Beginning

66 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A song. A psalm:

⁽¹⁾ Shout to God, all the earth!
² Sing the glory of his name,
make his praise glorious.
³ Tell God, “How awesome are your deeds!
At your great power, your enemies cringe.
⁴ All the earth bows down to you,
sings praises to you, sings praises to your name.” (Selah)

⁵ Come and see what God has done,
his awesome dealings with humankind.
⁶ He turned the sea into dry land.
They passed through the river on foot;
there we rejoiced in him.
⁷ With his power he rules forever;
his eyes keep watch on the nations.
Let no rebel arise to challenge him. (Selah)

⁸ Bless our God, you peoples!
Let the sound of his praise be heard!
⁹ He preserves our lives
and keeps our feet from stumbling.
¹⁰ For you, God, have tested us,
refined us as silver is refined.
¹¹ You brought us into the net
and bound our bodies fast.
¹² You made men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and water.
But you brought us out
to a place of plenty.

¹³ I will come into your house with burnt offerings,
I will fulfill my vows to you,
¹⁴ those my lips pronounced and my mouth spoke
when I was in distress.
¹⁵ I will offer you burnt offerings of fattened animals,
along with the sweet smoke of rams;
I will offer bulls and goats. (Selah)

¹⁶ Come and listen, all you who fear God,
and I will tell what he has done for me.
¹⁷ I cried out to him with my mouth,
his praise was on my tongue.
¹⁸ Had I cherished evil thoughts,
Adonai would not have listened.
¹⁹ But in fact, God did listen;
he paid attention to my prayer.
²⁰ Blessed be God, who did not reject my prayer
or turn his grace away from me.

67 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song:

^2 (1) God, be gracious to us, and bless us.
May he make his face shine toward us, (Selah)
^3 (2) so that your way may be known on earth,
your salvation among all nations.

^4 (3) Let the peoples give thanks to you, God;
let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.
^5 (4) Let the nations be glad and shout for joy,
for you will judge the peoples fairly
and guide the nations on earth. (Selah)

^6 (5) Let the peoples give thanks to you, God;
let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.
^7 (6) The earth has yielded its harvest;
may God, our God, bless us.
^8 (7) May God continue to bless us,
so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.
68 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of David. A song:

^2 (1) Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered;
let those who hate him flee from his presence.
^3 (2) Drive them away as smoke is driven away;
like wax melting in the presence of a fire,
let the wicked perish in the presence of God.
^4 (3) But let the righteous rejoice and be glad in God’s presence;
yes, let them exult and rejoice.

^5 (4) Sing to God, sing praises to his name;
extol him who rides on the clouds
by his name, Yah;
and be glad in his presence.

^6 (5) God in his holy dwelling,
is a father to orphans and defender of widows.
^7 (6) God gives homes to those who are alone
and leads prisoners out into prosperity.
But rebels must live in a parched wasteland.

^8 (7) God, when you went out at the head of your people,
when you marched out through the wilderness, (Selah)
^9 (8) the earth quaked, and rain poured from the sky,
at the presence of God.
Even Sinai [shook] at the presence of God,
the God of Isra’el.
^10 (9) You rained down showers in plenty, God;
when your heritage was weary, you restored it.
^11 (10) Your flock settled in it;
in your goodness, God, you provided for the poor.

^12 (11) Adonai gives the command;
the women with the good news are a mighty army.
^13 (12) Kings and their armies are fleeing, fleeing,
while the women at home divide the spoil.
^14 (13) Even if you lie among the animal stalls,
there are wings of a dove covered with silver
and its plumes with green gold.
^15 (14) When Shaddai scatters kings there,
snow falls on Tzalmon.

^16 (15) You mighty mountain, Mount Bashan!
You rugged mountain, Mount Bashan!
^17 (16) You rugged mountain, why look with envy
at the mountain God wants for his place to live?
Truly, Adonai will live there forever.
^18 (17) God’s chariots are myriads, repeated thousands;
Adonai is among them as in Sinai, in holiness.
^19 (18) After you went up into the heights,
you led captivity captive,
you took gifts among mankind,
yes, even among the rebels,
so that Yah, God, might live there.

^20 (19) Blessed be Adonai!
Every day he bears our burden,
does God, our salvation. (Selah)
^21 (20) Our God is a God who saves;
from Adonai Adonai comes escape from death.
^22 (21) God will surely crush the heads of his enemies,
the hairy crowns of those who continue in their guilt.
^23 (22) Adonai said, “I will bring them back from Bashan,
I will fetch [those rebels] even from the depths of the sea;
^24 (23) so that you can wash your feet in their blood,
and your dogs’ tongues too can get their share from your foes.

