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¹To the Chief Musician; set to the Philistine lute. A Psalm of Asaph. Sing aloud to God our strength; Shout for joy to the God of Jacob (Israel).

²Raise a song, sound the timbrel, The sweet sounding lyre with the harp.

³Blow the trumpet at the New Moon, At the full moon, on our feast day.

⁴For this is a statute for Israel, An ordinance of the God of Jacob.

⁵He established it for a testimony in Joseph When He went throughout the land of Egypt. I heard the language [of One whom] I did not know, saying,

⁶"I removed the burden from his shoulder; His hands were freed from the basket.

⁷"You called in [the time of] trouble and I rescued you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah.

⁸"Hear, O My people, and I will admonish you— O Israel, if you would listen to Me!

⁹"Let there be no strange god among you, Nor shall you worship any foreign god.

¹⁰"I am the LORD your God, Who brought you up from the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide and I will fill it.

¹¹"But My people would not listen to My voice, And Israel did not [consent to] obey Me.

¹²"So I gave them up to the stubbornness of their heart, To walk in [the path of] their own counsel.

¹³"Oh, that My people would listen to Me, That Israel would walk in My ways!

¹⁴"Then I would quickly subdue and humble their enemies And turn My hand against their adversaries;

¹⁵Those who hate the LORD would pretend obedience to Him and cringe before Him, And their time of punishment would be forever.

¹⁶"But I would feed Israel with the finest of the wheat; And with honey from the rock I would satisfy you."

¹A Psalm of Asaph. God stands in the divine assembly; He judges among the gods (divine beings).

²How long will you judge unjustly And show partiality to the wicked? Selah.

³Vindicate the weak and fatherless; Do justice and maintain the rights of the afflicted and destitute.

⁴Rescue the weak and needy; Rescue them from the hand of the wicked.

⁵The rulers do not know nor do they understand; They walk on in the darkness [of complacent satisfaction]; All the foundations of the earth [the fundamental principles of the administration of justice] are shaken.

⁶I said, "You are gods; Indeed, all of you are sons of the Most High.

⁷"Nevertheless you will die like men And fall like any one of the princes."

⁸Arise, O God, judge the earth! For to You belong all the nations.

¹A Song. A Psalm of Asaph. Do not keep silent, O God; Do not hold Your peace or be still, O God.

²For behold, Your enemies are in tumult, And those who hate You have raised their heads [in hatred of You].

³They concoct crafty schemes against Your people, And conspire together against Your hidden and precious ones.

⁴They have said, "Come, and let us wipe them out as a nation; Let the name of Israel be remembered no more."

⁵For they have conspired together with one mind; Against You they make a covenant—

⁶The tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Of Moab and the Hagrites,

⁷Gebal and Ammon and Amalek, Philistia with the inhabitants of Tyre.

⁸Assyria also has joined with them; They have helped the children of Lot [the Ammonites and the Moabites] and have been an arm [of strength] to them. Selah.

⁹Deal with them as [You did] with Midian, As with Sisera and Jabin at the brook of Kishon,

¹⁰Who were destroyed at En-dor, Who became like dung for the earth.

¹¹Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb And all their princes like Zebah and Zalmunna,

¹²Who said, "Let us possess for ourselves The pastures of God."

¹³O my God, make them like whirling dust, Like chaff before the wind [worthless and without substance].

¹⁴Like fire consumes the forest, And like the flame sets the mountains on fire,

¹⁵So pursue them with Your tempest And terrify them with [the violence of] Your storm.

¹⁶Fill their faces with shame and disgrace, That they may [persistently] seek Your name, O LORD.

¹⁷Let them be ashamed and dismayed forever; Yes, let them be humiliated and perish,

¹⁸That they may know that You alone, whose name is the LORD, Are the Most High over all the earth.

¹To the Chief Musician; set to a Philistine lute. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts!

²My soul (my life, my inner self) longs for and greatly desires the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.

³The bird has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young— Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God.

⁴Blessed and greatly favored are those who dwell in Your house and Your presence; They will be singing Your praises all the day long. Selah.

⁵Blessed and greatly favored is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion.

⁶Passing through the Valley of Weeping ( Baca), they make it a place of springs; The early rain also covers it with blessings.

⁷They go from strength to strength [increasing in victorious power]; Each of them appears before God in Zion.

⁸O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; Listen, O God of Jacob! Selah.

⁹See our shield, O God, And look at the face of Your anointed [the king as Your representative].

¹⁰For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand [anywhere else]; I would rather stand [as a doorkeeper] at the threshold of the house of my God Than to live [at ease] in the tents of wickedness.

¹¹For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD bestows grace and favor and honor; No good thing will He withhold from those who walk uprightly.

¹²O LORD of hosts, How blessed and greatly favored is the man who trusts in You [believing in You, relying on You, and committing himself to You with confident hope and expectation].

¹To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. O LORD, You have [at last] shown favor to Your land [of Canaan]; You have restored [from Babylon] the captives of Jacob (Israel).

²You have forgiven the wickedness of Your people; You have covered all their sin. Selah.

³You have withdrawn all Your wrath, You have turned away from Your burning anger.

