Psalms 56; Psalms 120; Psalms 140; Psalms 141; Psalms 142

1 Have pity on me, O God, because people are harassing me. All day long warriors oppress me.

2 All day long my enemies spy on me. They harass me. There are so many fighting against me.

3 Even when I am afraid, I still trust you.

4 I praise the word of God. I trust God. I am not afraid. What can mere flesh [and blood] do to me?

5 All day long my enemies twist my words. Their every thought is an evil plan against me.

6 They attack, and then they hide. They watch my every step as they wait to take my life.

7 With the wrong they do, can they escape? O God, angrily make the nations fall.

8 (You have kept a record of my wanderings. Put my tears in your bottle. They are already in your book.)

9 Then my enemies will retreat when I call [to you]. This I know: God is on my side.

10 I praise the word of God. I praise the word of the LORD.

11 I trust God. I am not afraid. What can mortals do to me?

12 I am bound by my vows to you, O God. I will keep my vows by offering songs of thanksgiving to you.

13 You have rescued me from death. You have kept my feet from stumbling so that I could walk in your presence, in the light of life.

1 When I was in trouble, I cried out to the LORD, and he answered me.

2 O LORD, rescue me from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue.

3 You deceitful tongue, what can the LORD give you? What more can he do for you?

4 He will give you a warrior's sharpened arrows and red-hot coals.

5 How horrible it is to live as a foreigner in Meshech or to stay in the tents of Kedar.

6 I have lived too long with those who hate peace.

7 I am for peace, but when I talk about it, they only talk about war.

1 Rescue me from evil people, O LORD. Keep me safe from violent people.

2 They plan evil things in their hearts. They start fights every day.

3 They make their tongues as sharp as a snake's [fang]. Their lips hide the venom of poisonous snakes. Selah

4 Protect me from the hands of wicked people, O LORD. Keep me safe from violent people. They try to trip me.

5 Arrogant people have laid a trap for me. They have spread out a net with ropes. They have set traps for me along the road. Selah

6 I said to the LORD, "You are my God." O LORD, open your ears to hear my plea for pity.

7 O LORD Almighty, the strong one who saves me, you have covered my head in the day of battle.

8 O LORD, do not give wicked people what they want. Do not let their evil plans succeed, [or] they will become arrogant. Selah

9 Let the heads of those who surround me be covered with their own threats.

10 Let burning coals fall on them. Let them be thrown into a pit, never to rise again.

11 Do not let slanderers prosper on earth. Let evil hunt down violent people with one blow after another.

12 I know that the LORD will defend the rights of those who are oppressed and the cause of those who are needy.

13 Indeed, righteous people will give thanks to your name. Decent people will live in your presence.

1 O LORD, I cry out to you, "Come quickly." Open your ears to me when I cry out to you.

2 Let my prayer be accepted as sweet-smelling incense in your presence. Let the lifting up of my hands in prayer be accepted as an evening sacrifice.

3 O LORD, set a guard at my mouth. Keep watch over the door of my lips.

4 Do not let me be persuaded to do anything evil or to become involved with wickedness, with people who are troublemakers. Do not let me taste their delicacies.

5 A righteous person may strike me or correct me out of kindness. It is like lotion for my head. My head will not refuse it, because my prayer is directed against evil deeds.

6 When their judges are thrown off a cliff, they will listen to what I have to say. It will sound pleasant [to them].

7 As someone plows and breaks up the ground, so our bones will be planted at the mouth of the grave.

8 My eyes look to you, LORD Almighty. I have taken refuge in you. Do not leave me defenseless.

9 Keep me away from the trap they set for me and from the traps set by troublemakers.

10 Let wicked people fall into their own nets, while I escape unharmed.

1 Loudly, I cry to the LORD. Loudly, I plead with the LORD for mercy.

2 I pour out my complaints in his presence and tell him my troubles.

3 When I begin to lose hope, you [already] know what I am experiencing. [My enemies] have hidden a trap for me on the path where I walk.

4 Look to my right and see that no one notices me. Escape is impossible for me. No one cares about me.

5 I call out to you, O LORD. I say, "You are my refuge, my own inheritance in this world of the living."

6 Pay attention to my cry for help because I am very weak. Rescue me from those who pursue me because they are too strong for me.

7 Release my soul from prison so that I may give thanks to your name. Righteous people will surround me because you are good to me.