Psalm 3

New American Standard Bible

Morning Prayer of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David, when ^[a]he fled from his son Absalom.

3 Lord, how ^(A)my enemies have increased!
Many are rising up against me.
²Many are saying of my soul,
“There is no ^(B)salvation for him in God.” Selah

³But You, Lord, are ^(C)a shield around me,
My ^(D)glory, and the One who ^(E)lifts my head.
⁴I was crying out to the Lord with my voice,
And He ^(F)answered me from ^(G)His holy ^[b]mountain. Selah
⁵^[c]I ^(H)lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the Lord sustains me.
⁶I will ^(I)not be afraid of ten thousands of people
Who have ^(J)set themselves against me all around.

⁷^(K)Arise, Lord; ^(L)save me, my God!
For You ^[d]have ^(M)struck all my enemies on the ^[e]cheek;
You ^[f]have ^(N)shattered the teeth of the wicked.
⁸^[g]^(O)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
May Your ^(P)blessing ^[h]be upon Your people! Selah

Footnotes

Psalm 3 Title 2 Sam 15:13-17, 29
Psalm 3:4 Or hill
Psalm 3:5 Or As for me, I
Psalm 3:7 Or strike
Psalm 3:7 Or jaw
Psalm 3:7 Or shatter
Psalm 3:8 Or Deliverance
Psalm 3:8 Or is

Psalm 4

New American Standard Bible

Evening Prayer of Trust in God.

^[a]For the music director; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

4 ^(A)Answer me when ^(B)I call, God ^[b]of my righteousness!
You have ^[c]^(C)relieved me in my distress;
Be ^(D)gracious to me and ^(E)hear my prayer.

²You sons of man, how long will ^(F)my ^[d]honor be treated as ^(G)an insult?
How long will you love ^(H)what is worthless and strive for a ^(I)lie? Selah
³But know that the Lord has ^[e]^(J)set apart the ^(K)godly person for Himself;
The Lord ^(L)hears when I call to Him.

⁴^[f]^(M)Tremble, ^[g]^(N)and do not sin;
^[h]^(O)Meditate in your heart upon your bed, and be still. Selah
⁵Offer ^[i]the ^(P)sacrifices of righteousness,
And ^(Q)trust in the Lord.

⁶Many are saying, “^(R)Who will show us anything good?”
^(S)Lift up the light of Your face upon us, Lord!
⁷You have put ^(T)joy in my heart,
More than when their grain and new wine are abundant.
⁸In peace I will ^[j]both ^(U)lie down and sleep,
For You alone, Lord, have me ^(V)dwell in safety.

Footnotes

Psalm 4 Title I.e., Belonging to the choir director’s anthology
Psalm 4:1 I.e., who maintains my right
Psalm 4:1 Lit made room for
Psalm 4:2 Or glory
Psalm 4:3 Another reading is dealt wonderfully with
Psalm 4:4 I.e., with anger or fear
Psalm 4:4 Or but
Psalm 4:4 Lit Speak
Psalm 4:5 Or righteous sacrifices
Psalm 4:8 Or at the same time

Psalm 12

New American Standard Bible

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

For the music director; ^[a]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

12 Help, Lord, for ^(A)the godly person has come to an end,
For the faithful have disappeared from the sons of mankind.
²They ^(B)speak ^[b]lies to one another;
They speak with ^[c]^(C)flattering lips and a double heart.
³May the Lord cut off all ^[d]flattering lips,
The tongue that ^(D)speaks great things;
⁴Who ^(E)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are ^[e]our own; who is lord over us?”
⁵“Because of the ^(F)devastation of the poor, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now ^(G)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will ^(H)put him in the safety for which he longs.”

⁶The ^(I)words of the Lord are pure words;
Like silver ^(J)refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times.
⁷You, Lord, will keep them;
You will ^(K)protect him from this generation forever.
⁸The ^(L)wicked strut about on every side
When ^[f]^(M)vileness is exalted among the sons of mankind.

Footnotes

Psalm 12 Title Or according to a lower octave (Heb Sheminith)
Psalm 12:2 Lit worthless speech
Psalm 12:2 Lit a smooth lip
Psalm 12:3 Lit a smooth lip
Psalm 12:4 Lit with us
Psalm 12:8 Or worthlessness

Psalm 13

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, Lord? Will You ^(A)forget me forever?
How long ^(B)will You hide Your face from me?
²How long am I to ^(C)feel anxious in my soul,
With ^(D)grief in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

³^(E)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
^(F)Enlighten my eyes, or I will ^(G)sleep the sleep of death,
⁴And my enemy will ^(H)say, “I have overcome him,”
And ^(I)my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

⁵But I have ^(J)trusted in Your faithfulness;
My heart shall ^(K)rejoice in Your salvation.
⁶I will ^(L)sing to the Lord,
Because He has ^(M)looked after me.

