Psalm 82

A Psalm by Asaph.

82:1 G.o.d presides in the great a.s.sembly. He judges among the G.o.ds. 82:2 "How long will you judge unjustly, and show partiality to the wicked?"

Selah. 82:3 "Defend the weak, the poor, and the fatherless. Maintain the rights of the poor and oppressed. 82:4 Rescue the weak and needy.

Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked." 82:5 They don't know, neither do they understand. They walk back and forth in darkness. All the foundations of the earth are shaken. 82:6 I said, "You are G.o.ds, all of you are sons of the Most High. 82:7 Nevertheless you shall die like men, and fall like one of the rulers." 82:8 Arise, G.o.d, judge the earth, for you inherit all of the nations.

Psalm 83

A song. A Psalm by Asaph.

83:1 G.o.d, don't keep silent. Don't keep silent, and don't be still, G.o.d.

83:2 For, behold, your enemies are stirred up. Those who hate you have lifted up their heads. 83:3 They conspire with cunning against your people. They plot against your cherished ones. 83:4 "Come," they say, "and let's destroy them as a nation, that the name of Israel may be remembered no more." 83:5 For they have conspired together with one mind. They form an alliance against you. 83:6 The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites; Moab, and the Hagrites; 83:7 Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek; Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre; 83:8 a.s.syria also is joined with them. They have helped the children of Lot. Selah. 83:9 Do to them as you did to Midian, as to Sisera, as to Jabin, at the river Kishon; 83:10 who perished at Endor, who became as dung for the earth. 83:11 Make their n.o.bles like Oreb and Zeeb; yes, all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna; 83:12 who said, "Let us take possession of G.o.d's pasturelands." 83:13 My G.o.d, make them like tumbleweed; like chaff before the wind. 83:14 As the fire that burns the forest, as the flame that sets the mountains on fire, 83:15 so pursue them with your tempest, and terrify them with your storm. 83:16 Fill their faces with confusion, that they may seek your name, Yahweh. 83:17 Let them be disappointed and dismayed forever. Yes, let them be confounded and perish; 83:18 that they may know that you alone, whose name is Yahweh, are the Most High over all the earth.

Psalm 84

For the Chief Musician. On an instrument of Gath. A Psalm by the sons of Korah.

84:1 How lovely are your dwellings, Yahweh of Armies! 84:2 My soul longs, and even faints for the courts of Yahweh. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living G.o.d. 84:3 Yes, the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young, near your altars, Yahweh of Armies, my King, and my G.o.d. 84:4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They are always praising you. Selah. 84:5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you; who have set their hearts on a pilgrimage. 84:6 Pa.s.sing through the valley of Weeping, they make it a place of springs. Yes, the autumn rain covers it with blessings. 84:7 They go from strength to strength. Everyone of them appears before G.o.d in Zion. 84:8 Yahweh, G.o.d of Armies, hear my prayer. Listen, G.o.d of Jacob. Selah. 84:9 Behold, G.o.d our shield, look at the face of your anointed. 84:10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my G.o.d, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness. 84:11 For Yahweh G.o.d is a sun and a shield.

Yahweh will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly. 84:12 Yahweh of Armies, blessed is the man who trusts in you.

Psalm 85

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm by the sons of Korah.

85:1 Yahweh, you have been favorable to your land. You have restored the fortunes of Jacob. 85:2 You have forgiven the iniquity of your people.

You have covered all their sin. Selah. 85:3 You have taken away all your wrath. You have turned from the fierceness of your anger. 85:4 Turn us, G.o.d of our salvation, and cause your indignation toward us to cease.

85:5 Will you be angry with us forever? Will you draw out your anger to all generations? 85:6 Won't you revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you? 85:7 Show us your loving kindness, Yahweh. Grant us your salvation. 85:8 I will hear what G.o.d, Yahweh, will speak, for he will speak peace to his people, his saints; but let them not turn again to folly. 85:9 Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land. 85:10 Mercy and truth meet together.

Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. 85:11 Truth springs out of the earth. Righteousness has looked down from heaven. 85:12 Yes, Yahweh will give that which is good. Our land will yield its increase.

85:13 Righteousness goes before him, And prepares the way for his steps.

Psalm 86

A Prayer by David.

