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Beginning

Read the Bible from start to finish, from Genesis to Revelation.

Duration: 365 days

Psalm 26-31

Psalm 26^[a]

Prayer of Innocence

¹Of David.

I

Judge me, Lord!
    For I have walked in my integrity.^(A)
In the Lord I trust;
    I do not falter.
²Examine me, Lord, and test me;
    search my heart and mind.^(B)
³Your mercy is before my eyes;
    I walk guided by your faithfulness.^(C)

II

⁴I do not sit with worthless men,
    nor with hypocrites do I mingle.
⁵I hate an evil assembly;
    with the wicked I do not sit.
⁶I will wash my hands^[b] in innocence^(D)
    so that I may process around your altar, Lord,
⁷To hear the sound of thanksgiving,
    and recount all your wondrous deeds.
⁸Lord, I love the refuge of your house,
    the site of the dwelling-place of your glory.^(E)

III

⁹Do not take me away with sinners,
    nor my life with the men of blood,^(F)
¹⁰In whose hands there is a plot,
    their right hands full of bribery.
¹¹But I walk in my integrity;^(G)
    redeem me, be gracious to me!^(H)
¹²My foot stands on level ground;^[c]
    in assemblies I will bless the Lord.^(I)

Psalm 27^[d]

Trust in God

¹^(J)Of David.

A

I

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
    whom should I fear?
The Lord is my life’s refuge;
    of whom should I be afraid?
²When evildoers come at me
    to devour my flesh,^[e]^(K)
These my enemies and foes
    themselves stumble and fall.
³Though an army encamp against me,
    my heart does not fear;
Though war be waged against me,
    even then do I trust.

II

⁴One thing I ask of the Lord;
    this I seek:
To dwell in the Lord’s house
    all the days of my life,
To gaze on the Lord’s beauty,
    to visit his temple.^(L)
⁵For God will hide me in his shelter
    in time of trouble,^(M)
He will conceal me in the cover of his tent;
    and set me high upon a rock.
⁶Even now my head is held high
    above my enemies on every side!
I will offer in his tent
    sacrifices with shouts of joy;
    I will sing and chant praise to the Lord.

B

I

⁷Hear my voice, Lord, when I call;
    have mercy on me and answer me.
⁸“Come,” says my heart, “seek his face”;^[f]
    your face, Lord, do I seek!^(N)
⁹Do not hide your face from me;
    do not repel your servant in anger.
You are my salvation; do not cast me off;
    do not forsake me, God my savior!
¹⁰Even if my father and mother forsake me,
    the Lord will take me in.^(O)

II

¹¹Lord, show me your way;
    lead me on a level path
    because of my enemies.^(P)
¹²Do not abandon me to the desire of my foes;
    malicious and lying witnesses have risen against me.
¹³I believe I shall see the Lord’s goodness
    in the land of the living.^[g]^(Q)
¹⁴Wait for the Lord, take courage;
    be stouthearted, wait for the Lord!

Psalm 28^[h]

Petition and Thanksgiving

¹Of David.

I

To you, Lord, I call;
    my Rock, do not be deaf to me,^(R)
Do not be silent toward me,
    so that I join those who go down to the pit.^(S)
²Hear the sound of my pleading when I cry to you for help
    when I lift up my hands toward your holy place.^[i]^(T)
³Do not drag me off with the wicked,
    with those who do wrong,^(U)
Who speak peace to their neighbors
    though evil is in their hearts.^(V)
⁴Repay them for their deeds,
    for the evil that they do.
For the work of their hands repay them;
    give them what they deserve.^(W)
⁵Because they do not understand the Lord’s works,
    the work of his hands,^(X)
He will tear them down,
    never to rebuild them.

II

⁶^[j]Blessed be the Lord,
    who has heard the sound of my pleading.
⁷The Lord is my strength and my shield,
    in whom my heart trusts.
I am helped, so my heart rejoices;
    with my song I praise him.

III

⁸^[k]Lord, you are a strength for your people,
the saving refuge of your anointed.
⁹Save your people, bless your inheritance;
pasture and carry them forever!

Psalm 29^[l]

The Lord of Majesty Acclaimed as King of the World

¹A psalm of David.

I

Give to the Lord, you sons of God,^[m]
give to the Lord glory and might;
²Give to the Lord the glory due his name.
Bow down before the Lord’s holy splendor!^(Y)

II

³The voice of the Lord^[n] is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the Lord, over the mighty waters.
⁴The voice of the Lord is power;
    the voice of the Lord is splendor.^(Z)
⁵The voice of the Lord cracks the cedars;
    the Lord splinters the cedars of Lebanon,
⁶Makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
    and Sirion^[o] like a young bull.
⁷The voice of the Lord strikes with fiery flame;
⁸    the voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
    the Lord shakes the desert of Kadesh.
⁹^[p]The voice of the Lord makes the deer dance
    and strips the forests bare.
    All in his Temple say, “Glory!”

III

¹⁰The Lord sits enthroned above the flood!^[q]^(AA)
The Lord reigns as king forever!
¹¹May the Lord give might to his people;^[r]
may the Lord bless his people with peace!^(AB)

Psalm 30^[s]

Thanksgiving for Deliverance

¹A psalm. A song for the dedication of the Temple.^[t] Of David.

