Psalm 7-8

New American Standard Bible

The Lord Implored to Defend the Psalmist against the Wicked.

A ^[a]Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord ^[b]concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.

7 O Lord my God, ^(A)in You I have taken refuge;
Save me from all those who pursue me, and ^(B)rescue me,
²Or he will tear ^[c]my soul ^(C)like a lion,
Dragging me away, while there is no one to rescue me.

³O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is ^(D)injustice in my hands,
⁴If I have ^(E)done evil to ^[d]my friend,
Or have ^(F)plundered ^[e]my enemy for no reason,
⁵Let the enemy pursue ^[f]my soul and overtake ^[g]it;
And let him trample my life to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. Selah

⁶^(G)Arise, Lord, in Your anger;
^(H)Raise Yourself against ^(I)the rage of my enemies,
And ^(J)stir Yourself ^[h]for me; You have ordered judgment.
⁷Let the assembly of the ^(K)peoples encompass You,
And return on high over it.
⁸The Lord ^(L)judges the peoples;
^[i]^(M)Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
⁹Please let ^(N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but ^(O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God ^(P)puts hearts and ^[j]minds to the test.
¹⁰My ^(Q)shield is ^[k]with God,
Who ^(R)saves the upright in heart.
¹¹God is a ^(S)righteous judge,
And a God who ^(T)shows indignation every day.

¹²If one ^(U)does not repent, He will ^(V)sharpen His sword;
He has ^(W)bent His bow and taken aim.
¹³He has also prepared deadly weapons for Himself;
He makes His ^(X)arrows fiery shafts.
¹⁴Behold, an evil person is pregnant with injustice,
And he ^(Y)conceives harm and gives birth to lies.
¹⁵He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has ^(Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
¹⁶His ^(AA)harm will return on his own head,
And his ^(AB)violence will descend on the top of his own head.

¹⁷I will give thanks to the Lord ^(AC)according to His righteousness
And will ^(AD)sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

The Lord’s Glory and Mankind’s Dignity.

For the music director; on the Gittith. A Psalm of David.

8 Lord, our Lord,
How majestic is Your name in all the earth,
You who have ^[l]^(AE)displayed Your splendor above the heavens!
²^(AF)From the mouths of infants and nursing babies You have established ^[m]^(AG)strength
Because of Your enemies,
To do away with ^(AH)the enemy and the revengeful.

³When I ^[n]^(AI)consider ^(AJ)Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The ^(AK)moon and the stars, which You have set in place;
⁴^(AL)What is man that You think of him,
And a son of man that You are concerned about him?
⁵Yet You have made him a ^(AM)little lower than ^[o]God,
And ^(AN)You crown him with ^(AO)glory and majesty!
⁶You have him ^(AP)rule over the works of Your hands;
You have ^(AQ)put everything under his feet,
⁷All sheep and oxen,
And also the animals of the field,
⁸The birds of the sky, and the fish of the sea,
Whatever passes through the paths of the seas.