Holy Bible
Psalms
Psalm 75[196]
For the director of music. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A psalm of Asaph. A song.
1We praise you, God,
we praise you, for your Name is near;
people tell of your wonderful deeds.
2You say, “I choose the appointed time;
it is I who judge with equity.
3When the earth and all its people quake,
it is I who hold its pillars firm.[197]
4To the arrogant I say, ‘Boast no more,’
and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.[198]
5Do not lift your horns against heaven;
do not speak so defiantly.’ ”
6No one from the east or the west
or from the desert can exalt themselves.
7It is God who judges:
He brings one down, he exalts another.
8In 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.
9As for me, I will declare this forever;
I will sing praise to the God of Jacob,
10who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”
Psalm 76[199]
For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A psalm of Asaph. A song.
1God is renowned in Judah;
in Israel his name is great.
2His tent is in Salem,
his dwelling place in Zion.
3There he broke the flashing arrows,
the shields and the swords, the weapons of war.[200]
4You are radiant with light,
more majestic than mountains rich with game.
5The valiant lie plundered,
they sleep their last sleep;
not one of the warriors
can lift his hands.
6At your rebuke, God of Jacob,
both horse and chariot lie still.
7It is you alone who are to be feared.
Who can stand before you when you are angry?
8From heaven you pronounced judgment,
and the land feared and was quiet—
9when you, God, rose up to judge,
to save all the afflicted of the land.
10Surely your wrath against mankind brings you praise,
and the survivors of your wrath are restrained.[201]
11Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them;
let all the neighboring lands
bring gifts to the One to be feared.
12He breaks the spirit of rulers;
he is feared by the kings of the earth.
Psalm 77[202]
For the director of music. For Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A psalm.
1I cried out to God for help;
I cried out to God to hear me.
2When I was in distress, I sought the Lord;
at night I stretched out untiring hands,
and I would not be comforted.
3I remembered you, God, and I groaned;
I meditated, and my spirit grew faint.[203]
4You kept my eyes from closing;
I was too troubled to speak.
5I thought about the former days,
the years of long ago;
6I remembered my songs in the night.
My heart meditated and my spirit asked:
7“Will the Lord reject forever?
Will he never show his favor again?
8Has his unfailing love vanished forever?
Has his promise failed for all time?
9Has God forgotten to be merciful?
Has he in anger withheld his compassion?”
10Then I thought, “To this I will appeal:
the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand.
11I will remember the deeds of the LORD;
yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago.
12I will consider all your works
and meditate on all your mighty deeds.”
13Your ways, God, are holy.
What god is as great as our God?
14You are the God who performs miracles;
you display your power among the peoples.
15With your mighty arm you redeemed your people,
the descendants of Jacob and Joseph.
16The waters saw you, God,
the waters saw you and writhed;
the very depths were convulsed.
17The clouds poured down water,
the heavens resounded with thunder;
your arrows flashed back and forth.
18Your thunder was heard in the whirlwind,
your lightning lit up the world;
the earth trembled and quaked.
19Your path led through the sea,
your way through the mighty waters,
though your footprints were not seen.
20You led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Psalm 78
A maskil[204] of Asaph.
1My people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
2I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
3things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.
4We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
5He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach their children,
6so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
7Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.
8They would not be like their ancestors—
a stubborn and rebellious generation,
whose hearts were not loyal to God,
whose spirits were not faithful to him.
9The men of Ephraim, though armed with bows,
turned back on the day of battle;
10they did not keep God’s covenant
and refused to live by his law.
11They forgot what he had done,
the wonders he had shown them.
12He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13He divided the sea and led them through;
he made the water stand up like a wall.
14He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.
15He split the rocks in the wilderness
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.
17But they continued to sin against him,
rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
18They willfully put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.
19They spoke against God;
they said, “Can God really
spread a table in the wilderness?
20True, he struck the rock,
and water gushed out,
streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
Can he supply meat for his people?”
21When the LORD heard them, he was furious;
his fire broke out against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel,
22for they did not believe in God
or trust in his deliverance.
23Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;
24he rained down manna for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.
25Human beings ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.
