By David; a well-written song. 2
32:1 How blessed 3 is the one whose rebellious acts are forgiven, 4
whose sin is pardoned! 5
32:2 How blessed is the one 6 whose wrongdoing the Lord does not punish, 7
in whose spirit there is no deceit. 8
32:3 When I refused to confess my sin, 9
my whole body wasted away, 10
while I groaned in pain all day long.
32:4 For day and night you tormented me; 11
you tried to destroy me 12 in the intense heat 13 of summer. 14 (Selah)
32:5 Then I confessed my sin;
I no longer covered up my wrongdoing.
I said, “I will confess 15 my rebellious acts to the Lord.”
And then you forgave my sins. 16 (Selah)
32:6 For this reason every one of your faithful followers 17 should pray to you
while there is a window of opportunity. 18
Certainly 19 when the surging water 20 rises,
it will not reach them. 21
32:7 You are my hiding place;
you protect me from distress.
You surround me with shouts of joy from those celebrating deliverance. 22 (Selah)
32:8 I will instruct and teach you 23 about how you should live. 24
I will advise you as I look you in the eye. 25
32:9 Do not be 26 like an unintelligent horse or mule, 27
which will not obey you
unless they are controlled by a bridle and bit. 28
32:10 An evil person suffers much pain, 29
but the Lord’s faithfulness overwhelms the one who trusts in him. 30
32:11 Rejoice in the Lord and be happy, you who are godly!
Shout for joy, all you who are morally upright! 31
33:1 You godly ones, shout for joy because of the Lord!
It is appropriate for the morally upright to offer him praise.
33:2 Give thanks to the Lord with the harp!
Sing to him to the accompaniment of a ten-stringed instrument!
33:3 Sing to him a new song! 33
Play skillfully as you shout out your praises to him! 34
33:4 For 35 the Lord’s decrees 36 are just, 37
and everything he does is fair. 38
33:5 The Lord promotes 39 equity and justice;
the Lord’s faithfulness extends throughout the earth. 40
33:6 By the Lord’s decree 41 the heavens were made;
by a mere word from his mouth all the stars in the sky were created. 42
33:7 He piles up the water of the sea; 43
he puts the oceans 44 in storehouses.
33:8 Let the whole earth fear 45 the Lord!
Let all who live in the world stand in awe of him!
33:9 For he spoke, and it 46 came into existence,
he issued the decree, 47 and it stood firm.
33:10 The Lord frustrates 48 the decisions of the nations;
he nullifies the plans 49 of the peoples.
33:11 The Lord’s decisions stand forever;
his plans abide throughout the ages. 50
33:12 How blessed 51 is the nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom he has chosen to be his special possession. 52
33:13 The Lord watches 53 from heaven;
he sees all people. 54
33:14 From the place where he lives he looks carefully
at all the earth’s inhabitants.
33:15 He is the one who forms every human heart, 55
and takes note of all their actions.
33:16 No king is delivered by his vast army;
a warrior is not saved by his great might.
33:17 A horse disappoints those who trust in it for victory; 56
despite its great strength, it cannot deliver.
33:18 Look, the Lord takes notice of his loyal followers, 57
those who wait for him to demonstrate his faithfulness 58
33:19 by saving their lives from death 59
and sustaining them during times of famine. 60
33:20 We 61 wait for the Lord;
he is our deliverer 62 and shield. 63
33:21 For our hearts rejoice in him,
for we trust in his holy name.
33:22 May we experience your faithfulness, O Lord, 64
for 65 we wait for you.
Written by David, when he pretended to be insane before Abimelech, causing the king to send him away. 67
34:1 I will praise 68 the Lord at all times;
my mouth will continually praise him. 69
34:2 I will boast 70 in the Lord;
let the oppressed hear and rejoice! 71
34:3 Magnify the Lord with me!
Let’s praise 72 his name together!
34:4 I sought the Lord’s help 73 and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
34:5 Those who look to him for help are happy;
their faces are not ashamed. 74
34:6 This oppressed man cried out and the Lord heard;
he saved him 75 from all his troubles.
34:7 The Lord’s angel camps around
the Lord’s 76 loyal followers 77 and delivers them. 78
34:8 Taste 79 and see that the Lord is good!
