Psalms 1-35

Psalms 1-35

PSALMS 1—35

PART FIRST.

Note 312. According to the Hebrew division, Part 1 extends from Psalm 1 to Psalm 41 inclusive.

PSALM 1

1 Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly; And in the way of sinners doth not stand; And in the seat of scoffers doth not sit:

2 But in the law of the Lord is his delight; And in his law doth he meditate day and night.

3 He shall be like a tree planted near rivers of waters, Which shall yield its fruit in its season, And whose leaf shall not fade; And all that he doeth shall prosper.

4 Not so the ungodly: But they are like the chaff, which scatter doth the wind.

5 Therefore shall not stand the ungodly in the judgment, Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

6 For know doth Jehovah the way of the righteous; But the way of the ungodly shall perish.

PSALM 2

1 Why tumultuously rise do the Gentiles, And the peoples murmur in vain?

2 Confederated have the kings of the earth, And the princes have assembled together, Against Jehovah and against his Christ.

3 “Let us break asunder their bonds, “And cast away from us their yoke.”

4 He who dwelleth in heaven shall laugh; The Lord shall deride them.

5 Then shall he speak to them in his wrath, And in his hot displeasure he shall vex them.

6 “I have anointed my king, “Upon Zion, the mountain of my holiness.”

7 I will declare the decree: Jehovah hath said to me, “My Son art thou; I, this day, have begotten thee.

8 “Ask of me, and I will give thee the Gentiles for thy inheritance, “And for thy possession the uttermost parts of the earth.

9 “Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron;” As the vessel of a potter thou shalt dash them in pieces.”

10 And now, O ye kings! understand; Be instructed, O ye judges of the earth!

11 Serve Jehovah with fear, Rejoice with trembling.

12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, And ye perish from the way, When shall be kindled in a short time his wrath. Blessed are all who trust in him.

PSALM 3

A Psalm of David, when he fled from the face of Absalom his son

1 O Lord! how are my oppressors multiplied! Many rise up against me,

2 Many say to my soul, “There is no help for him in God.” Selah.

3 And thou, O Jehovah! art a shield for me; My glory, and he that exalteth my head.

4 With my voice to the Lord have I cried, And he heard me from the mountain of his holiness. Selah.

5 I lay down and slept; I awaked, because the Lord sustains me.

6 I will not be afraid of ten thousands of people, Who on all sides have set their camps against me.

7 Arise, O Lord l Save me, O my God! For thou hast smitten all my enemies upon the cheekbone; The teeth of the ungodly thou hast broken.

8 To the Lord belongeth salvation; Upon thy people is thy blessing. Selah.

PSALM 4

To the Chief Musician on Neginoth. A Psalm of David

1 When I cry, answer me, O God of my righteousness! In distress thou hast enlarged me; Have pity upon me, and hear my prayer.

2 O ye sons of men! how long my glory will ye try to put to shame? Will ye love vanity, will ye seek after lying? Selah.

3 But know that chosen hath Jehovah the merciful man for himself: Jehovah will hear when I cry unto him.

4 Tremble and ye shall not sin; Discourse in your heart upon your bed, and be silent. Selah.

5 Sacrifice the sacrifices of righteousness, And trust in the Lord.

6 Many say, “Who will show us good?” Lift thou up on us the light of thy countenance, O Jehovah!

7 Thou hast given joy to my heart More than theirs in the time that their corn and their wine are increased.

8 In peace [as if] with a multitude I will sleep and take rest, For thou, O Jehovah! in safety hast placed me, [though] alone.

Note 313. This line is freely rendered. For the literal translation, see the text as given in the commentary.

PSALM 5

To the Chief. Musician upon Nehiloth. A Psalm of David

1 My words do thou give ear to, O Jehovah! Attend to my speech.

2 Hearken to the voice of my cry, my King and my God! For to thee will I pray.

3 O Jehovah! in the morning do thou hear my voice; In the morning will I direct to thee and will watch.

4 For not a God taking pleasure in wickedness art thou; There shall not dwell with thee evil.

5 There shall not stand the foolish before thine eyes; Thou hatest all that commit iniquity.

6 Thou shalt destroy them that speak falsehood: The man of bloods and the deceitful man abominate shall Jehovah.

7 And I, in the multitude of thy mercy, will enter into thy house; I will worship in thy holy temple in thy fear.

8 O Jehovah! lead me in thy righteousness, because of my adversaries; Make straight before my face thy way.

9 For there is not in their mouth uprightness; Their inward part is deep depravity; A sepulcher that is open is their throat; With their tongues they deal deceitfully.

