Psalms 9; Psalms 10; Psalms 11; Psalms 12; Psalms 13; Psalms 14; Psalms 15; Psalms 16

1 I will praise you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all the wonderful things you have done.

2 I will sing with joy because of you. I will sing praise to you, Almighty God.

3 My enemies turn back when you appear; they fall down and die.

4 You are fair and honest in your judgments, and you have judged in my favor.

5 You have condemned the heathen and destroyed the wicked; they will be remembered no more.

6 Our enemies are finished forever; you have destroyed their cities, and they are completely forgotten.

7 But the Lord is king forever; he has set up his throne for judgment.

8 He rules the world with righteousness; he judges the nations with justice.

9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a place of safety in times of trouble.

10 Those who know you, Lord, will trust you; you do not abandon anyone who comes to you.

11 Sing praise to the Lord, who rules in Zion! Tell every nation what he has done!

12 God remembers those who suffer; he does not forget their cry, and he punishes those who wrong them.

13 Be merciful to me, O Lord! See the sufferings my enemies cause me! Rescue me from death, O Lord,

14 that I may stand before the people of Jerusalem and tell them all the things for which I praise you. I will rejoice because you saved me.

15 The heathen have dug a pit and fallen in; they have been caught in their own trap.

16 The Lord has revealed himself by his righteous judgments, and the wicked are trapped by their own deeds.

17 Death is the destiny of all the wicked, of all those who reject God.

18 The needy will not always be neglected; the hope of the poor will not be crushed forever.

19 Come, Lord! Do not let anyone defy you! Bring the heathen before you and pronounce judgment on them.

20 Make them afraid, O Lord; make them know that they are only mortal beings.

1 Why are you so far away, O Lord? Why do you hide yourself when we are in trouble?

2 The wicked are proud and persecute the poor; catch them in the traps they have made.

3 The wicked are proud of their evil desires; the greedy curse and reject the Lord.

4 The wicked do not care about the Lord; in their pride they think that God doesn't matter.

5 The wicked succeed in everything. They cannot understand God's judgments; they sneer at their enemies.

6 They say to themselves, "We will never fail; we will never be in trouble."

7 Their speech is filled with curses, lies, and threats; they are quick to speak hateful, evil words.

8 They hide themselves in the villages, waiting to murder innocent people. They spy on their helpless victims;

9 they wait in their hiding place like lions. They lie in wait for the poor; they catch them in their traps and drag them away.

10 The helpless victims lie crushed; brute strength has defeated them.

11 The wicked say to themselves, "God doesn't care! He has closed his eyes and will never see me!"

12 O Lord, punish those wicked people! Remember those who are suffering!

13 How can the wicked despise God and say to themselves, "He will not punish me"?

14 But you do see; you take notice of trouble and suffering and are always ready to help. The helpless commit themselves to you; you have always helped the needy.

15 Break the power of wicked and evil people; punish them for the wrong they have done until they do it no more.

16 The Lord is king forever and ever. Those who worship other gods will vanish from his land.

17 You will listen, O Lord, to the prayers of the lowly; you will give them courage.

18 You will hear the cries of the oppressed and the orphans; you will judge in their favor, so that mortal men may cause terror no more.

1 I trust in the Lord for safety. How foolish of you to say to me, "Fly away like a bird to the mountains,

2 because the wicked have drawn their bows and aimed their arrows to shoot from the shadows at good people.

3 There is nothing a good person can do when everything falls apart."

4 The Lord is in his holy temple; he has his throne in heaven. He watches people everywhere and knows what they are doing.

5 He examines the good and the wicked alike; the lawless he hates with all his heart.

6 He sends down flaming coals and burning sulfur on the wicked; he punishes them with scorching winds.

7 The Lord is righteous and loves good deeds; those who do them will live in his presence.

1 Help us, Lord! There is not a good person left; honest people can no longer be found.

2 All of them lie to one another; they deceive each other with flattery.

3 Silence those flattering tongues, O Lord! Close those boastful mouths that say,

4 "With our words we get what we want. We will say what we wish, and no one can stop us."

5 "But now I will come," says the Lord, "because the needy are oppressed and the persecuted groan in pain. I will give them the security they long for."

6 The promises of the Lord can be trusted; they are as genuine as silver refined seven times in the furnace.

7 The wicked are everywhere, and everyone praises what is evil. Keep us always safe, O Lord, and preserve us from such people.

1 How much longer will you forget me, Lord? Forever? How much longer will you hide yourself from me?

2 How long must I endure trouble? How long will sorrow fill my heart day and night? How long will my enemies triumph over me?

3 Look at me, O Lord my God, and answer me. Restore my strength; don't let me die.

4 Don't let my enemies say, "We have defeated him." Don't let them gloat over my downfall.

5 I rely on your constant love; I will be glad, because you will rescue me.

6 I will sing to you, O Lord, because you have been good to me.

1 Fools say to themselves, "There is no God!" They are all corrupt, and they have done terrible things; there is no one who does what is right.

2 The Lord looks down from heaven at us humans to see if there are any who are wise, any who worship him.

3 But they have all gone wrong; they are all equally bad. Not one of them does what is right, not a single one.

4 "Don't they know?" asks the Lord. "Are all these evildoers ignorant? They live by robbing my people, and they never pray to me."

5 But then they will be terrified, for God is with those who obey him.

6 Evildoers frustrate the plans of the humble, but the Lord is their protection.

7 How I pray that victory will come to Israel from Zion. How happy the people of Israel will be when the Lord makes them prosperous again!

1 Lord, who may enter your Temple? Who may worship on Zion, your sacred hill?

2 Those who obey God in everything and always do what is right, whose words are true and sincere,

3 and who do not slander others. They do no wrong to their friends nor spread rumors about their neighbors.

4 They despise those whom God rejects, but honor those who obey the Lord. They always do what they promise, no matter how much it may cost.

5 They make loans without charging interest and cannot be bribed to testify against the innocent. Whoever does these things will always be secure.

1 Protect me, O God; I trust in you for safety.

2 I say to the Lord, "You are my Lord; all the good things I have come from you."

3 How excellent are the Lord's faithful people! My greatest pleasure is to be with them.

4 Those who rush to other gods bring many troubles on themselves. I will not take part in their sacrifices; I will not worship their gods.

5 You, Lord, are all I have, and you give me all I need; my future is in your hands.

6 How wonderful are your gifts to me; how good they are!

7 I praise the Lord, because he guides me, and in the night my conscience warns me.

8 I am always aware of the Lord's presence; he is near, and nothing can shake me.

9 And so I am thankful and glad, and I feel completely secure,

10 because you protect me from the power of death. I have served you faithfully, and you will not abandon me to the world of the dead.

11 You will show me the path that leads to life; your presence fills me with joy and brings me pleasure forever.