Psalm 21-25
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
Psalm 21[a]
Thanksgiving and Assurances for the King
1 For the leader. A psalm of David.
I
2 Lord, the king finds joy in your power;(A)
in your victory how greatly he rejoices!
3 You have granted him his heart’s desire;
you did not refuse the request of his lips.
Selah
4 For you welcomed him with goodly blessings;
you placed on his head a crown of pure gold.
5 He asked life of you;
you gave it to him,
length of days forever.(B)
6 Great is his glory in your victory;
majesty and splendor you confer upon him.
7 You make him the pattern of blessings forever,
you gladden him with the joy of your face.
8 For the king trusts in the Lord,
stands firm through the mercy of the Most High.
II
9 Your hand will find all your enemies;
your right hand will find your foes!
10 At the time of your coming
you will make them a fiery furnace.
Then the Lord in his anger will consume them,
devour them with fire.
11 Even their descendants you will wipe out from the earth,
their offspring from the human race.
12 Though they intend evil against you,
devising plots, they will not succeed,
13 For you will put them to flight;
you will aim at their faces with your bow.
III
14 Arise, Lord, in your power!(C)
We will sing and chant the praise of your might.
Psalm 22[b]
The Prayer of an Innocent Person
1 For the leader; according to “The deer of the dawn.”[c] A psalm of David.
I
2 My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
Why so far from my call for help,
from my cries of anguish?(D)
3 My God, I call by day, but you do not answer;
by night, but I have no relief.(E)
4 Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
you are the glory of Israel.(F)
5 In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted and you rescued them.
6 To you they cried out and they escaped;
in you they trusted and were not disappointed.(G)
7 [d]But I am a worm, not a man,
scorned by men, despised by the people.(H)
8 All who see me mock me;
they curl their lips and jeer;
they shake their heads at me:(I)
9 “He relied on the Lord—let him deliver him;
if he loves him, let him rescue him.”(J)
10 For you drew me forth from the womb,
made me safe at my mother’s breasts.
11 Upon you I was thrust from the womb;
since my mother bore me you are my God.(K)
12 Do not stay far from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is no one to help.(L)
II
13 Many bulls[e] surround me;
fierce bulls of Bashan encircle me.
14 They open their mouths against me,
lions that rend and roar.(M)
15 Like water my life drains away;
all my bones are disjointed.
My heart has become like wax,
it melts away within me.
16 As dry as a potsherd is my throat;
my tongue cleaves to my palate;
you lay me in the dust of death.[f]
17 Dogs surround me;
a pack of evildoers closes in on me.
They have pierced my hands and my feet
18 I can count all my bones.(N)
They stare at me and gloat;
19 they divide my garments among them;
for my clothing they cast lots.(O)
20 But you, Lord, do not stay far off;
my strength, come quickly to help me.
21 Deliver my soul from the sword,
my life from the grip of the dog.
22 Save me from the lion’s mouth,
my poor life from the horns of wild bulls.(P)
III
23 Then I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
in the assembly I will praise you:[g](Q)
24 “You who fear the Lord, give praise!
All descendants of Jacob, give honor;
show reverence, all descendants of Israel!
25 For he has not spurned or disdained
the misery of this poor wretch,
Did not turn away[h] from me,
but heard me when I cried out.
26 I will offer praise in the great assembly;
my vows I will fulfill before those who fear him.
27 The poor[i] will eat their fill;
those who seek the Lord will offer praise.
May your hearts enjoy life forever!”(R)
IV
28 All the ends of the earth
will remember and turn to the Lord;
All the families of nations
will bow low before him.(S)
29 For kingship belongs to the Lord,
the ruler over the nations.(T)
30 [j]All who sleep in the earth
will bow low before God;
All who have gone down into the dust
will kneel in homage.
31 And I will live for the Lord;
my descendants will serve you.
