Psalm 9-11

Christian Standard Bible

Psalm 9

Celebration of God’s Justice

For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A psalm of David.

¹I will thank the Lord with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous works.^(A)
²I will rejoice and boast about you;^(B)
I will sing about your name, Most High.^(C)

³When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before you.^(D)
⁴For you have upheld my just cause;^(E)
you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.^(F)
⁵You have rebuked the nations:^(G)
You have destroyed the wicked;^(H)
you have erased their name forever and ever.^(I)
⁶The enemy has come to eternal ruin;
you have uprooted the cities,
and the very memory of them has perished.^(J)

⁷But the Lord sits enthroned forever;^(K)
he has established his throne for judgment.^(L)
⁸And he judges the world with righteousness;
he executes judgment on the nations with fairness.^(M)
⁹The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted,
a refuge in times of trouble.^(N)
¹⁰Those who know your name trust in you
because you have not abandoned
those who seek you, Lord.^(O)

¹¹Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;^(P)
proclaim his deeds among the nations.^(Q)
¹²For the one who seeks an accounting
for bloodshed remembers them;^(R)
he does not forget the cry of the oppressed.^(S)

¹³Be gracious to me, Lord;
consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.^(T)
Lift me up from the gates of death,^(U)
¹⁴so that I may declare all your praises.
I will rejoice in your salvation^(V)
within the gates of Daughter Zion.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.^(W)
¹⁶The Lord has made himself known;
he has executed justice,^(X)
snaring the wicked
by the work of their hands.^(Y)Higgaion. Selah

¹⁷The wicked will return to Sheol^(Z)—
all the nations that forget God.^(AA)
¹⁸For the needy will not always be forgotten;
the hope of the oppressed^[a] will not perish forever.^(AB)

¹⁹Rise up, Lord! Do not let mere humans prevail;
let the nations be judged in your presence.^(AC)
²⁰Put terror in them, Lord;^(AD)
let the nations know they are only humans.^(AE)Selah

Psalm 10

Need for God’s Justice

¹Lord,^[b]^[c] why do you stand so far away?^(AF)
Why do you hide in times of trouble?^(AG)
²In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.^(AH)

³For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;^(AI)
the one who is greedy curses^[d] and despises the Lord.^(AJ)
⁴In all his scheming,
the wicked person arrogantly thinks,^[e]
“There’s no accountability,
since there’s no God.”^(AK)
⁵His ways are always secure;^[f]
your lofty judgments have no effect on him;^[g]
he scoffs at all his adversaries.^(AL)
⁶He says to himself, “I will never be moved—
from generation to generation I will be without calamity.”^(AM)
⁷Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.^(AN)
⁸He waits in ambush near settlements;^(AO)
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;^(AP)
⁹he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize a victim;
he seizes a victim and drags him in his net.
¹⁰So he is oppressed and beaten down;
helpless people fall because of the wicked one’s strength.^(AQ)
¹¹He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
he hides his face and will never see.”^(AR)

¹²Rise up, Lord God! Lift up your hand.^(AS)
Do not forget the oppressed.^(AT)
¹³Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”^(AU)
¹⁴But you yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into your hands.^(AV)
The helpless one entrusts himself to you;
you are a helper of the fatherless.^(AW)
¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked, evil person,^(AX)
until you look for his wickedness,
but it can’t be found.^(AY)

¹⁶The Lord is King forever and ever;^(AZ)
the nations will perish from his land.^(BA)
¹⁷Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble;
you will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,^(BB)
¹⁸doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that mere humans from the earth may terrify them no more.^(BC)

Psalm 11

Refuge in the Lord

For the choir director. Of David.

¹I have taken refuge in the Lord.^(BD)
How can you say to me,
“Escape to the mountains^[h] like a bird!^(BE)
²For look, the wicked string bows;
they put their arrows on bowstrings
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.^(BF)
³When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?” ^(BG)

⁴The Lord is in his holy temple;^(BH)
the Lord—his throne is in heaven.^(BI)
His eyes watch;
his gaze^[i] examines everyone.^[j]
⁵The Lord examines the righteous,
but he hates the wicked
and^[k] those who love violence.^(BJ)
⁶Let him rain burning coals^[l] and sulfur on the wicked;
let a scorching wind be the portion in their cup.^(BK)
⁷For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds.
The upright will see his face.^(BL)

Footnotes

9:18 Alt Hb tradition reads humble
10:1 Some Hb mss, LXX connect Pss 9–10.
10:1 Together Pss 9–10 form a partial acrostic.
10:3 Or he blesses the greedy
10:4 Lit wicked according to the height of his nose
10:5 Or prosperous
10:5 Lit judgments are away from in front of him
11:1 Lit your mountain
11:4 Lit eyelids
11:4 Or examines the descendants of Adam
11:5 Or righteous and the wicked, and he hates
11:6 Sym; MT reads rain snares, fire

Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

The Christian Standard Bible. Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible®, and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers, all rights reserved.