26He let loose the east wind from the heavens
and by his power made the south wind blow.
27He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds like sand on the seashore.
28He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.
29They ate till they were gorged—
he had given them what they craved.
30But before they turned from what they craved,
even while the food was still in their mouths,
31God’s anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.
32In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;
in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
33So he ended their days in futility
and their years in terror.
34Whenever God slew them, they would seek him;
they eagerly turned to him again.
35They remembered that God was their Rock,
that God Most High was their Redeemer.
36But then they would flatter him with their mouths,
lying to him with their tongues;
37their hearts were not loyal to him,
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38Yet he was merciful;
he forgave their iniquities
and did not destroy them.
Time after time he restrained his anger
and did not stir up his full wrath.
39He remembered that they were but flesh,
a passing breeze that does not return.
40How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness
and grieved him in the wasteland!
41Again and again they put God to the test;
they vexed the Holy One of Israel.
42They did not remember his power—
the day he redeemed them from the oppressor,
43the day he displayed his signs in Egypt,
his wonders in the region of Zoan.
44He turned their river into blood;
they could not drink from their streams.
45He sent swarms of flies that devoured them,
and frogs that devastated them.
46He gave their crops to the grasshopper,
their produce to the locust.
47He destroyed their vines with hail
and their sycamore-figs with sleet.
48He gave over their cattle to the hail,
their livestock to bolts of lightning.
49He unleashed against them his hot anger,
his wrath, indignation and hostility—
a band of destroying angels.
50He prepared a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death
but gave them over to the plague.
51He struck down all the firstborn of Egypt,
the firstfruits of manhood in the tents of Ham.
52But he brought his people out like a flock;
he led them like sheep through the wilderness.
53He guided them safely, so they were unafraid;
but the sea engulfed their enemies.
54And so he brought them to the border of his holy land,
to the hill country his right hand had taken.
55He drove out nations before them
and allotted their lands to them as an inheritance;
he settled the tribes of Israel in their homes.
56But they put God to the test
and rebelled against the Most High;
they did not keep his statutes.
57Like their ancestors they were disloyal and faithless,
as unreliable as a faulty bow.
58They angered him with their high places;
they aroused his jealousy with their idols.
59When God heard them, he was furious;
he rejected Israel completely.
60He abandoned the tabernacle of Shiloh,
the tent he had set up among humans.
61He sent the ark of his might into captivity,
his splendor into the hands of the enemy.
62He gave his people over to the sword;
he was furious with his inheritance.
63Fire consumed their young men,
and their young women had no wedding songs;
64their priests were put to the sword,
and their widows could not weep.
65Then the Lord awoke as from sleep,
as a warrior wakes from the stupor of wine.
66He beat back his enemies;
he put them to everlasting shame.
67Then he rejected the tents of Joseph,
he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim;
68but he chose the tribe of Judah,
Mount Zion, which he loved.
69He built his sanctuary like the heights,
like the earth that he established forever.
70He chose David his servant
and took him from the sheep pens;
71from tending the sheep he brought him
to be the shepherd of his people Jacob,
of Israel his inheritance.
72And David shepherded them with integrity of heart;
with skillful hands he led them.
Psalm 79
A psalm of Asaph.
1O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance;
they have defiled your holy temple,
they have reduced Jerusalem to rubble.
2They have left the dead bodies of your servants
as food for the birds of the sky,
the flesh of your own people for the animals of the wild.
3They have poured out blood like water
all around Jerusalem,
and there is no one to bury the dead.
4We are objects of contempt to our neighbors,
of scorn and derision to those around us.
5How long, LORD? Will you be angry forever?
How long will your jealousy burn like fire?
6Pour out your wrath on the nations
that do not acknowledge you,
on the kingdoms
that do not call on your name;
7for they have devoured Jacob
and devastated his homeland.
8Do not hold against us the sins of past generations;
may your mercy come quickly to meet us,
for we are in desperate need.
9Help us, God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.
10Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
Before our eyes, make known among the nations
that you avenge the outpoured blood of your servants.
11May the groans of the prisoners come before you;
with your strong arm preserve those condemned to die.
