Psalm 82-84

Common English Bible

Psalm 82

A psalm of Asaph.

82 God takes his stand in the divine council;
    he gives judgment among the gods:
²“How long will you judge unjustly
    by granting favor to the wicked? Selah
³Give justice to the lowly and the orphan;
    maintain the right of the poor and the destitute!
⁴Rescue the lowly and the needy.
    Deliver them from the power of the wicked!

⁵They don’t know; they don’t understand;
they wander around in the dark.
All the earth’s foundations shake.

⁶    I hereby declare, “You are gods,
    children of the Most High—all of you!
⁷But you will die like mortals;
    you will fall down like any prince.”

⁸Rise up, God! Judge the earth
because you hold all nations in your possession!

Psalm 83

A song. A psalm of Asaph.

83 God, don’t be silent!
    Don’t be quiet or sit still, God,
²    because—look!—your enemies are growling;
    those who hate you are acting arrogantly.
³They concoct crafty plans against your own people;
    they plot against the people you favor.
⁴“Come on,” they say, “let’s wipe them out as a nation!
    Let the name Israel be remembered no more!”
⁵They plot with a single-minded heart;
    they make a covenant against you.
⁶They are the clans of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
    Moab and the Hagrites,
⁷    Gebal, Ammon, Amalek,
    Philistia along with the citizens of Tyre.
⁸Assyria too has joined them—
    they are the strong arm for Lot’s children. Selah

⁹Do to them what you did to Midian,
    to Sisera, and to Jabin at the Kishon River.
¹⁰They were destroyed at Endor;
    they became fertilizer for the ground.
¹¹Make their officials like Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna—
¹²    those who said, “Let’s take God’s pastures for ourselves.”
¹³My God, make them like tumbleweeds,
    like chaff blown by wind.
¹⁴Just like a fire consumes a forest,
    just like flames set mountains ablaze,
¹⁵        pursue them with your storm,
        terrify them with your hurricane.
¹⁶Cover their faces with shame, Lord, so that they might seek your name.
¹⁷Let them be shamed and terrified forever.
    Let them die in disgrace.
¹⁸    Let them know that you—
        your name is the Lord!—
    you alone are Most High over all the earth.

Psalm 84

For the music leader. According to the Gittith. Of the Korahites. A psalm.

84 How lovely is your dwelling place,
    Lord of heavenly forces!
²My very being^[a] longs, even yearns,
    for the Lord’s courtyards.
My heart and my body
    will rejoice out loud to the living God!

³Yes, the sparrow too has found a home there;
    the swallow has found herself a nest
    where she can lay her young beside your altars,
    Lord of heavenly forces, my king, my God!
⁴Those who live in your house are truly happy;
    they praise you constantly. Selah

⁵Those who put their strength in you are truly happy;
    pilgrimage is in their hearts.
⁶As they pass through the Baca Valley,^[b]
    they make it a spring of water.
    Yes, the early rain covers it with blessings.
⁷They go from strength to strength,
    until they see the supreme God in Zion.^[c]
⁸Lord God of heavenly forces,
    hear my prayer;
    listen closely, Jacob’s God! Selah
⁹Look at our shield, God;
    pay close attention to the face of your anointed one!

¹⁰Better is a single day in your courtyards
    than a thousand days anywhere else!
I would prefer to stand outside the entrance of my God’s house
    than live comfortably in the tents of the wicked!
¹¹The Lord is a sun and shield;
    God is favor and glory.
The Lord gives—doesn’t withhold!—good things
    to those who walk with integrity.
¹²Lord of heavenly forces,
    those who trust in you are truly happy!