Beginning

¹ Do you “gods” really speak righteously?^[b]
Do you sons of Adam judge rightly?
² No, in your heart you commit injustices.
On the earth your hands distribute violence.
³ The wicked go off course already from the womb.
From the belly they go astray. They speak lies.
⁴ Their venom is like the venom of a snake,
like a deaf cobra that has stopped its ears,
⁵ that will not listen to the sound of the charmers,
however skillful the spellbinder may be.

⁶ O God, break their teeth in their mouths.
Tear out the fangs of the young lions, Lord!
⁷ Let them vanish like water that flows away.
When he draws his bow, let his arrows be cut off.^[c]
8 As a slug melts away as it crawls along, so let him disappear.
Like a stillborn child may they not see the sun.
⁹ Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns—
whether the thorns are green or dry—they will be swept away.^[d]

¹⁰ The righteous one will be glad when he sees vengeance.
He will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked.
¹¹ Then people will say, “Surely there is fruit for the righteous.
Surely there is a God judging on the earth.”

¹ Deliver me from my enemies, my God.
You set me high above those who rise up against me.
² Deliver me from evildoers.
Save me from bloodthirsty men.

³ Yes, look how they lie in ambush to take my life!
Strong men gather against me,
but it is not because I have rebelled,
not because I have sinned, O Lord.
⁴ I am not guilty,
yet they run to take up their positions against me.
Rise up to meet me and see!
⁵ You, O Lord, God of Armies, the God of Israel,
wake up and confront all the nations. Interlude
Do not show mercy to all the wicked traitors.
⁶ They return at evening. They growl like dogs.
They prowl around the city.
⁷ Look, they gush from their mouths.
Their lips are swords,
so they say, “Who hears?”

⁸ But you laugh at them, Lord.
You scoff at all those nations.
⁹ O my Strength, I watch for you,
because God is my high fortress.

¹⁰ My merciful God will go ahead of me.
God will make me look down on those who slander me.

¹¹ Do not kill them, or my people may forget.
In your might make them wander about.
Bring them down, O Lord, our shield.
¹² The sin of their mouth is the words of their lips,
so let them be caught in their pride,
because of the curses and lies they proclaim.
¹³ Consume them in wrath.
Consume them till they are no more.
Then they will know to the ends of the earth Interlude
    that God rules over Jacob.
¹⁴ They return at evening. They growl like dogs.
They prowl around the city.
¹⁵ They wander about for food.
If not satisfied, they howl.

¹⁶ But I will sing about your strength.
In the morning I will shout about your mercy,
because you are a high fortress for me,
a refuge in the day of my distress.
¹⁷ O my Strength, to you I make music,
because God is my high fortress, my merciful God.

¹ God, you have rejected us.
You have broken us down.
You have been angry. Return to us!
² You have shaken the earth. You have torn it open.
Heal its fractures, for it is about to collapse.
³ You have made your people suffer hardship.
You gave us wine to drink that makes us stagger.
⁴ You have set up a signal flag for those who fear you, Interlude
    to be raised up against the bow.^[i]
5 Save us with your right hand and answer us,
so that those you love may be delivered.

⁶ God has spoken in his holiness:^[j]
“I will triumph. I will distribute Shechem,
and I will measure off the Valley of Succoth.
⁷ Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine.
Ephraim is my helmet. Judah is my scepter.
⁸ Moab is my washbasin. On Edom I toss my sandal.
I shout aloud over Philistia.”^[k][l]

⁹ Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
¹⁰ God, is it not you, who have rejected us?
God, is it not you, who no longer go out with our armies?
¹¹ Give us help against the foe,
for human help is worthless.
¹² In God we will do mighty deeds.
He is the one who will trample our foes.

¹ Hear my cry, O God.
Pay attention to my prayer.
² From the end of the earth I call to you
    when my heart is overwhelmed.
Lead me up onto the rock that is higher than I.
³ For you have been a refuge for me,
a tower of strength in the face of the enemy.
⁴ I want to keep living in your tent forever. Interlude
I will take refuge under the cover of your wings.
⁵ For you, God, have heard my vows.
You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.
⁶ Add days to the days of the king.
His years will last through all generations.
⁷ Let him be seated in God’s presence forever.
Appoint your mercy and truth to protect him.
⁸ Then will I make music to your name forever,
    to fulfill my vows day after day.

