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A Statement About Trust in God

For the director of music. Of David.

11 I trust in the Lord for protection.
    So why do you say to me,
    “Fly like a bird to your mountain.
Like hunters, the wicked string their bows.
    They set their arrows on the bowstrings.
They shoot from dark places
    at those who are honest.
When all that is good falls apart,
    what can good people do?”

The Lord is in his holy temple.
    The Lord sits on his throne in heaven.
And he sees what people do.
    He keeps his eye on them.
The Lord tests those who do right.
    But he hates the wicked and those who love to hurt others.
He will send hot coals on the wicked.
    Burning sulfur and a whirlwind is what they will get.
The Lord does what is right, and he loves justice.
    So honest people will see his face.

Faith in the Lord’s Righteousness

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

11 In (A)the Lord I put my trust;
How can you say to my soul,
“Flee as a bird to your mountain”?
For look! (B)The wicked bend their bow,
They make ready their arrow on the string,
That they may shoot [a]secretly at the upright in heart.
(C)If the foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?

The Lord is in His holy temple,
The Lord’s (D)throne is in heaven;
(E)His eyes behold,
His eyelids test the sons of men.
The Lord (F)tests the righteous,
But the wicked and the one who loves violence His soul hates.
Upon the wicked He will rain coals;
Fire and brimstone and a burning wind
(G)Shall be [b]the portion of their cup.

For the Lord is righteous,
He (H)loves righteousness;
[c]His countenance beholds the upright.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 11:2 Lit. in darkness
  2. Psalm 11:6 Their allotted portion or serving
  3. Psalm 11:7 Or The upright beholds His countenance

Psalm 11

Faith, Not Flight

Heading

For the choir director. By David.

The Fear of the Fainthearted

In the Lord I take refuge.
How can you say to my soul:
“Flee to your mountain like a bird.
Look! The wicked bend their bow.
They set their arrow against the string
    to shoot in the darkness at the upright in heart.
When the foundations are being torn down,
    what can the righteous do?”

David’s Answer

The Lord is in his holy temple.
The Lord is on his throne in heaven.
His eyes observe.
He focuses on[a] the children of Adam.[b]
The Lord is righteous.
He examines the wicked.
He really hates[c] those who love violence.
On the wicked he will rain down fiery coals and sulfur.[d]
A scorching wind will be the cup given to them.
Indeed, the Lord is righteous. He loves righteousness.
The upright will view his face.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 11:4 Literally his eyelids test
  2. Psalm 11:4 Or sons of man, that is, all mankind
  3. Psalm 11:5 Literally his soul hates
  4. Psalm 11:6 The Hebrew text reads snares, fire, and sulfur. The translation follows one Greek version, which inverts two letters in one Hebrew word, changing snares to fiery coals.