B)sighing.
Listen to (C)the sound of my cry for help, (D)my King and my God,
For to You I pray.
In the morning, Lord, [b]You will hear my voice;
In the (E)morning I will present my [c]prayer to You and be on the (F)watch.

For You are not a God (G)who takes pleasure in wickedness;
(H)No evil can dwell with You.
The (I)boastful will not (J)stand before Your eyes;
You (K)hate all who do injustice.
You (L)destroy those who speak lies;
The Lord loathes (M)the person of bloodshed and deceit.
But as for me, (N)by Your abundant graciousness I will enter Your house,
[d]At Your holy temple I will (O)bow in (P)reverence for You.

Lord, (Q)lead me (R)in Your righteousness (S)because of my enemies;
Make Your way [e]straight before me.
For there is (T)nothing [f]trustworthy in [g]their mouth;
Their (U)inward part is destruction itself.
Their (V)throat is an open grave;
They [h]flatter with their tongue.
10 Make them pay, God;
(W)Have them fall by their own schemes!
(X)Scatter them in the multitude of their wrongdoings,
For they are (Y)rebellious against You.

11 But (Z)rejoice, all who (AA)take refuge in You,
Sing for joy forever!
And [i]may You (AB)shelter them,
That those who (AC)love Your name may rejoice in You.
12 For You (AD)bless the righteous person, Lord,
You (AE)surround him with favor as with a shield.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 5 Title Heb Nehiloth
  2. Psalm 5:3 Or May You hear
  3. Psalm 5:3 Or sacrifice
  4. Psalm 5:7 Or Toward
  5. Psalm 5:8 Or smooth
  6. Psalm 5:9 Or true
  7. Psalm 5:9 So ancient versions; MT his
  8. Psalm 5:9 Or make their tongue smooth
  9. Psalm 5:11 Or You shelter

Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.

A Psalm of David.

35 Contend, Lord, with those who (A)contend with me;
Fight against those who (B)fight against me.
Take hold of [a](C)buckler and shield
And rise up as (D)my help.
Draw also the spear and [b]the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am (E)your salvation.”
Let those be (F)ashamed and dishonored who seek my [c]life;
Let those be (G)turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
Let them be (H)like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
Let their way be dark and (I)slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
For (J)they (K)hid their net for me without cause;
Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.
Let (L)destruction come upon him when he is unaware,
And (M)let the net which he hid catch him;
Let him fall into that very (N)destruction.

So my soul shall (O)rejoice in the Lord;
It shall (P)rejoice in His salvation.
10 All my (Q)bones will say, “Lord, (R)who is like You,
Who rescues the afflicted from one (S)who is too strong for him,
And (T)the afflicted and the poor from one who robs him?”
11 (U)Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
12 They (V)repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
13 But as for me, (W)when they were sick, my (X)clothing was sackcloth;
I (Y)humbled my soul with fasting,
But my (Z)prayer kept returning to [d]me.
14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I (AA)bowed down [e]in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother.
15 But (AB)at my [f]stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The [g](AC)afflicted people whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They [h](AD)slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast,
They (AE)gnashed at me with their teeth.

17 Lord, (AF)how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul (AG)from their ravages,
My (AH)only life from the lions.
18 I will (AI)give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will (AJ)praise You among a mighty people.
19 (AK)Do not let those who are wrongfully (AL)my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those (AM)who hate me for no reason [i](AN)wink maliciously.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise (AO)deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21 They (AP)opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “(AQ)Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it!”

22 (AR)You have seen it, Lord, (AS)do not keep silent;
Lord, (AT)do not be far from me.
23 (AU)Stir Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 (AV)Judge me, Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
And (AW)do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their heart, “(AX)Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have (AY)swallowed him up!”
26 May (AZ)those be ashamed and altogether humiliated who rejoice at my distress;
May those who (BA)exalt themselves over me be (BB)clothed with shame and dishonor.

27 May those (BC)shout for joy and rejoice, who take delight in (BD)my vindication;
And (BE)may they say continually, “The Lord be exalted,
Who (BF)delights in the prosperity of His servant.”
28 And (BG)my tongue shall proclaim Your righteousness
And Your praise all day long.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 35:2 I.e., small shield
  2. Psalm 35:3 Or close up the path against those
  3. Psalm 35:4 Or soul
  4. Psalm 35:13 Lit my chest
  5. Psalm 35:14 Or dressed for mourning
  6. Psalm 35:15 Or limping
  7. Psalm 35:15 Or struck ones
  8. Psalm 35:15 Lit tore
  9. Psalm 35:19 Or wink the eye

God’s Abundant Favor to Earth and Mankind.

For the music director. A Psalm of David. A Song.

65 There will be silence [a]before You, and praise in Zion, God,
And the (A)vow will be fulfilled for You.
You who hear prayer,
To You (B)all [b]mankind comes.
[c](C)Wrongdoings prevail against me;
As for our offenses, You [d](D)forgive them.
(E)Blessed is the one You (F)choose and allow to approach You;
He will dwell in Your courtyards.
We will be (G)satisfied with the goodness of Your house,
Your holy temple.

By (H)awesome deeds You answer us in righteousness, (I)God of our salvation,
You who are the trust of all the (J)ends of the earth and the farthest [e](K)sea;
Who (L)establishes the mountains by His strength,
Who is (M)encircled with might;
Who (N)stills the roaring of the seas,
The roaring of their waves,
And the (O)turmoil of the nations.
They who dwell at the (P)ends of the earth stand in awe of Your signs;
You make the [f]sunrise and the sunset shout for joy.

