Psalm 9
New Catholic Bible
Psalms 9–10[a]
Psalm 9[b]
Thanksgiving for the Triumph of Justice
1 For the director.[c] According to Muth Labben. A psalm of David.
2 I will offer praise to you, O Lord,
with my whole heart;
I will recount all your wondrous deeds.[d]
3 I will rejoice and exult in you;
I will sing praise to your name,[e] O Most High.
4 For my enemies have turned back;
in your presence they stumble and perish.
5 But you have upheld my just cause,
you who are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.
6 You have rebuked the nations and destroyed the wicked,
erasing their name forever and ever.
7 The enemies have suffered endless ruin;
their cities have been utterly destroyed,
and not even their memory remains.
8 The Lord is enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for judgment.
9 He governs the world in righteousness
and judges the peoples with equity.
10 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of distress.
11 Those who revere your name place their trust in you,
for you never abandon those who seek you, O Lord.
12 Sing praise to the Lord enthroned in Zion;[f]
proclaim to the nations his wondrous deeds.
13 For the avenger of blood remembers them;
he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.
14 Have mercy on me, O Lord;
behold how my enemies afflict me,
you who save me from the gates of death.
15 Then I will recount all your praises
and rejoice in your salvation
at the gates of the Daughter of Zion.[g]
16 [h]The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their feet have been caught in the snare they laid.
17 The Lord has made himself known and rendered judgment;
the wicked are ensnared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion,[i] Selah
18 The wicked will depart into the netherworld,
all the nations that turned away from God.
19 But the needy will not be forgotten forever,
nor will the hope of the afflicted ever come to naught.
20 Rise up, O Lord! Do not let man triumph;
let the nations be judged before you.
21 Strike them with fear, O Lord;
let the nations know that they are mere mortals. Selah
Footnotes
- Psalm 9:1 In these psalms we are perhaps in the period of the return from the Exile, toward the end of the sixth century; the foreign occupiers and the people who had remained in Palestine regarded returning deportees as intruders and they mistreated them. This is the first alphabetical psalm; in the Masoretic Text it is divided into two psalms, while in the Greek Septuagint and Latin Vulgate Psalms 9 and 10 constitute one psalm. This accounts for the difference in the numbering of the psalms in these versions.
- Psalm 9:1 is predominantly praise of God for his royal blessings and glories, including deliverance from hostile nations, concluding with a short prayer for God’s continuing righteous judgments (see v. 5) on the nations.
- Psalm 9:1 For the director: these words are thought to be a musical or liturgical notation. According to Muth Labben: nothing is known about these words.
- Psalm 9:2 The praise rendered to the Lord by the psalmists in the Psalter is customarily public praise for his goodness and glory as well as the saving acts he has performed on behalf of his people. Some have described such praise as the forerunner of the Gospel preaching in the New Testament. See also note on Ps 7:18.
- Psalm 9:3 Name: see note on Ps 5:12.
- Psalm 9:12 Enthroned in Zion: the Lord is enthroned not only in heaven (see Pss 2:4; 113:5) but also on earth—in the temple of Jerusalem from which he rules the world (see note on Ps 2:6; see also Ps 132:13).
- Psalm 9:15 Daughter of Zion: a personification of Jerusalem and its inhabitants in accord with ancient Near Eastern practice (see Pss 45:12; 137:8).
- Psalm 9:16 Under the Lord’s just rule and in accord with the law of talion (see Ex 21:23-25; Lev 24:19f; Deut 19:21), the wicked who attack others are punished by the very actions they perform (see Ps 7:16). But the needy (v. 19), those who are attacked, will be saved by their trust in the Lord. Thus, God’s honor and glory are vindicated when he judges and punishes the wicked.
- Psalm 9:17 Higgaion: probably a musical notation.
Psalm 9
Legacy Standard Bible
Yahweh Will Judge the World in Righteousness
For the choir director. [a]Almuth-labben. A Psalm of David.
Aleph
9 [b]I will give thanks to Yahweh with all (A)my heart;
I will (B)recount all Your [c]wondrous deeds.
Aleph
Beth
3 When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and (F)perish before You.
4 For You have (G)maintained my [d]justice and my cause;
You have sat on the throne [e](H)judging righteously.
Gimel
5 You have (I)rebuked the nations, You have made the wicked perish;
You have (J)blotted out their name forever and ever.
He
6 [f]The enemy has come to an end in perpetual [g]ruins,
And You have uprooted the cities;
The very (K)memory of them has perished.
Vav
Vav
8 And He will (N)judge the world in righteousness;
He will render justice for the peoples with equity.
Vav
Vav
10 And [k]those who (P)know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, O Yahweh, have not (Q)forsaken those who seek You.
Zayin
11 Sing praises to Yahweh, who (R)abides in Zion;
(S)Declare among the peoples His acts.
12 For (T)He who [l]requires blood remembers them;
He does not forget (U)the cry of the afflicted.
Heth
13 Be gracious to me, O Yahweh;
See my affliction from those (V)who hate me,
You who (W)lift me up from the gates of death,
14 That I may recount (X)all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may (Y)rejoice in Your [m]salvation.
Teth
15 The nations have sunk down (Z)in the pit which they have made;
In the (AA)net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 Yahweh has (AB)made Himself known;
He has (AC)executed judgment.
In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared. [n]Higgaion [o]Selah.
Yodh
Kaph
18 For the (AF)needy will not always be forgotten,
Nor the (AG)hope of the afflicted perish forever.
19 (AH)Arise, O Yahweh, do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be (AI)judged before You.
20 Put them (AJ)in fear, O Yahweh;
Let the nations know that they are (AK)but men. Selah.
Footnotes
- Psalm 9 Title Or According to the Death of the Son; possibly a title for a tune
- Psalm 9:1 This poem loosely follows an acrostic pattern
- Psalm 9:1 Or miracles
- Psalm 9:4 Or right
- Psalm 9:4 Or a righteous Judge
- Psalm 9:6 Or O enemy, desolations are finished forever; And their cities You have plucked up
- Psalm 9:6 Or waste places
- Psalm 9:7 Or sits as king
- Psalm 9:9 Or Let Yahweh also be
- Psalm 9:9 Or trouble
- Psalm 9:10 Or let those...name put
- Psalm 9:12 Avenges bloodshed
- Psalm 9:14 Or deliverance
- Psalm 9:16 Possibly resounding music or meditation
- Psalm 9:16 Selah may mean Pause, Crescendo, Musical Interlude
- Psalm 9:17 Or turn
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