Psalm 75

    For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.
 ¹ We praise you, God,
   we praise you, for your Name is near;
   people tell of your wonderful deeds.
 ² You say, “I choose the appointed time;
   it is I who judge with equity.
³ When the earth and all its people quake,
   it is I who hold its pillars firm.^[b]
4 To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’
   and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.^[c]
5 Do not lift your horns against heaven;
   do not speak so defiantly.’”
 ⁶ No one from the east or the west
   or from the desert can exalt themselves.
⁷ It is God who judges:
   He brings one down, he exalts another.
⁸ In the hand of the LORD is a cup
   full of foaming wine mixed with spices;
he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth
   drink it down to its very dregs.
 ⁹ As for me, I will declare this forever;
   I will sing praise to the God of Jacob,
¹⁰ who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
   but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 75:1 In Hebrew texts 75:1-10 is numbered 75:2-11.
2. Psalm 75:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
3. Psalm 75:4 Horns here symbolize strength; also in verses 5 and 10.

Psalm 121

A song of ascents.
 ¹ I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
   where does my help come from?
² My help comes from the LORD,
   the Maker of heaven and earth.
 ³ He will not let your foot slip—
   he who watches over you will not slumber;
⁴ indeed, he who watches over Israel
   will neither slumber nor sleep.
 ⁵ The LORD watches over you—
   the LORD is your shade at your right hand;
⁶ the sun will not harm you by day,
   nor the moon by night.
 ⁷ The LORD will keep you from all harm—
   he will watch over your life;
⁸ the LORD will watch over your coming and going
   both now and forevermore.

Psalm 93

 ¹ The LORD reigns, he is robed in majesty;
   the LORD is robed in majesty and armed with strength;
   indeed, the world is established, firm and secure.
² Your throne was established long ago;
   you are from all eternity.
 ³ The seas have lifted up, LORD,
   the seas have lifted up their voice;
   the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
⁴ Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
   mightier than the breakers of the sea—
   the LORD on high is mighty.
 ⁵ Your statutes, LORD, stand firm;
   holiness adorns your house
   for endless days.

Psalm 20

    For the director of music. A psalm of David.
 ¹ May the LORD answer you when you are in distress;
   may the name of the God of Jacob protect you.
² May he send you help from the sanctuary
   and grant you support from Zion.
³ May he remember all your sacrifices
   and accept your burnt offerings.^[b]
4 May he give you the desire of your heart
   and make all your plans succeed.
⁵ May we shout for joy over your victory
   and lift up our banners in the name of our God.
   May the LORD grant all your requests.
 ⁶ Now this I know:
   The LORD gives victory to his anointed.
He answers him from his heavenly sanctuary
   with the victorious power of his right hand.
⁷ Some trust in chariots and some in horses,
   but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.
⁸ They are brought to their knees and fall,
   but we rise up and stand firm.
⁹ LORD, give victory to the king!
   Answer us when we call!

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 20:1 In Hebrew texts 20:1-9 is numbered 20:2-10.
2. Psalm 20:3 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

Psalm 88

    A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.^[b] A maskil^[c]of Heman the Ezrahite.
 ¹ LORD, you are the God who saves me;
   day and night I cry out to you.
² May my prayer come before you;
   turn your ear to my cry.
 ³ I am overwhelmed with troubles
   and my life draws near to death.
⁴ I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
   I am like one without strength.
⁵ I am set apart with the dead,
   like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
   who are cut off from your care.
 ⁶ You have put me in the lowest pit,
   in the darkest depths.
⁷ Your wrath lies heavily on me;
   you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.^[d]
8 You have taken from me my closest friends
   and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
 ⁹ my eyes are dim with grief.
   I call to you, LORD, every day;
   I spread out my hands to you.
¹⁰ Do you show your wonders to the dead?
   Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
¹¹ Is your love declared in the grave,
   your faithfulness in Destruction^[e]?
¹² Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
   or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
 ¹³ But I cry to you for help, LORD;
   in the morning my prayer comes before you.
¹⁴ Why, LORD, do you reject me
   and hide your face from me?
 ¹⁵ From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;
   I have borne your terrors and am in despair.
¹⁶ Your wrath has swept over me;
   your terrors have destroyed me.
¹⁷ All day long they surround me like a flood;
   they have completely engulfed me.
¹⁸ You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
   darkness is my closest friend.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 88:1 In Hebrew texts 88:1-18 is numbered 88:2-19.
2. Psalm 88:1 Title: Possibly a tune, “The Suffering of Affliction”
3. Psalm 88:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
4. Psalm 88:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 10.
5. Psalm 88:11 Hebrew Abaddon