86:1 Hear, Yahweh, and answer me, for I am poor and needy. 86:2 Preserve my soul, for I am G.o.dly. You, my G.o.d, save your servant who trusts in you. 86:3 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I call to you all day long. 86:4 Bring joy to the soul of your servant, for to you, Lord, do I lift up my soul. 86:5 For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you. 86:6 Hear, Yahweh, my prayer. Listen to the voice of my pet.i.tions. 86:7 In the day of my trouble I will call on you, for you will answer me. 86:8 There is no one like you among the G.o.ds, Lord, nor any deeds like your deeds. 86:9 All nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord. They shall glorify your name. 86:10 For you are great, and do wondrous things. You are G.o.d alone. 86:11 Teach me your way, Yahweh. I will walk in your truth. Make my heart undivided to fear your name. 86:12 I will praise you, Lord my G.o.d, with my whole heart. I will glorify your name forevermore. 86:13 For your loving kindness is great toward me. You have delivered my soul from the lowest Sheol. 86:14 G.o.d, the proud have risen up against me. A company of violent men have sought after my soul, and they don't hold regard for you before them. 86:15 But you, Lord, are a merciful and gracious G.o.d, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth. 86:16 Turn to me, and have mercy on me! Give your strength to your servant. Save the son of your handmaid. 86:17 Show me a sign of your goodness, that those who hate me may see it, and be shamed, because you, Yahweh, have helped me, and comforted me.

Psalm 87

A Psalm by the sons of Korah; a Song.

87:1 His foundation is in the holy mountains. 87:2 Yahweh loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. 87:3 Glorious things are spoken about you, city of G.o.d. Selah. 87:4 I will record Rahab and Babylon among those who acknowledge me. Behold, Philistia, Tyre, and also Ethiopia: "This one was born there." 87:5 Yes, of Zion it will be said, "This one and that one was born in her;" the Most High himself will establish her. 87:6 Yahweh will count, when he writes up the peoples, "This one was born there." Selah. 87:7 Those who sing as well as those who dance say, "All my springs are in you."

Psalm 88

A Song. A Psalm by the sons of Korah. For the Chief Musician. To the tune of "The Suffering of Affliction." A contemplation by Heman, the Ezrahite.

88:1 Yahweh, the G.o.d of my salvation, I have cried day and night before you. 88:2 Let my prayer enter into your presence. Turn your ear to my cry. 88:3 For my soul is full of troubles. My life draws near to Sheol.

88:4 I am counted among those who go down into the pit. I am like a man who has no help, 88:5 set apart among the dead, like the slain who lie in the grave, whom you remember no more. They are cut off from your hand. 88:6 You have laid me in the lowest pit, in the darkest depths.

88:7 Your wrath lies heavily on me. You have afflicted me with all your waves. Selah. 88:8 You have taken my friends from me. You have made me an abomination to them. I am confined, and I can't escape. 88:9 My eyes are dim from grief. I have called on you daily, Yahweh. I have spread out my hands to you. 88:10 Do you show wonders to the dead? Do the dead rise up and praise you? Selah. 88:11 Is your loving kindness declared in the grave? Or your faithfulness in Destruction? 88:12 Are your wonders made known in the dark? Or your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? 88:13 But to you, Yahweh, I have cried. In the morning, my prayer comes before you. 88:14 Yahweh, why do you reject my soul? Why do you hide your face from me? 88:15 I am afflicted and ready to die from my youth up. While I suffer your terrors, I am distracted. 88:16 Your fierce wrath has gone over me. Your terrors have cut me off. 88:17 They came around me like water all day long. They completely engulfed me. 88:18 You have put lover and friend far from me, and my friends into darkness.

Psalm 89

A contemplation by Ethan, the Ezrahite.

89:1 I will sing of the loving kindness of Yahweh forever. With my mouth, I will make known your faithfulness to all generations. 89:2 I indeed declare, "Love stands firm forever. You established the heavens.

Your faithfulness is in them." 89:3 "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David, my servant, 89:4 'I will establish your seed forever, and build up your throne to all generations.'" Selah.

89:5 The heavens will praise your wonders, Yahweh; your faithfulness also in the a.s.sembly of the holy ones. 89:6 For who in the skies can be compared to Yahweh? Who among the sons of the heavenly beings is like Yahweh, 89:7 a very awesome G.o.d in the council of the holy ones, to be feared above all those who are around him? 89:8 Yahweh, G.o.d of Armies, who is a mighty one, like you? Yah, your faithfulness is around you.

89:9 You rule the pride of the sea. When its waves rise up, you calm them. 89:10 You have broken Rahab in pieces, like one of the slain. You have scattered your enemies with your mighty arm. 89:11 The heavens are yours. The earth also is yours; the world and its fullness. You have founded them. 89:12 The north and the south, you have created them.

Tabor and Hermon rejoice in your name. 89:13 You have a mighty arm. Your hand is strong, and your right hand is exalted. 89:14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Loving kindness and truth go before your face. 89:15 Blessed are the people who learn to acclaim you.

