1

1 How blessed are those who reject the advice of the wicked, don't stand on the way of sinners or sit where scoffers sit!

2 Their delight is in ADONAI's Torah; on his Torah they meditate day and night.

3 They are like trees planted by streams -they bear their fruit in season, their leaves never wither, everything they do succeeds.

4 Not so the wicked, who are like chaff driven by the wind.

5 For this reason the wicked won't stand up to the judgment, nor will sinners at the gathering of the righteous.

6 For ADONAI watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked is doomed.

2

1 Why are the nations in an uproar, the peoples grumbling in vain?

2 The earth's kings are taking positions, leaders conspiring together, against ADONAI and his anointed.

3 They cry, 'Let's break their fetters! Let's throw off their chains!'

4 He who sits in heaven laughs; Adonai looks at them in derision.

5 Then in his anger he rebukes them, terrifies them in his fury.

6 'I myself have installed my king on Tziyon, my holy mountain.'

7 'I will proclaim the decree: ADONAI said to me, 'You are my son; today I became your father.

8 Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance; the whole wide world will be your possession.

9 You will break them with an iron rod, shatter them like a clay pot.''

10 Therefore, kings, be wise; be warned, you judges of the earth.

11 Serve ADONAI with fear; rejoice, but with trembling.

12 Kiss the son, lest he be angry, and you perish along the way, when suddenly his anger blazes. How blessed are all who take refuge in him.

3

1 A psalm of David, when he fled from Avshalom his son: ADONAI, how many enemies I have! How countless are those attacking me;

2 how countless those who say of me, 'There is no salvation for him in God.' (Selah)

3 But you, ADONAI, are a shield for me; you are my glory, you lift my head high.

4 With my voice I call out to ADONAI, and he answers me from his holy hill. (Selah)

5 I lie down and sleep, then wake up again, because ADONAI sustains me.

6 I am not afraid of the tens of thousands set against me on every side.

7 Rise up, ADONAI! Save me, my God! For you slap all my enemies in the face, you smash the teeth of the wicked.

8 Victory comes from ADONAI; may your blessing rest on your people. (Selah)

4

1 For the leader. With stringed instruments. A psalm of David: O God, my vindicator! Answer me when I call! When I was distressed, you set me free; now have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

2 Men of rank, how long will you shame my honor, love what is vain, chase after lies? (Selah)

3 Understand that ADONAI sets apart the godly person for himself; ADONAI will hear when I call to him.

4 You can be angry, but do not sin! Think about this as you lie in bed, and calm down. (Selah)

5 Offer sacrifices rightly, and put your trust in ADONAI.

6 Many ask, 'Who can show us some good?' ADONAI, lift the light of your face over us!

7 You have filled my heart with more joy than all their grain and new wine.

8 I will lie down and sleep in peace; for, ADONAI, you alone make me live securely.

5

1 For the leader. On wind instruments. A psalm of David: Give ear to my words, ADONAI, consider my inmost thoughts.

2 Listen to my cry for help, my king and my God, for I pray to you.

3 ADONAI, in the morning you will hear my voice; in the morning I lay my needs before you and wait expectantly.

4 For you are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; evil cannot remain with you.

5 Those who brag cannot stand before your eyes, you hate all who do evil,

6 you destroy those who tell lies, ADONAI detests men of blood and deceivers.

7 But I can enter your house because of your great grace and love; I will bow down toward your holy temple in reverence for you.

8 Lead me, ADONAI, in your righteousness because of those lying in wait for me; make your way straight before me.

9 For in their mouths there is nothing sincere, within them are calamities, their throats are open tombs, they flatter with their tongues.

10 God, declare them guilty! Let them fall through their own intrigues, For their many crimes, throw them down; since they have rebelled against you.

11 But let all who take refuge in you rejoice, let them forever shout for joy! Shelter them; and they will be glad, those who love your name.

12 For you, ADONAI, bless the righteous; you surround them with favor like a shield.

6

1 For the leader. With stringed instruments. On sh'minit [low-pitched musical instruments?]. A psalm of David: ADONAI, don't rebuke me in your anger, don't discipline me in the heat of your fury.

2 Be gracious to me, ADONAI, because I am withering away; heal me, ADONAI, because my bones are shaking;

3 I am completely terrified; and you, ADONAI - how long?

4 Come back, ADONAI, and rescue me! Save me for the sake of your grace;

5 for in death, no one remembers you; in Sh'ol, who will praise you?

6 I am worn out with groaning; all night I drench my bed with tears, flooding my couch till it swims.

7 My vision is darkened with anger; it grows weak because of all my foes.

8 Get away from me, all you workers of evil! For ADONAI has heard the sound of my weeping,

9 ADONAI has heard my pleading, ADONAI will accept my prayer.

10 All my enemies will be confounded, completely terrified; they will turn back and be suddenly put to shame.

7

1 A shiggayon of David, which he sang to ADONAI because of Kush the Ben-Y'mini: ADONAI my God, in you I take refuge. Save me from all my pursuers, and rescue me;

2 otherwise, they will maul me like a lion and tear me apart, with no rescuer present.

3 ADONAI my God, if I have caused this, if there is guilt on my hands,

4 if I paid back evil to him who was at peace with me, when I even spared those who opposed me without cause;

5 then let the enemy pursue me until he overtakes me and tramples my life down into the earth; yes, let him lay my honor in the dust. (Selah)

6 Rise up, ADONAI, in your anger! Arouse yourself against the fury of my foes. Wake up for me; you commanded justice.

7 May the assembly of the peoples surround you; may you return to rule over them from on high.

8 ADONAI, who dispenses judgment to the peoples, judge me, ADONAI, according to my righteousness and as my integrity deserves.

9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end, and establish the righteous; since you, righteous God, test hearts and minds.

10 My shield is God, who saves the upright in heart.

11 God is a righteous judge, a God whose anger is present every day.

12 If a person will not repent, he sharpens his sword. He has bent his bow, made it ready;

13 he has also prepared for him weapons of death, his arrows, which he has made into burning shafts.

14 Look how the wicked is pregnant with evil; he conceives trouble, gives birth to lies.

15 He makes a pit, digs it deep, and falls into the hole he made.

16 His mischief will return onto his own head, his violence will recoil onto his own skull.

17 I thank ADONAI for his righteousness and sing praise to the name of ADONAI 'Elyon.

8

1 For the leader. On the gittit. A psalm of David: ADONAI! Our Lord! How glorious is your name throughout the earth! The fame of your majesty spreads even above the heavens!

2 From the mouths of babies and infants at the breast you established strength because of your foes, in order that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.

3 When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and stars that you set in place -

4 what are mere mortals, that you concern yourself with them; humans, that you watch over them with such care?

5 You made him but little lower than the angels, you crowned him with glory and honor,

6 you had him rule what your hands made, you put everything under his feet -

7 sheep and oxen, all of them, also the animals in the wilds,

8 the birds in the air, the fish in the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

9 ADONAI! Our Lord! How glorious is your name throughout the earth!

9

1 For the leader. On the death of Labben. A psalm of David: I give thanks to ADONAI with all my heart. I will tell about all your wonderful deeds.

2 I will be glad and exult in you. I will sing praise to your name, 'Elyon.

3 When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish before you.

4 For you upheld my cause as just, sitting on the throne as the righteous judge.

5 You rebuked the nations, destroyed the wicked, blotted out their name forever and ever.

6 The enemy is finished, in ruins forever; you destroyed their cities; all memory of them is lost.

7 But ADONAI is enthroned forever; he has set up his throne for judgment.

8 He will judge the world in righteousness; he will judge the peoples fairly.

9 ADONAI is a stronghold for the oppressed, a tower of strength in times of trouble.

10 Those who know your name put their trust in you, for you have not abandoned those who seek you, ADONAI.

11 Sing praises to ADONAI, who lives in Tziyon; proclaim his deeds among the peoples.

12 For the avenger of blood remembers them, he does not ignore the cry of the afflicted:

13 'Have mercy on me, ADONAI! See how I suffer from those who hate me; you raise me from the gates of death,

14 so that I can proclaim all your praises at the gates of the daughter of Tziyon and rejoice in this deliverance of yours.'

15 The nations have drowned in the pit they dug, caught their own feet in the net they hid.

16 ADONAI made himself known and executed judgment; the wicked are ensnared in the work of their own hands. (Higgayon; Selah)

17 The wicked will return to Sh'ol, all the nations that forget God.

18 For the poor will not always be forgotten or the hope of the needy perish forever.

19 Arise, ADONAI! Don't let mortals prevail! Let the nations be judged in your presence.

20 Strike them with terror, ADONAI! Let the nations know they are only human. (Selah)

10

1 - - -

2 The wicked in their arrogance hunt down the poor, who get caught in the schemes they think up.

3 For the wicked boasts about his lusts; he blesses greed and despises ADONAI.

4 Every scheme of the wicked in his arrogance [says], 'There is no God, [so] it won't be held against me.'

5 His ways prosper at all times. Your judgments are way up there, so he takes no notice. His adversaries? He scoffs at them all.

6 In his heart he thinks, 'I will never be shaken; I won't meet trouble, not now or ever.'

7 His mouth is full of curses, deceit, oppression; under his tongue, mischief and injustice.

8 He waits near settlements in ambush and kills an innocent man in secret; his eyes are on the hunt for the helpless.

9 Lurking unseen like a lion in his lair, he lies in wait to pounce on the poor, then seizes the poor and drags him off in his net.

10 Yes, he stoops, crouches down low; and the helpless wretch falls into his clutches.

11 He says in his heart, 'God forgets, he hides his face, he will never see.'

12 Arise, ADONAI! God, raise your hand! Don't forget the humble!

13 Why does the wicked despise God and say in his heart, 'It won't be held against me'?

14 You have seen; for you look at mischief and grief, so that you can take the matter in hand. The helpless commits himself to you; you help the fatherless.

15 Break the arm of the wicked! As for the evil man, search out his wickedness until there is none left.

16 ADONAI is king forever and ever! The nations have vanished from his land.

17 ADONAI, you have heard what the humble want; you encourage them and listen to them,

18 to give justice to the fatherless and oppressed, so that no one on earth will strike terror again.

11

1 For the leader. By David: In ADONAI I find refuge. So how can you say to me, 'Flee like a bird to the mountains!

2 See how the wicked are drawing their bows and setting their arrows on the string, to shoot from the shadows at honest men.

3 If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?'

4 ADONAI is in his holy temple. ADONAI, his throne is in heaven. His eyes see and test humankind.

5 ADONAI tests the righteous; but he hates the wicked and the lover of violence.

6 He will rain hot coals down on the wicked, fire, sulfur and scorching wind will be what they get to drink.

7 For ADONAI is righteous; he loves righteousness; the upright will see his face.

12

1 For the leader. On sh'minit [low-pitched musical instruments?]. A psalm of David: Help, ADONAI! For no one godly is left; the faithful have vanished from humankind.

2 They all tell lies to each other, flattering with their lips, but speaking from divided hearts.

3 May ADONAI cut off all flattering lips and the tongue that speaks so proudly,

4 those who say, 'By our tongues, we will prevail; our lips are with us. Who can master us?'

5 'Because the poor are oppressed, because the needy are groaning, I will now rise up,' says ADONAI, 'and grant security to those whom they scorn.'

6 The words of ADONAI are pure words, silver in a melting-pot set in the earth, refined and purified seven times over.

7 You, ADONAI, protect us; guard us forever from this generation

8 the wicked strut about everywhere when vileness is held in general esteem.

13

1 For the leader. A psalm of David: How long, ADONAI? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?

2 How long must I keep asking myself what to do, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long must my enemy dominate me?

3 Look, and answer me, ADONAI my God! Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death.

4 Then my enemy would say, 'I was able to beat him'; and my adversaries would rejoice at my downfall.

5 But I trust in your grace, my heart rejoices as you bring me to safety.

6 I will sing to ADONAI, because he gives me even more than I need.

14

1 For the leader. By David: Fools say in their hearts, 'There is no God.'They deal corruptly, their deeds are vile, not one does what is right.

2 From heaven ADONAI observes humankind to see if anyone has understanding, if anyone seeks God.

3 But all turn aside, all alike are corrupt; no one does what is right, not a single one.

4 Don't they ever learn, all those evildoers, who eat up my people as if eating bread and never call on ADONAI?

5 There they are, utterly terrified; for God is with those who are righteous.

6 You may mock the plans of the poor, but their refuge is ADONAI.

7 How I wish Isra'el's salvation would come out of Tziyon! When ADONAI restores his people's fortunes, Ya'akov will rejoice, Isra'el will be glad!

15

1 A psalm of David: ADONAI, who can rest in your tent? Who can live on your holy mountain?

2 Those who live a blameless life, who behave uprightly, who speak truth from their hearts

3 and keep their tongues from slander; who never do harm to others or seek to discredit neighbors;

4 who look with scorn on the vile, but honor those who fear ADONAI; who hold to an oath, no matter the cost;

5 who refuse usury when they lend money and refuse a bribe to damage the innocent. Those who do these things never will be moved.

16

1 Mikhtam. By David: Protect me, God, for you are my refuge.

2 I said to ADONAI, 'You are my Lord; I have nothing good outside of you.'

3 The holy people in the land are the ones who are worthy of honor; all my pleasure is in them.

4 Those who run after another god multiply their sorrows; To such gods I will not offer drink offerings of blood or take their names on my lips.

5 ADONAI, my assigned portion, my cup: you safeguard my share.

6 Pleasant places were measured out for me; I am content with my heritage.

7 I bless ADONAI, my counselor; at night my inmost being instructs me.

8 I always set ADONAI before me; with him at my right hand, I can never be moved;

9 so my heart is glad, my glory rejoices, and my body too rests in safety;

10 for you will not abandon me to Sh'ol, you will not let your faithful one see the Abyss.

11 You make me know the path of life; in your presence is unbounded joy, in your right hand eternal delight.

17

1 A prayer of David: Hear a just cause, ADONAI, heed my cry; listen to my prayer from honest lips.

2 Let my vindication come from you, let your eyes see what is right.

3 You probed my heart, you visited me at night, and you assayed me without finding evil thoughts that should not pass my lips.

4 As for what others do, by words from your lips I have kept myself from the ways of the violent;

5 my steps hold steadily to your paths, my feet do not slip.

6 Now I call on you, God, for you will answer me. Turn your ear to me, hear my words.

7 Show how wonderful is your grace, savior of those who seek at your right hand refuge from their foes.

8 Protect me like the pupil of your eye, hide me in the shadow of your wings

9 from the wicked, who are assailing me, from my deadly enemies, who are all around me.

10 They close their hearts to compassion; they speak arrogantly with their mouths;

11 they track me down, they surround me; they watch for a chance to bring me to the ground.

12 They are like lions eager to tear the prey, like young lions crouching in ambush.

13 Arise, ADONAI, confront them! Bring them down! With your sword deliver me from the wicked,

14 with your hand, ADONAI, from human beings, from people whose portion in life is this world. You fill their stomachs with your treasure, their children will be satisfied too and will leave their wealth to their little ones.

15 But my prayer, in righteousness, is to see your face; on waking, may I be satisfied with a vision of you.

18

1 For the leader. By David the servant of ADONAI, who addressed the words of this song to ADONAI on the day when ADONAI delivered him from the power of all his enemies, including from the power of Sha'ul. He said: 'I love you, ADONAI, my strength!

2 'ADONAI is my Rock, my fortress and deliverer, my God, my Rock, in whom I find shelter, my shield, the power that saves me, my stronghold.

3 I call on ADONAI, who is worthy of praise; and I am saved from my enemies.

4 'For the cords of death surrounded me, the floods of B'liya'al terrified me,

5 the ropes of Sh'ol were wrapped around me, the snares of death lay there before me.

6 In my distress I called to ADONAI; I cried out to my God. Out of his temple he heard my voice; my cry reached his ears.

7 'Then the earth quaked and shook, the foundations of the mountains trembled. They were shaken because he was angry.

8 Smoke arose in his nostrils; out of his mouth came devouring fire; sparks blazed forth from him.

9 He lowered heaven and came down with thick darkness under his feet.

10 He rode on a keruv; he flew, swooping down on the wings of the wind.

11 He made darkness his hiding-place, his canopy thick clouds dark with water.

12 From the brightness before him, there broke through his thick clouds hailstones and fiery coals.

13 'ADONAI also thundered in heaven, Ha'Elyon sounded his voice -hailstones and fiery coals.

14 He sent out arrows and scattered them, shot out lightning and routed them.

15 The channels of water appeared, the foundations of the world were exposed at your rebuke, ADONAI, at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

16 'He sent from on high, he took me and pulled me out of deep water;

17 he rescued me from my powerful enemy, from those who hated me, for they were stronger than I.

18 They came against me on my day of disaster, but ADONAI was my support.

19 He brought me out to an open place; he rescued me, because he took pleasure in me.

20 ADONAI rewarded me for my uprightness, he repaid me because my hands were clean.

21 'For I have kept the ways of ADONAI, I have not done evil by leaving my God;

22 for all his rulings were before me, I did not distance his regulations from me.

23 I was pure-hearted with him and kept myself from my sin.

24 'Hence ADONAI repaid me for my uprightness, according to the purity of my hands in his view.

25 With the merciful, you are merciful; with a man who is sincere, you are sincere;

26 with the pure, you are pure; but with the crooked you are cunning.

27 People afflicted, you save; but haughty eyes, you humble.

28 'For you, ADONAI, light my lamp; ADONAI, my God, lights up my darkness.

29 With you I can run through a whole troop of men, with my God I can leap a wall.

30 'As for God, his way is perfect, the word of ADONAI has been tested by fire; he shields all who take refuge in him.

31 'For who is God but ADONAI? Who is a Rock but our God?

32 'It is God who girds me with strength; he makes my way go straight.

33 He makes me swift, sure-footed as a deer, and enables me to stand on my high places.

34 He trains my hands for war until my arms can bend a bow of bronze;

35 'You give me your shield, which is salvation, your right hand holds me up, your humility makes me great.

36 You lengthen the steps I can take, yet my ankles do not turn.

37 'I pursued my enemies and overtook them, without turning back until they were destroyed.

38 I crushed them, so that they can't get up; they have fallen under my feet.

39 'For you braced me with strength for the battle and bent down my adversaries beneath me.

40 You made my enemies turn their backs in flight, and I destroyed those who hated me.

41 'They cried out, but there was no one to help, even to ADONAI, but he didn't answer.

42 I pulverized them like dust in the wind, threw them out like mud in the streets.

43 'You also freed me from the quarrels of my people. You made me head of the nations; a people I did not know now serve me

44 the moment they hear of me, they obey me, foreigners come cringing to me.

45 Foreigners lose heart as they come trembling from their fortresses.

46 'ADONAI is alive! Blessed is my Rock! Exalted be the God of my salvation,

47 the God who avenges me and subdues peoples under me.

48 He delivers me from my enemies. You lift me high above my enemies, you rescue me from violent men.

49 'So I give thanks to you, ADONAI, among the nations; I sing praises to your name.

50 Great salvation he gives to his king; he displays grace to his anointed, to David and his descendants forever.'

19

1 For the leader. A psalm of David: The heavens declare the glory of God, the dome of the sky speaks the work of his hands.

2 Every day it utters speech, every night it reveals knowledge.

3 Without speech, without a word, without their voices being heard,

4 their line goes out through all the earth and their words to the end of the world. In them he places a tent for the sun,

5 which comes out like a bridegroom from the bridal chamber, with delight like an athlete to run his race.

6 It rises at one side of the sky, circles around to the other side, and nothing escapes its heat.

7 The Torah of ADONAI is perfect, restoring the inner person. The instruction of ADONAI is sure, making wise the thoughtless.

8 The precepts of ADONAI are right, rejoicing the heart. The mitzvah of ADONAI is pure, enlightening the eyes.

9 The fear of ADONAI is clean, enduring forever. The rulings of ADONAI are true, they are righteous altogether,

10 more desirable than gold, than much fine gold, also sweeter than honey or drippings from the honeycomb.

11 Through them your servant is warned; in obeying them there is great reward.

12 Who can discern unintentional sins? Cleanse me from hidden faults.

13 Also keep your servant from presumptuous sins, so that they won't control me. Then I will be blameless and free of great offense.

14 May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be acceptable in your presence, ADONAI, my Rock and Redeemer.

20

1 For the leader. A psalm of David: May ADONAI answer you in times of distress, may the name of the God of Ya'akov protect you.

2 May he send you help from the sanctuary and give you support from Tziyon.

3 May he be reminded by all your grain offerings and accept the fat of your burnt offerings. (Selah)

4 May he grant you your heart's desire and bring all your plans to success.

5 Then we will shout for joy at your victory and fly our flags in the name of our God. May ADONAI fulfill all your requests.

6 Now I know that ADONAI gives victory to his anointed one -he will answer him from his holy heaven with mighty victories by his right hand.

7 Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we praise the name of ADONAI our God.

8 They will crumple and fall, but we will arise and stand erect.

9 Give victory, ADONAI! Let the King answer us the day we call.

21

1 For the leader. A psalm of David: ADONAI, the king finds joy in your strength; what great joy he displays in your victory!

2 You give him his heart's desire; you don't refuse the prayer from his lips. (Selah)

3 For you come to meet him with the best blessings, you place a crown of fine gold on his head.

4 He asks you for life; you give it to him, years and years forever and ever.

5 Your victory brings him great glory; you confer on him splendor and honor.

6 For you bestow on him everlasting blessings, you make him glad with the joy of your presence.

7 For the king puts his trust in ADONAI, in the grace of 'Elyon; he will not be moved.

8 Your hand will find all your enemies; your right hand will overtake those who hate you.

9 At your appearing, you will make them like a fiery furnace. ADONAI will swallow them up in his anger; fire will consume them.

10 You will destroy from the earth their descendants, rid humankind of their posterity;

11 for they intended evil against you; but despite their scheme, they won't succeed.

12 For you will make them turn their back by aiming your bow at their faces.

13 Arise, ADONAI, in your strength; and we will sing and praise your power.

22

1 For the leader. Set to 'Sunrise.'A psalm of David: My God! My God! Why have you abandoned me? Why so far from helping me, so far from my anguished cries?

2 My God, by day I call to you, but you don't answer; likewise at night, but I get no relief.

3 Nevertheless, you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Isra'el.

4 In you our ancestors put their trust; they trusted, and you rescued them.

5 They cried to you and escaped; they trusted in you and were not disappointed.

6 But I am a worm, not a man, scorned by everyone, despised by the people.

7 All who see me jeer at me; they sneer and shake their heads:

8 'He committed himself to ADONAI, so let him rescue him! Let him set him free if he takes such delight in him!'

9 But you are the one who took me from the womb, you made me trust when I was on my mother's breasts.

10 Since my birth I've been thrown on you; you are my God from my mother's womb.

11 Don't stay far from me, for trouble is near; and there is no one to help.

12 Many bulls surround me, wild bulls of Bashan close in on me.

13 They open their mouths wide against me, like ravening, roaring lions.

14 I am poured out like water; all my bones are out of joint; my heart has become like wax it melts inside me;

15 my mouth is as dry as a fragment of a pot, my tongue sticks to my palate; you lay me down in the dust of death.

16 Dogs are all around me, a pack of villains closes in on me like a lion [at] my hands and feet.

17 I can count every one of my bones, while they gaze at me and gloat.

18 They divide my garments among themselves; for my clothing they throw dice.

19 But you, ADONAI, don't stay far away! My strength, come quickly to help me!

20 Rescue me from the sword, Or: 'They pierced my hands and feet.' See Introduction, Section VIII, paragraph 6, and Section XIV, footnote 70. my life from the power of the dogs.

