⁴ The wicked are not so,
    but are like chaff that the wind drives away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgement,
    nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous;
⁶ for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
    but the way of the wicked will perish.

³ For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart,
    those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.
⁴ In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, ‘God will not seek it out’;
    all their thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’

⁵ Their ways prosper at all times;
    your judgements are on high, out of their sight;
    as for their foes, they scoff at them.
⁶ They think in their heart, ‘We shall not be moved;
    throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.’

⁷ Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
    under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.
⁸ They sit in ambush in the villages;
    in hiding-places they murder the innocent.

Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
⁹     they lurk in secret like a lion in its covert;
they lurk that they may seize the poor;
    they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.

¹⁰ They stoop, they crouch,
    and the helpless fall by their might.
¹¹ They think in their heart, ‘God has forgotten,
    he has hidden his face, he will never see it.’

¹² Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
    do not forget the oppressed.
¹³ Why do the wicked renounce God,
    and say in their hearts, ‘You will not call us to account’?

¹⁴ But you do see! Indeed you note trouble and grief,
    that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
    you have been the helper of the orphan.

¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
    seek out their wickedness until you find none.
¹⁶ The Lord is king for ever and ever;
    the nations shall perish from his land.

¹⁷ O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
    you will strengthen their heart, you will incline your ear
¹⁸ to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
    so that those from earth may strike terror no more.^[a]

⁴ For the word of the Lord is upright,
    and all his work is done in faithfulness.
⁵ He loves righteousness and justice;
    the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
    and all their host by the breath of his mouth.
⁷ He gathered the waters of the sea as in a bottle;
    he put the deeps in storehouses.

⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord;
    let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him.
⁹ For he spoke, and it came to be;
    he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰ The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
    he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
¹¹ The counsel of the Lord stands for ever,
    the thoughts of his heart to all generations.
¹² Happy is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people whom he has chosen as his heritage.

¹³ The Lord looks down from heaven;
    he sees all humankind.
¹⁴ From where he sits enthroned he watches
    all the inhabitants of the earth—
¹⁵ he who fashions the hearts of them all,
    and observes all their deeds.
¹⁶ A king is not saved by his great army;
    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
¹⁷ The war horse is a vain hope for victory,
    and by its great might it cannot save.

¹⁸ Truly the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
    on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹ to deliver their soul from death,
    and to keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord;
    he is our help and shield.
²¹ Our heart is glad in him,
    because we trust in his holy name.
²² Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.

⁴ Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
    from the grasp of the unjust and cruel.
⁵ For you, O Lord, are my hope,
    my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
⁶ Upon you I have leaned from my birth;
    it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.
My praise is continually of you.

⁷ I have been like a portent to many,
    but you are my strong refuge.
⁸ My mouth is filled with your praise,
    and with your glory all day long.
⁹ Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
    do not forsake me when my strength is spent.
¹⁰ For my enemies speak concerning me,
    and those who watch for my life consult together.
¹¹ They say, ‘Pursue and seize that person
    whom God has forsaken,
    for there is no one to deliver.’

¹² O God, do not be far from me;
    O my God, make haste to help me!
¹³ Let my accusers be put to shame and consumed;
    let those who seek to hurt me
    be covered with scorn and disgrace.
¹⁴ But I will hope continually,
    and will praise you yet more and more.
¹⁵ My mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
    of your deeds of salvation all day long,
    though their number is past my knowledge.
¹⁶ I will come praising the mighty deeds of the Lord God,
    I will praise your righteousness, yours alone.

¹⁷ O God, from my youth you have taught me,
    and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
¹⁸ So even to old age and grey hairs,
    O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might
    to all the generations to come.^[b]
Your power ¹⁹ and your righteousness, O God,
    reach the high heavens.

You who have done great things,
    O God, who is like you?
²⁰ You who have made me see many troubles and calamities
    will revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
    you will bring me up again.
²¹ You will increase my honour,
    and comfort me once again.

²² I will also praise you with the harp
    for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
    O Holy One of Israel.
²³ My lips will shout for joy
    when I sing praises to you;
    my soul also, which you have rescued.
²⁴ All day long my tongue will talk of your righteous help,
for those who tried to do me harm
    have been put to shame, and disgraced.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only look with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the Lord your refuge,^[b]
    the Most High your dwelling-place,
¹⁰ no evil shall befall you,
    no scourge come near your tent.

¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways.
¹² On their hands they will bear you up,
    so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on the lion and the adder,
    the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.

¹⁴ Those who love me, I will deliver;
    I will protect those who know my name.
¹⁵ When they call to me, I will answer them;
    I will be with them in trouble,
    I will rescue them and honour them.
¹⁶ With long life I will satisfy them,
    and show them my salvation.