Psalm 5

English Standard Version

Lead Me in Your Righteousness

To the choirmaster: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.

5 Give ear to my words, O Lord;
    consider my ^(A)groaning.
²Give attention to the sound of my cry,
    my ^(B)King and my God,
    for ^(C)to you do I pray.
³O Lord, in ^(D)the morning you hear my voice;
    in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you^[a] and ^(E)watch.

⁴For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
    evil may not dwell with you.
⁵The ^(F)boastful shall not ^(G)stand before your eyes;
    you ^(H)hate all evildoers.
⁶You destroy those who speak ^(I)lies;
    the Lord abhors ^(J)the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

⁷But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
    will enter your house.
I will ^(K)bow down ^(L)toward your ^(M)holy temple
    in the fear of you.
⁸^(N)Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
    because of my enemies;
    ^(O)make your way straight before me.

⁹For there is no truth in their mouth;
    their inmost self is ^(P)destruction;
^(Q)their throat is ^(R)an open grave;
    they ^(S)flatter with their tongue.
¹⁰^(T)Make them bear their guilt, O God;
    let them ^(U)fall by their own counsels;
because of the abundance of their transgressions cast them out,
    for they have rebelled against you.

¹¹But let all who ^(V)take refuge in you ^(W)rejoice;
    let them ever sing for joy,
and spread your protection over them,
    that those who love your name may ^(X)exult in you.
¹²For you ^(Y)bless the righteous, O Lord;
    you ^(Z)cover him with favor as with ^(AA)a shield.

Footnotes

Psalm 5:3 Or I direct my prayer to you

Psalm 38

English Standard Version

Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord

A Psalm of David, ^(A)for the memorial offering.

38 O Lord, ^(B)rebuke me not in your anger,
nor discipline me in your wrath!
²For your ^(C)arrows have sunk into me,
and your hand ^(D)has come down on me.

³There is ^(E)no soundness in my flesh
    because of your indignation;
there is no health in my ^(F)bones
    because of my sin.
⁴For my ^(G)iniquities have gone over my head;
    like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds stink and fester
    because of my foolishness,
⁶I am ^(H)utterly bowed down and ^(I)prostrate;
    all the day I ^(J)go about mourning.
⁷For my sides are filled with burning,
    and there is ^(K)no soundness in my flesh.
⁸I am feeble and crushed;
    I ^(L)groan because of the tumult of my heart.

⁹O Lord, all my longing is before you;
    my ^(M)sighing is not hidden from you.
¹⁰My heart throbs; my strength fails me,
    and ^(N)the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.
¹¹My ^(O)friends and companions ^(P)stand aloof from my ^(Q)plague,
    and my nearest kin ^(R)stand far off.

¹²Those who seek my life ^(S)lay their snares;
those who seek my hurt ^(T)speak of ruin
and meditate ^(U)treachery all day long.

¹³But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,
like ^(V)a mute man who does not open his mouth.
¹⁴I have become like a man who does not hear,
and in whose mouth are no ^(W)rebukes.

¹⁵But for ^(X)you, O Lord, do I wait;
it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.
¹⁶For I said, “Only ^(Y)let them not rejoice over me,
who ^(Z)boast against me when my ^(AA)foot slips!”

¹⁷For I am ^(AB)ready to fall,
    and my pain is ever before me.
¹⁸I ^(AC)confess my iniquity;
    I am ^(AD)sorry for my sin.
¹⁹But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,
    and many are those who hate me ^(AE)wrongfully.
²⁰Those who ^(AF)render me evil for good
    ^(AG)accuse me because I ^(AH)follow after good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O Lord!
O my God, be not ^(AI)far from me!
²²^(AJ)Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my ^(AK)salvation!

Psalm 41-42

English Standard Version

O Lord, Be Gracious to Me

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

41 ^(A)Blessed is the one who considers the poor!^[a]
    ^(B)In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
²the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
    he is called blessed in the land;
    you ^(C)do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
³The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
    in his illness you restore him to full health.^[b]

⁴As for me, I said, “O Lord, ^(D)be gracious to me;
    ^(E)heal me,^[c] for I have sinned against you!”
⁵My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
⁶And when one comes to see me, ^(F)he utters empty words,
    while his heart gathers iniquity;
    when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
⁷All who hate me whisper together about me;
    they imagine the worst for me.^[d]

⁸They say, “A deadly thing is poured out^[e] on him;
    he will not rise again from where he lies.”
⁹Even my ^(G)close friend in whom I trusted,
    who ^(H)ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
¹⁰But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
    and raise me up, that I may repay them!

¹¹By this I know that ^(I)you delight in me:
my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
¹²But ^(J)you have upheld me because of ^(K)my integrity,
and ^(L)set me in your presence ^(M)forever.

¹³^(N)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.

Book Two

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

To the choirmaster. A Maskil^[f] of ^(O)the Sons of Korah.

42 ^(P)As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
²^(Q)My soul thirsts for God,
    for ^(R)the living God.
When shall I come and ^(S)appear before God?^[g]
³^(T)My tears have been my food
    day and night,
^(U)while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”
⁴These things I remember,
    as I ^(V)pour out my soul:
^(W)how I would go ^(X)with the throng
    and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
    ^(Y)a multitude keeping festival.

⁵^(Z)Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you ^(AA)in turmoil within me?
^(AB)Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation^[h] ⁶and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
    therefore I ^(AC)remember you
^(AD)from the land of Jordan and of ^(AE)Hermon,
    from Mount Mizar.
⁷Deep calls to deep
    at the roar of your waterfalls;
^(AF)all your breakers and your ^(AG)waves
    have gone over me.
⁸By day the Lord ^(AH)commands his steadfast love,
    and at ^(AI)night his song is with me,
    a prayer to the God of my life.
⁹I say to God, ^(AJ)my rock:
    “Why have you forgotten me?
^(AK)Why do I go mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?”
¹⁰As with a deadly wound in my bones,
    my adversaries taunt me,
^(AL)while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”