Psalm 131

New American Standard Bible

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.
²I 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.
³Israel, ^(G)wait for the Lord
^(H)From this time on and forever.

Footnotes

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

Psalm 133

New American Standard Bible

The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.

A Song of Ascents, of David.

133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is
For ^(A)brothers to live together in unity!
²It is like the precious ^(B)oil on the head,
Running down upon the beard,
As on Aaron’s beard,
The oil which ran down upon the ^(C)edge of his robes.
³It is like the ^(D)dew of ^(E)Hermon
Coming down upon the ^(F)mountains of Zion;
For the Lord ^(G)commanded the blessing there—^(H)life forever.

Psalm 138-141

New American Standard Bible

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.

A Psalm of David.

138 ^(A)I will give You thanks with all my heart;
I will sing Your praises before the ^(B)gods.
²I will bow down ^(C)toward Your holy temple
And ^(D)give thanks to Your name for Your mercy and Your ^[a]truth;
For You have ^(E)made Your ^[b]word great ^[c]according to all Your name.
³On the day I ^(F)called, You answered me;
You made me bold with ^(G)strength in my soul.

⁴^(H)All the kings of the earth will give thanks to You, Lord,
When they have heard the words of Your mouth.
⁵And they will ^(I)sing of the ways of the Lord,
For ^(J)great is the glory of the Lord.
⁶For ^(K)the Lord is exalted,
Yet He ^(L)looks after the lowly,
But He knows the ^(M)haughty from afar.

⁷Though I ^(N)walk in the midst of trouble, You will ^[d]^(O)revive me;
You will ^(P)reach out with Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
And Your right hand will ^(Q)save me.
⁸The Lord will ^(R)accomplish what concerns me;
Your ^(S)faithfulness, Lord, is everlasting;
^(T)Do not abandon the ^(U)works of Your hands.

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

139 Lord, You have ^(V)searched me and known me.
²You ^(W)know ^[e]when I sit down and ^[f]when I get up;
You ^(X)understand my thought from far away.
³You ^[g]^(Y)scrutinize my ^[h]path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴^[i]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You ^(Z)know it all.
⁵You have ^(AA)encircled me behind and in front,
And ^(AB)placed Your hand upon me.
⁶Such ^(AC)knowledge is ^(AD)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.

⁷^(AE)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸^(AF)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in ^[j]Sheol, behold, ^(AG)You are there.
⁹If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
¹⁰Even there Your hand will ^(AH)lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
¹¹If I say, “Surely the ^(AI)darkness will ^[k]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
¹²Even ^(AJ)darkness is not dark ^[l]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
^(AK)Darkness and light are alike to You.

¹³For You ^(AL)created my innermost parts;
You ^(AM)wove me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I will give thanks to You, because ^[m]I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
^(AN)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵My ^[n]^(AO)frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the ^(AP)depths of the earth;
¹⁶Your ^(AQ)eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in ^(AR)Your book were written
All the ^(AS)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

¹⁷How precious also are Your ^(AT)thoughts for me, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸Were I to count them, they would ^(AU)outnumber the sand.
When ^(AV)I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹If only You would ^(AW)put the wicked to death, God;
^(AX)Leave me, ^(AY)you men of bloodshed.
²⁰For they ^(AZ)speak ^[o]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies ^[p]^(BA)take Your name in vain.
²¹Do I not ^(BB)hate those who hate You, Lord?
And do I not ^(BC)loathe those who rise up against You?
²²I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

²³^(BD)Search me, God, and know my heart;
^(BE)Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
²⁴And see if there is any ^[q]^(BF)hurtful way in me,
And ^(BG)lead me in the ^(BH)everlasting way.

Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

140 ^(BI)Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
Protect me from ^(BJ)violent men
²Who ^(BK)devise evil things in their hearts;
They ^(BL)continually stir up wars.
³They ^(BM)sharpen their tongues like a snake;
^(BN)The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah

⁴^(BO)Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
^(BP)Protect me from violent men
Who ^[r]intend to ^[s]^(BQ)trip up my feet.
⁵The proud have ^(BR)hidden a trap for me, and snares;
They have spread a ^(BS)net at the ^[t]wayside;
They have set ^(BT)snares for me. Selah

⁶I ^(BU)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
^(BV)Listen, Lord, to the ^(BW)sound of my pleadings.
⁷^[u]God the Lord, ^(BX)the strength of my salvation,
You have ^(BY)covered my head on the day of ^[v]battle.
⁸Do not grant, Lord, the ^(BZ)desires of the wicked;
Do not bring about ^(CA)his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah

⁹“As for the head of those who surround me,
May the ^(CB)harm of their lips cover them.
¹⁰May ^(CC)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be ^(CD)cast into the fire,
Into bottomless pits from which they ^(CE)cannot rise.
¹¹May a ^[w]slanderer not endure on the earth;
^(CF)May evil hunt a violent person ^[x]violently.”

