⁴ Some wandered in desert wastes,
    finding no way to a city to dwell in;
⁵ hungry and thirsty,
    their soul fainted within them.
⁶ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
⁷ He led them by a straight way
    till they reached a city to dwell in.
⁸ Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
⁹ For he satisfies the longing soul,
    and the hungry soul he fills with good things.

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness and in the shadow of death,
    prisoners in affliction and in irons,
¹¹ for they had rebelled against the words of God,
    and spurned the counsel of the Most High.
¹² So he bowed their hearts down with hard labor;
    they fell down, with none to help.
¹³ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death,
    and burst their bonds apart.
¹⁵ Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
¹⁶ For he shatters the doors of bronze
    and cuts in two the bars of iron.

¹⁷ Some were fools through their sinful ways,
    and because of their iniquities suffered affliction;
¹⁸ they loathed any kind of food,
    and they drew near to the gates of death.
¹⁹ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them,
    and delivered them from their destruction.
²¹ Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
²² And let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
    and tell of his deeds in songs of joy!

²³ Some went down to the sea in ships,
    doing business on the great waters;
²⁴ they saw the deeds of the Lord,
    his wondrous works in the deep.
²⁵ For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
    which lifted up the waves of the sea.
²⁶ They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
    their courage melted away in their evil plight;
²⁷ they reeled and staggered like drunken men
    and were at their wits' end.^[b]
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
²⁹ He made the storm be still,
    and the waves of the sea were hushed.
³⁰ Then they were glad that the waters^[c] were quiet,
    and he brought them to their desired haven.
³¹ Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love,
    for his wondrous works to the children of man!
³² Let them extol him in the congregation of the people,
    and praise him in the assembly of the elders.

³³ He turns rivers into a desert,
    springs of water into thirsty ground,
³⁴ a fruitful land into a salty waste,
    because of the evil of its inhabitants.
³⁵ He turns a desert into pools of water,
    a parched land into springs of water.
³⁶ And there he lets the hungry dwell,
    and they establish a city to live in;
³⁷ they sow fields and plant vineyards
    and get a fruitful yield.
³⁸ By his blessing they multiply greatly,
    and he does not let their livestock diminish.

³⁹ When they are diminished and brought low
    through oppression, evil, and sorrow,
⁴⁰ he pours contempt on princes
    and makes them wander in trackless wastes;
⁴¹ but he raises up the needy out of affliction
    and makes their families like flocks.
⁴² The upright see it and are glad,
    and all wickedness shuts its mouth.

⁴³ Whoever is wise, let him attend to these things;
    let them consider the steadfast love of the Lord.

⁵ Be exalted, O God, above the heavens!
    Let your glory be over all the earth!
⁶ That your beloved ones may be delivered,
    give salvation by your right hand and answer me!

⁷ God has promised in his holiness:^[e]
    “With exultation I will divide up Shechem
    and portion out the Valley of Succoth.
⁸ Gilead is mine; Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet,
    Judah my scepter.
⁹ Moab is my washbasin;
    upon Edom I cast my shoe;
    over Philistia I shout in triumph.”

¹⁰ Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
¹¹ Have you not rejected us, O God?
    You do not go out, O God, with our armies.
¹² Oh grant us help against the foe,
    for vain is the salvation of man!
¹³ With God we shall do valiantly;
    it is he who will tread down our foes.

⁶ Appoint a wicked man against him;
    let an accuser stand at his right hand.
⁷ When he is tried, let him come forth guilty;
    let his prayer be counted as sin!
⁸ May his days be few;
    may another take his office!
⁹ May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow!
¹⁰ May his children wander about and beg,
    seeking food far from the ruins they inhabit!
¹¹ May the creditor seize all that he has;
    may strangers plunder the fruits of his toil!
¹² Let there be none to extend kindness to him,
    nor any to pity his fatherless children!
¹³ May his posterity be cut off;
    may his name be blotted out in the second generation!
¹⁴ May the iniquity of his fathers be remembered before the Lord,
    and let not the sin of his mother be blotted out!
¹⁵ Let them be before the Lord continually,
    that he may cut off the memory of them from the earth!

¹⁶ For he did not remember to show kindness,
    but pursued the poor and needy
    and the brokenhearted, to put them to death.
¹⁷ He loved to curse; let curses come^[g] upon him!
    He did not delight in blessing; may it be far^[h] from him!
¹⁸ He clothed himself with cursing as his coat;
    may it soak^[i] into his body like water,
    like oil into his bones!
¹⁹ May it be like a garment that he wraps around him,
    like a belt that he puts on every day!
²⁰ May this be the reward of my accusers from the Lord,
    of those who speak evil against my life!

²¹ But you, O God my Lord,
    deal on my behalf for your name's sake;
    because your steadfast love is good, deliver me!
²² For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is stricken within me.
²³ I am gone like a shadow at evening;
    I am shaken off like a locust.
²⁴ My knees are weak through fasting;
    my body has become gaunt, with no fat.
²⁵ I am an object of scorn to my accusers;
    when they see me, they wag their heads.

²⁶ Help me, O Lord my God!
    Save me according to your steadfast love!
²⁷ Let them know that this is your hand;
    you, O Lord, have done it!
²⁸ Let them curse, but you will bless!
    They arise and are put to shame, but your servant will be glad!
²⁹ May my accusers be clothed with dishonor;
    may they be wrapped in their own shame as in a cloak!

³⁰ With my mouth I will give great thanks to the Lord;
    I will praise him in the midst of the throng.
³¹ For he stands at the right hand of the needy one,
    to save him from those who condemn his soul to death.

² The Lord sends forth from Zion
    your mighty scepter.
    Rule in the midst of your enemies!
³ Your people will offer themselves freely
    on the day of your power,^[j]
    in holy garments;^[k]
from the womb of the morning,
    the dew of your youth will be yours.^[l]
4 The Lord has sworn
    and will not change his mind,
“You are a priest forever
    after the order of Melchizedek.”

⁵ The Lord is at your right hand;
    he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath.
⁶ He will execute judgment among the nations,
    filling them with corpses;
he will shatter chiefs^[m]
    over the wide earth.
⁷ He will drink from the brook by the way;
    therefore he will lift up his head.