⁴Restore us, O God of our salvation, And cause Your indignation toward us to cease.

⁵Will You be angry with us forever? Will You prolong Your anger to all generations?

⁶Will You not revive us and bring us to life again, That Your people may rejoice in You?

⁷Show us Your lovingkindness, O LORD, And grant us Your salvation.

⁸I will hear [with expectant hope] what God the LORD will say, For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones— But let them not turn again to folly.

⁹Surely His salvation is near to those who [reverently] fear Him [and obey Him with submissive wonder], That glory [the manifest presence of God] may dwell in our land.

¹⁰Steadfast love and truth and faithfulness meet together; Righteousness and peace kiss each other.

¹¹Truth springs from the earth, And righteousness looks down from heaven.

¹²Indeed, the LORD will give what is good, And our land will yield its produce.

¹³Righteousness will go before Him And will make His footsteps into a way [in which to walk].

¹A Prayer of David. Incline Your ear, O LORD, and answer me, For I am distressed and needy [I long for Your help].

²Protect my life (soul), for I am godly and faithful; O You my God, save Your servant, who trusts in You [believing in You and relying on You, confidently committing everything to You].

³Be gracious and merciful to me, O Lord, For to You I cry out all the day long.

⁴Make Your servant rejoice, For to You, O Lord, I lift up my soul [all that I am—in prayer].

⁵For You, O Lord, are good, and ready to forgive [our sins, sending them away, completely letting them go forever and ever]; And abundant in lovingkindness and overflowing in mercy to all those who call upon You.

⁶Hear, O LORD, my prayer; And listen attentively to the voice of my supplications (specific requests)!

⁷In the day of my trouble I will call upon You, For You will answer me.

⁸There is no one like You among the gods, O Lord, Nor are there any works [of wonder and majesty] like Yours.

⁹All nations whom You have made shall come and kneel down in worship before You, O Lord, And they shall glorify Your name.

¹⁰For You are great and do wondrous works! You alone are God.

¹¹Teach me Your way, O LORD, I will walk and live in Your truth; Direct my heart to fear Your name [with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].

¹²I will give thanks and praise You, O Lord my God, with all my heart; And will glorify Your name forevermore.

¹³For great is Your lovingkindness and graciousness toward me; And You have rescued my life from the depths of Sheol [from death].

¹⁴O God, arrogant and insolent men have risen up against me; A band of violent men have sought my life, And they have not set You before them.

¹⁵But You, O Lord, are a God [who protects and is] merciful and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness and truth.

¹⁶Turn to me, and be gracious to me; Grant Your strength [Your might and the power to resist temptation] to Your servant, And save the son of Your handmaid.

¹⁷Show me a sign of [Your] goodwill, That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed, Because You, O LORD, helped and comforted me.

¹A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song. His foundation is on the holy mountain.

²The LORD loves the gates of Zion More than all the dwellings of Jacob (Israel).

³Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God [Jerusalem]. Selah.

⁴"I will mention Rahab (Egypt) and Babylon among those who know Me— Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia (Cush)— 'This one was born there.'"

⁵But of Zion it will be said, "This one and that one were born in her," And the Most High Himself will establish her.

⁶The LORD will count, when He registers the peoples, "This one was born there." Selah.

⁷The singers as well as the players of flutes will say, "All my springs and sources of joy are in you [Jerusalem, city of God]."

¹A Song. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. To the Chief Musician; set to chant mournfully. A didactic or reflective poem of Heman the Ezrahite. O LORD, the God of my salvation, I have cried out [for help] by day and in the night before You.

²Let my prayer come before You and enter into Your presence; Incline Your ear to my cry!

³For my soul is full of troubles, And my life draws near the grave (Sheol, the place of the dead).

⁴I am counted among those who go down to the pit (grave); I am like a man who has no strength [a mere shadow],

⁵Cast away [from the living] and abandoned among the dead, Like the slain who lie in a [nameless] grave, Whom You no longer remember, And they are cut off from Your hand.

⁶You have laid me in the lowest pit, In dark places, in the depths.

⁷Your wrath has rested heavily upon me, And You have afflicted me with all Your waves. Selah.

⁸You have put my friends far from me; You have made me an object of loathing to them. I am shut up and I cannot go out.

⁹My eye grows dim with sorrow. O LORD, I have called on You every day; I have spread out my hands to You [in prayer].

¹⁰Will You perform wonders for the dead? Shall the departed spirits arise and praise You? Selah.

¹¹Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave Or Your faithfulness in Abaddon (the underworld)?

¹²Will Your wonders be known in the darkness? And Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness [where the dead forget and are forgotten]?

¹³But I have cried out to You, O LORD, for help; And in the morning my prayer will come to You.

¹⁴O LORD, why do You reject me? Why do You hide Your face from me?

¹⁵I was afflicted and close to death from my youth on; I suffer Your terrors; I am overcome.

¹⁶Your fierce wrath has swept over me; Your terrors have destroyed me.

¹⁷They have surrounded me like flood waters all day long; They have completely encompassed me.

¹⁸Lover and friend You have placed far from me; My familiar friends are in darkness.