Psalm 63:1-67:7

Complete Jewish Bible

63 ⁽⁰⁾A psalm of David, when he was in the desert of Y’hudah:

²⁽¹⁾O God, you are my God;
I will seek you eagerly.
My heart thirsts for you,
my body longs for you
in a land parched and exhausted,
where no water can be found.
³⁽²⁾I used to contemplate you in the sanctuary,
seeing your power and glory;
⁴⁽³⁾for your grace is better than life.
My lips will worship you.
⁵⁽⁴⁾Yes, I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
⁶⁽⁵⁾I am as satisfied as with rich food;
my mouth praises you with joy on my lips
⁷⁽⁶⁾when I remember you on my bed
and meditate on you in the night watches.

⁸⁽⁷⁾For you have been my help;
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice;
⁹⁽⁸⁾my heart clings to you;
your right hand supports me.

¹⁰⁽⁹⁾But those who seek to destroy my life —
may they go to the lowest parts of the earth.
¹¹⁽¹⁰⁾May they be given over to the power of the sword;
may they become prey for jackals.

¹²⁽¹¹⁾But the king will rejoice in God.
Everyone who swears by him will exult,
for the mouths of liars will be silenced.
64 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. A psalm of David:

²⁽¹⁾Hear my voice, God, as I plead:
preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
³⁽²⁾Hide me from the secret intrigues of the wicked
and the open insurrection of evildoers.
⁴⁽³⁾They sharpen their tongues like a sword;
they aim their arrows, poisoned words,
⁵⁽⁴⁾in order to shoot from cover at the innocent,
shooting suddenly and fearing nothing.
⁶⁽⁵⁾They support each other’s evil plans;
they talk of hiding snares
and ask, “Who would see them?”
⁷⁽⁶⁾They search for ways to commit crimes,
bringing their diligent search to completion
when each of them has thought it through
in the depth of his heart.

⁸⁽⁷⁾Suddenly God shoots them down with an arrow,
leaving them with wounds;
⁹⁽⁸⁾their own tongues make them stumble.
All who see them shake their heads.
¹⁰⁽⁹⁾Everyone is awestruck —
they acknowledge that it is God at work,
they understand what he has done.
¹¹⁽¹⁰⁾The righteous will rejoice in Adonai;
they will take refuge in him;
all the upright in heart will exult.

65 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. A psalm of David. A song:

²⁽¹⁾To you, God, in Tziyon, silence is praise;
and vows to you are to be fulfilled.
³⁽²⁾You who listen to prayer,
to you all living creatures come.
⁴⁽³⁾When deeds of wickedness overwhelm me,
you will atone for our crimes.

⁵⁽⁴⁾How blessed are those you choose and bring near,
so that they can remain in your courtyards!
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the Holy Place of your temple.
⁶⁽⁵⁾It is just that you answer us with awesome deeds,
God of our salvation,
you in whom all put their trust,
to the ends of the earth and on distant seas.
⁷⁽⁶⁾By your strength you set up the mountains.
You are clothed with power.
⁸⁽⁷⁾You still the roaring of the seas,
their crashing waves, and the peoples’ turmoil.
⁹⁽⁸⁾This is why those living at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your signs.
The places where the sun rises and sets
you cause to sing for joy.

¹⁰⁽⁹⁾You care for the earth and water it,
you enrich it greatly;
with the river of God, full of water,
you provide them grain and prepare the ground.
¹¹⁽¹⁰⁾Soaking its furrows and settling its soil,
you soften it with showers and bless its growth.
¹²⁽¹¹⁾You crown the year with your goodness,
your tracks overflow with richness.
¹³⁽¹²⁾The desert pastures drip water,
the hills are wrapped with joy,
¹⁴⁽¹³⁾the meadows are clothed with flocks
and the valleys blanketed with grain,
so they shout for joy and break into song.

66 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. A song. A psalm:

⁽¹⁾Shout to God, all the earth!
²Sing the glory of his name,
make his praise glorious.
³Tell God, “How awesome are your deeds!
At your great power, your enemies cringe.
⁴All the earth bows down to you,
sings praises to you, sings praises to your name.” (Selah)

⁵Come and see what God has done,
his awesome dealings with humankind.
⁶He turned the sea into dry land.
They passed through the river on foot;
there we rejoiced in him.
⁷With his power he rules forever;
his eyes keep watch on the nations.
Let no rebel arise to challenge him. (Selah)

⁸Bless our God, you peoples!
Let the sound of his praise be heard!
⁹He preserves our lives
and keeps our feet from stumbling.
¹⁰For you, God, have tested us,
refined us as silver is refined.
¹¹You brought us into the net
and bound our bodies fast.
¹²You made men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water.
But you brought us out
to a place of plenty.

¹³I will come into your house with burnt offerings,
I will fulfill my vows to you,
¹⁴those my lips pronounced and my mouth spoke
when I was in distress.
¹⁵I will offer you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
along with the sweet smoke of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats. (Selah)

¹⁶Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.
¹⁷I cried out to him with my mouth,
his praise was on my tongue.
¹⁸Had I cherished evil thoughts,
Adonai would not have listened.
¹⁹But in fact, God did listen;
he paid attention to my prayer.
²⁰Blessed be God, who did not reject my prayer
or turn his grace away from me.

67 ⁽⁰⁾For the leader. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song:

²⁽¹⁾God, be gracious to us, and bless us.
May he make his face shine toward us, (Selah)
³⁽²⁾so that your way may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.

⁴⁽³⁾Let the peoples give thanks to you, God;
let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.
⁵⁽⁴⁾Let the nations be glad and shout for joy,
for you will judge the peoples fairly
and guide the nations on earth. (Selah)

⁶⁽⁵⁾Let the peoples give thanks to you, God;
let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.
⁷⁽⁶⁾The earth has yielded its harvest;
may God, our God, bless us.