Why are the nations in an uproar?
Why do the peoples mutter empty threats?
Why do the kings of the earth rise up in revolt,
and the princes plot together,
against the Lord and against his Anointed?
“Let us break their yoke,” they say;
“let us cast off their bonds from us.”

He whose throne is in heaven is laughing;
the Lord has them in derision.
Then he speaks to them in his wrath,
and his rage fills them with terror.
“I myself have set my king,
upon my holy hill of Zion.”

Let me announce the decree of the Lord:
he said to me, “You are my Son;
this day have I begotten you.

Ask of me, and I will give you the nations for your inheritance
and the ends of the earth for your possession.
You shall crush them with an iron rod
and shatter them like a piece of pottery.”

And now, you kings, be wise;
be warned, you rulers of the earth.
Submit to the Lord with fear,
and with trembling bow before him;
lest he be angry and you perish;
for his wrath is quickly kindled.

Happy are they all
who take refuge in him!

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
and are so far from my cry
and from the words of my distress?
O my God, I cry in the daytime, but you do not answer;
by night as well, but I find no rest.

Yet you are the Holy One,
enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
Our forefathers put their trust in you;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
They cried out to you and were delivered;
they trusted in you and were not put to shame.

But as for me, I am a worm and no man,
scorned by all and despised by the people.
All who see me laugh me to scorn;
they curl their lips and wag their heads, saying,
“He trusted in the Lord; let him deliver him;
let him rescue him, if he delights in him.”

Yet you are he who took me out of the womb,
and kept me safe upon my mother’s breast.
I have been entrusted to you ever since I was born;
you were my God when I was still in my mother’s womb.
Be not far from me, for trouble is near,
and there is none to help.

Many young bulls encircle me;
strong bulls of Bashan surround me.
They open wide their jaws at me,
like a ravening and a roaring lion.

I am poured out like water;
all my bones are out of joint;
my heart within my breast is melting wax.

My mouth is dried out like a pot-sherd;
my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
and you have laid me in the dust of the grave.

Packs of dogs close me in,
and gangs of evildoers circle around me;
they pierce my hands and my feet;
I can count all my bones.

They stare and gloat over me;
they divide my garments among them;
they cast lots for my clothing.

Be not far away, O Lord;
you are my strength; hasten to help me.
Save me from the sword,
my life from the power of the dog.

Save me from the lion’s mouth,
my wretched body from the horns of wild bulls.
I will declare your Name to my brethren;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you.

Praise the Lord, you that fear him;
stand in awe of him, O offspring of Israel;
all you of Jacob’s line, give glory.

For he does not despise nor abhor the poor in their poverty;
neither does he hide his face from them;
but when they cry to him he hears them.

My praise is of him in the great assembly;
I will perform my vows in the presence of those who worship him.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied,
and those who seek the Lord shall praise him:
“May your heart live for ever!”

All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord,
and all the families of the nations shall bow before him.
For kingship belongs to the Lord;
he rules over the nations.
To him alone all who sleep in the earth bow down in worship;
all who go down to the dust fall before him.

My soul shall live for him;
my descendants shall serve him;
they shall be known as the Lord’s for ever.
They shall come and make known to a people yet unborn
the saving deeds that he has done.

The Lord is my light and my salvation;
whom then shall I fear?
the Lord is the strength of my life;
of whom then shall I be afraid?

When evildoers came upon me to eat up my flesh,
it was they, my foes and my adversaries, who stumbled and fell.

Though an army should encamp against me,
yet my heart shall not be afraid;
And though war should rise up against me,
yet will I put my trust in him.

One thing have I asked of the Lord;
one thing I seek;
that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life;
To behold the fair beauty of the Lord
and to seek him in his temple.

For in the day of trouble he shall keep me safe in his shelter;
he shall hide me in the secrecy of his dwelling
and set me high upon a rock.
Even now he lifts up my head
above my enemies round about me.

Therefore will I offer in his dwelling an oblation
with sounds of great gladness;
I will sing and make music to the Lord.
Hearken to my voice, O Lord, when I call;
have mercy on me and answer me.

You speak in my heart and say, “Seek my face.”
Your face, Lord, will I seek.
Hide not your face from me,
nor turn away your servant in displeasure.

You have been my helper;
cast me not away;
do not forsake me, O God of my salvation.
Though my father and my mother forsake me,
the Lord will sustain me.