12Pay back into the laps of our neighbors seven times
the contempt they have hurled at you, Lord.
13Then we your people, the sheep of your pasture,
will praise you forever;
from generation to generation
we will proclaim your praise.
Psalm 80[205]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Lilies of the Covenant.” Of Asaph. A psalm.
1Hear us, Shepherd of Israel,
you who lead Joseph like a flock.
You who sit enthroned between the cherubim,
shine forth 2before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh.
Awaken your might;
come and save us.
3Restore us, O God;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
4How long, LORD God Almighty,
will your anger smolder
against the prayers of your people?
5You have fed them with the bread of tears;
you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.
6You have made us an object of derision[206] to our neighbors,
and our enemies mock us.
7Restore us, God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
8You transplanted a vine from Egypt;
you drove out the nations and planted it.
9You cleared the ground for it,
and it took root and filled the land.
10The mountains were covered with its shade,
the mighty cedars with its branches.
11Its branches reached as far as the Sea,[207]
its shoots as far as the River.[208]
12Why have you broken down its walls
so that all who pass by pick its grapes?
13Boars from the forest ravage it,
and insects from the fields feed on it.
14Return to us, God Almighty!
Look down from heaven and see!
Watch over this vine,
15the root your right hand has planted,
the son[209] you have raised up for yourself.
16Your vine is cut down, it is burned with fire;
at your rebuke your people perish.
17Let your hand rest on the man at your right hand,
the son of man you have raised up for yourself.
18Then we will not turn away from you;
revive us, and we will call on your name.
19Restore us, LORD God Almighty;
make your face shine on us,
that we may be saved.
Psalm 81[210]
For the director of music. According to gittith.[211] Of Asaph.
1Sing for joy to God our strength;
shout aloud to the God of Jacob!
2Begin the music, strike the timbrel,
play the melodious harp and lyre.
3Sound the ram’s horn at the New Moon,
and when the moon is full, on the day of our festival;
4this is a decree for Israel,
an ordinance of the God of Jacob.
5When God went out against Egypt,
he established it as a statute for Joseph.
I heard an unknown voice say:
6“I removed the burden from their shoulders;
their hands were set free from the basket.
7In your distress you called and I rescued you,
I answered you out of a thundercloud;
I tested you at the waters of Meribah.[212]
8Hear me, my people, and I will warn you—
if you would only listen to me, Israel!
9You shall have no foreign god among you;
you shall not worship any god other than me.
10I am the LORD your God,
who brought you up out of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.
11“But my people would not listen to me;
Israel would not submit to me.
12So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts
to follow their own devices.
13“If my people would only listen to me,
if Israel would only follow my ways,
14how quickly I would subdue their enemies
and turn my hand against their foes!
15Those who hate the LORD would cringe before him,
and their punishment would last forever.
16But you would be fed with the finest of wheat;
with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”
Psalm 82
A psalm of Asaph.
1God presides in the great assembly;
he renders judgment among the “gods”:
2“How long will you[213] defend the unjust
and show partiality to the wicked?[214]
3Defend the weak and the fatherless;
uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.
4Rescue 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.’
7But you will die like mere mortals;
you will fall like every other ruler.”
8Rise up, O God, judge the earth,
for all the nations are your inheritance.
Psalm 83[215]
A song. A psalm of Asaph.
1O God, do not remain silent;
do not turn a deaf ear,
do not stand aloof, O God.
2See how your enemies growl,
how your foes rear their heads.
3With cunning they conspire against your people;
they plot against those you cherish.
4“Come,” they say, “let us destroy them as a nation,
so that Israel’s name is remembered no more.”
5With one mind they plot together;
they form an alliance against you—
6the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites,
of Moab and the Hagrites,
7Byblos, Ammon and Amalek,
Philistia, with the people of Tyre.
8Even Assyria has joined them
to reinforce Lot’s descendants.[216]
9Do to them as you did to Midian,
as you did to Sisera and Jabin at the river Kishon,
10who perished at Endor
and became like dung on the ground.
11Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb,
all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,
12who said, “Let us take possession
of the pasturelands of God.”
13Make them like tumbleweed, my God,
like chaff before the wind.
