Psalm 9-16

New American Standard Bible

Thanksgiving for God’s Justice.

For the music director; on ^[a]Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

9 I will give thanks to the Lord with all ^(A)my heart;
I will ^(B)tell of all Your ^[b]wonders.
²I will rejoice and be ^(C)jubilant in You;
I will ^(D)sing praise to Your name, O ^(E)Most High.

³When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and ^(F)perish before You.
⁴For You have ^(G)maintained ^[c]my just cause;
You have sat on the throne ^[d]^(H)judging righteously.
⁵You have ^(I)rebuked the nations, You have eliminated the wicked;
You have ^(J)wiped out their name forever and ever.
⁶^[e]The enemy has come to an end in everlasting ruins,
And You have uprooted the cities;
The very ^(K)memory of them has perished.

⁷But the ^(L)Lord ^[f]sits as King forever;
He has established His ^(M)throne for judgment,
⁸And He will ^(N)judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the peoples fairly.
⁹^[g]The Lord will also be a ^(O)stronghold for the oppressed,
A stronghold in times of trouble;
¹⁰And ^[h]those who ^(P)know Your name will put their trust in You,
For You, Lord, have not ^(Q)abandoned those who seek You.

¹¹Sing praises to the Lord, who ^(R)dwells in Zion;
^(S)Declare His deeds among the peoples.
¹²For ^(T)He who ^[i]requires blood remembers them;
He does not forget ^(U)the cry of the needy.
¹³Be gracious to me, Lord;
See my oppression from those ^(V)who hate me,
You who ^(W)lift me up from the gates of death,
¹⁴So that I may tell of ^(X)all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion
I may ^(Y)rejoice in Your ^[j]salvation.
¹⁵The nations have sunk down ^(Z)into the pit which they have made;
In the ^(AA)net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.
¹⁶The Lord has ^(AB)made Himself known;
He has ^(AC)executed judgment.
A wicked one is ensnared in the work of his own hands. ^[k]Higgaion Selah

¹⁷The wicked will ^[l]^(AD)return to ^[m]Sheol,
All the nations who ^(AE)forget God.
¹⁸For the ^(AF)needy will not always be forgotten,
Nor the ^(AG)hope of the afflicted perish forever.
¹⁹^(AH)Arise, Lord, do not let mankind prevail;
Let the nations be ^(AI)judged before You.
²⁰Put them ^(AJ)in fear, Lord;
Let the nations know that they are ^(AK)merely human. Selah

A Prayer for the Overthrow of the Wicked.

10 Why ^(AL)do You stand far away, Lord?
Why ^(AM)do You hide ^[n]Yourself in times of trouble?
²In ^(AN)arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the needy;
^[o]Let them be ^(AO)caught in the plots which they have devised.

³For the wicked ^(AP)boasts of his ^(AQ)soul’s desire,
And ^[p]the greedy person curses and ^(AR)shows disrespect to the Lord.
⁴The wicked, ^[q]in his haughtiness, ^(AS)does not seek Him.
^(AT)There is no God in all his schemes.

⁵His ways ^(AU)succeed at all times;
Yet Your judgments are on high, ^(AV)out of his sight;
As for all his enemies, he snorts at them.
⁶He says to himself, “^(AW)I will not be moved;
^[r]Throughout the generations ^(AX)I will not be in adversity.”
⁷His ^(AY)mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and ^(AZ)oppression;
^(BA)Under his tongue is harm and injustice.
⁸He sits in the ^(BB)lurking places of the villages;
He ^(BC)kills the innocent in the secret places;
His eyes ^[s]surreptitiously watch for the ^[t]^(BD)unfortunate.
⁹He lurks in secret like ^(BE)a lion in his ^[u]lair;
He ^(BF)lurks to catch ^(BG)the needy;
He catches the needy when he pulls him into his ^(BH)net.
¹⁰Then he crushes the needy one, who cowers;
And ^[v]unfortunate people fall by his mighty power.
¹¹He ^(BI)says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see it.”

¹²Arise, Lord; God, ^(BJ)lift up Your hand.
^(BK)Do not forget the humble.
¹³Why has the wicked ^(BL)treated God disrespectfully?
He has said to himself, “^[w]You will not require an account.”
¹⁴You have seen it, for You have looked at ^(BM)harm and provocation to ^[x]take it into Your hand.
The ^[y]^(BN)unfortunate commits himself to You;
You have been the ^(BO)helper of the orphan.
¹⁵^(BP)Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
^[z]^(BQ)Seek out his wickedness until You find none.