10 Cause them to err, O God! Let them fall from their counsels; In the multitude of their transgressions destroy them; For they have rebelled against thee.

11 And rejoice let all those who trust in thee, For ever let them exult; and cover thou them, And let those delight in thee that love thy name.

12 For thou shalt bless the righteous, O Jehovah! With thy good will as with a shield thou shalt encompass them.

PSALM 6

To the Chief Musician on Neginoth, upon the Eighth. A Psalm of David

1 O Jehovah! do not in thy anger rebuke me, And do not in thy wrath chastise me.

2 Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah! for I am weak; Heal me, O Jehovah! for affrighted are my bones.

3 And my soul is exceedingly afraid: And thou, O Jehovah! — how long? —

4 Return, O Lord! deliver my soul; Save me for the sake of thy mercy.

5 For there is not in death any remembrance of thee; In the grave who shall acknowledge thee?

6 I have become wearied with my groaning; I make to swim every night my bed; With my tears my couch I water.

7 Waxed dim for vexation hath mine eye; It hath become old among all my persecutors.

8 Depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity; For heard hath the Lord the voice of my weeping.

9 Heard hath the Lord my supplication; The Lord my prayer will receive.

10 Put to shame and confounded greatly be all my enemies; Let them turn back, and be ashamed suddenly.

PSALM 7

Shiggaion of David, which he sung to Jehovah, upon the words
of Cush the Benjamite

1 O Jehovah, my God! in thee do I trust: Save me from all them that persecute me, and deliver me:

2 Lest He seize, as a lion, upon my soul, And tear it in pieces while there is none to deliver it.

3 O Jehovah, my God! if I have done this, If there be iniquity in my hands,

4 If I have rewarded to him that was at peace with me evil, And have not delivered him that afflicted me without cause;

5 Pursue let the enemy my soul and take it, And let him cast down to the earth my life, And my glory in the dust let him hold down. Selah

6 Arise, O Jehovah! in thy anger; Lift up thyself against the fury of my enemies; And awake thou for me to the judgment which thou hast ordained.

7 And the congregation of peoples shall be round about thee: And on account of this, do thou on high return.

8 Jehovah shall judge the peoples: Judge me, O Jehovah! according to my righteousness, And according to the integrity which is in me.

9 Let come to an end, I pray, the malice of the wicked; And direct thou the righteous man: For he proves the hearts and the reins, the righteous God.

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

11 God judgeth the righteous man, And him who despiseth God, daily.

12 If he turn not, his sword he will whet; His bow he hath bent, he hath made it ready.

13 And for it he hath prepared the instruments of death; He shall make fit his arrows for the persecutors.

14 Behold! he shall travail to bring forth iniquity, And he hath conceived wickedness, And he shall bring forth falsehood.

15 A pit he hath digged, and hollowed it out; And he hath fallen into the ditch which he hath made.

16 Return shall his wickedness upon his own head, And upon his own crown his violence shall descend.

17 I will praise Jehovah, according to his righteousness; And I will sing to the name of Jehovah, Most High.

PSALM 8

To the chief Musician upon Hagittith. A Psalm of David

1 O Jehovah, our Lord! How wonderful is thy name in all the earth, To set thy glory above the heavens!

2 Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings Thou hast founded thy strength, because of thy adversaries, To put to flight the enemy and the avenger.

3 When! see thy heavens, the works of thy fingers; The moon and the stars which thou hast arranged:

4 What is man that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?

5 For thou hast made him lower a little than God, And with glory and honor thou hast crowned him.

6 Thou hast set him over the works of thy hands: All things thou hast put under his feet.

7 Sheep and oxen, all of them, And also the beasts of the fields;

8 The fowl of the heavens, and the fish of the sea, And whatsoever passeth through the paths of the seas.

9 O Jehovah, our Lord! How wonderful is thy name in all the earth!

PSALM 9

To the chief Musician upon Hagittith. Almuth Laben. A Psalm of David

1 I will praise Jehovah with my whole heart; will recount all thy marvelous works.

2 I will rejoice and exult in thee; I will celebrate in Psalms thy name, O thou Most high!

3 When turned are my enemies backward, They fall and are put to flight at thy presence.

4 For thou hast maintained my judgment and my cause; Thou hast sat upon the throne a righteous judge.

5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen; Thou hast destroyed the ungodly; Their name thou hast blotted out for ever and ever.

6 O thou enemy! come to an end are desolations for ever; And cities thou hast destroyed; Perished has their memory with them.

7 And Jehovah for ever sitteth: His throne for judgment he hath prepared.

8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness; He shall judge the peoples in rectitude.