21 Save me from the lion's mouth! You have answered me from the wild bulls' horns.

22 I will proclaim your name to my kinsmen; right there in the assembly I will praise you:

23 'You who fear ADONAI, praise him! All descendants of Ya'akov, glorify him! All descendants of Isra'el, stand in awe of him!

24 For he has not despised or abhorred the poverty of the poor; he did not hide his face from him but listened to his cry.'

25 Because of you I give praise in the great assembly; I will fulfill my vows in the sight of those who fear him.

26 The poor will eat and be satisfied; those who seek ADONAI will praise him; Your hearts will enjoy life forever.

27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to ADONAI; all the clans of the nations will worship in your presence.

28 For the kingdom belongs to ADONAI, and he rules the nations.

29 All who prosper on the earth will eat and worship; all who go down to the dust will kneel before him, including him who can't keep himself alive,

30 A descendant will serve him; the next generation will be told of Adonai.

31 They will come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he is the one who did it.

23

1 A psalm of David: ADONAI is my shepherd; I lack nothing.

2 He has me lie down in grassy pastures, he leads me by quiet water,

3 he restores my inner person. He guides me in right paths for the sake of his own name.

4 Even if I pass through death-dark ravines, I will fear no disaster; for you are with me; your rod and staff reassure me.

5 You prepare a table for me, even as my enemies watch; you anoint my head with oil from an overflowing cup.

6 Goodness and grace will pursue me every day of my life; and I will live in the house of ADONAI for years and years to come.

24

1 By David. A psalm: The earth is ADONAI's, with all that is in it, the world and those who live there;

2 for he set its foundations on the seas and established it on the rivers.

3 Who may go up to the mountain of ADONAI? Who can stand in his holy place?

4 Those with clean hands and pure hearts, who don't make vanities the purpose of their lives or swear oaths just to deceive.

5 They will receive a blessing from ADONAI and justice from God, who saves them.

6 Such is the character of those who seek him, of Ya'akov, who seeks your face. (Selah)

7 Lift up your heads, you gates! Lift them up, everlasting doors, so that the glorious king can enter!

8 Who is he, this glorious king? ADONAI, strong and mighty, ADONAI, mighty in battle.

9 Lift up your heads, you gates! Lift them up, everlasting doors, so that the glorious king can enter!

10 Who is he, this glorious king? ADONAI-Tzva'ot he is the glorious king. (Selah)

25

1 By David: I lift my inner being to you, ADONAI;

2 I trust you, my God. Don't let me be disgraced, don't let my enemies gloat over me.

3 No one waiting for you will be disgraced; disgrace awaits those who break faith for no reason.

4 Make me know your ways, ADONAI, teach me your paths.

5 Guide me in your truth, and teach me; for you are the God who saves me, my hope is in you all day long.

6 Remember your compassion and grace, ADONAI; for these are ages old.

7 Don't remember my youthful sins or transgressions; but remember me according to your grace for the sake of your goodness, ADONAI.

8 ADONAI is good, and he is fair; this is why he teaches sinners the way [to live],

9 leads the humble to do what is right and teaches the humble [to live] his way.

10 All ADONAI's paths are grace and truth to those who keep his covenant and instructions.

11 For the sake of your name, ADONAI, forgive my wickedness, great though it is.

12 Who is the person who fears ADONAI? He will teach him the way to choose.

13 He will remain prosperous, and his descendants will inherit the land.

14 ADONAI relates intimately with those who fear him; he makes them know his covenant.

15 My eyes are always directed toward ADONAI, for he will free my feet from the net.

16 Turn to me, and show me your favor; for I am alone and oppressed.

17 The troubles of my heart are growing and growing; bring me out of my distress.

18 See my affliction and suffering, and take all my sins away.

19 Consider my enemies, how many there are and how cruelly they hate me.

20 Protect me and rescue me; don't let me be disgraced, for I take refuge in you.

21 Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, because my hope is in you.

22 God! Redeem Isra'el from all their troubles!

26

1 By David: Vindicate me, ADONAI, for I have lived a blameless life; unwaveringly I trust in ADONAI.

2 Examine me, ADONAI, test me, search my mind and heart.

3 For your grace is there before my eyes, and I live my life by your truth.

4 I have not sat with worthless folks, I won't consort with hypocrites,

5 I hate the company of evildoers, I will not sit with the wicked.

6 I will wash my hands in innocence and walk around your altar, ADONAI,

7 lifting my voice in thanks and proclaiming all your wonders.

8 ADONAI, I love the house where you live, the place where your glory abides.

9 Don't include me with sinners or my life with the bloodthirsty.

10 In their hands are evil schemes; their right hands are full of bribes.

11 As for me, I will live a blameless life. Redeem me and show me favor.

12 My feet are planted on level ground; in the assemblies I will bless ADONAI.

27

1 By David: ADONAI is my light and salvation; whom do I need to fear? ADONAI is the stronghold of my life; of whom should I be afraid?

2 When evildoers assailed me to devour my flesh, my adversaries and foes, they stumbled and fell.

3 If an army encamps against me, my heart will not fear; if war breaks out against me, even then I will keep trusting.

4 Just one thing have I asked of ADONAI; only this will I seek: to live in the house of ADONAI all the days of my life, to see the beauty of ADONAI and visit in his temple.

5 For he will conceal me in his shelter on the day of trouble, he will hide me in the folds of his tent, he will set me high on a rock.

6 Then my head will be lifted up above my surrounding foes, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing, sing praises to ADONAI.

7 Listen, ADONAI, to my voice when I cry; show favor to me; and answer me.

8 'My heart said of you, 'Seek my face.''Your face, ADONAI, I will seek.

9 Do not hide your face from me, don't turn your servant away in anger. You are my help; don't abandon me; don't leave me, God my savior.

10 Even though my father and mother have left me, ADONAI will care for me.

11 Teach me your way, ADONAI; lead me on a level path because of my enemies

12 don't give me up to the whims of my foes; for false witnesses have risen against me, also those who are breathing violence.

13 If I hadn't believed that I would see ADONAI's goodness in the land of the living, . . .

14 Put your hope in ADONAI, be strong, and let your heart take courage! Yes, put your hope in ADONAI!

28

1 By David: ADONAI, I am calling to you; my Rock, don't be deaf to my cry. For if you answer me with silence, I will be like those who fall in a pit.

2 Hear the sound of my prayers when I cry to you, when I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary.

3 Don't drag me off with the wicked, with those whose deeds are evil; they speak words of peace to their fellowmen, but evil is in their hearts.

4 Pay them back for their deeds, as befits their evil acts; repay them for what they have done, give them what they deserve.

5 For they don't understand the deeds of ADONAI or what he has done. He will break them down; he will not build them up.

6 Blessed be ADONAI, for he heard my voice as I prayed for mercy.

7 ADONAI is my strength and shield; in him my heart trusted, and I have been helped. Therefore my heart is filled with joy, and I will sing praises to him.

8 ADONAI is strength for [his people], a stronghold of salvation to his anointed.

9 Save your people! Bless your heritage! Shepherd them, and carry them forever!

29

1 A psalm of David: Give ADONAI his due, you who are godly; give ADONAI his due of glory and strength;

2 give ADONAI the glory due his name; worship ADONAI in holy splendor.

3 The voice of ADONAI is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, ADONAI over rushing waters,

4 the voice of ADONAI in power, the voice of ADONAI in splendor.

5 The voice of ADONAI cracks the cedars; ADONAI splinters the cedars of the L'vanon

6 and makes the L'vanon skip like a calf, Siryon like a young wild ox.

7 The voice of ADONAI flashes fiery flames;

8 the voice of ADONAI rocks the desert, ADONAI convulses the Kadesh Desert.

9 The voice of ADONAI causes deer to give birth and strips the forests bare -while in his temple, all cry, 'Glory!'

10 ADONAI sits enthroned above the flood! ADONAI sits enthroned as king forever!

11 May ADONAI give strength to his people! May ADONAI bless his people with shalom!

30

1 A psalm. A song for the dedication of the house. By David: I will exalt you, ADONAI, because you drew me up; you didn't let my enemies rejoice over me.

2 ADONAI my God, I cried out to you, and you provided healing for me.

3 ADONAI, you lifted me up from Sh'ol; you kept me alive when I was sinking into a pit.

4 Sing praise to ADONAI, you faithful of his; and give thanks on recalling his holiness.

5 For his anger is momentary, but his favor lasts a lifetime. Tears may linger for the night, but with dawn come cries of joy.

6 Once I was prosperous and used to say, that nothing could ever shake me

7 when you showed me favor, ADONAI, I was firm as a mighty mountain. But when you hid your face, I was struck with terror.

8 I called to you, ADONAI; to ADONAI I pleaded for mercy:

9 'What advantage is there in my death, in my going down to the pit? Can the dust praise you? Can it proclaim your truth?

10 Hear me, ADONAI, and show me your favor! ADONAI, be my helper!'

11 You turned my mourning into dancing! You removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

12 so that my well-being can praise you and not be silent; ADONAI my God, I will thank you forever!

31

1 For the leader. A psalm of David: In you, ADONAI, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame; in your justice, save me!

2 Turn your ear toward me, come quickly to my rescue, be for me a rock of strength, a fortress to keep me safe.

3 Since you are my rock and fortress, lead me and guide me for your name's sake.

4 Free me from the net they have hidden to catch me, because you are my strength.

5 Into your hand I commit my spirit; you will redeem me, ADONAI, God of truth.

6 I hate those who serve worthless idols; as for me, I trust in ADONAI.

7 I will rejoice and be glad in your grace, for you see my affliction, you know how distressed I am.

8 You did not hand me over to the enemy; you set my feet where I can move freely.

9 Show me favor, ADONAI, for I am in trouble. My eyes grow dim with anger, my soul and body as well.

10 For my life is worn out with sorrow and my years with sighing; my strength gives out under my guilt, and my bones are wasting away.

11 I am scorned by all my adversaries, and even more by my neighbors; even to acquaintances I am an object of fear when they see me in the street, they turn away from me.

12 Like a dead man, I have passed from their minds; I have become like a broken pot.

13 All I hear is whispering, terror is all around me; they plot together against me, scheming to take my life.

14 But I, I trust in you, ADONAI; I say, 'You are my God.'

15 My times are in your hand; rescue me from my enemies' power, from those who persecute me.

16 Make your face shine on your servant; in your grace, save me.

17 ADONAI, don't let me be put to shame, for I have called on you; let the wicked be put to shame, let them be silenced in Sh'ol.

18 May lying lips be struck dumb, that speak insolently against the righteous with such pride and contempt.

19 But oh, how great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you do for those who take refuge in you, before people's very eyes!

20 In the shelter of your presence you hide them from human plots, you conceal them in your shelter, safe from contentious tongues.

21 Blessed be ADONAI! For he has shown me his amazing grace when I was in a city under siege.

22 As for me, in my alarm I said, 'I have been cut off from your sight!'Nevertheless, you heard my pleas when I cried out to you.

23 Love ADONAI, you faithful of his. ADONAI preserves the loyal, but the proud he repays in full.

24 Be strong, and fill your hearts with courage, all of you who hope in ADONAI.

32

1 By David. A maskil: How blessed are those whose offense is forgiven, those whose sin is covered!

2 How blessed those to whom ADONAI imputes no guilt, in whose spirit is no deceit!

3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away because of my groaning all day long;

4 day and night your hand was heavy on me; the sap in me dried up as in a summer drought. (Selah)

5 When I acknowledged my sin to you, when I stopped concealing my guilt, and said, 'I will confess my offenses to ADONAI'; then you, you forgave the guilt of my sin. (Selah)

6 This is what everyone faithful should pray at a time when you can be found. Then, when the floodwaters are raging, they will not reach to him.

7 You are a hiding-place for me, you will keep me from distress; you will surround me with songs of deliverance. (Selah)

8 'I will instruct and teach you in this way that you are to go; I will give you counsel; my eyes will be watching you.'

9 Don't be like a horse or mule that has no understanding, that has to be curbed with bit and bridle, or else it won't come near you.

10 Many are the torments of the wicked, but grace surrounds those who trust in ADONAI.

11 Be glad in ADONAI; rejoice, you righteous! Shout for joy, all you upright in heart!

33

1 - - -

2 Give thanks to ADONAI with the lyre, sing praises to him with a ten-stringed harp.

3 Sing to him a new song, make music at your best among shouts of joy.

4 For the word of ADONAI is true, and all his work is trustworthy.

5 He loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the grace of ADONAI.

6 By the word of ADONAI the heavens were made, and their whole host by a breath from his mouth.

7 He collects the sea waters together in a heap; he puts the deeps in storehouses.

8 Let all the earth fear ADONAI! Let all living in the world stand in awe of him.

9 For he spoke, and there it was; he commanded, and there it stood.

10 ADONAI brings to nothing the plans of nations, he foils the plans of the peoples.

11 But the counsel of ADONAI stands forever, his heart's plans are for all generations.

12 How blessed is the nation whose God is ADONAI, the people he chose as his heritage!

13 ADONAI looks out from heaven; he sees every human being;

14 from the place where he lives he watches everyone living on earth,

15 he who fashioned the hearts of them all and understands all they do.

16 A king is not saved by the size of his army, a strong man not delivered by his great strength.

17 To rely on a horse for safety is vain, nor does its great power assure escape.

18 But ADONAI's eyes watch over those who fear him, over those who wait for his grace

19 to rescue them from death and keep them alive in famine.

20 We are waiting for ADONAI; he is our help and shield.

21 For in him our hearts rejoice, because we trust in his holy name.

22 May your mercy, ADONAI, be over us, because we put our hope in you.

34

1 By David, when he pretended to be insane before Avimelekh, who then drove him away; so he left: I will bless ADONAI at all times; his praise will always be in my mouth.

2 When I boast, it will be about ADONAI; the humble will hear of it and be glad.

3 Proclaim with me the greatness of ADONAI; let us exalt his name together.

4 I sought ADONAI, and he answered me; he rescued me from everything I feared.

5 They looked to him and grew radiant; their faces will never blush for shame.

6 This poor man cried; ADONAI heard and saved him from all his troubles.

7 The angel of ADONAI, who encamps around those who fear him, delivers them.

8 Taste, and see that ADONAI is good. How blessed are those who take refuge in him!

9 Fear ADONAI, you holy ones of his, for those who fear him lack nothing.

10 Young lions can be needy, they can go hungry, but those who seek ADONAI lack nothing good.

11 Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of ADONAI.

12 Which of you takes pleasure in living? Who wants a long life to see good things?

13 [If you do,] keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceiving talk;

14 turn from evil, and do good; seek peace, go after it!

15 The eyes of ADONAI watch over the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry.

16 But the face of ADONAI opposes those who do evil, to cut off all memory of them from the earth.

17 [The righteous] cried out, and ADONAI heard, and he saved them from all their troubles.

18 ADONAI is near those with broken hearts; he saves those whose spirit is crushed.

19 The righteous person suffers many evils, but ADONAI rescues him out of them all.

20 He protects all his bones; not one of them gets broken.

21 Evil will kill the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.

22 But ADONAI redeems his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

35

1 By David: ADONAI, oppose those who oppose me; fight against those who fight against me.

2 Grasp your shield and protective gear, and rise to my defense.

3 Brandish spear and battle-axe against my pursuers; let me hear you say, 'I am your salvation.'

4 May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to confusion; may those who are plotting harm for me be repulsed and put to shame.

5 May they be like chaff before the wind, with the angel of ADONAI to drive them on.

6 May their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of ADONAI to pursue them.

7 For unprovoked, they hid their net over a pit; unprovoked, they dug it for me.

8 May destruction come over him unawares. May the net he concealed catch himself; may he fall into it and be destroyed.

9 Then I will be joyful in ADONAI, I will rejoice in his salvation.

10 All my bones will say, 'Who is like you? Who can rescue the weak from those stronger than they, the poor and needy from those who exploit them?'

11 Malicious witnesses come forward, asking me things about which I know nothing.

12 They repay me evil for good; it makes me feel desolate as a parent bereaved.

13 But I, when they were ill, wore sackcloth; I put myself out and fasted; I can pray that what I prayed for them might also happen to me.

14 I behaved as I would for my friend or my brother; I bent down in sorrow as if mourning my mother.

15 But when I stumble, they gather in glee; they gather against me and strike me unawares; they tear me apart unceasingly.

16 With ungodly mocking and grimacing, they grind their teeth at me.

17 Adonai, how much longer will you look on? Rescue me from their assaults, save the one life I have from the lions!

18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly, I will give you praise among huge crowds of people.

19 Don't let those who are wrongfully my enemies gloat over me; and those who hate me unprovoked -don't let them smirk at me.

20 For they don't speak words of peace but devise ways to deceive the peaceful of the land.

21 They shout to accuse me, 'Aha! Aha! we saw you with our own eyes!'

22 You saw them, ADONAI; don't stay silent. Adonai, don't stay far away from me.

23 Wake up! Get up, my God, my Lord! Defend me and my cause!

24 Give judgment for me, ADONAI, my God, as your righteousness demands. Don't let them gloat over me.

25 Don't let them say to themselves, 'Aha! We got what we wanted!'or say, 'We swallowed them up!'

26 May those who gloat over my distress be disgraced and humiliated. May those who aggrandize themselves at my expense be covered with shame and confusion.

27 But may those who delight in my righteousness shout for joy and be glad! Let them say always, 'How great is ADONAI, who delights in the peace of his servant!'Then my tongue will tell of your righteousness and praise you all day long.

28 - - -

36

1 For the leader. By David, the servant of ADONAI: Crime speaks to the wicked. I perceive this in my heart; before his eyes there is no fear of God.

2 For, the way he sees it, crime makes his life easy that is, until his wrongs are discovered; then, he is hated.

3 His words are wrong and deceitful; he has stopped being wise and doing good.

4 He devises trouble as he lies in bed; so set is he on his own bad way that he doesn't hate evil.

5 ADONAI, in the heavens is your grace; your faithfulness reaches to the skies.

6 Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, your judgments are like the great deep. You save man and beast, ADONAI.

7 How precious, God, is your grace! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings,

8 they feast on the rich bounty of your house, and you have them drink from the stream of your delights.

9 For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

10 Continue your grace to those who know you and your righteousness to the upright in heart.

11 Don't let the foot of the proud tread on me or the hands of the wicked drive me away.

12 There they lie fallen, those evildoers, flung down and unable to rise.

37

1 By David: Don't be upset by evildoers or envious of those who do wrong,

2 for soon they will wither like grass and fade like the green in the fields.

3 Trust in ADONAI, and do good; settle in the land, and feed on faithfulness.

4 Then you will delight yourself in ADONAI, and he will give you your heart's desire.

5 Commit your way to ADONAI; trust in him, and he will act.

6 He will make your vindication shine forth like light, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before ADONAI; wait patiently till he comes. Don't be upset by those whose way succeeds because of their wicked plans.

8 Stop being angry, put aside rage, and don't be upset - it leads to evil.

9 For evildoers will be cut off, but those hoping in ADONAI will inherit the land.

10 Soon the wicked will be no more; you will look for his place, and he won't be there.

11 But the meek will inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.

12 The wicked plots against the righteous and grinds his teeth at him;

13 but Adonai laughs at the wicked, knowing his day will come.

14 The wicked have unsheathed their swords, they have strung their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slaughter those whose way is upright.

15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.

16 Better the little that the righteous has than the wealth of all the wicked.

17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but ADONAI upholds the righteous.

18 ADONAI knows what the wholehearted suffer, but their inheritance lasts forever.

19 They will not be distressed when times are hard; when famine comes, they will have plenty.

20 For the wicked will perish; ADONAI's enemies will be like sheep fat, ending up as smoke, finished.

21 The wicked borrows and doesn't repay, but the righteous is generous and gives.

22 For those blessed by [ADONAI] will inherit the land, but those cursed by him will be cut off.

23 ADONAI directs a person's steps, and he delights in his way.

24 He may stumble, but he won't fall headlong, for ADONAI holds him by the hand.

25 I have been young; now I am old; yet not once have I seen the righteous abandoned or his descendants begging for bread.

26 All day long he is generous and lends, and his descendants are blessed.

27 If you turn from evil and do good, you will live safely forever.

28 For ADONAI loves justice and will not abandon his faithful; they are preserved forever. But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

29 The righteous will inherit the land and live in it forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous articulates wisdom, his tongue speaks justice.

31 The Torah of his God is in his heart; his footsteps do not falter.

32 The wicked keeps his eye on the righteous, seeking a chance to kill him.

33 But ADONAI will not leave him in his power or let him be condemned when judged.

34 Put your hope in ADONAI, keep to his way, and he will raise you up to inherit the land. When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

35 I have seen a wicked man wielding great power, flourishing like a shade tree in its native soil.

36 But I passed by again, and he was no longer there; I looked for him, but he could not be found.

37 Observe the pure person, consider the upright; for the peaceful person will have posterity.

38 But transgressors will all be destroyed; the posterity of the wicked will be cut off.

39 ADONAI is the one who saves the righteous; he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

40 ADONAI helps them and rescues them, rescues them from the wicked and saves them; because they take refuge in him.

38

1 A psalm of David, serving as a reminder: ADONAI, don't rebuke me when you are angry or discipline me when you are enraged,

2 for your arrows penetrate me deeply, and your hand is pressing me down.

3 Your indignation left no part of me intact; my sin made my whole body sick;

4 for my iniquities loom high over my head as a heavy burden, too heavy for me.

5 I have stinking, festering wounds because of my foolishness.

6 I am bent down, prostrate completely; I go about mourning all day long.

7 For my insides burn with fever, and my whole body is sick.

8 I am numb, completely crushed; my anguished heart makes me groan aloud.

9 Adonai, all my longing is known to you; my sighing is not hidden from you.

10 My heart is throbbing, my strength is gone, and the light in my eyes has left me.

11 My friends and companions shun my disease; even the closest keep their distance.

12 Those seeking my life lay snares for me, those seeking to harm me speak of disaster and think up deceptions all day long.

13 But I'm like a deaf man - I don't hear it; and, like a mute, I don't say a word.

14 Yes, I've become like a man who doesn't hear and in whose mouth are no defenses.

15 For it is in you, ADONAI, that I hope. You will answer, Adonai my God.

16 I said, 'Don't let them gloat over me or boast against me when my foot slips.'

17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is always with me.

18 I acknowledge my guilt, I am anxious because of my sin.

19 But my enemies are alive and well, those who wrongfully hate me increase their numbers;

20 and, since they repay good with evil, they oppose me because I pursue good.

21 Don't abandon me, ADONAI! My God, don't be far from me!

22 Come quickly to help me, Adonai, my salvation!

39

1 For the leader. Set in the style of Y'dutun. A psalm of David: I said, 'I will watch how I behave, so that I won't sin with my tongue; I will put a muzzle on my mouth whenever the wicked confront me.'

2 I was silent, said nothing, not even good; but my pain kept being stirred up.

3 My heart grew hot within me; whenever I thought of it, the fire burned. Then, [at last,] I let my tongue speak:

4 'Make me grasp, ADONAI, what my end must be, what it means that my days are numbered; let me know what a transient creature I am.

5 You have made my days like handbreadths; for you, the length of my life is like nothing.' Yes, everyone, no matter how firmly he stands, is merely a puff of wind. (Selah)

6 Humans go about like shadows; their turmoil is all for nothing. They accumulate wealth, not knowing who will enjoy its benefits.

7 Now, Adonai, what am I waiting for? You are my only hope.

8 Rescue me from all my transgressions; don't make me the butt of fools.

9 I am silent, I keep my mouth shut, because it is you who have done it.

10 Stop raining blows on me; the pounding of your fist is wearing me down.

11 With rebukes you discipline people for their guilt; like a moth, you destroy what makes them attractive; yes, everyone is merely a puff of wind. (Selah)

12 Hear my prayer, ADONAI, listen to my cry, don't be deaf to my weeping; for with you, I am just a traveler passing through, like all my ancestors.

