⁴ Here in a foreign land,
how can we sing
    about the Lord?
⁵ Jerusalem, if I forget you,
    let my right hand go limp.
⁶ Let my tongue stick
    to the roof of my mouth,
if I don't think about you
    above all else.

⁷ Our Lord, punish the Edomites!
On the day Jerusalem fell,
    they shouted,
“Completely destroy the city!
    Tear down every building!”

^8 (A) Babylon, you are doomed!
    I pray the Lord's blessings
on anyone who punishes you
    for what you did to us.
⁹ May the Lord bless everyone
who beats your children
    against the rocks!

⁴ All kings on this earth
have heard your promises, Lord,
    and they will praise you.
⁵ You are so famous
that they will sing about
    the things you have done.
⁶ Though you are above us all,
    you care for humble people,
and you keep a close watch
    on everyone who is proud.

⁷ I am surrounded by trouble,
but you protect me
    against my angry enemies.
With your own powerful arm
    you keep me safe.

⁸ You, Lord, will always
treat me with kindness.
    Your love never fails.
You have made us what we are.
    Don't give up on us now!^[e]

³ You notice everything I do
    and everywhere I go.
⁴ Before I even speak a word,
    you know what I will say,
⁵ and with your powerful arm
you protect me
    from every side.
⁶ I can't understand all of this!
Such wonderful knowledge
    is far above me.

⁷ Where could I go to escape
from your Spirit
    or from your sight?
⁸ If I were to climb up
to the highest heavens,
    you would be there.
If I were to dig down
to the world of the dead
    you would also be there.

⁹ Suppose I had wings
like the dawning day
    and flew across the ocean.
¹⁰ Even then your powerful arm
    would guide and protect me.
¹¹ Or suppose I said, “I'll hide
in the dark until night comes
    to cover me over.”
¹² But you see in the dark
because daylight and dark
    are all the same to you.

¹³ You are the one
who put me together
    inside my mother's body,
¹⁴ and I praise you because of
the wonderful way
    you created me.
Everything you do is marvelous!
    Of this I have no doubt.

¹⁵ Nothing about me
    is hidden from you!
I was secretly woven together
    out of human sight,
¹⁶ but with your own eyes you saw
    my body being formed.
Even before I was born,
you had written in your book
    everything about me.

^17 (B) Your thoughts are far beyond
    my understanding,
much more than I
    could ever imagine.
¹⁸ I try to count your thoughts,
but they outnumber the grains
    of sand on the beach.
And when I awake,
    I will find you nearby.

¹⁹ How I wish that you would kill
all cruel and heartless people
    and protect me from them!
²⁰ They are always rebelling
    and speaking evil of you.^[f]
21 You know I hate anyone
who hates you, Lord,
    and refuses to obey.
²² They are my enemies too,
    and I truly hate them.

²³ Look deep into my heart, God,
and find out everything
    I am thinking.
²⁴ Don't let me follow evil ways,
but lead me in the way
    that time has proven true.

Everyone who prophesies
    will stop,
and unknown languages
will no longer
    be spoken.
All that we know
    will be forgotten.
⁹ We don't know everything,
and our prophecies
    are not complete.
¹⁰ But what is perfect
    will someday appear,
and what isn't perfect
    will then disappear.

¹¹ When we were children,
we thought and reasoned
    as children do.
But when we grew up,
    we quit our childish ways.
¹² Now all we can see of God
is like a cloudy picture
    in a mirror.
Later we will see him
    face to face.
We don't know everything,
    but then we will,
just as God completely
    understands us.
¹³ For now there are faith,
    hope, and love.
But of these three,
    the greatest is love.