New Revised Standard NRS
The Message Bible MSG
1 I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.
1
I'm thanking you, God, from a full heart, I'm writing the book on your wonders.
2 I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.
2
I'm whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy; I'm singing your song, High God.
3 When my enemies turned back, they stumbled and perished before you.
3
The day my enemies turned tail and ran, they stumbled on you and fell on their faces.
4 For you have maintained my just cause; you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.
4
You took over and set everything right; when I needed you, you were there, taking charge.
5 You have rebuked the nations, you have destroyed the wicked; you have blotted out their name forever and ever.
5
You blow the whistle on godless nations; you throw dirty players out of the game, wipe their names right off the roster.
6 The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins; their cities you have rooted out; the very memory of them has perished.
6
Enemies disappear from the sidelines, their reputation trashed, their names erased from the halls of fame.
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever, he has established his throne for judgment.
7
God holds the high center, he sees and sets the world's mess right.
8 He judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with equity.
8
He decides what is right for us earthlings, gives people their just deserts.
9 The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.
9
God's a safe-house for the battered, a sanctuary during bad times.
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you, for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.
10
The moment you arrive, you relax; you're never sorry you knocked.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion. Declare his deeds among the peoples.
11
Sing your songs to Zion-dwelling God, tell his stories to everyone you meet:
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them; he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.
12
How he tracks down killers yet keeps his eye on us, registers every whimper and moan.
13 Be gracious to me, O Lord. See what I suffer from those who hate me; you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,
13
Be kind to me, God; I've been kicked around long enough. Once you've pulled me back from the gates of death,
14 so that I may recount all your praises, and, in the gates of daughter Zion, rejoice in your deliverance.
14
I'll write the book on Hallelujahs; on the corner of Main and First I'll hold a street meeting; I'll be the song leader; we'll fill the air with salvation songs.
15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.
15
They're trapped, those godless countries, in the very snares they set, Their feet all tangled in the net they spread.
16 The Lord has made himself known, he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands.+p[Higgaion. Selah]
16
They have no excuse; the way God works is well-known. The cunning machinery made by the wicked has maimed their own hands.
17 The wicked shall depart to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.
17
The wicked bought a one-way ticket to hell.
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.
18
No longer will the poor be nameless - no more humiliation for the humble.
19 Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail; let the nations be judged before you.
19
Up, God! Aren't you fed up with their empty strutting? Expose these grand pretensions!
20 Put them in fear, O Lord; let the nations know that they are only human. (Selah)
20
Shake them up, God! Show them how silly they look.
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.
Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved.