Psalm 86

A prayer of David.
 ¹ Hear me, LORD, and answer me,
   for I am poor and needy.
² Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
   save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; ³ have mercy on me, Lord,
   for I call to you all day long.
⁴ Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
   for I put my trust in you.
 ⁵ You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
   abounding in love to all who call to you.
⁶ Hear my prayer, LORD;
   listen to my cry for mercy.
⁷ When I am in distress, I call to you,
   because you answer me.
 ⁸ Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;
   no deeds can compare with yours.
⁹ All the nations you have made
   will come and worship before you, Lord;
   they will bring glory to your name.
¹⁰ For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
   you alone are God.
 ¹¹ Teach me your way, LORD,
   that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
   that I may fear your name.
¹² I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
   I will glorify your name forever.
¹³ For great is your love toward me;
   you have delivered me from the depths,
   from the realm of the dead.
 ¹⁴ Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
   ruthless people are trying to kill me—
   they have no regard for you.
¹⁵ But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
   slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
¹⁶ Turn to me and have mercy on me;
   show your strength in behalf of your servant;
save me, because I serve you
   just as my mother did.
¹⁷ Give me a sign of your goodness,
   that my enemies may see it and be put to shame,
   for you, LORD, have helped me and comforted me.

Psalm 13

For the director of music. A psalm of David.
 ¹ How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
   How long will you hide your face from me?
² How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
   and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
   How long will my enemy triumph over me?
 ³ Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
   Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
⁴ and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
   and my foes will rejoice when I fall.
 ⁵ But I trust in your unfailing love;
   my heart rejoices in your salvation.
⁶ I will sing the LORD’s praise,
   for he has been good to me.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 13:1 In Hebrew texts 13:1-6 is numbered 13:2-6.

Psalm 136

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good.
            His love endures forever.
² Give thanks to the God of gods.
            His love endures forever.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords:
            His love endures forever.
 ⁴ to him who alone does great wonders,
            His love endures forever.
⁵ who by his understanding made the heavens,
            His love endures forever.
⁶ who spread out the earth upon the waters,
            His love endures forever.
⁷ who made the great lights—
            His love endures forever.
⁸ the sun to govern the day,
            His love endures forever.
⁹ the moon and stars to govern the night;
            His love endures forever.
 ¹⁰ to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
            His love endures forever.
¹¹ and brought Israel out from among them
            His love endures forever.
¹² with a mighty hand and outstretched arm;
            His love endures forever.
 ¹³ to him who divided the Red Sea^[a] asunder
            His love endures forever.
¹⁴ and brought Israel through the midst of it,
            His love endures forever.
¹⁵ but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea;
            His love endures forever.
 ¹⁶ to him who led his people through the wilderness;
            His love endures forever.
 ¹⁷ to him who struck down great kings,
            His love endures forever.
¹⁸ and killed mighty kings—
            His love endures forever.
¹⁹ Sihon king of the Amorites
            His love endures forever.
²⁰ and Og king of Bashan—
            His love endures forever.
²¹ and gave their land as an inheritance,
            His love endures forever.
²² an inheritance to his servant Israel.
            His love endures forever.
 ²³ He remembered us in our low estate
            His love endures forever.
²⁴ and freed us from our enemies.
            His love endures forever.
²⁵ He gives food to every creature.
            His love endures forever.
 ²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven.
            His love endures forever.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 136:13 Or the Sea of Reeds; also in verse 15

Psalm 40

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.
 ¹ I waited patiently for the LORD;
   he turned to me and heard my cry.
² He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
   out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
   and gave me a firm place to stand.
³ He put a new song in my mouth,
   a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
   and put their trust in him.
 ⁴ Blessed is the one
   who trusts in the LORD,
who does not look to the proud,
   to those who turn aside to false gods.^[b]
5 Many, LORD my God,
   are the wonders you have done,
   the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
   were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
   they would be too many to declare.
 ⁶ Sacrifice and offering you did not desire—
   but my ears you have opened^[c]—
   burnt offerings and sin offerings^[d] you did not require.
⁷ Then I said, “Here I am, I have come—
   it is written about me in the scroll.^[e]
8 I desire to do your will, my God;
   your law is within my heart.”
 ⁹ I proclaim your saving acts in the great assembly;
   I do not seal my lips, LORD,
   as you know.
¹⁰ I do not hide your righteousness in my heart;
   I speak of your faithfulness and your saving help.
I do not conceal your love and your faithfulness
   from the great assembly.
 ¹¹ Do not withhold your mercy from me, LORD;
   may your love and faithfulness always protect me.
¹² For troubles without number surround me;
   my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
   and my heart fails within me.
¹³ Be pleased to save me, LORD;
   come quickly, LORD, to help me.
 ¹⁴ May all who want to take my life
   be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
   be turned back in disgrace.
¹⁵ May those who say to me, “Aha! Aha!”
   be appalled at their own shame.
¹⁶ But may all who seek you
   rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
   “The LORD is great!”
 ¹⁷ But as for me, I am poor and needy;
   may the Lord think of me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
   you are my God, do not delay.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 40:1 In Hebrew texts 40:1-17 is numbered 40:2-18.
2. Psalm 40:4 Or to lies
3. Psalm 40:6 Hebrew; some Septuagint manuscripts but a body you have prepared for me
4. Psalm 40:6 Or purification offerings
5. Psalm 40:7 Or come / with the scroll written for me