Psalm 31

    For the director of music. A psalm of David.
 ¹ In you, LORD, I have taken refuge;
   let me never be put to shame;
   deliver me in your righteousness.
² Turn your ear to me,
   come quickly to my rescue;
be my rock of refuge,
   a strong fortress to save me.
³ Since you are my rock and my fortress,
   for the sake of your name lead and guide me.
⁴ Keep me free from the trap that is set for me,
   for you are my refuge.
⁵ Into your hands I commit my spirit;
   deliver me, LORD, my faithful God.
 ⁶ I hate those who cling to worthless idols;
   as for me, I trust in the LORD.
⁷ I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
   for you saw my affliction
   and knew the anguish of my soul.
⁸ You have not given me into the hands of the enemy
   but have set my feet in a spacious place.
 ⁹ Be merciful to me, LORD, for I am in distress;
   my eyes grow weak with sorrow,
   my soul and body with grief.
¹⁰ My life is consumed by anguish
   and my years by groaning;
my strength fails because of my affliction,^[b]
   and my bones grow weak.
¹¹ Because of all my enemies,
   I am the utter contempt of my neighbors
and an object of dread to my closest friends—
   those who see me on the street flee from me.
¹² I am forgotten as though I were dead;
   I have become like broken pottery.
¹³ For I hear many whispering,
   “Terror on every side!”
They conspire against me
   and plot to take my life.
 ¹⁴ But I trust in you, LORD;
   I say, “You are my God.”
¹⁵ My times are in your hands;
   deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
   from those who pursue me.
¹⁶ Let your face shine on your servant;
   save me in your unfailing love.
¹⁷ Let me not be put to shame, LORD,
   for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
   and be silent in the realm of the dead.
¹⁸ Let their lying lips be silenced,
   for with pride and contempt
   they speak arrogantly against the righteous.
 ¹⁹ How abundant are the good things
   that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you bestow in the sight of all,
   on those who take refuge in you.
²⁰ In the shelter of your presence you hide them
   from all human intrigues;
you keep them safe in your dwelling
   from accusing tongues.
 ²¹ Praise be to the LORD,
   for he showed me the wonders of his love
   when I was in a city under siege.
²² In my alarm I said,
   “I am cut off from your sight!”
Yet you heard my cry for mercy
   when I called to you for help.
 ²³ Love the LORD, all his faithful people!
   The LORD preserves those who are true to him,
   but the proud he pays back in full.
²⁴ Be strong and take heart,
   all you who hope in the LORD.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 31:1 In Hebrew texts 31:1-24 is numbered 31:2-25.
2. Psalm 31:10 Or guilt

Psalm 43

 ¹ Vindicate me, my God,
   and plead my cause
   against an unfaithful nation.
Rescue me from those who are
   deceitful and wicked.
² You are God my stronghold.
   Why have you rejected me?
Why must I go about mourning,
   oppressed by the enemy?
³ Send me your light and your faithful care,
   let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy mountain,
   to the place where you dwell.
⁴ Then I will go to the altar of God,
   to God, my joy and my delight.
I will praise you with the lyre,
   O God, my God.
 ⁵ Why, my soul, are you downcast?
   Why so disturbed within me?
Put your hope in God,
   for I will yet praise him,
   my Savior and my God.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 43:1 In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm.

Psalm 84

    For the director of music. According to gittith.^[b] Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
 ¹ How lovely is your dwelling place,
   LORD Almighty!
² My soul yearns, even faints,
   for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
   for the living God.
³ Even the sparrow has found a home,
   and the swallow a nest for herself,
   where she may have her young—
a place near your altar,
   LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
⁴ Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
   they are ever praising you.^[c]
 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
   whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
   they make it a place of springs;
   the autumn rains also cover it with pools.^[d]
7 They go from strength to strength,
   till each appears before God in Zion.
 ⁸ Hear my prayer, LORD God Almighty;
   listen to me, God of Jacob.
⁹ Look on our shield,^[e] O God;
   look with favor on your anointed one.
 ¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts
   than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
   than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
¹¹ For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
   the LORD bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
   from those whose walk is blameless.
 ¹² LORD Almighty,
   blessed is the one who trusts in you.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 84:1 In Hebrew texts 84:1-12 is numbered 84:2-13.
2. Psalm 84:1 Title: Probably a musical term
3. Psalm 84:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 8.
4. Psalm 84:6 Or blessings
5. Psalm 84:9 Or sovereign

