Psalm 49-56

New American Standard Bible

⁵ Why should I ^(I)fear in days of adversity,
When the injustice of those who betray me surrounds me,
⁶ Those who ^(J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
⁷ No one can by any means ^(K)redeem another
Or give God a ^(L)ransom for him—
⁸ For ^(M)the redemption of ^[b]his soul is priceless,
And he should cease imagining forever—
⁹ That he might ^(N)live on eternally,
That he might not ^[c](O)undergo decay.

¹⁰ For he sees that even ^(P)wise people die;
The ^(Q)foolish and the stupid alike perish
And ^(R)leave their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their ^[d](S)inner thought is that their houses ^(T)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have ^(U)named their lands after their own names.
¹² But ^(V)man in his splendor will not endure;
He is like the animals that ^[e]perish.

¹³ This is the ^(W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who ^(X)approve their words. Selah
¹⁴ Like sheep they sink down ^(Y)to ^[f]Sheol;
Death will be their shepherd;
And the ^(Z)upright will rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for ^[g]Sheol ^(AA)to consume
^[h]So that they have no lofty home.
¹⁵ But God will ^(AB)redeem my soul from the ^[i]power of ^[j]Sheol,
For ^(AC)He will receive me. Selah

¹⁶ Do not be afraid ^(AD)when a person becomes rich,
When the splendor of his house is increased;
¹⁷ For when he dies, he will ^(AE)take nothing with him;
His ^[k]wealth will not descend after him.
¹⁸ Though while he lives he ^(AF)congratulates ^[l]himself—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
^19 [m]He will ^(AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see ^(AH)the light.
^20 (AI)Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding,
Is ^(AJ)like the animals that ^[n]perish.

⁷ “^(AX)Hear, My people, and I will speak;
Israel, I will testify ^[q]against you;
I am God, ^(AY)your God.
⁸ I do ^(AZ)not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
⁹ I will not take a ^(BA)bull from your house,
Nor male goats from your folds.
¹⁰ For ^(BB)every animal of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹ I know every ^(BC)bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is ^[r]Mine.
¹² If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the ^(BD)world is Mine, and ^[s]everything it contains.
¹³ Shall I eat the flesh of ^[t](BE)bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
¹⁴ Offer God ^(BF)a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And ^(BG)pay your vows to the Most High;
^15 (BH)Call upon Me on the day of trouble;
I will ^(BI)rescue you, and you will ^(BJ)honor Me.”

¹⁶ But to the wicked God says,
“What right do you have to tell of My statutes
And to take ^(BK)My covenant in your mouth?
¹⁷ For you yourself ^(BL)hate discipline,
And you ^(BM)throw My words behind you.
¹⁸ When you see a thief, you ^(BN)become friends with him,
And ^[u]you ^(BO)associate with adulterers.
¹⁹ You ^[v](BP)let your mouth loose in evil,
And your ^(BQ)tongue harnesses deceit.
²⁰ You sit and ^(BR)speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
²¹ These things you have done and ^(BS)I kept silent;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will ^(BT)rebuke you and present the case before your eyes.

²² “Now consider this, you who ^(BU)forget God,
Or I will ^(BV)tear you in pieces, and there will be no one to save you.
²³ He who ^(BW)offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who ^(BX)sets his way properly
I will ^(BY)show the salvation of God.”

⁵ Behold, I was ^(CI)brought forth in guilt,
And in sin my mother conceived me.
⁶ Behold, You desire ^(CJ)truth in the ^[aa]innermost being,
And in secret You will ^(CK)make wisdom known to me.
^7 [ab]Purify me ^(CL)with hyssop, and I will be clean;
^[ac]Cleanse me, and I will be ^(CM)whiter than snow.
^8 [ad]Let me hear ^(CN)joy and gladness,
Let the ^(CO)bones You have broken rejoice.
^9 (CP)Hide Your face from my sins
And wipe out all my guilty deeds.

^10 (CQ)Create ^[ae]in me a ^(CR)clean heart, God,
And renew a ^(CS)steadfast spirit within me.
^11 (CT)Do not cast me away from Your presence,
And do not take Your ^(CU)Holy Spirit from me.
¹² Restore to me the ^(CV)joy of Your salvation,
And sustain me with a ^(CW)willing spirit.
¹³ Then I will ^(CX)teach wrongdoers Your ways,
And sinners will ^[af]be ^(CY)converted to You.

¹⁴ Save me from ^(CZ)the guilt of bloodshed, God, ^(DA)the God of my salvation;
Then my ^(DB)tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness.
¹⁵ Lord, ^[ag](DC)open my lips,
So that my mouth may ^(DD)declare Your praise.
¹⁶ For You ^(DE)do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You do not take pleasure in burnt offering.
¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a ^(DF)broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.

^18 (DG)By Your favor do good to Zion;
^[ah](DH)Build the walls of Jerusalem.
¹⁹ Then You will delight in ^[ai](DI)righteous sacrifices,
In ^(DJ)burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
Then ^[aj]bulls will be offered on Your altar.