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm.
 ¹ The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it,
   the world, and all who live in it;
² for he founded it on the seas
   and established it on the waters.
 ³ Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD?
   Who may stand in his holy place?
⁴ The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
   who does not trust in an idol
   or swear by a false god.^[a]
 5 They will receive blessing from the LORD
   and vindication from God their Savior.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him,
   who seek your face, God of Jacob.^[b][c]
 7 Lift up your heads, you gates;
   be lifted up, you ancient doors,
   that the King of glory may come in.
⁸ Who is this King of glory?
   The LORD strong and mighty,
   the LORD mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates;
   lift them up, you ancient doors,
   that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰ Who is he, this King of glory?
   The LORD Almighty—
   he is the King of glory.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 24:4 Or swear falsely
2. Psalm 24:6 Two Hebrew manuscripts and Syriac (see also Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts face, Jacob
3. Psalm 24:6 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 10.

Psalm 63

A psalm of David. When he was in the Desert of Judah.
 ¹ You, God, are my God,
   earnestly I seek you;
I thirst for you,
   my whole being longs for you,
in a dry and parched land
   where there is no water.
 ² I have seen you in the sanctuary
   and beheld your power and your glory.
³ Because your love is better than life,
   my lips will glorify you.
⁴ I will praise you as long as I live,
   and in your name I will lift up my hands.
⁵ I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods;
   with singing lips my mouth will praise you.
 ⁶ On my bed I remember you;
   I think of you through the watches of the night.
⁷ Because you are my help,
   I sing in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ I cling to you;
   your right hand upholds me.
 ⁹ Those who want to kill me will be destroyed;
   they will go down to the depths of the earth.
¹⁰ They will be given over to the sword
   and become food for jackals.
 ¹¹ But the king will rejoice in God;
   all who swear by God will glory in him,
   while the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 63:1 In Hebrew texts 63:1-11 is numbered 63:2-12.

Psalm 10

¹ Why, LORD, do you stand far off?
   Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
 ² In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
   who are caught in the schemes he devises.
³ He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
   he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
⁴ In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
   in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
⁵ His ways are always prosperous;
   your laws are rejected by^[b] him;
   he sneers at all his enemies.
⁶ He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
   He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”
 ⁷ His mouth is full of lies and threats;
   trouble and evil are under his tongue.
⁸ He lies in wait near the villages;
   from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
 ⁹ like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
   he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
¹⁰ His victims are crushed, they collapse;
   they fall under his strength.
¹¹ He says to himself, “God will never notice;
   he covers his face and never sees.”
 ¹² Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God.
   Do not forget the helpless.
¹³ Why does the wicked man revile God?
   Why does he say to himself,
   “He won’t call me to account”?
¹⁴ But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
   you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
   you are the helper of the fatherless.
¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked man;
   call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
   that would not otherwise be found out.
 ¹⁶ The LORD is King for ever and ever;
   the nations will perish from his land.
¹⁷ You, LORD, hear the desire of the afflicted;
   you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
¹⁸ defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
   so that mere earthly mortals
   will never again strike terror.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 10:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
2. Psalm 10:5 See Septuagint; Hebrew / they are haughty, and your laws are far from

Psalm 48

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
 ¹ Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise,
   in the city of our God, his holy mountain.
 ² Beautiful in its loftiness,
   the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon^[b] is Mount Zion,
   the city of the Great King.
³ God is in her citadels;
   he has shown himself to be her fortress.
 ⁴ When the kings joined forces,
   when they advanced together,
⁵ they saw her and were astounded;
   they fled in terror.
⁶ Trembling seized them there,
   pain like that of a woman in labor.
⁷ You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish
   shattered by an east wind.
 ⁸ As we have heard,
   so we have seen
in the city of the LORD Almighty,
   in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
   forever.^[c]
 9 Within your temple, O God,
   we meditate on your unfailing love.
¹⁰ Like your name, O God,
   your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;
   your right hand is filled with righteousness.
¹¹ Mount Zion rejoices,
   the villages of Judah are glad
   because of your judgments.
 ¹² Walk about Zion, go around her,
   count her towers,
¹³ consider well her ramparts,
   view her citadels,
that you may tell of them
   to the next generation.
 ¹⁴ For this God is our God for ever and ever;
   he will be our guide even to the end.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 48:1 In Hebrew texts 48:1-14 is numbered 48:2-15.
2. Psalm 48:2 Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.
3. Psalm 48:8 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

Psalm 143

A psalm of David.
 ¹ LORD, hear my prayer,
   listen to my cry for mercy;
in your faithfulness and righteousness
   come to my relief.
² Do not bring your servant into judgment,
   for no one living is righteous before you.
³ The enemy pursues me,
   he crushes me to the ground;
he makes me dwell in the darkness
   like those long dead.
⁴ So my spirit grows faint within me;
   my heart within me is dismayed.
⁵ I remember the days of long ago;
   I meditate on all your works
   and consider what your hands have done.
⁶ I spread out my hands to you;
   I thirst for you like a parched land.^[a]
 7 Answer me quickly, LORD;
   my spirit fails.
Do not hide your face from me
   or I will be like those who go down to the pit.
⁸ Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
   for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
   for to you I entrust my life.
⁹ Rescue me from my enemies, LORD,
   for I hide myself in you.
¹⁰ Teach me to do your will,
   for you are my God;
may your good Spirit
   lead me on level ground.
 ¹¹ For your name’s sake, LORD, preserve my life;
   in your righteousness, bring me out of trouble.
¹² In your unfailing love, silence my enemies;
   destroy all my foes,
   for I am your servant.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 143:6 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

Psalm 82

A psalm of Asaph.
 ¹ God presides in the great assembly;
   he renders judgment among the “gods”:
 ² “How long will you^[a] defend the unjust
   and show partiality to the wicked?^[b]
3 Defend the weak and the fatherless;
   uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
⁴ Rescue the weak and the needy;
   deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
 ⁵ “The ‘gods’ know nothing, they understand nothing.
   They walk about in darkness;
   all the foundations of the earth are shaken.
 ⁶ “I said, ‘You are “gods”;
   you are all sons of the Most High.’
⁷ But you will die like mere mortals;
   you will fall like every other ruler.”
 ⁸ Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
   for all the nations are your inheritance.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 82:2 The Hebrew is plural.
2. Psalm 82:2 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

Psalm 72

Of Solomon.
 ¹ Endow the king with your justice, O God,
   the royal son with your righteousness.
² May he judge your people in righteousness,
   your afflicted ones with justice.
 ³ May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
   the hills the fruit of righteousness.
⁴ May he defend the afflicted among the people
   and save the children of the needy;
   may he crush the oppressor.
⁵ May he endure^[a] as long as the sun,
   as long as the moon, through all generations.
⁶ May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
   like showers watering the earth.
⁷ In his days may the righteous flourish
   and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.
 ⁸ May he rule from sea to sea
   and from the River^[b] to the ends of the earth.
⁹ May the desert tribes bow before him
   and his enemies lick the dust.
¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
   bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba and Seba
   present him gifts.
¹¹ May all kings bow down to him
   and all nations serve him.
 ¹² For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
   the afflicted who have no one to help.
¹³ He will take pity on the weak and the needy
   and save the needy from death.
¹⁴ He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
   for precious is their blood in his sight.
 ¹⁵ Long may he live!
   May gold from Sheba be given him.
May people ever pray for him
   and bless him all day long.
¹⁶ May grain abound throughout the land;
   on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops flourish like Lebanon
   and thrive^[c] like the grass of the field.
¹⁷ May his name endure forever;
   may it continue as long as the sun.
   Then all nations will be blessed through him,^[d]
   and they will call him blessed.
 ¹⁸ Praise be to the LORD God, the God of Israel,
   who alone does marvelous deeds.
¹⁹ Praise be to his glorious name forever;
   may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
            Amen and Amen.
 ²⁰ This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 72:5 Septuagint; Hebrew You will be feared
2. Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
3. Psalm 72:16 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text Lebanon, / from the city
4. Psalm 72:17 Or will use his name in blessings (see Gen. 48:20)

