Psalm 81:10-94:23

English Standard Version

¹¹ “But my people did not listen to my voice;
    Israel ^(C)would not submit to me.
¹² So I ^(D)gave them over to their ^(E)stubborn hearts,
    to follow their own ^(F)counsels.
^13 (G)Oh, that my people would listen to me,
    that Israel would ^(H)walk in my ways!
¹⁴ I would soon subdue their enemies
    and ^(I)turn my hand against their foes.
¹⁵ Those who hate the Lord would ^(J)cringe toward him,
    and their fate would last forever.
¹⁶ But he would feed you^[a] with ^(K)the finest of the wheat,
    and with ^(L)honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

^5 (Y)They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
    ^(Z)they walk about in darkness;
    ^(AA)all the foundations of the earth are ^(AB)shaken.

^6 (AC)I said, “You are gods,
    sons of the Most High, all of you;
⁷ nevertheless, like men ^(AD)you shall die,
    and fall like any prince.”^[b]

^8 (AE)Arise, O God, judge the earth;
    for you shall ^(AF)inherit all the nations!

⁹ Do to them as you did to ^(AY)Midian,
    as to ^(AZ)Sisera and Jabin at ^(BA)the river Kishon,
¹⁰ who were destroyed at ^(BB)En-dor,
    who became ^(BC)dung for the ground.
¹¹ Make their nobles like ^(BD)Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like ^(BE)Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹² who said, ^(BF)“Let us take possession for ourselves
    of the pastures of God.”

¹³ O my God, make them like ^(BG)whirling dust,^[c]
    like ^(BH)chaff before the wind.
¹⁴ As ^(BI)fire consumes the forest,
    as the flame ^(BJ)sets the mountains ablaze,
¹⁵ so may you pursue them ^(BK)with your tempest
    and terrify them with your hurricane!
^16 (BL)Fill their faces with shame,
    that they may seek your name, O Lord.
¹⁷ Let them be ^(BM)put to shame and dismayed forever;
    let them perish in disgrace,
¹⁸ that they may ^(BN)know that you alone,
    ^(BO)whose name is the Lord,
    are ^(BP)the Most High over all the earth.

³ Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
    ^(BX)my King and my God.
^4 (BY)Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever ^(BZ)singing your praise! Selah

⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    ^(CA)in whose heart are the highways to Zion.^[e]
6 As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    ^(CB)the early rain also covers it with ^(CC)pools.
⁷ They go ^(CD)from strength to strength;
    each one ^(CE)appears before God in Zion.

⁸ O ^(CF)Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
    give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
^9 (CG)Behold our ^(CH)shield, O God;
    look on the face of your anointed!

¹⁰ For a day ^(CI)in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be ^(CJ)a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹ For the Lord God is ^(CK)a sun and ^(CL)shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor.
^(CM)No good thing does he withhold
    from those who ^(CN)walk uprightly.
¹² O Lord of hosts,
    ^(CO)blessed is the one who trusts in you!

^4 (CV)Restore us again, O God of our salvation,
    and put away your indignation toward us!
^5 (CW)Will you be angry with us forever?
    Will you prolong your anger to all generations?
⁶ Will you not ^(CX)revive us again,
    that your people may ^(CY)rejoice in you?
⁷ Show us your steadfast love, O Lord,
    and grant us your salvation.

^8 (CZ)Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
    for he will ^(DA)speak peace to his people, to his ^(DB)saints;
    but let them not ^(DC)turn back to ^(DD)folly.
⁹ Surely his ^(DE)salvation is near to those who fear him,
    that ^(DF)glory may dwell in our land.

^10 (DG)Steadfast love and faithfulness meet;
    ^(DH)righteousness and peace kiss each other.
¹¹ Faithfulness springs up from the ground,
    and righteousness looks down from the sky.
¹² Yes, ^(DI)the Lord will give what is good,
    and our land ^(DJ)will yield its increase.
^13 (DK)Righteousness will go before him
    and make his footsteps a way.

