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¹A Psalm of Asaph The mighty One, God, the LORD, has spoken, And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting [from east to west].

²Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth.

³May our God come and not keep silent; Fire devours before Him, And around Him a mighty tempest rages.

⁴He summons the heavens above, And the earth, to judge His people:

⁵"Gather My godly ones to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice."

⁶And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is judge. Selah.

⁷"Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you: I am God, your God.

⁸"I do not reprove you for your sacrifices; Your burnt offerings are continually before Me.

⁹"I will accept no young bull from your house Nor male goat from your folds.

¹⁰"For every beast of the forest is Mine, And the cattle on a thousand hills.

¹¹"I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine.

¹²"If I were hungry, I would not tell you, For the world and all it contains are Mine.

¹³"Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats?

¹⁴"Offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High;

¹⁵Call on Me in the day of trouble; I will rescue you, and you shall honor and glorify Me."

¹⁶But to the wicked God says: "What right have you to recite My statutes Or to take My covenant on your lips?

¹⁷"For you hate instruction and discipline And cast My words behind you [discarding them].

¹⁸"When you see a thief, you are pleased with him and condone his behavior, And you associate with adulterers.

¹⁹"You give your mouth to evil And your tongue frames deceit.

²⁰"You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son.

²¹"These things you have done and I kept silent; You thought that I was just like you. Now I will reprimand and denounce you and state the case in order before your eyes.

²²"Now consider this, you who forget God, Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be no one to rescue [you].

²³"He who offers a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way rightly [who follows the way that I show him], I shall show the salvation of God."

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came to him after he had sinned with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.

²Wash me thoroughly from my wickedness and guilt And cleanse me from my sin.

³For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them; My sin is always before me.

⁴Against You, You only, have I sinned And done that which is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak [Your sentence] And faultless in Your judgment.

⁵I was brought forth in [a state of] wickedness; In sin my mother conceived me [and from my beginning I, too, was sinful].

⁶Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part [of my heart] You will make me know wisdom.

⁷Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; Wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

⁸Make me hear joy and gladness and be satisfied; Let the bones which You have broken rejoice.

⁹Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a right and steadfast spirit within me.

¹¹Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

¹²Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit.

¹³Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted and return to You.

¹⁴Rescue me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will sing joyfully of Your righteousness and Your justice.

¹⁵O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise.

¹⁶For You do not delight in sacrifice, or else I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering.

¹⁷My [only] sacrifice [acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; A broken and contrite heart [broken with sorrow for sin, thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise.

¹⁸By Your favor do good to Zion; May You rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then will You delight in the sacrifices of righteousness, In burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.

¹To the Chief Musician. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem. A Psalm of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, "David has come to the house of Ahimelech." Why do you boast of evil, O mighty man? The lovingkindness of God endures all day long.

²Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

³You love evil more than good, And falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah.

⁴You love all words that devour, O deceitful tongue.

⁵But God will break you down forever; He will take you away and tear you away from your tent, And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah.

⁶The righteous will see it and fear, And will [scoffingly] laugh, saying,

⁷"Look, [this is] the man who would not make God his strength [his stronghold and fortress], But trusted in the abundance of his riches, Taking refuge in his wealth."

⁸But as for me, I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust [confidently] in the lovingkindness of God forever and ever.

⁹I will thank You forever, because You have done it, [You have rescued me and kept me safe]. I will wait on Your name, for it is good, in the presence of Your godly ones.

¹To the Chief Musician; in a mournful strain. A skillful song, or didactic or reflective poem of David. The [empty-headed] fool has said in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt and evil, and have committed repulsive injustice; There is no one who does good.

²God has looked down from heaven upon the children of men To see if there is anyone who understands, Who seeks after God [who requires Him, who longs for Him as essential to life].

³Every one of them has turned aside and fallen away; Together they have become filthy and corrupt; There is no one who does good, no, not even one.

⁴Have workers of wickedness no knowledge or no understanding? They eat up My people as though they ate bread And have not called upon God.

⁵There they were, in great terror and dread, where there had been no terror or dread; For God scattered the bones of him who besieged you; You have put them to shame, because God has rejected them.

⁶Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores [the fortunes of] His people, Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

¹To the Chief Musician; with stringed instruments. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, "David is hiding among us." Save me, O God, by Your name; And vindicate me by Your [wondrous] power.

²Hear my prayer, O God; Listen to the words of my mouth.

³For strangers have risen against me And violent men have sought my life; They have not set God before them. Selah.

⁴Behold, God is my helper and ally; The Lord is the sustainer of my soul [my upholder].

⁵He will pay back the evil to my enemies; In Your faithfulness destroy them.

⁶With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to You; I will give thanks and praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good.

⁷For He has rescued me from every trouble, And my eye has looked with satisfaction (triumph) on my enemies.

¹To the Chief Musician; with stringed instruments. A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of David. Listen to my prayer, O God, And do not hide Yourself from my plea.

²Listen to me and answer me; I am restless and distraught in my complaint and distracted

³Because of the voice of the enemy, Because of the pressure of the wicked; For they bring down trouble on me, And in anger they persecute me.

⁴My heart is in anguish within me, And the terrors of death have fallen upon me.

⁵Fear and trembling have come upon me; Horror has overwhelmed me.

⁶And I say, "Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.

⁷"I would wander far away, I would lodge in the [peace of the] wilderness. Selah.

⁸"I would hurry to my refuge [my tranquil shelter far away] From the stormy wind and from the tempest."

⁹Confuse [my enemies], O Lord, divide their tongues [destroying their schemes], For I have seen violence and strife in the city.

¹⁰Day and night they go around her walls; Wickedness and mischief are in her midst.

¹¹Destruction is within her; Oppression and deceit do not depart from her streets and market places.

¹²For it is not an enemy who taunts me— Then I could bear it; Nor is it one who has hated me who insolently exalts himself against me— Then I could hide from him.

¹³But it is you, a man my equal and my counsel, My companion and my familiar friend;

¹⁴We who had sweet fellowship together, Who walked to the house of God in company.

¹⁵Let death come deceitfully upon them; Let them go down alive to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), For evil [of every kind] is in their dwelling and in their hearts, in their midst.

¹⁶As for me, I shall call upon God, And the LORD will save me.

¹⁷Evening and morning and at noon I will complain and murmur, And He will hear my voice.

¹⁸He has redeemed my life in peace from the battle that was against me, For there were many against me.

¹⁹God will hear and humble them, Even He who sits enthroned from old— Selah. Because in them there has been no change [of heart], And they do not fear God [at all].

²⁰He [my companion] has put out his hands against those who were at peace with him; He has broken his covenant [of friendship and loyalty].

²¹The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, But his heart was hostile; His words were softer than oil, Yet they were drawn swords.

²²Cast your burden on the LORD [release it] and He will sustain and uphold you; He will never allow the righteous to be shaken (slip, fall, fail).

²³But You, O God, will bring down the wicked to the pit of destruction; Men of blood and treachery will not live out half their days. But I will [boldly and unwaveringly] trust in You.