Psalm 2

New King James Version

The Messiah’s Triumph and Kingdom^(A)

2 Why ^(B)do the ^[a]nations ^[b]rage,
And the people plot a ^[c]vain thing?
²The kings of the earth set themselves,
And the ^(C)rulers take counsel together,
Against the Lord and against His ^(D)Anointed,^[d] saying,
³“Let ^(E)us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”

⁴He who sits in the heavens ^(F)shall laugh;
The Lord shall hold them in derision.
⁵Then He shall speak to them in His wrath,
And distress them in His deep displeasure:
⁶“Yet I have ^[e]set My King
^[f]On My holy hill of Zion.”

⁷“I will declare the ^[g]decree:
The Lord has said to Me,
^(G)‘You are My Son,
Today I have begotten You.
⁸Ask of Me, and I will give You
The nations for Your inheritance,
And the ends of the earth for Your possession.
⁹^(H)You shall ^[h]break them with a rod of iron;
You shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.’ ”

¹⁰Now therefore, be wise, O kings;
Be instructed, you judges of the earth.
¹¹Serve the Lord with fear,
And rejoice with trembling.
¹²^[i]Kiss the Son, lest ^[j]He be angry,
And you perish in the way,
When ^(I)His wrath is kindled but a little.
^(J)Blessed are all those who put their trust in Him.

Footnotes

Psalm 2:1 Gentiles
Psalm 2:1 throng tumultuously
Psalm 2:1 worthless or empty
Psalm 2:2 Christ, Commissioned One, Heb. Messiah
Psalm 2:6 Lit. installed
Psalm 2:6 Lit. Upon Zion, the hill of My holiness
Psalm 2:7 Or decree of the Lord: He said to Me
Psalm 2:9 So with MT, Tg.; LXX, Syr., Vg. rule (cf. Rev. 2:27)
Psalm 2:12 LXX, Vg. Embrace discipline; Tg. Receive instruction
Psalm 2:12 LXX the Lord

Psalm 4-10

New King James Version

The Safety of the Faithful

To the ^[a]Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

4 Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have relieved me in my distress;
^[b]Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

²How long, O you sons of men,
Will you turn my glory to shame?
How long will you love worthlessness
And seek falsehood? Selah
³But know that ^(A)the Lord has ^[c]set apart for Himself him who is godly;
The Lord will hear when I call to Him.

⁴^(B)Be^[d] angry, and do not sin.
^(C)Meditate within your heart on your bed, and be still. Selah
⁵Offer ^(D)the sacrifices of righteousness,
And ^(E)put your trust in the Lord.

⁶There are many who say,
“Who will show us any good?”
^(F)Lord, lift up the light of Your countenance upon us.
⁷You have put ^(G)gladness in my heart,
More than in the season that their grain and wine increased.
⁸^(H)I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
^(I)For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

A Prayer for Guidance

To the Chief Musician. With ^[e]flutes. A Psalm of David.

5 Give ^(J)ear to my words, O Lord,
Consider my ^[f]meditation.
²Give heed to the voice of my cry,
My King and my God,
For to You I will pray.
³My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord;
^(K)In the morning I will direct it to You,
And I will look up.

⁴For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness,
Nor shall evil ^[g]dwell with You.
⁵The ^(L)boastful shall not ^(M)stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
⁶You shall destroy those who speak falsehood;
The Lord abhors the ^(N)bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷But as for me, I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy;
In fear of You I will worship toward ^[h]Your holy temple.
⁸^(O)Lead me, O Lord, in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight before my face.

⁹For there is no ^[i]faithfulness in their mouth;
Their inward part is destruction;
^(P)Their throat is an open tomb;
They flatter with their tongue.
¹⁰Pronounce them guilty, O God!
Let them fall by their own counsels;
Cast them out in the multitude of their transgressions,
For they have rebelled against You.