32 The generation to come will be told of the Lord,
that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn
the deliverance you have brought.(U)
Psalm 23[k]
The Lord, Shepherd and Host
1 A psalm of David.
I
The Lord is my shepherd;[l]
there is nothing I lack.(V)
2 In green pastures he makes me lie down;
to still waters he leads me;
3 (W)he restores my soul.
He guides me along right paths[m]
for the sake of his name.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,(X)
I will fear no evil, for you are with me;
your rod and your staff comfort me.
II
5 [n]You set a table before me
in front of my enemies;
You anoint my head with oil;(Y)
my cup overflows.(Z)
6 Indeed, goodness and mercy[o] will pursue me
all the days of my life;
I will dwell in the house of the Lord(AA)
for endless days.
Psalm 24[p]
The Glory of God in Procession to Zion
1 A psalm of David.
I
The earth is the Lord’s and all it holds,(AB)
the world and those who dwell in it.
2 For he founded it on the seas,
established it over the rivers.(AC)
II
3 Who may go up the mountain of the Lord?(AD)
Who can stand in his holy place?
4 [q]“The clean of hand and pure of heart,
who has not given his soul to useless things,
what is vain.
5 He will receive blessings from the Lord,
and justice from his saving God.
6 Such is the generation that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.”
Selah
III
7 Lift up your heads, O gates;[r]
be lifted, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may enter.(AE)
8 Who is this king of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty,
the Lord, mighty in war.
9 Lift up your heads, O gates;
rise up, you ancient portals,
that the king of glory may enter.
10 Who is this king of glory?
The Lord of hosts, he is the king of glory.
Selah
Psalm 25[s]
Confident Prayer for Forgiveness and Guidance
1 Of David.
I
To you, O Lord, I lift up my soul,
2 (AF)my God, in you I trust;
do not let me be disgraced;(AG)
do not let my enemies gloat over me.
3 No one is disgraced who waits for you,(AH)
but only those who are treacherous without cause.
4 Make known to me your ways, Lord;
teach me your paths.(AI)
5 Guide me by your fidelity and teach me,
for you are God my savior,
for you I wait all the day long.
6 Remember your compassion and your mercy, O Lord,
for they are ages old.(AJ)
7 Remember no more the sins of my youth;(AK)
remember me according to your mercy,
because of your goodness, Lord.
II
8 Good and upright is the Lord,
therefore he shows sinners the way,
9 He guides the humble in righteousness,
and teaches the humble his way.
10 All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth
toward those who honor his covenant and decrees.
11 For the sake of your name, Lord,
pardon my guilt, though it is great.
12 Who is the one who fears the Lord?
God shows him the way he should choose.(AL)
13 He will abide in prosperity,
and his descendants will inherit the land.(AM)
14 The counsel of the Lord belongs to those who fear him;
and his covenant instructs them.
15 My eyes are ever upon the Lord,
who frees my feet from the snare.(AN)
III
16 Look upon me, have pity on me,
for I am alone and afflicted.(AO)
17 Relieve the troubles of my heart;
bring me out of my distress.
18 Look upon my affliction and suffering;
take away all my sins.
19 See how many are my enemies,
see how fiercely they hate me.
20 Preserve my soul and rescue me;
do not let me be disgraced, for in you I seek refuge.
21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me;
I wait for you, O Lord.
22 [t]Redeem Israel, O God,
from all its distress!
Footnotes
- Psalm 21 The first part of this royal Psalm is a thanksgiving (Ps 21:2–8), and the second is a promise that the king will triumph over his enemies (Ps 21:9–13). The king’s confident prayer (Ps 21:3–5) and trust in God (Ps 21:8) enable him to receive the divine gifts of vitality, peace, and military success. Ps 21:14 reprises Ps 21:2. When kings ceased in Israel after the sixth century B.C., the Psalm was sung of a future Davidic king.
