New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 O Lord my God, in you I take refuge; save me from all my pursuers, and deliver me,
1
<Shiggaion of David; a song which he made to the Lord, about the words of Cush the Benjamite.> O Lord my God, I put my faith in you; take me out of the hands of him who is cruel to me, and make me free;
2 or like a lion they will tear me apart; they will drag me away, with no one to rescue.
2
So that he may not come rushing on my soul like a lion, wounding it, while there is no one to be my saviour.
3 O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,
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O Lord my God, if I have done this; if my hands have done any wrong;
4 if I have repaid my ally with harm or plundered my foe without cause,
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If I have given back evil to him who did evil to me, or have taken anything from him who was against me without cause;
5 then let the enemy pursue and overtake me, trample my life to the ground, and lay my soul in the dust. (Selah)
5
Let my hater go after my soul and take it; let my life be crushed to the earth, and my honour into the dust. (Selah.)
6 Rise up, O Lord, in your anger; lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies; awake, O my God; you have appointed a judgment.
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Come up, Lord, in your wrath; be lifted up against my haters; be awake, my God, give orders for the judging.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered around you, and over it take your seat on high.
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The meeting of the nations will be round you; take your seat, then, over them, on high.
8 The Lord judges the peoples; judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness and according to the integrity that is in me.
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The Lord will be judge of the peoples; give a decision for me, O Lord, because of my righteousness, and let my virtue have its reward.
9 O let the evil of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous, you who test the minds and hearts, O righteous God.
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O let the evil of the evil-doer come to an end, but give strength to the upright: for men's minds and hearts are tested by the God of righteousness.
10 God is my shield, who saves the upright in heart.
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God, who is the saviour of the upright in heart, is my breastplate.
11 God is a righteous judge, and a God who has indignation every day.
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God is the judge of the upright, and is angry with the evil-doers every day.
12 If one does not repent, God will whet his sword; he has bent and strung his bow;
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If a man is not turned from his evil, he will make his sword sharp; his bow is bent and ready.
13 he has prepared his deadly weapons, making his arrows fiery shafts.
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He has made ready for him the instruments of death; he makes his arrows flames of fire.
14 See how they conceive evil, and are pregnant with mischief, and bring forth lies.
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That man is a worker of evil; the seed of wrongdoing has given birth to deceit.
15 They make a pit, digging it out, and fall into the hole that they have made.
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He has made a hole deep in the earth, and is falling into the hole which he has made
16 Their mischief returns upon their own heads, and on their own heads their violence descends.
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His wrongdoing will come back to him, and his violent behaviour will come down on his head.
17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness, and sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.
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I will give praise to the Lord for his righteousness; I will make a song to the name of the Lord Most High.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.