Show me your way, O Lord,
lead me on a level path, because of my enemies.
Deliver me not into the hand of my adversaries,
for false witnesses have risen up against me,
and also those who speak malice.

What if I had not believed
that I should see the goodness of the Lord
in the land of the living!
O tarry and await the Lord’s pleasure;
be strong, and he shall comfort your heart;
wait patiently for the Lord.

O Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger;
do not punish me in your wrath.
For your arrows have already pierced me,
and your hand presses hard upon me.

There is no health in my flesh,
because of your indignation;
there is no soundness in my body, because of my sin.

For my iniquities overwhelm me;
like a heavy burden they are too much for me to bear.
My wounds stink and fester
by reason of my foolishness.
I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;
I go about in mourning all the day long.

My loins are filled with searing pain;
there is no health in my body.
I am utterly numb and crushed;
I wail, because of the groaning of my heart.

O Lord, you know all my desires,
and my sighing is not hidden from you.
My heart is pounding, my strength has failed me,
and the brightness of my eyes is gone from me.

My friends and companions draw back from my affliction;
my neighbors stand afar off.
Those who seek after my life lay snares for me;
those who strive to hurt me speak of my ruin
and plot treachery all the day long.

But I am like the deaf who do not hear,
like those who are mute and do not open their mouth.
I have become like one who does not hear
and from whose mouth comes no defense.

For in you, O Lord, have I fixed my hope;
you will answer me, O Lord my God.
For I said, “Do not let them rejoice at my expense,
those who gloat over me when my foot slips.”

Truly, I am on the verge of falling,
and my pain is always with me.
I will confess my iniquity
and be sorry for my sin.

Those who are my enemies without cause are mighty,
and many in number are those who wrongfully hate me.
Those who repay evil for good slander me,
because I follow the course that is right.

O Lord, do not forsake me;
be not far from me, O my God.
Make haste to help me,
O Lord of my salvation.

I waited patiently upon the Lord;
he stooped to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the desolate pit, out of the mire and clay;
he set my feet upon a high cliff and made my footing sure.

He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God;
many shall see, and stand in awe,
and put their trust in the Lord.

Happy are they who trust in the Lord!
they do not resort to evil spirits or turn to false gods.

Great things are they that you have done, O Lord my God!
how great your wonders and your plans for us!
there is none who can be compared with you.
Oh, that I could make them known and tell them!
but they are more than I can count.

In sacrifice and offering you take no pleasure
(you have given me ears to hear you);
Burnt-offering and sin-offering you have not required,
And so I said, “Behold, I come.

In the roll of the book it is written concerning me:
‘I love to do your will, O my God;
your law is deep in my heart.’”

I proclaimed righteousness in the great congregation;
behold, I did not restrain my lips;
and that, O Lord, you know.

Your righteousness have I not hidden in my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your deliverance;
I have not concealed your love and faithfulness from the great congregation.

You are the Lord;
do not withhold your compassion from me;
let your love and your faithfulness keep me safe for ever.

For innumerable troubles have crowded upon me;
my sins have overtaken me, and I cannot see;
they are more in number than the hairs of my head,
and my heart fails me.

Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me;
O Lord, make haste to help me.

Let them be ashamed and altogether dismayed
who seek after my life to destroy it;
let them draw back and be disgraced
who take pleasure in my misfortune.
Let those who say “Aha!” and gloat over me be confounded,
because they are ashamed.

Let all who seek you rejoice in you and be glad;
let those who love your salvation continually say,
“Great is the Lord!”

Though I am poor and afflicted,
the Lord will have regard for me.
You are my helper and my deliverer;
do not tarry, O my God.

Save me, O God, by your Name;
in your might, defend my cause.
Hear my prayer, O God;
give ear to the words of my mouth.

For the arrogant have risen up against me,
and the ruthless have sought my life,
those who have no regard for God.

Behold, God is my helper;
it is the Lord who sustains my life.
Render evil to those who spy on me;
in your faithfulness, destroy them.

I will offer you a freewill sacrifice
and praise your Name, O Lord, for it is good.
For you have rescued me from every trouble,
and my eye has seen the ruin of my foes.

Rescue me from my enemies, O God;
protect me from those who rise up against me.
Rescue me from evildoers
and save me from those who thirst for my blood.

See how they lie in wait for my life,
how the mighty gather together against me;
not for any offense or fault of mine, O Lord.
Not because of any guilt of mine
they run and prepare themselves for battle.

Rouse yourself, come to my side, and see;
for you, Lord God of hosts, are Israel’s God.
Awake, and punish all the ungodly;
show no mercy to those who are faithless and evil.
They go to and fro in the evening;
they snarl like dogs and run about the city.

Behold, they boast with their mouths,
and taunts are on their lips;
“For who,” they say, “will hear us?”
But you, O Lord, you laugh at them;
you laugh all the ungodly to scorn.

My eyes are fixed on you, O my Strength;
for you, O God, are my stronghold.

My merciful God comes to meet me;
God will let me look in triumph on my enemies.
Slay them, O God, lest my people forget;
send them reeling by your might
and put them down, O Lord, our shield.

For the sins of their mouths, for the words of their lips,
for the cursing and lies that they utter,
let them be caught in their pride.

Make an end of them in your wrath;
make an end of them, and they shall be no more.
Let everyone know that God rules in Jacob,
and to the ends of the earth.

They go to and fro in the evening;
they snarl like dogs and run about the city.
They forage for food,
and if they are not filled, they howl.

For my part, I will sing of your strength;
I will celebrate your love in the morning;
For you have become my stronghold,
a refuge in the day of my trouble.

To you, O my Strength, will I sing;
for you, O God, are my stronghold and my merciful God.

O Lord, my God, my Savior,
by day and night I cry to you.
Let my prayer enter into your presence;
incline your ear to my lamentation.
For I am full of trouble;
my life is at the brink of the grave.

I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;
I have become like one who has no strength;
Lost among the dead
like the slain who lie in the grave,
Whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.

You have laid me in the depths of the Pit,
in dark places, and in the abyss.
Your anger weighs upon me heavily,
and all your great waves overwhelm me.

You have put my friends far from me;
you have made me to be abhorred by them;
I am in prison and cannot get free.

My sight has failed me because of trouble;
Lord, I have called upon you daily;
I have stretched out my hands to you.

Do you work wonders for the dead?
will those who have died stand up and give you thanks?
Will your loving-kindness be declared in the grave?
your faithfulness in the land of destruction?
Will your wonders be known in the dark?
or your righteousness in the country where all is forgotten?

But as for me, O Lord, I cry to you for help;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Lord, why have you rejected me?
why have you hidden your face from me?

Ever since my youth, I have been wretched and at the point of death;
I have borne your terrors with a troubled mind.
Your blazing anger has swept over me;
your terrors have destroyed me;

They surround me all day long like a flood;
they encompass me on every side.
My friend and my neighbor you have put away from me,
and darkness is my only companion.

O Lord God of vengeance,
O God of vengeance, show yourself.
Rise up, O Judge of the world;
give the arrogant their just deserts.

How long shall the wicked, O Lord,
how long shall the wicked triumph?
They bluster in their insolence;
all evildoers are full of boasting.

They crush your people, O Lord,
and afflict your chosen nation.
They murder the widow and the stranger
and put the orphans to death.

Yet they say, “The Lord does not see,
the God of Jacob takes no notice.”
Consider well, you dullards among the people;
when will you fools understand?

He that planted the ear, does he not hear?
he that formed the eye, does he not see?
He who admonishes the nations, will he not punish?
he who teaches all the world, has he no knowledge?
The Lord knows our human thoughts;
how like a puff of wind they are.

Happy are they whom you instruct, O Lord!
whom you teach out of your law;
To give them rest in evil days,
until a pit is dug for the wicked.

For the Lord will not abandon his people,
nor will he forsake his own.
For judgment will again be just,
and all the true of heart will follow it.

Who rose up for me against the wicked?
who took my part against the evildoers?
If the Lord had not come to my help,
I should soon have dwelt in the land of silence.

As often as I said, “My foot has slipped,”
your love, O Lord, upheld me.
When many cares fill my mind,
your consolations cheer my soul.

Can a corrupt tribunal have any part with you,
one which frames evil into law?
They conspire against the life of the just
and condemn the innocent to death.

But the Lord has become my stronghold,
and my God the rock of my trust.
He will turn their wickedness back upon them
and destroy them in their own malice;
the Lord our God will destroy them.