They walk in the light of your presence, Yahweh. 89:16 In your name they rejoice all day. In your righteousness, they are exalted. 89:17 For you are the glory of their strength. In your favor, our horn will be exalted. 89:18 For our shield belongs to Yahweh; our king to the Holy One of Israel. 89:19 Then you spoke in vision to your saints, and said, "I have bestowed strength on the warrior. I have exalted a young man from the people. 89:20 I have found David, my servant. I have anointed him with my holy oil, 89:21 with whom my hand shall be established. My arm will also strengthen him. 89:22 No enemy will tax him. No wicked man will oppress him. 89:23 I will beat down his adversaries before him, and strike those who hate him. 89:24 But my faithfulness and my loving kindness will be with him. In my name, his horn will be exalted. 89:25 I will set his hand also on the sea, and his right hand on the rivers.

89:26 He will call to me, 'You are my Father, my G.o.d, and the rock of my salvation!' 89:27 I will also appoint him my firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. 89:28 I will keep my loving kindness for him forevermore. My covenant will stand firm with him. 89:29 I will also make his seed endure forever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

89:30 If his children forsake my law, and don't walk in my ordinances; 89:31 if they break my statutes, and don't keep my commandments; 89:32 then I will punish their sin with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. 89:33 But I will not completely take my loving kindness from him, nor allow my faithfulness to fail. 89:34 I will not break my covenant, nor alter what my lips have uttered. 89:35 Once have I sworn by my holiness, I will not lie to David. 89:36 His seed will endure forever, his throne like the sun before me. 89:37 It will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky." Selah. 89:38 But you have rejected and spurned. You have been angry with your anointed. 89:39 You have renounced the covenant of your servant. You have defiled his crown in the dust. 89:40 You have broken down all his hedges. You have brought his strongholds to ruin. 89:41 All who pa.s.s by the way rob him. He has become a reproach to his neighbors. 89:42 You have exalted the right hand of his adversaries. You have made all of his enemies rejoice. 89:43 Yes, you turn back the edge of his sword, and haven't supported him in battle. 89:44 You have ended his splendor, and thrown his throne down to the ground. 89:45 You have shortened the days of his youth. You have covered him with shame. Selah. 89:46 How long, Yahweh? Will you hide yourself forever? Will your wrath burn like fire?

89:47 Remember how short my time is! For what vanity have you created all the children of men! 89:48 What man is he who shall live and not see death, who shall deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Selah. 89:49 Lord, where are your former loving kindnesses, which you swore to David in your faithfulness? 89:50 Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servants, how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the mighty peoples, 89:51 With which your enemies have mocked, Yahweh, with which they have mocked the footsteps of your anointed one. 89:52 Blessed be Yahweh forevermore. Amen, and Amen. BOOK IV

Psalm 90

A Prayer by Moses, the man of G.o.d.

90:1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place for all generations. 90:2 Before the mountains were brought forth, before you had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, you are G.o.d. 90:3 You turn man to destruction, saying, "Return, you children of men." 90:4 For a thousand years in your sight are just like yesterday when it is past, like a watch in the night. 90:5 You sweep them away as they sleep.

In the morning they sprout like new gra.s.s. 90:6 In the morning it sprouts and springs up. By evening, it is withered and dry. 90:7 For we are consumed in your anger. We are troubled in your wrath. 90:8 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins in the light of your presence. 90:9 For all our days have pa.s.sed away in your wrath. We bring our years to an end as a sigh. 90:10 The days of our years are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty years; yet their pride is but labor and sorrow, for it pa.s.ses quickly, and we fly away. 90:11 Who knows the power of your anger, your wrath according to the fear that is due to you? 90:12 So teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom. 90:13 Relent, Yahweh! How long? Have compa.s.sion on your servants! 90:14 Satisfy us in the morning with your loving kindness, that we may rejoice and be glad all our days. 90:15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us, for as many years as we have seen evil. 90:16 Let your work appear to your servants; your glory to their children. 90:17 Let the favor of the Lord our G.o.d be on us; establish the work of our hands for us; yes, establish the work of our hands.

Psalm 91

91:1 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 91:2 I will say of Yahweh, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my G.o.d, in whom I trust." 91:3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler, and from the deadly pestilence. 91:4 He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge. His faithfulness is your shield and rampart. 91:5 You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day; 91:6 nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that wastes at noonday. 91:7 A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it will not come near you. 91:8 You will only look with your eyes, and see the recompense of the wicked. 91:9 Because you have made Yahweh your refuge, and the Most High your dwelling place, 91:10 no evil shall happen to you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling. 91:11 For he will put his angels in charge of you, to guard you in all your ways. 91:12 They will bear you up in their hands, so that you won't dash your foot against a stone. 91:13 You will tread on the lion and cobra. You will trample the young lion and the serpent underfoot. 91:14 "Because he has set his love on me, therefore I will deliver him. I will set him on high, because he has known my name. 91:15 He will call on me, and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him, and honor him. 91:16 I will satisfy him with long life, and show him my salvation."

