Psalm 32-37

New American Standard Bible

Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.

A Psalm of David. A ^[a]Maskil.

32 ^(A)How blessed is he whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
²How blessed is a person whose guilt the Lord ^(B)does not take into account,
And in whose spirit there is ^(C)no deceit!

³When ^(D)I kept silent about my sin, ^(E)my ^[b]body wasted away
Through my ^[c]^(F)groaning all day long.
⁴For day and night ^(G)Your hand was heavy upon me;
My ^[d]^(H)vitality failed as with the dry heat of summer. Selah
⁵I ^(I)acknowledged my sin to You,
And I ^(J)did not hide my guilt;
I said, “^(K)I will confess my wrongdoings to the Lord”;
And You ^(L)forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
⁶Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You ^[e]^(M)in a time when You may be found;
Certainly ^(N)in a flood of great waters, they will not reach him.
⁷You are ^(O)my hiding place; You ^(P)keep me from trouble;
You surround me with ^[f]^(Q)songs of deliverance. Selah

⁸I will ^(R)instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will advise you ^(S)with My eye upon you.
⁹Do not be ^(T)like the horse or like the mule, which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
¹⁰The ^(U)sorrows of the wicked are many,
But ^(V)the one who trusts in the Lord, goodness will surround him.
¹¹Be ^(W)glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are ^(X)upright in heart.

Praise to the Creator and Protector.

33 ^(Y)Sing for joy in the Lord, you righteous ones;
Praise is ^(Z)becoming to the upright.
²Give thanks to the Lord with the ^(AA)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a ^(AB)harp of ten strings.
³Sing to Him a ^(AC)new song;
Play skillfully with ^(AD)a shout of joy.
⁴For the word of the Lord ^(AE)is right,
And all His work is done ^(AF)in faithfulness.
⁵He ^(AG)loves righteousness and justice;
The ^(AH)earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.

⁶By the ^(AI)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And ^(AJ)by the breath of His mouth ^(AK)all their ^[g]lights.
⁷He gathers the ^(AL)waters of the sea together ^[h]as a heap;
He puts the depths in storehouses.
⁸Let ^(AM)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world ^(AN)stand in awe of Him.
⁹For ^(AO)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it ^[i]stood firm.
¹⁰The Lord ^(AP)nullifies the plan of nations;
He frustrates the plans of peoples.
¹¹The ^(AQ)plan of the Lord stands forever,
The ^(AR)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
¹²Blessed is the ^(AS)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people He has ^(AT)chosen for His own inheritance.

¹³The Lord ^(AU)looks from heaven;
He ^(AV)sees all the sons of mankind;
¹⁴From ^(AW)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
¹⁵He who ^(AX)fashions ^[j]the hearts of them all,
He who ^(AY)understands all their works.
¹⁶^(AZ)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not rescued by great strength.
¹⁷A ^(BA)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it rescue anyone by its great strength.

¹⁸Behold, ^(BB)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who ^(BC)wait for His faithfulness,
¹⁹To ^(BD)rescue their soul from death
And to keep them alive ^(BE)in famine.
²⁰Our soul ^(BF)waits for the Lord;
He is our ^(BG)help and our shield.
²¹For our ^(BH)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
²²Let Your favor, Lord, be upon us,
Just as we have waited for You.

The Lord, a Provider and the One Who Rescues Me.

A Psalm of David, when he pretended to be insane before ^[k]Abimelech, who drove him away, and he departed.

34 I will ^(BI)bless the Lord at all times;
His ^(BJ)praise shall continually be in my mouth.
²My soul will ^(BK)make its boast in the Lord;
The ^(BL)humble will hear it and rejoice.
³^(BM)Exalt the Lord with me,
And let’s ^(BN)exalt His name together.

⁴I ^(BO)sought the Lord and He answered me,
And ^(BP)rescued me from all my fears.
⁵They ^(BQ)looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will ^(BR)never be ashamed.
⁶This wretched man cried out, and ^(BS)the Lord heard him,
And saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷The ^(BT)angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.

⁸^(BU)Taste and see that the Lord is good;
How ^(BV)blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
⁹Fear the Lord, you ^(BW)His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is ^(BX)no lack of anything.
¹⁰The young lions do without and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord will ^(BY)not lack any good thing.
¹¹^(BZ)Come, you children, listen to me;
^(CA)I will teach you ^(CB)the fear of the Lord.
¹²^(CC)Who is the person who desires life
And loves length of days, that he may ^(CD)see good?
¹³Keep ^(CE)your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking ^(CF)deceit.
¹⁴^(CG)Turn from evil and do good;
Seek peace and ^(CH)pursue it.

