Chronological
Psalm 6
For the music leader. On stringed instruments. According to the eighth.[a] A psalm of David.
6 Please, Lord,
don’t punish me when you are angry;
don’t discipline me when you are furious.
2 Have mercy on me, Lord,
because I’m frail.
Heal me, Lord,
because my bones are shaking in terror!
3 My whole body[b] is completely terrified!
But you, Lord! How long will this last?
4 Come back to me, Lord! Deliver me!
Save me for the sake of your faithful love!
5 No one is going to praise you
when they are dead.
Who gives you thanks
from the grave?[c]
6 I’m worn out from groaning.
Every night, I drench my bed with tears;
I soak my couch all the way through.
7 My vision fails because of my grief;
it’s weak because of all my distress.
8 Get away from me, all you evildoers,
because the Lord has heard me crying!
9 The Lord has listened to my request.
The Lord accepts my prayer.
10 All my enemies will be ashamed
and completely terrified;
they will be defeated
and ashamed instantly.
Psalm 8
For the music leader. According to the Gittith.[a] A psalm of David.
8 Lord, our Lord, how majestic
is your name throughout the earth!
You made your glory higher than heaven![b]
2 From the mouths of nursing babies
you have laid a strong foundation
because of your foes,
in order to stop vengeful enemies.
3 When I look up at your skies,
at what your fingers made—
the moon and the stars
that you set firmly in place—
4 what are human beings
that you think about them;
what are human beings
that you pay attention to them?
5 You’ve made them only slightly less than divine,
crowning them with glory and grandeur.
6 You’ve let them rule over your handiwork,
putting everything under their feet—
7 all sheep and all cattle,
the wild animals too,
8 the birds in the sky,
the fish of the ocean,
everything that travels the pathways of the sea.
9 Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name throughout the earth!
Psalm 9[c]
For the music leader. According to Muth-labben.[d] A psalm of David.
9 I will thank you, Lord, with all my heart;
I will talk about all your wonderful acts.
2 I will celebrate and rejoice in you;
I will sing praises to your name, Most High.
3 When my enemies turn and retreat,
they fall down and die right in front of you
4 because you have established justice
for me and my claim,
because you rule from the throne,
establishing justice rightly.
5 You’ve denounced the nations,
destroyed the wicked.
You’ve erased their names for all time.
6 Every enemy is wiped out,
like something ruined forever.
You’ve torn down their cities—
even the memory of them is dead.
7 But the Lord rules forever!
He assumes his throne
for the sake of justice.
8 He will establish justice in the world rightly;
he will judge all people fairly.
9 The Lord is a safe place for the oppressed—
a safe place in difficult times.
10 Those who know your name trust you
because you have not abandoned
any who seek you, Lord.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who lives in Zion!
Proclaim his mighty acts among all people!
12 Because the one who avenges bloodshed
remembers those who suffer;
the Lord hasn’t forgotten their cries for help.
13 Have mercy on me, Lord!
Just look how I suffer
because of those who hate me.
But you are the one who brings me back
from the very gates of death
14 so I can declare all your praises,
so I can rejoice in your salvation
in the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen
into the hole they themselves made!
Their feet are caught
in the very net they themselves hid!
16 The Lord is famous for the justice he has done;
it’s his own doing that the wicked are trapped. Higgayon.[e] Selah
17 Let the wicked go straight to the grave,[f]
the same for every nation that forgets God.
18 Because the poor won’t be forgotten forever,
the hope of those who suffer won’t be lost for all time.
19 Get up, Lord! Don’t let people prevail!
Let the nations be judged before you.
20 Strike them with fear, Lord.
Let the nations know they are only human. Selah
Psalm 10[g]
10 Why do you stand so far away, Lord,
hiding yourself in troubling times?
2 Meanwhile, the wicked are proudly
in hot pursuit of those who suffer.
Let them get caught
in the very same schemes they’ve thought up!
3 The wicked brag about their body’s[h] cravings;
the greedy reject the Lord, cursing.
4 At the peak of their wrath,
the wicked don’t seek God:
There’s no God—
that’s what they are always thinking.
5 Their ways are always twisted.
Your rules are too lofty for them.
They snort at all their foes.
6 They think to themselves,
We’ll never stumble.
We’ll never encounter any resistance.
7 Their mouths are filled
with curses, dishonesty, violence.
Under their tongues lie
troublemaking and wrongdoing.
8 They wait in a place perfect for ambush;[i]
from their hiding places
they kill innocent people;
their eyes spot those who are helpless.
9 They lie in ambush
in secret places,
like a lion in its lair.
They lie in ambush
so they can seize those who suffer!
They seize the poor, all right,
dragging them off in their nets.
10 Their helpless victims are crushed;
they collapse, falling prey to the strength of the wicked.
11 The wicked think to themselves:
God has forgotten.
God has hidden his face.
God never sees anything!
12 Get up, Lord!
Get your fist ready, God!
Don’t forget the ones who suffer!
