Psalm 8-15

English Standard Version

³ When I ^(G)look at your heavens, the work of your ^(H)fingers,
    the moon and the stars, ^(I)which you have set in place,
^4 (J)what is man that you are ^(K)mindful of him,
    and ^(L)the son of man that you ^(M)care for him?

⁵ Yet you have made him a little lower than ^(N)the heavenly beings^[b]
    and crowned him with ^(O)glory and honor.
⁶ You have given him ^(P)dominion over the works of your hands;
    ^(Q)you have put all things under his feet,
⁷ all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
⁸ the birds of the heavens, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

⁹ O Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

³ When my enemies turn back,
    they stumble and perish before^[e] your presence.
⁴ For you have ^(V)maintained my just cause;
    you have ^(W)sat on the throne, giving righteous judgment.

⁵ You have ^(X)rebuked the nations; you have made the wicked perish;
    you have ^(Y)blotted out their name forever and ever.
⁶ The enemy came to an end in everlasting ruins;
    their cities you rooted out;
    the very memory of them has perished.

⁷ But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
    he has established his throne for justice,
⁸ and he ^(Z)judges the world with righteousness;
    he ^(AA)judges the peoples with uprightness.

⁹ The Lord is ^(AB)a stronghold for ^(AC)the oppressed,
    a stronghold in ^(AD)times of trouble.
¹⁰ And those who ^(AE)know your name put their trust in you,
    for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.

¹¹ Sing praises to the Lord, who ^(AF)sits enthroned in Zion!
    Tell among the peoples his ^(AG)deeds!
¹² For he who ^(AH)avenges blood is mindful of them;
    he ^(AI)does not forget the cry of the afflicted.

^13 (AJ)Be gracious to me, O Lord!
    See my affliction from those who hate me,
    O you who lift me up from ^(AK)the gates of death,
¹⁴ that I may recount all your praises,
    that in the gates of ^(AL)the daughter of Zion
    I may ^(AM)rejoice in your salvation.

¹⁵ The nations have sunk in ^(AN)the pit that they made;
    in ^(AO)the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.
¹⁶ The Lord has made himself ^(AP)known; he has executed judgment;
    the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion.^[f] Selah

¹⁷ The wicked shall ^(AQ)return to Sheol,
    all the nations that ^(AR)forget God.

¹⁸ For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
    and ^(AS)the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

^19 (AT)Arise, O Lord! Let not ^(AU)man prevail;
    let the nations be judged before you!
²⁰ Put them in fear, O Lord!
    Let the nations know that they are but ^(AV)men! Selah

² In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
    let them ^(AZ)be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
³ For the wicked ^(BA)boasts of the desires of his soul,
    and the one greedy for gain ^(BB)curses^[g] and ^(BC)renounces the Lord.
⁴ In the pride of his face^[h] the wicked does not ^(BD)seek him;^[i]
    all his thoughts are, ^(BE)“There is no God.”
⁵ His ways prosper at all times;
    your judgments are on high, ^(BF)out of his sight;
    as for all his foes, he ^(BG)puffs at them.
⁶ He ^(BH)says in his heart, “I shall not be moved;
    throughout all generations I ^(BI)shall not meet adversity.”
^7 (BJ)His mouth is filled with cursing and ^(BK)deceit and ^(BL)oppression;
    ^(BM)under his tongue are ^(BN)mischief and ^(BO)iniquity.
⁸ He sits in ambush in the villages;
    in ^(BP)hiding places he murders the innocent.
His eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;
⁹     he lurks in ambush like ^(BQ)a lion in his ^(BR)thicket;
he ^(BS)lurks that he may seize the poor;
    he seizes the poor when he draws him into his ^(BT)net.
¹⁰ The helpless are crushed, sink down,
    and fall by his might.
¹¹ He says in his heart, “God has forgotten,
    he has ^(BU)hidden his face, he ^(BV)will never see it.”

^12 (BW)Arise, O Lord; O God, ^(BX)lift up your hand;
    ^(BY)forget not the afflicted.
¹³ Why does the wicked ^(BZ)renounce God
    and say in his heart, “You will not ^(CA)call to account”?
¹⁴ But you do see, for you ^(CB)note mischief and vexation,
    that you may take it into your hands;
to you the helpless ^(CC)commits himself;
    you have been ^(CD)the helper of the fatherless.
^15 (CE)Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer;
    ^(CF)call his wickedness to account till you find none.

^16 (CG)The Lord is king forever and ever;
    the ^(CH)nations perish from his land.
¹⁷ O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted;
    you will ^(CI)strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear
¹⁸ to ^(CJ)do justice to the fatherless and ^(CK)the oppressed,
    so that ^(CL)man who is of the earth may strike terror no more.

^4 (CQ)The Lord is in his holy temple;
    the Lord's ^(CR)throne is in heaven;
    his eyes see, his eyelids ^(CS)test the children of man.
⁵ The Lord ^(CT)tests the righteous,
    but ^(CU)his soul hates the wicked and the one who loves violence.
⁶ Let him rain coals on the wicked;
    ^(CV)fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be ^(CW)the portion of their cup.
⁷ For the Lord is righteous;
he ^(CX)loves righteous deeds;
    ^(CY)the upright shall behold his face.

³ May the Lord cut off all ^(DD)flattering lips,
    the tongue that makes ^(DE)great boasts,
⁴ those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
    our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

⁵ “Because ^(DF)the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
    ^(DG)I will now arise,” says the Lord;
    “I will place him in the ^(DH)safety for which he longs.”
^6 (DI)The words of the Lord are pure words,
    like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
    purified seven times.

⁷ You, O Lord, will keep them;
    you will guard us^[l] from this generation forever.
⁸ On every side the wicked prowl,
    as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

^3 (DN)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
    ^(DO)light up my eyes, lest ^(DP)I sleep the sleep of death,
^4 (DQ)lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
    lest my foes rejoice because I am ^(DR)shaken.

⁵ But I have ^(DS)trusted in your steadfast love;
    my heart shall ^(DT)rejoice in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing to the Lord,
    because he has dealt bountifully with me.

² The Lord ^(DZ)looks down from heaven on the children of man,
    to see if there are any who understand,^[m]
    who ^(EA)seek after God.

³ They have all turned aside; together they have become ^(EB)corrupt;
    there is none who does good,
    not even one.

⁴ Have they no ^(EC)knowledge, all the evildoers
    who ^(ED)eat up my people as they eat bread
    and ^(EE)do not call upon the Lord?

⁵ There they are in great terror,
    for God is with ^(EF)the generation of the righteous.
⁶ You would shame the plans of the poor,
    but^[n] the Lord is his ^(EG)refuge.

⁷ Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
    When the Lord ^(EH)restores the fortunes of his people,
    let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

² He who ^(EL)walks blamelessly and ^(EM)does what is right
    and ^(EN)speaks truth in his heart;
³ who ^(EO)does not slander with his tongue
    and does no evil to his neighbor,
    nor ^(EP)takes up a reproach against his friend;
^4 (EQ)in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
    but who honors those who fear the Lord;
who ^(ER)swears to his own hurt and does not change;
⁵ who ^(ES)does not put out his money at interest
    and ^(ET)does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things shall never be ^(EU)moved.