Psalm 102

    A prayer of an afflicted person who has grown weak and pours out a lament before the LORD.
 ¹ Hear my prayer, LORD;
   let my cry for help come to you.
² Do not hide your face from me
   when I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
   when I call, answer me quickly.
 ³ For my days vanish like smoke;
   my bones burn like glowing embers.
⁴ My heart is blighted and withered like grass;
   I forget to eat my food.
⁵ In my distress I groan aloud
   and am reduced to skin and bones.
⁶ I am like a desert owl,
   like an owl among the ruins.
⁷ I lie awake; I have become
   like a bird alone on a roof.
⁸ All day long my enemies taunt me;
   those who rail against me use my name as a curse.
⁹ For I eat ashes as my food
   and mingle my drink with tears
¹⁰ because of your great wrath,
   for you have taken me up and thrown me aside.
¹¹ My days are like the evening shadow;
   I wither away like grass.
 ¹² But you, LORD, sit enthroned forever;
   your renown endures through all generations.
¹³ You will arise and have compassion on Zion,
   for it is time to show favor to her;
   the appointed time has come.
¹⁴ For her stones are dear to your servants;
   her very dust moves them to pity.
¹⁵ The nations will fear the name of the LORD,
   all the kings of the earth will revere your glory.
¹⁶ For the LORD will rebuild Zion
   and appear in his glory.
¹⁷ He will respond to the prayer of the destitute;
   he will not despise their plea.
 ¹⁸ Let this be written for a future generation,
   that a people not yet created may praise the LORD:
¹⁹ “The LORD looked down from his sanctuary on high,
   from heaven he viewed the earth,
²⁰ to hear the groans of the prisoners
   and release those condemned to death.”
²¹ So the name of the LORD will be declared in Zion
   and his praise in Jerusalem
²² when the peoples and the kingdoms
   assemble to worship the LORD.
 ²³ In the course of my life^[b] he broke my strength;
   he cut short my days.
²⁴ So I said:
“Do not take me away, my God, in the midst of my days;
   your years go on through all generations.
²⁵ In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth,
   and the heavens are the work of your hands.
²⁶ They will perish, but you remain;
   they will all wear out like a garment.
Like clothing you will change them
   and they will be discarded.
²⁷ But you remain the same,
   and your years will never end.
²⁸ The children of your servants will live in your presence;
   their descendants will be established before you.”

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 102:1 In Hebrew texts 102:1-28 is numbered 102:2-29.
2. Psalm 102:23 Or By his power

Psalm 80

    For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.
 ¹ Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
   you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
   shine forth ² before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
   come and save us.
 ³ Restore us, O God;
   make your face shine on us,
   that we may be saved.
 ⁴ How long, LORD God Almighty,
   will your anger smolder
   against the prayers of your people?
⁵ You have fed them with the bread of tears;
   you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
⁶ You have made us an object of derision^[b] to our neighbors,
   and our enemies mock us.
 ⁷ Restore us, God Almighty;
   make your face shine on us,
   that we may be saved.
 ⁸ You transplanted a vine from Egypt;
   you drove out the nations and planted it.
⁹ You cleared the ground for it,
   and it took root and filled the land.
¹⁰ The mountains were covered with its shade,
   the mighty cedars with its branches.
¹¹ Its branches reached as far as the Sea,^[c]
   its shoots as far as the River.^[d]
 12 Why have you broken down its walls
   so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
¹³ Boars from the forest ravage it,
   and insects from the fields feed on it.
¹⁴ Return to us, God Almighty!
   Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine,
 ¹⁵ the root your right hand has planted,
   the son^[e] you have raised up for yourself.
 ¹⁶ Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
   at your rebuke your people perish.
¹⁷ Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
   the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
¹⁸ Then we will not turn away from you;
   revive us, and we will call on your name.
 ¹⁹ Restore us, LORD God Almighty;
   make your face shine on us,
   that we may be saved.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 80:1 In Hebrew texts 80:1-19 is numbered 80:2-20.
2. Psalm 80:6 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; Masoretic Text contention
3. Psalm 80:11 Probably the Mediterranean
4. Psalm 80:11 That is, the Euphrates
5. Psalm 80:15 Or branch

