⁵ Let the darkness and utter gloom claim that day for its own.
    Let a black cloud overshadow it,
    and let the darkness terrify it.

⁴ Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley,^[a]
I will not be afraid,
    for you are close beside me.
Your rod and your staff
    protect and comfort me.

²¹ before I leave—never to return—
    for the land of darkness and utter gloom.
²² It is a land as dark as midnight,
    a land of gloom and confusion,
    where even the light is dark as midnight.’”

^2 [a]The people who walk in darkness
    will see a great light.
For those who live in a land of deep darkness,^[b]
    a light will shine.

⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    and to guide us to the path of peace.”

¹⁶ the people who sat in darkness
    have seen a great light.
And for those who lived in the land where death casts its shadow,
    a light has shined.”^[a]

⁶ They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord
    who brought us safely out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness—
    a land of deserts and pits,
a land of drought and death,
    where no one lives or even travels?’

¹⁷ Do you know where the gates of death are located?
    Have you seen the gates of utter gloom?