⁵ You, God, know my folly;
my guilt is not hidden from you.

⁶ Lord, the Lord Almighty,
may those who hope in you
not be disgraced because of me;
God of Israel,
may those who seek you
not be put to shame because of me.
⁷ For I endure scorn for your sake,
and shame covers my face.
⁸ I am a foreigner to my own family,
a stranger to my own mother’s children;
⁹ for zeal for your house consumes me,
and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.
¹⁰ When I weep and fast,
I must endure scorn;
¹¹ when I put on sackcloth,
people make sport of me.
¹² Those who sit at the gate mock me,
and I am the song of the drunkards.

¹³ But I pray to you, Lord,
in the time of your favor;
in your great love, O God,
answer me with your sure salvation.
¹⁴ Rescue me from the mire,
do not let me sink;
deliver me from those who hate me,
from the deep waters.
¹⁵ Do not let the floodwaters engulf me
or the depths swallow me up
or the pit close its mouth over me.

¹⁶ Answer me, Lord, out of the goodness of your love;
in your great mercy turn to me.
¹⁷ Do not hide your face from your servant;
answer me quickly, for I am in trouble.
¹⁸ Come near and rescue me;
deliver me because of my foes.

¹⁹ You know how I am scorned, disgraced and shamed;
all my enemies are before you.
²⁰ Scorn has broken my heart
and has left me helpless;
I looked for sympathy, but there was none,
for comforters, but I found none.
²¹ They put gall in my food
and gave me vinegar for my thirst.

²² May the table set before them become a snare;
may it become retribution and^[b] a trap.
²³ May their eyes be darkened so they cannot see,
and their backs be bent forever.
²⁴ Pour out your wrath on them;
let your fierce anger overtake them.
²⁵ May their place be deserted;
let there be no one to dwell in their tents.
²⁶ For they persecute those you wound
and talk about the pain of those you hurt.
²⁷ Charge them with crime upon crime;
do not let them share in your salvation.
²⁸ May they be blotted out of the book of life
and not be listed with the righteous.

²⁹ But as for me, afflicted and in pain−
may your salvation, God, protect me.

³⁰ I will praise God’s name in song
and glorify him with thanksgiving.
³¹ This will please the Lord more than an ox,
more than a bull with its horns and hooves.
³² The poor will see and be glad −
you who seek God, may your hearts live!
³³ The Lord hears the needy
and does not despise his captive people.

³⁴ Let heaven and earth praise him,
the seas and all that move in them,
³⁵ for God will save Zion
and rebuild the cities of Judah.
Then people will settle there and possess it;
³⁶  the children of his servants will inherit it,
and those who love his name will dwell there.

² May those who want to take my life
be put to shame and confusion;
may all who desire my ruin
be turned back in disgrace.
³ May those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!"
turn back because of their shame.
⁴ But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who long for your saving help always say,
"The Lord is great!"

⁵ But as for me, I am poor and needy;
come quickly to me, O God.
You are my help and my deliverer;
Lord, do not delay.

² In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,
who are caught in the schemes he devises.
³ He boasts about the cravings of his heart;
he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.
⁴ In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
⁵ His ways are always prosperous;
your laws are rejected by^[b] him;
he sneers at all his enemies.
⁶ He says to himself, "Nothing will ever shake me."
He swears, "No one will ever do me harm."

⁷ His mouth is full of lies and threats;
trouble and evil are under his tongue.
⁸ He lies in wait near the villages;
from ambush he murders the innocent.
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
⁹  like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;
he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
¹⁰ His victims are crushed, they collapse;
they fall under his strength.
¹¹ He says to himself, "God will never notice;
he covers his face and never sees."

¹² Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God.
Do not forget the helpless.
¹³ Why does the wicked man revile God?
Why does he say to himself,
"He won’t call me to account"?
¹⁴ But you, God, see the trouble of the afflicted;
you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;
you are the helper of the fatherless.
¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked man;
call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
that would not otherwise be found out.

¹⁶ The Lord is King for ever and ever;
the nations will perish from his land.
¹⁷ You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;
you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
¹⁸ defending the fatherless and the oppressed,
so that mere earthly mortals
will never again strike terror.

⁴ The Lord is in his holy temple;
the Lord is on his heavenly throne.
He observes everyone on earth;
his eyes examine them.
⁵ The Lord examines the righteous,
but the wicked, those who love violence,
he hates with a passion.
⁶ On the wicked he will rain
fiery coals and burning sulfur;
a scorching wind will be their lot.

⁷ For the Lord is righteous,
he loves justice;
the upright will see his face.

³ May the Lord silence all flattering lips
and every boastful tongue−
⁴ those who say,
"By our tongues we will prevail;
our own lips will defend us−who is lord over us?"

⁵ "Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,
I will now arise, " says the Lord.
"I will protect them from those who malign them."
⁶ And the words of the Lord are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold^[e] refined seven times.

⁷ You, Lord, will keep the needy safe
and will protect us forever from the wicked,
⁸ who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the human race.