Beginning
Psalm 58
For the music leader. Do not destroy. A psalm of David, a miktam.[a]
58 Do you really speak what is right, you gods?
Do you really judge humans fairly?
2 No: in your hearts you plan injustice;
your hands do violence on the earth.
3 The wicked backslide from the womb;
liars go astray from birth.
4 Their venom is like a snake’s venom—
like a deaf cobra’s—one that shuts its ears
5 so it can’t hear the snake charmer’s voice
or the spells of a skillful enchanter.
6 God, break their teeth out of their mouths!
Tear out the lions’ jawbones, Lord!
7 Let them dissolve like water flowing away.
When they bend the bow,
let their arrows be like headless shafts.[b]
8 Like the snail that dissolves into slime,
like a woman’s stillborn child,
let them never see the sun.
9 Before your pots feel the thorns,
whether green or burned up,
God will sweep them away![c]
10 But the righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done,
when they wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then it will be said:
“Yes, there is a reward for the righteous!
Yes, there is a God who judges people on the earth.”
Psalm 59
For the music leader. Do not destroy. A miktam[d] of David, when Saul sent men to watch the house in order to kill him.
59 Oh, my God, deliver me from my enemies;
put me out of reach from those who rise up against me.
2 Deliver me from evildoers;
save me from the bloodthirsty.
3 Look at how they lie in ambush for my life!
Powerful people are attacking me, Lord—
but not because of any error or sin of mine.
4 They run and take their stand—
but not because of any fault of mine.
Get up when I cry out to you!
Look at what’s happening!
5 You are the Lord God of heavenly forces,
the God of Israel!
Wake up and punish all the nations!
Grant no mercy to any wicked traitor! Selah
6 They come back every evening,
growling like dogs,
prowling around the city.
7 See what they belch out with their mouths:
swords are between their lips!
Who can listen to them?[e]
8 But you, Lord, laugh at them.
You mock all the nations.
9 I keep looking for you, my strength,
because God is my stronghold.
10 My loving God will come to meet me.
God will allow me to look down on my enemies.
11 Don’t kill them, or my people might forget;
instead, by your power
shake them up and bring them down,
you who are our shield and my Lord.
12 For the sin of their mouths,
the words that they speak,
let them be captured in their pride.
For the curses and lies they repeat,
13 finish them off in anger;
finish them off until they are gone!
Then let it be known to the ends of the earth
that God rules over Jacob. Selah
14 They come back every evening,
growling like dogs,
prowling around the city.
15 They roam about for food,
and if they don’t get their fill,
they stay all night.
16 But me? I will sing of your strength!
In the morning I will shout out loud
about your faithful love
because you have been my stronghold,
my shelter when I was distraught.
17 I will sing praises to you, my strength,
because God is my stronghold,
my loving God.
Psalm 60
For the music leader. According to “Lily.” A testimony. A miktam[f] of David. For instruction, when he went to war with Aram-naharaim and Aram-sobah, and when Joab returned and defeated Edom, killing twelve thousand in the Salt Valley.
60 God, you have rejected us—
shattered us.
You’ve been so angry.
Now restore us!
2 You’ve made the ground quake,
splitting it open.
Now repair its cracks
because it’s shaking apart!
3 You’ve made your people suffer hardship;
you’ve given us wine and we stagger.
4 Give a flag to those who honor you,
so they can rally around it,
safe from attack.[g] Selah
5 Save us by your power and answer us
so that the people you love might be rescued.
6 God has spoken in his sanctuary:
“I will celebrate as I divide up Shechem
and portion out the Succoth Valley.
7 Gilead is mine;
Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet;
Judah is my scepter.
8 But Moab is my washbowl;
I’ll throw my shoe at Edom.
I shout in triumph over Philistia![h]
9 I wish someone would bring me to a fortified city!
I wish someone would lead me to Edom!”
10 But you have rejected us, God, haven’t you?
God, you no longer accompany our armies.
11 Give us help against the enemy;
human help is worthless.
12 With God we will triumph;
he’s the one who will trample our adversaries.
Psalm 61
For the music leader, with stringed instruments. Of David.
61 God, listen to my cry;
pay attention to my prayer!
2 When my heart is weak,
I cry out to you from the very ends of the earth.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I am
3 because you have been my refuge,
a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.
4 Please let me live in your tent forever!
Please let me take refuge
in the shelter of your wings! Selah
5 Because you, God, have heard my promises;
you’ve given me[i] the same possession
as those who honor your name.
