The Lord, a Refuge and Defense.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

11 In the Lord I (A)take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your (B)mountain?
For, behold, the wicked (C)bend the bow,
They have [a](D)set their arrow on the string
To (E)shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
If the (F)foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”

The Lord is in His (G)holy temple; the [b]Lords (H)throne is in heaven;
His (I)eyes see, His eyelids test the sons of mankind.
The Lord (J)tests the righteous and (K)the wicked,
And His soul hates one who loves violence.
He will (L)rain [c]coals of fire upon the wicked,
(M)And brimstone and (N)burning wind will be the portion of (O)their cup.
For the Lord is (P)righteous, (Q)He loves [d]righteousness;
The upright will (R)see His face.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 11:2 Or fixed
  2. Psalm 11:4 Lit Lord, His throne
  3. Psalm 11:6 As in a Gr version; MT snares; Fire and
  4. Psalm 11:7 Or righteous deeds

The Psalmist in Sickness Complains of Enemies and False Friends.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

41 Blessed is one who (A)considers the [a]helpless;
The Lord will save him (B)on a day of [b]trouble.
The Lord will (C)protect him and keep him alive,
And he will be called [c](D)blessed upon the earth;
And (E)do not turn him over to the desire of his enemies.
The Lord will sustain him upon his sickbed;
In his illness, You [d]restore him to health.

As for me, I said, “Lord, be gracious to me;
(F)Heal my soul, for (G)I have sinned against You.”
My enemies (H)speak evil against me,
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
And [e]when he comes to see me, he (I)speaks [f]empty words;
His heart gathers wickedness to itself;
When he goes outside, he tells it.
All who hate me whisper together against me;
They (J)plot my harm against me, saying,
“A wicked thing is poured out [g]upon him,
So that when he lies down, he will (K)not get up again.”
Even my [h](L)close friend in whom I trusted,
Who ate my bread,
Has lifted up his heel against me.

10 But You, Lord, be gracious to me and (M)raise me up,
That I may repay them.
11 By this I know that (N)You are pleased with me,
Because (O)my enemy does not shout in triumph over me.
12 As for me, (P)You uphold me in my integrity,
And You place me (Q)in Your presence forever.

13 (R)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
From everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 41:1 Or poor
  2. Psalm 41:1 Or evil
  3. Psalm 41:2 Or happy
  4. Psalm 41:3 Lit turn all his bed
  5. Psalm 41:6 Or if he
  6. Psalm 41:6 Lit worthlessness
  7. Psalm 41:8 Or within
  8. Psalm 41:9 Lit man of peace

Prayer of an Old Man for Rescue.

71 (A)In You, Lord, I have taken refuge;
Let me never be put to shame.
(B)In Your righteousness rescue me and save me;
(C)Extend Your ear to me and help me.
(D)Be to me a rock of (E)dwelling to which I may continually come;
You have given the (F)commandment to save me,
For You are (G)my rock and my fortress.
(H)Save me, my God, from the hand of the wicked,
From the [a]grasp of the wrongdoer and the ruthless,
For You are my (I)hope;
Lord [b]God, You are my (J)confidence from my youth.
I have (K)leaned on you since my birth;
You are He who (L)took me from my mother’s womb;
My (M)praise is continually [c]of You.

I have become a (N)marvel to many,
For You are (O)my strong refuge.
My (P)mouth is filled with Your praise
And with (Q)Your glory all day long.
Do not cast me away at the (R)time of my old age;
Do not abandon me when my strength fails.
10 For my enemies have spoken [d]against me;
And those who (S)watch for my [e]life (T)have consulted together,
11 Saying, “(U)God has abandoned him;
Pursue and seize him, for there is (V)no one to save him.”