13 Why do the wicked reject God?
Why do they think to themselves
that you won’t find out?
14 But you do see!
You do see troublemaking and grief,
and you do something about it!
The helpless leave it all to you.
You are the orphan’s helper.
15 Break the arms of those
who are wicked and evil.
Seek out their wickedness
until there’s no more to find.
16 The Lord rules forever and always!
The nations will vanish from his land.
17 Lord, you listen to the desires of those who suffer.
You steady their hearts;
you listen closely to them,
18 to establish justice
for the orphan and the oppressed,
so that people of the land
will never again be terrified.
Psalm 14
For the music leader. Of David.
14 Fools say in their hearts, There is no God.
They are corrupt and do evil things;
not one of them does anything good.
2 The Lord looks down from heaven on humans
to see if anyone is wise,
to see if anyone seeks God,
3 but all of them have turned bad.
Everyone is corrupt.
No one does good—
not even one person!
4 Are they dumb, all these evildoers,
devouring my people
like they are eating bread
but never calling on the Lord?
5 Count on it:[a] they will be in utter panic
because God is with the righteous generation.
6 You evildoers may humiliate
the plans of those who suffer,
but the Lord is their refuge.
7 Let Israel’s salvation come out of Zion!
When the Lord changes
his people’s circumstances for the better,
Jacob will rejoice;
Israel will celebrate!
Psalm 16
A miktam[a] of David.
16 Protect me, God, because I take refuge in you.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord.
Apart from you, I have nothing good.”
3 Now as for the “holy ones” in the land,
the “magnificent ones” that I was so happy about;
4 let their suffering increase because
they hurried after a different god.[b]
I won’t participate in their blood offerings;
I won’t let their names cross my lips.
5 You, Lord, are my portion, my cup;
you control my destiny.
6 The property lines have fallen beautifully for me;
yes, I have a lovely home.
7 I will bless the Lord who advises me;
even at night I am instructed
in the depths of my mind.
8 I always put the Lord in front of me;
I will not stumble because he is on my right side.
9 That’s why my heart celebrates and my mood is joyous;
yes, my whole body will rest in safety
10 because you won’t abandon my life[c] to the grave;[d]
you won’t let your faithful follower see the pit.
11 You teach me the way of life.
In your presence is total celebration.
Beautiful things are always in your right hand.
Psalm 19
For the music leader. A psalm of David.
19 Heaven is declaring God’s glory;
the sky is proclaiming his handiwork.
2 One day gushes the news to the next,
and one night informs another what needs to be known.
3 Of course, there’s no speech, no words—
their voices can’t be heard—
4 but their sound[a] extends throughout the world;
their words reach the ends of the earth.
God has made a tent in heaven for the sun.
5 The sun is like a groom
coming out of his honeymoon suite;
like a warrior, it thrills at running its course.
6 It rises in one end of the sky;
its circuit is complete at the other.
Nothing escapes its heat.
7 The Lord’s Instruction is perfect,
reviving one’s very being.[b]
The Lord’s laws are faithful,
making naive people wise.
8 The Lord’s regulations are right,
gladdening the heart.
The Lord’s commands are pure,
giving light to the eyes.
9 Honoring the Lord is correct,
lasting forever.
The Lord’s judgments are true.
All of these are righteous!
10 They are more desirable than gold—
than tons of pure gold!
They are sweeter than honey—
even dripping off the honeycomb!
11 No doubt about it:
your servant is enlightened by them;
there is great reward in keeping them.
12 But can anyone know
what they’ve accidentally done wrong?
Clear me of any unknown sin
13 and save your servant from willful sins.
Don’t let them rule me.
Then I’ll be completely blameless;
I’ll be innocent of great wrongdoing.
14 Let the words of my mouth
and the meditations of my heart
be pleasing to you,
Lord, my rock and my redeemer.
Psalm 21
For the music leader. A psalm of David.
21 The king celebrates your strength, Lord;
look how happy he is about your saving help!
2 You’ve given him what his heart desires;
you haven’t denied what his lips requested. Selah
3 You bring rich blessings right to him;
you put a crown of pure gold on his head.
4 He asked you for life,
and you gave it to him, all right—
long days, forever and always!
5 The king’s reputation is great
because of your saving help;
you’ve conferred on him glory and grandeur.
6 You grant him blessings forever;
you make him happy
with the joy of your presence.
7 Because the king trusts the Lord,
and because of the Most High’s faithful love,
he will not stumble.
8 Your hand will catch all your enemies;
your strong hand will catch all who hate you.
9 When you appear, Lord,
you will light them up like an oven on fire.
God will eat them whole in his anger;
fire will devour them.
10 You will destroy their offspring from the land;
destroy their descendants from the human race.
11 Because they sought to do you harm,
they devised a wicked plan—but they will fail!
12 Because you will make them turn and run
when you aim your bow straight at their faces!
13 Be exalted, Lord, in your strength!
We will sing and praise your power!
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible