Psalm 21
English Standard Version
The King Rejoices in the Lord's Strength
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
21 O Lord, in your (A)strength the king rejoices,
and in your (B)salvation how greatly he exults!
2 You have (C)given him his heart's desire
and have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah
3 For you (D)meet him with rich blessings;
you set (E)a crown of (F)fine gold upon his head.
4 He asked life of you; you (G)gave it to him,
(H)length of days forever and ever.
5 His (I)glory is great through your salvation;
(J)splendor and majesty you bestow on him.
6 For you make him most blessed forever;[a]
you make him glad with the (K)joy of your presence.
7 For the king trusts in the Lord,
and through the steadfast love of the Most High he shall not be (L)moved.
8 Your hand will (M)find out all your enemies;
your right hand will find out those who hate you.
9 You will make them as (N)a blazing oven
when you appear.
The Lord will swallow them up in his (O)wrath,
and (P)fire will consume them.
10 You (Q)will destroy their (R)descendants from the earth,
and their offspring from among the children of man.
11 Though they plan evil against you,
though they (S)devise mischief, they will not succeed.
12 For you will put them (T)to flight;
you will (U)aim at their faces with your bows.
13 Be exalted, O Lord, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power.
Footnotes
- Psalm 21:6 Or make him a source of blessing forever
Psalm 51
English Standard Version
Create in Me a Clean Heart, O God
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when (A)Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.
51 (B)Have mercy on me,[a] O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your (C)abundant mercy
(D)blot out my transgressions.
2 (E)Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and (F)cleanse me from my sin!
3 (G)For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
4 (H)Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil (I)in your sight,
(J)so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.
5 Behold, (K)I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, you delight in truth in (L)the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.
7 Purge me (M)with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
(N)wash me, and I shall be (O)whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;
(P)let the bones (Q)that you have broken rejoice.
9 (R)Hide your face from my sins,
and (S)blot out all my iniquities.
10 (T)Create in me a (U)clean heart, O God,
and (V)renew a right[b] spirit within me.
11 (W)Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not (X)your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will (Y)return to you.
14 Deliver me from (Z)bloodguiltiness, O God,
O (AA)God of my salvation,
and (AB)my tongue will sing aloud of your (AC)righteousness.
15 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 (AD)For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are (AE)a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
18 (AF)Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
(AG)build up the walls of Jerusalem;
19 then will you delight in (AH)right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and (AI)whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.
Footnotes
- Psalm 51:1 Or Be gracious to me
- Psalm 51:10 Or steadfast
Psalm 81
English Standard Version
Oh, That My People Would Listen to Me
To the choirmaster: according to (A)The Gittith.[a] Of (B)Asaph.
81 (C)Sing aloud to God our strength;
(D)shout for joy to the God of Jacob!
2 Raise a song; sound (E)the tambourine,
(F)the sweet lyre with (G)the harp.
3 Blow the trumpet at (H)the new moon,
at the full moon, on our feast day.
4 For it is a statute for Israel,
a rule[b] of the God of Jacob.
5 He made it (I)a decree in (J)Joseph
when he (K)went out over[c] the land of Egypt.
(L)I hear a language (M)I had not known:
6 “I (N)relieved your[d] shoulder of (O)the burden;
your hands were freed from the basket.
7 In distress you (P)called, and I delivered you;
I (Q)answered you in the secret place of thunder;
I (R)tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah
8 (S)Hear, O my people, while I admonish you!
O Israel, if you would but listen to me!
9 There shall be no (T)strange god among you;
you shall not bow down to a (U)foreign god.
10 (V)I am the Lord your God,
who brought you up out of the land of Egypt.
(W)Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.
11 “But my people did not listen to my voice;
Israel (X)would not submit to me.
12 So I (Y)gave them over to their (Z)stubborn hearts,
to follow their own (AA)counsels.
13 (AB)Oh, that my people would listen to me,
that Israel would (AC)walk in my ways!
14 I would soon subdue their enemies
and (AD)turn my hand against their foes.
15 Those who hate the Lord would (AE)cringe toward him,
and their fate would last forever.
16 But he would feed you[e] with (AF)the finest of the wheat,
and with (AG)honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Footnotes
- Psalm 81:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 81:4 Or just decree
- Psalm 81:5 Or against
- Psalm 81:6 Hebrew his; also next line
- Psalm 81:16 That is, Israel; Hebrew him
Psalm 111
English Standard Version
Great Are the Lord's Works
111 [a] (A)Praise the Lord!
I (B)will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of (C)the upright, in the congregation.
2 Great are the (D)works of the Lord,
(E)studied by all who delight in them.
3 (F)Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his (G)righteousness endures forever.
4 He has (H)caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.
5 He provides food for those who fear him;
he (I)remembers his covenant forever.
6 He has shown his people the power of his works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
7 The works of his hands are faithful and just;
all his precepts are (J)trustworthy;
8 they are (K)established forever and ever,
to be performed with (L)faithfulness and uprightness.
9 He sent (M)redemption to his people;
he has (N)commanded his covenant forever.
(O)Holy and awesome is his name!
10 (P)The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
all those who practice it have (Q)a good understanding.
His (R)praise endures forever!
Footnotes
- Psalm 111:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each line beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
Psalm 141
English Standard Version
Give Ear to My Voice
A Psalm of David.
141 O Lord, I call upon you; (A)hasten to me!
Give ear to my voice when I call to you!
2 Let (B)my prayer be counted as incense before you,
and (C)the lifting up of my hands as (D)the evening sacrifice!
3 (E)Set a guard, O Lord, over my mouth;
(F)keep watch over the door of my lips!
4 (G)Do not let my heart incline to any evil,
to busy myself with wicked deeds
in company with men who (H)work iniquity,
and (I)let me not eat of their delicacies!
5 (J)Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness;
let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head;
let my head not refuse it.
Yet (K)my prayer is continually against their evil deeds.
6 When their judges are (L)thrown over the cliff,[a]
then they shall hear my words, for they are pleasant.
7 As when one plows and breaks up the earth,
so shall our bones (M)be scattered at the mouth of Sheol.[b]
8 But (N)my eyes are toward you, O God, my Lord;
(O)in you I seek refuge; leave me not defenseless![c]
9 Keep me from (P)the trap that they have laid for me
and from the snares of evildoers!
10 Let the wicked (Q)fall into their own nets,
while I pass by safely.
Footnotes
- Psalm 141:6 Or When their judges fall into the hands of the Rock
- Psalm 141:7 The meaning of the Hebrew in verses 6, 7 is uncertain
- Psalm 141:8 Hebrew refuge; do not pour out my life!
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
Bible Gateway Recommends
