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A Psalm by David, when he was in the desert of Judah.

63 God, you are my God.
    I will earnestly seek you.
My soul thirsts for you.
    My flesh longs for you,
    in a dry and weary land, where there is no water.
So I have seen you in the sanctuary,
    watching your power and your glory.
Because your loving kindness is better than life,
    my lips shall praise you.
So I will bless you while I live.
    I will lift up my hands in your name.
My soul shall be satisfied as with the richest food.
    My mouth shall praise you with joyful lips,
    when I remember you on my bed,
    and think about you in the night watches.
For you have been my help.
    I will rejoice in the shadow of your wings.
My soul stays close to you.
    Your right hand holds me up.
But those who seek my soul to destroy it
    shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
10 They shall be given over to the power of the sword.
    They shall be jackal food.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God.
    Everyone who swears by him will praise him,
    for the mouth of those who speak lies shall be silenced.

Psalm 63

A psalm of David, when he was in the Judean desert.

63 God! My God! It’s you—
    I search for you!
    My whole being[a] thirsts for you!
    My body desires you
        in a dry and tired land,
        no water anywhere.
Yes, I’ve seen you in the sanctuary;
    I’ve seen your power and glory.
My lips praise you
    because your faithful love
    is better than life itself!
So I will bless you as long as I’m alive;
    I will lift up my hands in your name.

I’m fully satisfied—
    as with a rich dinner.
My mouth speaks praise with joy on my lips—
    whenever I ponder you on my bed,
    whenever I meditate on you
        in the middle of the night—
    because you’ve been a help to me and I shout for joy in the protection of your wings.
My whole being clings to you;
    your strong hand upholds me.

But what about those people who want to destroy me?
    Let them go into the bowels of the earth!
10     Let their blood flow by the sword!
    Let them be food for wild jackals!
11 But the king should rejoice in God;
    everyone who swears by God should give praise
        when the mouths of liars are shut for good.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 63:1 Or my soul; also in 63:5, 8

13 Then David and his men, who were about six hundred, arose and departed out of Keilah, and went wherever they could go. Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah; and he gave up going there. 14 David stayed in the wilderness in the strongholds, and remained in the hill country in the wilderness of Ziph. Saul sought him every day, but God didn’t deliver him into his hand.

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13 So David and his troops—approximately six hundred men—got up and left Keilah. They kept moving, going from one place to the next. When Saul was told that David had escaped from Keilah, he didn’t go there.

14 David lived in the fortresses in the wilderness and in the hills of the Ziph wilderness. Saul searched for him constantly, but God did not hand David over to Saul.

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