9 And Jehovah will be a place of defense to the poor, And a protection in seasonable times in trouble.

10 And trust in thee shall those who know thy name: For thou forsakest not those who seek thee, O Jehovah!

11 Sing psalms to Jehovah, who dwelleth in Zion, Proclaim among the peoples his doings;

12 For in requiring blood, it he hath remembered: He hath not forgotten the cry of the poor.

13 Have mercy upon me, O Jehovah! See my affliction from those who persecute me, O thou that liftest me up from the gates of death;

14 That I may recount all thy praises in the gates of the daughter of Zion; That I may exult in thy salvation.

15 Sunk are the heathen into the pit which they have made; In the net which they have hid taken are their own feet.

16 Known is Jehovah by executing judgment: In the work of his own hands the wicked is snared. Higgaion Selah.

17 Turned shall be the wicked into hell: All the nations that forget God.

18 For not for ever shall be forgotten the poor; The hope of the humble shall not perish for ever.

19 Arise, O Jehovah! let not man prevail: Let the heathen be judged in thy sight.

20 Put, O Jehovah! fear in them, That the heathen may know that mortal men they are. Selah.

PSALM 10

1 Why, O Jehovah! standest thou afar off? And winkest at seasonable times in trouble?

2 In his pride the ungodly doth persecute the poor; Let them be caught in the devices which they imagine.

3 For praise himself doth the ungodly on account of the desire of his own soul; And the violent man blesseth himself: He despiseth Jehovah.

4 The ungodly, in the pride of his countenance doth not inquire; All his devices say, “There is not a God.”

5 Prosperous are his ways at all times; High are thy judgments before him; At all his enemies he puffeth.

6 He saith in his heart, “I shall not be moved from generation to generation,” Because he is not in adversity,

7 Of cursing his mouth is full, and of deceit, and of malice: Under his tongue are mischief and iniquity.

8 He will sit in the ensnaring places of the villages; In his lurking places will he murder the innocent: His eyes against the poor will take their aim.

9 He will lie in wait in secret, as a lion in his den; He will lie in wait to catch the poor; He will catch the poor by drawing him into his net.

10 He will crouch low, he will cast himself down; Then shall fall by his strengths an army of the afflicted.

11 He hath said in his heart, “Forgotten it hath God; “He hideth his face, that he may not see it for ever.”

12 Arise, O Jehovah, God! lift up thy hand: Do not forget the poor.

13 Why do the wicked despise God? He saith in his heart, “Thou wilt not require it.”

14 Thou hast seen it; For mischief and oppression thou considerest, That thou mayest take them into thy own hand: Upon thee shall the poor leave; To the orphan thou wilt be an helper.

15 Break thou the arm of the wicked and the evil man; Thou shalt seek his wickedness, and shalt not find it.

16 Jehovah is King for ever and ever; Perished are the heathen out of his land.

17 The desire of the needy thou hast heard, O Jehovah! Thou wilt direct their heart; Hear shall thine car:

18 That thou mayest judge the fatherless and the poor, That the man who is of earth may terrify no more.

PSALM 11

To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David

1 In Jehovah do I put my trust: How then say ye to my soul, “Flee ye into your mountain as a bird?”

2 Surely behold! the ungodly shall bend the bow, They have made ready their arrows upon the string, shoot in secret at the upright in heart.

3 Truly, the foundations are destroyed: The righteous, what hath he done?

4 Jehovah is in the palace of his holiness; Jehovah in heaven hath his throne; His eyes behold, his eyelids consider the children of men.

5 Jehovah will approve the righteous man; But the ungodly and him who loveth iniquity, hate doth his soul.

6 He will rain upon the ungodly snares, Fire and brimstone, and a storm of whirlwinds: This is the portion of their cup.

7 For the righteous Jehovah loveth righteousness; His countenance approveth the upright.

PSALM 12

To the Chief Musician upon the Eighth. A Psalm of David

1 Save me, O Jehovah! for failed hath the merciful man, For wasted away are the faithful from among the children of men.

2 Deceit doth every one speak with his neighbor; With lips of flatteries, with a double heart do they speak.

3 Let Jehovah cut off all lips of flatteries, The tongue that great things doth speak:

4 Those who have said, “By our tongues we will be strengthened; “Our lips are our own; who is lord over us?”

5 “Because of the spoiling of the needy, “Because of the groaning of the poor, “Now will I arise,” say will Jehovah, “I will set in safety him for whom the wicked man layeth snares.”

