Psalm 88[a]

A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.[b] A maskil[c] of Heman the Ezrahite.

Lord, you are the God who saves me;(A)
    day and night I cry out(B) to you.
May my prayer come before you;
    turn your ear to my cry.

I am overwhelmed with troubles(C)
    and my life draws near to death.(D)
I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(E)
    I am like one without strength.(F)
I am set apart with the dead,
    like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
    who are cut off(G) from your care.

You have put me in the lowest pit,
    in the darkest depths.(H)
Your wrath(I) lies heavily on me;
    you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d](J)
You have taken from me my closest friends(K)
    and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(L) and cannot escape;(M)
    my eyes(N) are dim with grief.

I call(O) to you, Lord, every day;
    I spread out my hands(P) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
    Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(Q)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
    your faithfulness(R) in Destruction[e]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
    or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?

13 But I cry to you for help,(S) Lord;
    in the morning(T) my prayer comes before you.(U)
14 Why, Lord, do you reject(V) me
    and hide your face(W) from me?

15 From my youth(X) I have suffered(Y) and been close to death;
    I have borne your terrors(Z) and am in despair.(AA)
16 Your wrath(AB) has swept over me;
    your terrors(AC) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(AD)
    they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(AE) and neighbor—
    darkness is my closest friend.

Psalm 89[f]

A maskil[g] of Ethan the Ezrahite.

I will sing(AF) of the Lord’s great love forever;
    with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known(AG)
    through all generations.
I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
    that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.(AH)
You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
    I have sworn to David my servant,
‘I will establish your line forever
    and make your throne firm through all generations.’”[h](AI)

The heavens(AJ) praise your wonders, Lord,
    your faithfulness too, in the assembly(AK) of the holy ones.
For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
    Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?(AL)
In the council(AM) of the holy ones(AN) God is greatly feared;
    he is more awesome than all who surround him.(AO)
Who is like you,(AP) Lord God Almighty?(AQ)
    You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.

You rule over the surging sea;
    when its waves mount up, you still them.(AR)
10 You crushed Rahab(AS) like one of the slain;
    with your strong arm you scattered(AT) your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours,(AU) and yours also the earth;(AV)
    you founded the world and all that is in it.(AW)
12 You created the north and the south;
    Tabor(AX) and Hermon(AY) sing for joy(AZ) at your name.
13 Your arm is endowed with power;
    your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.(BA)

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;(BB)
    love and faithfulness go before you.(BC)
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
    who walk(BD) in the light(BE) of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name(BF) all day long;
    they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,(BG)
    and by your favor you exalt our horn.[i](BH)
18 Indeed, our shield[j](BI) belongs to the Lord,
    our king(BJ) to the Holy One of Israel.

19 Once you spoke in a vision,
    to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
    I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David(BK) my servant;(BL)
    with my sacred oil(BM) I have anointed(BN) him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
    surely my arm will strengthen him.(BO)
22 The enemy will not get the better of him;(BP)
    the wicked will not oppress(BQ) him.
23 I will crush his foes before him(BR)
    and strike down his adversaries.(BS)
24 My faithful love will be with him,(BT)
    and through my name his horn[k] will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
    his right hand over the rivers.(BU)
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,(BV)
    my God, the Rock(BW) my Savior.’(BX)
27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,(BY)
    the most exalted(BZ) of the kings(CA) of the earth.
28 I will maintain my love to him forever,
    and my covenant with him will never fail.(CB)
29 I will establish his line forever,
    his throne as long as the heavens endure.(CC)

30 “If his sons forsake my law
    and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees
    and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
    their iniquity with flogging;(CD)
33 but I will not take my love from him,(CE)
    nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
    or alter what my lips have uttered.(CF)
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
    and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever
    and his throne endure before me like the sun;(CG)
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
    the faithful witness in the sky.”(CH)

38 But you have rejected,(CI) you have spurned,
    you have been very angry with your anointed one.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant
    and have defiled his crown in the dust.(CJ)
40 You have broken through all his walls(CK)
    and reduced his strongholds(CL) to ruins.
41 All who pass by have plundered(CM) him;
    he has become the scorn of his neighbors.(CN)
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
    you have made all his enemies rejoice.(CO)
43 Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword
    and have not supported him in battle.(CP)
44 You have put an end to his splendor
    and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short(CQ) the days of his youth;
    you have covered him with a mantle of shame.(CR)

46 How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
    How long will your wrath burn like fire?(CS)
47 Remember how fleeting is my life.(CT)
    For what futility you have created all humanity!
48 Who can live and not see death,
    or who can escape the power of the grave?(CU)
49 Lord, where is your former great love,
    which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has[l] been mocked,(CV)
    how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
51 the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked,
    with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.(CW)

52 Praise be to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.(CX)

BOOK IV

Psalms 90–106

Psalm 90

A prayer of Moses the man of God.