^5 [am]But God will break you down forever;
He will snatch you up and ^(DS)tear you away from your tent,
And ^(DT)uproot you from the ^(DU)land of the living. Selah
⁶ The righteous will ^(DV)see and fear,
And they will ^(DW)laugh at him, saying,
⁷ “Behold, the man who would not make God his refuge,
But ^(DX)trusted in the abundance of his riches
And ^(DY)was strong in ^[an]his evil desire.”

⁸ But as for me, I am like a ^(DZ)green olive tree in the house of God;
I ^(EA)trust in the faithfulness of God forever and ever.
⁹ I will ^(EB)praise You forever, because You have done it,
And I will wait on Your name, ^(EC)for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

⁴ Have the workers of injustice ^(EI)no knowledge,
Who eat up My people like they ate bread,
And have not called upon God?
⁵ They were in great ^[ar]fear there, ^(EJ)where no ^[as]fear had been;
For God ^(EK)scattered the bones of ^[at]him who encamped against you;
You ^(EL)put them to shame, because ^(EM)God had rejected them.
⁶ Oh, that ^(EN)the salvation of Israel would come from Zion!
When God restores the fortunes of His people,
Jacob shall rejoice, Israel shall be glad.

⁴ Behold, ^(EW)God is my helper;
The Lord is ^[ay]the ^(EX)sustainer of my soul.
^5 [az]He will ^(EY)pay back the evil to my enemies;
^[ba](EZ)Destroy them ^(FA)in Your ^[bb]faithfulness.

^6 [bc](FB)Willingly I will sacrifice to You;
I will ^(FC)praise Your name, Lord, for it is good.
⁷ For ^[bd]He has ^(FD)saved me from all ^[be]trouble,
And my eye has ^(FE)looked with satisfaction upon my enemies.

⁴ My ^(FN)heart is in anguish within me,
And the terrors of ^(FO)death have fallen upon me.
⁵ Fear and ^(FP)trembling come upon me,
And ^[bi](FQ)horror has ^[bj]overwhelmed me.
⁶ I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and ^[bk](FR)be at rest.
⁷ Behold, I would flee far away,
I would ^(FS)spend my nights in the wilderness. Selah
⁸ I would hurry to my place of refuge
From the ^(FT)stormy wind and heavy gale.”

⁹ Confuse them, Lord, ^(FU)divide their tongues,
For I have seen ^(FV)violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰ Day and night they go around her upon her walls,
And evil and harm are in her midst.
^11 (FW)Destruction is in her midst;
^(FX)Oppression and deceit do not depart from her ^[bl]streets.

¹² For it is ^(FY)not an enemy who taunts me,
Then I could endure it;
Nor is it one who hates me who ^(FZ)has exalted himself against me,
Then I could hide myself from him.
¹³ But it is you, a man ^[bm]my equal,
My ^(GA)companion and my ^(GB)confidant;
¹⁴ We who had sweet ^[bn]fellowship together,
^(GC)Walked in the house of God among the commotion.
¹⁵ May ^[bo]death come ^(GD)deceitfully upon them;
May they ^(GE)go down alive to ^[bp]Sheol,
For evil is in their dwelling, in their midst.

¹⁶ As for me, I shall ^(GF)call upon God,
And the Lord will save me.
^17 (GG)Evening and ^(GH)morning and at ^(GI)noon, I will complain and moan,
And He will hear my voice.
¹⁸ He will ^(GJ)redeem my soul in peace ^[bq]from the battle which is against me,
For they are ^(GK)many who are aggressive toward me.
¹⁹ God will ^(GL)hear and humiliate them—
Even the one ^(GM)who ^[br]sits enthroned from ancient times— Selah
With whom there ^[bs]is no change,
And who ^(GN)do not fear God.
²⁰ He has put forth his hands against ^(GO)those who were at peace with him;
He has ^[bt](GP)violated his covenant.
²¹ His ^[bu]speech was ^(GQ)smoother than butter,
But his heart was war;
His words were ^(GR)softer than oil,
Yet they were drawn ^(GS)swords.

^22 (GT)Cast your burden upon the Lord and He will sustain you;
^(GU)He will never allow the righteous to ^[bv](GV)be shaken.
²³ But You, God, will bring them down to the ^(GW)pit of destruction;
^(GX)Men of bloodshed and deceit will ^(GY)not live out half their days.
But I will ^(GZ)trust in You.

⁸ You ^(HP)have taken account of my ^[cj]miseries;
Put my ^(HQ)tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in ^(HR)Your book?
⁹ Then my enemies will ^(HS)turn back ^(HT)on the day when I call;
This I know, ^[ck]that ^(HU)God is for me.
¹⁰ In God, whose word I praise,
In the Lord, whose word I praise,
¹¹ In God I have put my ^[cl]trust, I shall not be afraid.
What can mankind do to me?
¹² Your ^(HV)vows are binding upon me, God;
I will render thanksgiving offerings to You.
¹³ For You have ^(HW)saved my soul from death,
^[cm]Indeed ^(HX)my feet from stumbling,
So that I may ^(HY)walk before God
In the ^(HZ)light of the ^[cn]living.