⁸ There is ^(DX)none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    ^(DY)nor are there any works like yours.
^9 (DZ)All the nations you have made shall come
    and worship before you, O Lord,
    and shall glorify your name.
¹⁰ For ^(EA)you are great and ^(EB)do wondrous things;
    ^(EC)you alone are God.
^11 (ED)Teach me your way, O Lord,
    that I may ^(EE)walk in your truth;
    ^(EF)unite my heart to fear your name.
¹² I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.
^13 (EG)For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have ^(EH)delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

¹⁴ O God, insolent men have ^(EI)risen up against me;
    a band of ruthless men seeks my life,
    and they do not set you before them.
¹⁵ But you, O Lord, are a God ^(EJ)merciful and gracious,
    slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
^16 (EK)Turn to me and be gracious to me;
    give your strength to ^(EL)your servant,
    and save ^(EM)the son of your maidservant.
^17 (EN)Show me a sign of your ^(EO)favor,
    that those who hate me may see and be put to shame
    because you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

⁴ Among those who ^(EV)know me I mention ^(EW)Rahab and Babylon;
    behold, Philistia and Tyre, with ^(EX)Cush^[f]—
    “This one was born there,” they say.
⁵ And of Zion it shall be said,
    “This one and that one were born in her”;
    for the Most High himself will ^(EY)establish her.
⁶ The Lord records as he ^(EZ)registers the peoples,
    “This one was born there.” Selah

^7 (FA)Singers and ^(FB)dancers alike say,
    “All my ^(FC)springs are in you.”

³ For my soul is full of troubles,
    and ^(FJ)my life draws near to ^(FK)Sheol.
⁴ I am counted among those who ^(FL)go down to the pit;
    I am a man who has no strength,
⁵ like one set loose among the dead,
    like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom ^(FM)you remember no more,
    for they are ^(FN)cut off from your hand.
⁶ You have put me in ^(FO)the depths of the pit,
    in the ^(FP)regions dark and ^(FQ)deep.
⁷ Your wrath ^(FR)lies heavy upon me,
    and you overwhelm me with ^(FS)all your waves. Selah

⁸ You have caused ^(FT)my companions to shun me;
    you have made me ^(FU)a horror^[h] to them.
I am ^(FV)shut in so that I cannot escape;
^{9     (FW)}my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
    I ^(FX)spread out my hands to you.
¹⁰ Do you work wonders for the dead?
    ^(FY)Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
¹¹ Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
¹² Are your ^(FZ)wonders known in ^(GA)the darkness,
    or your righteousness in the land of ^(GB)forgetfulness?

¹³ But I, O Lord, cry ^(GC)to you;
    ^(GD)in the morning my prayer comes before you.
¹⁴ O Lord, why ^(GE)do you cast my soul away?
    Why ^(GF)do you hide your face from me?
¹⁵ Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.^[i]
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
    your ^(GG)dreadful assaults destroy me.
¹⁷ They ^(GH)surround me like a flood ^(GI)all day long;
    they ^(GJ)close in on me together.
¹⁸ You have caused ^(GK)my beloved and my friend to shun me;
    my companions have become darkness.^[j]

⁵ Let ^(GX)the heavens praise your ^(GY)wonders, O Lord,
    your faithfulness in the assembly of ^(GZ)the holy ones!
⁶ For ^(HA)who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
    ^(HB)Who among the heavenly beings^[l] is like the Lord,
⁷ a God greatly ^(HC)to be feared in the council of ^(HD)the holy ones,
    and awesome above all ^(HE)who are around him?
⁸ O Lord God of hosts,
    ^(HF)who is mighty as you are, O ^(HG)Lord,
    with your faithfulness all around you?
⁹ You rule the raging of the sea;
    when its waves rise, you ^(HH)still them.
¹⁰ You ^(HI)crushed ^(HJ)Rahab like a carcass;
    you ^(HK)scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
^11 (HL)The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
    ^(HM)the world and all that is in it, you have ^(HN)founded them.
^12 (HO)The north and the south, you have created them;
    ^(HP)Tabor and ^(HQ)Hermon ^(HR)joyously praise your name.
¹³ You have a mighty arm;
    strong is your hand, high your right hand.
^14 (HS)Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
    ^(HT)steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.
¹⁵ Blessed are the people who know ^(HU)the festal shout,
    who walk, O Lord, in ^(HV)the light of your face,
¹⁶ who exult in your ^(HW)name all the day
    and in your righteousness are ^(HX)exalted.
¹⁷ For you are ^(HY)the glory of their strength;
    by your favor our ^(HZ)horn is exalted.
¹⁸ For our ^(IA)shield belongs to the Lord,
    our king to ^(IB)the Holy One of Israel.