¹⁵The ^(CI)eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous,
And His ears are toward their cry for help.
¹⁶The ^(CJ)face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To ^(CK)eliminate the memory of them from the earth.
¹⁷The righteous ^(CL)cry out, and the Lord hears
And rescues them from all their troubles.
¹⁸The Lord ^(CM)is near to the ^(CN)brokenhearted
And saves those who are ^[l]^(CO)crushed in spirit.

¹⁹^(CP)The ^(CQ)afflictions of the righteous are many,
But the Lord ^(CR)rescues him from them all.
²⁰He protects all his bones,
^(CS)Not one of them is broken.
²¹^(CT)Evil will bring death to the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will suffer for their guilt.
²²The Lord ^(CU)redeems the souls of His servants,
And none of those who ^(CV)take refuge in Him will suffer for their guilt.

Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.

A Psalm of David.

35 Contend, Lord, with those who ^(CW)contend with me;
Fight against those who ^(CX)fight against me.
²Take hold of ^[m]^(CY)buckler and shield
And rise up as ^(CZ)my help.
³Draw also the spear and ^[n]the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am ^(DA)your salvation.”
⁴Let those be ^(DB)ashamed and dishonored who seek my ^[o]life;
Let those be ^(DC)turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
⁵Let them be ^(DD)like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
⁶Let their way be dark and ^(DE)slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
⁷For ^(DF)they ^(DG)hid their net for me without cause;
Without cause they dug a pit for my soul.
⁸Let ^(DH)destruction come upon him when he is unaware,
And ^(DI)let the net which he hid catch him;
Let him fall into that very ^(DJ)destruction.

⁹So my soul shall ^(DK)rejoice in the Lord;
It shall ^(DL)rejoice in His salvation.
¹⁰All my ^(DM)bones will say, “Lord, ^(DN)who is like You,
Who rescues the afflicted from one ^(DO)who is too strong for him,
And ^(DP)the afflicted and the poor from one who robs him?”
¹¹^(DQ)Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
¹²They ^(DR)repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
¹³But as for me, ^(DS)when they were sick, my ^(DT)clothing was sackcloth;
I ^(DU)humbled my soul with fasting,
But my ^(DV)prayer kept returning to ^[p]me.
¹⁴I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I ^(DW)bowed down ^[q]in mourning, like one who mourns for a mother.
¹⁵But ^(DX)at my ^[r]stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The ^[s]^(DY)afflicted people whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They ^[t]^(DZ)slandered me without ceasing.
¹⁶Like godless jesters at a feast,
They ^(EA)gnashed at me with their teeth.

¹⁷Lord, ^(EB)how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul ^(EC)from their ravages,
My ^(ED)only life from the lions.
¹⁸I will ^(EE)give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will ^(EF)praise You among a mighty people.
¹⁹^(EG)Do not let those who are wrongfully ^(EH)my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those ^(EI)who hate me for no reason ^[u]^(EJ)wink maliciously.
²⁰For they do not speak peace,
But they devise ^(EK)deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
²¹They ^(EL)opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “^(EM)Aha, aha! Our eyes have seen it!”

²²^(EN)You have seen it, Lord, ^(EO)do not keep silent;
Lord, ^(EP)do not be far from me.
²³^(EQ)Stir Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
²⁴^(ER)Judge me, Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
And ^(ES)do not let them rejoice over me.
²⁵Do not let them say in their heart, “^(ET)Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have ^(EU)swallowed him up!”
²⁶May ^(EV)those be ashamed and altogether humiliated who rejoice at my distress;
May those who ^(EW)exalt themselves over me be ^(EX)clothed with shame and dishonor.

²⁷May those ^(EY)shout for joy and rejoice, who take delight in ^(EZ)my vindication;
And ^(FA)may they say continually, “The Lord be exalted,
Who ^(FB)delights in the prosperity of His servant.”
²⁸And ^(FC)my tongue shall proclaim Your righteousness
And Your praise all day long.

Wickedness of Humanity and Goodness of God.

For the music director. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.

36 ^[v]Wrongdoing speaks to the ungodly within ^[w]his heart;
There is ^(FD)no fear of God before his eyes.
²For it ^(FE)flatters him in his own eyes
Concerning the discovery of his wrongful deed and the hatred of it.
³The ^(FF)words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ^(FG)ceased to ^[x]be wise and to do good.
⁴He ^(FH)plans wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself on a ^(FI)path that is not good;
He ^(FJ)does not reject evil.

⁵Your ^(FK)mercy, Lord, ^[y]extends to the heavens,
Your faithfulness reaches to the skies.
⁶Your ^(FL)righteousness is like the ^[z]mountains of God;
Your ^(FM)judgments are like the great deep.
Lord, You ^[aa]^(FN)protect mankind and animals.
⁷How ^(FO)precious is Your mercy, God!
And the sons of mankind ^(FP)take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.
⁸They ^(FQ)drink their fill of the ^[ab]abundance of Your house;
And You allow them to drink from the ^(FR)river of Your delights.
⁹For the ^(FS)fountain of life is with You;
In Your light we see light.

