Psalm 81-88

New American Standard Bible 1995

⁶ “I ^[c](L)relieved his shoulder of the burden,
His hands were freed from the ^[d]basket.
⁷ “You ^(M)called in trouble and I rescued you;
I ^(N)answered you in the hiding place of thunder;
I proved you at the ^(O)waters of Meribah. ^[e]Selah.
⁸ “^(P)Hear, O My people, and I will ^[f]admonish you;
O Israel, if you ^(Q)would listen to Me!
⁹ “Let there be no ^(R)strange god among you;
Nor shall you worship any foreign god.
¹⁰ “^(S)I, the Lord, am your God,
Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;
^(T)Open your mouth wide and I will ^(U)fill it.

¹¹ “But My people ^(V)did not listen to My voice,
And Israel did not ^[g]obey Me.
¹² “So I ^(W)gave ^[h]them over to the stubbornness of their heart,
To walk in their own devices.
¹³ “Oh that My people ^(X)would listen to Me,
That Israel would ^(Y)walk in My ways!
¹⁴ “I would quickly ^(Z)subdue their enemies
And ^(AA)turn My hand against their adversaries.
¹⁵ “^(AB)Those who hate the Lord would ^(AC)pretend obedience to Him,
And their time of punishment would be forever.
¹⁶ “^[i]But I would feed you with the ^[j](AD)finest of the wheat,
And with ^(AE)honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”

⁵ They ^(AM)do not know nor do they understand;
They ^(AN)walk about in darkness;
All the ^(AO)foundations of the earth are shaken.
^6 [n]I ^(AP)said, “You are gods,
And all of you are ^(AQ)sons of the Most High.
⁷ “Nevertheless ^(AR)you will die like men
And fall like any ^(AS)one of the princes.”
^8 (AT)Arise, O God, ^(AU)judge the earth!
For it is You who ^(AV)possesses all the nations.

⁹ Deal with them ^(BR)as with Midian,
As ^(BS)with Sisera and Jabin at the torrent of Kishon,
¹⁰ Who were destroyed at En-dor,
Who ^(BT)became as dung for the ground.
¹¹ Make their nobles like ^(BU)Oreb and Zeeb
And all their princes like ^(BV)Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹² Who said, “^(BW)Let us possess for ourselves
The ^(BX)pastures of God.”

¹³ O my God, make them like the ^[v](BY)whirling dust,
Like ^(BZ)chaff before the wind.
¹⁴ Like ^(CA)fire that burns the forest
And like a flame that ^(CB)sets the mountains on fire,
¹⁵ So pursue them ^(CC)with Your tempest
And terrify them with Your storm.
^16 (CD)Fill their faces with dishonor,
That they may seek Your name, O Lord.
¹⁷ Let them be ^(CE)ashamed and dismayed forever,
And let them be humiliated and perish,
¹⁸ That they may ^(CF)know that ^(CG)You alone, whose name is the Lord,
Are the ^(CH)Most High over all the earth.

⁵ How blessed is the man whose ^(CP)strength is in You,
In ^[y]whose heart are the ^(CQ)highways to Zion!
⁶ Passing through the valley of ^[z]Baca they make it a ^[aa]spring;
The ^(CR)early rain also covers it with blessings.
⁷ They ^(CS)go from strength to strength,
^[ab]Every one of them ^(CT)appears before God in Zion.

⁸ O ^(CU)Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O ^(CV)God of Jacob! Selah.
⁹ Behold our ^(CW)shield, O God,
And look upon the face of ^(CX)Your anointed.
¹⁰ For ^(CY)a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside.
I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹ For the Lord God is ^(CZ)a sun and ^(DA)shield;
The Lord gives grace and ^(DB)glory;
^(DC)No good thing does He withhold ^[ac]from those who walk ^[ad]uprightly.
¹² O Lord of hosts,
How ^(DD)blessed is the man who trusts in You!

^4 (DK)Restore us, O God of our salvation,
And ^(DL)cause Your indignation toward us to cease.
⁵ Will ^(DM)You be angry with us forever?
Will You prolong Your anger to ^[ag]all generations?
⁶ Will You not Yourself ^[ah](DN)revive us again,
That Your people may ^(DO)rejoice in You?
⁷ Show us Your lovingkindness, O Lord,
And ^(DP)grant us Your salvation.

^8 [ai]I will hear what God the Lord will say;
For He will ^(DQ)speak peace to His people, ^[aj]to His godly ones;
But let them not ^(DR)turn back to ^[ak]folly.
⁹ Surely ^(DS)His salvation is near to those who ^[al]fear Him,
That ^(DT)glory may dwell in our land.
^10 (DU)Lovingkindness and ^[am]truth have met together;
^(DV)Righteousness and peace have kissed each other.
^11 [an]Truth ^(DW)springs from the earth,
And righteousness looks down from heaven.
¹² Indeed, ^(DX)the Lord will give what is good,
And our ^(DY)land will yield its produce.
^13 (DZ)Righteousness will go before Him
And will make His footsteps into a way.

^11 (EU)Teach me Your way, O Lord;
I will walk in Your truth;
^(EV)Unite my heart to fear Your name.
¹² I will ^(EW)give thanks to You, O Lord my God, with all my heart,
And will glorify Your name forever.
¹³ For Your lovingkindness toward me is great,
And You have ^(EX)delivered my soul from the ^[aq]depths of ^[ar]Sheol.

¹⁴ O God, arrogant men have ^(EY)risen up against me,
And ^[as]a band of violent men have sought my ^[at]life,
And they have not set You before them.
¹⁵ But You, O Lord, are a God ^(EZ)merciful and gracious,
Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and ^[au]truth.
^16 (FA)Turn to me, and be gracious to me;
Oh ^(FB)grant Your strength to Your servant,
And save the ^(FC)son of Your handmaid.
^17 (FD)Show me a sign for good,
That those who hate me may ^(FE)see it and be ashamed,
Because You, O Lord, ^(FF)have helped me and comforted me.

¹⁰ Will You perform wonders for the dead?
Will ^(GN)the ^[bi]departed spirits rise and praise You? Selah.
¹¹ Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave,
Your faithfulness in ^[bj]Abaddon?
¹² Will Your wonders be made known in the ^(GO)darkness?
And Your ^[bk]righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?

¹³ But I, O Lord, have cried out ^(GP)to You for help,
And ^(GQ)in the morning my prayer comes before You.
¹⁴ O Lord, why ^(GR)do You reject my soul?
Why do You ^(GS)hide Your face from me?
¹⁵ I was afflicted and ^(GT)about to die from my youth on;
I suffer ^(GU)Your terrors; I am ^[bl]overcome.
¹⁶ Your ^(GV)burning anger has passed over me;
Your terrors have ^[bm](GW)destroyed me.
¹⁷ They have ^(GX)surrounded me ^(GY)like water all day long;
They have ^(GZ)encompassed me altogether.
¹⁸ You have removed ^(HA)lover and friend far from me;
My acquaintances are in darkness.