Beginning
This is for the music leader, and he should use special music.
David wrote this prayer.
God will judge all people[a]
58 Do you rulers really say what is right?
Do you judge people in a fair way?
2 No! You do not!
You like to think of evil things to do.
You make cruel things happen
everywhere in the land.
3 Wicked people do wrong things from their birth.
As soon as they are born,
they start telling lies.
4 Their words hurt people
like a snake's poison.
They listen to nobody,
like a deaf cobra.
5 It does not obey the voice of the magician,
even if he sings very well![b]
6 God, break the teeth of my enemies!
Yes, Lord, break into pieces
the teeth of those lions!
7 Cause them to run away like water and disappear.
Cause them to die like dry grass in hot weather.
8 Cause them to be like a worm that melts as it moves along.
Cause them to be like a child that is born dead
and never sees the light of day.
9 Remove them quickly,
more quickly than pots become hot over a fire of thorn bushes.[c]
10 When God punishes those wicked people,
righteous people will be very happy.
They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked people!
11 People who see it will say,
‘It is true! God helps good people!
There is a God who judges people on earth in a fair way.’
This is for the music leader, and he should use special music.
David wrote this prayer when King Saul sent men to catch David at his house and murder him.
A prayer[d]
59 My God, please save me from my enemies!
They are attacking me,
so please keep me safe from them.
2 Rescue me from those dangerous men,
who are doing evil things.
3 Look at them! They are waiting to kill me!
Cruel men are ready to attack me.
Lord, I have not done anything against them,
but they still want to kill me.
4 I have done nothing that is wrong,
but they are preparing to attack me.
Do something to help me!
Look at what they are doing!
5 For you are the Lord God Almighty,
the God that Israel serves.
Get up and punish all the foreign nations.
Do not forgive any wicked people
who have turned against us.
Selah.
6 Those bad people come back to the city every evening.
They go from place to place,
and they cry out like dogs.
7 They shout evil things,
and their words hurt like swords.
They think, ‘Nobody can hear what we say!’
8 But Lord, you laugh at them.
You laugh at all the foreign nations.
9 I will wait for you to help me,
because you are the one who gives me strength.
You, God, are the strong place
where I will be safe.
10 Yes God, you love me with a faithful love,
and you will come to help me.
God will let me see that he has won against my enemies.
11 Do not kill them yet,
or my people will soon forget.
Use your power to send them away without homes.
Then make them fall!
You are our Lord
who keeps us safe like a soldier's shield.
12 They speak bad words that are evil.
Let their own pride catch them in a trap,
because they curse people,
and they tell lies.
13 Because you are angry with them,
destroy them!
Destroy them completely,
so that they are no more.
Then everybody will know that God rules in Israel,
and he rules everywhere in the earth.
Selah.
14 Those bad people come back to the city every evening.
They go from place to place,
and they cry out like dogs.
15 They go from place to place
and they look for food to eat.
They will not rest until they are full.
16 But I will sing to praise you.
I will sing about your strength!
In the morning,
I will praise you for your faithful love.
Because you are the strong place where I can hide.
When I am in trouble,
you keep me safe.
17 You are the one who gives me strength.
I will sing songs to praise you.
You, God, are my strong, safe place.
You are the God who loves me with a faithful love.
This is for the music leader, and he should use special music.
David wrote this prayer to teach people. He wrote it when he fought wars in north Syria. After the battle, Joab's army killed 12,000 of Edom's people in Salt Valley.
God, please help us![e]
60 God, you have turned against us,
and you have broken down our strong walls.[f]
You are angry with us,
but please make us strong again!
2 You made the ground shake
and you tore it open.
Now mend the holes,
or everything will fall down.
3 You have given your people a time of difficult trouble.
You have given us strong wine to drink,
that has made us fall like drunk people.[g]
4 But you have lifted up a flag
for the people who serve you.
They can meet together there,
to be safe in the battle.
Selah.
5 Use your power to rescue us!
Answer our prayers!
Then the people that you love will be safe.
6 God has spoken from his holy place![h]
He has promised:
‘I will show my power!
I will make Shechem into separate pieces.
I will measure Succoth Valley.
7 Gilead belongs to me,
and so does Manasseh.
Ephraim is like my helmet for war.
Judah has the authority of my royal sceptre.[i]
8 But Moab is the place where I wash my hands.
Edom is my servant.
I can throw my shoes at him!
I will shout loudly,
because I have won against the Philistines.’[j]
9 Who will lead me into the strong city?
Who will take me to fight and win against Edom?[k]
10 God, have you really turned against us?
Will you not lead our armies into battle?
11 Help us to fight against our enemies,
because help from men is useless!
12 With God's help, we will win!
He will beat down our enemies for us.
David wrote this song. Tell the music leader to use stringed instruments.
God will keep me safe[l]
61 God, please hear me when I call to you for help.
Listen carefully to my prayer.
2 I will call out to you from far away,
because I am sad and weak.
Lead me to a strong, safe rock
that is higher than I am.
3 You are the safe place where I can hide.
You are like a strong tower
that keeps me safe against my enemies.[m]
4 I want to live in your house for ever.
I want you to keep me safe,
like birds protect their babies under their wings.
Selah.
5 You, God, have heard my promises to you.
You have blessed me,
as you bless all those people who serve you.
6 Please give the king a long life.
Let him live to see many descendants.
7 Let him rule for ever
with your authority.
