Psalm 4-6

English Standard Version

Answer Me When I Call

To the ^(A)choirmaster: with ^(B)stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

4 Answer me when I call, O God of my ^(C)righteousness!
You have ^(D)given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

²O men,^[a] how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after ^(E)lies? Selah
³But know that the Lord has ^(F)set apart ^(G)the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.

⁴^(H)Be angry,^[b] and do not sin;
^(I)ponder in your own hearts ^(J)on your beds, and be silent. Selah
⁵Offer ^(K)right sacrifices,
and put your ^(L)trust in the Lord.

⁶There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
^(M)Lift up ^(N)the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
⁷You have put ^(O)more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.

⁸In peace I will both ^(P)lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me ^(Q)dwell in safety.

Lead Me in Your Righteousness

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

5 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
    consider my ^(R)groaning.
²Give attention to the sound of my cry,
    my ^(S)King and my God,
    for ^(T)to you do I pray.
³O Lord, in ^(U)the morning you hear my voice;
    in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you^[c] and ^(V)watch.

⁴For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
    evil may not dwell with you.
⁵The ^(W)boastful shall not ^(X)stand before your eyes;
    you ^(Y)hate all evildoers.
⁶You destroy those who speak ^(Z)lies;
    the Lord abhors ^(AA)the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
    will enter your house.
I will ^(AB)bow down ^(AC)toward your ^(AD)holy temple
    in the fear of you.
⁸^(AE)Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
    because of my enemies;
    ^(AF)make your way straight before me.

⁹For there is no truth in their mouth;
    their inmost self is ^(AG)destruction;
^(AH)their throat is ^(AI)an open grave;
    they ^(AJ)flatter with their tongue.
¹⁰^(AK)Make them bear their guilt, O God;
    let them ^(AL)fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
    for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹But let all who ^(AM)take refuge in you ^(AN)rejoice;
    let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may ^(AO)exult in you.
¹²For you ^(AP)bless the righteous, O Lord;
    you ^(AQ)cover him with favor as with ^(AR)a shield.

O Lord, Deliver My Life

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments; according to ^(AS)The Sheminith.^[d] A Psalm of David.

6 O Lord, ^(AT)rebuke me not in your anger,
    nor ^(AU)discipline me in your wrath.
²Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
    ^(AV)heal me, O Lord, ^(AW)for my bones are troubled.
³My ^(AX)soul also is greatly troubled.
    But you, O Lord—^(AY)how long?

⁴Turn, O Lord, deliver my life;
save me for the sake of your steadfast love.
⁵For in ^(AZ)death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who will give you praise?

⁶I am ^(BA)weary with my ^(BB)moaning;
    every night I flood my bed with tears;
    I drench my couch with my weeping.
⁷My ^(BC)eye wastes away because of grief;
    it grows weak because of all my foes.

⁸^(BD)Depart from me, all you ^(BE)workers of evil,
    for the Lord ^(BF)has heard the sound of my weeping.
⁹The Lord has heard my ^(BG)plea;
    the Lord accepts my prayer.
¹⁰All my enemies shall be ashamed and greatly troubled;
    they shall ^(BH)turn back and be put to shame in a moment.

Footnotes

Psalm 4:2 Or O men of rank
Psalm 4:4 Or Be agitated
Psalm 5:3 Or I direct my prayer to you
Psalm 6:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term

James 4

English Standard Version

Warning Against Worldliness

4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions^[a] are ^(A)at war within you?^[b] ²You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. ³You ask and do not receive, because you ask ^(B)wrongly, to spend it on your passions. ⁴^(C)You adulterous people!^[c] Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? ^(D)Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. ⁵Or do you suppose it is to no purpose that the Scripture says, “He yearns jealously over the spirit ^(E)that he has made to dwell in us”? ⁶But ^(F)he gives more grace. Therefore it says, ^(G)“God opposes the proud but ^(H)gives grace to the humble.” ⁷Submit yourselves therefore to God. ^(I)Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. ⁸^(J)Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. ^(K)Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and ^(L)purify your hearts, ^(M)you double-minded. ⁹^(N)Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. ¹⁰^(O)Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

¹¹^(P)Do not speak evil against one another, brothers.^[d] The one who speaks against a brother or ^(Q)judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. ¹²There is only ^(R)one lawgiver and ^(S)judge, he who is able to save and ^(T)to destroy. But ^(U)who are you to judge your neighbor?

Boasting About Tomorrow

¹³Come now, you who say, ^(V)“Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— ¹⁴yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For ^(W)you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. ¹⁵Instead you ought to say, ^(X)“If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” ¹⁶As it is, you boast in your arrogance. ^(Y)All such boasting is evil. ¹⁷^(Z)So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.