Beginning

58 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” By David, a mikhtam:

^2 (1) [Rulers,] does your silence really speak justice?
Are you judging people fairly?
^3 (2) [No!] In your hearts you devise wrongs,
your hands dispense violence in the land.

^4 (3) From the womb, the wicked are estranged,
liars on the wrong path since birth.
^5 (4) Their venom is like snake’s venom;
they are like a serpent that stops its ears,
^6 (5) so as not to hear the voice of the charmer,
no matter how well he plays.

^7 (6) God, break their teeth in their mouth!
Shatter the fangs of these lions, Adonai!
^8 (7) May they vanish like water that drains away.
May their arrows be blunted when they aim their bows.
^9 (8) May they be like a slug that melts as it moves,
like a stillborn baby that never sees the sun.
^10 (9) Before your cook-pots feel the heat of the burning thorns,
may he blow them away, green and blazing alike.

^11 (10) The righteous will rejoice to see vengeance done,
they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked;
^12 (11) and people will say, “Yes, the righteous are rewarded;
there is, after all, a God who judges the earth.”
59 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy.” By David; a mikhtam, when Sha’ul sent men to keep watch on David’s house in order to kill him:

^2 (1) My God, rescue me from my enemies!
Lift me up, out of reach of my foes!
^3 (2) Rescue me from evildoers,
save me from bloodthirsty men.
^4 (3) For there they are, lying in wait to kill me.
Openly they gather themselves against me,
and not because I committed a crime
or sinned, Adonai.
^5 (4) For no fault of mine, they run and prepare.
Awaken to help me, and see!
^6 (5) You, Adonai Elohei-Tzva’ot,
God of Isra’el,
arouse yourself to punish all the nations;
spare none of those wicked traitors. (Selah)

^7 (6) They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs
as they go around the city.
^8 (7) Look what pours out of their mouth,
what swords are on their lips,
[as they say to themselves,]
“No one is listening, anyway.”
^9 (8) But you, Adonai, laugh at them,
you mock all the nations.

^10 (9) My Strength, I will watch for you,
for God is my fortress.
^11 (10) God, who gives me grace, will come to me;
God will let me gaze in triumph at my foes.

^12 (11) Don’t kill them, or my people will forget;
instead, by your power, make them wander to and fro;
but bring them down, Adonai our Shield,
^13 (12) for the sins their mouths make with each word from their lips.
Let them be trapped by their pride
for the curses and falsehoods they utter.
^14 (13) Finish them off in wrath,
finish them off, put an end to them,
and let them know to the ends of the earth
that God is Ruler in Ya‘akov. (Selah)

^15 (14) They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs
as they go around the city.
^16 (15) They roam about, looking for food,
prowling all night if they don’t get their fill.
^17 (16) But as for me, I will sing of your strength;
in the morning I will sing aloud of your grace.
For you are my fortress,
a refuge when I am in trouble.
^18 (17) My Strength, I will sing praises to you,
for God is my fortress, God, who gives me grace.

60 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set to “Lily of Testimony.” A mikhtam of David for teaching about ² when he fought with Aram-Naharayim and with Aram-Tzovah, and Yo’av returned and killed 12,000 from Edom in the Salt Valley:

^3 (1) God, you rejected us; you crushed us;
you were angry; but now revive us.
^4 (2) You made the land shake, split it apart;
now repair the rifts, for it is collapsing.
^5 (3) You made your people suffer hard times,
had us drink a wine that made us stagger.

^6 (4) To those who fear you because of the truth
you gave a banner to rally around, (Selah)
^7 (5) so that those you love could be rescued;
so save with your right hand, and answer us!

^8 (6) God in his holiness spoke,
and I took joy [in his promise]:
“I will divide Sh’khem
and determine the shares in the Sukkot Valley.
^9 (7) Gil‘ad is mine and M’nasheh mine,
Efrayim my helmet, Y’hudah my scepter.
^10 (8) Mo’av is my washpot; on Edom I throw my shoe;
P’leshet, be crushed because of me!”

^11 (9) Who will bring me into the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
^12 (10) God, have you rejected us?
You don’t go out with our armies, God.
^13 (11) Help us against our enemy,
for human help is worthless.
^14 (12) With God’s help we will fight valiantly,
for he will trample our enemies.

61 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. With stringed instruments. By David:

^2 (1) Hear my cry, God;
listen to my prayer.
^3 (2) From the end of the earth, with fainting heart,
I call out to you.
Set me down on a rock
far above where I am now.

^4 (3) For you have been a refuge for me,
a tower of strength in the face of the foe.
^5 (4) I will live in your tent forever
and find refuge in the shelter of your wings. (Selah)
^6 (5) For you, God, have heard my vows;
you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

^7 (6) Prolong the life of the king!
May his years go on for many generations.
^8 (7) May he be enthroned in God’s presence forever!
Appoint grace and truth to preserve him!
^9 (8) Then I will sing praise to your name forever,
as day after day I fulfill my vows.

