Chronological
Psalm 43[a]
43 Vindicate me, O God!
Fight for me[b] against an ungodly nation.
Deliver me[c] from deceitful and evil men.[d]
2 For you are the God who shelters me.[e]
Why do you reject me?[f]
Why must I walk around[g] mourning[h]
because my enemies oppress me?
3 Reveal[i] your light[j] and your faithfulness.
They will lead me;[k]
they will escort[l] me back to your holy hill,[m]
and to the place where you live.[n]
4 Then I will go[o] to the altar of God,
to the God who gives me ecstatic joy,[p]
so that I may express my thanks to you,[q] O God, my God, with a harp.
5 Why are you depressed,[r] O my soul?[s]
Why are you upset?[t]
Wait for God!
For I will again give thanks
to my God for his saving intervention.[u]
Psalm 44[v]
For the music director, by the Korahites; a well-written song.[w]
44 O God, we have clearly heard;[x]
our ancestors[y] have told us
what you did[z] in their days,
in ancient times.[aa]
2 You, by your power,[ab] defeated nations and settled our fathers on their land;[ac]
you crushed[ad] the people living there[ae] and enabled our ancestors to occupy it.[af]
3 For they did not conquer[ag] the land by their swords,
and they did not prevail by their strength,[ah]
but rather by your power,[ai] strength,[aj] and good favor,[ak]
for you were partial to[al] them.
4 You are my[am] king, O God.
Decree[an] Jacob’s[ao] deliverance.
5 By your power[ap] we will drive back[aq] our enemies;
by your strength[ar] we will trample down[as] our foes.[at]
6 For I do not trust in my bow,
and I do not prevail by my sword.
7 For you deliver[au] us from our enemies;
you humiliate[av] those who hate us.
8 In God we boast all day long,
and we will continually give thanks to your name. (Selah)
9 But[aw] you rejected and embarrassed us.
You did not go into battle with our armies.[ax]
10 You made us retreat[ay] from the enemy.
Those who hate us take whatever they want from us.[az]
11 You handed us[ba] over like sheep to be eaten;
you scattered us among the nations.
12 You sold[bb] your people for a pittance;[bc]
you did not ask a high price for them.[bd]
13 You made us[be] an object of disdain to our neighbors;
those who live on our borders taunt and insult us.[bf]
14 You made us[bg] an object of ridicule[bh] among the nations;
foreigners treat us with contempt.[bi]
15 All day long I feel humiliated[bj]
and am overwhelmed with shame,[bk]
16 before the vindictive enemy
who ridicules and insults me.[bl]
17 All this has happened to us, even though we have not rejected you[bm]
or violated your covenant with us.[bn]
18 We have not been unfaithful,[bo]
nor have we disobeyed your commands.[bp]
19 Yet you have battered us, leaving us a heap of ruins overrun by wild dogs;[bq]
you have covered us with darkness.[br]
20 If we had rejected our God,[bs]
and spread out our hands in prayer to another god,[bt]
21 would not God discover it,
for he knows[bu] a person’s secret thoughts?[bv]
22 Yet because of you[bw] we are killed all day long;
we are treated like[bx] sheep at the slaughtering block.[by]
23 Rouse yourself! Why do you sleep, O Lord?
Wake up![bz] Do not reject us forever.
24 Why do you look the other way,[ca]
and ignore[cb] the way we are oppressed and mistreated?[cc]
25 For we lie in the dirt,
with our bellies pressed to the ground.[cd]
26 Rise up and help us.
Rescue us[ce] because of your loyal love.
Psalm 45[cf]
For the music director, according to the tune of “Lilies”;[cg] by the Korahites, a well-written poem,[ch] a love song.
45 My heart is stirred by a beautiful song.[ci]
I say, “I have composed this special song[cj] for the king;
my tongue is as skilled as the stylus of an experienced scribe.”[ck]
2 You are the most handsome of all men.[cl]
You speak in an impressive and fitting manner.[cm]
For this reason[cn] God grants you continual blessings.[co]
3 Strap your sword to your thigh, O warrior.[cp]
Appear in your majestic splendor.[cq]
4 Appear in your majesty and be victorious.[cr]
Ride forth for the sake of what is right,[cs]
on behalf of justice.[ct]
Then your right hand will accomplish mighty acts.[cu]
5 Your arrows are sharp
and penetrate the hearts of the king’s enemies.
Nations fall at your feet.[cv]
6 Your throne,[cw] O God, is permanent.[cx]
The scepter[cy] of your kingdom is a scepter of justice.
7 You love[cz] justice and hate evil.[da]
For this reason God, your God,[db] has anointed you[dc]
with the oil of joy,[dd] elevating you above your companions.[de]
8 All your garments are perfumed with[df] myrrh, aloes, and cassia.
From the luxurious palaces[dg] comes the music of stringed instruments that makes you happy.[dh]
9 Princesses[di] are among your honored women.[dj]
Your bride[dk] stands at your right hand, wearing jewelry made with gold from Ophir.[dl]
10 Listen, O princess.[dm]
Observe and pay attention![dn]
Forget your homeland[do] and your family.[dp]
11 Then[dq] the king will be attracted by[dr] your beauty.
After all, he is your master. Submit[ds] to him.[dt]
12 Rich people from Tyre
will seek your favor by bringing a gift.[du]
13 The princess[dv] looks absolutely magnificent,[dw]
decked out in pearls and clothed in a brocade trimmed with gold.[dx]
14 In embroidered robes she is escorted to the king.
Her attendants, the maidens of honor who follow her,
are led before you.[dy]
15 They are bubbling with joy as they walk in procession
and enter the royal palace.[dz]
16 Your[ea] sons will carry on[eb] the dynasty of your ancestors;[ec]
you will make them princes throughout the land.
