Psalm 26

New American Standard Bible

Protestation of Integrity and Prayer for Protection.

A Psalm of David.

26 ^[a]^(A)Vindicate me, Lord, for I have ^(B)walked in my integrity,
And I have ^(C)trusted in the Lord ^[b]^(D)without wavering.
²^(E)Examine me, Lord, and put me to the test;
^(F)Refine my ^[c]mind and my heart.
³For Your ^(G)^[d]goodness is before my eyes,
And I have ^(H)walked in Your truth.
⁴I do not ^(I)sit with ^[e]deceitful people,
Nor will I go with ^[f]^(J)pretenders.
⁵I ^(K)hate the assembly of evildoers,
And I will not sit with the wicked.
⁶I will ^(L)wash my hands in innocence,
And I will go around ^(M)Your altar, Lord,
⁷That I may proclaim with the voice of ^(N)thanksgiving
And declare all Your ^[g]wonders.

⁸Lord, I ^(O)love the dwelling of Your house,
And the place ^[h]where Your ^(P)glory remains.
⁹^(Q)Do not ^[i]take my soul away along with sinners,
Nor my life with ^(R)men of bloodshed,
¹⁰In whose hands is a ^(S)wicked scheme,
And whose right hand is full of ^(T)bribes.
¹¹But as for me, I will ^(U)walk in my integrity;
^(V)Redeem me, and be gracious to me.
¹²^(W)My foot stands on ^(X)level ground;
In the ^(Y)congregations I will bless the Lord.

Footnotes

Psalm 26:1 Lit Judge
Psalm 26:1 Lit I do not slide
Psalm 26:2 Lit kidneys, figurative for inner man
Psalm 26:3 Or faithfulness
Psalm 26:4 Or worthless men; lit men of falsehood
Psalm 26:4 Or dissemblers, hypocrites
Psalm 26:7 Or miracles
Psalm 26:8 Lit of the tabernacle of Your glory
Psalm 26:9 Lit gather

Psalm 40

New American Standard Bible

God Sustains His Servant.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

40 I ^(A)waited ^[a]patiently for the Lord;
And He reached down to me and ^(B)heard my cry.
²He brought me up out of the ^(C)pit of ^[b]destruction, out of the mud;
And ^(D)He set my feet on a rock, ^(E)making my footsteps firm.
³He put a ^(F)new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God;
Many will ^(G)see and fear
And will trust in the Lord.

⁴How ^(H)blessed is the man who has made the Lord his trust,
And ^(I)has not turned to the ^[c]proud, nor to those who ^(J)become involved in falsehood.
⁵Many, Lord my God, are ^(K)the wonders which You have done,
And Your ^(L)thoughts toward us;
There is no one to compare with You.
If I would declare and speak of them,
They ^(M)would be too numerous to count.

⁶^(N)You have not desired ^[d]sacrifice and meal offering;
You have ^[e]opened my ears;
You have not required burnt offering and sin offering.
⁷Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
It is ^[f]written of me in the scroll of the book.
⁸^(O)I delight to do Your will, my God;
^(P)Your Law is within my ^[g]heart.”

⁹I have ^(Q)proclaimed good news of righteousness in the great congregation;
Behold, I will ^(R)not restrain my lips,
Lord, ^(S)You know.
¹⁰I have ^(T)not hidden Your righteousness within my heart;
I have ^(U)spoken of Your faithfulness and Your salvation;
I have not concealed Your mercy and Your truth from the great congregation.

¹¹You, Lord, will not withhold Your compassion from me;
^[h]Your ^(V)mercy and Your truth will continually watch over me.
¹²For evils beyond number have ^(W)surrounded me;
My ^(X)guilty deeds have overtaken me, so that I am not able to see;
They are ^(Y)more numerous than the hairs of my head,
And my ^(Z)heart has ^[i]failed me.

¹³^(AA)Be pleased, Lord, to rescue me;
^(AB)Hurry, Lord, to help me.
¹⁴May those be ^(AC)ashamed and humiliated together
Who ^(AD)seek my ^[j]life to destroy it;
May those be turned back and dishonored
Who delight ^[k]in my hurt.
¹⁵May those ^(AE)be ^[l]appalled because of their shame
Who ^(AF)say to me, “Aha, aha!”
¹⁶^(AG)May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
May those who love Your salvation continually ^(AH)say,
“The Lord be exalted!”
¹⁷But ^(AI)I am afflicted and needy;
^(AJ)May the Lord be mindful of me.
You are my help and my savior;
Do not delay, my God.

Footnotes

Psalm 40:1 Or intently
Psalm 40:2 Lit wasteland; i.e., the underworld
Psalm 40:4 Or enemies
Psalm 40:6 I.e., blood sacrifice
Psalm 40:6 Lit dug; or possibly pierced
Psalm 40:7 Or prescribed for
Psalm 40:8 Lit inner being
Psalm 40:11 Or May...preserve
Psalm 40:12 Lit forsaken
Psalm 40:14 Or soul
Psalm 40:14 Or to injure me
Psalm 40:15 Or desolated

Psalm 58

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for the Punishment of the Wicked.

For the music director; set to ^[a]Al-tashheth. A ^[b]Mikhtam of David.

58 Do you indeed ^[c]speak righteousness, you ^[d]gods?
Do you ^(A)judge ^[e]fairly, you sons of mankind?
²No, in heart you ^(B)practice injustice;
On earth you ^(C)clear a way for the violence of your hands.
³The wicked have turned away ^(D)from the womb;
These who speak lies ^(E)go astray from ^[f]birth.
⁴They have venom like the ^(F)venom of a serpent;
Like a deaf cobra that stops up its ear,
⁵So that it ^(G)does not hear the voice of ^[g]^(H)charmers,
Or a skillful caster of spells.