¹⁶The Lord is ^(BR)King forever and ever;
^(BS)Nations have perished from His land.
¹⁷Lord, You have heard the ^(BT)desire of the humble;
You will ^(BU)strengthen their heart, ^(BV)You will make Your ear attentive
¹⁸To ^[aa]vindicate the ^(BW)orphan and the ^(BX)oppressed,
So that mankind, which is of the earth, will no longer cause ^(BY)terror.

The Lord, a Refuge and Defense.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

11 In the Lord I ^(BZ)take refuge;
How can you say to my soul, “Flee as a bird to your ^(CA)mountain?
²For, behold, the wicked ^(CB)bend the bow,
They have ^[ab]^(CC)set their arrow on the string
To ^(CD)shoot in darkness at the upright in heart.
³If the ^(CE)foundations are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”

⁴The Lord is in His ^(CF)holy temple; the ^[ac]Lord’s ^(CG)throne is in heaven;
His ^(CH)eyes see, His eyelids test the sons of mankind.
⁵The Lord ^(CI)tests the righteous and ^(CJ)the wicked,
And His soul hates one who loves violence.
⁶He will ^(CK)rain ^[ad]coals of fire upon the wicked,
^(CL)And brimstone and ^(CM)burning wind will be the portion of ^(CN)their cup.
⁷For the Lord is ^(CO)righteous, ^(CP)He loves ^[ae]righteousness;
The upright will ^(CQ)see His face.

God, a Helper against the Treacherous.

For the music director; ^[af]upon an eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm of David.

12 Help, Lord, for ^(CR)the godly person has come to an end,
For the faithful have disappeared from the sons of mankind.
²They ^(CS)speak ^[ag]lies to one another;
They speak with ^[ah]^(CT)flattering lips and a double heart.
³May the Lord cut off all ^[ai]flattering lips,
The tongue that ^(CU)speaks great things;
⁴Who ^(CV)have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are ^[aj]our own; who is lord over us?”
⁵“Because of the ^(CW)devastation of the poor, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now ^(CX)I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will ^(CY)put him in the safety for which he longs.”

⁶The ^(CZ)words of the Lord are pure words;
Like silver ^(DA)refined in a furnace on the ground, filtered seven times.
⁷You, Lord, will keep them;
You will ^(DB)protect him from this generation forever.
⁸The ^(DC)wicked strut about on every side
When ^[ak]^(DD)vileness is exalted among the sons of mankind.

Prayer for Help in Trouble.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, Lord? Will You ^(DE)forget me forever?
How long ^(DF)will You hide Your face from me?
²How long am I to ^(DG)feel anxious in my soul,
With ^(DH)grief in my heart all the day?
How long will my enemy be exalted over me?

³^(DI)Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
^(DJ)Enlighten my eyes, or I will ^(DK)sleep the sleep of death,
⁴And my enemy will ^(DL)say, “I have overcome him,”
And ^(DM)my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

⁵But I have ^(DN)trusted in Your faithfulness;
My heart shall ^(DO)rejoice in Your salvation.
⁶I will ^(DP)sing to the Lord,
Because He has ^(DQ)looked after me.

Foolishness and Wickedness of People.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

14 The fool has ^(DR)said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed detestable acts;
There is ^(DS)no one who does good.
²The Lord has ^(DT)looked down from heaven upon the sons of mankind
To see if there are any who ^[al]^(DU)understand,
Who ^(DV)seek God.
³They have all ^(DW)turned aside, together they are corrupt;
There is ^(DX)no one who does good, not even one.

⁴Do all the workers of injustice ^(DY)not know,
Who ^(DZ)devour my people as they eat bread,
And ^(EA)do not call upon the Lord?
⁵There they are in great dread,
For God is with a ^(EB)righteous generation.
⁶You would put to shame the plan of the poor,
But the Lord is his ^(EC)refuge.

⁷Oh, that ^(ED)the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord ^(EE)restores the fortunes of His people,
Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

Description of a Citizen of Zion.

A Psalm of David.

15 Lord, who may reside ^(EF)in Your tent?
Who may settle on Your ^(EG)holy hill?
²One who ^(EH)walks with integrity, practices righteousness,
And ^(EI)speaks truth in his heart.
³He ^(EJ)does not slander ^[am]with his tongue,
Nor ^(EK)do evil to his neighbor,
Nor ^(EL)bring shame on his friend;
⁴A despicable person is despised in his eyes,
But he ^(EM)honors those who fear the Lord;
He ^(EN)takes an oath to his own detriment, and does not change;
⁵He ^(EO)does not ^[an]lend his money ^[ao]at interest,
Nor ^(EP)does he take a bribe against the innocent.
^(EQ)One who does these things will never be shaken.

The Lord, the Psalmist’s Portion in Life and Salvation in Death.

A ^[ap]Mikhtam of David.

16 ^(ER)Protect me, God, for ^(ES)I take refuge in You.
²^[aq]I said to the Lord, “You are ^[ar]my Lord;
I ^(ET)have nothing good besides You.”
³As for the ^[as]^(EU)saints who are on the earth,
^[at]They are the majestic ones; ^(EV)all my delight is in them.
⁴^[au]The ^(EW)pains of those who have acquired another god will be multiplied;
I will not pour out their drink offerings of ^(EX)blood,
Nor will I ^(EY)take their names upon my lips.

⁵The Lord is the ^(EZ)portion of my inheritance and my ^(FA)cup;
You support my ^(FB)lot.
⁶The measuring ^(FC)lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my inheritance is ^(FD)beautiful to me.

⁷I will bless the Lord who has ^(FE)advised me;
Indeed, my ^[av]^(FF)mind instructs me in the night.
⁸^(FG)I have ^(FH)set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is ^(FI)at my right hand, ^(FJ)I will not be shaken.
⁹Therefore ^(FK)my heart is glad and ^(FL)my glory rejoices;
My flesh also will ^(FM)dwell securely.
¹⁰For You ^(FN)will not abandon my soul to ^[aw]Sheol;
You will not ^[ax]^(FO)allow Your ^[ay]Holy One to ^[az]undergo decay.
¹¹You will make known to me ^(FP)the way of life;
In ^(FQ)Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are ^(FR)pleasures forever.

Footnotes

Psalm 9 Title Meaning of the Heb uncertain
Psalm 9:1 Or miracles
Psalm 9:4 Lit my right and my cause
Psalm 9:4 Or a righteous Judge
Psalm 9:6 Or O enemy, desolations are finished forever; And their cities You have uprooted
Psalm 9:7 Or remains forever
Psalm 9:9 Or Let the Lord also be
Psalm 9:10 Or let those...name put
Psalm 9:12 I.e., avenges bloodshed
Psalm 9:14 Or deliverance
Psalm 9:16 Perhaps, resounding music or meditation
Psalm 9:17 Or turn
Psalm 9:17 I.e., the netherworld
Psalm 10:1 Or Your eyes
Psalm 10:2 Or They will be caught
Psalm 10:3 Or blesses the greedy man
Psalm 10:4 Lit the height of his nose
Psalm 10:6 Lit To
Psalm 10:8 Lit lie in wait
Psalm 10:8 Or poor
Psalm 10:9 Or thicket
Psalm 10:10 Or unhappy
Psalm 10:13 I.e., as though God will ignore it
Psalm 10:14 Lit put, give
Psalm 10:14 Or poor
Psalm 10:15 Or May You seek
Psalm 10:18 Lit judge
Psalm 11:2 Or fixed
Psalm 11:4 Lit Lord, His throne
Psalm 11:6 As in a Gr version; MT snares; Fire and
Psalm 11:7 Or righteous deeds
Psalm 12 Title Or according to a lower octave (Heb Sheminith)
Psalm 12:2 Lit worthless speech
Psalm 12:2 Lit a smooth lip
Psalm 12:3 Lit a smooth lip
Psalm 12:4 Lit with us
Psalm 12:8 Or worthlessness
Psalm 14:2 Or act wisely
Psalm 15:3 Lit according to
Psalm 15:5 Lit give
Psalm 15:5 I.e., to a fellow Israelite
Psalm 16 Title Possibly Epigrammatic Poem or Atonement Psalm
Psalm 16:2 Or O my soul, you said
Psalm 16:2 Or the Lord
Psalm 16:3 Lit holy ones; i.e., God’s people
Psalm 16:3 Lit They, even the
Psalm 16:4 Lit Their pains, they who acquired
Psalm 16:7 Lit kidneys, figurative for inner man
Psalm 16:10 I.e., the netherworld
Psalm 16:10 Lit give
Psalm 16:10 Or godly one
Psalm 16:10 Or see corruption; or the pit