Psalm 92

A Psalm. A song for the Sabbath day.

92:1 It is a good thing to give thanks to Yahweh, to sing praises to your name, Most High; 92:2 to proclaim your loving kindness in the morning, and your faithfulness every night, 92:3 with the ten-stringed lute, with the harp, and with the melody of the lyre. 92:4 For you, Yahweh, have made me glad through your work. I will triumph in the works of your hands. 92:5 How great are your works, Yahweh! Your thoughts are very deep. 92:6 A senseless man doesn't know, neither does a fool understand this: 92:7 though the wicked spring up as the gra.s.s, and all the evil-doers flourish, they will be destroyed forever. 92:8 But you, Yahweh, are on high forevermore. 92:9 For, behold, your enemies, Yahweh, for, behold, your enemies shall perish. All the evil-doers will be scattered. 92:10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox.

I am anointed with fresh oil. 92:11 My eye has also seen my enemies. My ears have heard of the wicked enemies who rise up against me. 92:12 The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree. He will grow like a cedar in Lebanon. 92:13 They are planted in Yahweh's house. They will flourish in our G.o.d's courts. 92:14 They will still bring forth fruit in old age.

They will be full of sap and green, 92:15 to show that Yahweh is upright. He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.

Psalm 93

93:1 Yahweh reigns! He is clothed with majesty! Yahweh is armed with strength. The world also is established. It can't be moved. 93:2 Your throne is established from long ago. You are from everlasting. 93:3 The floods have lifted up, Yahweh, the floods have lifted up their voice.

The floods lift up their waves. 93:4 Above the voices of many waters, the mighty breakers of the sea, Yahweh on high is mighty. 93:5 Your statutes stand firm. Holiness adorns your house, Yahweh, forevermore.

Psalm 94

94:1 Yahweh, you G.o.d to whom vengeance belongs, you G.o.d to whom vengeance belongs, shine forth. 94:2 Rise up, you judge of the earth.

Pay back the proud what they deserve. 94:3 Yahweh, how long will the wicked, how long will the wicked triumph? 94:4 They pour out arrogant words. All the evil-doers boast. 94:5 They break your people in pieces, Yahweh, and afflict your heritage. 94:6 They kill the widow and the alien, and murder the fatherless. 94:7 They say, "Yah will not see, neither will Jacob's G.o.d consider." 94:8 Consider, you senseless among the people; you fools, when will you be wise? 94:9 He who implanted the ear, won't he hear? He who formed the eye, won't he see? 94:10 He who disciplines the nations, won't he punish? He who teaches man knows.

94:11 Yahweh knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile. 94:12 Blessed is the man whom you discipline, Yah, and teach out of your law; 94:13 that you may give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit is dug for the wicked. 94:14 For Yahweh won't reject his people, neither will he forsake his inheritance. 94:15 For judgment will return to righteousness. All the upright in heart shall follow it. 94:16 Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will stand up for me against the evil-doers? 94:17 Unless Yahweh had been my help, my soul would have soon lived in silence. 94:18 When I said, "My foot is slipping!" Your loving kindness, Yahweh, held me up. 94:19 In the mult.i.tude of my thoughts within me, your comforts delight my soul. 94:20 Shall the throne of wickedness have fellowship with you, which brings about mischief by statute? 94:21 They gather themselves together against the soul of the righteous, and condemn the innocent blood. 94:22 But Yahweh has been my high tower, my G.o.d, the rock of my refuge. 94:23 He has brought on them their own iniquity, and will cut them off in their own wickedness. Yahweh, our G.o.d, will cut them off.

Psalm 95

95:1 Oh come, let's sing to Yahweh. Let's shout aloud to the rock of our salvation! 95:2 Let's come before his presence with thanksgiving. Let's extol him with songs! 95:3 For Yahweh is a great G.o.d, a great King above all G.o.ds. 95:4 In his hand are the deep places of the earth. The heights of the mountains are also his. 95:5 The sea is his, and he made it. His hands formed the dry land. 95:6 Oh come, let's worship and bow down.

Let's kneel before Yahweh, our Maker, 95:7 for he is our G.o.d. We are the people of his pasture, and the sheep in his care. Today, oh that you would hear his voice! 95:8 Don't harden your heart, as at Meribah, as in the day of Ma.s.sah in the wilderness, 95:9 when your fathers tempted me, tested me, and saw my work. 95:10 Forty long years I was grieved with that generation, and said, "It is a people that errs in their heart.