62 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. Set in the style of Y’dutun. A psalm of David:

^2 (1) My soul waits in silence for God alone;
my salvation comes from him.
^3 (2) He alone is my rock and salvation,
my stronghold; I won’t be greatly moved.

^4 (3) How long will you assail a person
in order to murder him, all of you,
as if he were a sagging wall
or a shaky fence?

^5 (4) They only want to shake him from his height,
they take delight in lying —
with their mouths they bless,
but inwardly they curse. (Selah)

^6 (5) My soul, wait in silence for God alone,
because my hope comes from him.
^7 (6) He alone is my rock and salvation,
my stronghold; I won’t be moved.

^8 (7) My safety and honor rest on God.
My strong rock and refuge are in God.
^9 (8) Trust in him, people, at all times;
pour out your heart before him;
God is a refuge for us. (Selah)
^10 (9) Ordinary folks are merely a breath
and important people a sham;
if you lay them on a balance-scale, they go up —
both together are lighter than nothing.
^11 (10) Don’t put your trust in extortion,
don’t put false hopes in robbery;
even if wealth increases,
don’t set your heart on it.

^12 (11) God has spoken once, I have heard it twice:
strength belongs to God.
^13 (12) Also to you, Adonai, belongs grace;
for you reward all as their deeds deserve.

63 ⁽⁰⁾ A psalm of David, when he was in the desert of Y’hudah:

^2 (1) O God, you are my God;
I will seek you eagerly.
My heart thirsts for you,
my body longs for you
in a land parched and exhausted,
where no water can be found.
^3 (2) I used to contemplate you in the sanctuary,
seeing your power and glory;
^4 (3) for your grace is better than life.
My lips will worship you.
^5 (4) Yes, I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
^6 (5) I am as satisfied as with rich food;
my mouth praises you with joy on my lips
^7 (6) when I remember you on my bed
and meditate on you in the night watches.

^8 (7) For you have been my help;
in the shadow of your wings I rejoice;
^9 (8) my heart clings to you;
your right hand supports me.

^10 (9) But those who seek to destroy my life —
may they go to the lowest parts of the earth.
^11 (10) May they be given over to the power of the sword;
may they become prey for jackals.

^12 (11) But the king will rejoice in God.
Everyone who swears by him will exult,
for the mouths of liars will be silenced.
64 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of David:

^2 (1) Hear my voice, God, as I plead:
preserve my life from fear of the enemy.
^3 (2) Hide me from the secret intrigues of the wicked
and the open insurrection of evildoers.
^4 (3) They sharpen their tongues like a sword;
they aim their arrows, poisoned words,
^5 (4) in order to shoot from cover at the innocent,
shooting suddenly and fearing nothing.
^6 (5) They support each other’s evil plans;
they talk of hiding snares
and ask, “Who would see them?”
^7 (6) They search for ways to commit crimes,
bringing their diligent search to completion
when each of them has thought it through
in the depth of his heart.

^8 (7) Suddenly God shoots them down with an arrow,
leaving them with wounds;
^9 (8) their own tongues make them stumble.
All who see them shake their heads.
^10 (9) Everyone is awestruck —
they acknowledge that it is God at work,
they understand what he has done.
^11 (10) The righteous will rejoice in Adonai;
they will take refuge in him;
all the upright in heart will exult.

65 ⁽⁰⁾ For the leader. A psalm of David. A song:

^2 (1) To you, God, in Tziyon, silence is praise;
and vows to you are to be fulfilled.
^3 (2) You who listen to prayer,
to you all living creatures come.
^4 (3) When deeds of wickedness overwhelm me,
you will atone for our crimes.

^5 (4) How blessed are those you choose and bring near,
so that they can remain in your courtyards!
We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the Holy Place of your temple.
^6 (5) It is just that you answer us with awesome deeds,
God of our salvation,
you in whom all put their trust,
to the ends of the earth and on distant seas.
^7 (6) By your strength you set up the mountains.
You are clothed with power.
^8 (7) You still the roaring of the seas,
their crashing waves, and the peoples’ turmoil.
^9 (8) This is why those living at the ends of the earth
stand in awe of your signs.
The places where the sun rises and sets
you cause to sing for joy.

^10 (9) You care for the earth and water it,
you enrich it greatly;
with the river of God, full of water,
you provide them grain and prepare the ground.
^11 (10) Soaking its furrows and settling its soil,
you soften it with showers and bless its growth.
^12 (11) You crown the year with your goodness,
your tracks overflow with richness.
^13 (12) The desert pastures drip water,
the hills are wrapped with joy,
^14 (13) the meadows are clothed with flocks
and the valleys blanketed with grain,
so they shout for joy and break into song.