⁶God, ^(I)shatter their teeth in their mouth;
Break out the fangs of the young lions, Lord.
⁷May they ^(J)flow away like water that runs off;
When he ^[h]^(K)aims his arrows, may they be as ^[i]headless shafts.
⁸May they be like a snail which goes along in slime,
Like the ^(L)miscarriage of a woman that never sees the sun.
⁹Before your ^(M)pots can feel the fire of thorns
He will ^(N)sweep them away with a whirlwind, the ^[j]green and the burning alike.

¹⁰The ^(O)righteous will rejoice when he ^(P)sees vengeance;
He will ^(Q)wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.
¹¹And people will say, “There certainly is ^[k]^(R)a reward for the righteous;
There certainly is a God who ^(S)judges on the earth!”

Footnotes

Psalm 58 Title Lit Do Not Destroy
Psalm 58 Title Possibly Epigrammatic Poem or Atonement Psalm
Psalm 58:1 Another reading is speak righteousness in silence
Psalm 58:1 Or mighty ones; or judges
Psalm 58:1 Or mankind fairly?
Psalm 58:3 Lit the womb
Psalm 58:5 Or whisperers
Psalm 58:7 Lit bends
Psalm 58:7 Lit though they were cut off
Psalm 58:9 Lit living
Psalm 58:11 Lit fruit

Psalm 61

New American Standard Bible

Confidence in God’s Protection.

For the music director; on a stringed instrument. A Psalm of David.

61 ^(A)Hear my cry, God;
^(B)Give Your attention to my prayer.
²From the ^(C)end of the earth I call to You when my heart is ^(D)faint;
Lead me to ^(E)the rock that is higher than I.
³For You have been a ^(F)refuge for me,
A ^(G)tower of strength against the enemy.
⁴Let me ^[a]^(H)dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me ^(I)take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah

⁵For You have heard my ^(J)vows, God;
You have given me the inheritance of those who ^(K)fear Your name.
⁶You will ^[b]^(L)prolong the king’s ^[c]life;
His years will be like generations.
⁷He will ^[d]sit enthroned ^(M)before God forever;
Appoint ^(N)faithfulness and truth that they may watch over him.
⁸So I will ^(O)sing praise to Your name forever,
That I may ^(P)pay my vows day by day.

Footnotes

Psalm 61:4 Or sojourn
Psalm 61:6 Lit add days to
Psalm 61:6 Lit days
Psalm 61:7 Or remain before

Psalm 62

New American Standard Bible

God Alone a Refuge from Treachery and Oppression.

For the music director; ^[a]according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

62 ^(A)My soul waits in silence for God alone;
From Him ^(B)comes my salvation.
²He alone is my ^(C)rock and my salvation,
My ^(D)stronghold; I will not be greatly shaken.

³How long will you attack a man,
That you may murder him, all of you,
Like a ^(E)leaning wall, like a tottering fence?
⁴They have planned only to thrust him down from his high position;
They ^(F)delight in falsehood;
They ^(G)bless with ^[b]their mouth,
But inwardly they curse. Selah

⁵My soul, ^(H)wait in silence for God alone,
For my hope is from Him.
⁶He alone is ^(I)my rock and my salvation,
My refuge; I will not be shaken.
⁷My ^(J)salvation and my glory rest on God;
The rock of my strength, my ^(K)refuge is in God.
⁸^(L)Trust in Him at all times, you people;
^(M)Pour out your hearts before Him;
God is a refuge for us. Selah

⁹People of ^(N)low standing are only ^(O)breath, and people of rank are a ^(P)lie;
In the ^(Q)balances they go up.
Together they are lighter than breath.
¹⁰^(R)Do not trust in oppression,
And do not vainly rely on ^(S)robbery;
If wealth increases, ^(T)do not set your heart on it.

¹¹God has ^(U)spoken ^[c]once;
^[d]Twice I have heard this:
That ^(V)power belongs to God;
¹²And faithfulness ^(W)is Yours, Lord,
For You ^(X)reward a person according to his work.

Footnotes

Psalm 62 Title Cf. 1 Chr 16:41; 25:1; Ps 39 and 77 titles
Psalm 62:4 Lit his
Psalm 62:11 Or one thing
Psalm 62:11 Or These two things I have heard

Psalm 64

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for Rescue from Secret Enemies.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

64 Hear my voice, God, in ^(A)my ^[a]complaint;
^(B)Protect my life from dread of the enemy.
²Hide me from the ^(C)secret discussion of evildoers,
From the restlessness of ^(D)the workers of injustice,
³Who ^(E)have sharpened their tongues like a sword.
They ^(F)aimed bitter speech as their arrows,
⁴To ^(G)shoot ^[b]from concealment at the innocent;
Suddenly they shoot at him, and ^(H)do not fear.
⁵They make firm for themselves an evil ^[c]purpose;
They ^[d]talk of ^(I)setting snares secretly;
They say, “^(J)Who can see them?”
⁶They ^[e]devise injustices, saying,
“We are ^[f]ready with a well-conceived plot”;
For the ^[g]^(K)inward thought and the heart of a person are ^[h]deep.

⁷But ^(L)God ^[i]will shoot an arrow at them;
Suddenly ^[j]they will be wounded.
⁸So ^[k]they ^[l]will ^(M)make him stumble;
^(N)Their own tongue is against them;
All who see them will ^(O)shake their heads.
⁹Then all people ^[m]will ^(P)fear,
And they ^[n]will ^(Q)declare the work of God,
And ^[o]will consider ^[p]what He has done.
¹⁰The righteous person will be ^(R)glad in the Lord and ^(S)take refuge in Him;
And all the upright in heart will boast.