Psalm 18

For the director of music. Of David the servant of the LORD. He sang to the LORD the words of this song when the LORD delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. He said:
 ¹ I love you, LORD, my strength.
 ² The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
   my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,
   my shield^[b] and the horn^[c] of my salvation, my stronghold.
 ³ I called to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,
   and I have been saved from my enemies.
⁴ The cords of death entangled me;
   the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.
⁵ The cords of the grave coiled around me;
   the snares of death confronted me.
 ⁶ In my distress I called to the LORD;
   I cried to my God for help.
From his temple he heard my voice;
   my cry came before him, into his ears.
⁷ The earth trembled and quaked,
   and the foundations of the mountains shook;
   they trembled because he was angry.
⁸ Smoke rose from his nostrils;
   consuming fire came from his mouth,
   burning coals blazed out of it.
⁹ He parted the heavens and came down;
   dark clouds were under his feet.
¹⁰ He mounted the cherubim and flew;
   he soared on the wings of the wind.
¹¹ He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him—
   the dark rain clouds of the sky.
¹² Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,
   with hailstones and bolts of lightning.
¹³ The LORD thundered from heaven;
   the voice of the Most High resounded.^[d]
14 He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,
   with great bolts of lightning he routed them.
¹⁵ The valleys of the sea were exposed
   and the foundations of the earth laid bare
at your rebuke, LORD,
   at the blast of breath from your nostrils.
 ¹⁶ He reached down from on high and took hold of me;
   he drew me out of deep waters.
¹⁷ He rescued me from my powerful enemy,
   from my foes, who were too strong for me.
¹⁸ They confronted me in the day of my disaster,
   but the LORD was my support.
¹⁹ He brought me out into a spacious place;
   he rescued me because he delighted in me.
 ²⁰ The LORD has dealt with me according to my righteousness;
   according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.
²¹ For I have kept the ways of the LORD;
   I am not guilty of turning from my God.
²² All his laws are before me;
   I have not turned away from his decrees.
²³ I have been blameless before him
   and have kept myself from sin.
²⁴ The LORD has rewarded me according to my righteousness,
   according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.
 ²⁵ To the faithful you show yourself faithful,
   to the blameless you show yourself blameless,
²⁶ to the pure you show yourself pure,
   but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.
²⁷ You save the humble
   but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.
²⁸ You, LORD, keep my lamp burning;
   my God turns my darkness into light.
²⁹ With your help I can advance against a troop^[e];
   with my God I can scale a wall.
 ³⁰ As for God, his way is perfect:
   The LORD’s word is flawless;
   he shields all who take refuge in him.
³¹ For who is God besides the LORD?
   And who is the Rock except our God?
³² It is God who arms me with strength
   and keeps my way secure.
³³ He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;
   he causes me to stand on the heights.
³⁴ He trains my hands for battle;
   my arms can bend a bow of bronze.
³⁵ You make your saving help my shield,
   and your right hand sustains me;
   your help has made me great.
³⁶ You provide a broad path for my feet,
   so that my ankles do not give way.
 ³⁷ I pursued my enemies and overtook them;
   I did not turn back till they were destroyed.
³⁸ I crushed them so that they could not rise;
   they fell beneath my feet.
³⁹ You armed me with strength for battle;
   you humbled my adversaries before me.
⁴⁰ You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,
   and I destroyed my foes.
⁴¹ They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
   to the LORD, but he did not answer.
⁴² I beat them as fine as windblown dust;
   I trampled them^[f] like mud in the streets.
⁴³ You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;
   you have made me the head of nations.
People I did not know now serve me,
 ⁴⁴ foreigners cower before me;
   as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.
⁴⁵ They all lose heart;
   they come trembling from their strongholds.
 ⁴⁶ The LORD lives! Praise be to my Rock!
   Exalted be God my Savior!
⁴⁷ He is the God who avenges me,
   who subdues nations under me,
 ⁴⁸ who saves me from my enemies.
You exalted me above my foes;
   from a violent man you rescued me.
⁴⁹ Therefore I will praise you, LORD, among the nations;
   I will sing the praises of your name.
 ⁵⁰ He gives his king great victories;
   he shows unfailing love to his anointed,
   to David and to his descendants forever.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 18:1 In Hebrew texts 18:1-50 is numbered 18:2-51.
2. Psalm 18:2 Or sovereign
3. Psalm 18:2 Horn here symbolizes strength.
4. Psalm 18:13 Some Hebrew manuscripts and Septuagint (see also 2 Samuel 22:14); most Hebrew manuscripts resounded, / amid hailstones and bolts of lightning
5. Psalm 18:29 Or can run through a barricade
6. Psalm 18:42 Many Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac and Targum (see also 2 Samuel 22:43); Masoretic Text I poured them out