Historical
Book I
(Psalms 1–41)
Psalm 1
The Two Ways
1 Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked
or take the path that sinners tread
or sit in the seat of scoffers,(A)
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.(B)
3 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.(C)
4 The wicked are not so
but are like chaff that the wind drives away.(D)
5 Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment
nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous,(E)
6 for the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked will perish.(F)
Psalm 2
God’s Promise to His Anointed
1 Why do the nations conspire
and the peoples plot in vain?(G)
2 The kings of the earth set themselves,
and the rulers take counsel together,
against the Lord and his anointed, saying,(H)
3 “Let us burst their bonds apart
and cast their cords from us.”
4 He who sits in the heavens laughs;
the Lord has them in derision.(I)
5 Then he will speak to them in his wrath
and terrify them in his fury, saying,(J)
6 “I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.”(K)
7 I will tell of the decree of the Lord:
He said to me, “You are my son;
today I have begotten you.(L)
8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage
and the ends of the earth your possession.(M)
9 You shall break them with a rod of iron
and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”(N)
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
11 Serve the Lord with fear;
with trembling(O) 12 kiss his feet,[a]
or he will be angry, and you will perish in the way,
for his wrath is quickly kindled.
Happy are all who take refuge in him.(P)
Psalm 3
Trust in God under Adversity
A Psalm of David, when he fled from his son Absalom.
1 O Lord, how many are my foes!
Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying to me,
“There is no help for you[b] in God.” Selah
3 But you, O Lord, are a shield around me,
my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.(Q)
4 I cry aloud to the Lord,
and he answers me from his holy hill. Selah(R)
5 I lie down and sleep;
I wake again, for the Lord sustains me.(S)
6 I am not afraid of ten thousands of people
who have set themselves against me all around.
7 Rise up, O Lord!
Deliver me, O my God!
For you strike all my enemies on the cheek;
you break the teeth of the wicked.
8 Deliverance belongs to the Lord;
may your blessing be on your people! Selah(T)
Psalm 4
Confident Plea for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David.
1 Answer me when I call, O God of my right!
You gave me room when I was in distress.
Be gracious to me, and hear my prayer.(U)
2 How long, you people, shall my honor suffer shame?
How long will you love vain words and seek after lies? Selah(V)
3 But know that the Lord has set apart the faithful for himself;
the Lord hears when I call to him.(W)
4 When you are disturbed,[c] do not sin;
ponder it on your beds, and be silent. Selah(X)
5 Offer right sacrifices,
and put your trust in the Lord.(Y)
6 There are many who say, “O that we might see some good!
Let the light of your face shine on us, O Lord!”(Z)
7 You have put gladness in my heart
more than when their grain and wine abound.(AA)
8 I will both lie down and sleep in peace,
for you alone, O Lord, make me lie down in safety.(AB)
Psalm 5
Trust in God for Deliverance from Enemies
To the leader: for the flutes. A Psalm of David.
1 Listen to my words, O Lord;
attend to my sighing.(AC)
2 Listen to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to you I pray.(AD)
3 O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice;
in the morning I plead my case to you and watch.(AE)
4 For you are not a God who delights in wickedness;
evil will not sojourn with you.(AF)
5 The boastful will not stand before your eyes;
you hate all evildoers.(AG)
6 You destroy those who speak lies;
the Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful.(AH)
7 But I, through the abundance of your steadfast love,
will enter your house;
I will bow down toward your holy temple
in awe of you.(AI)
8 Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make your way straight before me.(AJ)
9 For there is no truth in their mouths;
their hearts are destruction;
their throats are open graves;
they flatter with their tongues.(AK)
10 Make them bear their guilt, O God;
let them fall by their own counsels;
because of their many transgressions, cast them out,
for they have rebelled against you.(AL)
11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice;
let them ever sing for joy.
Spread your protection over them,
so that those who love your name may exult in you.(AM)
12 For you bless the righteous, O Lord;
you cover them with favor as with a shield.(AN)
Psalm 6
Prayer for Recovery from Grave Illness
To the leader: with stringed instruments; according to The Sheminith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger
or discipline me in your wrath.(AO)
2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;
O Lord, heal me, for my bones are shaking with terror.(AP)
3 My soul also is struck with terror,
while you, O Lord—how long?(AQ)
4 Turn, O Lord, save my life;
deliver me for the sake of your steadfast love.
5 For in death there is no remembrance of you;
in Sheol who can give you praise?(AR)
6 I am weary with my moaning;
every night I flood my bed with tears;
I drench my couch with my weeping.
7 My eyes waste away because of grief;
they grow weak because of all my foes.(AS)
8 Depart from me, all you workers of evil,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.(AT)
9 The Lord has heard my supplication;
the Lord accepts my prayer.(AU)
10 All my enemies shall be ashamed and struck with terror;
they shall turn back and in a moment be put to shame.
Psalm 7
Plea for Help against Persecutors
A Shiggaion of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjaminite.
1 O Lord my God, in you I take refuge;
save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,(AV)
2 or like a lion they will tear me apart;
they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.(AW)
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this,
if there is wrong in my hands,(AX)
4 if I have repaid my ally with harm
or plundered my foe without cause,(AY)
5 then let the enemy pursue and overtake me,
trample my life to the ground,
and lay my soul in the dust. Selah
6 Rise up, O Lord, in your anger;
lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
awake, O my God;[d] you have appointed a judgment.(AZ)
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you,
and over it take your seat[e] on high.(BA)
8 The Lord judges the peoples;
judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.(BB)
9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
but establish the righteous,
you who test the minds and hearts,
O righteous God.(BC)
10 God is my shield,
who saves the upright in heart.(BD)
11 God is a righteous judge
and a God who has indignation every day.(BE)
12 If one does not repent, God[f] will whet his sword;
he has bent and strung his bow;(BF)
13 he has prepared his deadly weapons,
making his arrows fiery shafts.(BG)
14 See how they conceive evil
and are pregnant with mischief
and bring forth lies.(BH)
15 They make a pit, digging it out,
and fall into the hole that they have made.(BI)
16 Their mischief returns upon their own heads,
and on their own heads their violence descends.(BJ)
17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness
and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.(BK)
Psalm 8
Divine Majesty and Human Dignity
To the leader: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.
1 O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!
You have set your glory above the heavens.(BL)
2 Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
to silence the enemy and the avenger.(BM)
3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
the moon and the stars that you have established;(BN)
4 what are humans that you are mindful of them,
mortals[g] that you care for them?(BO)
5 Yet you have made them a little lower than God[h]
and crowned them with glory and honor.(BP)
6 You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
you have put all things under their feet,(BQ)
7 all sheep and oxen,
and also the beasts of the field,
8 the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
whatever passes along the paths of the seas.
9 O Lord, our Sovereign,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!(BR)
New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition. Copyright © 2021 National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.