^19 (IC)Of old you spoke in a vision to your godly one,^[m] and said:
    “I have ^(ID)granted help to one who is ^(IE)mighty;
    I have exalted one ^(IF)chosen from the people.
^20 (IG)I have found David, my servant;
    with my holy oil I have ^(IH)anointed him,
²¹ so that my ^(II)hand shall be established with him;
    my arm also shall strengthen him.
²² The enemy shall not outwit him;
    ^(IJ)the wicked shall not humble him.
²³ I will ^(IK)crush his foes before him
    and strike down those who hate him.
²⁴ My ^(IL)faithfulness and my ^(IM)steadfast love shall be with him,
    and in my name shall his ^(IN)horn be exalted.
²⁵ I will set his hand on ^(IO)the sea
    and his right hand on ^(IP)the rivers.
²⁶ He shall cry to me, ‘You are my ^(IQ)Father,
    my God, and ^(IR)the Rock of my salvation.’
²⁷ And I will make him the ^(IS)firstborn,
    ^(IT)the highest of the kings of the earth.
²⁸ My steadfast love I will keep for him forever,
    and my ^(IU)covenant will stand firm^[n] for him.
²⁹ I will establish his ^(IV)offspring forever
    and his ^(IW)throne as ^(IX)the days of the heavens.
^30 (IY)If his children forsake my law
    and do not walk according to my rules,^[o]
31 if they violate my statutes
    and do not keep my commandments,
³² then I will punish their transgression with ^(IZ)the rod
    and their iniquity with stripes,
³³ but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
    or be false to my faithfulness.
³⁴ I will not violate my ^(JA)covenant
    or alter the word that went forth from my lips.
³⁵ Once for all I have sworn ^(JB)by my holiness;
    I will not ^(JC)lie to David.
³⁶ His ^(JD)offspring shall endure forever,
    ^(JE)his ^(JF)throne as long as ^(JG)the sun before me.
³⁷ Like ^(JH)the moon it shall be established forever,
    ^(JI)a faithful witness in the skies.” Selah

³⁸ But now you have ^(JJ)cast off and rejected;
    you are full of wrath against your ^(JK)anointed.
³⁹ You have ^(JL)renounced ^(JM)the covenant with your servant;
    you have ^(JN)defiled his ^(JO)crown in the dust.
⁴⁰ You have ^(JP)breached all his walls;
    you have laid his strongholds in ruins.
^41 (JQ)All who pass by plunder him;
    he has become ^(JR)the scorn of his neighbors.
⁴² You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
    you have made all his enemies rejoice.
⁴³ You have also turned back the edge of his sword,
    and you have not made him stand in battle.
⁴⁴ You have made his splendor to cease
    and cast his throne to the ground.
⁴⁵ You have cut short ^(JS)the days of his youth;
    you have ^(JT)covered him with shame. Selah

^46 (JU)How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath ^(JV)burn like fire?
^47 (JW)Remember ^(JX)how short my ^(JY)time is!
    For what vanity you have created all the children of man!
^48 (JZ)What man can live and never ^(KA)see death?
    Who can deliver his soul from the power of ^(KB)Sheol? Selah

⁴⁹ Lord, where is your ^(KC)steadfast love of old,
    which by your ^(KD)faithfulness you swore to David?
^50 (KE)Remember, O Lord, how your servants are mocked,
    and how I bear in my ^(KF)heart the insults^[p] of all the many nations,
⁵¹ with which your enemies mock, O Lord,
    with which they mock ^(KG)the footsteps of your ^(KH)anointed.

^52 (KI)Blessed be the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.

³ You return man to dust
    and say, ^(KP)“Return, ^(KQ)O children of man!”^[r]
4 For ^(KR)a thousand years in your sight
    are but as ^(KS)yesterday when it is past,
    or as ^(KT)a watch in the night.

⁵ You ^(KU)sweep them away as with a flood; they are like ^(KV)a dream,
    like ^(KW)grass that is renewed in the morning:
⁶ in ^(KX)the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
    in the evening it ^(KY)fades and ^(KZ)withers.

⁷ For we are brought to an end by your anger;
    by your wrath we are dismayed.
⁸ You have ^(LA)set our iniquities before you,
    our ^(LB)secret sins in the light of your presence.

⁹ For all our days pass away under your wrath;
    we bring our years to an end like a sigh.
¹⁰ The years of our life are seventy,
    or even by reason of strength eighty;
yet their span^[s] is but toil and trouble;
    they are soon gone, and we fly away.
¹¹ Who considers the power of your anger,
    and your wrath according to the fear of you?

^12 (LC)So teach us to number our days
    that we may get a heart of wisdom.
^13 (LD)Return, O Lord! ^(LE)How long?
    Have ^(LF)pity on your servants!
¹⁴ Satisfy us in the ^(LG)morning with your steadfast love,
    that we may ^(LH)rejoice and be glad all our days.
¹⁵ Make us glad for as many days as you have ^(LI)afflicted us,
    and for as many years as we have seen evil.
¹⁶ Let your ^(LJ)work be shown to your servants,
    and your glorious power to their children.
¹⁷ Let the ^(LK)favor^[t] of the Lord our God be upon us,
    and establish ^(LL)the work of our hands upon us;
    yes, establish the work of our hands!