17 I will proclaim your greatness through the coming years,[ed]
then the nations will praise you[ee] forever.
Psalm 49[a]
For the music director, a psalm by the Korahites.
49 Listen to this, all you nations.
Pay attention, all you inhabitants of the world.[b]
2 Pay attention, all you people,[c]
both rich and poor.
3 I will declare a wise saying;[d]
I will share my profound thoughts.[e]
4 I will learn a song that imparts wisdom;
I will then sing my insightful song to the accompaniment of a harp.[f]
5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble,[g]
when the sinful deeds of deceptive men threaten to overwhelm me?[h]
6 They trust[i] in their wealth
and boast[j] in their great riches.
7 Certainly a man cannot rescue his brother;[k]
he cannot pay God an adequate ransom price[l]
8 (the ransom price for a human life[m] is too high,
and people go to their final destiny),[n]
9 so that he might continue to live[o] forever
and not experience death.[p]
10 Surely[q] one sees[r] that even wise people die;[s]
fools and spiritually insensitive people all pass away[t]
and leave their wealth to others.[u]
11 Their grave becomes their permanent residence,
their eternal dwelling place.[v]
They name their lands after themselves,[w]
12 but, despite their wealth, people do not last.[x]
They are like animals[y] that perish.[z]
13 This is the destiny of fools,[aa]
and of those who approve of their philosophy.[ab] (Selah)
14 They will travel to Sheol like sheep,[ac]
with death as their shepherd.[ad]
The godly will rule[ae] over them when the day of vindication dawns.[af]
Sheol will consume their bodies, and they will no longer live in impressive houses.[ag]
15 But[ah] God will rescue[ai] my life[aj] from the power[ak] of Sheol;
certainly[al] he will pull me to safety.[am] (Selah)
16 Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich[an]
and his wealth multiplies.[ao]
17 For he will take nothing with him when he dies;
his wealth will not follow him down into the grave.[ap]
18 He pronounces this blessing on himself while he is alive:
“May men praise you, for you have done well.”
19 But he will join his ancestors;[aq]
they will never again see the light of day.[ar]
20 Wealthy people do not understand;[as]
they are like animals[at] that perish.[au]
Psalm 84[a]
For the music director, according to the gittith style;[b] written by the Korahites, a psalm.
84 How lovely is the place where you live,[c]
O Lord of Heaven’s Armies![d]
2 I desperately want to be[e]
in the courts of the Lord’s temple.[f]
My heart and my entire being[g] shout for joy
to the living God.
3 Even the birds find a home there,
and the swallow[h] builds a nest,
where she can protect her young[i]
near your altars, O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,
my King and my God.
4 How blessed[j] are those who live in your temple
and praise you continually. (Selah)
5 How blessed are those who[k] find their strength in you,
and long to travel the roads that lead to your temple.[l]
6 As they pass through the Baca Valley,[m]
he provides a spring for them.[n]
The rain[o] even covers it with pools of water.[p]
7 They are sustained as they travel along;[q]
each one appears[r] before God in Zion.
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies,[s]
hear my prayer.
Listen, O God of Jacob. (Selah)
9 O God, take notice of our shield.[t]
Show concern for your chosen king.[u]
10 Certainly[v] spending just one day in your temple courts is better
than spending a thousand elsewhere.[w]
I would rather stand at the entrance[x] to the temple of my God
than live[y] in the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is our sovereign protector.[z]
The Lord bestows favor[aa] and honor;
he withholds no good thing from those who have integrity.[ab]
12 O Lord of Heaven’s Armies,[ac]
how blessed are those who trust in you.[ad]
Psalm 85[ae]
For the music director, written by the Korahites, a psalm.
85 O Lord, you showed favor to your land;
you restored the well-being of Jacob.[af]
2 You pardoned[ag] the wrongdoing of your people;
you forgave[ah] all their sin. (Selah)
3 You withdrew all your fury;
you turned back from your raging anger.[ai]
4 Restore us, O God our deliverer.
Do not be displeased with us.[aj]
5 Will you stay mad at us forever?
Will you remain angry throughout future generations?[ak]
6 Will you not revive us once more?
Then your people will rejoice in you.
7 O Lord, show us your loyal love.
Bestow on us your deliverance.
8 I will listen to what God the Lord says.[al]
For he will make[am] peace with his people, his faithful followers.[an]
Yet they must not[ao] return to their foolish ways.
9 Certainly his loyal followers will soon experience his deliverance;[ap]
then his splendor will again appear in our land.[aq]
10 Loyal love and faithfulness meet;[ar]
deliverance and peace greet each other with a kiss.[as]
11 Faithfulness grows from the ground,
and deliverance looks down from the sky.[at]
12 Yes, the Lord will bestow his good blessings,[au]
and our land will yield[av] its crops.
13 Deliverance goes[aw] before him,
and prepares[ax] a pathway for him.[ay]
Psalm 87[a]
Written by the Korahites; a psalm, a song.
87 The Lord’s city is in the holy hills.[b]
2 The Lord loves the gates of Zion
more than all the dwelling places of Jacob.
3 People say wonderful things about you,[c]
O city of God. (Selah)
4 I mention Rahab[d] and Babylon to my followers.[e]
Here are[f] Philistia and Tyre, along with Ethiopia.[g]
It is said of them, “This one was born there.”[h]
5 But it is said of Zion’s residents,[i]
“Each one of these[j] was born in her,
and the Most High[k] makes her secure.”
6 The Lord writes in the census book of the nations,[l]
“This one was born there.”[m] (Selah)
7 As for the singers, as well as the pipers—
all of them sing within your walls.[n]
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