¹ My soul rests quietly in God alone.
My salvation is from him.
² He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress.
I will not be disturbed.
³ How long will you threaten a man?
Do all of you want to murder him,
    like a leaning wall, like a fence to be pushed down?
⁴ Yes, they plan to push him down from his lofty place.
They are delighted with deceit.
With their mouths they bless,
but inside they curse. Interlude

⁵ My soul, rest quietly in God alone,
for my hope comes from him.
⁶ He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress.
I will not be disturbed.
⁷ My salvation and my honor depend on God, my strong rock.
My refuge is in God.
⁸ Trust in him at all times, you people.
Pour out your hearts before him. Interlude
God is a refuge for us.

⁹ Yes, the sons of Adam are only a breath.
The sons of man are a delusion.
On a scale they weigh nothing.
They are nothing but air.^[n]
10 Do not trust in extortion.
Do not put empty confidence in stolen goods.
If your wealth grows, do not set your heart on it.
¹¹ One thing God has spoken,
two things that I have heard:
    that God has strength
¹²     and that you, Lord, have mercy.
Surely you will repay each person
    according to what he has done.

¹ God, you are my God. Eagerly I seek you.
My soul thirsts for you. My flesh longs for you,
    in a dry and dreary land without water.
² Yes, in the sanctuary I have watched you
    to see your power and your glory.

³ Because your mercy is better than life,
    my lips will worship you.
⁴ Yes, I will bless you as long as I live.
In your name I will lift up my hands.
⁵ My soul will be satisfied with rich food.^[p]
My mouth will praise you with lips filled with songs.
⁶ Whenever I remember you on my bed,
throughout the watches of the night I meditate on you.
⁷ Because you are a help for me,
I sing for joy under the shade of your wings.
⁸ My soul clings to you.
Your right hand upholds me.

⁹ But those who seek my life will go to destruction.
They will go into the depths of the earth.
¹⁰ They will be given over to the power of the sword.
They will become food for foxes.^[q]
11 But the king will rejoice in God.
All who swear by him will praise him,
but the mouths of those speaking lies will be shut.

¹ Hear my voice, O God, when I complain.
Protect my life from the terror caused by the enemy.
² Hide me from the conspiracy of the wicked,
from the noisy mob of evildoers.

³ They sharpen their tongues like a sword.
They shoot poison words like arrows.
⁴ They shoot at the innocent from hiding places.
Suddenly they shoot at him. They have no fear.
⁵ They strengthen each other in an evil plot.
They discuss where to hide snares.
They say, “Who will see them?”
⁶ They plot evil deeds and they say,
“We have come up with a perfect plot!”
The mind and heart of man are devious!

⁷ But God will shoot them.
Suddenly they are wounded with an arrow.
⁸ Their own tongues cause their downfall.^[r]
Everyone who sees them will shake his head.

⁹ Then all people will be afraid.
They will proclaim the work of God.
They will consider what he has done.
¹⁰ Let the righteous rejoice in the Lord
and take refuge in him.
Let all the upright in heart be confident!

¹ Praise waits for you,^[s] O God, in Zion.
To you vows will be fulfilled.
² You who hear prayer, to you all mortals^[t] will come.

³ The record of my guilt overpowered me.
You atone for our rebellious acts.
⁴ How blessed is the one you choose and bring near!
He will dwell in your courtyards.
We will be satisfied by the goodness of your house,
by the holiness of your temple.

⁵ In righteousness you answer us with awesome deeds,
    O God who saves us.
He is trusted by all the farthest ends of the earth and the sea.
⁶ He establishes the mountains by his power.
He has wrapped himself with strength.
⁷ He stills the roaring of the seas,
the roaring of their waves,
and the turmoil of the peoples.

⁹ You visit the earth and water it.
You make it very rich.
God’s stream is filled with water.
You provide grain for them, just as you planned.
¹⁰ You drench the land’s furrows. You flatten its plowed ground.
You soften it with showers. You bless its crops.
¹¹ You crown the year with your goodness.
The tracks made by your carts overflow with riches.^[u]
12 The pastures of the wilderness drip.
The hills are wrapped with joy.
¹³ The meadows are clothed with flocks.
The valleys are dressed with grain.
They shout for joy. Yes! They sing.