Psalm 42-49

New International Reader's Version

⁵ My spirit, why are you so sad?
    Why are you so upset deep down inside me?
Put your hope in God.
    Once again I will have reason to praise him.
    He is my Savior and my God.

⁶ My spirit is very sad deep down inside me.
    So I will remember you here where the Jordan River begins.
I will remember you here on the Hermon mountains
    and on Mount Mizar.
⁷ You have sent wave upon wave of trouble over me.
    It roars down on me like a waterfall.
All your waves and breakers have rolled over me.

⁸ During the day the Lord sends his love to me.
    During the night I sing about him.
    I say a prayer to the God who gives me life.

⁹ I say to God my Rock,
    “Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I go around in sorrow?
    Why am I treated so badly by my enemies?”
¹⁰ My body suffers deadly pain
    as my enemies make fun of me.
All day long they say to me,
    “Where is your God?”

¹¹ My spirit, why are you so sad?
    Why are you so upset deep down inside me?
Put your hope in God.
    Once again I will have reason to praise him.
    He is my Savior and my God.

43 My God, when you hand down your decision, let it be in my favor.
    Stand up for me against an unfaithful nation.
    Save me from those lying and sinful people.
² You are God, my place of safety.
    Why have you turned your back on me?
Why must I go around in sorrow?
    Why am I beaten down by my enemies?
³ Send me your light and your faithful care.
    Let them lead me.
Let them bring me back to your holy mountain,
    to the place where you live.
⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God.
    I will go to God. He is my joy and my delight.
God, you are my God.
    I will praise you by playing the lyre.

⁵ My spirit, why are you so sad?
    Why are you so upset deep down inside me?
Put your hope in God.
    Once again I will have reason to praise him.
    He is my Savior and my God.

⁴ You are my King and my God.
    You give victories to the people of Jacob.
⁵ With your help we push back our enemies.
    By your power we walk all over them.
⁶ I put no trust in my bow.
    My sword doesn’t bring me victory.
⁷ But you give us victory over our enemies.
    You put them to shame.
⁸ All day long we talk about how great God is.
    We will praise your name forever.

⁹ But now you have turned your back on us and made us humble.
    You don’t march out with our armies anymore.
¹⁰ You made us turn and run from our enemies.
    They have taken what belongs to us.
¹¹ You handed us over to be eaten up like sheep.
    You have scattered us among the nations.
¹² You sold your people for very little.
    You didn’t gain anything when you sold them.

¹³ You have made us something that our neighbors laugh at.
    Those who live around us make fun of us and tease us.
¹⁴ The nations make jokes about us.
    They shake their heads at us.
¹⁵ All day long I have to live with my shame.
    My face is covered with it.
¹⁶ That’s because they laugh at me and attack me with their words.
    They want to get even with me.

¹⁷ All of this happened to us,
    even though we had not forgotten you.
    We had not broken the covenant you made with us.
¹⁸ Our hearts had not turned away from you.
    Our feet had not wandered from your path.
¹⁹ But you crushed us and left us to the wild dogs.
    You covered us over with deep darkness.

²⁰ We didn’t forget our God.
    We didn’t spread out our hands in prayer to a false god.
²¹ If we had, God would have discovered it.
    He knows the secrets of our hearts.
²² But because of you, we face death all day long.
    We are considered as sheep to be killed.

²³ Lord, wake up! Why are you sleeping?
    Get up! Don’t say no to us forever.
²⁴ Why do you turn your face away from us?
    Why do you forget our pain and troubles?

²⁵ We are brought down to the dust.
    Our bodies lie flat on the ground.
²⁶ Rise up and help us.
    Save us because of your faithful love.

² You are the most excellent of men.
    Your lips have been given the ability to speak gracious words.
    God has blessed you forever.
³ Mighty one, put your sword at your side.
    Put on glory and majesty as if they were your clothes.
⁴ In your majesty ride out with power
    to fight for what is true, humble and fair.
    Let your right hand do wonderful things.
⁵ Shoot your sharp arrows into the hearts of your enemies.
    Let the nations come under your control.
⁶ Your throne is the very throne of God.
    Your kingdom will last for ever and ever.
    You will rule by treating everyone fairly.
⁷ You love what is right and hate what is evil.
    So your God has placed you above your companions.
    He has filled you with joy by pouring the sacred oil on your head.
⁸ Myrrh and aloes and cassia make all your robes smell good.
    In palaces decorated with ivory
    the music played on stringed instruments makes you glad.
⁹ Daughters of kings are among the women you honor.
    At your right hand is the royal bride dressed in gold from Ophir.