- Psalm 22 A lament unusual in structure and in intensity of feeling. The psalmist’s present distress is contrasted with God’s past mercy in Ps 22:2–12. In Ps 22:13–22 enemies surround the psalmist. The last third is an invitation to praise God (Ps 22:23–27), becoming a universal chorus of praise (Ps 22:28–31). The Psalm is important in the New Testament. Its opening words occur on the lips of the crucified Jesus (Mk 15:34; Mt 27:46), and several other verses are quoted, or at least alluded to, in the accounts of Jesus’ passion (Mt 27:35, 43; Jn 19:24).
- 22:1 The deer of the dawn: apparently the title of the melody.
- 22:7 I am a worm, not a man: the psalmist’s sense of isolation and dehumanization, an important motif of Ps 22, is vividly portrayed here.
- 22:13–14 Bulls: the enemies of the psalmist are also portrayed in less-than-human form, as wild animals (cf. Ps 22:17, 21–22). Bashan: a grazing land northeast of the Sea of Galilee, famed for its cattle, cf. Dt 32:14; Ez 39:18; Am 4:1.
- 22:16 The dust of death: the netherworld, the domain of the dead.
- 22:23 In the assembly I will praise you: the person who offered a thanksgiving sacrifice in the Temple recounted to the other worshipers the favor received from God and invited them to share in the sacrificial banquet. The final section (Ps 22:24–32) may be a summary or a citation of the psalmist’s poem of praise.
- 22:25 Turn away: lit., “hides his face from me,” an important metaphor for God withdrawing from someone, e.g., Mi 3:4; Is 8:17; Ps 27:9; 69:18; 88:15.
- 22:27 The poor: originally the poor, who were dependent on God; the term (‘anawim) came to include the religious sense of “humble, pious, devout.”
- 22:30 Hebrew unclear. The translation assumes that all on earth (Ps 22:27–28) and under the earth (Ps 22:29) will worship God.
- Psalm 23 God’s loving care for the psalmist is portrayed under the figures of a shepherd for the flock (Ps 23:1–4) and a host’s generosity toward a guest (Ps 23:5–6). The imagery of both sections is drawn from traditions of the exodus (Is 40:11; 49:10; Jer 31:10).
- 23:1 My shepherd: God as good shepherd is common in both the Old Testament and the New Testament (Ez 34:11–16; Jn 10:11–18).
- 23:3 Right paths: connotes “right way” and “way of righteousness.”
- 23:5 You set a table before me: this expression occurs in an exodus context in Ps 78:19. In front of my enemies: my enemies see that I am God’s friend and guest. Oil: a perfumed ointment made from olive oil, used especially at banquets (Ps 104:15; Mt 26:7; Lk 7:37, 46; Jn 12:2).
- 23:6 Goodness and mercy: the blessings of God’s covenant with Israel.
- Psalm 24 The Psalm apparently accompanied a ceremony of the entry of God (invisibly enthroned upon the ark), followed by the people, into the Temple. The Temple commemorated the creation of the world (Ps 24:1–2). The people had to affirm their fidelity before being admitted into the sanctuary (Ps 24:3–6; cf. Ps 15). A choir identifies the approaching God and invites the very Temple gates to bow down in obeisance (Ps 24:7–10).
- 24:4–5 Lit., “the one whose hands are clean.” The singular is used for the entire class of worshipers.
- 24:7, 9 Lift up your heads, O gates…you ancient portals: the literal meaning would involve disassembly of the gates, since the portcullis (a gate that moves up and down) was unknown in the ancient world. Extra-biblical parallels might also suggest a full personification of the circle of gate towers: they are like a council of elders, bowed down and anxious, awaiting the return of the army and the great warrior gone to battle.
- Psalm 25 A lament. Each verse begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Such acrostic Psalms are often a series of statements only loosely connected. The psalmist mixes ardent pleas (Ps 25:1–2, 16–22) with expressions of confidence in God who forgives and guides.
- 25:22 A final verse beginning with the Hebrew letter pe is added to the normal twenty-two-letter alphabet. Thus the letters aleph, lamed, and pe open the first, middle (Ps 25:11), and last lines of the Psalm. Together, they spell aleph, the first letter of the alphabet, from a Hebrew root that means “to learn.”
Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.