¹⁰Prolong Your mercy to ^(FT)those who know You,
And Your ^(FU)righteousness to the upright of heart.
¹¹May the foot of pride not come upon me,
And may the hand of the wicked not drive me away.
¹²Those who do injustice have fallen there;
They have been thrust down and ^(FV)cannot rise.

Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked.

A Psalm of David.

37 ^(FW)Do not get upset because of evildoers,
Do not be ^(FX)envious of wrongdoers.
²For they will ^(FY)wither quickly like the grass,
And ^(FZ)decay like the green plants.
³^(GA)Trust in the Lord and do good;
^(GB)Live in the land and ^[ac]^(GC)cultivate faithfulness.
⁴^(GD)Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will ^(GE)give you the desires of your heart.
⁵^(GF)Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
⁶He will bring out ^(GG)your righteousness as the light,
And your judgment ^(GH)as the noonday.

⁷^[ad]Rest in the Lord and ^(GI)wait ^[ae]patiently for Him;
^(GJ)Do not get upset because of one who is ^(GK)successful in his way,
Because of the person who carries out wicked schemes.
⁸Cease from anger and ^(GL)abandon wrath;
Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.
⁹For ^(GM)evildoers will be eliminated,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will ^(GN)inherit the land.
¹⁰Yet ^(GO)a little while and the wicked person will be no more;
And you will look carefully for ^(GP)his place and he will not be there.
¹¹But ^(GQ)the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in ^(GR)abundant prosperity.

¹²The wicked ^(GS)plots against the righteous,
And ^(GT)gnashes at him with his teeth.
¹³The Lord ^(GU)laughs at him,
For He sees that ^(GV)his day is coming.
¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword and ^(GW)bent their bow
To take down the ^(GX)afflicted and the needy,
To ^(GY)kill off those who are upright in conduct.
¹⁵Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their ^(GZ)bows will be broken.

¹⁶^(HA)Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
¹⁷For the ^(HB)arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord ^(HC)sustains the righteous.
¹⁸The Lord ^(HD)knows the days of the ^[af]blameless,
And their ^(HE)inheritance will be forever.
¹⁹They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And ^(HF)in the days of famine they will have plenty.
²⁰But the ^(HG)wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the ^[ag]glory of the pastures,
They vanish—^(HH)like smoke they vanish away.
²¹The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous ^(HI)is gracious and gives.
²²For ^(HJ)those blessed by Him will ^(HK)inherit the land,
But those ^(HL)cursed by Him will be eliminated.

²³^(HM)The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He ^(HN)delights in his way.
²⁴When ^(HO)he falls, he will not be hurled down,
Because ^(HP)the Lord is the One ^[ah]who holds his hand.
²⁵I have been young and now I am old,
Yet ^(HQ)I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or ^(HR)his ^[ai]descendants begging for bread.
²⁶All day long ^(HS)he is gracious and lends,
And ^(HT)his ^[aj]descendants are a blessing.

²⁷^(HU)Turn from evil and do good,
So that you will dwell ^(HV)forever.
²⁸For the Lord ^(HW)loves ^[ak]justice
And ^(HX)does not abandon His godly ones;
They are ^(HY)protected forever,
But the ^[al]^(HZ)descendants of the wicked will be eliminated.
²⁹The righteous will ^(IA)inherit the land
And ^(IB)dwell in it forever.
³⁰The mouth of the righteous ^(IC)utters wisdom,
And his tongue ^(ID)speaks justice.
³¹The ^(IE)Law of his God is in his heart;
His ^(IF)steps do not slip.
³²The ^(IG)wicked spies upon the righteous
And ^(IH)seeks to kill him.
³³The Lord will ^(II)not leave him in his hand
Or ^(IJ)let him be condemned when he is judged.
³⁴^(IK)Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the ^(IL)wicked are eliminated, you will see it.

³⁵I have ^(IM)seen a wicked, violent person
Spreading himself like a ^(IN)luxuriant ^[am]tree in its native soil.
³⁶Then he passed away, and behold, he ^(IO)was no more;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
³⁷Observe the ^[an]^(IP)blameless person, and look at the ^(IQ)upright;
For the person of peace will have ^(IR)a future.
³⁸But wrongdoers will altogether be ^(IS)destroyed;
The future of the wicked will be ^(IT)eliminated.
³⁹But the ^(IU)salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength ^(IV)in time of trouble.
⁴⁰^(IW)The Lord helps them and rescues them;
He ^(IX)rescues them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they ^(IY)take refuge in Him.