Psalm 31
New King James Version
The Lord a Fortress in Adversity
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.
31 In (A)You, O Lord, I [a]put my trust;
Let me never be ashamed;
Deliver me in Your righteousness.
2 (B)Bow down Your ear to me,
Deliver me speedily;
Be my rock of [b]refuge,
A [c]fortress of defense to save me.
3 (C)For You are my rock and my fortress;
Therefore, (D)for Your name’s sake,
Lead me and guide me.
4 Pull me out of the net which they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength.
5 (E)Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O Lord God of (F)truth.
6 I have hated those (G)who regard useless idols;
But I trust in the Lord.
7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your mercy,
For You have considered my trouble;
You have (H)known my soul in [d]adversities,
8 And have not (I)shut[e] me up into the hand of the enemy;
(J)You have set my feet in a wide place.
9 Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am in trouble;
(K)My eye wastes away with grief,
Yes, my soul and my [f]body!
10 For my life is spent with grief,
And my years with sighing;
My strength fails because of my iniquity,
And my bones waste away.
11 (L)I am a [g]reproach among all my enemies,
But (M)especially among my neighbors,
And am repulsive to my acquaintances;
(N)Those who see me outside flee from me.
12 (O)I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind;
I am like a [h]broken vessel.
13 (P)For I hear the slander of many;
(Q)Fear is on every side;
While they (R)take counsel together against me,
They scheme to take away my life.
14 But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times are in Your (S)hand;
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies,
And from those who persecute me.
16 (T)Make Your face shine upon Your servant;
Save me for Your mercies’ sake.
17 (U)Do not let me be ashamed, O Lord, for I have called upon You;
Let the wicked be ashamed;
(V)Let them be silent in the grave.
18 (W)Let the lying lips be put to silence,
Which (X)speak insolent things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous.
19 (Y)Oh, how great is Your goodness,
Which You have laid up for those who fear You,
Which You have prepared for those who trust in You
In the presence of the sons of men!
20 (Z)You shall hide them in the secret place of Your presence
From the plots of man;
(AA)You shall keep them secretly in a [i]pavilion
From the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed be the Lord,
For (AB)He has shown me His marvelous kindness in a [j]strong city!
22 For I said in my haste,
“I am cut off from before Your eyes”;
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications
When I cried out to You.
23 Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!
For the Lord preserves the faithful,
And fully repays the proud person.
24 (AC)Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart,
All you who hope in the Lord.
Footnotes
- Psalm 31:1 have taken refuge
- Psalm 31:2 strength
- Psalm 31:2 Lit. house of fortresses
- Psalm 31:7 troubles
- Psalm 31:8 given me over
- Psalm 31:9 Lit. belly
- Psalm 31:11 despised thing
- Psalm 31:12 Lit. perishing
- Psalm 31:20 shelter
- Psalm 31:21 fortified
Psalm 31
Lexham English Bible
Yahweh Is a Fortress
For the music director. A psalm of David.[a]
31 In you, O Yahweh, I have taken refuge.
Let me not be put to shame ever.
Deliver me by your righteousness.
2 Incline your ear to me.
Quickly deliver me.
Become my rock of refuge,
a fortified keep[b] to save me.
3 For you are my rock and my fortress.
So, for the sake of your name,
lead me and guide me.
4 Bring me out of the net that they have secretly set for me,
for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hand I commit my spirit.
You have redeemed me, O Yahweh, faithful God.[c]
6 I hate those devoted to useless idols,
but I trust Yahweh.
7 I will exult and rejoice in your loyal love.
Because you have seen my misery,
you know the distresses of my life.[d]
8 And you have not delivered me
into the hand of the enemy.
You have set my feet in a broad place.
9 Be gracious to me, O Yahweh,
because I have distress.
My eye wastes away because of vexation,
along with my soul and my body.[e]
10 For my life is at an end with sorrow,
and my years with sighing.
My strength stumbles because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away.
11 Because of all my adversaries I have become a disgrace,
especially to my neighbors,
and a dread to my acquaintances.
Those who see me in the street flee from me.
12 I have become forgotten like one dead, out of mind.[f]
I am like a destroyed vessel.
13 For I hear the rumor of many,
“Terror on every side!”
When conspiring together against me,
they have plotted to take my life.
14 But as for me, I trust you, O Yahweh.
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times[g] are in your hand.
Deliver me from the hand of my enemies
and from those who pursue me.
16 Shine your face upon your servant.
Save me by your loyal love.
17 O Yahweh, let me not be put to shame, for I call on you.
Let the wicked be put to shame.
Let them go silently[h] to Sheol.
18 Let lying lips be dumb,
that speak against the righteous[i] unrestrained
with arrogance and contempt.
19 How abundant is your goodness
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you perform for those who take refuge in you
before the children of humankind.
20 You will hide them in the protection of your presence
from the plots of man.
You will hide them in a shelter from the strife of tongues.
21 Blessed is Yahweh,
because he has worked marvelously his loyal love to me
in a besieged city.
22 As for me, I said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from before your eyes.”
However you heard the voice of my supplications
when I cried to you for help.
23 Love Yahweh, all you his faithful ones.
Yahweh preserves the faithful
but repays abundantly the one who acts arrogantly.
24 Be strong and let your[j] heart show strength,
all you who wait for Yahweh.
Footnotes
- Psalm 31:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
- Psalm 31:2 Literally “a house of strongholds”
- Psalm 31:5 Or “God of truth”
- Psalm 31:7 Or “soul”
- Psalm 31:9 Literally “belly”
- Psalm 31:12 Literally “heart”
- Psalm 31:15 Or “destiny”
- Psalm 31:17 Or “let them with wailing enter”
- Psalm 31:18 Or “the innocent one”
- Psalm 31:24 Plural
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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