Psalm 28

New American Standard Bible

A Prayer for Help, and Praise for Its Answer.

A Psalm of David.

28 To You, Lord, I call;
My ^(A)rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You ^(B)are silent to me,
I will become like those who ^(C)go down to the pit.
²Hear the ^(D)sound of my pleadings when I cry to You for help,
When I ^(E)raise my hands ^(F)toward ^[a]Your holy ^(G)sanctuary.
³^(H)Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with those who practice injustice,
Who ^(I)speak peace with their neighbors,
While evil is in their hearts.
⁴Give back to them ^(J)according to their work and according to the evil of their practices;
Give back to them according to the work of their hands;
Repay them what is due them.
⁵Because they ^(K)do not regard the works of the Lord
Nor the deeds of His hands,
He will tear them down and not build them up.

⁶Blessed be the Lord,
Because He ^(L)has heard the sound of my pleading.
⁷The Lord is my ^(M)strength and my ^(N)shield;
My heart ^(O)trusts in Him, and I am helped;
Therefore ^(P)my heart triumphs,
And with ^(Q)my song I shall thank Him.
⁸The Lord is ^[b]their ^(R)strength,
And He is a refuge of ^(S)salvation to His anointed.
⁹^(T)Save Your people and bless ^(U)Your inheritance;
Be their ^(V)shepherd also, and ^(W)carry them forever.

Footnotes

Psalm 28:2 Lit the innermost place of Your sanctuary
Psalm 28:8 A few mss and ancient versions the strength of His people

Psalm 55

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for the Destruction of the Treacherous.

For the music director; on stringed instruments. A ^[a]Maskil of David.

55 ^(A)Listen to my prayer, God;
And ^(B)do not hide Yourself from my pleading.
²Give Your ^(C)attention to me and answer me;
I am restless in my ^(D)complaint and ^[b]^(E)severely distracted,
³Because of the voice of the enemy,
Because of the ^(F)pressure of the wicked;
For they ^(G)bring down ^[c]trouble upon me
And in anger they ^(H)hold a grudge against me.

⁴My ^(I)heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of ^(J)death have fallen upon me.
⁵Fear and ^(K)trembling come upon me,
And ^[d]^(L)horror has ^[e]overwhelmed me.
⁶I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and ^[f]^(M)be at rest.
⁷Behold, I would flee far away,
I would ^(N)spend my nights in the wilderness. Selah
⁸I would hurry to my place of refuge
From the ^(O)stormy wind and heavy gale.”

⁹Confuse them, Lord, ^(P)divide their tongues,
For I have seen ^(Q)violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And evil and harm are in her midst.
¹¹^(R)Destruction is in her midst;
^(S)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her ^[g]streets.

¹²For it is ^(T)not an enemy who taunts me,
Then I could endure it;
Nor is it one who hates me who ^(U)has exalted himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
¹³But it is you, a man ^[h]my equal,
My ^(V)companion and my ^(W)confidant;
¹⁴We who had sweet ^[i]fellowship together,
^(X)Walked in the house of God among the commotion.
¹⁵May ^[j]death come ^(Y)deceitfully upon them;
May they ^(Z)go down alive to ^[k]Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

¹⁶As for me, I shall ^(AA)call upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
¹⁷^(AB)Evening and ^(AC)morning and at ^(AD)noon, I will complain and moan,
And He will hear my voice.
¹⁸He will ^(AE)redeem my soul in peace ^[l]from the battle which is against me,
For they are ^(AF)many who are aggressive toward me.
¹⁹God will ^(AG)hear and humiliate them—
Even the one ^(AH)who ^[m]sits enthroned from ancient times— Selah
With whom there ^[n]is no change,
And who ^(AI)do not fear God.
²⁰He has put forth his hands against ^(AJ)those who were at peace with him;
He has ^[o]^(AK)violated his covenant.
²¹His ^[p]speech was ^(AL)smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were ^(AM)softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn ^(AN)swords.

²²^(AO)Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you;
^(AP)He will never allow the righteous to ^[q]^(AQ)be shaken.
²³But You, God, will bring them down to the ^(AR)pit of destruction;
^(AS)Men of bloodshed and deceit will ^(AT)not live out half their days.
But I will ^(AU)trust in You.