12 God, (W)do not be far from me;
My God, (X)hurry to my aid!
13 May those who are enemies of my soul be (Y)put to shame and consumed;
May they be (Z)covered with disgrace and dishonor, who (AA)seek [f]to injure me.
14 But as for me, I will (AB)wait continually,
And will [g](AC)praise You yet more and more.
15 My (AD)mouth shall tell of Your righteousness
And of (AE)Your salvation all day long;
For I (AF)do not know the art of writing.
16 I will come (AG)with the mighty deeds of the Lord [h]God;
I will (AH)make mention of Your righteousness, Yours alone.

17 God, You (AI)have taught me from my youth,
And I still (AJ)declare Your wondrous deeds.
18 And even when I am (AK)old and gray, God, do not abandon me,
Until I (AL)declare Your [i]strength to this generation,
Your power to all who are to come.
19 [j]For Your (AM)righteousness, God, reaches to the [k]heavens,
You who have (AN)done great things;
God, (AO)who is like You?
20 You who have (AP)shown [l]me many troubles and distresses
Will (AQ)revive [m]me again,
And will bring [n]me up again (AR)from the depths of the earth.
21 May You increase my (AS)greatness
And turn to (AT)comfort me.

22 I will also praise You with [o](AU)a harp,
And Your [p]truth, my God;
I will sing praises to You with the (AV)lyre,
(AW)Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will (AX)shout for joy when I sing praises to You;
And my (AY)soul, which You have redeemed.
24 My (AZ)tongue also will tell of Your righteousness all day long;
For they are (BA)put to shame, for they are humiliated who seek [q]my harm.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 71:4 Lit palm
  2. Psalm 71:5 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  3. Psalm 71:6 Lit in
  4. Psalm 71:10 Lit with reference to
  5. Psalm 71:10 Lit soul
  6. Psalm 71:13 Lit my injury
  7. Psalm 71:14 Lit add upon all Your praise
  8. Psalm 71:16 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
  9. Psalm 71:18 Lit arm
  10. Psalm 71:19 Or And
  11. Psalm 71:19 Lit height
  12. Psalm 71:20 Another reading is us
  13. Psalm 71:20 Another reading is us
  14. Psalm 71:20 Another reading is us
  15. Psalm 71:22 Lit an instrument of a harp
  16. Psalm 71:22 Or faithfulness
  17. Psalm 71:24 Or to injure me

The Psalmist’s Profession of Uprightness.

A Psalm of David.

101 I will (A)sing of mercy and [a]justice;
To You, Lord, I will sing praises.
I will (B)carefully attend to the [b]blameless way.
When will You come to me?
I will walk within my house in the [c](C)integrity of my heart.
I will set no (D)worthless thing before my eyes;
I hate the [d]work of those who (E)fall away;
It shall not cling to me.
A (F)perverse heart shall leave me;
I will know no evil.
Whoever secretly (G)slanders his neighbor, him I will [e]destroy;
I will not endure one who has a (H)haughty look and an arrogant heart.

My eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me;
One who walks in a [f](I)blameless way is one who will serve me.
One who (J)practices deceit shall not dwell within my house;
One who speaks lies (K)shall not [g]maintain his position before me.
(L)Every morning I will [h](M)destroy all the wicked of the land,
So as to (N)eliminate from the (O)city of the Lord all those who do injustice.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 101:1 Or judgment
  2. Psalm 101:2 Or way of integrity
  3. Psalm 101:2 Or blamelessness
  4. Psalm 101:3 Or practice of apostasy
  5. Psalm 101:5 Or silence
  6. Psalm 101:6 Or way of integrity
  7. Psalm 101:7 Lit be established before my eyes
  8. Psalm 101:8 Or silence

Childlike Trust in the Lord.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

131 Lord, my heart is not (A)proud, nor my eyes (B)arrogant;
Nor do I [a]involve myself in (C)great matters,
Or in things (D)too [b]difficult for me.
I have certainly (E)soothed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned (F)child resting [c]against his mother,
My soul [d]within me is like a weaned child.
Israel, (G)wait for the Lord
(H)From this time on and forever.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 131:1 Lit go after, walk
  2. Psalm 131:1 Or marvelous
  3. Psalm 131:2 Or upon
  4. Psalm 131:2 Or upon