14As fire consumes the forest
or a flame sets the mountains ablaze,
15so pursue them with your tempest
and terrify them with your storm.
16Cover their faces with shame, LORD,
so that they will seek your name.
17May they ever be ashamed and dismayed;
may they perish in disgrace.
18Let them know that you, whose name is the LORD—
that you alone are the Most High over all the earth.
Psalm 84[217]
For the director of music. According to gittith.[218] Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1How lovely is your dwelling place,
LORD Almighty!
2My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3Even 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.
4Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you.[219]
5Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.[220]
7They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
8Hear my prayer, LORD God Almighty;
listen to me, God of Jacob.
9Look on our shield,[221] O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.
10Better 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.
11For 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.
12LORD Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.
Psalm 85[222]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1You, LORD, showed favor to your land;
you restored the fortunes of Jacob.
2You forgave the iniquity of your people
and covered all their sins.[223]
3You set aside all your wrath
and turned from your fierce anger.
4Restore us again, God our Savior,
and put away your displeasure toward us.
5Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger through all generations?
6Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
7Show us your unfailing love, LORD,
and grant us your salvation.
8I will listen to what God the LORD says;
he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—
but let them not turn to folly.
9Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.
10Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
11Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
12The LORD will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.
13Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.
Psalm 86
A prayer of David.
1Hear me, LORD, and answer me,
for I am poor and needy.
2Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;
save your servant who trusts in you.
You are my God; 3have mercy on me, Lord,
for I call to you all day long.
4Bring joy to your servant, Lord,
for I put my trust in you.
5You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
abounding in love to all who call to you.
6Hear my prayer, LORD;
listen to my cry for mercy.
7When I am in distress, I call to you,
because you answer me.
8Among the gods there is none like you, Lord;
no deeds can compare with yours.
9All the nations you have made
will come and worship before you, Lord;
they will bring glory to your name.
10For you are great and do marvelous deeds;
you alone are God.
11Teach me your way, LORD,
that I may rely on your faithfulness;
give me an undivided heart,
that I may fear your name.
12I will praise you, Lord my God, with all my heart;
I will glorify your name forever.
13For great is your love toward me;
you have delivered me from the depths,
from the realm of the dead.
14Arrogant foes are attacking me, O God;
ruthless people are trying to kill me—
they have no regard for you.
15But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,
slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.
16Turn 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.
17Give 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 87
Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. A song.
1He has founded his city on the holy mountain.
2The LORD loves the gates of Zion
more than all the other dwellings of Jacob.
3Glorious things are said of you,
city of God:[224]
4“I will record Rahab[225] and Babylon
among those who acknowledge me—
Philistia too, and Tyre, along with Cush[226]—
and will say, ‘This one was born in Zion.’ ”[227]
5Indeed, of Zion it will be said,
“This one and that one were born in her,
and the Most High himself will establish her.”
6The LORD will write in the register of the peoples:
“This one was born in Zion.”
7As they make music they will sing,
“All my fountains are in you.”
Psalm 88[228]
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.[229] A maskil[230] of Heman the Ezrahite.
1LORD, you are the God who saves me;
day and night I cry out to you.
2May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3I am overwhelmed with troubles
and my life draws near to death.
4I am counted among those who go down to the pit;
I am like one without strength.
5I 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.
6You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.
7Your wrath lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[231]
8You have taken from me my closest friends
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined and cannot escape;
9my eyes are dim with grief.
I call to you, LORD, every day;
I spread out my hands to you.
10Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?
11Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness in Destruction[232]?
12Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13But I cry to you for help, LORD;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
14Why, LORD, do you reject me
and hide your face from me?
15From my youth I have suffered and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors and am in despair.
16Your wrath has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me.
17All day long they surround me like a flood;
they have completely engulfed me.
18You have taken from me friend and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
Psalm 89[233]
A maskil[234] of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1I will sing of the LORD’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known
through all generations.
2I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.
3You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant,
4‘I will establish your line forever
and make your throne firm through all generations.’ ”[235]
5The heavens praise your wonders, LORD,
your faithfulness too, in the assembly of the holy ones.
6For who in the skies above can compare with the LORD?
