Psalm 9
Lexham English Bible
Praise for Yahweh’s Justice
For the music director, according to Muth-labben.[a] A psalm of David.[b]
9 I will thank Yahweh with all my heart.
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in you.
I will sing the praise of your name, O Most High.
3 When my enemies turn back,
they will stumble and perish because of your presence.
4 For you have maintained my just cause;
you have sat on the throne judging correctly.
5 You have rebuked the nations;
you have destroyed the wicked.
Their name you have blotted out
forever and ever.
6 The enemies are destroyed in ruins forever,
and you have uprooted their cities;
their very memory has perished.
7 But Yahweh sits enthroned forever.
He has established his throne for judgment.
8 And he will judge the world with righteousness.
He will judge the peoples with equity.
9 And Yahweh will be a stronghold for the oppressed,
a stronghold in times of distress.
10 And those who know your name will trust in you,
for you do not forsake those who seek you, O Yahweh.
11 Sing praises to Yahweh who sits enthroned[c] in Zion.
Tell his deeds among the peoples,
12 for he who avenges bloodshed[d] remembers them.
He does not forget the distressed cry of the afflicted.
13 Be gracious to me, O Yahweh.
See my suffering from those who hate me,
you who lift me up from the gates of death,
14 so that I may tell of all your praises.
In the gates of the daughter of Zion
let me rejoice in your salvation.
15 The nations have fallen in the pit that they made;
their foot is caught in the net that they hid.
16 Yahweh has made himself known;
he has executed judgment.
The wicked is snared by the work of his hands. Higgaion[e] Selah
17 The wicked shall turn back to Sheol,
all the nations forgetting God,
18 for the needy shall not always be forgotten;
the hope of the poor shall never perish.
19 Rise up, O Yahweh, let not humans[f] prevail;
let the nations be judged before you.
20 O Yahweh, put them in fear.
Let the nations know they are merely human. Selah
Footnotes
- Psalm 9:1 Meaning uncertain
- Psalm 9:1 The Hebrew Bible counts the superscription as the first verse of the psalm; the English verse number is reduced by one
- Psalm 9:11 Or “who dwells”
- Psalm 9:12 Literally “seeks bloods”
- Psalm 9:16 Hebrew musical term
- Psalm 9:19 Hebrew “human”
Psalm 9
Common English Bible
Psalm 9[a]
For the music leader. According to Muth-labben.[b] A psalm of David.
9 I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will talk about all your wonderful acts.
2 I will celebrate and rejoice in you;
I will sing praises to your name, Most High.
3 When my enemies turn and retreat,
they fall down and die right in front of you
4 because you have established justice
for me and my claim,
because you rule from the throne,
establishing justice rightly.
5 You’ve denounced the nations,
destroyed the wicked.
You’ve erased their names for all time.
6 Every enemy is wiped out,
like something ruined forever.
You’ve torn down their cities—
even the memory of them is dead.
7 But the Lord rules forever!
He assumes his throne
for the sake of justice.
8 He will establish justice in the world rightly;
he will judge all people fairly.
9 The Lord is a safe place for the oppressed—
a safe place in difficult times.
10 Those who know your name trust you
because you have not abandoned
any who seek you, Lord.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who lives in Zion!
Proclaim his mighty acts among all people!
12 Because the one who avenges bloodshed
remembers those who suffer;
the Lord hasn’t forgotten their cries for help.
13 Have mercy on me, Lord!
Just look how I suffer
because of those who hate me.
But you are the one who brings me back
from the very gates of death
14 so I can declare all your praises,
so I can rejoice in your salvation
in the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen
into the hole they themselves made!
Their feet are caught
in the very net they themselves hid!
16 The Lord is famous for the justice he has done;
it’s his own doing that the wicked are trapped. Higgayon.[c] Selah
17 Let the wicked go straight to the grave,[d]
the same for every nation that forgets God.
18 Because the poor won’t be forgotten forever,
the hope of those who suffer won’t be lost for all time.
19 Get up, Lord! Don’t let people prevail!
Let the nations be judged before you.
20 Strike them with fear, Lord.
Let the nations know they are only human. Selah
Footnotes
- Psalm 9:1 Ps 9 is an alphabetic acrostic poem (cf Ps 119) in Heb, with successive letters of the alphabet beginning every few lines, with only a few exceptions. Only ten letters are found in Ps 9; the sequence may be continued in Ps 10, suggesting that Pss 9–10 are a single poem.
- Psalm 9:1 Or Almuth labben; Heb uncertain, perhaps a reference to the melody; cf Pss 46:1; 48:14
- Psalm 9:16 Heb uncertain; or recitation (see Pss 1:2; 19:14) or melody (see Ps 92:3).
- Psalm 9:17 Heb Sheol
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