⁵ Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
⁶ As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.^[d]
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.

⁸ Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
listen to me, God of Jacob.
⁹ Look on our shield,^[e] O God;
look with favor on your anointed one.

¹⁰ Better is one day in your courts
than a thousand elsewhere;
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of the wicked.
¹¹ For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favor and honor;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose walk is blameless.

¹² Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.

⁴ Restore us again, God our Savior,
and put away your displeasure toward us.
⁵ Will you be angry with us forever?
Will you prolong your anger through all generations?
⁶ Will you not revive us again,
that your people may rejoice in you?
⁷ Show us your unfailing love, Lord,
and grant us your salvation.

⁸ I will listen to what God the Lord says;
he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants−
but let them not turn to folly.
⁹ Surely his salvation is near those who fear him,
that his glory may dwell in our land.

¹⁰ Love and faithfulness meet together;
righteousness and peace kiss each other.
¹¹ Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
and righteousness looks down from heaven.
¹² The Lord will indeed give what is good,
and our land will yield its harvest.
¹³ Righteousness goes before him
and prepares the way for his steps.

² Let the redeemed of the Lord tell their story−
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,
³ those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.^[a]

⁴ Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.
⁵ They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.
⁶ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.
⁷ He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.
⁸ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
⁹ for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,
¹¹ because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the plans of the Most High.
¹² So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.
¹³ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.
¹⁵ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind,
¹⁶ for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.

¹⁷ Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.
¹⁸ They loathed all food
and drew near the gates of death.
¹⁹ Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.
²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.
²¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
²² Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.

²³ Some went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.
²⁴ They saw the works of the Lord,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.
²⁵ For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.
²⁶ They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.
²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.
²⁸ Then they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.
²⁹ He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea^[b] were hushed.
³⁰ They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.
³¹ Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for mankind.
³² Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.

³³ He turned rivers into a desert,
flowing springs into thirsty ground,
³⁴ and fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.
³⁵ He turned the desert into pools of water
and the parched ground into flowing springs;
³⁶ there he brought the hungry to live,
and they founded a city where they could settle.
³⁷ They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that yielded a fruitful harvest;
³⁸ he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
and he did not let their herds diminish.

³⁹ Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled
by oppression, calamity and sorrow;
⁴⁰ he who pours contempt on nobles
made them wander in a trackless waste.
⁴¹ But he lifted the needy out of their affliction
and increased their families like flocks.
⁴² The upright see and rejoice,
but all the wicked shut their mouths.

⁴³ Let the one who is wise heed these things
and ponder the loving deeds of the Lord.

⁶ Save us and help us with your right hand,
that those you love may be delivered.
⁷ God has spoken from his sanctuary:
"In triumph I will parcel out Shechem
and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth.
⁸ Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine;
Ephraim is my helmet,
Judah is my scepter.
⁹ Moab is my washbasin,
on Edom I toss my sandal;
over Philistia I shout in triumph."

¹⁰ Who will bring me to the fortified city?
Who will lead me to Edom?
¹¹ Is it not you, God, you who have rejected us
and no longer go out with our armies?
¹² Give us aid against the enemy,
for human help is worthless.
¹³ With God we will gain the victory,
and he will trample down our enemies.