Beginning

¹ Keep me safe, Lord, from the evil man.
Protect me from the violent man,
² who plans evil in his heart.
Every day they gather for battle.
³ They sharpen their tongues like a snake. Interlude
The poison of vipers is under their lips.
⁴ Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked.
Protect me from the violent man, who plans to trip my feet.
⁵ The proud have hidden a snare for me, and ropes.^[a]
They have spread out a net along my route. Interlude
They have set traps for me.

⁶ I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
Hear, O Lord, the sound of my cry for mercy.
⁷ O Lord, my Lord, the strength of my salvation,
you cover my head on the day for weapons.
⁸ Do not grant, O Lord, the desires of the wicked.
Do not let their scheme succeed when they rise up.^[b] Interlude

⁹ May the trouble caused by their lips
    fall on the heads of those who surround me.
¹⁰ Let burning coals fall on them.
Cause them to fall into the fire,
or into pits from which they will never rise.
¹¹ Do not let the slanderer^[c] be established in the land.
As for the man of violence—
may evil hunt him and beat him down.

¹² I know that the Lord will provide justice for the oppressed,
    judgment for the poor.
¹³ Surely the righteous will give thanks to your name.
The upright will live in your presence.

¹ Lord, I call to you. Hurry to me.
Turn your ear toward my voice when I call to you.
² May my prayer linger before you like incense,
the lifting up of my hands like an evening offering.

³ Set a guard over my mouth, Lord.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
⁴ Do not let my heart turn toward anything evil,
to take part in wicked deeds with men who do evil.
Let me not taste their delicacies.

⁵ Let a righteous man strike me—it is mercy.
Let him rebuke me—it is lotion^[d] on my head.
My head will not refuse it.

But my prayer is still against their evil deeds.
⁶ Their rulers will be thrown down by the sides of the cliff,
and they will hear that my words were pleasant.
⁷ They will say,^[e] “As one splits and breaks up the earth,
so our bones have been scattered at the mouth of the grave.”

⁸ But my eyes look to you, Lord God.^[f]
In you I take refuge. Do not take away my life.
⁹ Keep me from the snares they have set for me,
    from the traps of the evildoers.
¹⁰ Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by safely.

¹ With my voice I cry out to the Lord.
With my voice I call to the Lord for mercy.
² I pour out my complaint before him.
I tell my distress before him.
³ When my spirit grows faint within me,
you are the one who knows my course.
On the path where I walk they have hidden a snare for me.
⁴ Look to my right and see.
There is no one who recognizes me.
There is no escape for me.
No one cares about my life.
⁵ I cry out to you, Lord.
I say, “You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.”
⁶ Pay attention to my loud cry,
because I am very weak.
Rescue me from those who pursue me,
because they are too strong for me.
⁷ Set me free from my prison,
so I can give thanks to your name.
Then the righteous will gather around me,
because you have accomplished your purpose for me.

¹ Lord, hear my prayer.
Give ear to my cry for mercy.
In your faithfulness, answer me in your righteousness.
² Do not bring charges against your servant,
because no one living can be righteous before you.

³ For the enemy pursues my soul.
He crushes my life to the ground.
He makes me dwell in dark places like those long dead,
⁴ so my spirit grows faint inside me.
Within me my heart is devastated.

⁵ I remember the days of long ago.
I meditate on all your works,
and I consider what your hands have done.
⁶ I spread out my hands to you. Interlude
My soul thirsts for you like a weary land.

⁷ Hurry! Answer me, Lord.
My spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me,
or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
⁸ Let me hear about your mercy in the morning,
    for I trust in you.
Teach me the way that I should go,
    for I lift up my soul to you.
⁹ Rescue me from my enemies, O Lord,
    for I hide myself in you.
¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,
    for you are my God.
May your good Spirit lead me on level ground.
¹¹ For the sake of your name, O Lord, preserve my life.
In your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
¹² In your mercy, wipe out my enemies,
and destroy all who threaten my life,
for I am your servant.

¹ Blessed be the Lord my Rock,
who trains my hands for battle,
my fingers for war.
² He shows me mercy.
He is my stronghold, my high fortress.
He is my deliverer and my shield,
so I take refuge in him.
He subdues peoples^[i] under me.

³ Lord, what is man that you notice him,
the son of man that you consider him?
⁴ Man is like a breath.^[j]
His days are like a passing shadow.

⁵ Lord, rip open your heavens and come down.
Touch the mountains so that they smoke.
⁶ Send out lightning and scatter them.
Shoot your arrows and rout them.
⁷ Reach down your hand from on high.
Rescue me and snatch me from the mighty waters,
from the hand of foreigners ⁸ whose mouths speak lies,
who raise their right hands to a false oath.^[k]

⁹ God, I will sing a new song to you.
On the ten-stringed harp I will make music to you,
¹⁰     to you who gives victory to kings,
    to you who delivers David his servant from the evil sword.

¹¹ Rescue me and snatch me from the hand of foreigners
    whose mouths speak lies,
    who raise their right hands to a false oath.

¹² Then our sons in their youth will be like full-grown plants.
Our daughters will be like corner pillars carved to decorate a palace.
¹³ Our storehouses will be filled with produce of every kind.
Our flocks will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our countryside.
¹⁴ Our oxen will pull heavy loads.
There will be no breaking through our walls,
no exile into captivity,
no cry of distress in our city squares.
¹⁵ How blessed are the people for whom this is so.
How blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.

¹ I will exalt you, my God, the King,
and I will bless your name forever and ever.
² Every day I will bless you,
and I will praise your name forever and ever.

³ Great is the Lord and worthy of great praise,
and there are no limits to the extent of his greatness.

⁴ One generation will praise your deeds to another,
and they will declare your mighty acts.
⁵ I will contemplate the glorious splendor of your majesty
and the accounts of your wonderful works.
⁶ Then they will speak about the power of your awesome works,
and I will tell about your great deeds.
⁷ They will pour forth the memory of your abundant goodness
and sing loudly about your righteousness.

⁸ The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and great in mercy.
⁹ The Lord is good to all.
His compassion extends over all he has made.

¹⁰ Everyone you have made will thank you, O Lord,
and the ones you favor will bless you.
¹¹ They will tell about the glory of your kingdom,
and they will speak about your might,
¹² to make known his might to the children of Adam,
to make known the glorious splendor of his kingdom.

¹³ Your kingdom is a kingdom for all ages,
and your dominion endures through all generations.
The Lord is faithful to all his words
and merciful toward all he has made.^[l]
14 The Lord lifts up all who fall,
and he supports all who are bowed down.
¹⁵ The eyes of all look eagerly to you,
and you give them their food at the proper time.
¹⁶ He opens his hand,
and he satisfies the desire of every living thing.^[m]
17 The Lord is righteous in all his ways
and merciful toward all that he has made.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to all who call on him,
to all who call on him in truth.
¹⁹ He grants the desire of those who fear him.
He hears their cry and saves them.
²⁰ The Lord watches over all who love him,
but he will destroy all the wicked.

²¹ My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord.
Let all flesh bless his holy name forever and ever.