Psalm 9-16
English Standard Version
I Will Recount Your Wonderful Deeds
[a] To the choirmaster: according to Muth-labben.[b] A Psalm of David.
9 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
I will recount all of your (A)wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and (B)exult in you;
I will (C)sing praise to your name, (D)O Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
they stumble and perish before[c] your presence.
4 For you have (E)maintained my just cause;
you have (F)sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.
5 You have (G)rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
you have (H)blotted out their name forever and ever.
6 The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
their cities you rooted out;
the very memory of them has perished.
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
he has established his throne for justice,
8 and he (I)judges the world with righteousness;
he (J)judges the peoples with uprightness.
9 The Lord is (K)a stronghold for (L)the oppressed,
a stronghold in (M)times of trouble.
10 And those who (N)know your name put their trust in you,
for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who (O)sits enthroned in Zion!
Tell among the peoples his (P)deeds!
12 For he who (Q)avenges blood is mindful of them;
he (R)does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
13 (S)Be gracious to me, O Lord!
See my affliction from those who hate me,
O you who lift me up from (T)the gates of death,
14 that I may recount all your praises,
that in the gates of (U)the daughter of Zion
I may (V)rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have sunk in (W)the pit that they made;
in (X)the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
16 The Lord has made himself (Y)known; he has executed judgment;
the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion.[d] Selah
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
and (AB)the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.
19 (AC)Arise, O Lord! Let not (AD)man prevail;
let the nations be judged before you!
20 Put them in fear, O Lord!
Let the nations know that they are but (AE)men! Selah
Why Do You Hide Yourself?
2 In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them (AI)be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
3 For the wicked (AJ)boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain (AK)curses[e] and (AL)renounces the Lord.
4 In the pride of his face[f] the wicked does not (AM)seek him;[g]
all his thoughts are, (AN)“There is no God.”
5 His ways prosper at all times;
your judgments are on high, (AO)out of his sight;
as for all his foes, he (AP)puffs at them.
6 He (AQ)says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
throughout all generations I (AR)shall not meet adversity.”
7 (AS)His mouth is filled with cursing and (AT)deceit and (AU)oppression;
(AV)under his tongue are (AW)mischief and (AX)iniquity.
8 He sits in ambush in the villages;
in (AY)hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
9 he lurks in ambush like (AZ)a lion in his (BA)thicket;
he (BB)lurks that he may seize the poor;
he seizes the poor when he draws him into his (BC)net.
10 The helpless are crushed, sink down,
and fall by his might.
11 He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
he has (BD)hidden his face, he (BE)will never see it.”
12 (BF)Arise, O Lord; O God, (BG)lift up your hand;
(BH)forget not the afflicted.
13 Why does the wicked (BI)renounce God
and say in his heart, “You will not (BJ)call to account”?
14 But you do see, for you (BK)note mischief and vexation,
that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless (BL)commits himself;
you have been (BM)the helper of the fatherless.
15 (BN)Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
(BO)call his wickedness to account till you find none.
16 (BP)The Lord is king forever and ever;
the (BQ)nations perish from his land.
17 O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
you will (BR)strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
18 to (BS)do justice to the fatherless and (BT)the oppressed,
so that (BU)man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.
The Lord Is in His Holy Temple
To the choirmaster. Of David.
11 In the Lord I take refuge;
how can you say to my soul,
(BV)“Flee like a bird to your mountain,
2 for behold, the wicked (BW)bend the bow;
(BX)they have fitted their arrow to the string
to shoot in the dark at the upright in heart;
3 if (BY)the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?”[h]
4 (BZ)The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord's (CA)throne is in heaven;
his eyes see, his eyelids (CB)test the children of man.
5 The Lord (CC)tests the righteous,
but (CD)his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
6 Let him rain coals on the wicked;
(CE)fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be (CF)the portion of their cup.
7 For the Lord is righteous;
he (CG)loves righteous deeds;
(CH)the upright shall behold his face.
