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Psalm 36

For the choir director: A psalm of David, the servant of the Lord.

Sin whispers to the wicked, deep within their hearts.[a]
    They have no fear of God at all.
In their blind conceit,
    they cannot see how wicked they really are.
Everything they say is crooked and deceitful.
    They refuse to act wisely or do good.
They lie awake at night, hatching sinful plots.
    Their actions are never good.
    They make no attempt to turn from evil.

Your unfailing love, O Lord, is as vast as the heavens;
    your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains,
    your justice like the ocean depths.
You care for people and animals alike, O Lord.
    How precious is your unfailing love, O God!
All humanity finds shelter
    in the shadow of your wings.
You feed them from the abundance of your own house,
    letting them drink from your river of delights.
For you are the fountain of life,
    the light by which we see.

10 Pour out your unfailing love on those who love you;
    give justice to those with honest hearts.
11 Don’t let the proud trample me
    or the wicked push me around.
12 Look! Those who do evil have fallen!
    They are thrown down, never to rise again.

Footnotes

  1. 36:1 As in some Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac version, which read in his heart. Masoretic Text reads in my heart.

To the Director: By the servant of the Lord, David.

An Oracle from the Lord

36 An oracle that came to me[a] about the transgressions of the wicked:

There is no fear of God before his eyes.
He flatters himself[b] too much[c] to discover his transgression and hate it.
The words from his mouth are vain and deceptive.
    He has abandoned behaving wisely and doing good.
He devises iniquity on his bed
    and is determined to follow a path that is not good.
        He does not resist evil.

Praise to the Lord

Your gracious love, Lord, reaches to the heavens;
    your truth[d] extends to the skies.[e]
Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
    your justice is like the great depths of the sea.[f]
        You deliver both[g] people and animals, Lord.
How precious is your gracious love, God!
    The children of men take refuge in the shadow of your wings.
They are refreshed from the abundance of your house;
    You cause them to drink from the river of your pleasures.
For with you is a fountain of life,
    and in your light we will see light.

10 Send forth your gracious love to those who know you,
    and your righteousness to those who are upright in heart.
11 Do not let the foot of the proud crush me;
    and do not let the hand of the wicked dissuade me.
12 There, those who do evil have fallen;
    They have been thrown down,
        and they cannot get up.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 36:1 So MT DSS 4QPsa; lit. oracle in the midst of my heart; Syr Origen read of his heart
  2. Psalm 36:2 Lit. himself in his own eyes
  3. Psalm 36:2 The Heb. lacks too much
  4. Psalm 36:5 Or faithfulness
  5. Psalm 36:5 Or clouds
  6. Psalm 36:6 The Heb. lacks of the sea
  7. Psalm 36:6 The Heb. lacks both