Psalm 72-74

English Standard Version

⁵ May they fear you^[a] while ^(E)the sun endures,
    and as long as the moon, ^(F)throughout all generations!
⁶ May he be like ^(G)rain that falls on ^(H)the mown grass,
    like ^(I)showers that water the earth!
⁷ In his days may ^(J)the righteous flourish,
    and ^(K)peace abound, till the moon be no more!

⁸ May he have dominion from ^(L)sea to sea,
    and from ^(M)the River^[b] to the ^(N)ends of the earth!
⁹ May desert tribes ^(O)bow down before him,
    and his enemies ^(P)lick the dust!
¹⁰ May the kings of ^(Q)Tarshish and of ^(R)the coastlands
    render him ^(S)tribute;
may the kings of ^(T)Sheba and ^(U)Seba
    bring gifts!
¹¹ May all kings ^(V)fall down before him,
    all nations serve him!

¹² For he delivers ^(W)the needy when he calls,
    the poor and him who has no helper.
¹³ He has pity on the weak and the needy,
    and saves the lives of the needy.
¹⁴ From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
    and ^(X)precious is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵ Long may he live;
    may ^(Y)gold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made ^(Z)for him continually,
    and blessings invoked for him all the day!
¹⁶ May there be abundance of grain in the land;
    on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
    may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people ^(AA)blossom in the cities
    like the ^(AB)grass of the field!
^17 (AC)May his name endure forever,
    his fame continue as long as the sun!
^(AD)May people be blessed in him,
    ^(AE)all nations call him blessed!

^18 (AF)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    who alone does ^(AG)wondrous things.
¹⁹ Blessed be his ^(AH)glorious name forever;
    may ^(AI)the whole earth be filled with his glory!
^(AJ)Amen and Amen!

^20 (AK)The prayers of ^(AL)David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

⁴ For they have no pangs until death;
    their bodies are fat and sleek.
⁵ They are not in trouble as others are;
    they are not ^(AS)stricken like the rest of mankind.
⁶ Therefore pride is ^(AT)their necklace;
    violence covers them as ^(AU)a garment.
⁷ Their ^(AV)eyes swell out through fatness;
    their hearts overflow with follies.
⁸ They scoff and ^(AW)speak with malice;
    loftily they threaten oppression.
⁹ They set their mouths against the heavens,
    and their tongue struts through the earth.
¹⁰ Therefore his people turn back to them,
    and find ^(AX)no fault in them.^[c]
11 And they say, ^(AY)“How can God know?
    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
¹² Behold, these are the wicked;
    always at ease, they ^(AZ)increase in riches.
¹³ All in vain have I ^(BA)kept my heart clean
    and ^(BB)washed my hands in innocence.
¹⁴ For all the day long I have been ^(BC)stricken
    and ^(BD)rebuked ^(BE)every morning.
¹⁵ If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
    I would have betrayed ^(BF)the generation of your children.

¹⁶ But when I thought how to understand this,
    it seemed to me ^(BG)a wearisome task,
¹⁷ until I went into ^(BH)the sanctuary of God;
    then I discerned their ^(BI)end.

¹⁸ Truly you set them in ^(BJ)slippery places;
    you make them fall to ruin.
¹⁹ How they are destroyed ^(BK)in a moment,
    swept away utterly by ^(BL)terrors!
²⁰ Like ^(BM)a dream when one awakes,
    O Lord, when ^(BN)you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
²¹ When my soul was embittered,
    when I was pricked in heart,
²² I was ^(BO)brutish and ignorant;
    I was like ^(BP)a beast toward you.

²³ Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
    you ^(BQ)hold my right hand.
²⁴ You ^(BR)guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will ^(BS)receive me to glory.
^25 (BT)Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
^26 (BU)My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is ^(BV)the strength^[d] of my heart and my ^(BW)portion ^(BX)forever.

²⁷ For behold, those who are ^(BY)far from you shall perish;
    you put an end to everyone who is ^(BZ)unfaithful to you.
²⁸ But for me it is good to ^(CA)be near God;
    I have made the Lord God my ^(CB)refuge,
    that I may ^(CC)tell of all your works.

⁴ Your foes have ^(CN)roared in the midst of your meeting place;
    ^(CO)they set up their ^(CP)own signs for ^(CQ)signs.
⁵ They were like those who swing ^(CR)axes
    in a forest of trees.^[f]
6 And all its ^(CS)carved wood
    they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
⁷ They ^(CT)set your sanctuary on fire;
    they ^(CU)profaned ^(CV)the dwelling place of your name,
    bringing it down to the ground.
⁸ They ^(CW)said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
    they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

⁹ We do not see our ^(CX)signs;
    ^(CY)there is no longer any prophet,
    and there is none among us who knows how long.
¹⁰ How long, O God, ^(CZ)is the foe to scoff?
    Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
¹¹ Why ^(DA)do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
    Take it from the fold of your garment^[g] and destroy them!

¹² Yet ^(DB)God my King is from of old,
    working salvation in the midst of the earth.
¹³ You ^(DC)divided the sea by your might;
    you ^(DD)broke the heads of ^(DE)the sea monsters^[h] on the waters.
¹⁴ You crushed the heads of ^(DF)Leviathan;
    you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
¹⁵ You ^(DG)split open springs and brooks;
    you ^(DH)dried up ever-flowing streams.
¹⁶ Yours is the day, yours also the night;
    you have established ^(DI)the heavenly lights and the sun.
¹⁷ You have ^(DJ)fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
    you have made ^(DK)summer and winter.

^18 (DL)Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
    and ^(DM)a foolish people reviles your name.
¹⁹ Do not deliver the soul of your ^(DN)dove to the wild beasts;
    ^(DO)do not forget the life of your poor forever.

²⁰ Have regard for ^(DP)the covenant,
    for ^(DQ)the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
²¹ Let not ^(DR)the downtrodden ^(DS)turn back in shame;
    let ^(DT)the poor and needy praise your name.

²² Arise, O God, ^(DU)defend your cause;
    ^(DV)remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
²³ Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
    ^(DW)the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!