54 Save me, O God, by Thy name, and judge me by Thy strength.

² Hear my prayer, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.

³ For strangers are risen up against me, and oppressors seek after my soul; they have not set God before them. Selah

⁴ Behold, God is mine helper; the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.

⁵ He shall reward evil unto mine enemies; cut them off in Thy truth.

⁶ I will freely sacrifice unto Thee; I will praise Thy name, O Lord, for it is good.

⁷ For He hath delivered me out of all trouble, and mine eye hath seen my desire upon mine enemies.

55 Give ear to my prayer, O God, and hide not Thyself from my supplication.

² Attend unto me and hear me; I mourn in my complaint and moan,

³ because of the voice of the enemy, because of the oppression of the wicked; for they cast iniquity upon me, and in wrath they hate me.

⁴ My heart is sorely pained within me, and the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

⁵ Fearfulness and trembling have come upon me, and horror hath overwhelmed me.

⁶ And I said, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! For then would I fly away and be at rest.

⁷ Lo, then would I wander far off, and remain in the wilderness; Selah

⁸ I would hasten my escape from the windy storm and tempest.”

⁹ Destroy, O Lord, and divide their tongues, for I have seen violence and strife in the city.

¹⁰ Day and night they go about it upon the walls thereof; mischief also and sorrow are in the midst of it.

¹¹ Wickedness is in the midst thereof; deceit and guile depart not from her streets.

¹² For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it. Neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him.

¹³ But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide and mine acquaintance.

¹⁴ We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.

¹⁵ Let death seize upon them, and let them go down alive into hell; for wickedness is in their dwellings and among them.

¹⁶ As for me, I will call upon God, and the Lord shall save me.

¹⁷ Evening and morning and at noon will I pray and cry aloud, and He shall hear my voice.

¹⁸ He hath delivered my soul in peace from the battle that was against me, for there were many with me.

¹⁹ God shall hear and afflict them, even He that abideth of old. Selah Because they have not changed, therefore they fear not God.

²⁰ He hath put forth his hands against those that are at peace with him; he hath broken his covenant.

²¹ The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, yet were they drawn swords.

²² Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and He shall sustain thee. He shall never suffer the righteous to be moved.

²³ But Thou, O God, shalt bring them down into the pit of destruction; bloody and deceitful men shall not live out half their days. But I will trust in Thee.

56 Be merciful unto me, O God, for man would swallow me up; he, fighting daily, oppresseth me.

² Mine enemies would daily swallow me up, for they are many that fight against me, O Thou Most High.

³ In the time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee.

⁴ In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.

⁵ Every day they wrest my words; all their thoughts are against me for evil.

⁶ They gather themselves together, they hide themselves, they mark my steps as they lie in wait for my soul.

⁷ Shall they escape by iniquity? In Thine anger cast down the people, O God.

⁸ Thou countest my wanderings; put Thou my tears into Thy bottle: are they not in Thy book?

⁹ When I cry unto Thee, then shall mine enemies turn back! This I know, for God is for me.

¹⁰ In God will I praise His word; in the Lord will I praise His word.

¹¹ In God have I put my trust; I will not be afraid what man can do unto me.

¹² Thy vows are upon me, O God; I will render praises unto Thee.

¹³ For Thou hast delivered my soul from death; wilt Thou not deliver my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of the living?

3 What advantage then hath the Jew? Or what profit is there in circumcision?

² Much in every way; chiefly because unto them were committed the oracles of God.

³ For what if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?

⁴ God forbid! Yea, let God be true, but every man a liar. As it is written: “That Thou mightest be justified in Thy sayings, and mightest overcome when Thou art judged.”

⁵ But if our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unrighteous who taketh vengeance? (I speak as a man.)

⁶ God forbid! For then how shall God judge the world?

⁷ For if the truth of God through my lie hath abounded more unto His glory, why am I also yet judged as a sinner?

⁸ And why not say rather (as we are slanderously reported, and as some affirm that we say), “Let us do evil, that good may come”? Their damnation is just!

⁹ What then? Are we better than they? No, in no wise! For we have before proved that both Jews and Gentiles are all under sin.

¹⁰ As it is written: “There is none righteous, no, not one;

¹¹ there is none that understandeth; there is none that seeketh after God.

¹² They have all gone from the way; they have together become unprofitable; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”

¹³ “Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit.” “The poison of asps is under their lips,”

¹⁴ “whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”

¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood;

¹⁶ destruction and misery are in their ways,

¹⁷ and the way of peace have they not known.”

¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.”

¹⁹ Now we know that whatsoever things the law saith, it saith to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may become guilty before God.

²⁰ Therefore by the deeds of the law, no flesh shall be justified in His sight, for by the law is the knowledge of sin.

²¹ But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,

²² even the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all those who believe. For there is no difference,

²³ for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,

²⁴ being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

²⁵ Him God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;

²⁶ to declare, I say, at this time, His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.

²⁷ Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? Of works? Nay, but by the law of faith.

²⁸ Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the deeds of the law.

²⁹ Is He the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles? Yes, of the Gentiles also,

³⁰ seeing it is one God who shall justify the Circumcision by faith, and Uncircumcision through faith.

³¹ Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid! Yea, we establish the law.