⁵ For you have been my hope, Sovereign Lord,
my confidence since my youth.
⁶ From birth I have relied on you;
you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.
I will ever praise you.
⁷ I have become a sign to many;
you are my strong refuge.
⁸ My mouth is filled with your praise,
declaring your splendor all day long.

⁹ Do not cast me away when I am old;
do not forsake me when my strength is gone.
¹⁰ For my enemies speak against me;
those who wait to kill me conspire together.
¹¹ They say, "God has forsaken him;
pursue him and seize him,
for no one will rescue him."
¹² Do not be far from me, my God;
come quickly, God, to help me.
¹³ May my accusers perish in shame;
may those who want to harm me
be covered with scorn and disgrace.

¹⁴ As for me, I will always have hope;
I will praise you more and more.

¹⁵ My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,
of your saving acts all day long−
though I know not how to relate them all.
¹⁶ I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign Lord;
I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
¹⁷ Since my youth, God, you have taught me,
and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.
¹⁸ Even when I am old and gray,
do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power to the next generation,
your mighty acts to all who are to come.

¹⁹ Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,
you who have done great things.
Who is like you, God?
²⁰ Though you have made me see troubles,
many and bitter,
you will restore my life again;
from the depths of the earth
you will again bring me up.
²¹ You will increase my honor
and comfort me once more.

²² I will praise you with the harp
for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,
Holy One of Israel.
²³ My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to you−
I whom you have delivered.
²⁴ My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
all day long,
for those who wanted to harm me
have been put to shame and confusion.

³ May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
the hills the fruit of righteousness.
⁴ May he defend the afflicted among the people
and save the children of the needy;
may he crush the oppressor.
⁵ May he endure^[a] as long as the sun,
as long as the moon, through all generations.
⁶ May he be like rain falling on a mown field,
like showers watering the earth.
⁷ In his days may the righteous flourish
and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

⁸ May he rule from sea to sea
and from the River^[b] to the ends of the earth.
⁹ May the desert tribes bow before him
and his enemies lick the dust.
¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish and of distant shores
bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba and Seba
present him gifts.
¹¹ May all kings bow down to him
and all nations serve him.

¹² For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
the afflicted who have no one to help.
¹³ He will take pity on the weak and the needy
and save the needy from death.
¹⁴ He will rescue them from oppression and violence,
for precious is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵ Long may he live!
May gold from Sheba be given him.
May people ever pray for him
and bless him all day long.
¹⁶ May grain abound throughout the land;
on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops flourish like Lebanon
and thrive^[c] like the grass of the field.
¹⁷ May his name endure forever;
may it continue as long as the sun.

Then all nations will be blessed through him,^[d]
and they will call him blessed.

¹⁸ Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,
who alone does marvelous deeds.
¹⁹ Praise be to his glorious name forever;
may the whole earth be filled with his glory.
Amen and Amen.

²⁰ This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.

⁴ I sought the Lord, and he answered me;
he delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ Those who look to him are radiant;
their faces are never covered with shame.
⁶ This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.
⁷ The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers them.

⁸ Taste and see that the Lord is good;
blessed is the one who takes refuge in him.
⁹ Fear the Lord, you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.
¹⁰ The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
¹¹ Come, my children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
¹² Whoever of you loves life
and desires to see many good days,
¹³ keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from telling lies.
¹⁴ Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.

¹⁵ The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and his ears are attentive to their cry;
¹⁶ but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
to blot out their name from the earth.

¹⁷ The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is close to the brokenhearted
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

¹⁹ The righteous person may have many troubles,
but the Lord delivers him from them all;
²⁰ he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.

²¹ Evil will slay the wicked;
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
²² The Lord will rescue his servants;
no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.

⁴ May those who seek my life
be disgraced and put to shame;
may those who plot my ruin
be turned back in dismay.
⁵ May they be like chaff before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away;
⁶ may their path be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.

⁷ Since they hid their net for me without cause
and without cause dug a pit for me,
⁸ may ruin overtake them by surprise−
may the net they hid entangle them,
may they fall into the pit, to their ruin.
⁹ Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord
and delight in his salvation.
¹⁰ My whole being will exclaim,
"Who is like you, Lord?
You rescue the poor from those too strong for them,
the poor and needy from those who rob them."

¹¹ Ruthless witnesses come forward;
they question me on things I know nothing about.
¹² They repay me evil for good
and leave me like one bereaved.
¹³ Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth
and humbled myself with fasting.
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
¹⁴  I went about mourning
as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
as though weeping for my mother.
¹⁵ But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
They slandered me without ceasing.
¹⁶ Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;^[d]
they gnashed their teeth at me.

¹⁷ How long, Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages,
my precious life from these lions.
¹⁸ I will give you thanks in the great assembly;
among the throngs I will praise you.
¹⁹ Do not let those gloat over me
who are my enemies without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason
maliciously wink the eye.
²⁰ They do not speak peaceably,
but devise false accusations
against those who live quietly in the land.
²¹ They sneer at me and say, "Aha! Aha!
With our own eyes we have seen it."

²² Lord, you have seen this; do not be silent.
Do not be far from me, Lord.
²³ Awake, and rise to my defense!
Contend for me, my God and Lord.
²⁴ Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God;
do not let them gloat over me.
²⁵ Do not let them think, "Aha, just what we wanted!"
or say, "We have swallowed him up."

²⁶ May all who gloat over my distress
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and disgrace.
²⁷ May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, "The Lord be exalted,
who delights in the well-being of his servant."

²⁸ My tongue will proclaim your righteousness,
your praises all day long.