^25 (24) They see your processions, God,
the processions of my God, my king, in holiness.
^26 (25) The singers are in front, the musicians last,
in the middle are girls playing tambourines.
^27 (26) “In choruses, bless God, Adonai,
you whose source is Isra’el.”
^28 (27) There is Binyamin, the youngest, at the head;
the princes of Y’hudah, crowding along;
the princes of Z’vulun; the princes of Naftali.

^29 (28) God, summon your strength!
Use your strength, God, as you did for us before,
^30 (29) from your temple in Yerushalayim,
where kings will bring tribute to you.
^31 (30) Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds,
that herd of bulls with their calves, the peoples,
who ingratiate themselves with bars of silver;
let him scatter the peoples who take pleasure in fighting.
^32 (31) Let envoys come from Egypt,
Let Ethiopia stretch out its hands to God.

^33 (32) Sing to God, kingdoms of the earth!
Sing praises to Adonai, (Selah)
^34 (33) to him who rides on the most ancient heavens.
Listen, as he utters his voice, a mighty voice!
^35 (34) Acknowledge that strength belongs to God,
with his majesty over Isra’el and his strength in the skies.
^36 (35) How awe-inspiring you are, God,
from your holy places,
the God of Isra’el, who gives strength
and power to the people.
Blessed be God!

69 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set to “Lilies.” By David:

^2 (1) Save me, God!
For the water threatens my life.
^3 (2) I am sinking down in the mud,
and there is no foothold;
I have come into deep water;
the flood is sweeping over me.
^4 (3) I am exhausted from crying,
my throat is dry and sore,
my eyes are worn out
with looking for my God.

^5 (4) Those who hate me for no reason
outnumber the hairs on my head.
My persecutors are powerful,
my enemies accuse me falsely.
Am I expected to return
things I didn’t steal?

^6 (5) God, you know how foolish I am;
my guilt is not hidden from you.
^7 (6) Let those who put their hope in you,
Adonai Elohim-Tzva’ot,
not be put to shame through me;
let those who are seeking you,
God of Isra’el,
not be disgraced through me.

^8 (7) For your sake I suffer insults,
shame covers my face.
^9 (8) I am estranged from my brothers,
an alien to my mother’s children,
^10 (9) because zeal for your house is eating me up,
and on me are falling the insults
of those insulting you.
^11 (10) I weep bitterly, and I fast,
but that too occasions insults.
^12 (11) I clothe myself with sackcloth
and become an object of scorn,
^13 (12) the gossip of those sitting by the town gate,
the theme of drunkards’ songs.

^14 (13) As for me, Adonai, let my prayer to you
come at an acceptable time;
In your great grace, God, answer me
with the truth of your salvation.
^15 (14) Rescue me from the mud!
Don’t let me sink!
Let me be rescued from those who hate me
and from the deep water.
^16 (15) Don’t let the floodwaters overwhelm me,
don’t let the deep swallow me up,
don’t let the pit close its mouth over me.

^17 (16) Answer me, Adonai, for your grace is good;
in your great mercy, turn to me.
^18 (17) Don’t hide your face from your servant,
for I am in trouble; answer me quickly.
^19 (18) Come near to me, and redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies.

^20 (19) You know how I am insulted,
shamed and disgraced;
before you stand all my foes.
^21 (20) Insults have broken my heart
to the point that I could die.
I hoped that someone would show compassion,
but nobody did;
and that there would be comforters,
but I found none.
^22 (21) They put poison in my food;
in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.
^23 (22) Let their dining table
before them become a snare;
when they are at peace,
let it become a trap;
^24 (23) let their eyes be darkened,
so that they can’t see,
and let their bodies
always be stumbling.
^25 (24) Pour out your fury on them,
let your fierce anger overtake them.
^26 (25) Let the place where they live be desolate,
with no one to live in their tents,
^27 (26) for persecuting someone you had already stricken,
for adding to the pain of those you wounded.
^28 (27) Add guilt to their guilt,
don’t let them enter your righteousness.
^29 (28) Erase them from the book of life,
let them not be written with the righteous.

^30 (29) Meanwhile, I am afflicted and hurting;
God, let your saving power raise me up.
^31 (30) I will praise God’s name with a song
and extol him with thanksgiving.

^32 (31) This will please Adonai more than a bull,
with its horns and hoofs.
^33 (32) The afflicted will see it and rejoice;
you seeking after God, let your heart revive.
^34 (33) For Adonai pays attention to the needy
and doesn’t scorn his captive people.

^35 (34) Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and whatever moves in them.
^36 (35) For God will save Tziyon,
he will build the cities of Y’hudah.
[His people] will settle there and possess it.
^37 (36) The descendants of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will live there.