Who is like the LORD among the heavenly beings?
7In the council of the holy ones God is greatly feared;
he is more awesome than all who surround him.
8Who is like you, LORD God Almighty?
You, LORD, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
9You rule over the surging sea;
when its waves mount up, you still them.
10You crushed Rahab like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered your enemies.
11The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth;
you founded the world and all that is in it.
12You created the north and the south;
Tabor and Hermon sing for joy at your name.
13Your arm is endowed with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.
14Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
love and faithfulness go before you.
15Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk in the light of your presence, LORD.
16They rejoice in your name all day long;
they celebrate your righteousness.
17For you are their glory and strength,
and by your favor you exalt our horn.[236]
18Indeed, our shield[237] belongs to the LORD,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
19Once you spoke in a vision,
to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20I have found David my servant;
with my sacred oil I have anointed him.
21My hand will sustain him;
surely my arm will strengthen him.
22The enemy will not get the better of him;
the wicked will not oppress him.
23I will crush his foes before him
and strike down his adversaries.
24My faithful love will be with him,
and through my name his horn[238] will be exalted.
25I will set his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers.
26He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, the Rock my Savior.’
27And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,
the most exalted of the kings of the earth.
28I will maintain my love to him forever,
and my covenant with him will never fail.
29I will establish his line forever,
his throne as long as the heavens endure.
30“If his sons forsake my law
and do not follow my statutes,
31if they violate my decrees
and fail to keep my commands,
32I will punish their sin with the rod,
their iniquity with flogging;
33but I will not take my love from him,
nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34I will not violate my covenant
or alter what my lips have uttered.
35Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
and I will not lie to David—
36that his line will continue forever
and his throne endure before me like the sun;
37it will be established forever like the moon,
the faithful witness in the sky.”
38But you have rejected, you have spurned,
you have been very angry with your anointed one.
39You have renounced the covenant with your servant
and have defiled his crown in the dust.
40You have broken through all his walls
and reduced his strongholds to ruins.
41All who pass by have plundered him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.
42You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.
43Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword
and have not supported him in battle.
44You have put an end to his splendor
and cast his throne to the ground.
45You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with a mantle of shame.
46How long, LORD? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?
47Remember how fleeting is my life.
For what futility you have created all humanity!
48Who can live and not see death,
or who can escape the power of the grave?
49Lord, where is your former great love,
which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
50Remember, Lord, how your servant has[239] been mocked,
how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
51the taunts with which your enemies, LORD, have mocked,
with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.
52Praise be to the LORD forever!
Amen and Amen.
Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses the man of God.
1Lord, you have been our dwelling place
throughout all generations.
2Before the mountains were born
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
3You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”
4A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.
5Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
6In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
7We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.
8You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your presence.
9All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.
10Our days may come to seventy years,
or eighty, if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.
11If only we knew the power of your anger!
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is your due.
12Teach us to number our days,
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.
13Relent, LORD! How long will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.
14Satisfy us in the morning with your unfailing love,
that we may sing for joy and be glad all our days.
15Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.
17May the favor[240] of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.
Psalm 91
1Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.[241]
2I will say of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
3Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
5You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.
9If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10no harm will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;
12they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
13You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.
14“Because he[242] loves me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.
16With long life I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.”
Psalm 92[243]
A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.
1It is good to praise the LORD
and make music to your name, O Most High,
2proclaiming your love in the morning
and your faithfulness at night,
3to the music of the ten-stringed lyre
and the melody of the harp.
4For you make me glad by your deeds, LORD;
I sing for joy at what your hands have done.
5How great are your works, LORD,
how profound your thoughts!
6Senseless people do not know,
fools do not understand,
7that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be destroyed forever.
8But you, LORD, are forever exalted.
9For surely your enemies, LORD,
surely your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.
10You have exalted my horn[244] like that of a wild ox;
fine oils have been poured on me.
11My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.
12The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
13planted in the house of the LORD,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
14They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
15proclaiming, “The LORD is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.”
Psalm 93
1The 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.
2Your throne was established long ago;
you are from all eternity.
3The seas have lifted up, LORD,
the seas have lifted up their voice;
the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.