¹⁰ Royal bride, listen and pay careful attention.
    Forget about your people and the home you came from.
¹¹ Let the king be charmed by your beauty.
    Honor him. He is now your master.
¹² The people of Tyre will come with gifts.
    Wealthy people will try to gain your favor.

¹³ In her room, the princess looks glorious.
    Her gown has gold threads running through it.
¹⁴ Dressed in beautiful clothes, she is led to the king.
    Her virgin companions follow her.
    They have been brought to be with her.
¹⁵ They are led in with joy and gladness.
    They enter the palace of the king.

¹⁶ Your sons will rule just as your father and grandfather did.
    You will make them princes through the whole land.
¹⁷ I will make sure that people will always remember you.
    The nations will praise you for ever and ever.

⁴ God’s blessings are like a river. They fill the city of God with joy.
    That city is the holy place where the Most High God lives.
⁵ Because God is there, the city will not fall.
    God will help it at the beginning of the day.
⁶ Nations are in disorder. Kingdoms fall.
    God speaks, and the people of the earth melt in fear.

⁷ The Lord who rules over all is with us.
    The God of Jacob is like a fort to us.

⁸ Come and see what the Lord has done.
    See the places he has destroyed on the earth.
⁹ He makes wars stop from one end of the earth to the other.
    He breaks every bow. He snaps every spear.
    He burns every shield with fire.
¹⁰ He says, “Be still, and know that I am God.
    I will be honored among the nations.
    I will be honored in the earth.”

¹¹ The Lord who rules over all is with us.
    The God of Jacob is like a fort to us.

⁵ God went up to his throne while his people were shouting with joy.
    The Lord went up while trumpets were playing.
⁶ Sing praises to God. Sing praises.
    Sing praises to our King. Sing praises.

⁷ God is the King of the whole earth.
    Sing a psalm of praise to him.
⁸ God rules over the nations.
    He is seated on his holy throne.
⁹ The nobles of the nations come together.
    They are now part of the people of the God of Abraham.
The kings of the earth belong to God.
    He is greatly honored.

⁴ Many kings joined forces.
    They entered Israel together.
⁵ But when they saw Mount Zion, they were amazed.
    They ran away in terror.
⁶ Trembling took hold of them.
    They felt pain like a woman giving birth.
⁷ Lord, you destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
    that were torn apart by an east wind.

⁸ What we heard we have also seen.
    We have seen it
in the city of the Lord who rules over all.
    We have seen it in the city of our God.
    We have heard and seen that God makes it secure forever.

⁹ God, inside your temple
    we think about your faithful love.
¹⁰ God, your fame reaches from one end of the earth to the other.
    So people praise you from one end of the earth to the other.
    You use your power to do what is right.
¹¹ Mount Zion is filled with joy.
    The villages of Judah are glad.
    That’s because you judge fairly.

¹² Walk all around Zion.
    Count its towers.
¹³ Think carefully about its outer walls.
    Just look at how safe it is!
    Then you can tell its people that God keeps them safe.
¹⁴ This God is our God for ever and ever.
    He will be our guide to the very end.

⁵ Why should I be afraid when trouble comes?
    Why should I fear when sinners are all around me?
    They are the kind of people who want to take advantage of me.
⁶ They trust in their wealth.
    They brag about how rich they are.
⁷ No one can pay for the life of anyone else.
    No one can give God what that would cost.
⁸ The price for a life is very high.
    No payment is ever enough.
⁹ No one can pay enough to live forever
    and not rot in the grave.

¹⁰ Everyone can see that even wise people die.
    People who are foolish and who have no sense also pass away.
    All of them leave their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their tombs will remain their houses forever.
    Their graves will be their homes for all time to come.
    Naming lands after themselves won’t help either.

¹² Even though people may be very rich, they don’t live on and on.
    They are like the animals. They die.

¹³ That’s what happens to those who trust in themselves.
    It also happens to their followers, who agree with what they say.
¹⁴ They are like sheep and will end up in the grave.
    Death will be their shepherd.
But when honest people come to power, a new day will dawn.
    The bodies of sinners will waste away in the grave.
    They will end up far away from their princely houses.
¹⁵ But God will save me from the place of the dead.
    He will certainly take me to himself.

¹⁶ Don’t get too upset when other people become rich.
    Don’t be troubled when they become more and more wealthy.
¹⁷ They won’t take anything with them when they die.
    Their riches won’t go down to the grave with them.
¹⁸ While they lived, they believed they were blessed.
    People praised them when things were going well for them.
¹⁹ But they will die, like their people of long ago.
    They will never again see the light of life.

²⁰ People who have riches but don’t understand
    are like the animals. They die.