Beginning
Blessedness of Forgiveness and of Trust in God.
A Psalm of David. A [a]Maskil.
32 (A)How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the Lord (B)does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is (C)no deceit!
3 When (D)I kept silent about my sin, (E)my [b]body wasted away
Through my [c](F)groaning all day long.
4 For day and night (G)Your hand was heavy upon me;
My [d](H)vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. [e]Selah.
5 I (I)acknowledged my sin to You,
And my iniquity I (J)did not hide;
I said, “(K)I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You (L)forgave the [f]guilt of my sin. Selah.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [g](M)in a time when You may be found;
Surely (N)in a flood of great waters they will not reach him.
7 You are (O)my hiding place; You (P)preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with [h](Q)songs of deliverance. Selah.
8 I will (R)instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go;
I will counsel you (S)with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be (T)as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the (U)sorrows of the wicked,
But (V)he who trusts in the Lord, lovingkindness shall surround him.
11 Be (W)glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous ones;
And shout for joy, all you who are (X)upright in heart.
Praise to the Creator and Preserver.
33 (Y)Sing for joy in the Lord, O you righteous ones;
Praise is (Z)becoming to the upright.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the (AA)lyre;
Sing praises to Him with a (AB)harp of ten strings.
3 Sing to Him a (AC)new song;
Play skillfully with (AD)a shout of joy.
4 For the word of the Lord (AE)is upright,
And all His work is done (AF)in faithfulness.
5 He (AG)loves righteousness and justice;
The (AH)earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.
6 By the (AI)word of the Lord the heavens were made,
And (AJ)by the breath of His mouth (AK)all their host.
7 He gathers the (AL)waters of the sea together [i]as a heap;
He lays up the deeps in storehouses.
8 Let (AM)all the earth fear the Lord;
Let all the inhabitants of the world (AN)stand in awe of Him.
9 For (AO)He spoke, and it was done;
He commanded, and it [j]stood fast.
10 The Lord (AP)nullifies the counsel of the nations;
He frustrates the plans of the peoples.
11 The (AQ)counsel of the Lord stands forever,
The (AR)plans of His heart from generation to generation.
12 Blessed is the (AS)nation whose God is the Lord,
The people whom He has (AT)chosen for His own inheritance.
13 The Lord (AU)looks from heaven;
He (AV)sees all the sons of men;
14 From (AW)His dwelling place He looks out
On all the inhabitants of the earth,
15 He who (AX)fashions [k]the hearts of them all,
He who (AY)understands all their works.
16 (AZ)The king is not saved by a mighty army;
A warrior is not delivered by great strength.
17 A (BA)horse is a false hope for victory;
Nor does it deliver anyone by its great strength.
18 Behold, (BB)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,
On those who [l](BC)hope for His lovingkindness,
19 To (BD)deliver their soul from death
And to keep them alive (BE)in famine.
20 Our soul (BF)waits for the Lord;
He is our (BG)help and our shield.
21 For our (BH)heart rejoices in Him,
Because we trust in His holy name.
22 Let Your lovingkindness, O Lord, be upon us,
According as we have [m]hoped in You.
The Lord, a Provider and Deliverer.
A Psalm of David when he [n]feigned madness before [o]Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.
34 I will (BI)bless the Lord at all times;
His (BJ)praise shall continually be in my mouth.
2 My soul will (BK)make its boast in the Lord;
The (BL)humble will hear it and rejoice.
3 O (BM)magnify the Lord with me,
And let us (BN)exalt His name together.
4 I (BO)sought the Lord, and He answered me,
And (BP)delivered me from all my fears.
5 They (BQ)looked to Him and were radiant,
And their faces will (BR)never be ashamed.
6 This [p]poor man cried, and (BS)the Lord heard him
And saved him out of all his troubles.
7 The (BT)angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him,
And rescues them.
8 O (BU)taste and see that the Lord is good;
How (BV)blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
9 O fear the Lord, you (BW)His saints;
For to those who fear Him there is (BX)no want.