6 Add days to the king’s life!
Let his years extend for many generations!
7 Let him be enthroned forever before God!
Make it so love and faithfulness watch over him!
8 Then I will sing praises to your name forever,
and I will do what I promised every single day.
Psalm 62
For the music leader. According to Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
62 Only in God do I[j] find rest;
my salvation comes from him.
2 Only God is my rock and my salvation—
my stronghold!—I won’t be shaken anymore.
3 How long will all of you attack others;
how long will you tear them down[k]
as if they were leaning walls or broken-down fences?
4 The only desire of this people
is to bring others down low;
they delight in deception.
With their mouths they bless,
but inside they are cursing. Selah
5 Oh, I[l] must find rest in God only,
because my hope comes from him!
6 Only God is my rock and my salvation—
my stronghold!—I will not be shaken.
7 My deliverance and glory depend on God.
God is my strong rock.
My refuge is in God.
8 All you people: Trust in him at all times!
Pour out your hearts before him!
God is our refuge! Selah
9 Human beings are nothing but a breath.
Human beings are nothing but lies.
They don’t even register on a scale;
taken all together they are lighter than a breath!
10 Don’t trust in violence;
don’t set false hopes in robbery.
When wealth bears fruit,
don’t set your heart on it.
11 God has spoken one thing—
make it two things—
that I myself have heard:
that strength belongs to God,
12 and faithful love comes from you, my Lord—
and that you will repay
everyone according to their deeds.
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[m] thirsts for you!
My body desires you
in a dry and tired land,
no water anywhere.
2 Yes, I’ve seen you in the sanctuary;
I’ve seen your power and glory.
3 My lips praise you
because your faithful love
is better than life itself!
4 So I will bless you as long as I’m alive;
I will lift up my hands in your name.
5 I’m fully satisfied—
as with a rich dinner.
My mouth speaks praise with joy on my lips—
6 whenever I ponder you on my bed,
whenever I meditate on you
in the middle of the night—
7 because you’ve been a help to me and I shout for joy in the protection of your wings.
8 My whole being clings to you;
your strong hand upholds me.
9 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.
Psalm 64
For the music leader. A psalm of David.
64 Listen to me when I complain, God!
Protect my life from the enemy’s terror!
2 Hide me from the secret plots of wicked people;
hide me from the schemes of evildoers
3 who sharpen their tongues like swords.
They aim their arrow—a cruel word—
4 from their hiding places
so as to shoot an innocent person.
They shoot without warning and without fear.
5 They encourage themselves with evil words.
They plan on laying traps in secret.
“Who will be able to see them?” they ask.
6 “Let someone try to expose our crimes!
We’ve devised a perfect plot!
It’s deep within the human mind and heart.”[n]
7 But God will shoot them with an arrow!
Without warning, they will be wounded!
8 The Lord will make them trip over their own tongues;
everyone who sees them will just shake their heads.
9 Then all people will honor God,
will announce the act of God,
will understand it was God’s work.
10 Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord;
let them take refuge in him;
let everyone whose heart is in the right place give praise!
Psalm 65
For the music leader. A psalm of David. A song.
65 God of Zion, to you even silence is praise.
Promises made to you are kept—
2 you listen to prayer—
and all living things come to you.
3 When wrongdoings become too much for me,
you forgive our sins.
4 How happy is the one you choose to bring close,
the one who lives in your courtyards!
We are filled full by the goodness of your house,
by the holiness of your temple.
5 In righteousness you answer us,
by your awesome deeds,
God of our salvation—
you, who are the security
of all the far edges of the earth,
even the distant seas.
6 You establish the mountains by your strength;
you are dressed in raw power.
7 You calm the roaring seas;
calm the roaring waves,
calm the noise of the nations.
8 Those who dwell on the far edges
stand in awe of your acts.
You make the gateways
of morning and evening sing for joy.
9 You visit the earth and make it abundant,
enriching it greatly
by God’s stream, full of water.
You provide people with grain
because that is what you’ve decided.
10 Drenching the earth’s furrows,
leveling its ridges,
you soften it with rain showers;
you bless its growth.
11 You crown the year with your goodness;
your paths overflow with rich food.
12 Even the desert pastures drip with it,
and the hills are dressed in pure joy.
13 The meadowlands are covered with flocks,
the valleys decked out in grain—
they shout for joy;
they break out in song!
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible