Psalm 86

A prayer of David.

Hear me, Lord, and answer(A) me,
    for I am poor and needy.
Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
    save your servant who trusts in you.(B)
You are my God; have mercy(C) on me, Lord,
    for I call(D) to you all day long.
Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
    for I put my trust(E) in you.

You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
    abounding in love(F) to all who call to you.
Hear my prayer, Lord;
    listen to my cry(G) for mercy.
When I am in distress,(H) I call(I) to you,
    because you answer(J) me.

Among the gods(K) there is none like you,(L) Lord;
    no deeds can compare with yours.
All the nations you have made
    will come(M) and worship(N) before you, Lord;
    they will bring glory(O) to your name.
10 For you are great(P) and do marvelous deeds;(Q)
    you alone(R) are God.

11 Teach me your way,(S) Lord,
    that I may rely on your faithfulness;(T)
give me an undivided(U) heart,
    that I may fear(V) your name.
12 I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;(W)
    I will glorify your name forever.
13 For great is your love toward me;
    you have delivered me(X) from the depths,
    from the realm of the dead.(Y)

14 Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
    ruthless people are trying to kill me—
    they have no regard for you.(Z)
15 But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious(AA) God,
    slow to anger,(AB) abounding(AC) in love and faithfulness.(AD)
16 Turn to me(AE) and have mercy(AF) on me;
    show your strength(AG) in behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
    just as my mother did.(AH)
17 Give me a sign(AI) of your goodness,
    that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
    for you, Lord, have helped me and comforted me.

Psalm 87

Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. A song.

He has founded his city on the holy mountain.(AJ)
The Lord loves the gates of Zion(AK)
    more than all the other dwellings of Jacob.

Glorious things are said of you,
    city of God:[a](AL)
“I will record Rahab[b](AM) and Babylon
    among those who acknowledge me—
Philistia(AN) too, and Tyre(AO), along with Cush[c]
    and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’”[d](AP)
Indeed, of Zion it will be said,
    “This one and that one were born in her,
    and the Most High himself will establish her.”
The Lord will write in the register(AQ) of the peoples:
    “This one was born in Zion.”

As they make music(AR) they will sing,
    “All my fountains(AS) are in you.”

Psalm 88[e]

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.[f] A maskil[g] of Heman the Ezrahite.

Lord, you are the God who saves me;(AT)
    day and night I cry out(AU) to you.
May my prayer come before you;
    turn your ear to my cry.

I am overwhelmed with troubles(AV)
    and my life draws near to death.(AW)
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(AX)
    I am like one without strength.(AY)
I am set apart with the dead,
    like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
    who are cut off(AZ) from your care.

You have put me in the lowest pit,
    in the darkest depths.(BA)
Your wrath(BB) lies heavily on me;
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[h](BC)
You have taken from me my closest friends(BD)
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(BE) and cannot escape;(BF)
    my eyes(BG) are dim with grief.

I call(BH) to you, Lord, every day;
    I spread out my hands(BI) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(BJ)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
    your faithfulness(BK) in Destruction[i]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

13 But I cry to you for help,(BL) Lord;
    in the morning(BM) my prayer comes before you.(BN)
14 Why, Lord, do you reject(BO) me
    and hide your face(BP) from me?

15 From my youth(BQ) I have suffered(BR) and been close to death;
    I have borne your terrors(BS) and am in despair.(BT)
16 Your wrath(BU) has swept over me;
    your terrors(BV) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(BW)
    they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(BX) and neighbor—
    darkness is my closest friend.

Psalm 89[j]

A maskil[k] of Ethan the Ezrahite.

