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¹Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech, who drove him out, and he departed. [1] I will bless the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.

²I will boast in the LORD; the humble will hear and be glad.

³Proclaim the LORD’s greatness with me; let us exalt his name together.

⁴I sought the LORD, and he answered me and rescued me from all my fears.

⁵Those who look to him are radiant with joy; their faces will never be ashamed.

⁶This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him from all his troubles.

⁷The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and rescues them.

⁸Taste and see that the LORD is good. How happy is the person who takes refuge in him!

⁹You who are his holy ones, fear the LORD, for those who fear him lack nothing.

¹⁰Young lions lack food and go hungry, but those who seek the LORD will not lack any good thing.

¹¹Come, children, listen to me; I will teach you the fear of the LORD.

¹²Who is someone who desires life, loving a long life to enjoy what is good?

¹³Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech.

¹⁴Turn away from evil and do what is good; seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵The eyes of the LORD are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their cry for help.

¹⁶The face of the LORD is set against those who do what is evil, to remove all memory of them from the earth.

¹⁷The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears, and rescues them from all their troubles.

¹⁸The LORD is near the brokenhearted; he saves those crushed in spirit.

¹⁹One who is righteous has many adversities, but the LORD rescues him from them all.

²⁰He protects all his bones; not one of them is broken.

²¹Evil brings death to the wicked, and those who hate the righteous will be punished.

²²The LORD redeems the life of his servants, and all who take refuge in him will not be punished.

¹Of David. [1] Oppose my opponents, LORD; fight those who fight me.

²Take your shields — large and small — and come to my aid.

³Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers, and assure me: “I am your deliverance.”

⁴Let those who intend to take my life be disgraced and humiliated; let those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed.

⁵Let them be like chaff in the wind, with the angel of the LORD driving them away.

⁶Let their way be dark and slippery, with the angel of the LORD pursuing them.

⁷They hid their net for me without cause; they dug a pit for me without cause.

⁸Let ruin come on him unexpectedly, and let the net that he hid ensnare him; let him fall into it — to his ruin.

⁹Then I will rejoice in the LORD; I will delight in his deliverance.

¹⁰All my bones will say, “LORD, who is like you, rescuing the poor from one too strong for him, the poor or the needy from one who robs him?”

¹¹Malicious witnesses come forward; they question me about things I do not know.

¹²They repay me evil for good, making me desolate.

¹³Yet when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth; I humbled myself with fasting, and my prayer was genuine.

¹⁴I went about mourning as if for my friend or brother; I was bowed down with grief, like one mourning for a mother.

¹⁵But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; they gathered against me. Assailants I did not know tore at me and did not stop.

¹⁶With godless mockery they gnashed their teeth at me.

¹⁷Lord, how long will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages; rescue my precious life from the young lions.

¹⁸I will praise you in the great assembly; I will exalt you among many people.

¹⁹Do not let my deceitful enemies rejoice over me; do not let those who hate me without cause wink at me maliciously.

²⁰For they do not speak in friendly ways, but contrive fraudulent schemes against those who live peacefully in the land.

²¹They open their mouths wide against me and say, “Aha, aha! We saw it!”

²²You saw it, LORD; do not be silent. Lord, do not be far from me.

²³Wake up and rise to my defense, to my cause, my God and my Lord!

²⁴Vindicate me, LORD my God, in keeping with your righteousness, and do not let them rejoice over me.

²⁵Do not let them say in their hearts, “Aha! Just what we wanted.” Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up!”

²⁶Let those who rejoice at my misfortune be disgraced and humiliated; let those who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and reproach.

²⁷Let those who want my vindication shout for joy and be glad; let them continually say, “The LORD be exalted. He takes pleasure in his servant’s well-being.”

²⁸And my tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praise all day long.

¹For the choir director. Of David, the LORD’s servant. [1] An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked person: Dread of God has no effect on him.

²For with his flattering opinion of himself, he does not discover and hate his iniquity.

³The words from his mouth are malicious and deceptive; he has stopped acting wisely and doing good.

⁴Even on his bed he makes malicious plans. He sets himself on a path that is not good, and he does not reject evil.

⁵LORD, your faithful love reaches to heaven, your faithfulness to the clouds.

⁶Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your judgments like the deepest sea. LORD, you preserve people and animals.

⁷How priceless your faithful love is, God! People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.

⁸They are filled from the abundance of your house. You let them drink from your refreshing stream.

⁹For the wellspring of life is with you. By means of your light we see light.

¹⁰Spread your faithful love over those who know you, and your righteousness over the upright in heart.

¹¹Do not let the foot of the arrogant come near me or the hand of the wicked drive me away.

¹²There! The evildoers have fallen. They have been thrown down and cannot rise.

¹Of David. [1] Do not be agitated by evildoers; do not envy those who do wrong.

²For they wither quickly like grass and wilt like tender green plants.

³Trust in the LORD and do what is good; dwell in the land and live securely.

⁴Take delight in the LORD, and he will give you your heart’s desires.

⁵Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act,

⁶making your righteousness shine like the dawn, your justice like the noonday.

⁷Be silent before the LORD and wait expectantly for him; do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way, by the person who carries out evil plans.

⁸Refrain from anger and give up your rage; do not be agitated — it can only bring harm.

⁹For evildoers will be destroyed, but those who put their hope in the LORD will inherit the land.

¹⁰A little while, and the wicked person will be no more; though you look for him, he will not be there.

¹¹But the humble will inherit the land and will enjoy abundant prosperity.

¹²The wicked person schemes against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him.

¹³The Lord laughs at him because he sees that his day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the bow to bring down the poor and needy and to slaughter those whose way is upright.

¹⁵Their swords will enter their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶The little that the righteous person has is better than the abundance of many wicked people.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the LORD supports the righteous.

¹⁸The LORD watches over the blameless all their days, and their inheritance will last forever.

¹⁹They will not be disgraced in times of adversity; they will be satisfied in days of hunger.

²⁰But the wicked will perish; the LORD’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures, will fade away — they will fade away like smoke.

²¹The wicked person borrows and does not repay, but the righteous one is gracious and giving.

²²Those who are blessed by the LORD will inherit the land, but those cursed by him will be destroyed.

²³A person’s steps are established by the LORD, and he takes pleasure in his way.

²⁴Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed, because the LORD supports him with his hand.

²⁵I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned or his children begging for bread.

²⁶He is always generous, always lending, and his children are a blessing.

²⁷Turn away from evil, do what is good, and settle permanently.

²⁸For the LORD loves justice and will not abandon his faithful ones. They are kept safe forever, but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.

²⁹The righteous will inherit the land and dwell in it permanently.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom; his tongue speaks what is just.

³¹The instruction of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter.

³²The wicked one lies in wait for the righteous and intends to kill him;

³³the LORD will not leave him in the power of the wicked one or allow him to be condemned when he is judged.

³⁴Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land. You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.

³⁵I have seen a wicked, violent person well-rooted, like a flourishing native tree.

³⁶Then I passed by and noticed he was gone; I searched for him, but he could not be found.

³⁷Watch the blameless and observe the upright, for the person of peace will have a future.

³⁸But transgressors will all be eliminated; the future of the wicked will be destroyed.

³⁹The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD, their refuge in a time of distress.

⁴⁰The LORD helps and delivers them; he will deliver them from the wicked and will save them because they take refuge in him.