Contrast of the Upright and the Wicked

11 A (A)false balance is an abomination to the Lord,
But a (B)just weight is His delight.
When (C)pride comes, then comes dishonor;
But with the humble there is wisdom.
The (D)integrity of the upright will guide them,
But the (E)perversity of the treacherous will destroy them.
(F)Riches do not benefit on the day of wrath,
But (G)righteousness rescues from death.
The (H)righteousness of the blameless will smooth his way,
But (I)the wicked will fall by his own wickedness.
The righteousness of the upright will rescue them,
But the treacherous will (J)be caught by their own greed.
When a wicked person dies, his (K)expectation will perish,
And the (L)hope of strong people perishes.
The righteous is rescued from trouble,
But the wicked [a]takes his place.
With his (M)mouth the godless person destroys his neighbor,
But through knowledge the (N)righteous will be rescued.
10 When things (O)go well for the righteous, the city rejoices,
And when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.
11 By the blessing of the upright a city is exalted,
But by the mouth of the wicked, it is torn down.
12 One who despises his neighbor lacks [b]sense,
But a person of understanding keeps silent.
13 One (P)who goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets,
But one who is [c]trustworthy (Q)conceals a matter.
14 Where there is no (R)guidance the people fall,
But in an abundance of counselors there is [d]victory.
15 One who is a (S)guarantor for a stranger will certainly suffer for it,
But one who hates [e]being a guarantor is secure.
16 A (T)gracious woman attains honor,
And ruthless men attain riches.
17 A (U)merciful person does [f]himself good,
But the cruel person [g]does himself harm.
18 A wicked person earns deceptive wages,
But one who (V)sows righteousness gets a true reward.
19 One who is steadfast in (W)righteousness attains life,
But (X)one who pursues evil attains his own death.
20 The perverse in heart are an abomination to the Lord,
But the (Y)blameless in their [h]walk are His (Z)delight.
21 [i]Be assured, the evil person will not go unpunished,
But the [j]descendants of the righteous will be rescued.
22 As a (AA)ring of gold in a pig’s snout
So is a beautiful woman who lacks discretion.
23 The desire of the righteous is only good,
But the (AB)expectation of the wicked is wrath.
24 There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more,
And there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in poverty.
25 A [k](AC)generous person will be [l]prosperous,
And one who (AD)gives others plenty of water will himself be given plenty.
26 One who withholds grain, the (AE)people will curse him,
But (AF)blessing will be on the head of him who (AG)sells it.
27 One who diligently seeks good seeks favor,
But (AH)one who seeks evil, evil will come to him.
28 One who (AI)trusts in his riches will fall,
But (AJ)the righteous will flourish like the green leaf.
29 One who (AK)troubles his own house will (AL)inherit wind,
And (AM)the foolish will be servant to the wise-hearted.
30 The fruit of the righteous is (AN)a tree of life,
And (AO)one who is wise [m]gains souls.
31 If (AP)the righteous will be repaid on the earth,
How much more the wicked and the sinner!

Footnotes

  1. Proverbs 11:8 Lit enters
  2. Proverbs 11:12 Lit heart
  3. Proverbs 11:13 Lit faithful of spirit
  4. Proverbs 11:14 Lit deliverance
  5. Proverbs 11:15 Lit those who strike hands
  6. Proverbs 11:17 Lit his soul
  7. Proverbs 11:17 Lit ruins his flesh
  8. Proverbs 11:20 Lit way
  9. Proverbs 11:21 Lit Hand to hand
  10. Proverbs 11:21 Lit seed
  11. Proverbs 11:25 Lit soul of blessing
  12. Proverbs 11:25 Lit made fat
  13. Proverbs 11:30 Lit takes

Bible Gateway Recommends