4Mightier than the thunder of the great waters,
mightier than the breakers of the sea—
the LORD on high is mighty.
5Your statutes, LORD, stand firm;
holiness adorns your house
for endless days.
Psalm 94
1The LORD is a God who avenges.
O God who avenges, shine forth.
2Rise up, Judge of the earth;
pay back to the proud what they deserve.
3How long, LORD, will the wicked,
how long will the wicked be jubilant?
4They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers are full of boasting.
5They crush your people, LORD;
they oppress your inheritance.
6They slay the widow and the foreigner;
they murder the fatherless.
7They say, “The LORD does not see;
the God of Jacob takes no notice.”
8Take notice, you senseless ones among the people;
you fools, when will you become wise?
9Does he who fashioned the ear not hear?
Does he who formed the eye not see?
10Does he who disciplines nations not punish?
Does he who teaches mankind lack knowledge?
11The LORD knows all human plans;
he knows that they are futile.
12Blessed is the one you discipline, LORD,
the one you teach from your law;
13you grant them relief from days of trouble,
till a pit is dug for the wicked.
14For the LORD will not reject his people;
he will never forsake his inheritance.
15Judgment will again be founded on righteousness,
and all the upright in heart will follow it.
16Who will rise up for me against the wicked?
Who will take a stand for me against evildoers?
17Unless the LORD had given me help,
I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.
18When I said, “My foot is slipping,”
your unfailing love, LORD, supported me.
19When anxiety was great within me,
your consolation brought me joy.
20Can a corrupt throne be allied with you—
a throne that brings on misery by its decrees?
21The wicked band together against the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.
22But the LORD has become my fortress,
and my God the rock in whom I take refuge.
23He will repay them for their sins
and destroy them for their wickedness;
the LORD our God will destroy them.
Psalm 95
1Come, let us sing for joy to the LORD;
let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation.
2Let us come before him with thanksgiving
and extol him with music and song.
3For the LORD is the great God,
the great King above all gods.
4In his hand are the depths of the earth,
and the mountain peaks belong to him.
5The sea is his, for he made it,
and his hands formed the dry land.
6Come, let us bow down in worship,
let us kneel before the LORD our Maker;
7for he is our God
and we are the people of his pasture,
the flock under his care.
Today, if only you would hear his voice,
8“Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah,[245]
as you did that day at Massah[246] in the wilderness,
9where your ancestors tested me;
they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10For forty years I was angry with that generation;
I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,
and they have not known my ways.’
11So I declared on oath in my anger,
‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”
Psalm 96
1Sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth.
2Sing to the LORD, praise his name;
proclaim his salvation day after day.
3Declare his glory among the nations,
his marvelous deeds among all peoples.
4For great is the LORD and most worthy of praise;
he is to be feared above all gods.
5For all the gods of the nations are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
6Splendor and majesty are before him;
strength and glory are in his sanctuary.
7Ascribe to the LORD, all you families of nations,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
8Ascribe to the LORD the glory due his name;
bring an offering and come into his courts.
9Worship the LORD in the splendor of his[247] holiness;
tremble before him, all the earth.
10Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns.”
The world is firmly established, it cannot be moved;
he will judge the peoples with equity.
11Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad;
let the sea resound, and all that is in it.
12Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them;
let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.
13Let all creation rejoice before the LORD, for he comes,
he comes to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness
and the peoples in his faithfulness.
Psalm 97
1The LORD reigns, let the earth be glad;
let the distant shores rejoice.
2Clouds and thick darkness surround him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.
3Fire goes before him
and consumes his foes on every side.
4His lightning lights up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
5The mountains melt like wax before the LORD,
before the Lord of all the earth.
6The heavens proclaim his righteousness,
and all peoples see his glory.
7All who worship images are put to shame,
those who boast in idols—
worship him, all you gods!
8Zion hears and rejoices
and the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments, LORD.
9For you, LORD, are the Most High over all the earth;
you are exalted far above all gods.
10Let those who love the LORD hate evil,
for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
11Light shines[248] on the righteous
and joy on the upright in heart.
12Rejoice in the LORD, you who are righteous,
and praise his holy name.