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.

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

Psalm 91

Whoever dwells in the shelter(A) of the Most High
    will rest in the shadow(B) of the Almighty.[a]
I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge(C) and my fortress,(D)
    my God, in whom I trust.”

Surely he will save you
    from the fowler’s snare(E)
    and from the deadly pestilence.(F)
He will cover you with his feathers,
    and under his wings you will find refuge;(G)
    his faithfulness will be your shield(H) and rampart.
You will not fear(I) 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.(J)

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

14 “Because he[b] 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.(P)
16 With long life(Q) I will satisfy him
    and show him my salvation.(R)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 91:1 Hebrew Shaddai
  2. Psalm 91:14 That is, probably the king

Psalm 95

Come,(A) let us sing for joy(B) to the Lord;
    let us shout aloud(C) to the Rock(D) of our salvation.
Let us come before him(E) with thanksgiving(F)
    and extol him with music(G) and song.

For the Lord is the great God,(H)
    the great King(I) above all gods.(J)
In his hand are the depths of the earth,(K)
    and the mountain peaks belong to him.
The sea is his, for he made it,
    and his hands formed the dry land.(L)

Come, let us bow down(M) in worship,(N)
    let us kneel(O) before the Lord our Maker;(P)
for he is our God
    and we are the people of his pasture,(Q)
    the flock under his care.

Today, if only you would hear his voice,
“Do not harden your hearts(R) as you did at Meribah,[a](S)
    as you did that day at Massah[b] in the wilderness,(T)
where your ancestors tested(U) me;
    they tried me, though they had seen what I did.
10 For forty years(V) I was angry with that generation;
    I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray,(W)
    and they have not known my ways.’(X)
11 So I declared on oath(Y) in my anger,
    ‘They shall never enter my rest.’”(Z)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 95:8 Meribah means quarreling.
  2. Psalm 95:8 Massah means testing.

Psalm 108[a](A)(B)

A song. A psalm of David.

My heart, O God, is steadfast;(C)
    I will sing(D) and make music with all my soul.
Awake, harp and lyre!(E)
    I will awaken the dawn.
I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;
    I will sing of you among the peoples.
For great is your love,(F) higher than the heavens;
    your faithfulness(G) reaches to the skies.(H)
Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;(I)
    let your glory be over all the earth.(J)

Save us and help us with your right hand,(K)
    that those you love may be delivered.
God has spoken(L) from his sanctuary:(M)
    “In triumph I will parcel out Shechem(N)
    and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.(O)
Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine;
    Ephraim is my helmet,
    Judah(P) is my scepter.
Moab(Q) is my washbasin,
    on Edom(R) I toss my sandal;
    over Philistia(S) I shout in triumph.”

10 Who will bring me to the fortified city?
    Who will lead me to Edom?
11 Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us
    and no longer go out with our armies?(T)
12 Give us aid against the enemy,
    for human help is worthless.(U)
13 With God we will gain the victory,
    and he will trample down(V) our enemies.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 108:1 In Hebrew texts 108:1-13 is numbered 108:2-14.

Psalm 109

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm.

My God, whom I praise,(A)
    do not remain silent,(B)
for people who are wicked and deceitful(C)
    have opened their mouths against me;
    they have spoken against me with lying tongues.(D)
With words of hatred(E) they surround me;
    they attack me without cause.(F)
In return for my friendship they accuse me,
    but I am a man of prayer.(G)
They repay me evil for good,(H)
    and hatred for my friendship.

Appoint someone evil to oppose my enemy;
    let an accuser(I) stand at his right hand.
When he is tried, let him be found guilty,(J)
    and may his prayers condemn(K) him.
May his days be few;(L)
    may another take his place(M) of leadership.
May his children be fatherless
    and his wife a widow.(N)
10 May his children be wandering beggars;(O)
    may they be driven[a] from their ruined homes.
11 May a creditor(P) seize all he has;
    may strangers plunder(Q) the fruits of his labor.(R)
12 May no one extend kindness to him
    or take pity(S) on his fatherless children.
13 May his descendants be cut off,(T)
    their names blotted out(U) from the next generation.
14 May the iniquity of his fathers(V) be remembered before the Lord;
    may the sin of his mother never be blotted out.
15 May their sins always remain before(W) the Lord,
    that he may blot out their name(X) from the earth.

16 For he never thought of doing a kindness,
    but hounded to death the poor
    and the needy(Y) and the brokenhearted.(Z)
17 He loved to pronounce a curse—
    may it come back on him.(AA)
He found no pleasure in blessing—
    may it be far from him.
18 He wore cursing(AB) as his garment;
    it entered into his body like water,(AC)
    into his bones like oil.
19 May it be like a cloak wrapped(AD) about him,
    like a belt tied forever around him.
20 May this be the Lord’s payment(AE) to my accusers,
    to those who speak evil(AF) of me.

21 But you, Sovereign Lord,
    help me for your name’s sake;(AG)
    out of the goodness of your love,(AH) deliver me.(AI)
22 For I am poor and needy,
    and my heart is wounded within me.
23 I fade away like an evening shadow;(AJ)
    I am shaken off like a locust.
24 My knees give(AK) way from fasting;(AL)
    my body is thin and gaunt.(AM)
25 I am an object of scorn(AN) to my accusers;
    when they see me, they shake their heads.(AO)

26 Help me,(AP) Lord my God;
    save me according to your unfailing love.
27 Let them know(AQ) that it is your hand,
    that you, Lord, have done it.
28 While they curse,(AR) may you bless;
    may those who attack me be put to shame,
    but may your servant rejoice.(AS)
29 May my accusers be clothed with disgrace
    and wrapped in shame(AT) as in a cloak.

30 With my mouth I will greatly extol the Lord;
    in the great throng(AU) of worshipers I will praise him.
31 For he stands at the right hand(AV) of the needy,
    to save their lives from those who would condemn them.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 109:10 Septuagint; Hebrew sought

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