I

²I praise you, Lord, for you raised me up
    and did not let my enemies rejoice over me.
³O Lord, my God,
    I cried out to you for help and you healed^[u] me.
⁴Lord, you brought my soul up from Sheol;
    you let me live, from going down to the pit.^[v]^(AC)

II

⁵Sing praise to the Lord, you faithful;
    give thanks to his holy memory.
⁶For his anger lasts but a moment;
    his favor a lifetime.
At dusk weeping comes for the night;
    but at dawn there is rejoicing.

III

⁷Complacent,^[w] I once said,
    “I shall never be shaken.”
⁸Lord, you showed me favor,
    established for me mountains of virtue.
But when you hid your face
    I was struck with terror.^(AD)
⁹To you, Lord, I cried out;
    with the Lord I pleaded for mercy:
¹⁰^[x]“What gain is there from my lifeblood,
    from my going down to the grave?
Does dust give you thanks
    or declare your faithfulness?
¹¹Hear, O Lord, have mercy on me;
    Lord, be my helper.”

IV

¹²You changed my mourning into dancing;
    you took off my sackcloth
    and clothed me with gladness.^(AE)
¹³So that my glory may praise you
    and not be silent.
O Lord, my God,
    forever will I give you thanks.

Psalm 31^[y]

Prayer in Distress and Thanksgiving for Escape

¹For the leader. A psalm of David.

I

²In you, Lord, I take refuge;^(AF)
    let me never be put to shame.
In your righteousness deliver me;
³    incline your ear to me;
    make haste to rescue me!
Be my rock of refuge,
    a stronghold to save me.
⁴For you are my rock and my fortress;^(AG)
    for your name’s sake lead me and guide me.
⁵Free me from the net they have set for me,
    for you are my refuge.
⁶^[z]Into your hands I commend my spirit;^(AH)
    you will redeem me, Lord, God of truth.
⁷You hate those who serve worthless idols,
    but I trust in the Lord.
⁸I will rejoice and be glad in your mercy,
    once you have seen my misery,
    [and] gotten to know the distress of my soul.^(AI)
⁹You will not abandon me into enemy hands,
    but will set my feet in a free and open space.

II

¹⁰Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am in distress;
    affliction is wearing down my eyes,
    my throat and my insides.
¹¹My life is worn out by sorrow,
    and my years by sighing.
My strength fails in my affliction;
    my bones are wearing down.^(AJ)
¹²To all my foes I am a thing of scorn,
    and especially to my neighbors
    a horror to my friends.
When they see me in public,
    they quickly shy away.^(AK)
¹³I am forgotten, out of mind like the dead;
    I am like a worn-out tool.^[aa]
¹⁴I hear the whispers of the crowd;
    terrors are all around me.^[ab]
They conspire together against me;
    they plot to take my life.
¹⁵But I trust in you, Lord;
    I say, “You are my God.”^(AL)
¹⁶My destiny is in your hands;
    rescue me from my enemies,
    from the hands of my pursuers.
¹⁷Let your face shine on your servant;^(AM)
    save me in your mercy.
¹⁸Do not let me be put to shame,
    for I have called to you, Lord.
Put the wicked to shame;
    reduce them to silence in Sheol.
¹⁹Strike dumb their lying lips,
    which speak arrogantly against the righteous
    in contempt and scorn.^(AN)

III

²⁰How great is your goodness, Lord,
    stored up for those who fear you.
You display it for those who trust you,
    in the sight of the children of Adam.
²¹You hide them in the shelter of your presence,
    safe from scheming enemies.
You conceal them in your tent,
    away from the strife of tongues.^(AO)
²²Blessed be the Lord,
    marvelously he showed to me
    his mercy in a fortified city.
²³Though I had said in my alarm,
    “I am cut off from your eyes.”^(AP)
Yet you heard my voice, my cry for mercy,
    when I pleaded with you for help.
²⁴Love the Lord, all you who are faithful to him.
    The Lord protects the loyal,
    but repays the arrogant in full.
²⁵Be strong and take heart,
    all who hope in the Lord.