How blessed 80 is the one 81 who takes shelter in him! 82
34:9 Remain loyal to 83 the Lord, you chosen people of his, 84
for his loyal followers 85 lack nothing!
34:10 Even young lions sometimes lack food and are hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
34:11 Come children! Listen to me!
I will teach you what it means to fear the Lord. 86
34:12 Do you want to really live? 87
Would you love to live a long, happy life? 88
34:13 Then make sure you don’t speak evil words 89
or use deceptive speech! 90
34:14 Turn away from evil and do what is right! 91
Strive for peace and promote it! 92
34:15 The Lord pays attention to the godly
and hears their cry for help. 93
34:16 But the Lord opposes evildoers
and wipes out all memory of them from the earth. 94
34:17 The godly 95 cry out and the Lord hears;
he saves them from all their troubles. 96
34:18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
he delivers 97 those who are discouraged. 98
34:19 The godly 99 face many dangers, 100
but the Lord saves 101 them 102 from each one of them.
34:20 He protects 103 all his bones; 104
not one of them is broken. 105
34:21 Evil people self-destruct; 106
those who hate the godly are punished. 107
34:22 The Lord rescues his servants; 108
all who take shelter in him escape punishment. 109
By David.
35:1 O Lord, fight 111 those who fight with me!
Attack those who attack me!
35:2 Grab your small shield and large shield, 112
and rise up to help me!
35:3 Use your spear and lance 113 against 114 those who chase me!
Assure me with these words: 115 “I am your deliverer!”
35:4 May those who seek my life be embarrassed and humiliated!
May those who plan to harm me be turned back and ashamed! 116
35:5 May they be 117 like wind-driven chaff,
as the Lord’s angel 118 attacks them! 119
35:6 May their path be 120 dark and slippery,
as the Lord’s angel chases them!
35:7 I did not harm them, but they hid a net to catch me
and dug a pit to trap me. 121
35:8 Let destruction take them by surprise! 122
Let the net they hid catch them!
Let them fall into destruction! 123
35:9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord
and be happy because of his deliverance. 124
35:10 With all my strength I will say, 125
“O Lord, who can compare to you?
You rescue 126 the oppressed from those who try to overpower them; 127
the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.” 128
35:11 Violent men perjure themselves, 129
and falsely accuse me. 130
35:12 They repay me evil for the good I have done; 131
I am overwhelmed with sorrow. 132
35:13 When they were sick, I wore sackcloth, 133
and refrained from eating food. 134
(If I am lying, may my prayers go unanswered!) 135
35:14 I mourned for them as I would for a friend or my brother. 136
I bowed down 137 in sorrow as if I were mourning for my mother. 138
35:15 But when I stumbled, they rejoiced and gathered together;
they gathered together to ambush me. 139
They tore at me without stopping to rest. 140
35:16 When I tripped, they taunted me relentlessly, 141
and tried to bite me. 142
35:17 O Lord, how long are you going to just stand there and watch this? 143
Rescue 144 me 145 from their destructive attacks;
guard my life 146 from the young lions!
35:18 Then I will give you thanks in the great assembly; 147
I will praise you before a large crowd of people! 148
35:19 Do not let those who are my enemies for no reason 149 gloat 150 over me!
Do not let those who hate me without cause carry out their wicked schemes! 151
35:20 For they do not try to make peace with others, 152
but plan ways to deceive those who are unsuspecting. 153
35:21 They are ready to devour me; 154
they say, “Aha! Aha! We’ve got you!” 155
35:22 But you take notice, 156 Lord!
O Lord, do not remain far away from me!
35:23 Rouse yourself, wake up 157 and vindicate me! 158
My God and Lord, defend my just cause! 159
35:24 Vindicate me by your justice, O Lord my God!
Do not let them gloat 160 over me!
35:25 Do not let them say to themselves, 161 “Aha! We have what we wanted!” 162
Do not let them say, “We have devoured him!”
35:26 May those who want to harm me be totally embarrassed and ashamed! 163
May those who arrogantly taunt me be covered with shame and humiliation! 164
35:27 May those who desire my vindication shout for joy and rejoice!
May they continually say, 165 “May the Lord be praised, 166 for he wants his servant to be secure.” 167
35:28 Then I will tell others about your justice, 168
and praise you all day long. 169