Psalm 9-16
Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 9
Celebration of God’s Justice
For the choir director: according to Muth-labben. A psalm of David.
1 I will thank the Lord with all my heart;
I will declare all your wondrous works.(A)
2 I will rejoice and boast about you;(B)
I will sing about your name, Most High.(C)
3 When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before you.(D)
4 For you have upheld my just cause;(E)
you are seated on your throne as a righteous judge.(F)
5 You have rebuked the nations:(G)
You have destroyed the wicked;(H)
you have erased their name forever and ever.(I)
6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin;
you have uprooted the cities,
and the very memory of them has perished.(J)
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;(K)
he has established his throne for judgment.(L)
8 And he judges the world with righteousness;
he executes judgment on the nations with fairness.(M)
9 The Lord is a refuge for the persecuted,
a refuge in times of trouble.(N)
10 Those who know your name trust in you
because you have not abandoned
those who seek you, Lord.(O)
11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;(P)
proclaim his deeds among the nations.(Q)
12 For the one who seeks an accounting
for bloodshed remembers them;(R)
he does not forget the cry of the oppressed.(S)
13 Be 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)
14 so that I may declare all your praises.
I will rejoice in your salvation(V)
within the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.(W)
16 The Lord has made himself known;
he has executed justice,(X)
snaring the wicked
by the work of their hands.(Y)Higgaion. Selah
17 The wicked will return to Sheol(Z)—
all the nations that forget God.(AA)
18 For the needy will not always be forgotten;
the hope of the oppressed[a] will not perish forever.(AB)
19 Rise up, Lord! Do not let mere humans prevail;
let the nations be judged in your presence.(AC)
20 Put terror in them, Lord;(AD)
let the nations know they are only humans.(AE)Selah
Psalm 10
Need for God’s Justice
1 Lord,[b][c] why do you stand so far away?(AF)
Why do you hide in times of trouble?(AG)
2 In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue their victims;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(AH)
3 For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;(AI)
the one who is greedy curses[d] and despises the Lord.(AJ)
4 In all his scheming,
the wicked person arrogantly thinks,[e]
“There’s no accountability,
since there’s no God.”(AK)
5 His ways are always secure;[f]
your lofty judgments have no effect on him;[g]
he scoffs at all his adversaries.(AL)
6 He says to himself, “I will never be moved—
from generation to generation I will be without calamity.”(AM)
7 Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.(AN)
8 He waits in ambush near settlements;(AO)
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;(AP)
9 he 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.
10 So he is oppressed and beaten down;
helpless people fall because of the wicked one’s strength.(AQ)
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
he hides his face and will never see.”(AR)
12 Rise up, Lord God! Lift up your hand.(AS)
Do not forget the oppressed.(AT)
13 Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”(AU)
14 But 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)
15 Break the arm of the wicked, evil person,(AX)
until you look for his wickedness,
but it can’t be found.(AY)
16 The Lord is King forever and ever;(AZ)
the nations will perish from his land.(BA)
17 Lord, you have heard the desire of the humble;
you will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,(BB)
18 doing 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.
1 I have taken refuge in the Lord.(BD)
How can you say to me,
“Escape to the mountains[h] like a bird!(BE)
2 For look, the wicked string bows;
they put their arrows on bowstrings
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.(BF)
3 When the foundations are destroyed,
what can the righteous do?” (BG)
4 The Lord is in his holy temple;(BH)
the Lord—his throne is in heaven.(BI)
His eyes watch;
his gaze[i] examines everyone.[j]
5 The Lord examines the righteous,
but he hates the wicked
and[k] those who love violence.(BJ)
6 Let him rain burning coals[l] and sulfur on the wicked;
let a scorching wind be the portion in their cup.(BK)
7 For the Lord is righteous; he loves righteous deeds.
The upright will see his face.(BL)
Psalm 12
Oppression by the Wicked
For the choir director: according to Sheminith.(BM) A psalm of David.