13 Turn your gaze from me, so I can smile again before I depart and cease to exist.

40

1 For the leader. A psalm of David: I waited patiently for ADONAI, till he turned toward me and heard my cry.

2 He brought me up from the roaring pit, up from the muddy ooze, and set my feet on a rock, making my footing firm.

3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will look on in awe and put their trust in ADONAI.

4 How blessed the man who trusts in ADONAI and does not look to the arrogant or to those who rely on things that are false.

5 How much you have done, ADONAI my God! Your wonders and your thoughts toward us -none can compare with you! I would proclaim them, I would speak about them; but there's too much to tell!

6 Sacrifices and grain offerings you don't want; burnt offerings and sin offerings you don't demand. Instead, you have given me open ears;

7 so then I said, 'Here I am! I'm coming! In the scroll of a book it is written about me.

8 Doing your will, my God, is my joy; your Torah is in my inmost being.

9 I have proclaimed what is right in the great assembly; I did not restrain my lips, ADONAI, as you know.

10 I did not hide your righteousness in my heart but declared your faithfulness and salvation; I did not conceal your grace and truth from the great assembly.'

11 ADONAI, don't withhold your mercy from me. Let your grace and truth preserve me always.

12 For numberless evils surround me; my iniquities engulf me - I can't even see; there are more of them than hairs on my head, so that my courage fails me.

13 Be pleased, ADONAI, to rescue me! ADONAI, hurry and help me!

14 May those who seek to sweep me away be disgraced and humiliated together. May those who take pleasure in doing me harm be turned back and put to confusion.

15 May those who jeer at me, 'Aha! Aha!' be aghast because of their shame.

16 But may all those who seek you be glad and take joy in you. May those who love your salvation say always, 'ADONAI is great and glorious!'

17 But I am poor and needy; may Adonai think of me. You are my helper and rescuer; my God, don't delay!

41

1 For the leader. A psalm of David: How blessed are those who care for the poor! When calamity comes, ADONAI will save them.

2 ADONAI will preserve them, keep them alive, and make them happy in the land. You will not hand them over to the whims of their enemies.

3 ADONAI sustains them on their sickbed; when they lie ill, you make them recover.

4 I said, 'ADONAI, have pity on me! Heal me, for I have sinned against you!' 830

5 My enemies say the worst about me: 'When will he die and his name disappear?'

6 When they come to see me they speak insincerely, their hearts meanwhile gathering falsehoods; then they go out and spread bad reports.

7 All who hate me whisper together against me, imagining the worst about me.

8 'A fatal disease has attached itself to him; now that he lies ill, he will never get up.'

9 Even my close friend, on whom I relied, who shared my table, has turned against me.

10 But you, ADONAI, have pity on me, put me on my feet, so I can pay them back.

11 I will know you are pleased with me if my enemy doesn't defeat me.

12 You uphold me because of my innocence you establish me in your presence forever.

13 Blessed be ADONAI the God of Isra'el from eternity past to eternity future. Amen. Amen.

42

1 For the leader. A maskil of the descendants of Korach: Just as a deer longs for running streams, God, I long for you.

2 I am thirsty for God, for the living God! When can I come and appear before God?

3 My tears are my food, day and night, while all day people ask me, 'Where is your God?'

4 I recall, as my feelings well up within me, how I'd go with the crowd to the house of God, with sounds of joy and praise from the throngs observing the festival.

5 My soul, why are you so downcast? Why are you groaning inside me? Hope in God, since I will praise him again for the salvation that comes from his presence.

6 My God, when I feel so downcast, I remind myself of you from the land of Yarden, from the peaks of Hermon, from the hill Mizar.

7 Deep is calling to deep at the thunder of your waterfalls; all your surging rapids and waves are sweeping over me.

8 By day ADONAI commands his grace, and at night his song is with me as a prayer to the God of my life.

9 I say to God my Rock, 'Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, under pressure by the enemy?

10 My adversaries' taunts make me feel as if my bones were crushed, as they ask me all day long, 'Where is your God?''

11 My soul, why are you so downcast? Why are you groaning inside me? Hope in God, since I will praise him again for being my Savior and God.

43

1 Judge me, God, and plead my cause against a faithless nation. Rescue me from those who deceive and from those who are unjust.

2 For you are the God of my strength; why have you thrust me aside? Why must I go about mourning, under pressure by the enemy?

3 Send out your light and your truth; let them be my guide; let them lead me to your holy mountain, to the places where you live.

4 Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and delight; I will praise you on the lyre, God, my God.

5 My soul, why are you so downcast? Why are you groaning inside me? Hope in God, since I will praise him again for being my Savior and God.

44

1 For the leader. By the descendants of Korach. A maskil: God, we heard it with our ears; our fathers told us about it -a deed which you did in their days, back in days of old.

2 With your hand you drove out nations to plant them in [the land], you crushed peoples to make room for them.

3 For not by their own swords did they conquer the land, nor did their own arm give them victory; rather, it was your right hand, your arm and the light of your face; because you favored them.

4 God, you are my king; command complete victory for Ya'akov.

5 Through you we pushed away our foes, through your name we trampled down our assailants.

6 For I don't rely on my bow, nor can my sword give me victory.

7 No, you saved us from our adversaries; you put to shame those who hate us.

8 We will boast in our God all day and give thanks to your name forever. (Selah)

9 Yet now you have thrust us aside and disgraced us; you don't march out with our armies.

10 You make us retreat from the adversary, and those who hate us plunder us at will.

11 You have handed us over like sheep to be eaten and scattered us among the nations.

12 You sell your people for a pittance, you don't even profit on the sale.

13 You make us an object for our neighbors to mock, one of scorn and derision to those around us.

14 You make us a byword among the nations; the peoples jeer at us, shaking their heads.

15 All day long my disgrace is on my mind, and shame has covered my face

16 at the sound of those who revile and insult, at the sight of the enemy bent on revenge.

17 Though all this came on us, we did not forget you; we have not been false to your covenant;

18 Our hearts have not turned back, and our steps did not turn away from your path,

19 though you pressed us into a lair of jackals and covered us with death-dark gloom.

20 If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

21 wouldn't God have discovered this, since he knows the secrets of the heart?

22 For your sake we are put to death all day long, we are considered sheep to be slaughtered.

23 Wake up, Adonai! Why are you asleep? Rouse yourself! Don't thrust us off forever.

24 Why are you turning your face away, forgetting our pain and misery?

25 For we are lying flat in the dust, our bodies cling to the ground.

26 Get up, and come to help us! For the sake of your grace, redeem us!

45

1 For the leader. Set to 'Lilies.' By the descendants of Korach. A maskil. A lovesong: My heart is stirred by a noble theme; I address my verses to the king; My tongue is the pen of an expert scribe.

2 You are the most handsome of men; gracious speech flows from your lips. For God has blessed you forever.

3 Warrior, strap your sword at your thigh; [gird on] your splendor and majesty.

4 In your majesty, succeed, ride on in the cause of truth, meekness and righteousness. May your right hand teach you awesome things.

5 Your arrows are sharp. The people fall under you, as they penetrate the hearts of the king's enemies.

6 Your throne, God, will last forever and ever; you rule your kingdom with a scepter of equity.

7 You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy in preference to your companions.

8 Your robes are all fragrant with myrrh, aloes and cassia; from ivory palaces stringed instruments bring you joy.

9 Daughters of kings are among your favorites; at your right stands the queen in gold from Ofir.

10 Listen, daughter! Think, pay attention! Forget your own people and your father's house,

11 and the king will desire your beauty; for he is your lord, so honor him.

12 Then the daughter of Tzor, the richest of peoples, will court your favor with gifts.

13 Inside [the palace], the king's daughter looks splendid, attired in checker-work embroidered with gold.

14 In brocade, she will be led to the king, to you, with the virgins in her retinue.

15 They will be led in with gladness and joy, they will enter the king's palace.

16 You will have sons to succeed your ancestors; you will make them princes in all the land.

17 I will make your name known through all generations; thus the peoples will praise you forever and ever.

46

1 For the leader. By the descendants of Korach. On 'alamot [high-pitched musical instruments?]. A song: God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we are unafraid, even if the earth gives way, even if the mountains tumble into the depths of the sea,

3 even if its waters rage and foam, and mountains shake at its turbulence.

4 There is a river whose streams gladden the city of God, the holy habitation of 'Elyon

5 God is in the city. It will not be moved when daybreak comes, God will help it.

6 Nations were in turmoil, kingdoms were moved; his voice thundered forth, and the earth melted away.

7 ADONAI-Tzva'ot is with us, our fortress, the God of Ya'akov. (Selah) (Selah)

8 Come and see the works of ADONAI, the astounding deeds he has done on the earth.

9 To the ends of the earth he makes wars cease he breaks the bow, snaps the spear, burns the shields in the fire.

10 'Desist, and learn that I am God, supreme over the nations, supreme over the earth.'

11 ADONAI-Tzva'ot is with us, our fortress, the God of Ya'akov. (Selah)

47

1 For the leader. A psalm of the descendants of Korach: Clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with cries of joy!

2 For ADONAI 'Elyon is awesome, a great king over all the earth.

3 He makes peoples subject to us, puts nations under our feet.

4 He chooses our heritage for us, the pride of Ya'akov, whom he loves. (Selah)

5 God goes up to shouts of acclaim, ADONAI to a blast on the shofar.

6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our king, sing praises!

7 For God is king of all the earth; sing praises in a maskil.

8 God rules the nations; God sits on his holy throne.

9 The leaders of the people gather together, the people of the God of Avraham; for the rulers of the earth belong to God, who is exalted on high.

48

1 A song. A psalm of the descendants of Korach: Great is ADONAI and greatly to be praised, in the city of our God, his holy mountain,

2 beautiful in its elevation, the joy of all the earth, Mount Tziyon, in the far north, the city of the great king.

3 In its citadels God has been revealed as a strong defense.

4 For the kings met by agreement; together they advanced.

5 They saw and were filled with consternation; terrified, they took to flight.

6 Trembling took hold of them, pains like those of a woman in labor,

7 as when the wind out of the east wrecks the 'Tarshish' ships.

8 We heard it, and now we see for ourselves in the city of ADONAI-Tzva'ot, in the city of our God. May God establish it forever. (Selah)

9 God, within your temple we meditate on your grace.

10 God, your praise, like your name, extends to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness.

11 Let Mount Tziyon rejoice, let the daughters of Y'hudah be glad, because of your judgment [on the enemy].

12 Walk through Tziyon, go all around it; count how many towers it has.

13 Note its ramparts, pass through its citadels, so that you can tell generations to come

14 that such is God, our God forever; he will guide us eternally.

49

1 For the leader. A psalm of the descendants of Korach: Hear this, all you peoples! Listen, everyone living on earth,

2 regardless of whether low or high, regardless of whether rich or poor!

3 My mouth is about to speak wisdom; my heart's deepest thoughts will give understanding.

4 I will listen with care to [God's] parable, I will set my enigma to the music of the lyre.

5 Why should I fear when the days bring trouble, when the evil of my pursuers surrounds me,

6 the evil of those who rely on their wealth and boast how rich they are?

7 No one can ever redeem his brother or give God a ransom for him,

8 because the price for him is too high (leave the idea completely alone!)

9 to have him live on eternally and never see the pit.

10 For he can see that wise men will die, likewise the fool and the brute will perish and leave their wealth to others.

11 They think their homes will last forever, their dwellings through all generations; they give their own names to their estates.

12 But people, even rich ones, will live only briefly; then, like animals, they will die.

13 This is the manner of life of the foolish and those who come after, approving their words. (Selah)

14 Like sheep, they are destined for Sh'ol; death will be their shepherd. The upright will rule them in the morning; and their forms will waste away in Sh'ol, until they need no dwelling.

15 But God will redeem me from Sh'ol's control, because he will receive me. (Selah)

16 Don't be afraid when someone gets rich, when the wealth of his family grows.

17 For when he dies, he won't take it with him; his wealth will not go down after him.

18 True, while he lived, he thought himself happy people praise you when you do well for yourself

19 but he will join his ancestors' generations and never again see light.

20 People, even rich ones, can fail to grasp that, like animals, they will die.

50

1 A psalm of Asaf: The Mighty One, God, ADONAI, is speaking, summoning the world from east to west.

2 Out of Tziyon, the perfection of beauty, God is shining forth.

3 Our God is coming and not staying silent. With a fire devouring ahead of him and a great storm raging around him,

4 he calls to the heavens above and to earth, in order to judge his people.

5 'Gather to me my faithful, those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.'

6 The heavens proclaim his righteousness, for God himself is judge. (Selah)

7 'Listen, my people, I am speaking: Isra'el, I am testifying against you, I, God, your God.

8 I am not rebuking you for your sacrifices; your burnt offerings are always before me.

9 I have no need for a bull from your farm or for male goats from your pens;

10 for all forest creatures are mine already, as are the animals on a thousand hills;

11 I know all the birds in the mountains; whatever moves in the fields is mine.

12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the world is mine, and everything in it.

13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

14 Offer thanksgiving as your sacrifice to God, pay your vows to the Most High,

15 and call on me when you are in trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.'

16 But to the wicked God says: 'What right do you have to proclaim my laws or take my covenant on your lips,

17 when you so hate to receive instruction and fling my words behind you?

18 When you see a thief, you join up with him, you throw in your lot with adulterers,

19 you give your mouth free rein for evil and harness your tongue to deceit;

20 you sit and speak against your kinsman, you slander your own mother's son.

21 When you do such things, should I stay silent? You may have thought I was just like you; but I will rebuke and indict you to your face.

22 Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to save you.

23 'Whoever offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors me; and to him who goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.'

51

1 For the leader. A psalm of David, when Natan the prophet came to him after his affair with Bat-Sheva: God, in your grace, have mercy on me; in your great compassion, blot out my crimes.

2 Wash me completely from my guilt, and cleanse me from my sin.

3 For I know my crimes, my sin confronts me all the time.

4 Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil from your perspective; so that you are right in accusing me and justified in passing sentence.

5 True, I was born guilty, was a sinner from the moment my mother conceived me.

6 Still, you want truth in the inner person; so make me know wisdom in my inmost heart.

7 Sprinkle me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness, so that the bones you crushed can rejoice.

9 Turn away your face from my sins, and blot out all my crimes.

10 Create in me a clean heart, God; renew in me a resolute spirit.

11 Don't thrust me away from your presence, don't take your Ruach Kodesh away from me.

12 Restore my joy in your salvation, and let a willing spirit uphold me.

13 Then I will teach the wicked your ways, and sinners will return to you.

14 Rescue me from the guilt of shedding blood, God, God of my salvation! Then my tongue will sing about your righteousness

15 Adonai, open my lips; then my mouth will praise you.

16 For you don't want sacrifices, or I would give them; you don't take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17 My sacrifice to God is a broken spirit; God, you won't spurn a broken, chastened heart.

18 In your good pleasure, make Tziyon prosper; rebuild the walls of Yerushalayim.

19 Then you will delight in righteous sacrifices, in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings; then they will offer bulls on your altar.

52

1 For the leader. A maskil of David, when Do'eg from Edom came and told Sha'ul, 'David has arrived at the house of Achimelekh': Why do you boast of your evil, you tyrant, when God's mercy is present every day?

2 Your tongue, as sharp as a razor, plots destruction and works deception.

3 You love evil more than good, lies rather than speaking uprightly. (Selah)

4 You love all words that eat people up, you deceitful tongue!

5 This is why God will strike you down, seize you, pluck you from your tent and uproot you from the land of the living. (Selah)

6 The righteous will see and be awestruck; they will jeer at him, saying,

7 'This fellow would not make God his refuge, but trusted in his own great wealth, relying on his evil plots.'

8 But I am like a leafy olive tree in the house of God; I put my trust in the grace of God forever and ever.

9 I will praise you forever for what you have done, and I will put my hope in your name; for this is what is good in the presence of your faithful.

53

1 For the leader. On machalat. A maskil of David: A brutish fool tells himself, 'There isn't any God.'Such people are depraved, all their deeds are vile, not one of them does what is good.

2 God looks out from heaven upon the human race to see if even one is wise, if even one seeks God.

3 Every one of them is unclean, altogether corrupt; not one of them does what is good, not a single one.

4 Won't these evildoers ever learn? They devour my people as if they were eating bread, and they never call on God!

5 They will be gripped with terror, even though now they are not afraid; for God will scatter the bones of him who is besieging you. You are putting them to shame, because God has rejected them.

6 If only salvation for Isra'el would come out of Tziyon! When God restores his people's fortunes, what joy for Ya'akov! what gladness for Isra'el!

54

1 For the leader. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David, when the Zifim came and told Sha'ul, 'David is hiding with us': God, deliver me by your name; in your power, vindicate me.

2 God, hear my prayer; listen to the words from my mouth.

3 For foreigners are rising against me, violent men are seeking my life; they give no thought to God. (Selah)

4 But God is helping me; Adonai is my support.

5 May he repay the evil to those who are lying in wait for me. In your faithfulness, destroy them!

6 Then I will generously sacrifice to you; I will praise your name, ADONAI, because it is good,

7 because he rescued me from all trouble, and my eyes look with triumph at my enemies.

55

1 For the leader. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David: Listen, God, to my prayer! Don't hide yourself from my plea!

2 Pay attention to me, and answer me! I am panic-stricken as I make my complaint, I shudder

3 at how the enemy shouts, at how the wicked oppress; for they keep heaping trouble on me and angrily tormenting me.

4 My heart within me is pounding in anguish, the terrors of death press down on me,

5 fear and trembling overwhelm me, horror covers me.

6 I said, 'I wish I had wings like a dove! Then I could fly away and be at rest.

7 Yes, I would flee to a place far off, I would stay in the desert. (Selah)

8 I would quickly find me a shelter from the raging wind and storm.'

9 Confuse, Adonai, confound their speech! For I see violence and fighting in the city.

10 Day and night they go about its walls; within are malice and mischief.

11 Ruin is rife within it, oppression and fraud never leave its streets.

12 For it was not an enemy who insulted me; if it had been, I could have borne it. It was not my adversary who treated me with scorn; if it had been, I could have hidden myself.

13 But it was you, a man of my own kind, my companion, whom I knew well.

14 We used to share our hearts with each other; in the house of God we walked with the crowd.

15 May he put death on them; let them go down alive to Sh'ol; for evil is in their homes and also in their hearts.

16 But I will call on God, and ADONAI will save me.

17 Evening, morning and noon I complain and moan; but he hears my voice.

18 He redeems me and gives me peace, so that no one can come near me. For there were many who fought me.

19 God will hear and will humble them, yes, he who has sat on his throne from the start. (Selah) For they never change, and they don't fear God.

20 [My companion] attacked those who were at peace with him; he broke his solemn word.

21 What he said sounded smoother than butter, but his heart was at war. His words seemed more soothing than oil, but in fact they were sharp swords.

22 Unload your burden on ADONAI, and he will sustain you. He will never permit the righteous to be moved.

23 But you will bring them down, God, into the deepest pit. Those men, so bloodthirsty and treacherous, will not live out half their days. But for my part, [ADONAI,] I put my trust in you.

56

1 For the leader. Set to 'The Silent Dove in the Distance.' By David; a mikhtam, when the P'lishtim captured him in Gat: Show me favor, God; for people are trampling me down -all day they fight and press on me.

2 Those who are lying in wait for me would trample on me all day. For those fighting against me are many. Most High,

3 when I am afraid, I put my trust in you.

4 In God - I praise his word -in God I trust; I have no fear; what can human power do to me?

5 All day long they twist my words; their only thought is to harm me.

6 They gather together and hide themselves, spying on my movements, hoping to kill me.

7 Because of their crime, they cannot escape; in anger, God, strike down the peoples.

8 You have kept count of my wanderings; store my tears in your water-skin -aren't they already recorded in your book?

9 Then my enemies will turn back on the day when I call; this I know: that God is for me.

10 In God - I praise his word -in ADONAI - I praise his word -

11 in God I trust; I have no fear; what can mere humans do to me?

12 God, I have made vows to you; I will fulfill them with thank offerings to you.

13 For you rescued me from death, you kept my feet from stumbling, so that I can walk in God's presence, in the light of life.

57

1 For the leader. Set to 'Do Not Destroy.' By David, a mikhtam, when he fled from Sha'ul into the cave: Show me favor, God, show me favor; for in you I have taken refuge. Yes, I will find refuge in the shadow of your wings until the storms have passed.

2 I call to God, the Most High, to God, who is accomplishing his purpose for me.

3 He will send from heaven and save me when those who would trample me down mock me. (Selah) God will send his grace and his truth.

4 I am surrounded by lions, I am lying down among people breathing fire, men whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongues sharp-edged swords.

5 Be exalted, God, above heaven! May your glory be over all the earth!

6 They prepared a snare for my feet, but I am bending over [to avoid it]. They dug a pit ahead of me, but they fell into it themselves. (Selah)

7 My heart is steadfast, God, steadfast. I will sing and make music.

8 Awake, my glory! Awake, lyre and lute! I will awaken the dawn.

9 I will thank you, Adonai, among the peoples; I will make music to you among the nations.

10 For your grace is great, all the way to heaven, and your truth, all the way to the skies.

11 Be exalted, God, above heaven! May your glory be over all the earth!

58

1 For the leader. Set to 'Do Not Destroy.' By David, a mikhtam: [Rulers,] does your silence really speak justice? Are you judging people fairly?

2 [No!] In your hearts you devise wrongs, your hands dispense violence in the land.

3 From the womb, the wicked are estranged, liars on the wrong path since birth.

4 Their venom is like snake's venom; they are like a serpent that stops its ears,

5 so as not to hear the voice of the charmer, no matter how well he plays.

6 God, break their teeth in their mouth! Shatter the fangs of these lions, ADONAI!

7 May they vanish like water that drains away. May their arrows be blunted when they aim their bows.

8 May they be like a slug that melts as it moves, like a stillborn baby that never sees the sun.

9 Before your cook-pots feel the heat of the burning thorns, may he blow them away, green and blazing alike.

10 The righteous will rejoice to see vengeance done, they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked;

11 and people will say, 'Yes, the righteous are rewarded; there is, after all, a God who judges the earth.'

59

1 For the leader. Set to 'Do Not Destroy.' By David; a mikhtam, when Sha'ul sent men to keep watch on David's house in order to kill him: My God, rescue me from my enemies! Lift me up, out of reach of my foes!

2 Rescue me from evildoers, save me from bloodthirsty men.

3 For there they are, lying in wait to kill me. Openly they gather themselves against me, and not because I committed a crime or sinned, ADONAI.

4 For no fault of mine, they run and prepare. Awaken to help me, and see!

5 You, ADONAI Elohei-Tzva'ot, God of Isra'el, arouse yourself to punish all the nations; spare none of those wicked traitors. (Selah)

6 They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs as they go around the city.

7 Look what pours out of their mouth, what swords are on their lips, [as they say to themselves,] 'No one is listening, anyway.'

8 But you, ADONAI, laugh at them, you mock all the nations.

9 My Strength, I will watch for you, for God is my fortress.

10 God, who gives me grace, will come to me; God will let me gaze in triumph at my foes.

11 Don't kill them, or my people will forget; instead, by your power, make them wander to and fro; but bring them down, Adonai our Shield,

12 for the sins their mouths make with each word from their lips. Let them be trapped by their pride for the curses and falsehoods they utter.

13 Finish them off in wrath, finish them off, put an end to them, and let them know to the ends of the earth that God is Ruler in Ya'akov. (Selah)

14 They return at nightfall, snarling like dogs as they go around the city.

15 They roam about, looking for food, prowling all night if they don't get their fill.

16 But as for me, I will sing of your strength; in the morning I will sing aloud of your grace. For you are my fortress, a refuge when I am in trouble.

17 My Strength, I will sing praises to you, for God is my fortress, God, who gives me grace.

60

1 For the leader. Set to 'Lily of Testimony.'A mikhtam of David for teaching about when he fought with Aram-Naharayim and with Aram-Tzovah, and Yo'av returned and killed 12,000 from Edom in the Salt Valley: God, you rejected us; you crushed us; you were angry; but now revive us.

2 You made the land shake, split it apart; now repair the rifts, for it is collapsing.

3 You made your people suffer hard times, had us drink a wine that made us stagger.

4 To those who fear you because of the truth you gave a banner to rally around, (Selah)

5 so that those you love could be rescued; so save with your right hand, and answer us!

6 God in his holiness spoke, and I took joy [in his promise]: 'I will divide Sh'khem and determine the shares in the Sukkot Valley.

7 Gil'ad is mine and M'nasheh mine, Efrayim my helmet, Y'hudah my scepter.

8 Mo'av is my washpot; on Edom I throw my shoe; P'leshet, be crushed because of me!'

9 Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

10 God, have you rejected us? You don't go out with our armies, God.

11 Help us against our enemy, for human help is worthless.

12 With God's help we will fight valiantly, for he will trample our enemies.

61

1 For the leader. With stringed instruments. By David: Hear my cry, God; listen to my prayer.

2 From the end of the earth, with fainting heart, I call out to you. Set me down on a rock far above where I am now.

3 For you have been a refuge for me, a tower of strength in the face of the foe.

4 I will live in your tent forever and find refuge in the shelter of your wings. (Selah)

5 For you, God, have heard my vows; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

6 Prolong the life of the king! May his years go on for many generations.

7 May he be enthroned in God's presence forever! Appoint grace and truth to preserve him!

8 Then I will sing praise to your name forever, as day after day I fulfill my vows.

62

1 For the leader. Set in the style of Y'dutun. A psalm of David: My soul waits in silence for God alone; my salvation comes from him.

2 He alone is my rock and salvation, my stronghold; I won't be greatly moved.

3 How long will you assail a person in order to murder him, all of you, as if he were a sagging wall or a shaky fence?

4 They only want to shake him from his height, they take delight in lying with their mouths they bless, but inwardly they curse. (Selah)

5 My soul, wait in silence for God alone, because my hope comes from him.

6 He alone is my rock and salvation, my stronghold; I won't be moved.

7 My safety and honor rest on God. My strong rock and refuge are in God.

8 Trust in him, people, at all times; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. (Selah)

9 Ordinary folks are merely a breath and important people a sham; if you lay them on a balance-scale, they go up both together are lighter than nothing.

10 Don't put your trust in extortion, don't put false hopes in robbery; even if wealth increases, don't set your heart on it.

11 God has spoken once, I have heard it twice: strength belongs to God.

12 Also to you, Adonai, belongs grace; for you reward all as their deeds deserve.

63

1 A psalm of David, when he was in the desert of Y'hudah: O God, you are my God; I will seek you eagerly. My heart thirsts for you, my body longs for you in a land parched and exhausted, where no water can be found.

2 I used to contemplate you in the sanctuary, seeing your power and glory;

3 for your grace is better than life. My lips will worship you.

4 Yes, I will bless you as long as I live; in your name I will lift up my hands.

5 I am as satisfied as with rich food; my mouth praises you with joy on my lips

6 when I remember you on my bed and meditate on you in the night watches.

7 For you have been my help; in the shadow of your wings I rejoice;

8 my heart clings to you; your right hand supports me.

9 But those who seek to destroy my life -may they go to the lowest parts of the earth.

10 May they be given over to the power of the sword; may they become prey for jackals.

11 But the king will rejoice in God. Everyone who swears by him will exult, for the mouths of liars will be silenced.

64

1 For the leader. A psalm of David: Hear my voice, God, as I plead: preserve my life from fear of the enemy.

2 Hide me from the secret intrigues of the wicked and the open insurrection of evildoers.

3 They sharpen their tongues like a sword; they aim their arrows, poisoned words,

4 in order to shoot from cover at the innocent, shooting suddenly and fearing nothing.

5 They support each other's evil plans; they talk of hiding snares and ask, 'Who would see them?'

6 They search for ways to commit crimes, bringing their diligent search to completion when each of them has thought it through in the depth of his heart.

7 Suddenly God shoots them down with an arrow, leaving them with wounds;

8 their own tongues make them stumble. All who see them shake their heads.

9 Everyone is awestruck they acknowledge that it is God at work, they understand what he has done.

10 The righteous will rejoice in ADONAI; they will take refuge in him; all the upright in heart will exult.

65

1 For the leader. A psalm of David. A song: To you, God, in Tziyon, silence is praise; and vows to you are to be fulfilled.

2 You who listen to prayer, to you all living creatures come.

3 When deeds of wickedness overwhelm me, you will atone for our crimes.

4 How blessed are those you choose and bring near, so that they can remain in your courtyards! We will be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the Holy Place of your temple.

5 It is just that you answer us with awesome deeds, God of our salvation, you in whom all put their trust, to the ends of the earth and on distant seas.

6 By your strength you set up the mountains. You are clothed with power.

7 You still the roaring of the seas, their crashing waves, and the peoples' turmoil.

8 This is why those living at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your signs. The places where the sun rises and sets you cause to sing for joy.

9 You care for the earth and water it, you enrich it greatly; with the river of God, full of water, you provide them grain and prepare the ground.

10 Soaking its furrows and settling its soil, you soften it with showers and bless its growth.

11 You crown the year with your goodness, your tracks overflow with richness.

12 The desert pastures drip water, the hills are wrapped with joy,

13 the meadows are clothed with flocks and the valleys blanketed with grain, so they shout for joy and break into song.

66

1 For the leader. A song. A psalm: 66 1 Shout to God, all the earth!

2 Sing the glory of his name, make his praise glorious.

3 Tell God, 'How awesome are your deeds! At your great power, your enemies cringe.

4 All the earth bows down to you, sings praises to you, sings praises to your name.'(Selah)

5 Come and see what God has done, his awesome dealings with humankind.

6 He turned the sea into dry land. They passed through the river on foot; there we rejoiced in him.

7 With his power he rules forever; his eyes keep watch on the nations. Let no rebel arise to challenge him.

8 Bless our God, you peoples! Let the sound of his praise be heard!

9 He preserves our lives and keeps our feet from stumbling. (Selah)

10 For you, God, have tested us, refined us as silver is refined.

11 You brought us into the net and bound our bodies fast.

12 You made men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water. But you brought us out to a place of plenty.

13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings, I will fulfill my vows to you,

14 those my lips pronounced and my mouth spoke when I was in distress.

15 I will offer you burnt offerings of fattened animals, along with the sweet smoke of rams; I will offer bulls and goats. (Selah)

16 Come and listen, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me.

17 I cried out to him with my mouth, his praise was on my tongue.

18 Had I cherished evil thoughts, Adonai would not have listened.

19 But in fact, God did listen; he paid attention to my prayer.

20 Blessed be God, who did not reject my prayer or turn his grace away from me.

67

1 For the leader. With stringed instruments. A psalm. A song: God, be gracious to us, and bless us. May he make his face shine toward us, (Selah)

2 so that your way may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations.

3 Let the peoples give thanks to you, God; let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.

4 Let the nations be glad and shout for joy, for you will judge the peoples fairly and guide the nations on earth. (Selah)

5 Let the peoples give thanks to you, God; let the peoples give thanks to you, all of them.

6 The earth has yielded its harvest; may God, our God, bless us.

7 May God continue to bless us, so that all the ends of the earth will fear him.

68

1 For the leader. A psalm of David. A song: Let God arise, let his enemies be scattered; let those who hate him flee from his presence.

2 Drive them away as smoke is driven away; like wax melting in the presence of a fire, let the wicked perish in the presence of God.

3 But let the righteous rejoice and be glad in God's presence; yes, let them exult and rejoice.

4 Sing to God, sing praises to his name; extol him who rides on the clouds by his name, Yah; and be glad in his presence.

5 God in his holy dwelling, is a father to orphans and defender of widows.

6 God gives homes to those who are alone and leads prisoners out into prosperity. But rebels must live in a parched wasteland.

7 God, when you went out at the head of your people, when you marched out through the wilderness, (Selah)

8 the earth quaked, and rain poured from the sky, at the presence of God. Even Sinai [shook] at the presence of God, the God of Isra'el.

9 You rained down showers in plenty, God; when your heritage was weary, you restored it.

10 Your flock settled in it; in your goodness, God, you provided for the poor.

11 Adonai gives the command; the women with the good news are a mighty army.

12 Kings and their armies are fleeing, fleeing, while the women at home divide the spoil.

13 Even if you lie among the animal stalls, there are wings of a dove covered with silver and its plumes with green gold.

14 When Shaddai scatters kings there, snow falls on Tzalmon.

15 You mighty mountain, Mount Bashan! You rugged mountain, Mount Bashan!

16 You rugged mountain, why look with envy at the mountain God wants for his place to live? Truly, ADONAI will live there forever.

17 God's chariots are myriads, repeated thousands; Adonai is among them as in Sinai, in holiness.

18 After you went up into the heights, you led captivity captive, you took gifts among mankind, yes, even among the rebels, so that Yah, God, might live there.

19 Blessed be Adonai! Every day he bears our burden, does God, our salvation. (Selah)

20 Our God is a God who saves; from ADONAI Adonai comes escape from death.

21 God will surely crush the heads of his enemies, the hairy crowns of those who continue in their guilt.

22 Adonai said, 'I will bring them back from Bashan, I will fetch [those rebels] even from the depths of the sea;

23 so that you can wash your feet in their blood, and your dogs' tongues too can get their share from your foes.

24 They see your processions, God, the processions of my God, my king, in holiness.

25 The singers are in front, the musicians last, in the middle are girls playing tambourines.

26 'In choruses, bless God, Adonai, you whose source is Isra'el.'

27 There is Binyamin, the youngest, at the head; the princes of Y'hudah, crowding along; the princes of Z'vulun; the princes of Naftali.

28 God, summon your strength! Use your strength, God, as you did for us before,

29 from your temple in Yerushalayim, where kings will bring tribute to you.

30 Rebuke the wild beast of the reeds, that herd of bulls with their calves, the peoples, who ingratiate themselves with bars of silver; let him scatter the peoples who take pleasure in fighting.

31 Let envoys come from Egypt, Let Ethiopia stretch out its hands to God.

32 Sing to God, kingdoms of the earth! Sing praises to Adonai, (Selah)

33 to him who rides on the most ancient heavens. Listen, as he utters his voice, a mighty voice!

34 Acknowledge that strength belongs to God, with his majesty over Isra'el and his strength in the skies.

35 How awe-inspiring you are, God, from your holy places, the God of Isra'el, who gives strength and power to the people. Blessed be God!

69

1 For the leader. Set to 'Lilies.' By David: Save me, God! For the water threatens my life.

2 I am sinking down in the mud, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep water; the flood is sweeping over me.

3 I am exhausted from crying, my throat is dry and sore, my eyes are worn out with looking for my God.

4 Those who hate me for no reason outnumber the hairs on my head. My persecutors are powerful, my enemies accuse me falsely. Am I expected to return things I didn't steal?

5 God, you know how foolish I am; my guilt is not hidden from you.

6 Let those who put their hope in you, Adonai ELOHIM-Tzva'ot, not be put to shame through me; let those who are seeking you, God of Isra'el, not be disgraced through me.

7 For your sake I suffer insults, shame covers my face.

8 I am estranged from my brothers, an alien to my mother's children,

9 because zeal for your house is eating me up, and on me are falling the insults of those insulting you.

10 I weep bitterly, and I fast, but that too occasions insults.

11 I clothe myself with sackcloth and become an object of scorn, 856

12 the gossip of those sitting by the town gate, the theme of drunkards' songs.

13 As for me, ADONAI, let my prayer to you come at an acceptable time; In your great grace, God, answer me with the truth of your salvation.

14 Rescue me from the mud! Don't let me sink! Let me be rescued from those who hate me and from the deep water.

15 Don't let the floodwaters overwhelm me, don't let the deep swallow me up, don't let the pit close its mouth over me.

16 Answer me, ADONAI, for your grace is good; in your great mercy, turn to me.

17 Don't hide your face from your servant, for I am in trouble; answer me quickly.

18 Come near to me, and redeem me; ransom me because of my enemies.

19 You know how I am insulted, shamed and disgraced; before you stand all my foes.

20 Insults have broken my heart to the point that I could die. I hoped that someone would show compassion, but nobody did; and that there would be comforters, but I found none.

21 They put poison in my food; in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.

22 Let their dining table before them become a snare; when they are at peace, let it become a trap;

23 let their eyes be darkened, so that they can't see, and let their bodies always be stumbling.

24 Pour out your fury on them, let your fierce anger overtake them.

25 Let the place where they live be desolate, with no one to live in their tents,

26 for persecuting someone you had already stricken, for adding to the pain of those you wounded.

27 Add guilt to their guilt, don't let them enter your righteousness.

28 Erase them from the book of life, let them not be written with the righteous.

29 Meanwhile, I am afflicted and hurting; God, let your saving power raise me up.

30 I will praise God's name with a song and extol him with thanksgiving.

31 This will please ADONAI more than a bull, with its horns and hoofs.

32 The afflicted will see it and rejoice; you seeking after God, let your heart revive.

33 For ADONAI pays attention to the needy and doesn't scorn his captive people.

34 Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and whatever moves in them.

35 For God will save Tziyon, he will build the cities of Y'hudah. [His people] will settle there and possess it.

36 The descendants of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will live there.

70

1 For the leader. By David. As a reminder: God, rescue me! ADONAI, hurry and help me!

2 May those who seek my life be disgraced and humiliated. May those who take pleasure in doing me harm be turned back and put to confusion.

3 May those who jeer, 'Aha! Aha!'withdraw because of their shame.

4 But may all those who seek you be glad and take joy in you. May those who love your salvation say always, 'God is great and glorious!'

5 But I am poor and needy; God, hurry for me. You are my helper and rescuer; ADONAI, don't delay!

71

1 In you, ADONAI, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame.

2 In your righteousness, rescue me; and help me to escape. Turn your ear toward me, and deliver me.

3 Be for me a sheltering rock, where I can always come. You have determined to save me, because you are my bedrock and stronghold.

4 My God, help me escape from the power of the wicked, from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless.

5 For you are my hope, Adonai ELOHIM, in whom I have trusted since I was young.

6 From birth I have relied on you; it was you who took me from my mother's womb.

7 To many, I am an amazing example; but you are strong protection for me.

8 My mouth is full of praise for you, filled with your glory all day long.

9 Don't reject me when I grow old; when my strength fails, don't abandon me.

10 For my enemies are talking about me, those seeking my life are plotting together.

11 They say, 'God has abandoned him; go after him, and seize him, because no one will save him.'

12 God, don't distance yourself from me! My God, hurry to help me!

13 May those who are opposed to me be put to shame and ruin; may those who seek to harm me be covered with scorn and disgrace.

14 But I, I will always hope and keep adding to your praise.

15 All day long my mouth will tell of your righteous deeds and acts of salvation, though their number is past my knowing.

16 I will come in the power of Adonai ELOHIM and recall your righteousness, yours alone.

17 God, you have taught me since I was young, and I still proclaim your wonderful works.

18 So now that I'm old, and my hair is gray, don't abandon me, God, till I have proclaimed your strength to the next generation, your power to all who will come,

19 your righteousness too, God, which reaches to the heights. God, you have done great things; who is there like you?

20 You have made me see much trouble and hardship, but you will revive me again and bring me up from the depths of the earth.

21 You will increase my honor; turn and comfort me.

22 As for me, I will praise you with a lyre for your faithfulness, my God. I will sing praises to you with a lute, Holy One of Isra'el.

23 My lips will shout for joy; I will sing your praise, because you have redeemed me.

24 All day long my tongue will speak of your righteousness. For those who are seeking to harm me will be put to shame and disgraced.

72

1 By Shlomo: God, give the king your fairness in judgment, endow this son of kings with your righteousness,

2 so that he can govern your people rightly and your poor with justice.

3 May mountains and hills provide your people with peace through righteousness.

4 May he defend the oppressed among the people, save the needy and crush the oppressor.

5 May they fear you as long as the sun endures and as long as the moon, through all generations.

6 May he be like rain falling on mown grass, like showers watering the land.

7 In his days, let the righteous flourish and peace abound, till the moon is no more.

8 May his empire stretch from sea to sea, from the [Euphrates] River to the ends of the earth.

9 May desert-dwellers bow before him; may his enemies lick the dust.

10 The kings of Tarshish and the coasts will pay him tribute; the kings of Sh'va and S'va will offer gifts.

11 Yes, all kings will prostrate themselves before him; all nations will serve him.

12 For he will rescue the needy when they cry, the poor too and those with none to help them.

13 He will have pity on the poor and needy; and the lives of the needy he will save.

14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence; their blood will be precious in his view.

15 May [the king] live long! May they give him gold from the land of Sh'va! May they pray for him continually; yes, bless him all day long.

16 May there be an abundance of grain in the land, all the way to the tops of the mountains. May its crops rustle like the L'vanon. May people blossom in the city like the grasses in the fields.

17 May his name endure forever, his name, Yinnon, as long as the sun. May people bless themselves in him, may all nations call him happy.

18 Blessed be ADONAI, God, the God of Isra'el, who alone works wonders.

19 Blessed be his glorious name forever, and may the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen. Amen.

20 This completes the prayers of David the son of Yishai.

73

1 A psalm of Asaf: How good God is to Isra'el, to those who are pure in heart!

2 But as for me, I lost my balance, my feet nearly slipped,

3 when I grew envious of the arrogant and saw how the wicked prosper.

4 For when their death comes, it is painless; and meanwhile, their bodies are healthy;

5 they don't have ordinary people's troubles, they aren't plagued like others.

6 So for them, pride is a necklace; and violence clothes them like a robe.

7 Their eyes peep out through folds of fat; evil thoughts overflow from their hearts.

8 They scoff and speak with malice, they loftily utter threats.

9 They set their mouths against heaven; their tongues swagger through the earth.

10 Therefore his people return here and [thoughtlessly] suck up that whole cup of water.

11 Then they ask, 'How does God know? Does the Most High really have knowledge?'

12 Yes, this is what the wicked are like; those free of misfortune keep increasing their wealth.

13 It's all for nothing that I've kept my heart clean and washed my hands, staying free of guilt;

14 for all day long I am plagued; my punishment comes every morning.

15 If I had said, 'I will talk like them,'I would have betrayed a generation of your children.

16 When I tried to understand all this, I found it too hard for me -

17 until I went into the sanctuaries of God and grasped what their destiny would be.

18 Indeed, you place them on a slippery slope and make them fall to their ruin.

19 How suddenly they are destroyed, swept away by terrors!

20 They are like a dream when one awakens; Adonai, when you rouse yourself, you will despise their phantoms.

21 When I had a sour attitude and felt stung by pained emotions,

22 I was too stupid to understand; I was like a brute beast with you.

23 Nevertheless, I am always with you; you hold my right hand.

24 You will guide me with your advice; and afterwards, you will receive me with honor.

25 Whom do I have in heaven but you? And with you, I lack nothing on earth.

26 My mind and body may fail; but God is the rock for my mind and my portion forever.

27 Those who are far from you will perish; you destroy all who adulterously leave you.

28 But for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made Adonai ELOHIM my refuge, so that I can tell of all your works.

74

1 A maskil of Asaf: Why have you rejected us forever, God, with your anger smoking against the sheep you once pastured?

2 Remember your community, which you acquired long ago, the tribe you redeemed to be your very own. Remember Mount Tziyon, where you came to live.

3 Hurry your steps to these endless ruins, to the sanctuary devastated by the enemy.

4 The roar of your foes filled your meeting-place; they raised their own banners as a sign of their conquest.

5 The place seemed like a thicket of trees when lumbermen hack away with their axes.

6 With hatchet and hammer they banged away, smashing all the carved woodwork.

7 They set your sanctuary on fire, tore down and profaned the abode of your name.

8 They said to themselves, 'We will oppress them completely.'They have burned down all God's meeting-places in the land.

9 We see no signs, there is no prophet any more; none of us knows how long it will last.

10 How much longer, God, will the foe jeer at us? Will the enemy insult your name forever?

11 Why do you hold back your hand? Draw your right hand from your coat, and finish them off!

12 God has been my king from earliest times, acting to save throughout all the earth.

13 By your strength you split the sea in two, in the water you smashed sea monsters' heads,

14 you crushed the heads of Livyatan and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.

15 You cut channels for springs and streams, you dried up rivers that had never failed.

16 The day is yours, and the night is yours; it was you who established light and sun.

17 It was you who fixed all the limits of the earth, you made summer and winter.

18 Remember how the enemy scoffs at ADONAI, how a brutish people insults your name.

19 Don't hand over the soul of your dove to wild beasts, don't forget forever the life of your poor.

20 Look to the covenant, for the land's dark places are full of the haunts of violence.

21 Don't let the oppressed retreat in confusion; let the poor and needy praise your name.

22 Arise, God, and defend your cause; remember how brutish men insult you all day.

23 Don't forget what your foes are saying, the ever-rising uproar of your adversaries.

75

1 For the leader. Set to 'Do Not Destroy!'A psalm of Asaf. A song: We give thanks to you, God, we give thanks; your name is near, people tell of your wonders.

2 'At the time of my own choice, I will dispense justice fairly.

3 When the earth quakes, with all living on it, it is I who hold its support-pillars firm.'(Selah)

4 To the boastful I say, 'Do not boast!'and to the wicked, 'Don't flaunt your strength!

5 Don't flaunt your strength so proudly; don't speak arrogantly, with your nose in the air!

6 For you will not be raised to power by those in the east, the west or the desert;

7 since God is the judge; and it is he who puts down one and lifts up another.

8 In ADONAI's hand there is a cup of wine, foaming, richly spiced; when he pours it out, all the wicked of the earth will drain it, drinking it to the dregs.'

9 But I will always speak out, singing praises to the God of Ya'akov.

10 I will break down the strength of the wicked, but the strength of the righteous will be raised up.

76

1 For the leader. With string music. A psalm of Asaf. A song: In Y'hudah God is known; his name is great in Isra'el.

2 His tent is in Shalem, his place is in Tziyon.

3 There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. (Selah)

4 You are glorious, majestic, more so than mountains of prey.

5 The bravest have been stripped of their spoil and now are sleeping their final sleep; not one of these courageous men finds strength to raise his hands.

6 At your rebuke, God of Ya'akov, riders and horses lie stunned.

7 You are fearsome! When once you are angry, who can stand in your presence?

8 You pronounce sentence from heaven; the earth grows silent with fear

9 when God arises to judge, to save all the humble of the earth. (Selah)

10 Human wrath serves only to praise you; what remains of this wrath you wear as an ornament.

11 Make vows to ADONAI your God, and keep them; all who are around him must bring presents to the one who should be feared.

12 He curbs the spirit of princes; he is fearsome to the kings of the earth.

77

1 For the leader. For Y'dutun. A psalm of Asaf: I cry aloud to God, aloud to God; and he hears me.

2 On the day of my distress I am seeking Adonai; my hands are lifted up; my tears flow all night without ceasing; my heart refuses comfort.

3 When remembering God, I moan; when I ponder, my spirit fails. (Selah)

4 You hold my eyelids [and keep me from sleeping]; I am too troubled to speak.

5 I think about the days of old, the years of long ago;

6 in the night I remember my song, I commune with myself, my spirit inquires:

7 'Will Adonai reject forever? will he never show his favor again?

8 Has his grace permanently disappeared? Is his word to all generations done away?

9 Has God forgotten to be compassionate? Has he in anger withheld his mercy?' (Selah)

10 Then I add, 'That's my weakness [supposing] the Most High's right hand could change.'

11 So I will remind myself of Yah's doings; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

12 I will meditate on your work and think about what you have done.

13 God, your way is in holiness. What god is as great as God?

14 You are the God who does wonders, you revealed your strength to the peoples.

15 With your arm you redeemed your people, the descendants of Ya'akov and Yosef. (Selah)

16 The water saw you, God; the water saw you and writhed in anguish, agitated to its depths.

17 The clouds poured water, the skies thundered, and your arrows flashed here and there.

18 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind, the lightning flashes lit up the world, the earth trembled and shook.

19 Your way went through the sea, your path through the turbulent waters; but your footsteps could not be traced.

20 You led your people like a flock under the care of Moshe and Aharon.

78

1 A maskil of Asaf: Listen, my people, to my teaching; turn your ears to the words from my mouth.

2 I will speak to you in parables and explain mysteries from days of old.

3 The things which we have heard and known, and which our fathers told us

4 we will not hide from their descendants; we will tell the generation to come the praises of ADONAI and his strength, the wonders that he has performed.

5 He raised up a testimony in Ya'akov and established a Torah in Isra'el. He commanded our ancestors to make this known to their children,

6 so that the next generation would know it, the children not yet born, who would themselves arise and tell their own children,

7 who could then put their confidence in God, not forgetting God's deeds, but obeying his mitzvot.

8 Then they would not be like their ancestors, a stubborn, rebellious generation, a generation with unprepared hearts, with spirits unfaithful to God.

9 The people of Efrayim, though armed with bows and arrows, turned their backs on the day of battle.

10 They did not keep the covenant of God and refused to live by his Torah.

11 They forgot what he had done, his wonders which he had shown them.

12 He had done wonderful things in the presence of their ancestors in the land of Egypt, in the region of Tzo'an.

13 He split the sea and made them pass through, he made the waters stand up like a wall.

14 He also led them by day with a cloud and all night long with light from a fire.

15 He broke apart the rocks in the desert and let them drink as if from boundless depths;

16 yes, he brought streams out of the rock, making the water flow down like rivers.

17 Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High;

18 in their hearts they tested God by demanding food that would satisfy their cravings.

19 Yes, they spoke against God by asking, 'Can God spread a table in the desert?

20 True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out, until the vadis overflowed; but what about bread? Can he give that? Can he provide meat for his people?'

21 Therefore, when ADONAI heard, he was angry; fire blazed up against Ya'akov; his anger mounted against Isra'el;

22 because they had no faith in God, no trust in his power to save.

23 So he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven.

24 He rained down man on them as food; he gave them grain from heaven -

25 mortals ate the bread of angels; he provided for them to the full.

26 He stirred up the east wind in heaven, brought on the south wind by his power,

27 and rained down meat on them like dust, birds flying thick as the sand on the seashore.

28 He let them fall in the middle of their camp, all around their tents.

29 So they ate till they were satisfied; he gave them what they craved.

30 They were still fulfilling their craving, the food was still in their mouths,

31 when the anger of God rose up against them and slaughtered their strongest men, laying low the young men of Isra'el.

32 Still, they kept on sinning and put no faith in his wonders.

33 Therefore, he ended their days in futility and their years in terror.

34 When he brought death among them, they would seek him; they would repent and seek God eagerly,

35 remembering that God was their Rock, El 'Elyon their Redeemer.

36 But they tried to deceive him with their words, they lied to him with their tongues;

37 for their hearts were not right with him, and they were unfaithful to his covenant.

38 Yet he, because he is full of compassion, forgave their sin and did not destroy; many times he turned away his anger and didn't rouse all his wrath.

39 So he remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that blows past and does not return.

40 How often they rebelled against him in the desert and grieved him in the wastelands!

41 Repeatedly they challenged God and pained the Holy One of Isra'el.

42 They didn't remember how he used his hand on the day he redeemed them from their enemy,

43 how he displayed his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Tzo'an.

44 He turned their rivers into blood, so they couldn't drink from their streams.

45 He sent swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them.

46 He gave their harvest to shearer-worms, the fruit of their labor to locusts.

47 He destroyed their vineyards with hail and their sycamore-figs with frost.

48 Their cattle too he gave over to the hail and their flocks to lightning bolts.

49 He sent over them his fierce anger, fury, indignation and trouble, with a company of destroying angels

50 to clear a path for his wrath. He did not spare them from death, but gave them over to the plague,

51 striking all the firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.

52 But his own people he led out like sheep, guiding them like a flock in the desert.

53 He led them safely, and they weren't afraid, even when the sea overwhelmed their foes.

54 He brought them to his holy land, to the hill-country won by his right hand.

55 He expelled nations before them, apportioned them property to inherit and made Isra'el's tribes live in their tents.

56 Yet they tested El 'Elyon and rebelled against him, refusing to obey his instructions.

57 They turned away and were faithless, like their fathers; they were unreliable, like a bow without tension.

58 They provoked him with their high places and made him jealous with their idols.

59 God heard, and he was angry; he came to detest Isra'el completely.

60 He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh, the tent he had made where he could live among people.

61 He gave his strength into exile, his pride to the power of the foe.

62 He gave his people over to the sword and grew angry with his own heritage.

63 Fire consumed their young men, their virgins had no wedding-song,

64 their cohanim fell by the sword, and their widows could not weep.

65 Then Adonai awoke, as if from sleep, like a warrior shouting for joy from wine.

66 He struck his foes, driving them back and putting them to perpetual shame.

67 Rejecting the tents of Yosef and passing over the tribe of Efrayim,

68 he chose the tribe of Y'hudah, Mount Tziyon, which he loved.

69 He built his sanctuary like the heights; like the earth, he made it to last forever.

70 He chose David to be his servant, taking him from the sheep-yards;

71 from tending nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Ya'akov his people, Isra'el his heritage.

72 With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with skillful hands.

79

1 A psalm of Asaf: God, the pagans have entered your heritage. They have defiled your holy temple and turned Yerushalayim into rubble.

2 They have given the corpses of your servants as food for the birds in the air, yes, the flesh of those faithful to you for the wild animals of the earth.

3 All around Yerushalayim they have shed their blood like water, and no one is left to bury them.

4 We suffer the taunts of our neighbors, we are mocked and scorned by those around us.

5 How long, ADONAI? Will you be angry forever? How long will your jealousy burn like fire?

6 Pour out your wrath on the nations that don't know you, on the kingdoms that don't call out your name;

7 for they have devoured Ya'akov and left his home a waste.

8 Don't count past iniquities against us, but let your compassion come quickly to meet us, for we have been brought very low.

9 Help us, God of our salvation, for the sake of the glory of your name. Deliver us, forgive our sins, for your name's sake.

10 Why should the nations ask, 'Where is their God?' Let the vengeance taken on your servants' shed blood be known among the nations before our eyes.

11 Let the groaning of the captives come before you; by your great strength save those condemned to death.

12 Repay our neighbors sevenfold where they can feel it for the insults they inflicted on you, Adonai.

13 Then we, your people and the flock in your pasture, will give you thanks forever. From generation to generation we will proclaim your praise.

80

1 For the leader. Set to 'Lilies.'A testimony. A psalm of Asaf: Shepherd of Isra'el, listen! You who lead Yosef like a flock, you whose throne is on the k'ruvim, shine out!

2 Before Efrayim, Binyamin and M'nasheh, rouse your power; and come to save us.

3 God, restore us! Make your face shine, and we will be saved.

4 ADONAI, God of armies, how long will you be angry with your people's prayers?

5 You have fed them tears as their bread and made them drink tears in abundance.

6 You make our neighbors fight over us, and our enemies mock us.

7 God of armies, restore us! Make your face shine, and we will be saved.

8 You brought a vine out of Egypt, you expelled the nations and planted it,

9 you cleared a space for it; then it took root firmly and filled the land.

10 The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches;

11 It put out branches as far as the sea and shoots to the [Euphrates] River.

12 Why did you break down [the vineyard's] wall, so that all passing by can pluck [its fruit]?

13 The boar from the forest tears it apart; wild creatures from the fields feed on it.

14 God of armies, please come back! Look from heaven, see, and tend this vine!

15 Protect what your right hand planted, the son you made strong for yourself.

16 It is burned by fire, it is cut down; they perish at your frown of rebuke.

17 Help the man at your right hand, the son of man you made strong for yourself.

18 Then we won't turn away from you if you revive us, we will call on your name.

19 ADONAI, God of armies, restore us! Make your face shine, and we will be saved.

81

1 For the Leader. On the gittit. By Asaf: Sing for joy to God our strength! Shout to the God of Ya'akov!

2 Start the music! Beat the drum! Play the sweet lyre and the lute!

3 Sound the shofar at Rosh-Hodesh and at full moon for the pilgrim feast,

4 because this is a law for Isra'el, a ruling of the God of Ya'akov.

5 He placed it as a testimony in Y'hosef when he went out against the land of Egypt. I heard an unfamiliar voice say,

6 'I lifted the load from his shoulder; his hands were freed from the [laborer's] basket.

7 You called out when you were in trouble, and I rescued you; I answered you from the thundercloud; I tested you at the M'rivah Spring [by saying,] (Selah)

8 ''Hear, my people, while I give you warning! Isra'el, if you would only listen to me!

9 There is not to be with you any foreign god; you are not to worship an alien god.

10 I am ADONAI your God, who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth, and I will fill it.'

11 'But my people did not listen to my voice; Isra'el would have none of me.

12 So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to live by their own plans.

13 How I wish my people would listen to me, that Isra'el would live by my ways!

14 I would quickly subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes.

15 Those who hate ADONAI would cringe before him, while [Isra'el's] time would last forever.

16 They would be fed with the finest wheat, and I would satisfy you with honey from the rocks.'

82

1 A psalm of Asaf: Elohim [God] stands in the divine assembly; there with the elohim [judges], he judges:

2 'How long will you go on judging unfairly, favoring the wicked? (Selah)

3 Give justice to the weak and fatherless! Uphold the rights of the wretched and poor!

4 Rescue the destitute and needy; deliver them from the power of the wicked!'

5 They don't know, they don't understand, they wander about in darkness; meanwhile, all the foundations of the earth are being undermined.

6 'My decree is: 'You are elohim [gods, judges], sons of the Most High all of you.

7 Nevertheless, you will die like mortals; like any prince, you will fall.''

8 Rise up, Elohim, and judge the earth; for all the nations are yours.

83

1 A song. A psalm of Asaf: God, don't remain silent! Don't stay quiet, God, or still;

2 because here are your enemies, causing an uproar; those who hate you are raising their heads,

3 craftily conspiring against your people, consulting together against those you treasure.

4 They say, 'Come, let's wipe them out as a nation; let the name of Isra'el be remembered no more!'

5 With one mind they plot their schemes; the covenant they have made is against you

6 the tents of Edom and the Yishma'elim, Mo'av and the Hagrim,

7 G'val, 'Amon and 'Amalek, P'leshet with those living in Tzor; (Selah)

8 Ashur too is allied with them, to reinforce the descendants of Lot.

9 Do to them as you did to Midyan, to Sisra and Yavin at Vadi Kishon

10 they were destroyed at 'Ein-Dor and became manure for the ground.

11 Make their leaders like 'Orev and Ze'ev, all their princes like Zevach and Tzalmuna,

12 who said, 'Let's take possession of God's meadows for ourselves.'

13 My God, make them like whirling dust, like chaff driven by the wind.

14 Like fire burning up the forest, like a flame that sets the mountains ablaze,

15 drive them away with your storm, terrify them with your tempest.

16 Fill their faces with shame, so that they will seek your name, ADONAI.

17 Let them be ashamed and fearful forever; yes, let them perish in disgrace.

18 Let them know that you alone, whose name is ADONAI, are the Most High over all the earth.

84

1 For the leader. On the gittit. A psalm of the sons of Korach: How deeply loved are your dwelling-places, ADONAI-Tzva'ot!

2 My soul yearns, yes, faints with longing for the courtyards of ADONAI; my heart and body cry for joy to the living God.

3 As the sparrow finds herself a home and the swallow her nest, where she lays her young, [so my resting-place is] by your altars, ADONAI-Tzva'ot, my king and my God.

4 How happy are those who live in your house; they never cease to praise you! (Selah)

5 How happy the man whose strength is in you, in whose heart are [pilgrim] highways.

6 Passing through the [dry] Baka Valley, they make it a place of springs, and the early rain clothes it with blessings.

7 They go from strength to strength and appear before God in Tziyon.

8 ADONAI, God of armies, hear my prayer; listen, God of Ya'akov. (Selah)

9 God, see our shield [the king]; look at the face of your anointed.

10 Better a day in your courtyards than a thousand [days elsewhere]. Better just standing at the door of my God's house than living in the tents of the wicked.

11 For ADONAI, God, is a sun and a shield; ADONAI bestows favor and honor; he will not withhold anything good from those whose lives are pure.

12 ADONAI-Tzva'ot, how happy is anyone who trusts in you!

85

1 For the leader. A psalm of the sons of Korach: ADONAI, you have shown favor to your land; you have restored the fortunes of Ya'akov,

2 taken away the guilt of your people, pardoned all their sin, (Selah)

3 withdrawn all your wrath, turned from your fierce anger.

4 Restore us, God of our salvation, renounce your displeasure with us.

5 Are you to stay angry with us forever? Will your fury last through all generations?

6 Won't you revive us again, so your people can rejoice in you?

7 Show us your grace, ADONAI; grant us your salvation.

8 I am listening. What will God, ADONAI, say? For he will speak peace to his people, to his holy ones -but only if they don't relapse into folly.

9 His salvation is near for those who fear him, so that glory will be in our land.

10 Grace and truth have met together; justice and peace have kissed each other.

11 Truth springs up from the earth, and justice looks down from heaven.

12 ADONAI will also grant prosperity; our land will yield its harvest.

13 Justice will walk before him and make his footsteps a path.

86

1 A prayer of David: Listen, ADONAI, and answer me, for I am poor and needy.

2 Preserve my life, for I am faithful; save your servant, who puts his trust in you because you are my God.

3 Take pity on me, Adonai, for I cry to you all day.

4 Fill your servant's heart with joy, for to you, Adonai, I lift my heart.

5 Adonai, you are kind and forgiving, full of grace toward all who call on you.

6 Listen, ADONAI, to my prayer; pay attention to my pleading cry.

7 On the day of my trouble I am calling on you, for you will answer me.

8 There is none like you among the gods, Adonai; no deeds compare with yours.

9 All the nations you have made will come and bow before you, Adonai; they will honor your name.

10 For you are great, and you do wonders; you alone are God.

11 ADONAI, teach me your way, so that I can live by your truth; make me single-hearted, so that I can fear your name.

12 I will thank you, Adonai my God, with my whole heart; and I will glorify your name forever.

13 For your grace toward me is so great! You have rescued me from the lowest part of Sh'ol.

14 God, arrogant men are rising against me, a gang of brutes is seeking my life, and to you they pay no attention.

15 But you, Adonai, are a merciful, compassionate God, slow to anger and rich in grace and truth.

16 Turn to me, and show me your favor; strengthen your servant, save your slave-girl's son. Give me a sign of your favor, so that those who hate me will see it and be ashamed, because you, ADONAI, have helped and comforted me.

17 - - -

87

1 A psalm of the sons of Korach. A song: On the holy mountains is [the city's] foundation.

2 ADONAI loves the gates of Tziyon more than all the dwellings in Ya'akov.

3 Glorious things are said about you, city of God. (Selah)

4 I count Rahav and Bavel among those who know me; Of P'leshet, Tzor and Ethiopia [they will say], 'This one was born there.'

5 But of Tziyon it will be said, 'This one and that was born in it, for the Most High himself establishes it.'

6 When he registers the peoples, ADONAI will record, 'This one was born there.'(Selah)

7 Singers and dancers alike say, 'For me, you are the source of everything.'

88

1 A song. A psalm of the sons of Korach. For the leader. Set to 'Sickness that Causes Suffering.' A maskil of Heiman the Ezrachi. ADONAI, God of my salvation, when I cry out to you in the night,

2 let my prayer come before you, turn your ear to my cry for help!

3 For I am oversupplied with troubles, which have brought me to the brink of Sh'ol.

4 I am counted among those going down to the pit, like a man who is beyond help,

5 left by myself among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave -you no longer remember them; they are cut off from your care.

6 You plunged me into the bottom of the pit, into dark places, into the depths.

7 Your wrath lies heavily on me; your waves crashing over me keep me down. (Selah)

8 You separated me from my close friends, made me repulsive to them; I am caged in, with no escape;

9 my eyes grow dim from suffering. I call on you, ADONAI, every day; I spread out my hands to you.

10 Will you perform wonders for the dead? Can the ghosts of the dead rise up and praise you? (Selah)

11 Will your grace be declared in the grave, or your faithfulness in Abaddon?

12 Will your wonders be known in the dark, or your righteousness in the land of oblivion?

13 But I cry out to you, ADONAI; my prayer comes before you in the morning.

14 So why, ADONAI, do you reject me? Why do you hide your face from me?

15 Since my youth I have been miserable, close to death; I am numb from bearing these terrors of yours.

16 Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me, your terrors have shriveled me up.

17 They surge around me all day like a flood, from all sides they close in on me.

18 You have made friends and companions shun me; the people I know are hidden from me.

89

1 A maskil of Eitan the Ezrachi: I will sing about ADONAI's acts of grace forever, with my mouth proclaim your faithfulness to all generations;

2 because I said, 'Grace is built to last forever; in the heavens themselves you established your faithfulness.'

3 You said, 'I made a covenant with the one I chose, I swore to my servant David,

4 'I will establish your dynasty forever, build up your throne through all generations.'' (Selah)

5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, ADONAI, your faithfulness in the assembly of the angels.

6 For who in the skies can be compared with ADONAI? Which of these gods can rival ADONAI,

7 a God dreaded in the great assembly of the holy ones and feared by all around him?

8 ADONAI Elohei-Tzva'ot! Who is as mighty as you, Yah? Your faithfulness surrounds you.

9 You control the raging of the sea; when its waves rear up, you calm them.

10 You crushed Rahav like a carcass; with your strong arm you scattered your foes.

11 The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours; you founded the world and everything in it.

12 You created north and south; Tavor and Hermon take joy in your name.

13 Your arm is mighty, your hand is strong, your right hand is lifted high.

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne; grace and truth attend you.

15 How happy are the people who know the joyful shout! They walk in the light of your presence, ADONAI.

16 They rejoice in your name all day and are lifted up by your righteousness,

17 for you yourself are the strength in which they glory. Our power grows by pleasing you,

18 for our shield comes from ADONAI -our king is from the Holy One of Isra'el.

19 There was a time when you spoke in a vision; you declared to your loyal [prophets], 'I have given help to a warrior, I have raised up someone chosen from the people.

20 I have found David my servant and anointed him with my holy oil.

21 My hand will always be with him, and my arm will give him strength.

22 No enemy will outwit him, no wicked man overcome him.

23 I will crush his foes before him and strike down those who hate him.

24 My faithfulness and grace will be with him; through my name his power will grow.

25 I will put his hand on the sea and his right hand on the rivers.

26 He will call to me, 'You are my father, my God, the Rock of my salvation.'

27 I will give him the position of firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth.

28 I will keep my grace for him forever, and in my covenant be faithful with him.

29 I will establish his dynasty forever, and his throne as long as the heavens last.

30 'If his descendants abandon my Torah and fail to live by my rulings,

31 if they profane my regulations and don't obey my mitzvot,

32 I will punish their disobedience with the rod and their guilt with lashes.

33 But I won't withdraw my grace from him or be false to my faithfulness.

34 I will not profane my covenant or change what my lips have spoken.

35 I have sworn by my holiness once and for all; I will not lie to David

36 his dynasty will last forever, his throne like the sun before me.

37 It will be established forever, like the moon, which remains a faithful witness in the sky.' (Selah)

38 But you spurned your anointed one, rejected and vented your rage on him.

39 You renounced the covenant with your servant and defiled his crown in the dust.

40 You broke through all his defenses and left his strongholds in ruins.

41 All who pass by plunder him; he is an object of scorn to his neighbors.

42 You raised up the right hand of his foes and made all his enemies rejoice.

43 You drive back his drawn sword and fail to support him in battle.

44 You brought an end to his splendor and hurled his throne to the ground.

45 You cut short the days of his youth and covered him with shame. (Selah)

46 How long, ADONAI? Will you hide yourself forever? How long will your fury burn like fire?

47 Remember how little time I have! Was it for no purpose that you created all humanity?

48 Who can live and not see death? Who can save himself from the power of the grave? (Selah)

49 Where, Adonai, are the acts of grace you once did, those which, in your faithfulness, you swore to David?

50 Remember, Adonai, the taunts hurled at your servants, which I carry in my heart [from] so many peoples!

51 Your enemies, ADONAI, have flung their taunts, flung them in the footsteps of your anointed one.

52 Blessed be ADONAI forever. Amen. Amen.

90

1 A prayer of Moshe the man of God: Adonai, you have been our dwelling place in every generation.

2 Before the mountains were born, before you had formed the earth and the world, from eternity past to eternity future you are God.

3 You bring frail mortals to the point of being crushed, then say, 'People, repent!'

4 For from your viewpoint a thousand years are merely like yesterday or a night watch.

5 When you sweep them away, they become like sleep; by morning they are like growing grass,

6 growing and flowering in the morning, but by evening cut down and dried up.

7 For we are destroyed by your anger, overwhelmed by your wrath.

8 You have placed our faults before you, our secret sins in the full light of your presence.

9 All our days ebb away under your wrath; our years die away like a sigh.

10 The span of our life is seventy years, or if we are strong, eighty; yet at best it is toil and sorrow, over in a moment, and then we are gone.

11 Who grasps the power of your anger and wrath to the degree that the fear due you should inspire?

12 So teach us to count our days, so that we will become wise.

13 Return, ADONAI! How long must it go on? Take pity on your servants!

14 Fill us at daybreak with your love, so that we can sing for joy as long as we live.

15 Let our joy last as long as the time you made us suffer, for as many years as we experienced trouble.

16 Show your deeds to your servants and your glory to their children.

17 May the favor of Adonai our God be on us, prosper for us all the work that we do -yes, prosper the work that we do.

91

1 You who live in the shelter of 'Elyon, who spend your nights in the shadow of Shaddai,

2 who say to ADONAI, 'My refuge! My fortress! My God, in whom I trust!'

3 he will rescue you from the trap of the hunter and from the plague of calamities;

4 he will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his truth is a shield and protection.

5 You will not fear the terrors of night or the arrow that flies by day,

6 or the plague that roams in the dark, or the scourge that wreaks havoc at noon.

7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand; but it won't come near you.

8 Only keep your eyes open, and you will see how the wicked are punished.

9 For you have made ADONAI, the Most High, who is my refuge, your dwelling-place.

10 No disaster will happen to you, no calamity will come near your tent;

11 for he will order his angels to care for you and guard you wherever you go.

12 They will carry you in their hands, so that you won't trip on a stone.

13 You will tread down lions and snakes, young lions and serpents you will trample underfoot.

14 'Because he loves me, I will rescue him; because he knows my name, I will protect him.

15 He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him when he is in trouble. I will extricate him and bring him honor.

16 I will satisfy him with long life and show him my salvation.'

92

1 A psalm. A song for Shabbat: It is good to give thanks to ADONAI and sing praises to your name, 'Elyon,

2 to tell in the morning about your grace and at night about your faithfulness,

3 to the music of a ten-stringed [harp] and a lute, with the melody sounding on a lyre.

4 For, ADONAI, what you do makes me happy; I take joy in what your hands have made.

5 How great are your deeds, ADONAI! How very deep your thoughts!

6 Stupid people can't know, fools don't understand,

7 that when the wicked sprout like grass, and all who do evil prosper, it is so that they can be eternally destroyed,

8 while you, ADONAI, are exalted forever.

9 For your enemies, ADONAI, your enemies will perish; all evildoers will be scattered.

10 But you have given me the strength of a wild bull; you anoint me with fresh olive oil.

11 My eyes have gazed with pleasure on my enemies' ruin, my ears have delighted in the fall of my foes.

12 The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar in the L'vanon.

13 Planted in the house of ADONAI, they will flourish in the courtyards of our God.

14 Even in old age they will be vigorous, still full of sap, still bearing fruit,

15 proclaiming that ADONAI is upright, my Rock, in whom there is no wrong.

93

1 ADONAI is king, robed in majesty; ADONAI is robed, girded with strength; The world is well established; it cannot be moved.

2 Your throne was established long ago; you have existed forever.

3 ADONAI, the deep is raising up, the deep is raising up its voice, the deep is raising its crashing waves.

4 More than the sound of rushing waters or the mighty breakers of the sea, ADONAI on high is mighty.

5 Your instructions are very sure; holiness befits your house, ADONAI, for all time to come.

94

1 God of vengeance, ADONAI! God of vengeance, appear!

2 Assert yourself as judge of the earth! Pay back the proud as they deserve!

3 How long are the wicked, ADONAI, how long are the wicked to triumph?

4 They pour out insolent words, they go on bragging, all these evildoers.

5 They crush your people, ADONAI, they oppress your heritage.

6 They kill widows and strangers and murder the fatherless.

7 They say, 'Yah isn't looking; the God of Ya'akov won't notice.'

8 Take notice, yourselves, you boors among the people! You fools, when will you understand?

9 Will the one who planted the ear not hear? Will the one who formed the eye not see?

10 Will the one who disciplines nations not correct them? Will the teacher of humanity not know?

11 ADONAI understands that people's thoughts are merely a puff of wind.

12 How happy the man whom you correct, Yah, whom you teach from your Torah,

13 giving him respite from days of trouble, till a pit is dug for the wicked!

14 For ADONAI will not desert his people, he will not abandon his heritage.

15 Justice will once again become righteous, and all the upright in heart will follow it.

16 Who will champion my cause against the wicked? Who will stand up for me against evildoers?

17 If ADONAI hadn't helped me, I would soon have dwelt in the land of silence.

18 When I said, 'My foot is slipping!'your grace, ADONAI, supported me.

19 When my cares within me are many, your comforts cheer me up.

20 Can unjust judges be allied with you, those producing wrong in the name of law?

21 They band together against the righteous and condemn the innocent to death.

22 But ADONAI has become my stronghold, my God is my rock of refuge.

23 But he repays them as their guilt deserves; he will cut them off with their own evil; ADONAI our God will cut them off.

95

1 Come, let's sing to ADONAI! Let's shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation!

2 Let's come into his presence with thanksgiving; let's shout for joy to him with songs of praise.

3 For ADONAI is a great God, a great king greater than all gods.

4 He holds the depths of the earth in his hands; the mountain peaks too belong to him.

5 The sea is his - he made it -and his hands shaped the dry land.

6 Come, let's bow down and worship; let's kneel before ADONAI who made us.

7 For he is our God, and we are the people in his pasture, the sheep in his care. If only today you would listen to his voice:

8 'Don't harden your hearts, as you did at M'rivah, as you did on that day at Massah in the desert,

9 when your fathers put me to the test; they challenged me, even though they saw my work.

10 For forty years I loathed that generation; I said, 'This is a people whose hearts go astray, they don't understand how I do things.'

11 Therefore I swore in my anger that they would not enter my rest.'

96

1 Sing to ADONAI a new song! Sing to ADONAI, all the earth!

2 Sing to ADONAI, bless his name! Proclaim his victory day after day!

3 Declare his glory among the nations, his wonders among all peoples!

4 For ADONAI is great, and greatly to be praised; he is to be feared more than all gods.

5 For all the gods of the peoples are idols, but ADONAI made the heavens.

6 In his presence are honor and majesty; in his sanctuary, strength and splendor.

7 Give ADONAI his due, you families from the peoples; give ADONAI his due of glory and strength;

8 give ADONAI the glory due to his name; bring an offering, and enter his courtyards.

9 Worship ADONAI in holy splendor; tremble before him, all the earth!

10 Say among the nations, 'ADONAI is king!'The world is firmly established, immovable. He will judge the peoples fairly.

11 Let the heavens rejoice; let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and everything in it;

12 let the fields exult and all that is in them. Then all the trees in the forest will sing

13 before ADONAI, because he has come, he has come to judge the earth; he will judge the world rightly and the peoples with his faithfulness.

97

1 ADONAI is king, let the earth rejoice, let the many coasts and islands be glad.

2 Clouds and thick darkness surround him; righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

3 Fire goes before him, setting ablaze his foes on every side.

4 His flashes of lightning light up the world; the earth sees it and trembles.

5 The mountains melt like wax at the presence of ADONAI, at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.

6 The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the peoples see his glory.

7 All who worship images will be put to shame, those who make their boast in worthless idols. Bow down to him, all you gods!

8 Tziyon hears and is glad, ADONAI; the daughters of Y'hudah rejoice at your rulings.

9 For you, ADONAI, most high over all the earth, you are exalted far above all gods.

10 You who love ADONAI, hate evil! He keeps his faithful servants safe. He rescues them from the power of the wicked.

11 Light is sown for the righteous and joy for the upright in heart.

12 Rejoice in ADONAI, you righteous; and give thanks on recalling his holiness.

98

1 A psalm: Sing a new song to ADONAI, because he has done wonders. His right hand, his holy arm have won him victory.

2 ADONAI has made known his victory; revealed his vindication in full view of the nations,

3 remembered his grace and faithfulness to the house of Isra'el. All the ends of the earth have seen the victory of our God.

4 Shout for joy to ADONAI, all the earth! Break forth, sing for joy, sing praises!

5 Sing praises to ADONAI with the lyre, with the lyre and melodious music!

6 With trumpets and the sound of the shofar, shout for joy before the king, ADONAI!

7 Let the sea roar, and everything in it; the world, and those living in it.

8 Let the floods clap their hands; let the mountains sing together for joy

9 before ADONAI, for he has come to judge the earth; he will judge the world rightly and the peoples fairly.

99

1 ADONAI is king; let the peoples tremble. He sits enthroned on the k'ruvim; let the earth shake!

2 ADONAI is great in Tziyon; he is high above all the peoples.

3 Let them praise your great and fearsome name (he is holy):

4 'Mighty king who loves justice, you established fairness, justice and righteousness in Ya'akov.'

5 Exalt ADONAI our God! Prostrate yourselves at his footstool (he is holy).

6 Moshe and Aharon among his cohanim and Sh'mu'el among those who call on his name called on ADONAI, and he answered them.

7 He spoke to them in the column of cloud; they kept his instructions and the law that he gave them.

8 ADONAI our God, you answered them. To them you were a forgiving God, although you took vengeance on their wrongdoings.

9 Exalt ADONAI our God, bow down toward his holy mountain, for ADONAI our God is holy!

100

1 A psalm of thanksgiving: Shout for joy to ADONAI, all the earth!

2 Serve ADONAI with gladness. Enter his presence with joyful songs.

3 Be aware that ADONAI is God; it is he who made us; and we are his, his people, the flock in his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving, enter his courtyards with praise; give thanks to him, and bless his name.

5 For ADONAI is good, his grace continues forever, and his faithfulness lasts through all generations.

101

1 A psalm of David: I am singing of grace and justice; I am singing to you, ADONAI.

2 I will follow the path of integrity; when will you come to me? I will run my life with a sincere heart inside my own house.

3 I will not allow before my eyes any shameful thing. I hate those who act crookedly; what they do does not attract me.

4 Deviousness will depart from me; I will not tolerate evil.

5 If someone slanders another in secret, I will cut him off. Haughty eyes and proud hearts I cannot abide.

6 I look to the faithful of the land, so that they can be my companions; those who live lives of integrity can be servants of mine.

7 No deceitful person can live in my house; no liar can be my advisor.

8 Every morning I will destroy all the wicked of the land, cutting off all evildoers from the city of ADONAI.

102

1 Prayer of a sufferer overcome by weakness and pouring out his complaint before ADONAI: ADONAI, hear my prayer! Let my cry for help reach you!

2 Don't hide your face from me when I am in such distress! Turn your ear toward me; when I call, be quick to reply!

3 For my days are vanishing like smoke, my bones are burning like a furnace.

4 I am stricken and withered like grass; I forget to eat my food.

5 Because of my loud groaning, I am just skin and bones.

6 I am like a great owl in the desert, I've become like an owl in the ruins.

7 I lie awake and become like a bird alone on the roof.

8 My enemies taunt me all day long; mad with rage, they make my name a curse.

9 For I have been eating ashes like bread and mingling tears with my drink

10 because of your furious anger, since you picked me up just to toss me aside.

11 My days decline like an evening shadow; I am drying up like grass.

12 But you, ADONAI, are enthroned forever; your renown will endure through all generations.

13 You will arise and take pity on Tziyon, for the time has come to have mercy on her; the time determined has come.

14 For your servants love her very stones; they take pity even on her dust.

15 The nations will fear the name of ADONAI and all the kings on earth your glory,

16 when ADONAI has rebuilt Tziyon, and shows himself in his glory,

17 when he has heeded the plea of the poor and not despised their prayer.

18 May this be put on record for a future generation; may a people yet to be created praise ADONAI.

19 For he has looked down from the height of his sanctuary; from heaven ADONAI surveys the earth

20 to listen to the sighing of the prisoner, to set free those who are sentenced to death,

21 to proclaim the name of ADONAI in Tziyon and his praise in Yerushalayim

22 when peoples and kingdoms have been gathered together to serve ADONAI.

23 He has broken my strength in midcourse, he has cut short my days.

24 I plead, 'God, your years last through all generations; so don't take me away when my life is half over!

25 In the beginning, you laid the foundations of the earth; heaven is the work of your hands.

26 They will vanish, but you will remain; like clothing, they will all grow old; yes, you will change them like clothing, and they will pass away.

27 But you remain the same, and your years will never end.

28 The children of your servants will live securely and their descendants be established in your presence.'

103

1 By David: Bless ADONAI, my soul! Everything in me, bless his holy name!

2 Bless ADONAI, my soul, and forget none of his benefits!

3 He forgives all your offenses, he heals all your diseases,

4 he redeems your life from the pit, he surrounds you with grace and compassion,

5 he contents you with good as long as you live, so that your youth is renewed like an eagle's.

6 ADONAI brings vindication and justice to all who are oppressed.

7 He made his ways known to Moshe, his mighty deeds to the people of Isra'el.

8 ADONAI is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in grace.

9 He will not always accuse, he will not keep his anger forever.

10 He has not treated us as our sins deserve or paid us back for our offenses,

11 because his mercy toward those who fear him is as far above earth as heaven.

12 He has removed our sins from us as far as the east is from the west.

13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, ADONAI has compassion on those who fear him.

14 For he understands how we are made, he remembers that we are dust.

15 Yes, a human being's days are like grass, he sprouts like a flower in the countryside -

16 but when the wind sweeps over, it's gone; and its place knows it no more.

17 But the mercy of ADONAI on those who fear him is from eternity past to eternity future, and his righteousness extends to his children's children,

18 provided they keep his covenant and remember to follow his precepts.

19 ADONAI has established his throne in heaven; his kingly power rules everything.

20 Bless ADONAI, you angels of his, you mighty warriors who obey his word, who carry out his orders!

21 Bless ADONAI, all his troops, who serve him and do what he wants!

22 Bless ADONAI, all his works, in every place where he rules! Bless ADONAI, my soul!

104

1 Bless ADONAI, my soul! ADONAI, my God, you are very great; you are clothed with glory and majesty,

2 wrapped in light as with a robe. You spread out the heavens like a curtain,

3 you laid the beams of your palace on the water. You make the clouds your chariot, you ride on the wings of the wind.

4 You make winds your messengers, fiery flames your servants.

5 You fixed the earth on its foundations, never to be moved.

6 You covered it with the deep like a garment; the waters stood above the mountains.

7 At your rebuke they fled; at the sound of your thunder they rushed away,

8 flowing over hills, pouring into valleys, down to the place you had fixed for them.

9 You determined a boundary they could not cross; they were never to cover the earth again.

10 You make springs gush forth in the vadis; they flow between the hills,

11 supplying water to all the wild animals; the wild donkeys quench their thirst.

12 On their banks the birds of the air build their nests; among the branches they sing.

13 You water the mountains from your palace; the earth is satisfied with how you provide

14 You grow grass for the cattle; and for people you grow the plants they need to bring forth bread from the earth,

15 wine that gladdens the human heart, oil to make faces glow, and food to sustain their strength.

16 ADONAI's trees are satisfied -the cedars of the L'vanon, which he has planted.

17 In them sparrows build their nests, while storks live in the fir trees.

18 For the wild goats there are the high mountains, while the coneys find refuge in the rocks.

19 You made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to set.

20 You bring darkness, and it is night, the time when all forest animals prowl.

21 The young lions roar after their prey and seek their food from God.

22 The sun rises, they slink away and lie down to rest in their dens;

23 while people go out to their work, laboring on till evening.

24 What variety there is in your works, ADONAI! How many [of them there are]! In wisdom you have made them all; the earth is full of your creations.

25 Look at the sea, so great, so wide! It teems with countless creatures, living beings, both large and small.

26 The ships are there, sailing to and fro; Livyatan, which you formed to play there.

27 All of them look to you to give them their food when they need it.

28 When you give it to them, they gather it; when you open your hand, they are well satisfied.

29 If you hide your face, they vanish; if you hold back their breath, they perish and return to their dust.

30 If you send out your breath, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth.

31 May the glory of ADONAI last forever! May ADONAI rejoice in his works!

32 When he looks at the earth, it trembles; when he touches the mountains, they pour out smoke.

33 I will sing to ADONAI as long as I live, sing praise to my God all my life.

34 May my musings be pleasing to him; I will rejoice in ADONAI.

35 May sinners vanish from the earth and the wicked be no more! Bless ADONAI, my soul! Halleluyah!

105

1 Give thanks to ADONAI! Call on his name! Make his deeds known among the peoples.

2 Sing to him, sing praises to him, talk about all his wonders.

3 Glory in his holy name; let those seeking ADONAI have joyful hearts.

4 Seek ADONAI and his strength; always seek his presence.

5 Remember the wonders he has done, his signs and his spoken rulings.

6 You descendants of Avraham his servant, you offspring of Ya'akov, his chosen ones,

7 he is ADONAI our God! His rulings are everywhere on earth.

8 He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded to a thousand generations,

9 the covenant he made with Avraham, the oath he swore to Yitz'chak,

10 and established as a law for Ya'akov, for Isra'el as an everlasting covenant:

11 'To you I will give the land of Kena'an as your allotted heritage.'

12 When they were but few in number, and not only few, but aliens there too,

13 wandering from nation to nation, from this kingdom to that people,

14 he allowed no one to oppress them. Yes, for their sakes he rebuked even kings:

15 'Don't touch my anointed ones or do my prophets harm!'

16 He called down famine on the land, broke off all their food supply,

17 but sent a man ahead of them -Yosef, who was sold as a slave.

18 They shackled his feet with chains, and they bound him in irons;

19 until the time when his word proved true, God's utterance kept testing him.

20 The king sent and had him released, the ruler of peoples set him free;

21 he made him lord of his household, in charge of all he owned,

22 correcting his officers as he saw fit and teaching his counselors wisdom.

23 Then Isra'el too came into Egypt, Ya'akov lived as an alien in the land of Ham.

24 There God made his people very fruitful, made them too numerous for their foes,

25 whose hearts he turned to hate his people, and treat his servants unfairly.

26 He sent his servant Moshe and Aharon, whom he had chosen.

27 They worked his signs among them, his wonders in the land of Ham.

28 He sent darkness, and the land grew dark; they did not defy his word.

29 He turned their water into blood and caused their fish to die.

30 Their land swarmed with frogs, even in the royal chambers.

31 He spoke, and there came swarms of insects and lice throughout their land.

32 He gave them hail instead of rain, with fiery [lightning] throughout their land.

33 He struck their vines and fig trees, shattering trees all over their country.

34 He spoke, and locusts came, also grasshoppers without number;

35 they ate up everything green in their land, devoured the fruit of their ground. 896

36 He struck down all the firstborn in their land, the firstfruits of all their strength.

37 Then he led his people out, laden with silver and gold; among his tribes not one stumbled.

38 Egypt was happy to have them leave, because fear of [Isra'el] had seized them.

39 He spread out a cloud to screen them off and fire to give them light at night.

40 When they asked, he brought them quails and satisfied them with food from heaven.

41 He split a rock, and water gushed out, flowing as a river over the dry ground,

42 for he remembered his holy promise to his servant Avraham.

43 He led out his people with joy, his chosen ones with singing.

44 Then he gave them the lands of the nations, and they possessed what peoples had toiled to produce,

45 in order to obey his laws and follow his teachings. Halleluyah!

106

1 Halleluyah! Give thanks to ADONAI; for he is good, for his grace continues forever.

2 Who can express ADONAI's mighty doings or proclaim in full his praise?

3 How happy are those who act justly, who always do what is right!

4 Remember me, ADONAI, when you show favor to your people, keep me in mind when you save them;

5 so I can see how well things are going with those whom you have chosen, so that I can rejoice in your nation's joy, and glory in your heritage.

6 Together with our ancestors, we have sinned, done wrong, acted wickedly.

7 Our ancestors in Egypt failed to grasp the meaning of your wonders. They didn't keep in mind your great deeds of grace but rebelled at the sea, at the Sea of Suf.

8 Yet he saved them for his own name's sake, to make known his mighty power.

9 He rebuked the Sea of Suf, and it dried up; he led them through its depths as through a desert.

10 He saved them from hostile hands, redeemed them from the power of the foe.

11 The water closed over their adversaries; not one of them was left.

12 Then they believed his words, and they sang his praise.

13 But soon they forgot his deeds and wouldn't wait for his counsel.

14 In the desert they gave way to insatiable greed; in the wastelands they put God to the test.

15 He gave them what they wanted but sent meagerness into their souls.

16 In the camp they were jealous of Moshe and Aharon, ADONAI's holy one.

17 The earth opened up and swallowed Datan and closed over Aviram's allies.

18 A fire blazed out against that group, the flames consumed the wicked.

19 In Horev they fashioned a calf, they worshipped a cast metal image.

20 Thus they exchanged their Glory for the image of an ox that eats grass!

21 They forgot God, who had saved them, who had done great things in Egypt,

22 wonders in the land of Ham, fearsome deeds by the Sea of Suf.

23 Therefore he said that he would destroy them, [and he would have,] had not Moshe his chosen one stood before him in the breach to turn back his destroying fury.

24 Next, they rejected the beautiful land, they didn't trust his promise;

25 and they complained in their tents, they didn't obey ADONAI.

26 Therefore, raising his hand, he swore to them that he would strike them down in the desert

27 and strike down their descendants among the nations, dispersing them in foreign lands.

28 Now they joined themselves to Ba'al-P'or and ate meat sacrificed to dead things.

29 Thus they provoked him to anger with their deeds, so that a plague broke out among them.

30 Then Pinchas stood up and executed judgment; so the plague was checked.

31 That was credited to him as righteousness, through all generations forever.

32 They angered him at the M'rivah Spring, and Moshe suffered on their account;

33 for when they embittered his spirit, [Moshe] spoke up without thinking.

34 They failed to destroy the peoples, as ADONAI had ordered them to do,

35 but mingled with the nations and learned to follow their ways.

36 They went on to serve their idols, which became a snare for them.

37 They even sacrificed their sons and their daughters to demons.

38 Yes, they shed innocent blood, the blood of their own sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to Kena'an's false gods, polluting the land with blood.

39 Thus they were defiled by their deeds; they prostituted themselves by their actions,

40 For this ADONAI's fury blazed up against his people, and he detested his heritage.

41 He handed them over to the power of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them.

42 Their enemies oppressed them and kept them in subjection to their power.

43 Many times [God] rescued them, but they kept making plans to rebel. Thus they were brought low by their own wrongdoing.

44 Still he took pity on their distress whenever he heard their cry.

45 For their sakes he kept in mind his covenant and in his limitless grace relented,

46 causing them to be treated with compassion by all who had taken them captive.

47 Save us, ADONAI our God! Gather us from among the nations, so that we can thank your holy name and glory in praising you.

48 Blessed be ADONAI, the God of Isra'el, from eternity past to eternity future. Now let all the people say, 'Amen! Halleluyah!'

107

1 Give thanks to ADONAI; for he is good, for his grace continues forever.

2 Let those redeemed by ADONAI say it, those he redeemed from the power of the foe.

3 He gathered them from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the sea.

4 They wandered in the desert, on paths through the wastes, without finding any inhabited city.

5 They were hungry and thirsty, their life was ebbing away.

6 In their trouble they cried to ADONAI, and he rescued them from their distress.

7 He led them by a direct path to a city where they could live.

8 Let them give thanks to ADONAI for his grace, for his wonders bestowed on humanity!

9 For he has satisfied the hungry, filled the starving with good.

10 Some lived in darkness, in death-dark gloom, bound in misery and iron chains,

11 because they defied God's word, scorned the counsel of the Most High.

12 So he humbled their hearts by hard labor; when they stumbled, no one came to their aid.

13 In their trouble they cried to ADONAI, and he rescued them from their distress.

14 He led them from darkness, from death-dark gloom, shattering their chains.

15 Let them give thanks to ADONAI for his grace, for his wonders bestowed on humanity!

16 For he shattered bronze doors and cut through iron bars.

17 There were foolish people who suffered affliction because of their crimes and sins;

18 they couldn't stand to eat anything; they were near the gates of death.

19 In their trouble they cried to ADONAI, and he rescued them from their distress;

20 he sent his word and healed them, he delivered them from destruction.

21 Let them give thanks to ADONAI for his grace, for his wonders bestowed on humanity!

22 Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and proclaim his great deeds with songs of joy.

23 Those who go down to the sea in ships, plying their trade on the great ocean,

24 saw the works of ADONAI, his wonders in the deep.

25 For at his word the storm-wind arose, lifting up towering waves.

26 The sailors were raised up to the sky, then plunged into the depths. At the danger, their courage failed them,

27 they reeled and staggered like drunk men, and all their skill was swallowed up.

28 In their trouble they cried to ADONAI, and he rescued them from their distress.

29 He silenced the storm and stilled its waves,

30 and they rejoiced as the sea grew calm. Then he brought them safely to their desired port.

31 Let them give thanks to ADONAI for his grace, for his wonders bestowed on humanity!

32 Let them extol him in the assembly of the people and praise him in the leaders' council.

33 He turns rivers into desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground,

34 productive land into salt flats, because the people living there are so wicked.

35 But he also turns desert into pools of water, dry land into flowing springs;

36 there he gives the hungry a home, and they build a city to live in;

37 there they sow fields and plant vineyards, which yield an abundant harvest.

38 He blesses them, their numbers grow, and he doesn't let their livestock decrease.

39 When their numbers fall, and they grow weak, because of oppression, disaster and sorrow,

40 he pours contempt on princes and leaves them to wander in trackless wastes.

41 But the needy he raises up from their distress and increases their families like sheep.

42 When the upright see this, they rejoice; while the wicked are reduced to silence.

43 Let whoever is wise observe these things and consider ADONAI's loving deeds.

108

1 A song. A psalm of David: My heart is steadfast, God. I will sing and make music with my glory.

2 Awake, lute and lyre! I will awaken the dawn.

3 I will thank you, ADONAI, among the peoples; I will make music to you among the nations.

4 For your grace is great, above heaven, and your truth, all the way to the skies.

5 Be exalted, God, above heaven! May your glory be over all the earth,

6 in order that those you love can be rescued; so save with your right hand, and answer me!

7 God in his holiness spoke, and I took joy [in his promise]: 'I will divide Sh'khem and determine the shares in the Sukkot Valley.

8 Gil'ad is mine and M'nasheh mine, Efrayim my helmet, Y'hudah my scepter.

9 Mo'av is my washpot; on Edom I throw my shoe; Over P'leshet I shout in triumph.'

10 Who will bring me into the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom?

11 God, have you rejected us? You don't go out with our armies, God.

12 Help us against our enemy, for human help is worthless.

13 With God's help we will fight valiantly, for he will trample our enemies.

109

1 For the leader. A psalm of David: 109 1 God, whom I praise, don't remain silent!

2 For wicked and deceitful men have opened their mouths against me, spoken against me with lying tongues,

3 surrounded me with hateful words, and attacked me without cause.

4 In return for my love they became my accusers, even though I prayed for them.

5 They repay me evil for good and hatred for my love.

6 [They say,] 'Appoint a wicked man over him, may an accuser stand at his right.

7 When he is tried, let him be found guilty, may even his plea be counted a sin.

8 May his days be few, may someone else take his position.

9 May his children be fatherless and his wife a widow.

10 May his children be wandering beggars, foraging for food from their ruined homes.

11 May creditors seize all he owns and strangers make off with his earnings.

12 May no one treat him kindly, and may no one take pity on his orphaned children.

13 May his posterity be cut off; may his name be erased within a generation.

14 May the wrongs of his ancestors be remembered by ADONAI, and may the sin of his mother not be erased;

15 may they always be before ADONAI, so he can cut off all memory of them from the earth.

16 For he did not remember to show kindness but hounded the downtrodden, the poor and the brokenhearted to death.

17 He loved cursing; may it recoil on him! He didn't like blessing; may it stay far from him!

18 He clothed himself with cursing as routinely as with his coat; May it enter inside him as easily as water, as easily as oil into his bones.

19 May it cling to him like the coat he wears, like the belt he wraps around himself.'

20 This is what my adversaries want ADONAI to do, those who speak evil against me.

21 But you, God, ADONAI, treat me as your name demands; rescue me, because your grace is good.

22 For I am poor and needy, and my heart within me is wounded.

23 Like a lengthening evening shadow, I am gone; I am shaken off like a locust.

24 My knees are weak from lack of food, my flesh wastes away for lack of nourishment.

25 I have become the object of their taunts; when they see me, they shake their heads.

26 Help me, ADONAI, my God! Save me, in keeping with your grace;

27 so that they will know that this comes from your hand, that you, ADONAI, have done it.

28 Let them go on cursing; but you, bless! When they attack, let them be put to shame; but let your servant rejoice.

29 Let my adversaries be clothed with confusion, let them wear their own shame like a robe.

30 I will eagerly thank ADONAI with my mouth, I will praise him right there in the crowd,

31 because he stands alongside a needy person to defend him from unjust accusers.

110

1 A psalm of David: ADONAI says to my Lord, 'Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.'

2 ADONAI will send your powerful scepter out from Tziyon, so that you will rule over your enemies around you.

3 On the day your forces mobilize, your people willingly offer themselves in holy splendors from the womb of the dawn; the dew of your youth is yours.

4 ADONAI has sworn it, and he will never retract -'You are a cohen forever, to be compared with Malki-Tzedek.'

5 Adonai at your right hand will shatter kings on the day of his anger.

6 He will pass judgment among the nations, filling it with dead bodies; he will shatter heads throughout an extensive territory.

7 He will drink from a stream as he goes on his way; therefore he will hold his head high.

111

1 Halleluyah! I will wholeheartedly give thanks to ADONAI in the council of the upright and in the assembly.

2 The deeds of ADONAI are great, greatly desired by all who enjoy them.

3 His work is full of majesty and splendor, and his righteousness continues forever.

4 He has gained renown for his wonders. ADONAI is merciful and compassionate.

5 He gives food to those who fear him. He remembers his covenant forever.

6 He shows his people how powerfully he works by giving them the nations as their heritage.

7 The works of his hands are truth and justice; all his precepts can be trusted.

8 They have been established forever and ever, to be carried out truly and honestly.

9 He sent redemption to his people and decreed that his covenant should last forever. His name is holy and fearsome

10 the first and foremost point of wisdom is the fear of ADONAI; all those living by it gain good common sense. His praise stands forever.

112

1 Halleluyah! How happy is anyone who fears ADONAI, who greatly delights in his mitzvot.

2 His descendants will be powerful on earth, a blessed generation of upright people.

3 Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness stands forever.

4 To the upright he shines like a light in the dark, merciful, compassionate and righteous.

5 Things go well with the person who is merciful and lends, who conducts his affairs with fairness;

6 for he will never be moved. The righteous will be remembered forever.

7 He will not be frightened by bad news; he remains steady, trusting in ADONAI.

8 His heart is set firm, he will not be afraid, till finally he looks in triumph at his enemies.

9 He distributes freely, he gives to the poor; his righteousness stands forever. His power will be increased honorably.

10 The wicked will be angry when they see this; they will gnash their teeth and waste away, the desires of the wicked will come to nothing.

113

1 Halleluyah! Servants of ADONAI, give praise! Give praise to the name of ADONAI!

2 Blessed be the name of ADONAI from this moment on and forever!

3 From sunrise until sunset ADONAI's name is to be praised.

4 ADONAI is high above all nations, his glory above the heavens.

5 Who is like ADONAI our God, seated in the heights,

6 humbling himself to look on heaven and on earth.

7 He raises the poor from the dust, lifts the needy from the rubbish heap,

8 in order to give him a place among princes, among the princes of his people.

9 He causes the childless woman to live at home happily as a mother of children. Halleluyah!

114

1 When Isra'el came out of Egypt, the house of Ya'akov from a people of foreign speech,

2 Y'hudah became [God's] sanctuary, Isra'el his domain.

3 The sea saw this and fled; the Yarden turned back;

4 the mountains skipped like rams, the hills like young sheep.

5 Why is it, sea, that you flee? Why, Yarden, do you turn back?

6 Why, mountains, do you skip like rams; and you hills like young sheep?

7 Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Ya'akov,

8 who turned the rock into a pool of water, flint into flowing spring.

115

1 Not to us, ADONAI, not to us, but to your name give glory, because of your grace and truth.

2 Why should the nations ask, 'Where is their God?'

3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him.

4 Their idols are mere silver and gold, made by human hands.

5 They have mouths, but they can't speak; they have eyes, but they can't see;

6 they have ears, but they can't hear; they have noses, but they can't smell;

7 they have hands, but they can't feel; they have feet, but they can't walk; with their throats they can't make a sound.

8 The people who make them will become like them, along with everyone who trusts in them.

9 Isra'el, trust in ADONAI! He is their help and shield.

10 House of Aharon, trust in ADONAI! He is their help and shield.

11 You who fear ADONAI, trust in ADONAI! He is their help and shield.

12 ADONAI has kept us in mind, and he will bless. He will bless the house of Isra'el; he will bless the house of Aharon;

13 he will bless those who fear ADONAI, great and small alike.

14 May ADONAI increase your numbers, both yours and those of your children.

15 May you be blessed by ADONAI, the maker of heaven and earth.

16 Heaven belongs to ADONAI, but the earth he has given to humankind.

17 The dead can't praise ADONAI, not those who sink down into silence.

18 But we will bless ADONAI from now on and forever. Halleluyah!

116

1 I love that ADONAI heard my voice when I prayed;

2 because he turned his ear to me, I will call on him as long as I live.

3 The cords of death were all around me, Sh'ol's constrictions held me fast; I was finding only distress and anguish.

4 But I called on the name of ADONAI: 'Please, ADONAI! Save me!'

5 ADONAI is merciful and righteous; yes, our God is compassionate.

6 ADONAI preserves the thoughtless; when I was brought low, he saved me.

7 My soul, return to your rest! For ADONAI has been generous toward you.

8 Yes, you have rescued me from death, my eyes from tears and my feet from falling.

9 I will go on walking in the presence of ADONAI in the lands of the living.

10 I will keep on trusting even when I say, 'I am utterly miserable,'

11 even when, in my panic, I declare, 'Everything human is deceptive.'

12 How can I repay ADONAI for all his generous dealings with me?

13 I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of ADONAI.

14 I will pay my vows to ADONAI in the presence of all his people.

15 From ADONAI's point of view, the death of those faithful to him is costly.

16 Oh, ADONAI! I am your slave; I am your slave, the son of your slave-girl; you have removed my fetters.

17 I will offer a sacrifice of thanks to you and will call on the name of ADONAI.

18 I will pay my vows to ADONAI in the presence of all his people,

19 in the courtyards of ADONAI's house, there in your very heart, Yerushalayim. Halleluyah!

117

1 Praise ADONAI, all you nations! Worship him, all you peoples!

2 For his grace has overcome us, and ADONAI's truth continues forever. Halleluyah!

118

1 Give thanks to ADONAI; for he is good, for his grace continues forever.

2 Now let Isra'el say, 'His grace continues forever.'

3 Now let the house of Aharon say, 'His grace continues forever.'

4 Now let those who fear ADONAI say, 'His grace continues forever.'

5 From my being hemmed in I called on Yah; he answered and gave me more room.

6 With ADONAI on my side, I fear nothing -what can human beings do to me?

7 With ADONAI on my side as my help, I will look with triumph at those who hate me.

8 It is better to take refuge in ADONAI than to trust in human beings;

9 better to take refuge in ADONAI than to put one's trust in princes.

10 The nations all surrounded me; in the name of ADONAI I cut them down.

11 They surrounded me on every side in the name of ADONAI I cut them down.

12 They surrounded me like bees but were extinguished [as quickly] as a fire in thorns; in the name of ADONAI I cut them down.

13 You pushed me hard to make me fall, but ADONAI helped me.

14 Yah is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.

15 The sound of rejoicing and victory is heard in the tents of the righteous: 'ADONAI's right hand struck powerfully!

16 ADONAI's right hand is raised in triumph! ADONAI's right hand struck powerfully!'

17 I will not die; no, I will live and proclaim the great deeds of Yah!

18 Yah disciplined me severely, but did not hand me over to death.

19 Open the gates of righteousness for me; I will enter them and thank Yah.

20 This is the gate of ADONAI; the righteous can enter it.

21 I am thanking you because you answered me; you became my salvation.

22 The very rock that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone!

23 This has come from ADONAI, and in our eyes it is amazing.

24 This is the day ADONAI has made, a day for us to rejoice and be glad.

25 Please, ADONAI! Save us! Please, ADONAI! Rescue us!

26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of ADONAI. We bless you from the house of ADONAI.

27 ADONAI is God, and he gives us light. Join in the pilgrim festival with branches all the way to the horns of the altar.

28 You are my God, and I thank you. You are my God; I exalt you.

29 Give thanks to ADONAI; for he is good, for his grace continues forever.

119

1 (Alef) How happy are those whose way of life is blameless, who live by the Torah of ADONAI!

2 How happy are those who observe his instruction, who seek him wholeheartedly!

3 They do nothing wrong but live by his ways.

4 You laid down your precepts for us to observe with care.

5 May my ways be steady in observing your laws.

6 Then I will not be put to shame, since I will have fixed my sight on all your mitzvot.

7 I thank you with a sincere heart as I learn your righteous rulings.

8 I will observe your laws; don't completely abandon me!

9 (Bet) How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word.

10 I seek you with all my heart; don't let me stray from your mitzvot.

11 I treasure your word in my heart, so that I won't sin against you.

12 Blessed are you, ADONAI! Teach me your laws.

13 I proclaim with my mouth all the rulings you have spoken.

14 I rejoice in the way of your instruction more than in any kind of wealth.

15 I will meditate on your precepts and keep my eyes on your ways.

16 I will find my delight in your regulations. I will not forget your word.

17 (Gimel) Deal generously with your servant; then I will live and observe your word.

18 Open my eyes, so that I will see wonders from your Torah.

19 Though I'm just a wanderer on the earth, don't hide your mitzvot from me.

20 I am continually consumed with longing for your rulings.

21 You rebuke the proud, the cursed, who stray from your mitzvot.

22 Remove scorn and contempt from me, because I observe your instruction.

23 Even when princes sit and plot against me, your servant meditates on your laws.

24 Also your instructions are my delight; they are my counselors.

25 (Dalet) I lie prostrate in the dust; revive me, in keeping with your word.

26 I told you of my ways, and you answered me; teach me your laws.

27 Make me understand the way of your precepts, and I will meditate on your wonders.

28 I am melting away from anxiety and grief; renew my strength, in keeping with your word.

29 Keep deceitful ways far from me, and favor me with your Torah.

30 I choose the way of trust; I set your rulings [before me].

31 I cling to your instruction; ADONAI, don't let me be put to shame!

32 I will run the way of your mitzvot, for you have broadened my understanding.

33 (Heh) Teach me, ADONAI, the way of your laws; keeping them will be its own reward for me.

34 Give me understanding; then I will keep your Torah; I will observe it with all my heart.

35 Guide me on the path of your mitzvot, for I take pleasure in it.

36 Bend my heart toward your instructions and not toward selfish gain.

37 Turn my eyes away from worthless things; with your ways, give me life.

38 Fulfill your promise, which you made to your servant, which you made to those who fear you.

39 Avert the disgrace which I dread, for your rulings are good.

40 See how I long for your precepts; in your righteousness, give me life!

41 May your grace come to me, ADONAI, your salvation, as you promised;

42 then I will have an answer for those who taunt me; for I trust in your word.

43 Don't take away completely my power to speak the truth; for I put my hope in your rulings;

44 and I will keep your Torah always, forever and ever.

45 I will go wherever I like, for I have sought your precepts.

46 I will speak of your instructions even to kings without being ashamed.

47 I will delight myself in your mitzvot, which I have loved.

48 I will lift my hands to your mitzvot, which I love; and I will meditate on your laws.

49 (Zayin) Remember your promise to your servant, through which you have given me hope.

50 In my distress my comfort is this: that your promise gives me life.

51 Though the arrogant scorn me completely, I have not turned away from your Torah.

52 ADONAI, I keep in mind your age-old rulings; in them I take comfort.

53 Fury seizes me when I think of the wicked, because they abandon your Torah.

54 Your laws have become my songs wherever I make my home.

55 I remember your name, ADONAI, at night; and I observe your Torah.

56 This [comfort] has come to me, because I observe your precepts.

57 (Het) ADONAI, I say that my task is to observe your words.

58 I beg your favor with my whole heart; show pity to me, in keeping with your promise.

59 I thought about my ways and turned my feet toward your instruction.

60 I hurry, I don't delay, to observe your mitzvot.

61 Even when the cords of the wicked close around me, I don't forget your Torah.

62 At midnight I rise to give you thanks because of your righteous rulings.

63 I am a friend of all who fear you, of those who observe your precepts.

64 The earth, ADONAI, is full of your grace; teach me your laws.

65 (Tet) You have treated your servant well, ADONAI, in keeping with your word.

66 Teach me good judgment and knowledge, because I trust in your mitzvot.

67 Before I was humbled, I used to go astray; but now I observe your word.

68 You are good, and you do good; teach me your laws.

69 The arrogant are slandering me, but I will wholeheartedly keep your precepts.

70 Their hearts are as thick as fat, but I take delight in your Torah.

71 It is for my good that I have been humbled; it was so that I would learn your laws.

72 The Torah you have spoken means more to me than a fortune in gold and silver.

73 (Yud) Your hands made and formed me; give me understanding, so I can learn your mitzvot.

74 Those who fear you rejoice at the sight of me, because I put my hope in your word.

75 I know, ADONAI, that your rulings are righteous, that even when you humble me you are faithful.

76 Let your grace comfort me, in keeping with your promise to your servant.

77 Show me pity, and I will live, for your Torah is my delight.

78 Let the proud be ashamed, because they wrong me with lies; as for me, I will meditate on your precepts.

79 Let those who fear you turn to me, along with those who know your instruction.

80 Let my heart be pure in your laws, so that I won't be put to shame.

81 (Kaf) I am dying to know your salvation; my hope is in your word.

82 My eyes fail from watching for your promise; I ask, 'When will you comfort me?'

83 For I have shriveled like a wineskin in a smoky room; still, I don't forget your laws.

84 How long can your servant stay alive? When will you bring judgment on my persecutors?

85 The arrogant have dug pits for me to fall in; this is not in keeping with your Torah!

86 All your mitzvot [show your] faithfulness; they are hounding me with lies; help me!

87 They have nearly ended my life on earth, but I have not abandoned your precepts.

88 In keeping with your grace, revive me; and I will observe your spoken instructions.

89 (Lamed) Your word continues forever, ADONAI, firmly fixed in heaven;

90 your faithfulness through all generations; you established the earth, and it stands.

91 Yes, it stands today, in keeping with your rulings; for all things are your servants.

92 If your Torah had not been my delight, I would have perished in my distress.

93 I will never forget your precepts, for with them you have made me alive.

94 I am yours; save me because I seek your precepts.

95 The wicked hope to destroy me, but I focus on your instruction.

96 (Mem) I see the limits of all perfection, but your mitzvah has no bounds.

97 How I love your Torah! I meditate on it all day.

98 I am wiser than my foes, because your mitzvot are mine forever.

99 I have more understanding than all my teachers, because I meditate on your instruction.

100 I understand more than my elders, because I keep your precepts.

101 I keep my feet from every evil way, in order to observe your word.

102 I don't turn away from your rulings, because you have instructed me.

103 How sweet to my tongue is your promise, truly sweeter than honey in my mouth!

104 From your precepts I gain understanding; this is why I hate every false way.

105 (Nun) Your word is a lamp for my foot and light on my path.

106 I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, that I will observe your righteous rulings.

107 I am very much distressed; ADONAI, give me life, in keeping with your word.

108 Please accept my mouth's voluntary offerings, ADONAI; and teach me your rulings.

109 I am continually taking my life in my hands, yet I haven't forgotten your Torah.

110 The wicked have set a trap for me, yet I haven't strayed from your precepts.

111 I take your instruction as a permanent heritage, because it is the joy of my heart.

112 I have resolved to obey your laws forever, at every step.

113 (Samekh) I hate doubleminded people, but I love your Torah.

114 You are my hiding-place and shield; I put my hope in your word.

115 Leave me alone, you evildoers, so that I can keep my God's mitzvot.

116 Uphold me, as you promised; and I will live; don't disappoint me in my hope.

117 Support me; and I will be saved, always putting my attention on your laws.

118 You reject all who stray from your laws, for what they deceive themselves with is false.

119 You discard the wicked of the earth like slag; this is why I love your instruction.

120 My body trembles for fear of you; your rulings make me afraid.

121 ('Ayin) I have done what is just and right; don't abandon me to my oppressors.

122 Guarantee your servant's well-being; don't let the arrogant oppress me.

123 My eyes fail from watching for your salvation and for [the fulfillment of] your righteous promise.

124 Deal with your servant in accordance with your grace, and teach me your laws.

125 I am your servant; give me understanding, so that I can know your instruction.

126 The time has come for ADONAI to act, because they are breaking your Torah.

127 Therefore I love your mitzvot more than gold, more than fine gold.

128 Thus I direct my steps by [your] precepts; every false way I hate.

129 (Peh) Your instruction is a wonder; this is why I follow it.

130 Your words are a doorway that lets in light, giving understanding to the thoughtless.

131 My mouth is wide open, as I pant with longing for your mitzvot.

132 Turn to me, and show me your favor; in keeping with [your] judgment for those who love your name.

133 Guide my footsteps by your word; don't let any kind of sin rule me.

134 Redeem me from human oppression, and I will observe your precepts.

135 Make your face shine on your servant, and teach me your laws.

136 Rivers of tears flow down from my eyes, because they don't observe your Torah.

137 (Tzadeh) You are righteous, ADONAI; and your rulings are upright.

138 You have commanded your instructions in righteousness and great faithfulness.

139 My zeal is destroying me, because my foes have forgotten your words.

140 Your word is refined to complete purity, and your servant loves it.

141 I may be small and despised, but I do not forget your precepts.

142 Your righteousness is eternal righteousness, and your Torah is truth.

143 Trouble and distress have overtaken me, but your mitzvot are my delight.

144 Your instruction is righteous forever; give me understanding, and I will live.

145 (Kuf) Wholeheartedly I am calling on you; answer me, ADONAI; I will keep your laws.

146 I am calling on you; save me; and I will observe your instruction.

147 I rise before dawn and cry for help; I put my hope in your word.

148 My eyes are open before the night watches, so that I can meditate on your promise.

149 In your grace, hear my voice; ADONAI, in keeping with your justice, revive me.

150 The pursuers of carnality are getting close; they are distancing themselves from your Torah.

151 You are close by, ADONAI; and all your mitzvot are truth.

152 Long ago I learned from your instruction that you established it forever.

153 (Resh) Look at my distress, and rescue me, for I do not forget your Torah.

154 Plead my cause, and redeem me; in keeping with your promise, revive me.

155 Salvation is far away from the wicked, because they don't seek your laws.

156 Great is your compassion, ADONAI; in keeping with your rulings, revive me.

157 Although my persecutors and foes are many, I have not turned away from your instruction.

158 I look at traitors with disgust, because they don't keep your word.

159 See how I love your precepts, ADONAI; in keeping with your grace, revive me.

160 The main thing about your word is that it's true; and all your just rulings last forever.

161 (Shin) Princes persecute me for no reason, but my heart stands in awe of your words.

162 I take joy in your promise, like someone who finds much booty.

163 I hate falsehood, I detest it; but I love your Torah.

164 I praise you seven times a day because of your righteous rulings.

165 Those who love your Torah have great peace; nothing makes them stumble.

166 I hope for your deliverance, ADONAI; I obey your mitzvot.

167 My soul observes your instruction, and I love it so much!

168 I observe your precepts and instruction, for all my ways lie open before you.

169 (Tav) Let my cry come before you, ADONAI; in keeping with your word, give me understanding.

170 Let my prayer come before you; in keeping with your promise, rescue me.

171 Let my lips speak praise, because you teach me your laws.

172 Let my tongue sing of your promise, because all your mitzvot are righteous.

173 Let your hand be ready to help me, because I choose your precepts.

174 I long for your deliverance, ADONAI; and your Torah is my delight.

175 Let me live, and I will praise you; let your rulings help me.

176 I strayed like a lost sheep; seek out your servant; for I do not forget your mitzvot.

120

1 A song of ascents: I called to ADONAI in my distress, and he answered me.

2 Rescue me, ADONAI, from lips that tell lies, from a tongue full of deceit.

3 What has he in store for you, deceitful tongue? What more will he do to you?

4 A warrior's sharp arrows, with red-hot coals from a broom tree.

5 How wretched I am, that I'm an alien in Meshekh, that I must live among the tents of Keidar!

6 I have had to live far too long with those who hate peace.

7 I am all for peace; but when I speak, they are for war.

121

1 A song of ascents: If I raise my eyes to the hills, from where will my help come?

2 My help comes from ADONAI, the maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip -your guardian is not asleep.

4 No, the guardian of Isra'el never slumbers or sleeps.

5 ADONAI is your guardian; at your right hand ADONAI provides you with shade

6 the sun can't strike you during the day or even the moon at night.

7 ADONAI will guard you against all harm; he will guard your life.

8 ADONAI will guard your coming and going from now on and forever.

122

1 A song of ascents. By David: I was glad when they said to me, 'The house of ADONAI! Let's go!'

2 Our feet were already standing at your gates, Yerushalayim.

3 Yerushalayim, built as a city fostering friendship and unity.

4 The tribes have gone up there, the tribes of ADONAI, as a witness to Isra'el, to give thanks to the name of ADONAI.

5 For there the thrones of justice were set up, the thrones of the house of David.

6 Pray for shalom in Yerushalayim; may those who love you prosper.

7 May shalom be within your ramparts, prosperity in your palaces.

8 For the sake of my family and friends, I say, 'Shalom be within you!'

9 For the sake of the house of ADONAI our God, I will seek your well-being.

123

1 A song of ascents: I raise my eyes to you, whose throne is in heaven.

2 As a servant looks to the hand of his master, or a slave-girl to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes turn to ADONAI our God, until he has mercy on us.

3 Have mercy on us, ADONAI, have mercy; for we have had our fill of contempt,

4 more than our fill of scorn from the complacent and contempt from the arrogant.

124

1 A song of ascents. By David: If ADONAI hadn't been for us -let Isra'el repeat it -

2 If ADONAI hadn't been for us when people rose to attack us,

3 then, when their anger blazed against us, they would have swallowed us alive!

4 Then the water would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over us.

5 Yes, the raging water would have swept right over us.

6 Blessed be ADONAI, who did not leave us to be a prey for their teeth!

7 We escaped like a bird from the hunter's trap; the trap is broken, and we have escaped.

8 Our help is in the name of ADONAI, the maker of heaven and earth.

125

1 A song of ascents: Those who trust in ADONAI are like Mount Tziyon, which cannot be moved but remains forever.

2 Yerushalayim! Mountains all around it! Thus ADONAI is around his people henceforth and forever.

3 For the scepter of wickedness will not rule the inheritance of the righteous, so that the righteous will not themselves turn their hands to evil.

4 Do good, ADONAI, to the good, to those upright in their hearts.

5 But as for those who turn aside to their own crooked ways, may ADONAI turn them away, along with those who do evil. Shalom on Isra'el!

126

1 A song of ascents: When ADONAI restored Tziyon's fortunes, we thought we were dreaming.

2 Our mouths were full of laughter, and our tongues shouted for joy. Among the nations it was said, 'ADONAI has done great things for them!'

3 ADONAI did do great things with us; and we are overjoyed.

4 Return our people from exile, ADONAI, as streams fill vadis in the Negev.

5 Those who sow in tears will reap with cries of joy.

6 He who goes out weeping as he carries his sack of seed will come home with cries of joy as he carries his sheaves of grain.

127

1 A song of ascents. By Shlomo: Unless ADONAI builds the house, its builders work in vain. Unless ADONAI guards the city, the guard keeps watch in vain.

2 In vain do you get up early and put off going to bed, working hard to earn a living; for he provides for his beloved, even when they sleep.

3 Children too are a gift from ADONAI; the fruit of the womb is a reward.

4 The children born when one is young. are like arrows in the hand of a warrior.

5 How blessed is the man who has filled his quiver with them; he will not have to be embarrassed when contending with foes at the city gate.

128

1 A song of ascents: How happy is everyone who fears ADONAI, who lives by his ways.

2 You will eat what your hands have produced; you will be happy and prosperous.

3 Your wife will be like a fruitful vine in the inner parts of your house. Your children around the table will be like shoots from an olive tree.

4 This is the kind of blessing that will fall on him who fears ADONAI.

5 May ADONAI bless you from Tziyon! May you see Yerushalayim prosper all the days of your life,

6 and may you live to see your children's children! Shalom on Isra'el.

129

1 A song of ascents: Since I was young they have often attacked me -let Isra'el repeat it

2 since I was young they have often attacked me, but they haven't overcome me.

3 The plowmen plowed on my back; wounding me with long furrows.

4 But ADONAI is righteous; he cuts me free from the yoke of the wicked.

5 Let all who hate Tziyon be thrown back in confusion.

6 Let them be like grass on the roof, which dries out before it grows up

7 and never fills the reaper's hands or the arms of the one who binds sheaves,

8 so that no passer-by says, 'ADONAI's blessing on you! We bless you in the name of ADONAI!'

130

1 A song of ascents. By David: ADONAI, I call to you from the depths;

2 hear my cry, Adonai! Let your ears pay attention to the sound of my pleading.

3 Yah, if you kept a record of sins, who, Adonai, could stand?

4 But with you there is forgiveness, so that you will be feared.

5 I wait longingly for ADONAI; I put my hope in his word.

6 Everything in me waits for Adonai more than guards on watch wait for morning, more than guards on watch wait for morning.

7 Isra'el, put your hope in ADONAI! For grace is found with ADONAI, and with him is unlimited redemption.

8 He will redeem Isra'el from all their wrongdoings.

131

1 A song of ascents. By David: ADONAI, my heart isn't proud; I don't set my sight too high, I don't take part in great affairs or in wonders far beyond me.

2 No, I keep myself calm and quiet, like a little child on its mother's lap -I keep myself like a little child.

3 Isra'el, put your hope in ADONAI from now on and forever!

132

1 A song of ascents: ADONAI, remember in David's favor all the hardships he endured,

2 how he swore to ADONAI, vowed to the Mighty One of Ya'akov,

3 'I will not enter the house where I live or get into my bed,

4 I will not allow myself to sleep or even close my eyes,

5 until I find a place for ADONAI, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Ya'akov.'

6 We heard about it in Efrat, we found it in the Fields of Ya'ar.

7 Let's go into his dwelling and prostrate ourselves at his footstool.

8 Go up, ADONAI, to your resting-place, you and the ark through which you give strength.

9 May your cohanim be clothed with righteousness; may those loyal to you shout for joy.

10 For the sake of your servant David, don't turn away the face of your anointed one.

11 ADONAI swore an oath to David, an oath he will not break: 'One of the sons from your own body I will set on your throne.

12 If your sons keep my covenant and my instruction, which I will teach them, then their descendants too, forever, will sit on your throne.'

13 For ADONAI has chosen Tziyon, he has wanted it as his home.

14 'This is my resting-place forever, I will live here because I so much want to.

15 I will bless it with plenty of meat, I will give its poor their fill of food.

16 Its cohanim I will clothe with salvation, and its faithful will shout for joy.

17 I will make a king sprout there from David's line and prepare a lamp for my anointed one.

18 His enemies I will clothe with shame, but on him there will be a shining crown.'

133

1 A song of ascents. By David: Oh, how good, how pleasant it is for brothers to live together in harmony.

2 It is like fragrant oil on the head that runs down over the beard, over the beard of Aharon, and flows down on the collar of his robes.

3 It is like the dew of Hermon that settles on the mountains of Tziyon. For it was there that ADONAI ordained the blessing of everlasting life.

134

1 A song of ascents: Come, bless ADONAI, all you servants of ADONAI, who serve each night in the house of ADONAI.

2 Lift your hands toward the sanctuary, and bless ADONAI.

3 May ADONAI, the maker of heaven and earth, bless you from Tziyon.

135

1 Halleluyah! Give praise to the name of ADONAI! Servants of ADONAI, give praise!

2 You who stand in the house of ADONAI, in the courtyards of the house of our God,

3 praise Yah, for ADONAI is good; sing to his name, because it is pleasant.

4 For Yah chose Ya'akov for himself, Isra'el as his own unique treasure.

5 I know that ADONAI is great, that our Lord is above all gods.

6 ADONAI does whatever pleases him, in heaven, on earth, in the seas, in all the depths.

7 He raises clouds from the ends of the earth, he makes the lightning flash in the rain and brings the wind out from his storehouses.

8 He struck down Egypt's firstborn, humans and animals alike.

9 He sent signs and wonders among you, Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his subjects.

10 He struck many nations, and slaughtered mighty kings

11 Sichon king of the Emori, 'Og king of Bashan, and all the kingdoms of Kena'an.

12 Then he gave their land as a heritage, to be possessed by Isra'el his people.

13 ADONAI, your name continues forever, your renown, ADONAI, through all generations.

14 For ADONAI will vindicate his people, he will take pity on his servants.

15 The idols of the nations are mere silver and gold, made by human hands.

16 They have mouths, but they can't speak; they have eyes, but they can't see;

17 they have ears, but they can't listen; and they have no breath in their mouths;

18 The people who make them will become like them, along with everyone who trusts in them.

19 House of Isra'el, bless ADONAI! House of Aharon, bless ADONAI!

20 House of Levi, bless ADONAI! You who fear ADONAI, bless ADONAI!

21 Blessed be ADONAI out of Tziyon, he who dwells in Yerushalayim! Halleluyah!

136

1 Give thanks to ADONAI, for he is good, for his grace continues forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods, for his grace continues forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his grace continues forever;

4 to him who alone has done great wonders, for his grace continues forever;

5 to him who skillfully made the heavens, for his grace continues forever;

6 to him who spread out the earth on the water, for his grace continues forever;

7 to him who made the great lights, for his grace continues forever;

8 the sun to rule the day, for his grace continues forever;

9 the moon and stars to rule the night, for his grace continues forever;

10 to him who struck down Egypt's firstborn, for his grace continues forever;

11 and brought Isra'el out from among them, for his grace continues forever;

12 with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, for his grace continues forever;

13 to him who split apart the Sea of Suf, for his grace continues forever;

14 and made Isra'el cross right through it, for his grace continues forever;

15 but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Sea of Suf, for his grace continues forever;

16 to him who led his people through the desert, for his grace continues forever;

17 to him who struck down great kings, for his grace continues forever;

18 yes, he slaughtered powerful kings, for his grace continues forever;

19 Sichon king of the Emori, for his grace continues forever;

20 and 'Og king of Bashan, for his grace continues forever;

21 then he gave their land as a heritage, for his grace continues forever;

22 to be possessed by Isra'el his servant, for his grace continues forever;

23 who remembers us whenever we are brought low, for his grace continues forever;

24 and rescues us from our enemies, for his grace continues forever;

25 who provides food for every living creature, for his grace continues forever.

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his grace continues forever.

137

1 By the rivers of Bavel we sat down and wept as we remembered Tziyon.

2 We had hung up our lyres on the willows that were there,

3 when those who had taken us captive asked us to sing them a song; our tormentors demanded joy from us -'Sing us one of the songs from Tziyon!'

4 How can we sing a song about ADONAI here on foreign soil?

5 If I forget you, Yerushalayim, may my right hand wither away!

6 May my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth if I fail to remember you, if I fail to count Yerushalayim the greatest of all my joys.

7 Remember, ADONAI, against the people of Edom the day of Yerushalayim's fall, how they cried, 'Tear it down! Tear it down! Raze it to the ground!'

8 Daughter of Bavel, you will be destroyed! A blessing on anyone who pays you back for the way you treated us!

9 A blessing on anyone who seizes your babies and smashes them against a rock!

138

1 By David: I give you thanks with all my heart. Not to idols, but to you I sing praise.

2 I bow down toward your holy temple and give thanks to your name for your grace and truth; for you have made your word [even] greater than the whole of your reputation.

3 When I called, you answered me, you made me bold and strong.

4 All the kings of the earth will thank you, ADONAI, when they hear the words you have spoken.

5 They will sing about ADONAI's ways, 'Great is the glory of ADONAI!'

6 For though ADONAI is high, he cares for the lowly; while the proud he perceives from afar.

7 You keep me alive when surrounded by danger; you put out your hand when my enemies rage; with your right hand you save me.

8 ADONAI will fulfill his purpose for me. Your grace, ADONAI, continues forever. Don't abandon the work of your hands!

139

1 For the leader. A psalm of David: ADONAI, you have probed me, and you know me.

2 You know when I sit and when I stand up, you discern my inclinations from afar,

3 you scrutinize my daily activities. You are so familiar with all my ways

4 that before I speak even a word, ADONAI, you know all about it already.

5 You have hemmed me in both behind and in front and laid your hand on me.

6 Such wonderful knowledge is beyond me, far too high for me to reach.

7 Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?

8 If I climb up to heaven, you are there; if I lie down in Sh'ol, you are there.

9 If I fly away with the wings of the dawn and land beyond the sea,

10 even there your hand would lead me, your right hand would hold me fast.

11 If I say, 'Let darkness surround me, let the light around me be night,'

12 even darkness like this is not too dark for you; rather, night is as clear as day, darkness and light are the same.

13 For you fashioned my inmost being, you knit me together in my mother's womb.

14 I thank you because I am awesomely made, wonderfully; your works are wonders -I know this very well.

15 My bones were not hidden from you when I was being made in secret, intricately woven in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes could see me as an embryo, but in your book all my days were already written; my days had been shaped before any of them existed.

17 God, how I prize your thoughts! How many of them there are!

18 If I count them, there are more than grains of sand; if I finish the count, I am still with you.

19 God, if only you would kill off the wicked! Men of blood, get away from me!

20 They invoke your name for their crafty schemes; yes, your enemies misuse it.

21 ADONAI, how I hate those who hate you! I feel such disgust with those who defy you!

22 I hate them with unlimited hatred! They have become my enemies too.

23 Examine me, God, and know my heart; test me, and know my thoughts.

24 See if there is in me any hurtful way, and lead me along the eternal way.

140

1 For the leader. A psalm of David: Rescue me, ADONAI, from evil people, protect me from violent people.

2 They plan evil things in their hearts they continually stir up bitter strife.

3 They have made their tongues as sharp as a snake's; viper's venom is under their lips. (Selah)

4 Keep me, ADONAI, from the hands of the wicked, protect me from violent people who are trying to trip me up.

5 The arrogant hide snares for me; they spread nets by the side of the road, hoping to trap me there. (Selah)

6 I said to ADONAI, 'You are my God; listen, ADONAI, to my plea for mercy.'

7 ADONAI, Adonai, my saving strength, my helmet shielding my head in battle,

8 ADONAI, don't grant the wicked their wishes; make their plot fail, so they won't grow proud. (Selah)

9 May the heads of those who surround me be engulfed in the evil they spoke of, themselves.

10 May burning coals rain down on them, may they be flung into the fire, flung into deep pits, never to rise again.

11 Let slanderers find no place in the land; let the violent and evil be hunted relentlessly.

12 I know that ADONAI gives justice to the poor and maintains the rights of the needy.

13 The righteous will surely give thanks to your name; the upright will live in your presence.

141

1 A psalm of David: ADONAI, I have called you; come to me quickly! Listen to my plea when I call to you.

2 Let my prayer be like incense set before you, my uplifted hands like an evening sacrifice.

3 Set a guard, ADONAI, over my mouth; keep watch at the door of my lips.

4 Don't let my heart turn to anything evil or allow me to act wickedly with men who are evildoers; keep me from eating their delicacies.

5 Let the righteous strike me, let him correct me; it will be an act of love. Let my head not refuse such choice oil, for I will keep on praying about their wickedness.

6 When their rulers are thrown down from the cliff, [the wicked] will hear that my words were fitting.

7 As when one plows and breaks the ground into clods, our bones are strewn at the mouth of Sh'ol.

8 For my eyes, ADONAI, Adonai, are on you; in you I take refuge; don't pour out my life.

9 Keep me from the trap they have set for me, from the snares of evildoers.

10 Let the wicked fall into their own nets, while I pass by in safety.

142

1 A maskil of David, when he was in the cave. A prayer: With my voice I cry to ADONAI, with my voice I plead to ADONAI for mercy.

2 Before him I pour out my complaint, before him I tell my trouble.

3 When my spirit faints within me, you watch over my path. By the road that I am walking they have hidden a snare for me.

4 Look to my right, and see that no one recognizes me. I have no way of escape; nobody cares for me.

5 I cried out to you, ADONAI; I said, 'You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.'

6 Listen to my cry, for I have been brought very low. Rescue me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me.

7 Lead me out of prison, so that I can give thanks to your name; in me the righteous will be crowning themselves, because you will have treated me generously.

143

1 A psalm of David: ADONAI, hear my prayer; listen to my pleas for mercy. In your faithfulness, answer me, and in your righteousness.

2 Don't bring your servant to trial, since in your sight no one alive would be considered righteous.

3 For an enemy is pursuing me; he has crushed my life into the ground and left me to live in darkness, like those who have been long dead.

4 My spirit faints within me; my heart is appalled within me.

5 I remember the days of old, reflecting on all your deeds, thinking about the work of your hands.

6 I spread out my hands to you, I long for you like a thirsty land. (Selah)

7 Answer me quickly, ADONAI, because my spirit is fainting. Don't hide your face from me, or I'll be like those who drop down into a pit.

8 Make me hear of your love in the morning, because I rely on you. Make me know the way I should walk, because I entrust myself to you.

9 ADONAI, rescue me from my enemies; I have hidden myself with you.

10 Teach me to do your will, because you are my God; Let your good Spirit guide me on ground that is level.

11 For your name's sake, ADONAI, preserve my life; in your righteousness, bring me out of distress.

12 In your grace, cut off my enemies; destroy all those harassing me; because I am your servant.

144

1 By David: Blessed be ADONAI, my rock, who trains my hands for war and my fingers for battle.

2 He shows me grace; and he is my fortress, my stronghold, in whom I find shelter, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues my people under me.

3 ADONAI, what are mere mortals, that you notice them at all; humans, that you think about them?

4 Man is like a puff of wind, his days like a fleeting shadow.

5 ADONAI, lower the heavens, and come down; touch the mountains, make them pour out smoke.

6 Shoot out lightning, and scatter them; send out your arrows, and rout them.

7 Reach out your hands from on high; rescue me; save me out of deep water, out of the power of strangers,

8 whose mouths speak worthless words and whose right hands swear false oaths.

9 God, I will sing a new song to you; sing praises to you with a ten-stringed harp.

10 You give kings their victories; you save your servant David from the cruel sword.

11 Rescue me, save me from the power of strangers, whose mouths speak worthless words and whose right hands swear false oaths.

12 Our sons in their youth will be like full-grown saplings, our daughters will be like sculptured pillars fit for the corner of a palace.

13 Our barns are full with crops of every kind; the sheep in our fields number thousands, tens of thousands.

14 our oxen are well-fed, our city walls have no breach, our people are not taken captive, and there are no cries of protest in our cities' open places.

15 How happy the people who live in such conditions! How happy the people whose God is ADONAI!

145

1 Praise. By David: I will praise you to the heights, my God, the king; I will bless your name forever and ever.

2 Every day I will bless you; I will praise your name forever and ever.

3 Great is ADONAI and greatly to be praised; his greatness is beyond all searching out.

4 Each generation will praise your works to the next and proclaim your mighty acts.

5 I will meditate on the glorious splendor of your majesty and on the story of your wonders.

6 People will speak of your awesome power, and I will tell of your great deeds.

7 They will gush forth the fame of your abounding goodness, and they will sing of your righteousness.

8 ADONAI is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and great in grace.

9 ADONAI is good to all; his compassion rests on all his creatures.

10 All your creatures will thank you, ADONAI, and your faithful servants will bless you.

11 They will speak of the glory of your kingship, and they will tell about your might;

12 to let everyone know of your mighty acts and the glorious majesty of your kingship.

13 Your kingship is an everlasting kingship, your reign continues through all generations.

14 ADONAI supports all who fall and lifts up all who are bent over.

15 The eyes of all are looking to you; you give them their food at the right time.

16 You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing.

17 ADONAI is righteous in all his ways, full of grace in all he does.

18 ADONAI is close to all who call on him, to all who sincerely call on him.

19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them.

20 ADONAI protects all who love him, but all the wicked he destroys.

21 My mouth will proclaim the praise of ADONAI; all people will bless his holy name forever and ever.

146

1 Halleluyah! Praise ADONAI, my soul!

2 I will praise ADONAI as long as I live. I will sing praise to my God all my life.

3 Don't put your trust in princes or in mortals, who cannot help.

4 When they breathe their last, they return to dust; on that very day all their plans are gone.

5 Happy is he whose help is Ya'akov's God, whose hope is in ADONAI his God.

6 He made heaven and earth, the sea and everything in them; he keeps faith forever.

7 He secures justice for the oppressed, he gives food to the hungry. ADONAI sets prisoners free,

8 ADONAI opens the eyes of the blind, ADONAI lifts up those who are bent over. ADONAI loves the righteous.

9 ADONAI watches over strangers, he sustains the fatherless and widows; but the way of the wicked he twists.

10 ADONAI will reign forever, your God, Tziyon, through all generations. Halleluyah!

147

1 Halleluyah! How good it is to sing praises to our God! How sweet, how fitting to praise him!

2 ADONAI is rebuilding Yerushalayim, gathering the dispersed of Isra'el.

3 He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.

4 He determines how many stars there are and calls them all by name.

5 Our Lord is great, his power is vast, his wisdom beyond all telling.

6 ADONAI sustains the humble but brings the wicked down to the ground.

7 Sing to ADONAI with thanks, sing praises on the lyre to our God.

8 He veils the sky with clouds; he provides the earth with rain; he makes grass grow on the hills;

9 he gives food to the animals, even to the young ravens when they cry.

10 He takes no delight in the strength of a horse, no pleasure in a runner's speed.

11 ADONAI takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who wait for his grace.

12 Glorify ADONAI, Yerushalayim! Praise your God, Tziyon!

13 For he strengthens the bars of your gates, he blesses your children within you,

14 he brings peace within your borders, he gives you your fill of the finest wheat.

15 He sends his word out over the earth, his command runs swiftly.

16 Thus he gives snow like wool, scatters hoarfrost like ashes,

17 sends crystals of ice like crumbs of bread -who can withstand such cold?

18 Then he sends his word out and melts them; he makes the winds blow, and the water flows.

19 He reveals his words to Ya'akov, his laws and rulings to Isra'el.

20 He has not done this for other nations; they do not know his rulings. Halleluyah!

148

1 Halleluyah! Praise ADONAI from the heavens! Praise him in the heights!

2 Praise him, all his angels! Praise him, all his armies!

3 Praise him, sun and moon! Praise him, all shining stars!

4 Praise him, highest heaven, and waters above the heavens!

5 Let them praise the name of ADONAI; for he commanded, and they were created.

6 He established them forever and ever; he has given a law to which they must conform.

7 Praise ADONAI from the earth, sea monsters and watery depths,

8 fire and hail, snow and mist, storm-winds that obey his word,

9 mountains and every hill, fruit trees and all cedars,

10 wild animals and all livestock, creeping reptiles, flying birds,

11 kings of the earth and all peoples, princes and all rulers on earth,

12 young men and women alike, old men and children.

13 Let them praise the name of ADONAI, for his name alone is exalted; his glory is above both earth and heaven.

14 He has increased the power of his people, granted praise to all his faithful, to the descendants of Isra'el, a people close to him. Halleluyah!

149

1 Halleluyah! Sing to ADONAI a new song, his praise in the assembly of the faithful.

2 Let Isra'el rejoice in their maker, let Tziyon's children take joy in their king.

3 Let them praise his name with dancing, make melody to him with tambourine and lyre;

4 for ADONAI takes delight in his people, he crowns the humble with salvation.

5 Let the faithful exult gloriously, let them sing for joy on their beds.

6 Let the high praises of God be in their throats, but a two-edged sword in their hands

7 to carry out vengeance on the nations and punishment on the peoples,

8 to bind their kings with chains and put their nobles in irons,

9 to execute the judgments decreed for them; for this will glorify all his faithful. Halleluyah!

150

1 Halleluyah! Praise God in his holy place! Praise him in the heavenly dome of his power!

2 Praise him for his mighty deeds! Praise him for his surpassing greatness!

3 Praise him with a blast on the shofar! Praise him with lute and lyre!

4 Praise him with tambourines and dancing! Praise him with flutes and strings!

5 Praise him with clanging cymbals! Praise him with loud crashing cymbals!

6 Let everything that has breath praise ADONAI! Halleluyah!