Psalm 28

Of David.
 ¹ To you, LORD, I call;
   you are my Rock,
   do not turn a deaf ear to me.
For if you remain silent,
   I will be like those who go down to the pit.
² Hear my cry for mercy
   as I call to you for help,
as I lift up my hands
   toward your Most Holy Place.
 ³ Do not drag me away with the wicked,
   with those who do evil,
who speak cordially with their neighbors
   but harbor malice in their hearts.
⁴ Repay them for their deeds
   and for their evil work;
repay them for what their hands have done
   and bring back on them what they deserve.
 ⁵ Because they have no regard for the deeds of the LORD
   and what his hands have done,
he will tear them down
   and never build them up again.
 ⁶ Praise be to the LORD,
   for he has heard my cry for mercy.
⁷ The LORD is my strength and my shield;
   my heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart leaps for joy,
   and with my song I praise him.
 ⁸ The LORD is the strength of his people,
   a fortress of salvation for his anointed one.
⁹ Save your people and bless your inheritance;
   be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Psalm 49

    For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
 ¹ Hear this, all you peoples;
   listen, all who live in this world,
² both low and high,
   rich and poor alike:
³ My mouth will speak words of wisdom;
   the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.
⁴ I will turn my ear to a proverb;
   with the harp I will expound my riddle:
 ⁵ Why should I fear when evil days come,
   when wicked deceivers surround me—
⁶ those who trust in their wealth
   and boast of their great riches?
⁷ No one can redeem the life of another
   or give to God a ransom for them—
⁸ the ransom for a life is costly,
   no payment is ever enough—
⁹ so that they should live on forever
   and not see decay.
¹⁰ For all can see that the wise die,
   that the foolish and the senseless also perish,
   leaving their wealth to others.
¹¹ Their tombs will remain their houses^[b] forever,
   their dwellings for endless generations,
   though they had^[c] named lands after themselves.
 ¹² People, despite their wealth, do not endure;
   they are like the beasts that perish.
 ¹³ This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,
   and of their followers, who approve their sayings.^[d]
14 They are like sheep and are destined to die;
   death will be their shepherd
   (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
   far from their princely mansions.
¹⁵ But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;
   he will surely take me to himself.
¹⁶ Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
   when the splendor of their houses increases;
¹⁷ for they will take nothing with them when they die,
   their splendor will not descend with them.
¹⁸ Though while they live they count themselves blessed—
   and people praise you when you prosper—
¹⁹ they will join those who have gone before them,
   who will never again see the light of life.
 ²⁰ People who have wealth but lack understanding
   are like the beasts that perish.

Footnotes:

1. Psalm 49:1 In Hebrew texts 49:1-20 is numbered 49:2-21.
2. Psalm 49:11 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew In their thoughts their houses will remain
3. Psalm 49:11 Or generations, / for they have
4. Psalm 49:13 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 15.

Psalm 17

A prayer of David.
 ¹ Hear me, LORD, my plea is just;
   listen to my cry.
Hear my prayer—
   it does not rise from deceitful lips.
² Let my vindication come from you;
   may your eyes see what is right.
 ³ Though you probe my heart,
   though you examine me at night and test me,
you will find that I have planned no evil;
   my mouth has not transgressed.
⁴ Though people tried to bribe me,
   I have kept myself from the ways of the violent
   through what your lips have commanded.
⁵ My steps have held to your paths;
   my feet have not stumbled.
 ⁶ I call on you, my God, for you will answer me;
   turn your ear to me and hear my prayer.
⁷ Show me the wonders of your great love,
   you who save by your right hand
   those who take refuge in you from their foes.
⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye;
   hide me in the shadow of your wings
⁹ from the wicked who are out to destroy me,
   from my mortal enemies who surround me.
 ¹⁰ They close up their callous hearts,
   and their mouths speak with arrogance.
¹¹ They have tracked me down, they now surround me,
   with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
¹² They are like a lion hungry for prey,
   like a fierce lion crouching in cover.
 ¹³ Rise up, LORD, confront them, bring them down;
   with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
¹⁴ By your hand save me from such people, LORD,
   from those of this world whose reward is in this life.
May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies;
   may their children gorge themselves on it,
   and may there be leftovers for their little ones.
 ¹⁵ As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face;
   when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.