6 The words of Jehovah are pure words; Silver melted in an excellent crucible of earth, purified seven times.

7 Thou, O Jehovah! wilt keep them; Thou wilt preserve him from this generation for ever.

8 On every side the ungodly walk; When they are exalted, reproach is to the children of men.

PSALM 13

To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David

1 How long, O Jehovah! wilt thou forget me for ever? How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

2 How long shall I take counsel in my soul? And have sorrow in my heart daily? How long exalted shall be my enemy over me?

3 Look upon me, answer me, O Jehovah, my God! Enlighten my eyes, lest I sleep in death;

4 Lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed against him;” And those who afflict me rejoice if I should fall.

5 But as for me, in thy goodness I trust; Exult shall my heart in thy salvation. I will sing to the Lord because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

PSALM 14

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm Of David

1 The fool hath said in his heart, “There is no God;” They have corrupted [all good order,] they have done abominable work. There is none that doeth good.

2 Jehovah from heaven looked down Upon the children of men, To see whether there were any that did understand, And seek after God.

3 Every one of them hath gone aside, Together putrid have they become: There is none that doeth good, not even one.

4 Have they no knowledge all these workers of iniquity? Who eat up my people as they eat bread. Upon the Lord they do not call.

5 There did they tremble with fear, For God is in the generation of the righteous.

6 The counsel of the poor ye deride, Because Jehovah is his hope.

7 Who shall give from Zion salvation to Israel? When turn back shall Jehovah the captivity of his people, Rejoice shall Jacob, and exult shall Israel.

PSALM 15

A Psalm of David

1 O Jehovah! who shall dwell in thy tabernacle? Who shall rest in the mountain of thy holiness?

2 He who walketh in integrity and doeth righteousness, And who speaketh truth in his heart,

3 He who detracteth not with his tongue, Who doeth not to his companion evil, And a calumnious report doth not raise up against his neighbor.

4 Despised in his eyes is the off cast; But those who fear the Lord he honoreth; When he hath sworn to his own hurt he doth not change.

5 His money he doth not put out to usury; And a present upon the innocent he doth not accept: He who doeth these things shall not be moved for ever.

PSALM 16

Michtam. A Psalm Of David

1 Keep me, O God! For in thee do I trust.

2 Thou shalt say to Jehovah, “My Lord thou art; “My well doing extendeth not to thee.”

3 To the saints who are on the earth, And to the excellent; all my delight is in them.

4 Multiplied shall be their sorrows who offer to a stranger; I will not taste their libations of blood, Nor will I take their names in my lips.

5 Jehovah is the portion of my inheritance, and of my cup; Thou maintainest my lot.

6 The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yea, an inheritance that is goodly hath fallen to me.

7 I will magnify Jehovah, who giveth me counsel; Even in the nights instruct me do my reins.

8 I have set Jehovah before me continually; Since he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

9 Therefore glad is my heart, rejoice doth my tongue; Also my flesh dwelleth in confidence.

10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in the grave; Nor wilt thou make thy Holy One to see the pit.

11 Thou wilt make known to me the way of life; Fullness of joy is in thy countenance; Pleasures are at thy right hand for evermore.

PSALM 17

A Prayer of David

1 Hear, O Jehovah! my righteousness; Attend to my cry; Hearken to my prayer, which is not in lips of deceit.

2 From the presence of thy countenance let my judgment go forth Let thine eyes behold uprightness.

3 Thou hast proved my heart; Thou hast visited it by night; Thou hast examined it, thou shalt not find any thing in it; My thought shall not pass beyond my mouth.

4 As for the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have taken heed of the ways of the destroyer.

5 Uphold my steps in thy paths, That my footsteps may not slide.

6 I have called upon thee, surely thou wilt hear me, O God! Incline thy ear to me, and hear my speech.

7 Make marvelous thy mercies, O thou Preserver of those who trust [in thee,] From those that exalt themselves against thy right hand.

8 Keep me as the apple, the daughter of the eye; In the shadow of thy wings hide me,

9 From the face of the ungodly who endeavor to destroy me — Of my enemies who in my soul besiege me.

10 In their own fat they have enclosed themselves; With their mouth they have spoken haughtily.

11 In our steps they have now encompassed me; eyes they have set to east down to the ground.

12 He is like a lion, he desireth to seize his prey, And like a lion’s whelp which lurketh in secret places.

13 Arise, O Jehovah! confront him, lay him prostrate; Deliver my soul from the ungodly man by thy sword

14 From men by thy hand, O Jehovah! — From men who are of long duration, Whose portion is in life, Whose belly thou fillets with thy secret, goods: Filled to the full are their children with them, And their residue they leave to their babes.

15 As for me in righteousness I shall behold thy face; I shall be satisfied when I shall awake with thy likeness.