I will sing(BY) of the Lord’s great love forever;
    with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known(BZ)
    through all generations.
I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
    that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.(CA)
You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
    I have sworn to David my servant,
‘I will establish your line forever
    and make your throne firm through all generations.’”[l](CB)

The heavens(CC) praise your wonders, Lord,
    your faithfulness too, in the assembly(CD) of the holy ones.
For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
    Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?(CE)
In the council(CF) of the holy ones(CG) God is greatly feared;
    he is more awesome than all who surround him.(CH)
Who is like you,(CI) Lord God Almighty?(CJ)
    You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

You rule over the surging sea;
    when its waves mount up, you still them.(CK)
10 You crushed Rahab(CL) like one of the slain;
    with your strong arm you scattered(CM) your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours,(CN) and yours also the earth;(CO)
    you founded the world and all that is in it.(CP)
12 You created the north and the south;
    Tabor(CQ) and Hermon(CR) sing for joy(CS) at your name.
13 Your arm is endowed with power;
    your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.(CT)

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;(CU)
    love and faithfulness go before you.(CV)
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
    who walk(CW) in the light(CX) of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name(CY) all day long;
    they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,(CZ)
    and by your favor you exalt our horn.[m](DA)
18 Indeed, our shield[n](DB) belongs to the Lord,
    our king(DC) to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Once you spoke in a vision,
    to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
    I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David(DD) my servant;(DE)
    with my sacred oil(DF) I have anointed(DG) him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
    surely my arm will strengthen him.(DH)
22 The enemy will not get the better of him;(DI)
    the wicked will not oppress(DJ) him.
23 I will crush his foes before him(DK)
    and strike down his adversaries.(DL)
24 My faithful love will be with him,(DM)
    and through my name his horn[o] will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
    his right hand over the rivers.(DN)
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,(DO)
    my God, the Rock(DP) my Savior.’(DQ)
27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,(DR)
    the most exalted(DS) of the kings(DT) of the earth.
28 I will maintain my love to him forever,
    and my covenant with him will never fail.(DU)
29 I will establish his line forever,
    his throne as long as the heavens endure.(DV)

30 “If his sons forsake my law
    and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees
    and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
    their iniquity with flogging;(DW)
33 but I will not take my love from him,(DX)
    nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
    or alter what my lips have uttered.(DY)
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
    and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever
    and his throne endure before me like the sun;(DZ)
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
    the faithful witness in the sky.”(EA)

38 But you have rejected,(EB) you have spurned,
    you have been very angry with your anointed one.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant
    and have defiled his crown in the dust.(EC)
40 You have broken through all his walls(ED)
    and reduced his strongholds(EE) to ruins.
41 All who pass by have plundered(EF) him;
    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.(EG)
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
    you have made all his enemies rejoice.(EH)
43 Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword
    and have not supported him in battle.(EI)
44 You have put an end to his splendor
    and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short(EJ) the days of his youth;
    you have covered him with a mantle of shame.(EK)

46 How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?(EL)
47 Remember how fleeting is my life.(EM)
    For what futility you have created all humanity!
48 Who can live and not see death,
    or who can escape the power of the grave?(EN)
49 Lord, where is your former great love,
    which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has[p] been mocked,(EO)
    how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
51 the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked,
    with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.(EP)

52 Praise be to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.(EQ)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 87:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 6.
  2. Psalm 87:4 A poetic name for Egypt
  3. Psalm 87:4 That is, the upper Nile region
  4. Psalm 87:4 Or “I will record concerning those who acknowledge me: / ‘This one was born in Zion.’ / Hear this, Rahab and Babylon, / and you too, Philistia, Tyre and Cush.”
  5. Psalm 88:1 In Hebrew texts 88:1-18 is numbered 88:2-19.
  6. Psalm 88:1 Title: Possibly a tune, “The Suffering of Affliction”
  7. Psalm 88:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  8. Psalm 88:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 10.
  9. Psalm 88:11 Hebrew Abaddon
  10. Psalm 89:1 In Hebrew texts 89:1-52 is numbered 89:2-53.
  11. Psalm 89:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  12. Psalm 89:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 37, 45 and 48.
  13. Psalm 89:17 Horn here symbolizes strong one.
  14. Psalm 89:18 Or sovereign
  15. Psalm 89:24 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  16. Psalm 89:50 Or your servants have

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