Psalm 3-4

English Standard Version

Save Me, O My God

A Psalm of David, ^(A)when he fled from Absalom his son.

3 O Lord, ^(B)how many are my foes!
Many are ^(C)rising against me;
²many are saying of my soul,
^(D)“There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah^[a]

³But you, O Lord, are ^(E)a shield ^(F)about me,
my glory, and ^(G)the lifter of my head.
⁴I ^(H)cried aloud to the Lord,
and he ^(I)answered me from his ^(J)holy hill. Selah

⁵I ^(K)lay down and slept;
I woke again, for the Lord sustained me.
⁶I ^(L)will not be afraid of many thousands of people
who have ^(M)set themselves against me all around.

⁷^(N)Arise, O Lord!
Save me, O my God!
For you ^(O)strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you ^(P)break the teeth of the wicked.

⁸^(Q)Salvation belongs to the Lord;
your blessing be on your people! Selah

Answer Me When I Call

To the ^(R)choirmaster: with ^(S)stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.

4 Answer me when I call, O God of my ^(T)righteousness!
You have ^(U)given me relief when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me and hear my prayer!

²O men,^[b] how long shall my honor be turned into shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after ^(V)lies? Selah
³But know that the Lord has ^(W)set apart ^(X)the godly for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.

⁴^(Y)Be angry,^[c] and do not sin;
^(Z)ponder in your own hearts ^(AA)on your beds, and be silent. Selah
⁵Offer ^(AB)right sacrifices,
and put your ^(AC)trust in the Lord.

⁶There are many who say, “Who will show us some good?
^(AD)Lift up ^(AE)the light of your face upon us, O Lord!”
⁷You have put ^(AF)more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and wine abound.

⁸In peace I will both ^(AG)lie down and sleep;
for you alone, O Lord, make me ^(AH)dwell in safety.

Footnotes

Psalm 3:2 The meaning of the Hebrew word Selah, used frequently in the Psalms, is uncertain. It may be a musical or liturgical direction
Psalm 4:2 Or O men of rank
Psalm 4:4 Or Be agitated

Psalm 12-13

English Standard Version

The Faithful Have Vanished

To the choirmaster: according to The Sheminith.^[a] A Psalm of David.

12 Save, O Lord, for ^(A)the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
²Everyone ^(B)utters lies to his neighbor;
with ^(C)flattering lips and ^(D)a double heart they speak.

³May the Lord cut off all ^(E)flattering lips,
the tongue that makes ^(F)great boasts,
⁴those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”

⁵“Because ^(G)the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
    ^(H)I will now arise,” says the Lord;
    “I will place him in the ^(I)safety for which he longs.”
⁶^(J)The words of the Lord are pure words,
    like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
    purified seven times.

⁷You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us^[b] from this generation forever.
⁸On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.

How Long, O Lord?

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

13 ^(K)How long, O Lord? Will you ^(L)forget me forever?
How long will you ^(M)hide your face from me?
²How long must I take ^(N)counsel in my soul
and have sorrow in my heart all the day?
How long shall my enemy be exalted over me?

³^(O)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
^(P)light up my eyes, lest ^(Q)I sleep the sleep of death,
⁴^(R)lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,”
lest my foes rejoice because I am ^(S)shaken.

⁵But I have ^(T)trusted in your steadfast love;
my heart shall ^(U)rejoice in your salvation.
⁶I will sing to the Lord,
because he has dealt bountifully with me.

Footnotes

Psalm 12:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
Psalm 12:7 Or guard him

Psalm 28

English Standard Version

The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield

Of David.

28 To you, O Lord, I call;
    ^(A)my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you ^(B)be silent to me,
    I become like those who ^(C)go down to the pit.
²^(D)Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
    when I cry to you for help,
when I ^(E)lift up my hands
    ^(F)toward your most holy sanctuary.^[a]

³Do not ^(G)drag me off with the wicked,
    with the workers of evil,
^(H)who speak peace with their neighbors
    while evil is in their hearts.
⁴^(I)Give to them according to their work
    and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands;
    ^(J)render them their due reward.
⁵Because they ^(K)do not regard the works of the Lord
    or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and build them up no more.

⁶Blessed be the Lord!
    For he has ^(L)heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
⁷The Lord is my strength and ^(M)my shield;
    in him my heart ^(N)trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
    and with my ^(O)song I give thanks to him.

⁸The Lord is the strength of his people;^[b]
he is ^(P)the saving refuge of his anointed.
⁹Oh, save your people and bless ^(Q)your heritage!
^(R)Be their shepherd and ^(S)carry them forever.

Footnotes

Psalm 28:2 Hebrew your innermost sanctuary
Psalm 28:8 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts is their strength

Psalm 55

English Standard Version

Cast Your Burden on the Lord

To the choirmaster: with ^(A)stringed instruments. A Maskil^[a] of David.

55 ^(B)Give ear to my prayer, O God,
    and hide not yourself from my plea for mercy!
²Attend to me, and answer me;
    I am restless ^(C)in my complaint and I ^(D)moan,
³because of the noise of the enemy,
    because of the oppression of the wicked.
For they ^(E)drop trouble upon me,
    and in anger they bear a grudge against me.

⁴My heart is in anguish within me;
    ^(F)the terrors of death have fallen upon me.
⁵Fear and trembling come upon me,
    and ^(G)horror ^(H)overwhelms me.
⁶And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest;
⁷^(I)yes, I would wander far away;
    I would lodge in the wilderness; Selah
⁸I would hurry to find a shelter
    from ^(J)the raging wind and tempest.”

⁹Destroy, O Lord, ^(K)divide their tongues;
    for I see ^(L)violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰Day and night they go around it
    on its walls,
and ^(M)iniquity and trouble are within it;
¹¹    ruin is in its midst;
^(N)oppression and fraud
    do not depart from its marketplace.

¹²For it is not an enemy who taunts me—
    then I could bear it;
it is not an adversary who ^(O)deals insolently with me—
    then I could hide from him.
¹³^(P)But it is you, a man, my equal,
    my companion, my familiar friend.
¹⁴We used to take sweet counsel together;
    within God's house we walked in ^(Q)the throng.
¹⁵Let death steal over them;
    let them go down to Sheol ^(R)alive;
    for evil is in their dwelling place and in their heart.

¹⁶But I call to God,
    and the Lord will save me.
¹⁷^(S)Evening and ^(T)morning and at ^(U)noon
    I ^(V)utter my complaint and moan,
    and he hears my voice.
¹⁸He redeems my soul in safety
    from the battle that I wage,
    for ^(W)many are arrayed against me.
¹⁹God will give ear and humble them,
    he who is ^(X)enthroned from of old, Selah
because they do not ^(Y)change
    and do not fear God.

²⁰My companion^[b] ^(Z)stretched out his hand against his friends;
    he violated his covenant.
²¹His ^(AA)speech was ^(AB)smooth as butter,
    yet war was in his heart;
his words were softer than oil,
    yet they were ^(AC)drawn swords.

²²^(AD)Cast your burden on the Lord,
and he will sustain you;
^(AE)he will never permit
the righteous to be moved.

²³But you, O God, ^(AF)will cast them down
into ^(AG)the pit of destruction;
men of ^(AH)blood and treachery
shall not ^(AI)live out half their days.
But I will ^(AJ)trust in you.