Psalm 83-88

English Standard Version

O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

83 O God, do not keep silence;
    ^(B)do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
²For behold, your enemies ^(C)make an uproar;
    those who hate you have ^(D)raised their heads.
³They lay ^(E)crafty plans against your people;
    they consult together against your ^(F)treasured ones.
⁴They say, “Come, ^(G)let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
⁵For they conspire with one accord;
    against you they make a covenant—
⁶the tents of ^(H)Edom and ^(I)the Ishmaelites,
    ^(J)Moab and ^(K)the Hagrites,
⁷^(L)Gebal and ^(M)Ammon and ^(N)Amalek,
    ^(O)Philistia with the inhabitants of ^(P)Tyre;
⁸^(Q)Asshur also has joined them;
    they are the strong arm of ^(R)the children of Lot. Selah

⁹Do to them as you did to ^(S)Midian,
    as to ^(T)Sisera and Jabin at ^(U)the river Kishon,
¹⁰who were destroyed at ^(V)En-dor,
    who became ^(W)dung for the ground.
¹¹Make their nobles like ^(X)Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like ^(Y)Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹²who said, ^(Z)“Let us take possession for ourselves
    of the pastures of God.”

¹³O my God, make them like ^(AA)whirling dust,^[a]
    like ^(AB)chaff before the wind.
¹⁴As ^(AC)fire consumes the forest,
    as the flame ^(AD)sets the mountains ablaze,
¹⁵so may you pursue them ^(AE)with your tempest
    and terrify them with your hurricane!
¹⁶^(AF)Fill their faces with shame,
    that they may seek your name, O Lord.
¹⁷Let them be ^(AG)put to shame and dismayed forever;
    let them perish in disgrace,
¹⁸that they may ^(AH)know that you alone,
    ^(AI)whose name is the Lord,
    are ^(AJ)the Most High over all the earth.

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to ^(AK)The Gittith.^[b] A Psalm of ^(AL)the Sons of Korah.

84 How ^(AM)lovely is your ^(AN)dwelling place,
    O Lord of hosts!
²My soul ^(AO)longs, yes, ^(AP)faints
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
    to ^(AQ)the living God.

³Even 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,
    ^(AR)my King and my God.
⁴^(AS)Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever ^(AT)singing your praise! Selah

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

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

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

Revive Us Again

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of ^(BJ)the Sons of Korah.

85 Lord, you were ^(BK)favorable to your land;
    you ^(BL)restored the fortunes of Jacob.
²You ^(BM)forgave the iniquity of your people;
    you ^(BN)covered all their sin. Selah
³You withdrew all your wrath;
    you ^(BO)turned from your hot anger.

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

⁸^(BT)Let me hear what God the Lord will speak,
    for he will ^(BU)speak peace to his people, to his ^(BV)saints;
    but let them not ^(BW)turn back to ^(BX)folly.
⁹Surely his ^(BY)salvation is near to those who fear him,
    that ^(BZ)glory may dwell in our land.

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

Great Is Your Steadfast Love

^(CF)A Prayer of David.

86 ^(CG)Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,
    for I am ^(CH)poor and needy.
²Preserve my life, for I am ^(CI)godly;
    save your servant, who ^(CJ)trusts in you—you are my God.
³^(CK)Be gracious to me, O Lord,
    for to you do I cry all the day.
⁴Gladden the soul of your servant,
    for ^(CL)to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.
⁵For you, O Lord, are good and ^(CM)forgiving,
    ^(CN)abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.
⁶^(CO)Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;
    listen to my plea for grace.
⁷In ^(CP)the day of my trouble I call upon you,
    ^(CQ)for you answer me.

⁸There is ^(CR)none like you among the gods, O Lord,
    ^(CS)nor are there any works like yours.
⁹^(CT)All the nations you have made shall come
    and worship before you, O Lord,
    and shall glorify your name.
¹⁰For ^(CU)you are great and ^(CV)do wondrous things;
    ^(CW)you alone are God.
¹¹^(CX)Teach me your way, O Lord,
    that I may ^(CY)walk in your truth;
    ^(CZ)unite my heart to fear your name.
¹²I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart,
    and I will glorify your name forever.
¹³^(DA)For great is your steadfast love toward me;
    you have ^(DB)delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

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

Glorious Things of You Are Spoken

A Psalm of ^(DJ)the Sons of Korah. A Song.

87 On ^(DK)the holy mount ^(DL)stands the city he founded;
²    the Lord ^(DM)loves the gates of Zion
    more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
³^(DN)Glorious things of you are spoken,
    O ^(DO)city of God. Selah

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

⁷^(DU)Singers and ^(DV)dancers alike say,
“All my ^(DW)springs are in you.”

I Cry Out Day and Night Before You

A Song. A Psalm of ^(DX)the Sons of Korah. To the choirmaster: according to ^(DY)Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil^[e] of ^(DZ)Heman the Ezrahite.

88 O Lord, ^(EA)God of my salvation,
I ^(EB)cry out day and night before you.
²Let my prayer come before you;
^(EC)incline your ear to my cry!

³For my soul is full of troubles,
    and ^(ED)my life draws near to ^(EE)Sheol.
⁴I am counted among those who ^(EF)go down to the pit;
    I am a man who has no strength,
⁵like one set loose among the dead,
    like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom ^(EG)you remember no more,
    for they are ^(EH)cut off from your hand.
⁶You have put me in ^(EI)the depths of the pit,
    in the ^(EJ)regions dark and ^(EK)deep.
⁷Your wrath ^(EL)lies heavy upon me,
    and you overwhelm me with ^(EM)all your waves. Selah

⁸You have caused ^(EN)my companions to shun me;
    you have made me ^(EO)a horror^[f] to them.
I am ^(EP)shut in so that I cannot escape;
⁹    ^(EQ)my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call upon you, O Lord;
    I ^(ER)spread out my hands to you.
¹⁰Do you work wonders for the dead?
    ^(ES)Do the departed rise up to praise you? Selah
¹¹Is your steadfast love declared in the grave,
    or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
¹²Are your ^(ET)wonders known in ^(EU)the darkness,
    or your righteousness in the land of ^(EV)forgetfulness?

¹³But I, O Lord, cry ^(EW)to you;
    ^(EX)in the morning my prayer comes before you.
¹⁴O Lord, why ^(EY)do you cast my soul away?
    Why ^(EZ)do you hide your face from me?
¹⁵Afflicted and close to death from my youth up,
    I suffer your terrors; I am helpless.^[g]
¹⁶Your wrath has swept over me;
    your ^(FA)dreadful assaults destroy me.
¹⁷They ^(FB)surround me like a flood ^(FC)all day long;
    they ^(FD)close in on me together.
¹⁸You have caused ^(FE)my beloved and my friend to shun me;
    my companions have become darkness.^[h]