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Psalm 143

A psalm of David.

143 Listen to my prayer, Lord!
    Because of your faithfulness, hear my requests for mercy!
    Because of your righteousness, answer me!
Please don’t bring your servant to judgment,
    because no living thing is righteous before you.

The enemy is chasing me,[a]
    crushing my life in the dirt,
        forcing me to live in the dark
            like those who’ve been dead forever.
My spirit is weak inside me—
    inside, my mind is numb.

I remember the days long past;
    I meditate on all your deeds;
    I contemplate your handiwork.
I stretch out my hands to you;
    my whole being is like dry dirt, thirsting for you.[b] Selah

Answer me, Lord—and quickly! My breath is fading.
    Don’t hide your face from me
        or I’ll be like those going down to the pit!
Tell me all about your faithful love come morning time,
    because I trust you.
Show me the way I should go,
    because I offer my life up to you.
Deliver me from my enemies, Lord!
    I seek protection from you.[c]
10 Teach me to do what pleases you,
    because you are my God.
Guide me by your good spirit
        into good land.
11 Make me live again, Lord, for your name’s sake.
    Bring me out of distress because of your righteousness.
12 Wipe out my enemies because of your faithful love.
    Destroy everyone who attacks me,
        because I am your servant.

Psalm 144

Of David.

144 Bless the Lord, my rock,
    who taught my hands how to fight,
    who taught my fingers how to do battle!
God is my loyal one, my fortress,
    my place of safety, my rescuer,
    my shield, in whom I take refuge,
        and the one who subdues people before me.

What are human beings, Lord, that you know them at all?
    What are human beings that you even consider them?
Humans are like a puff of air;
    their days go by like a shadow.

Lord, part your skies and come down!
    Touch the mountains so they smoke!
Flash lightning and scatter the enemy!
    Shoot your arrows and defeat them!
Stretch out your hand from above!
    Rescue me and deliver me from deep water,
    from the power of strangers, whose mouths speak lies,
        and whose strong hand is a strong hand of deception!

I will sing a new song to you, God.
    I will sing praises to you on a ten-stringed harp,
10         to you—the one who gives saving help to rulers,
        and who rescues his servant David from the evil sword.
11 Rescue me and deliver me from the power of strangers,
        whose mouths speak lies,
        and whose strong hand is a strong hand of deception,
12     so that[d] our sons can grow up fully, in their youth, like plants;
    so that our daughters can be like pillars carved to decorate a palace;
13     so that our barns can be full, providing all kinds of food;
    so that our flocks can be in the thousands—
        even tens of thousands—in our fields;
14     so that our cattle can be loaded with calves;
    so that there won’t be any breach in the walls,
    no exile, no outcries in our streets!

15 The people who have it like this are truly happy!
    The people whose God is the Lord are truly happy!

Psalm 145[e]

Praise. Of David.

145 I will lift you up high, my God, the true king.
    I will bless your name forever and always.
I will bless you every day.
    I will praise your name forever and always.
The Lord is great and so worthy of praise!
    God’s greatness can’t be grasped.
One generation will praise your works to the next one,
    proclaiming your mighty acts.
They will talk all about[f] the glorious splendor of your majesty;
    I will contemplate your wondrous works.
They will speak of the power of your awesome deeds;
    I will declare your great accomplishments.
They will rave in celebration of your abundant goodness;
    they will shout joyfully about your righteousness:
    “The Lord is merciful and compassionate,
    very patient, and full of faithful love.
    The Lord is good to everyone and everything;
    God’s compassion extends to all his handiwork!”
10 All that you have made gives thanks to you, Lord;
    all your faithful ones bless you!
11 They speak of the glory of your kingdom;
    they talk all about your power,
12     to inform all human beings about God’s power
    and the majestic glory of God’s kingdom.
13 Your kingdom is a kingship that lasts forever;
    your rule endures for all generations.
The Lord is trustworthy in all that he says,
    faithful in all that he does.[g]
14 The Lord supports all who fall down,
    straightens up all who are bent low.
15 All eyes look to you, hoping,
    and you give them their food right on time,
16     opening your hand
    and satisfying the desire of every living thing.
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways,
    faithful in all his deeds.
18 The Lord is close to everyone who calls out to him,
    to all who call out to him sincerely.
19 God shows favor to those who honor him,
    listening to their cries for help and saving them.
20 The Lord protects all who love him,
    but he destroys every wicked person.
21 My mouth will proclaim the Lord’s praise,
    and every living thing will bless God’s holy name
        forever and always.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 143:3 Or my soul; also in 143:6, 8, 11-12
  2. Psalm 143:6 Heb lacks thirsting.
  3. Psalm 143:9 Heb uncertain; MT to you I have hidden
  4. Psalm 144:12 Heb uncertain
  5. Psalm 145:1 Ps 145 is an alphabetic acrostic poem; see the note at Pss 9–10.
  6. Psalm 145:5 LXX, Syr, DSS (11QPsa); MT and words of
  7. Psalm 145:13 LXX, DSS (11QPsa), Syr; MT lacks these lines, but they correspond to the nun line in the alphabetic acrostic poem.

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