Footnotes

Psalm 26 Like a priest washing before approaching the altar (Ex 30:17–21), the psalmist seeks God’s protection upon entering the Temple. Ps 26:1–3, matched by Ps 26:11–12, remind God of past integrity while asking for purification; Ps 26:4–5, matched by Ps 26:9–10, pray for inclusion among the just; Ps 26:6–8, the center of the poem, express the joy in God at the heart of all ritual.
26:6 I will wash my hands: the washing of hands was a liturgical act (Ex 30:19, 21; 40:31–32), symbolic of inner as well as outer cleanness, cf. Is 1:16.
26:12 On level ground: in safety, where there is no danger of tripping and falling. In assemblies: at the Temple. Having walked around the altar, the symbol of God’s presence, the psalmist blesses God.
Psalm 27 Tradition has handed down the two sections of the Psalm (Ps 27:1–6; 7–14) as one Psalm, though each part could be understood as complete in itself. Asserting boundless hope that God will bring rescue (Ps 27:1–3), the psalmist longs for the presence of God in the Temple, protection from all enemies (Ps 27:4–6). In part B there is a clear shift in tone (Ps 27:7–12); the climax of the poem comes with “I believe” (Ps 27:13), echoing “I trust” (Ps 27:3).
27:2 To devour my flesh: the psalmist’s enemies are rapacious beasts (Ps 7:3; 17:12; 22:14, 17).
27:8 Seek his face: to commune with God in the Temple. The idiom is derived from the practice of journeying to sacred places, cf. Hos 5:15; 2 Sm 21:1; Ps 24:6.
27:13 In the land of the living: or “in the land of life,” an epithet of the Jerusalem Temple (Ps 52:7; 116:9; Is 38:11), where the faithful had access to the life-giving presence of God.
Psalm 28 A lament asking that the psalmist, who has taken refuge in the Temple (Ps 28:2), not be punished with the wicked, who are headed inevitably toward destruction (Ps 28:1, 3–5). The statement of praise is exceptionally lengthy and vigorous (Ps 28:6–7). The Psalm ends with a prayer (Ps 28:8–9).
28:2 Your holy place: the innermost part of the Temple, the holy of holies, containing the ark, cf. 1 Kgs 6:16, 19–23; 8:6–8.
28:6 The psalmist shifts to fervent thanksgiving, probably responding to a priestly or prophetic oracle in Ps 28:5cd (not usually transmitted) assuring the worshiper that the prayer has been heard.
28:8 Your people…your anointed: salvation is more than individual, affecting all the people and their God-given leader.
Psalm 29 The hymn invites the members of the heavenly court to acknowledge God’s supremacy by ascribing glory and might to God alone (Ps 29:1–2a, 9b). Divine glory and might are dramatically visible in the storm (Ps 29:3–9a). The storm apparently comes from the Mediterranean onto the coast of Syria-Palestine and then moves inland. In Ps 29:10 the divine beings acclaim God’s eternal kingship. The Psalm concludes with a prayer that God will impart the power just displayed to the Israelite king and through the king to Israel.
29:1 Sons of God: members of the heavenly court who served Israel’s God in a variety of capacities.
29:3 The voice of the Lord: the sevenfold repetition of the phrase imitates the sound of crashing thunder and may allude to God’s primordial slaying of Leviathan, the seven-headed sea monster of Canaanite mythology.
29:6 Sirion: the Phoenician name for Mount Hermon, cf. Dt 3:9.
29:9b–10 Having witnessed God’s supreme power (Ps 29:3–9a), the gods acknowledge the glory that befits the king of the divine and human world.
29:10 The flood: God defeated the primordial waters and made them part of the universe, cf. Ps 89:10–13; 93:3–4.
29:11 His people: God’s people, Israel.
Psalm 30 An individual thanksgiving in four parts: praise and thanks for deliverance and restoration (Ps 30:2–4); an invitation to others to join in (Ps 30:5–6); a flashback to the time before deliverance (Ps 30:7–11); a return to praise and thanks (Ps 30:12). Two sets of images recur: 1) going down, death, silence; 2) coming up, life, praising. God has delivered the psalmist from one state to the other.
30:1 For the dedication of the Temple: a later adaptation of the Psalm to celebrate the purification of the Temple in 164 B.C. during the Maccabean Revolt.
30:3 Healed: for God as healer, see also Ps 103:3; 107:20; Hos 6:1; 7:1; 11:3; 14:5.
30:4 Sheol…pit: the shadowy underworld residence of the spirits of the dead, here a metaphor for near-death.
30:7 Complacent: untroubled existence is often seen as a source of temptation to forget God, cf. Dt 8:10–18; Hos 13:6; Prv 30:9.
30:10 In the stillness of Sheol no one gives you praise; let me live and be among your worshipers, cf. Ps 6:6; 88:11–13; 115:17; Is 38:18.
Psalm 31 A lament (Ps 31:2–19) with a strong emphasis on trust (Ps 31:4, 6, 15–16), ending with an anticipatory thanksgiving (Ps 31:20–24). As is usual in laments, the affliction is couched in general terms. The psalmist feels overwhelmed by evil people but trusts in the “God of truth” (Ps 31:6).
31:6 Into your hands I commend my spirit: in Lk 23:46 Jesus breathes his last with this Psalm verse. Stephen in Acts 7:59 alludes to these words as he is attacked by enemies. The verse is used as an antiphon in the Divine Office at Compline, the last prayer of the day.
31:13 Like a worn-out tool: a common comparison for something ruined and useless, cf. Is 30:14; Jer 19:11; 22:28.
31:14 Terrors are all around me: a cry used in inescapable danger, cf. Jer 6:25; 20:10; 46:5; 49:29.

New American Bible (Revised Edition) (NABRE)

Scripture texts, prefaces, introductions, footnotes and cross references used in this work are taken from the New American Bible, revised edition © 2010, 1991, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC All Rights Reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Beginning

Psalm 26[a]

Prayer of Innocence

I

II

III

Psalm 27[d]