¹¹But let all those rejoice who put their trust in You;
Let them ever shout for joy, because You ^[j]defend them;
Let those also who love Your name
Be joyful in You.
¹²For You, O Lord, will bless the righteous;
With favor You will surround him as with a shield.

A Prayer of Faith in Time of Distress

To the Chief Musician. With stringed instruments. ^(Q)On ^[k]an eight-stringed harp. A Psalm of David.

6 O Lord, ^(R)do not rebuke me in Your anger,
Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure.
²Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am weak;
O Lord, ^(S)heal me, for my bones are troubled.
³My soul also is greatly ^(T)troubled;
But You, O Lord—how long?

⁴Return, O Lord, deliver me!
Oh, save me for Your mercies’ sake!
⁵^(U)For in death there is no remembrance of You;
In the grave who will give You thanks?

⁶I am weary with my groaning;
^[l]All night I make my bed swim;
I drench my couch with my tears.
⁷^(V)My eye wastes away because of grief;
It grows old because of all my enemies.

⁸^(W)Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity;
For the Lord has ^(X)heard the voice of my weeping.
⁹The Lord has heard my supplication;
The Lord will receive my prayer.
¹⁰Let all my enemies be ashamed and greatly troubled;
Let them turn back and be ashamed suddenly.

Prayer and Praise for Deliverance from Enemies

A ^(Y)Meditation^[m] of David, which he sang to the Lord ^(Z)concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.

7 O Lord my God, in You I put my trust;
^(AA)Save me from all those who persecute me;
And deliver me,
²^(AB)Lest they tear me like a lion,
^(AC)Rending me in pieces, while there is none to deliver.

³O Lord my God, ^(AD)if I have done this:
If there is ^(AE)iniquity in my hands,
⁴If I have repaid evil to him who was at peace with me,
Or ^(AF)have plundered my enemy without cause,
⁵Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me;
Yes, let him trample my life to the earth,
And lay my honor in the dust. Selah

⁶Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
^(AG)Lift Yourself up because of the rage of my enemies;
^(AH)Rise up ^[n]for me to the judgment You have commanded!
⁷So the congregation of the peoples shall surround You;
For their sakes, therefore, return on high.
⁸The Lord shall judge the peoples;
^(AI)Judge me, O Lord, ^(AJ)according to my righteousness,
And according to my integrity within me.

⁹Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,
But establish the just;
^(AK)For the righteous God tests the hearts and ^[o]minds.
¹⁰^[p]My defense is of God,
Who saves the ^(AL)upright in heart.

¹¹God is a just judge,
And God is angry with the wicked every day.
¹²If he does not turn back,
He will ^(AM)sharpen His sword;
He bends His bow and makes it ready.
¹³He also prepares for Himself instruments of death;
He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.

¹⁴^(AN)Behold, the wicked brings forth iniquity;
Yes, he conceives trouble and brings forth falsehood.
¹⁵He made a pit and dug it out,
^(AO)And has fallen into the ditch which he made.
¹⁶^(AP)His trouble shall return upon his own head,
And his violent dealing shall come down on ^[q]his own crown.

¹⁷I will praise the Lord according to His righteousness,
And will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

The Glory of the Lord in Creation

To the Chief Musician. ^[r]On the instrument of Gath. A Psalm of David.

8 O Lord, our Lord,
How ^(AQ)excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have ^(AR)set Your glory above the heavens!

²^(AS)Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ^[s]ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence ^(AT)the enemy and the avenger.

³When I ^(AU)consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have ordained,
⁴^(AV)What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of man that You ^(AW)visit^[t] him?
⁵For You have made him a little lower than ^[u]the angels,
And You have crowned him with glory and honor.

⁶^(AX)You have made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands;
^(AY)You have put all things under his feet,
⁷All sheep and oxen—
Even the beasts of the field,
⁸The birds of the air,
And the fish of the sea
That pass through the paths of the seas.

⁹^(AZ)O Lord, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth!

Prayer and Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Righteous Judgments

To the Chief Musician. To the tune of ^[v]“Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David.