¹²I know that the Lord will ^(CG)maintain the cause of the afflicted,
And ^(CH)justice for the poor.
¹³Certainly the ^(CI)righteous will give thanks to Your name;
The ^(CJ)upright will dwell in Your presence.

An Evening Prayer for Sanctification and Protection.

A Psalm of David.

141 Lord, I call upon You; ^(CK)hurry to me!
^(CL)Listen to my voice when I call to You!
²May my prayer be ^[y]counted as ^(CM)incense before You;
The ^(CN)raising of my hands as the ^(CO)evening offering.
³Set a ^(CP)guard, Lord, ^[z]over my mouth;
Keep watch over the ^(CQ)door of my lips.
⁴^(CR)Do not incline my heart to any evil thing,
To practice deeds ^[aa]of wickedness
With people who ^(CS)do wrong;
And ^(CT)may I not taste their delicacies.

⁵May the ^(CU)righteous strike me with mercy and discipline me;
It is ^(CV)oil for the head;
My head shall not refuse it,
For my prayer ^(CW)is still against their evil deeds.
⁶Their judges are ^(CX)thrown down by the sides of the rock,
And they hear my words, for they are pleasant.
⁷As when one ^(CY)plows and breaks open the earth,
Our ^(CZ)bones have been scattered at the ^(DA)mouth of ^[ab]Sheol.

⁸For my ^(DB)eyes are toward You, ^[ac]God, the Lord;
In You I ^(DC)take refuge; ^(DD)do not ^[ad]leave me defenseless.
⁹Keep me from the ^[ae]^(DE)jaws of the trap which they have set for me,
And from the ^(DF)snares of those who do wrong.
¹⁰May the wicked ^(DG)fall into their own nets,
While I pass by ^[af]^(DH)safely.

Footnotes

Psalm 138:2 Or faithfulness
Psalm 138:2 Or promise
Psalm 138:2 Or together with
Psalm 138:7 Or keep me alive
Psalm 139:2 Lit my sitting
Psalm 139:2 Lit my rising
Psalm 139:3 Lit winnow
Psalm 139:3 Or journeying
Psalm 139:4 Lit For there is not
Psalm 139:8 I.e., the netherworld
Psalm 139:11 Lit bruise; some commentators cover
Psalm 139:12 Lit from
Psalm 139:14 Some ancient versions You are fearfully wonderful
Psalm 139:15 Lit bones were
Psalm 139:20 Or of
Psalm 139:20 Some mss lift themselves up against You
Psalm 139:24 Lit way of pain
Psalm 140:4 Or devise
Psalm 140:4 Lit push
Psalm 140:5 Lit track
Psalm 140:7 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Psalm 140:7 Lit weapons
Psalm 140:11 Lit man of tongue
Psalm 140:11 Lit blow upon blow
Psalm 141:2 Lit fixed
Psalm 141:3 Lit to
Psalm 141:4 Lit in
Psalm 141:7 I.e., the netherworld
Psalm 141:8 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Psalm 141:8 Lit pour out my soul
Psalm 141:9 Lit hands of the trap
Psalm 141:10 Lit altogether

Psalm 143

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for Help and Guidance.

A Psalm of David.

143 Hear my prayer, Lord,
^(A)Listen to my pleadings!
Answer me in Your ^(B)faithfulness, in Your ^(C)righteousness!
²And ^(D)do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For ^(E)no person living is righteous in Your sight.
³For the enemy has persecuted my soul;
He has crushed my life ^(F)to the ground;
He ^(G)has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have long been dead.
⁴Therefore ^(H)my spirit ^[a]feels weak within me;
My heart is ^[b]^(I)appalled within me.

⁵I ^(J)remember the days of old;
I ^(K)meditate on all Your accomplishments;
I ^(L)reflect on the work of Your hands.
⁶I ^(M)spread out my hands to You;
My ^(N)soul longs for You, like a weary land. Selah

⁷^(O)Answer me quickly, Lord, my ^(P)spirit fails;
^(Q)Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will be the same as ^(R)those who go down to the pit.
⁸Let me hear Your ^(S)faithfulness ^(T)in the morning,
For I trust ^(U)in You;
Teach me the ^(V)way in which I should walk;
For to You I ^(W)lift up my soul.
⁹^(X)Save me, Lord, from my enemies;
^[c]I take refuge in You.

¹⁰^(Y)Teach me to do Your will,
For You are my God;
Let ^(Z)Your good Spirit ^(AA)lead me on level ^[d]ground.
¹¹^(AB)For the sake of Your name, Lord, ^(AC)revive me.
^(AD)In Your righteousness bring my soul out of trouble.
¹²And in Your faithfulness, ^[e]^(AE)destroy my enemies,
And ^(AF)eliminate all those who attack my soul,
For ^(AG)I am Your servant.