Lord, you have been our dwelling place(CY)
    throughout all generations.
Before the mountains were born(CZ)
    or you brought forth the whole world,
    from everlasting to everlasting(DA) you are God.(DB)

You turn people back to dust,
    saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”(DC)
A thousand years in your sight
    are like a day that has just gone by,
    or like a watch in the night.(DD)
Yet you sweep people away(DE) in the sleep of death—
    they are like the new grass of the morning:
In the morning it springs up new,
    but by evening it is dry and withered.(DF)

We are consumed by your anger
    and terrified by your indignation.
You have set our iniquities before you,
    our secret sins(DG) in the light of your presence.(DH)
All our days pass away under your wrath;
    we finish our years with a moan.(DI)
10 Our days may come to seventy years,(DJ)
    or eighty,(DK) if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,(DL)
    for they quickly pass, and we fly away.(DM)
11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
    Your wrath(DN) is as great as the fear that is your due.(DO)
12 Teach us to number our days,(DP)
    that we may gain a heart of wisdom.(DQ)

13 Relent, Lord! How long(DR) will it be?
    Have compassion on your servants.(DS)
14 Satisfy(DT) us in the morning with your unfailing love,(DU)
    that we may sing for joy(DV) and be glad all our days.(DW)
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
    for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
    your splendor to their children.(DX)

17 May the favor[m] of the Lord our God rest on us;
    establish the work of our hands for us—
    yes, establish the work of our hands.(DY)

Psalm 91

Whoever dwells in the shelter(DZ) of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow(EA) of the Almighty.[n]
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge(EB) and my fortress,(EC)
    my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare(ED)
    and from the deadly pestilence.(EE)
He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;(EF)
    his faithfulness will be your shield(EG) and rampart.
You will not fear(EH) the terror of night,
    nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
    nor the plague that destroys at midday.
A thousand may fall at your side,
    ten thousand at your right hand,
    but it will not come near you.
You will only observe with your eyes
    and see the punishment of the wicked.(EI)

If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
    and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm(EJ) will overtake you,
    no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels(EK) concerning you
    to guard you in all your ways;(EL)
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
    so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.(EM)
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
    you will trample the great lion and the serpent.(EN)

14 “Because he[o] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
    I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
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.(EO)
16 With long life(EP) I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.(EQ)

Psalm 92[p]

A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.

It is good to praise the Lord
    and make music(ER) to your name,(ES) O Most High,(ET)
proclaiming your love in the morning(EU)
    and your faithfulness at night,
to the music of the ten-stringed lyre(EV)
    and the melody of the harp.(EW)

For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
    I sing for joy(EX) at what your hands have done.(EY)
How great are your works,(EZ) Lord,
    how profound your thoughts!(FA)
Senseless people(FB) do not know,
    fools do not understand,
that though the wicked spring up like grass
    and all evildoers flourish,
    they will be destroyed forever.(FC)

But you, Lord, are forever exalted.

For surely your enemies(FD), Lord,
    surely your enemies will perish;
    all evildoers will be scattered.(FE)
10 You have exalted my horn[q](FF) like that of a wild ox;(FG)
    fine oils(FH) have been poured on me.
11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
    my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.(FI)

12 The righteous will flourish(FJ) like a palm tree,
    they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;(FK)
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
    they will flourish in the courts of our God.(FL)
14 They will still bear fruit(FM) in old age,
    they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
    he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.(FN)

Psalm 93

The Lord reigns,(FO) he is robed in majesty;(FP)
    the Lord is robed in majesty and armed with strength;(FQ)
    indeed, the world is established,(FR) firm and secure.(FS)
Your throne was established(FT) long ago;
    you are from all eternity.(FU)

The seas(FV) have lifted up, Lord,
    the seas have lifted up their voice;(FW)
    the seas have lifted up their pounding waves.(FX)
Mightier than the thunder(FY) of the great waters,
    mightier than the breakers(FZ) of the sea—
    the Lord on high is mighty.(GA)

Your statutes, Lord, stand firm;
    holiness(GB) adorns your house(GC)
    for endless days.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 88:1 In Hebrew texts 88:1-18 is numbered 88:2-19.
  2. Psalm 88:1 Title: Possibly a tune, “The Suffering of Affliction”
  3. Psalm 88:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  4. Psalm 88:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 10.
  5. Psalm 88:11 Hebrew Abaddon
  6. Psalm 89:1 In Hebrew texts 89:1-52 is numbered 89:2-53.
  7. Psalm 89:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
  8. Psalm 89:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 37, 45 and 48.
  9. Psalm 89:17 Horn here symbolizes strong one.
  10. Psalm 89:18 Or sovereign
  11. Psalm 89:24 Horn here symbolizes strength.
  12. Psalm 89:50 Or your servants have
  13. Psalm 90:17 Or beauty
  14. Psalm 91:1 Hebrew Shaddai
  15. Psalm 91:14 That is, probably the king
  16. Psalm 92:1 In Hebrew texts 92:1-15 is numbered 92:2-16.
  17. Psalm 92:10 Horn here symbolizes strength.

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