Psalm 9
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 9
Celebration of God’s Justice
For the choir director: according to Muth-labben.[a] A Davidic psalm.
1 I will thank Yahweh with all my heart;
I will declare all Your wonderful works.(A)
2 I will rejoice and boast about You;(B)
I will sing about Your name, Most High.(C)
3 When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before You.(D)
4 For You have upheld my just cause;[b](E)
You are seated on Your throne as a righteous judge.(F)
5 You have rebuked the nations:(G)
You have destroyed the wicked;(H)
You have erased their name forever and ever.(I)
6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin;
You have uprooted the cities,
and the very memory of them has perished.(J)
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;(K)
He has established His throne for judgment.(L)
8 He judges the world with righteousness;
He executes judgment on the nations with fairness.(M)
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble.(N)
10 Those who know Your name trust in You
because You have not abandoned
those who seek You, Yahweh.(O)
11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;(P)
proclaim His deeds among the nations.(Q)
12 For the One who seeks an accounting
for bloodshed remembers them;(R)
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.(S)
13 Be gracious to me, Lord;
consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.(T)
Lift me up from the gates of death,(U)
14 so that I may declare all Your praises.
I will rejoice in Your salvation(V)
within the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.(W)
16 The Lord has revealed Himself;
He has executed justice,(X)
striking down[c] the wicked[d]
by the work of their hands.(Y)
17 The wicked will return to Sheol(Z)—
all the nations that forget God.(AA)
18 For the oppressed will not always be forgotten;
the hope of the afflicted[e] will not perish forever.(AB)
19 Rise up, Lord! Do not let man prevail;
let the nations be judged in Your presence.(AC)
20 Put terror in them, Lord;(AD)
let the nations know they are only men.(AE)
Footnotes
- Psalm 9:1 Perhaps a musical term
- Psalm 9:4 Lit my justice and my cause
- Psalm 9:16 Or justice, snaring
- Psalm 9:16 LXX, Aq, Syr, Tg read justice, the wicked is trapped
- Psalm 9:18 Alt Hb tradition reads humble
Psalm 9
Common English Bible
Psalm 9[a]
For the music leader. According to Muth-labben.[b] A psalm of David.
9 I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will talk about all your wonderful acts.
2 I will celebrate and rejoice in you;
I will sing praises to your name, Most High.
3 When my enemies turn and retreat,
they fall down and die right in front of you
4 because you have established justice
for me and my claim,
because you rule from the throne,
establishing justice rightly.
5 You’ve denounced the nations,
destroyed the wicked.
You’ve erased their names for all time.
6 Every enemy is wiped out,
like something ruined forever.
You’ve torn down their cities—
even the memory of them is dead.
7 But the Lord rules forever!
He assumes his throne
for the sake of justice.
8 He will establish justice in the world rightly;
he will judge all people fairly.
9 The Lord is a safe place for the oppressed—
a safe place in difficult times.
10 Those who know your name trust you
because you have not abandoned
any who seek you, Lord.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who lives in Zion!
Proclaim his mighty acts among all people!
12 Because the one who avenges bloodshed
remembers those who suffer;
the Lord hasn’t forgotten their cries for help.
13 Have mercy on me, Lord!
Just look how I suffer
because of those who hate me.
But you are the one who brings me back
from the very gates of death
14 so I can declare all your praises,
so I can rejoice in your salvation
in the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen
into the hole they themselves made!
Their feet are caught
in the very net they themselves hid!
16 The Lord is famous for the justice he has done;
it’s his own doing that the wicked are trapped. Higgayon.[c] Selah
17 Let the wicked go straight to the grave,[d]
the same for every nation that forgets God.
18 Because the poor won’t be forgotten forever,
the hope of those who suffer won’t be lost for all time.
19 Get up, Lord! Don’t let people prevail!
Let the nations be judged before you.
20 Strike them with fear, Lord.
Let the nations know they are only human. Selah
Footnotes
- Psalm 9:1 Ps 9 is an alphabetic acrostic poem (cf Ps 119) in Heb, with successive letters of the alphabet beginning every few lines, with only a few exceptions. Only ten letters are found in Ps 9; the sequence may be continued in Ps 10, suggesting that Pss 9–10 are a single poem.
- Psalm 9:1 Or Almuth labben; Heb uncertain, perhaps a reference to the melody; cf Pss 46:1; 48:14
- Psalm 9:16 Heb uncertain; or recitation (see Pss 1:2; 19:14) or melody (see Ps 92:3).
- Psalm 9:17 Heb Sheol
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