Chronological
Psalm 56
For the choir director; according to yonath elem rechokim;[a] a miktam by David when the Philistines captured him in Gath.
1 Have pity on me, O Elohim, because people are harassing me.
All day long warriors oppress me.
2 All day long my enemies spy on me.
They harass me.
There are so many fighting against me.
3 Even when I am afraid, I still trust you.
4 I praise the word of Elohim.
I trust Elohim.
I am not afraid.
What can mere flesh and blood do to me?
5 All day long my enemies twist my words.
Their every thought is an evil plan against me.
6 They attack, and then they hide.
They watch my every step as they wait to take my life.
7 With the wrong they do, can they escape?
O Elohim, angrily make the nations fall.
8 (You have kept a record of my wanderings.
Put my tears in your bottle.
They are already in your book.)
9 Then my enemies will retreat when I call to you.
This I know: Elohim is on my side.
10 I praise the word of Elohim.
I praise the word of Yahweh.
11 I trust Elohim.
I am not afraid.
What can mortals do to me?
12 I am bound by my vows to you, O Elohim.
I will keep my vows by offering songs of thanksgiving to you.
13 You have rescued me from death.
You have kept my feet from stumbling
so that I could walk in Elohim’s presence, in the light of life.
Psalm 120
A song for going up to worship.
1 When I was in trouble, I cried out to Yahweh,
and he answered me.
2 O Yahweh, rescue me from lying lips
and from a deceitful tongue.
3 You deceitful tongue, what can Yahweh give you?
What more can he do for you?
4 He will give you a warrior’s sharpened arrows and red-hot coals.
5 How horrible it is to live as a foreigner in Meshech
or to stay in the tents of Kedar.
6 I have lived too long with those who hate peace.
7 I am for peace, but when I talk about it,
they only talk about war.
Psalm 140
For the choir leader; a psalm by David.
1 Rescue me from evil people, O Yahweh.
Keep me safe from violent people.
2 They plan evil things in their hearts.
They start fights every day.
3 They make their tongues as sharp as a snake’s fang.
Their lips hide the venom of poisonous snakes. Selah
4 Protect me from the hands of wicked people, O Yahweh.
Keep me safe from violent people.
They try to trip me.
5 Arrogant people have laid a trap for me.
They have spread out a net with ropes.
They have set traps for me along the road. Selah
6 I said to Yahweh, “You are my El.”
O Yahweh, open your ears to hear my plea for pity.
7 O Yahweh Adonay, the strong one who saves me,
you have covered my head in the day of battle.
8 O Yahweh, do not give wicked people what they want.
Do not let their evil plans succeed,
or they will become arrogant. Selah
9 Let the heads of those who surround me
be covered with their own threats.
10 Let burning coals fall on them.
Let them be thrown into a pit, never to rise again.
11 Do not let slanderers prosper on earth.
Let evil hunt down violent people with one blow after another.
12 I know that Yahweh will defend the rights of those who are oppressed
and the cause of those who are needy.
13 Indeed, righteous people will give thanks to your name.
Decent people will live in your presence.
Psalm 141
A psalm by David.
1 O Yahweh, I cry out to you, “Come quickly.”
Open your ears to me when I cry out to you.
2 Let my prayer be accepted
as sweet-smelling incense in your presence.
Let the lifting up of my hands in prayer be accepted
as an evening sacrifice.
3 O Yahweh, set a guard at my mouth.
Keep watch over the door of my lips.
4 Do not let me be persuaded to do anything evil
or to become involved with wickedness,
with people who are troublemakers.
Do not let me taste their delicacies.
5 A righteous person may strike me or correct me out of kindness.
It is like lotion for my head.
My head will not refuse it,
because my prayer is directed against evil deeds.
6 When their judges are thrown off a cliff,
they will listen to what I have to say.
It will sound pleasant to them.
7 As someone plows and breaks up the ground,
so our bones will be planted at the mouth of the grave.[a]
8 My eyes look to you, Yahweh Adonay.
I have taken refuge in you.
Do not leave me defenseless.
9 Keep me away from the trap they set for me
and from the traps set by troublemakers.
10 Let wicked people fall into their own nets,
while I escape unharmed.
Psalm 142
A maskil[b] by David when he was in the cave; a prayer.
1 Loudly, I cry to Yahweh.
Loudly, I plead with Yahweh for mercy.
2 I pour out my complaints in his presence
and tell him my troubles.
3 When I begin to lose hope,
you already know what I am experiencing.
My enemies have hidden a trap for me on the path where I walk.
4 Look to my right and see that no one notices me.
Escape is impossible for me.
No one cares about me.
5 I call out to you, O Yahweh.
I say, “You are my Machseh,
my own inheritance in this world of the living.”
6 Pay attention to my cry for help
because I am very weak.
Rescue me from those who pursue me
because they are too strong for me.
7 Release my soul from prison
so that I may give thanks to your name.
Righteous people will surround me
because you are good to me.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.