The Faithful Have Vanished
To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith.[i] A Psalm of David.
12 Save, O Lord, for (CI)the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
2 Everyone (CJ)utters lies to his neighbor;
with (CK)flattering lips and (CL)a double heart they speak.
3 May the Lord cut off all (CM)flattering lips,
the tongue that makes (CN)great boasts,
4 those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
5 “Because (CO)the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
(CP)I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the (CQ)safety for which he longs.”
6 (CR)The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
7 You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us[j] from this generation forever.
8 On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
How Long, O Lord?
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
13 (CS)How long, O Lord? Will you (CT)forget me forever?
How long will you (CU)hide your face from me?
2 How long must I take (CV)counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?
3 (CW)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
(CX)light up my eyes, lest (CY)I sleep the sleep of death,
4 (CZ)lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am (DA)shaken.
5 But I have (DB)trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall (DC)rejoice in your salvation.
6 I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.
The Fool Says, There Is No God
To the choirmaster. Of David.
14 (DD)The (DE)fool says in his heart, (DF)“There is no God.”
They are (DG)corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
(DH)there is none who does good.
2 The Lord (DI)looks down from heaven on the children of man,
to see if there are any who understand,[k]
who (DJ)seek after God.
3 They have all turned aside; together they have become (DK)corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one.
4 Have they no (DL)knowledge, all the evildoers
who (DM)eat up my people as they eat bread
and (DN)do not call upon the Lord?
5 There they are in great terror,
for God is with (DO)the generation of the righteous.
6 You would shame the plans of the poor,
but[l] the Lord is his (DP)refuge.
7 Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord (DQ)restores the fortunes of his people,
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.
Who Shall Dwell on Your Holy Hill?
A Psalm of David.
2 He who (DU)walks blamelessly and (DV)does what is right
and (DW)speaks truth in his heart;
3 who (DX)does not slander with his tongue
and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor (DY)takes up a reproach against his friend;
4 (DZ)in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who (EA)swears to his own hurt and does not change;
5 who (EB)does not put out his money at interest
and (EC)does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be (ED)moved.
You Will Not Abandon My Soul
A (EE)Miktam[m] of David.
16 Preserve me, O God, for in you I (EF)take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
(EG)I have no good apart from you.”
4 The sorrows of those who run after[o] another god shall multiply;
their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out
or (EI)take their names on my lips.
5 The Lord is (EJ)my chosen portion and my (EK)cup;
you hold my (EL)lot.
6 (EM)The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
7 I bless the Lord who (EN)gives me counsel;
in (EO)the night also my (EP)heart instructs me.[p]
8 (EQ)I have (ER)set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my (ES)right hand, I shall not be (ET)shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my (EU)whole being[q] rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to (EV)Sheol,
(EW)or let your (EX)holy one see (EY)corruption.[r]
11 You make known to me (EZ)the path of life;
in your presence there is (FA)fullness of joy;
at your right hand are (FB)pleasures forevermore.
Footnotes
- Psalm 9:1 Psalms 9 and 10 together follow an acrostic pattern, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they form one psalm
- Psalm 9:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 9:3 Or because of
- Psalm 9:16 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 10:3 Or and he blesses the one greedy for gain
- Psalm 10:4 Or of his anger
- Psalm 10:4 Or the wicked says, “He will not call to account”
- Psalm 11:3 Or for the foundations will be destroyed; what has the righteous done?
- Psalm 12:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 12:7 Or guard him
- Psalm 14:2 Or that act wisely
- Psalm 14:6 Or for
- Psalm 16:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 16:3 Or To the saints in the land, the excellent in whom is all my delight, I say:
- Psalm 16:4 Or who acquire
- Psalm 16:7 Hebrew my kidneys instruct me
- Psalm 16:9 Hebrew my glory
- Psalm 16:10 Or see the pit
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.