10 The young lions do lack and suffer hunger;
But they who seek the Lord shall (BY)not be in want of any good thing.
11 (BZ)Come, you children, listen to me;
(CA)I will teach you (CB)the fear of the Lord.
12 (CC)Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may (CD)see good?
13 Keep (CE)your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking (CF)deceit.
14 (CG)Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and (CH)pursue it.
15 The (CI)eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
16 The (CJ)face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To (CK)cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 The righteous (CL)cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord (CM)is near to the (CN)brokenhearted
And saves those who are [q](CO)crushed in spirit.
19 (CP)Many are the (CQ)afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord (CR)delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones,
(CS)Not one of them is broken.
21 (CT)Evil shall slay the wicked,
And those who hate the righteous will be [r]condemned.
22 The Lord (CU)redeems the soul of His servants,
And none of those who (CV)take refuge in Him will be [s]condemned.
Prayer for Rescue from Enemies.
A Psalm of David.
35 Contend, O Lord, with those who (CW)contend with me;
Fight against those who (CX)fight against me.
2 Take hold of [t](CY)buckler and shield
And rise up for (CZ)my help.
3 Draw also the spear and [u]the battle-axe to meet those who pursue me;
Say to my soul, “I am (DA)your salvation.”
4 Let those be (DB)ashamed and dishonored who seek my [v]life;
Let those be (DC)turned back and humiliated who devise evil against me.
5 Let them be (DD)like chaff before the wind,
With the angel of the Lord driving them on.
6 Let their way be dark and (DE)slippery,
With the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 For (DF)without cause they (DG)hid their net for me;
Without cause they dug a [w]pit for my soul.
8 Let (DH)destruction come upon him unawares,
And (DI)let the net which he hid catch himself;
Into that very (DJ)destruction let him fall.
9 And my soul shall (DK)rejoice in the Lord;
It shall (DL)exult in His salvation.
10 All my (DM)bones will say, “Lord, (DN)who is like You,
Who delivers the afflicted from him (DO)who is too strong for him,
And (DP)the afflicted and the needy from him who robs him?”
11 (DQ)Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I do not know.
12 They (DR)repay me evil for good,
To the bereavement of my soul.
13 But as for me, (DS)when they were sick, my (DT)clothing was sackcloth;
I (DU)humbled my soul with fasting,
And my (DV)prayer kept returning to my bosom.
14 I went about as though it were my friend or brother;
I (DW)bowed down [x]mourning, as one who sorrows for a mother.
15 But (DX)at my [y]stumbling they rejoiced and gathered themselves together;
The [z](DY)smiters whom I did not know gathered together against me,
They [aa](DZ)slandered me without ceasing.
16 Like godless jesters at a feast,
They (EA)gnashed at me with their teeth.
17 Lord, (EB)how long will You look on?
Rescue my soul (EC)from their ravages,
My (ED)only life from the lions.
18 I will (EE)give You thanks in the great congregation;
I will (EF)praise You among a mighty throng.
19 (EG)Do not let those who are wrongfully (EH)my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those (EI)who hate me without cause [ab](EJ)wink maliciously.
20 For they do not speak peace,
But they devise (EK)deceitful words against those who are quiet in the land.
21 They (EL)opened their mouth wide against me;
They said, “(EM)Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it!”
22 (EN)You have seen it, O Lord, (EO)do not keep silent;
O Lord, (EP)do not be far from me.
23 (EQ)Stir up Yourself, and awake to my right
And to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24 (ER)Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness,
And (ES)do not let them rejoice over me.
25 Do not let them say in their heart, “(ET)Aha, our desire!”
Do not let them say, “We have (EU)swallowed him up!”
26 Let (EV)those be ashamed and humiliated altogether who rejoice at my distress;
Let those be (EW)clothed with shame and dishonor who (EX)magnify themselves over me.
New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved.