Psalm 131

Christian Standard Bible

Psalm 131

A Childlike Spirit

A song of ascents. Of David.

¹Lord, my heart is not proud;
my eyes are not haughty.^(A)
I do not get involved with things
too great or too wondrous for me.^(B)
²Instead, I have calmed and quieted my soul
like a weaned child with its mother;
my soul is like a weaned child.^(C)

³Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
both now and forever.^(D)

Psalm 138-139

Christian Standard Bible

Psalm 138

A Thankful Heart

Of David.

¹I will give you thanks with all my heart;^(A)
I will sing your praise before the heavenly beings.^[a]^(B)
²I will bow down toward your holy temple
and give thanks to your name
for your constant love and truth.
You have exalted your name
and your promise above everything else.^[b]^(C)
³On the day I called, you answered me;
you increased strength within me.^[c]^(D)

⁴All the kings on earth will give you thanks, Lord,
when they hear what you have promised.^[d]^(E)
⁵They will sing of the Lord’s ways,
for the Lord’s glory is great.^(F)
⁶Though the Lord is exalted,
he takes note of the humble;
but he knows the haughty from a distance.^(G)

⁷If I walk into the thick of danger,
you will preserve my life
from the anger of my enemies.^(H)
You will extend your hand;
your right hand will save me.^(I)
⁸The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me.^(J)
Lord, your faithful love endures forever;
do not abandon the work of your hands.^(K)

Psalm 139

The All-Knowing, Ever-Present God

For the choir director. A psalm of David.

¹Lord, you have searched me and known me.^(L)
²You know when I sit down and when I stand up;
you understand my thoughts from far away.^(M)
³You observe my travels and my rest;
you are aware of all my ways.^(N)
⁴Before a word is on my tongue,
you know all about it, Lord.^(O)
⁵You have encircled me;
you have placed your hand on me.^(P)
⁶This wondrous knowledge is beyond me.
It is lofty; I am unable to reach it.^(Q)

⁷Where can I go to escape your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?^(R)
⁸If I go up to heaven, you are there;^(S)
if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.^(T)
⁹If I fly on the wings of the dawn
and settle down on the western horizon,^[e]
¹⁰even there your hand will lead me;
your right hand will hold on to me.^(U)
¹¹If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me,
and the light around me will be night”^(V)—
¹²even the darkness is not dark to you.
The night shines like the day;
darkness and light are alike to you.^(W)

¹³For it was you who created my inward parts;^[f]
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.^(X)
¹⁴I will praise you
because I have been remarkably and wondrously made.^[g]^[h]
Your works are wondrous,
and I know this very well.^(Y)
¹⁵My bones were not hidden from you
when I was made in secret,
when I was formed in the depths of the earth.^(Z)
¹⁶Your eyes saw me when I was formless;
all my days were written in your book and planned
before a single one of them began.^(AA)

¹⁷God, how precious^[i] your thoughts are to me;
how vast their sum is!
¹⁸If I counted them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand;^(AB)
when I wake up,^[j] I am still with you.^(AC)

¹⁹God, if only you would kill the wicked—
you bloodthirsty men, stay away from me^(AD)—
²⁰who invoke you deceitfully.
Your enemies swear by you falsely.^(AE)
²¹Lord, don’t I hate those who hate you,
and detest those who rebel against you?
²²I hate them with extreme hatred;
I consider them my enemies.^(AF)

²³Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my concerns.^(AG)
²⁴See if there is any offensive^[k] way in me;
lead me in the everlasting way.^(AH)

Footnotes

138:1 Or before the gods, or before judges, or before kings; Hb elohim
138:2 Or You have exalted your promise above all your name
138:3 Hb obscure
138:4 Lit hear the words of your mouth
139:9 Lit the end of the sea
139:13 Lit my kidneys
139:14 DSS, some LXX mss, Syr, Jer read because you are remarkable and wonderful
139:14 Hb obscure
139:17 Or difficult
139:18 Some Hb mss read I come to an end
139:24 Or idolatrous

Psalm 143-145

Christian Standard Bible

Psalm 143

A Cry for Help

A psalm of David.

¹Lord, hear my prayer.
In your faithfulness listen to my plea,
and in your righteousness answer me.^(A)
²Do not bring your servant into judgment,^(B)
for no one alive is righteous in your sight.^(C)

³For the enemy has pursued me,
crushing me to the ground,
making me live in darkness
like those long dead.^(D)
⁴My spirit is weak within me;
my heart is overcome with dismay.^(E)

⁵I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all you have done;
I reflect on the work of your hands.^(F)
⁶I spread out my hands to you;
I am like parched land before you.^(G)Selah

⁷Answer me quickly, Lord;
my spirit fails.^(H)
Don’t hide your face from me,
or I will be like those
going down to the Pit.^(I)
⁸Let me experience
your faithful love in the morning,
for I trust in you.^(J)
Reveal to me the way I should go
because I appeal to you.^(K)
⁹Rescue me from my enemies, Lord;
I come to you for protection.^[a]^(L)
¹⁰Teach me to do your will,
for you are my God.^(M)
May your gracious Spirit
lead me on level ground.^(N)

¹¹For your name’s sake, Lord,
let me live.
In your righteousness deliver me from trouble,^(O)
¹²and in your faithful love destroy my enemies.
Wipe out all those who attack me,
for I am your servant.^(P)

Psalm 144

A King’s Prayer

Of David.

¹Blessed be the Lord, my rock^(Q)
who trains my hands for battle
and my fingers for warfare.^(R)
²He is my faithful love and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer.
He is my shield,^(S) and I take refuge in him;^(T)
he subdues my people^[b] under me.^(U)

³Lord, what is a human that you care for him,
a son of man^[c] that you think of him?^(V)
⁴A human is like a breath;
his days are like a passing shadow.^(W)

⁵Lord, part your heavens and come down.^(X)
Touch the mountains, and they will smoke.^(Y)
⁶Flash your lightning and scatter the foe;^[d]
shoot your arrows and rout them.^(Z)
⁷Reach down^[e] from on high;^(AA)
rescue me from deep water, and set me free
from the grasp of foreigners^(AB)
⁸whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.^(AC)

⁹God, I will sing a new song to you;
I will play on a ten-stringed harp for you^(AD)—
¹⁰the one who gives victory to kings,
who frees his servant David
from the deadly sword.^(AE)
¹¹Set me free and rescue me
from foreigners^(AF)
whose mouths speak lies,
whose right hands are deceptive.^(AG)

¹²Then our sons will be like plants
nurtured in their youth,
our daughters, like corner pillars
that are carved in the palace style.^(AH)
¹³Our storehouses will be full,
supplying all kinds of produce;^(AI)
our flocks will increase by thousands
and tens of thousands in our open fields.^(AJ)
¹⁴Our cattle will be well fed.^[f]
There will be no breach in the walls,
no going into captivity,^[g]
and no cry of lament in our public squares.^(AK)
¹⁵Happy are the people with such blessings.
Happy are the people whose God is the Lord.^(AL)

Psalm 145

Praising God’s Greatness

A hymn of David.

¹I^[h] exalt you, my God the King,
and bless your name forever and ever.^(AM)
²I will bless you every day;
I will praise your name forever and ever.^(AN)

³The Lord is great and is highly praised;^(AO)
his greatness is unsearchable.^(AP)
⁴One generation will declare your works to the next
and will proclaim your mighty acts.^(AQ)
⁵I^[i] will speak of your splendor and glorious majesty
and^[j] your wondrous works.^(AR)
⁶They will proclaim the power of your awe-inspiring acts,
and I will declare your greatness.^[k]^(AS)
⁷They will give a testimony of your great goodness
and will joyfully sing of your righteousness.^(AT)

⁸The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and great in faithful love.^(AU)
⁹The Lord is good to everyone;^(AV)
his compassion rests on all he has made.^(AW)
¹⁰All you have made will thank you, Lord;
the^[l] faithful will bless you.^(AX)
¹¹They will speak of the glory of your kingdom
and will declare your might,^(AY)
¹²informing all people of your mighty acts
and of the glorious splendor of your^[m] kingdom.^(AZ)
¹³Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom;
your rule is for all generations.^(BA)
The Lord is faithful in all his words
and gracious in all his actions.^[n]^(BB)

¹⁴The Lord helps all who fall;
he raises up all who are oppressed.^[o]^(BC)
¹⁵All eyes look to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.^(BD)
¹⁶You open your hand
and satisfy the desire of every living thing.^(BE)

¹⁷The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and faithful in all his acts.^(BF)
¹⁸The Lord is near all who call out to him,
all who call out to him with integrity.^(BG)
¹⁹He fulfills the desires of those who fear him;
he hears their cry for help and saves them.^(BH)
²⁰The Lord guards all those who love him,
but he destroys all the wicked.^(BI)
²¹My mouth will declare the Lord’s praise;
let every living thing
bless his holy name forever and ever.^(BJ)

Footnotes

143:9 One Hb ms, LXX; some Hb mss read I cover myself to you
144:2 Some Hb mss, DSS, Aq, Syr, Tg, Jer read subdues peoples; 2Sm 22:48; Ps 18:47
144:3 Or a mere mortal
144:6 Lit scatter them
144:7 Lit down your hands
144:14 Or will bear heavy loads, or will be pregnant
144:14 Or be no plague, no miscarriage
145:1 The lines of this poem form an acrostic.
145:5 LXX, Syr read They
145:5 LXX, Syr read and they will tell of
145:6 Alt Hb tradition, Jer read great deeds
145:10 Lit your
145:12 LXX, Syr, Jer; MT reads his
145:13 One Hb ms, DSS, LXX, Syr; other Hb mss omit The Lord is faithful in all his words and gracious in all his actions.
145:14 Lit bowed down

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.