You visit the earth and (Q)cause it to overflow;
You greatly (R)enrich it;
The [g](S)stream of God is full of water;
You prepare their (T)grain, for so You prepare [h]the earth.
10 You water its furrows abundantly,
You [i]settle its ridges,
You soften it (U)with showers,
You bless its growth.
11 You have crowned the year [j]with Your (V)goodness,
And Your [k]paths (W)drip with fatness.
12 (X)The pastures of the wilderness drip,
And the (Y)hills encircle themselves with rejoicing.
13 The meadows are (Z)clothed with flocks
And the valleys are (AA)covered with grain;
They (AB)shout for joy, yes, they sing.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 65:1 Lit to
  2. Psalm 65:2 Lit flesh comes
  3. Psalm 65:3 Or Confessions of wrongdoings
  4. Psalm 65:3 Lit cover, atone for
  5. Psalm 65:5 Or seas
  6. Psalm 65:8 Lit outgoings of the morning and evening
  7. Psalm 65:9 Or channel
  8. Psalm 65:9 Lit it
  9. Psalm 65:10 Or smooth
  10. Psalm 65:11 Lit of
  11. Psalm 65:11 I.e., wagon tracks

Praise to the Lord and Warning against Unbelief.

95 Come, let’s (A)sing for joy to the Lord,
Let’s shout joyfully to (B)the rock of our salvation.
Let’s (C)come before His presence (D)with a song of thanksgiving,
Let’s shout joyfully to Him (E)in songs with instruments.
For the Lord is a (F)great God
And a great King (G)above all gods,
In whose hand are the (H)depths of the earth,
The peaks of the mountains are also His.
[a]The sea is His, for it was He (I)who made it,
And His hands formed the dry land.

Come, let’s (J)worship and bow down,
Let’s (K)kneel before the Lord our (L)Maker.
For He is our God,
And (M)we are the people of His [b](N)pasture and the sheep of His hand.
(O)Today, [c]if you will hear His voice,
Do not harden your hearts as at [d](P)Meribah,
As on the day of [e](Q)Massah in the wilderness,
“When your fathers (R)put Me to the test,
They tested Me, though they had seen My work.
10 For (S)forty years I was disgusted with that generation,
And said they are a people who err in their heart,
And they do not know My ways.
11 Therefore I (T)swore in My anger,
They certainly shall not enter My (U)rest.”

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 95:5 Lit Who has the sea
  2. Psalm 95:7 Lit pasturing
  3. Psalm 95:7 Or O that you would obey
  4. Psalm 95:8 Or place of strife
  5. Psalm 95:8 Or temptation

The Lord Surrounds His People.

A Song of Ascents.

125 Those who trust in the Lord
Are like Mount Zion, which (A)cannot be moved but (B)remains forever.
As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So (C)the Lord surrounds His people
(D)From this time and forever.
For the (E)scepter of wickedness will not rest upon the [a]land of the righteous,
So that the righteous (F)will not extend their hands to do wrong.

(G)Do good, Lord, to those who are good
And to those who are (H)upright in their hearts.
But as for those who (I)turn aside to their (J)crooked ways,
The Lord will lead them away with those who (K)practice injustice.
(L)Peace be upon Israel.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 125:3 Lit lot

Pitfalls of Immorality

My son, (A)pay attention to my wisdom,
(B)Incline your ear to my understanding,
So that you may (C)maintain discretion
And your (D)lips may comply with knowledge.
For the lips of an [a](E)adulteress (F)drip honey,
And her [b]speech is (G)smoother than oil;
But in the end she is (H)bitter as wormwood,
(I)Sharp as a two-edged sword.
Her feet (J)go down to death,
Her steps take hold of Sheol.
[c]She does not ponder the (K)path of life;
Her ways are (L)unstable, she (M)does not know it.

(N)Now then, my sons, listen to me
And (O)do not turn away from the words of my mouth.
(P)Keep your way far from her,
And do not go near the (Q)door of her house,
Otherwise you will give your vigor to others,
And your years to the cruel one;
10 And strangers will be filled with your strength,
And your hard-earned possessions will go to the house of a foreigner;
11 And you will groan [d]in [e]the end,
When your flesh and your body are consumed;
12 And you say, “How I (R)hated instruction!
And my heart (S)disdainfully rejected rebuke!
13 I did not listen to the voice of my (T)teachers,
Nor incline my ear to my instructors!
14 I was almost in total ruin
In the midst of the assembly and congregation.”

15 Drink water from your own cistern,
And [f]fresh water from your own well.
16 Should your (U)springs overflow into the street,
Streams of water in the public squares?
17 Let them be yours alone,
And not for strangers with you.
18 Let your (V)fountain be blessed,
And (W)rejoice in the (X)wife of your youth.
19 Like a loving (Y)doe and a graceful mountain goat,
Let her breasts satisfy you at all times;
Be [g]exhilarated always with her love.
20 For why should you, my son, be exhilarated with an [h](Z)adulteress,
And embrace the breasts of a (AA)foreigner?
21 For the (AB)ways of everyone are before the eyes of the Lord,
And He (AC)observes all his paths.
22 His (AD)own wrongdoings will trap the wicked,
And he will be held by the ropes of his sin.
23 He will (AE)die for lack of instruction,
And in the greatness of his foolishness he will go astray.

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 5:3 Lit strange woman
  2. Proverbs 5:3 Lit palate
  3. Proverbs 5:6 Lit That she not watch
  4. Proverbs 5:11 Or at
  5. Proverbs 5:11 Lit your end
  6. Proverbs 5:15 Lit flowing
  7. Proverbs 5:19 Lit intoxicated
  8. Proverbs 5:20 Lit strange woman

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