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¹A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart.

²But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped.

³For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

⁴For there are no pains in their death, Their body is fat and pampered.

⁵They are not in trouble as other men, Nor are they plagued like mankind.

⁶Therefore pride is their necklace; Violence covers them like a garment [like a long, luxurious robe].

⁷Their eye bulges from fatness [they have more than the heart desires]; The imaginations of their mind run riot [with foolishness].

⁸They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak loftily [with malice].

⁹They set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue swaggers through the earth.

¹⁰Therefore his people return to this place, And waters of abundance [offered by the irreverent] are [blindly] drunk by them.

¹¹They say, "How does God know? Is there knowledge [of us] with the Most High?"

¹²Behold, these are the ungodly, Who always prosper and are at ease [in the world]; they have increased in wealth.

¹³Surely then in vain I have cleansed my heart And washed my hands in innocence.

¹⁴For all the day long have I been stricken, And punished every morning.

¹⁵If I had said, "I will say this," [and expressed my feelings], I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.

¹⁶When I considered how to understand this, It was too great an effort for me and too painful

¹⁷Until I came into the sanctuary of God; Then I understood [for I considered] their end.

¹⁸Surely You set the wicked-minded and immoral on slippery places; You cast them down to destruction.

¹⁹How they are destroyed in a moment! They are completely swept away by sudden terrors!

²⁰Like a dream [which seems real] until one awakens, O Lord, when stirred, [You observe the wicked], You will despise their image.

²¹When my heart was embittered And I was pierced within [as with the fang of an adder],

²²Then I was senseless and ignorant; I was like a beast before You.

²³Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand.

²⁴You will guide me with Your counsel, And afterward receive me to honor and glory.

²⁵Whom have I in heaven [but You]? And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

²⁶My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the rock and strength of my heart and my portion forever.

²⁷For behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful and have abandoned You.

²⁸But as for me, it is good for me to draw near to God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge and placed my trust in Him, That I may tell of all Your works.

¹A skillful song, or a didactic or reflective poem, of Asaph. O God, why have You rejected us forever? Why does Your anger smoke against the sheep of Your pasture?

²Remember Your congregation, which You have purchased of old, Which You have redeemed to be the tribe of Your inheritance; Remember Mount Zion, where You have dwelt.

³Turn your footsteps [quickly] toward the perpetual ruins; The enemy has damaged everything within the sanctuary.

⁴In the midst of Your meeting place Your enemies have roared [with their battle cry]; They have set up their own emblems for signs [of victory].

⁵It seems as if one had lifted up An axe in a forest of trees [to set a record of destruction].

⁶And now all the carved work [of the meeting place] They smash with hatchets and hammers.

⁷They have burned Your sanctuary to the ground; They have profaned the dwelling place of Your name.

⁸They said in their heart, "Let us completely subdue them." They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

⁹We do not see our symbols; There is no longer any prophet [to guide us], Nor does any among us know for how long.

¹⁰O God, how long will the adversary scoff? Is the enemy to revile Your name forever?

¹¹Why do You withdraw Your hand, even Your right hand [from judging the enemy]? Remove Your hand from Your chest, destroy them!

¹²Yet God is my King of old, Working salvation in the midst of the earth.

¹³You divided the [Red] Sea by Your strength; You broke the heads of the sea monsters in the waters.

¹⁴You crushed the heads of Leviathan (Egypt); You gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

¹⁵You broke open fountains and streams; You dried up ever-flowing rivers.

¹⁶The day is Yours, the night also is Yours; You have established and prepared the [heavenly] light and the sun.

¹⁷You have defined and established all the borders of the earth [the divisions of land and sea and of the nations]; You have made summer and winter.

¹⁸Remember this, O LORD, the enemy has scoffed, And a foolish and impious people has spurned Your name.

¹⁹Oh, do not hand over the soul of your turtledove to the wild beast; Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.

²⁰Consider the covenant [You made with Abraham], For the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

²¹Let not the oppressed return dishonored; Let the afflicted and needy praise Your name.

²²Arise, O God, plead Your own cause; Remember how the foolish man scoffs at You all day long.

²³Do not forget the [clamoring] voices of Your adversaries, The uproar of those who rise against You, which ascends continually [to Your ears].