Cause your faithful love and your truth to keep him safe.[n]
8 Then I will always praise your name.
Every day I will give to you
the offerings that I have promised.
This is a song that David wrote for the music leader, Jeduthun.
Only God can save me!
62 I will be patient as I wait for God to help me.
He is the only one who can make me safe.
2 He alone is the strong rock
where I can hide and be safe.
With him, nothing will make me fall.
3 How long will you all continue to attack me?
I am just one man,
and you want to kill me!
You want to knock me down,
like a weak wall or a fence that is falling down.[o]
4 You only want to push me off my high place.
You love to tell lies to deceive people.
When you say words to bless people,
you are cursing them in your thoughts.
Selah.
5 I must be patient as I wait for God to help me.
He is the only one that I can trust for help.
6 He alone is the strong rock
where I can hide and be safe.
With him, nothing will make me fall.
7 It is God who has kept me safe,
and he has made me great.
He is the strong place
where I can hide and be safe.
8 Yes, my friends,
you should always trust in God!
Tell him about all the troubles in your thoughts.
God is our safe place to hide!
Selah.
9 People are only as light as a breath!
Whoever they are, they are not important.
If you try to weigh them, all together,
they weigh less than a breath of air.[p]
10 Do not cheat people,
or rob them to get money!
That will not give you anything
that you can trust to help you.
Even if you become very rich,
do not think it is important.
11 I have heard God speak his truth
once, no twice!
God has great strength.
12 And also, my Lord, you have a faithful love.
You pay back to everybody what they should get
for the things that they have done.
David wrote this psalm when he was in the Judah wilderness.
A morning song[q]
63 God, you are my God.
I want to be near to you.
I need you to give me life,
like a thirsty person in a dry desert.
As a person needs water to live,
that is how I need you.[r]
2 When I have gone into your temple,
I have seen what you are like.
I have seen your great power and your glory.
3 Your faithful love for me is better than life itself.
So I will speak out to praise you.
4 Yes, I will thank you for as long as I live.
I will lift up my hands and I will pray to you.
5 You make me very happy,
better than a feast of good food.
I will sing happy songs to praise you.
6 When I lie on my bed,
I think about you all through the night.
7 You are the one who keeps me safe,
like a bird protects its babies under its wings.
So I sing happy songs.
8 I keep very near to you
and your strong right hand keeps me safe.
9 My enemies are trying to kill me,
but I know that they themselves will die.
They will go down into the deep hole of death.
10 Soldiers will kill them with swords.
Wild dogs will eat their dead bodies.
11 But the king will sing songs to praise God.[s]
Everybody who promises to serve God
will speak aloud to praise him.
But everyone who tells lies
will not be able to say anything!
David wrote this song for the music leader.
God will keep us safe[t]
64 God, please listen to me
as I tell you about my troubles.
Keep me safe from my enemies
when they attack me.
2 When evil men think of ways to hurt me,
hide me in a safe place.
Those people work together as a group
to do wicked things.
3 Their tongues are like
sharp swords that hurt people.
Their cruel words are like
arrows that they shoot at people.
4 They hide in secret places,
and they quickly shoot lies at good people.
They are not afraid that anyone will punish them.
5 They help each other to do evil things.
They decide where they will hide their traps,
and they say, ‘Nobody will see them!’
6 They think of wicked ideas to hurt people.
They say, ‘That is a great idea!’[u]
Nobody really understands what people think
deep inside themselves.
7 But God will punish them!
He will suddenly shoot an arrow at them
and it will hurt them a lot.[v]
8 Their own evil words will turn against them
and make them fall.
Everyone who sees them will shake their heads.
9 People will be afraid.
They will say, ‘Look at what God has done!’
They will think carefully about it all.
10 But people who serve the Lord should be happy
because of what he has done.
They should trust him to keep them safe.
Good, honest people should praise God,
because he is great!
This psalm is a song that David wrote for the music leader.
We trust God to save us[w]
65 God, it is right for us to praise you in Zion.
There, we will offer to you
the gifts that we have promised.
2 You answer our prayers.
All of us must come to you,
3 because of our many sins.
Our sins are too heavy for us to carry,
but you forgive the bad things that we do against you.[x]
4 You have blessed each person that you have chosen.
You let them live near to you in your home.
The good things that are in your holy temple
will make us very happy!
5 God, you are the one who saves us!
You answer our prayers,
and you do great things to rescue us.
People from everywhere on earth trust in you,
even those who live far away across the seas.
6 You used your power to make the mountains,
and you showed how strong you are.
7 You stop the seas from being angry,
so that their waters make no noise.[y]
You do the same with the angry nations.
8 People who live far away see
the great things that you have done.
It makes them afraid.
Everywhere on earth, east and west,
people sing happy songs to praise you.
9 You take care of the land.
You send rain to make the earth good for plants.
Your rivers are full of water.
You cause the earth to give good crops
so that the people have grain to eat.
10 When people plough their fields,
you send rain to make the earth wet.
You make the ground soft with the rain,
so that crops grow there.
11 Every year at harvest time,
you bless people with lots of good things.
Everywhere that you go,
there is plenty of food.[z]
12 Fresh grass covers the fields in the wilderness.
There are plenty of good things all over the hills,
so that people are very happy.
13 The fields are full of sheep.
The valleys are covered with crops.
Everywhere seems to shout and sing for joy!
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