1 Help, Lord, for no faithful one remains;
the loyal have disappeared from the human race.[m](BN)
2 They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.(BO)
3 May the Lord cut off all flattering lips
and the tongue that speaks boastfully.(BP)
4 They say, “Through our tongues we have power;
our lips are our own—who can be our master?” (BQ)
5 “Because of the devastation of the needy
and the groaning of the poor,
I will now rise up,” says the Lord.
“I will provide safety for the one who longs for it.”(BR)
6 The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in an earthen furnace,
purified seven times.(BS)
7 You, Lord, will guard us;[n]
you will protect us[o] from this generation forever.(BT)
8 The wicked prowl[p] all around,
and what is worthless is exalted by the human race.(BU)
Psalm 13
A Plea for Deliverance
For the choir director. A psalm of David.
1 How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?(BV)
2 How long will I store up anxious concerns[q] within me,
agony in my mind every day?
How long will my enemy dominate me?(BW)
3 Consider me and answer, Lord my God.
Restore brightness to my eyes;(BX)
otherwise, I will sleep in death.
4 My enemy will say, “I have triumphed over him,”
and my foes will rejoice because I am shaken.(BY)
5 But I have trusted in your faithful love;(BZ)
my heart will rejoice in your deliverance.(CA)
6 I will sing to the Lord
because he has treated me generously.(CB)
Psalm 14
A Portrait of Sinners
For the choir director. Of David.
1 The fool says in his heart, “There’s no God.”(CC)
They are corrupt; they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on the human race[r](CD)
to see if there is one who is wise,
one who seeks God.
3 All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.(CE)
4 Will evildoers never understand?
They consume my people as they consume bread;(CF)
they do not call on the Lord.(CG)
5 Then[s] they will be filled with dread,
for God is with those who are[t] righteous.(CH)
6 You sinners frustrate the plans of the oppressed,(CI)
but the Lord is his refuge.(CJ)
7 Oh, that Israel’s deliverance would come from Zion!
When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people,[u]
let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.(CK)
Psalm 15
A Description of the Godly
A psalm of David.
2 The one who lives blamelessly, practices righteousness,
and acknowledges the truth in his heart(CN)—
3 who does not slander with his tongue,(CO)
who does not harm his friend
or discredit his neighbor,(CP)
4 who despises the one rejected by the Lord[v]
but honors those who fear the Lord,(CQ)
who keeps his word whatever the cost,(CR)
5 who does not lend his silver at interest(CS)
or take a bribe against the innocent(CT)—
the one who does these things will never be shaken.(CU)
Psalm 16
Confidence in the Lord
A Miktam of David.(CV)
1 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you.(CW)
2 I[w] said to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
I have nothing good besides you.”[x](CX)
3 As for the holy people who are in the land,(CY)
they are the noble ones.
All my delight is in them.
4 The sorrows of those who take another god
for themselves will multiply;
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
and I will not speak their names with my lips.(CZ)
5 Lord, you are my portion[y]
and my cup of blessing;
you hold my future.(DA)
6 The boundary lines have fallen for me
in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.(DB)
7 I will bless the Lord who counsels me(DC)—
even at night when my thoughts trouble me.[z](DD)
8 I always let the Lord guide me.[aa]
Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.(DE)
9 Therefore my heart is glad
and my whole being rejoices;
my body also rests securely.(DF)
10 For you will not abandon me to Sheol;(DG)
you will not allow your faithful one to see decay.(DH)
11 You reveal the path of life to me;
in your presence is abundant joy;(DI)
at your right hand are eternal pleasures.(DJ)
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
- 12:1 Or the descendants of Adam, also in v. 8
- 12:7 Some Hb mss, LXX, Jer; other Hb mss read them
- 12:7 Some Hb mss, LXX; other Hb mss read him
- 12:8 Lit walk about
- 13:2 Or up counsels
- 14:2 Or the descendants of Adam
- 14:5 Or There
- 14:5 Lit with the generation of the
- 14:7 Or restores his captive people
- 15:4 Lit in his eyes the rejected is despised
- 16:2 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr, Jer; other Hb mss read You
- 16:2 Or “Lord, my good; there is none besides you.”
- 16:5 Or allotted portion
- 16:7 Or at night my heart instructs me
- 16:8 Lit I place the Lord in front of me always
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.
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