¹To the Chief Musician; set to [the tune of] "Do Not Destroy." A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. We give thanks and praise to You, O God, we give thanks, For Your [wonderful works declare that Your] name is near; People declare Your wonders.

²"When I select an appointed time, I will judge with equity," [says the LORD].

³"The earth and all the inhabitants of it melt [in tumultuous times]. It is I who will steady its pillars. Selah.

⁴"I said to the arrogant, 'Do not boast;' And to the wicked, 'Do not lift up the horn [of self-glorification].

⁵'Do not lift up your [defiant and aggressive] horn on high, Do not speak with a stiff neck.'"

⁶For not from the east, nor from the west, Nor from the desert comes exaltation.

⁷But God is the Judge; He puts down one and lifts up another.

⁸For a cup [of His wrath] is in the hand of the LORD, and the wine foams; It is well mixed and fully spiced, and He pours out from it; And all the wicked of the earth must drain it and drink down to its dregs.

⁹But as for me, I will declare it and rejoice forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

¹⁰All the horns of the wicked He will cut off, But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.

¹To the Chief Musician; on stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song. God is known in Judah; His name is great in Israel.

²His tabernacle is in Salem (Jerusalem); His dwelling place is in Zion.

³There He broke the flaming arrows, The shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah.

⁴You are glorious and resplendent, More majestic than the mountains of prey.

⁵The stouthearted have been stripped of their spoil, They have slept the sleep [of death]; And none of the warriors could use his hands.

⁶At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob, Both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep [of death].

⁷You, even You, are to be feared [with the submissive wonder of reverence]; Who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?

⁸You caused judgment to be heard from heaven; The earth feared and was quiet

⁹When God arose to [establish] judgment, To save all the humble of the earth. Selah.

¹⁰For the wrath of man shall praise You; With a remnant of wrath You will clothe and arm Yourself.

¹¹Make vows to the LORD your God and fulfill them; Let all who are around Him bring gifts to Him who is to be feared [with awe-inspired reverence].

¹²He will cut off the spirit of princes; He is awesome and feared by the kings of the earth.

¹To the Chief Musician; according to Jeduthun [one of David's three chief musicians, founder of an official musical family]. A Psalm of Asaph. My voice rises to God, and I will cry aloud; My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.

²In the day of my trouble I [desperately] sought the Lord; In the night my hand was stretched out [in prayer] without weariness; My soul refused to be comforted.

³I remember God; then I am disquieted and I groan; I sigh [in prayer], and my spirit grows faint. Selah.

⁴You have held my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

⁵I have considered the ancient days, The years [of prosperity] of long, long ago.

⁶I will remember my song in the night; I will meditate with my heart, And my spirit searches:

⁷Will the Lord reject forever? And will He never be favorable again?

⁸Has His lovingkindness ceased forever? Have His promises ended for all time?

⁹Has God forgotten to be gracious? Or has He in anger withdrawn His compassion? Selah.

¹⁰And I said, "This is my grief, That the right hand of the Most High has changed [and His lovingkindness is withheld]."

¹¹I will [solemnly] remember the deeds of the LORD; Yes, I will [wholeheartedly] remember Your wonders of old.

¹²I will meditate on all Your works And thoughtfully consider all Your [great and wondrous] deeds.

¹³Your way, O God, is holy [far from sin and guilt]. What god is great like our God?

¹⁴You are the [awesome] God who works [powerful] wonders; You have demonstrated Your power among the people.

¹⁵You have with Your [great] arm redeemed Your people, The sons of Jacob and Joseph. Selah.

¹⁶The waters [of the Red Sea] saw You, O God; The waters saw You, they were in anguish; The deeps also trembled.

¹⁷The clouds poured down water; The skies sent out a sound [of rumbling thunder]; Your arrows (lightning) flashed here and there.

¹⁸The voice of Your thunder was in the whirlwind; The lightnings illumined the world; The earth trembled and shook.

¹⁹Your way [of escape for Your people] was through the sea, And Your paths through the great waters, And Your footprints were not traceable.

²⁰You led Your people like a flock By the hand of Moses and Aaron [to the promised goal].