1

BOOK 1

1Blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stand on the path of sinners,

nor sit in the seat of scoffers;

2but his delight is in Yahweh’s law.

On his law he meditates day and night.

3He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water,

that produces its fruit in its season,

whose leaf also does not wither.

Whatever he does shall prosper.

4The wicked are not so,

but are like the chaff which the wind drives away.

5Therefore the wicked shall not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.

6For Yahweh knows the way of the righteous,

but the way of the wicked shall perish.

2

1Why do the nations rage,

and the peoples plot a vain thing?

2The kings of the earth take a stand,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against Yahweh, and against his Anointed, saying,

3“Let’s break their bonds apart,

and cast their cords from us.”

4He who sits in the heavens will laugh.

The Lord will have them in derision.

5Then he will speak to them in his anger,

and terrify them in his wrath:

6“Yet I have set my King on my holy hill of Zion.”

7I will tell of the decree:

Yahweh said to me, “You are my son.

Today I have become your father.

8Ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance,

the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.

9You shall break them with a rod of iron.

You shall dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

10Now therefore be wise, you kings.

Be instructed, you judges of the earth.

11Serve Yahweh with fear,

and rejoice with trembling.

12Give sincere homage to the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish on the way,

for his wrath will soon be kindled.

Blessed are all those who take refuge in him.

3

A Psalm by David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

1Yahweh, how my adversaries have increased!

Many are those who rise up against me.

2Many there are who say of my soul,

“There is no help for him in God.” Selah.

3But you, Yahweh, are a shield around me,

my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.

4I cry to Yahweh with my voice,

and he answers me out of his holy hill. Selah.

5I laid myself down and slept.

I awakened, for Yahweh sustains me.

6I will not be afraid of tens of thousands of people

who have set themselves against me on every side.

7Arise, Yahweh!

Save me, my God!

For you have struck all of my enemies on the cheek bone.

You have broken the teeth of the wicked.

8Salvation belongs to Yahweh.

May your blessing be on your people. Selah.

4

For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm by David.

1Answer me when I call, God of my righteousness.

Give me relief from my distress.

Have mercy on me, and hear my prayer.

2You sons of men, how long shall my glory be turned into dishonor?

Will you love vanity and seek after falsehood? Selah.

3But know that Yahweh has set apart for himself him who is godly;

Yahweh will hear when I call to him.

4Stand in awe, and don’t sin.

Search your own heart on your bed, and be still. Selah.

5Offer the sacrifices of righteousness.

Put your trust in Yahweh.

6Many say, “Who will show us any good?”

Yahweh, let the light of your face shine on us.

7You have put gladness in my heart,

more than when their grain and their new wine are increased.

8In peace I will both lay myself down and sleep,

for you alone, Yahweh, make me live in safety.

5

For the Chief Musician, with the flutes. A Psalm by David.

1Give ear to my words, Yahweh.

Consider my meditation.

2Listen to the voice of my cry, my King and my God,

for I pray to you.

3Yahweh, in the morning you will hear my voice.

In the morning I will lay my requests before you, and will watch expectantly.

4For you are not a God who has pleasure in wickedness.

Evil can’t live with you.

5The arrogant will not stand in your sight.

You hate all workers of iniquity.

6You will destroy those who speak lies.

Yahweh abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

7But as for me, in the abundance of your loving kindness I will come into your house.

I will bow toward your holy temple in reverence of you.

8Lead me, Yahweh, in your righteousness because of my enemies.

Make your way straight before my face.

9For there is no faithfulness in their mouth.

Their heart is destruction.

Their throat is an open tomb.

They flatter with their tongue.

10Hold them guilty, God.

Let them fall by their own counsels.

Thrust them out in the multitude of their transgressions,

for they have rebelled against you.

11But let all those who take refuge in you rejoice.

Let them always shout for joy, because you defend them.

Let them also who love your name be joyful in you.

12For you will bless the righteous.

Yahweh, you will surround him with favor as with a shield.

6

For the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments, upon the eight-stringed lyre. A Psalm by David.

1Yahweh, don’t rebuke me in your anger,

neither discipline me in your wrath.

2Have mercy on me, Yahweh, for I am faint.

Yahweh, heal me, for my bones are troubled.

3My soul is also in great anguish.

But you, Yahweh—how long?

4Return, Yahweh. Deliver my soul,

and save me for your loving kindness’ sake.

5For in death there is no memory of you.

In Sheol, who shall give you thanks?

6I am weary with my groaning.

Every night I flood my bed.

I drench my couch with my tears.

7My eye wastes away because of grief.

It grows old because of all my adversaries.

8Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity,

for Yahweh has heard the voice of my weeping.

9Yahweh has heard my supplication.

Yahweh accepts my prayer.

10May all my enemies be ashamed and dismayed.

They shall turn back, they shall be disgraced suddenly.

7

A meditation by David, which he sang to Yahweh, concerning the words of Cush, the Benjamite.

1Yahweh, my God, I take refuge in you.

Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,

2lest they tear apart my soul like a lion,

ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to deliver.

3Yahweh, my God, if I have done this,

if there is iniquity in my hands,

4if I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me

(yes, I have delivered him who without cause was my adversary),

5let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it;

yes, let him tread my life down to the earth,

and lay my glory in the dust. Selah.

6Arise, Yahweh, in your anger.

Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries.

Awake for me. You have commanded judgment.

7Let the congregation of the peoples surround you.

Rule over them on high.

8Yahweh administers judgment to the peoples.

Judge me, Yahweh, according to my righteousness,

and to my integrity that is in me.

9Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end,

but establish the righteous;

their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God.

10My shield is with God,

who saves the upright in heart.

11God is a righteous judge,

yes, a God who has indignation every day.

12If a man doesn’t repent, he will sharpen his sword;

he has bent and strung his bow.

13He has also prepared for himself the instruments of death.

He makes ready his flaming arrows.

14Behold, he travails with iniquity.

Yes, he has conceived mischief,

and brought out falsehood.

15He has dug a hole,

and has fallen into the pit which he made.

16The trouble he causes shall return to his own head.

His violence shall come down on the crown of his own head.

17I will give thanks to Yahweh according to his righteousness,

and will sing praise to the name of Yahweh Most High.

8

For the Chief Musician; on an instrument of Gath. A Psalm by David.

1Yahweh, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens!

2From the lips of babes and infants you have established strength,

because of your adversaries, that you might silence the enemy and the avenger.

3When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars, which you have ordained,

4what is man, that you think of him?

What is the son of man, that you care for him?

5For you have made him a little lower than the angels,

and crowned him with glory and honor.

6You make him ruler over the works of your hands.

You have put all things under his feet:

7All sheep and cattle,

yes, and the animals of the field,

8the birds of the sky, the fish of the sea,

and whatever passes through the paths of the seas.

9Yahweh, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

9

For the Chief Musician. Set to “The Death of the Son.” A Psalm by David.

1I will give thanks to Yahweh with my whole heart.

I will tell of all your marvelous works.

2I will be glad and rejoice in you.

I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

3When my enemies turn back,

they stumble and perish in your presence.

4For you have maintained my just cause.

You sit on the throne judging righteously.

5You have rebuked the nations.

You have destroyed the wicked.

You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

6The enemy is overtaken by endless ruin.

The very memory of the cities which you have overthrown has perished.

7But Yahweh reigns forever.

He has prepared his throne for judgment.

8He will judge the world in righteousness.

He will administer judgment to the peoples in uprightness.

9Yahweh will also be a high tower for the oppressed;

a high tower in times of trouble.

10Those who know your name will put their trust in you,

for you, Yahweh, have not forsaken those who seek you.

11Sing praises to Yahweh, who dwells in Zion,

and declare among the people what he has done.

12For he who avenges blood remembers them.

He doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted.

13Have mercy on me, Yahweh.

See my affliction by those who hate me,

and lift me up from the gates of death,

14that I may show all of your praise.

I will rejoice in your salvation in the gates of the daughter of Zion.

15The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made.

In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.

16Yahweh has made himself known.

He has executed judgment.

The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah.

17The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol,

even all the nations that forget God.

18For the needy shall not always be forgotten,

nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

19Arise, Yahweh! Don’t let man prevail.

Let the nations be judged in your sight.

20Put them in fear, Yahweh.

Let the nations know that they are only men. Selah.

10

1Why do you stand far off, Yahweh?

Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?

2In arrogance, the wicked hunt down the weak.

They are caught in the schemes that they devise.

3For the wicked boasts of his heart’s cravings.

He blesses the greedy and condemns Yahweh.

4The wicked, in the pride of his face,

has no room in his thoughts for God.

5His ways are prosperous at all times.

He is arrogant, and your laws are far from his sight.

As for all his adversaries, he sneers at them.

6He says in his heart, “I shall not be shaken.

For generations I shall have no trouble.”

7His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and oppression.

Under his tongue is mischief and iniquity.

8He lies in wait near the villages.

From ambushes, he murders the innocent.

His eyes are secretly set against the helpless.

9He lurks in secret as a lion in his ambush.

He lies in wait to catch the helpless.

He catches the helpless when he draws him in his net.

10The helpless are crushed.

They collapse.

They fall under his strength.

11He says in his heart, “God has forgotten.

He hides his face.

He will never see it.”

12Arise, Yahweh!

God, lift up your hand!

Don’t forget the helpless.

13Why does the wicked person condemn God,

and say in his heart, “God won’t call me into account?”

14But you do see trouble and grief.

You consider it to take it into your hand.

You help the victim and the fatherless.

15Break the arm of the wicked.

As for the evil man, seek out his wickedness until you find none.

16Yahweh is King forever and ever!

The nations will perish out of his land.

17Yahweh, you have heard the desire of the humble.

You will prepare their heart.

You will cause your ear to hear,

18to judge the fatherless and the oppressed,

that man who is of the earth may terrify no more.