³ For he will deliver you from ^(LR)the snare of the fowler
    and from the deadly pestilence.
⁴ He will ^(LS)cover you with his pinions,
    and under his ^(LT)wings you will ^(LU)find refuge;
    his ^(LV)faithfulness is ^(LW)a shield and buckler.
^5 (LX)You will not fear ^(LY)the terror of the night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
⁶ nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
    nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
⁸ You will only look with your eyes
    and ^(LZ)see the recompense of the wicked.

⁹ Because you have made the Lord your ^(MA)dwelling place—
    the Most High, who is my ^(MB)refuge^[v]—
^10 (MC)no evil shall be allowed to befall you,
    ^(MD)no plague come near your tent.

^11 (ME)For he will command his ^(MF)angels concerning you
    to ^(MG)guard you in all your ways.
¹² On their hands they will bear you up,
    lest you ^(MH)strike your foot against a stone.
¹³ You will tread on ^(MI)the lion and the ^(MJ)adder;
    the young lion and ^(MK)the serpent you will ^(ML)trample underfoot.

¹⁴ “Because he ^(MM)holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;
    I will protect him, because he ^(MN)knows my name.
¹⁵ When he ^(MO)calls to me, I will answer him;
    I will be with him in trouble;
    I will rescue him and ^(MP)honor him.
¹⁶ With ^(MQ)long life I will satisfy him
    and ^(MR)show him my salvation.”

⁵ How ^(ND)great are your works, O Lord!
    Your ^(NE)thoughts are very ^(NF)deep!
⁶ The stupid man cannot know;
    the fool cannot understand this:
⁷ that though ^(NG)the wicked sprout like grass
    and all ^(NH)evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever;
⁸     but you, O Lord, are ^(NI)on high forever.
⁹ For behold, your enemies, O Lord,
    for behold, your enemies shall perish;
    all evildoers shall be ^(NJ)scattered.

¹⁰ But you have exalted my ^(NK)horn like that of ^(NL)the wild ox;
    you have ^(NM)poured over me^[w] fresh oil.
¹¹ My ^(NN)eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
    my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.

^12 (NO)The righteous flourish like the palm tree
    and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
¹³ They are planted in the house of the Lord;
    they flourish in ^(NP)the courts of our God.
¹⁴ They still bear fruit in old age;
    they are ever full of sap and green,
^15 (NQ)to declare that the Lord is upright;
    he is my ^(NR)rock, and there is ^(NS)no unrighteousness in him.

^3 (OB)The floods have lifted up, O Lord,
    the floods have lifted up their voice;
    the floods lift up their roaring.
⁴ Mightier than the thunders of many waters,
    mightier than the waves of the sea,
    ^(OC)the Lord ^(OD)on high is mighty!

⁵ Your ^(OE)decrees are very trustworthy;
    ^(OF)holiness befits your house,
    O Lord, forevermore.

^8 (OT)Understand, O dullest of the people!
    Fools, when will you be wise?
^9 (OU)He who planted the ear, does he not hear?
He who formed the eye, does he not see?
¹⁰ He who ^(OV)disciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?
He who ^(OW)teaches man knowledge—
^{11     (OX)}the Lord—knows the thoughts of man,
    that they are ^(OY)but a breath.^[x]

^12 (OZ)Blessed is the man whom you ^(PA)discipline, O Lord,
    and whom you teach out of your law,
¹³ to give him ^(PB)rest from ^(PC)days of trouble,
    until ^(PD)a pit is dug for the wicked.
^14 (PE)For the Lord will not forsake his ^(PF)people;
    he will not abandon his ^(PG)heritage;
¹⁵ for ^(PH)justice will return to the righteous,
    and all the upright in heart will ^(PI)follow it.

^16 (PJ)Who rises up for me against the wicked?
    Who stands up for me against evildoers?
^17 (PK)If the Lord had not been my help,
    my soul would soon have lived in the land of ^(PL)silence.
¹⁸ When I thought, ^(PM)“My foot slips,”
    your steadfast love, O Lord, ^(PN)held me up.
¹⁹ When the cares of my heart are many,
    your consolations cheer my soul.
²⁰ Can ^(PO)wicked rulers be allied with you,
    those who frame^[y] injustice by ^(PP)statute?
²¹ They ^(PQ)band together against the life of the righteous
    and condemn ^(PR)the innocent to death.^[z]
22 But the Lord has become my ^(PS)stronghold,
    and my God ^(PT)the rock of my ^(PU)refuge.
²³ He will bring back on them ^(PV)their iniquity
    and ^(PW)wipe them out for their wickedness;
    the Lord our God will wipe them out.