9 I will praise You, O Lord, with my whole heart;
I will tell of all Your marvelous works.
²I will be glad and ^(BA)rejoice in You;
I will sing praise to Your name, ^(BB)O Most High.

³When my enemies turn back,
They shall fall and perish at Your presence.
⁴For You have maintained my right and my cause;
You sat on the throne judging in righteousness.
⁵You have rebuked the ^[w]nations,
You have destroyed the wicked;
You have ^(BC)blotted out their name forever and ever.

⁶O enemy, destructions are finished forever!
And you have destroyed cities;
Even their memory has ^(BD)perished.
⁷^(BE)But the Lord shall endure forever;
He has prepared His throne for judgment.
⁸^(BF)He shall judge the world in righteousness,
And He shall administer judgment for the peoples in uprightness.

⁹The Lord also will be a ^(BG)refuge^[x] for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble.
¹⁰And those who ^(BH)know Your name will put their trust in You;
For You, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.

¹¹Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion!
^(BI)Declare His deeds among the people.
¹²^(BJ)When He avenges blood, He remembers them;
He does not forget the cry of the ^[y]humble.

¹³Have mercy on me, O Lord!
Consider my trouble from those who hate me,
You who lift me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴That I may tell of all Your praise
In the gates of ^[z]the daughter of Zion.
I will ^(BK)rejoice in Your salvation.

¹⁵^(BL)The ^[aa]nations have sunk down in the pit which they made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot is caught.
¹⁶The Lord is ^(BM)known by the judgment He executes;
The wicked is snared in the work of his own hands.
^(BN)Meditation.^[ab] Selah

¹⁷The wicked shall be turned into hell,
And all the ^[ac]nations ^(BO)that forget God.
¹⁸^(BP)For the needy shall not always be forgotten;
^(BQ)The expectation of the poor shall not perish forever.

¹⁹Arise, O Lord,
Do not let man prevail;
Let the ^[ad]nations be judged in Your sight.
²⁰Put them in fear, O Lord,
That the ^[ae]nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah

A Song of Confidence in God’s Triumph over Evil

10 Why do You stand afar off, O Lord?
Why do You hide in times of trouble?
²The wicked in his pride ^[af]persecutes the poor;
^(BR)Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

³For the wicked ^(BS)boasts of his heart’s desire;
^[ag]He ^(BT)blesses the greedy and renounces the Lord.
⁴The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God;
^[ah]God is in none of his ^(BU)thoughts.

⁵His ways ^[ai]are always prospering;
Your judgments are far above, out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.
⁶^(BV)He has said in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
^(BW)I shall never be in adversity.”
⁷^(BX)His mouth is full of cursing and ^(BY)deceit and oppression;
Under his tongue is trouble and iniquity.

⁸He sits in the lurking places of the villages;
In the secret places he murders the innocent;
His eyes are secretly fixed on the helpless.
⁹He lies in wait secretly, as a lion in his den;
He lies in wait to catch the poor;
He catches the poor when he draws him into his net.
¹⁰So ^[aj]he crouches, he lies low,
That the helpless may fall by his ^[ak]strength.
¹¹He has said in his heart,
“God has forgotten;
He hides His face;
He will never see.”

¹²Arise, O Lord!
O God, ^(BZ)lift up Your hand!
Do not forget the ^(CA)humble.
¹³Why do the wicked renounce God?
He has said in his heart,
“You will not require an account.”

¹⁴But You have ^(CB)seen, for You observe trouble and grief,
To repay it by Your hand.
The helpless ^(CC)commits^[al] himself to You;
^(CD)You are the helper of the fatherless.
¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked and the evil man;
Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

¹⁶^(CE)The Lord is King forever and ever;
The nations have perished out of His land.
¹⁷Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;
You will prepare their heart;
You will cause Your ear to hear,
¹⁸To ^[am]do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed,
That the man of the earth may ^[an]oppress no more.