Taste and See That the Lord Is Good

[a] Of David, when he (A)changed his behavior before (B)Abimelech, so that he drove him out, and he went away.

34 I will bless the Lord (C)at all times;
    his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
My soul (D)makes its boast in the Lord;
    let the humble hear and (E)be glad.
Oh, (F)magnify the Lord with me,
    and let us exalt his name together!

I (G)sought the Lord, and he answered me
    and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are (H)radiant,
    and their faces shall never be ashamed.
(I)This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
    and (J)saved him out of all his troubles.
(K)The angel of the Lord (L)encamps
    around those who fear him, and delivers them.

Oh, (M)taste and see that (N)the Lord is good!
    (O)Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
    for those who fear him have no lack!
10 (P)The young lions suffer want and hunger;
    but those who (Q)seek the Lord lack no good thing.

11 (R)Come, O children, listen to me;
    (S)I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
12 (T)What man is there who desires life
    and loves many days, that he may (U)see good?
13 (V)Keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from (W)speaking deceit.
14 (X)Turn away from evil and do good;
    seek peace and (Y)pursue it.

15 (Z)The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
    (AA)and his ears toward their cry.
16 (AB)The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to (AC)cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 (AD)When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
    and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to (AE)the brokenhearted
    and saves (AF)the crushed in spirit.

19 (AG)Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
    (AH)but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
20 He keeps all his bones;
    (AI)not one of them is broken.
21 (AJ)Affliction will slay the wicked,
    and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord (AK)redeems the life of his servants;
    none of those who take refuge in him will be (AL)condemned.

Great Is the Lord

Of David.

35 Contend, O Lord, with those who (AM)contend with me;
    (AN)fight against those who fight against me!
Take hold of (AO)shield and buckler
    and rise for my help!
Draw the spear and javelin[b]
    against my pursuers!
Say to my soul,
    “I am your salvation!”

(AP)Let them be (AQ)put to shame and dishonor
    who seek after my life!
Let them be (AR)turned back and disappointed
    who devise evil against me!
Let them be like (AS)chaff before the wind,
    with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
Let their way be dark and (AT)slippery,
    with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

For (AU)without cause (AV)they hid their net for me;
    without cause they dug (AW)a pit for my life.[c]
Let (AX)destruction come upon him (AY)when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
    let him fall into it—to his destruction!

Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
    (AZ)exulting in his salvation.
10 All my (BA)bones shall say,
    “O Lord, (BB)who is like you,
delivering the poor
    from him who is too strong for him,
    the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

11 (BC)Malicious[d] witnesses rise up;
    they ask me of things that I do not know.
12 (BD)They repay me evil for good;
    my soul is bereft.[e]
13 But I, (BE)when they were sick—
    I (BF)wore sackcloth;
    I (BG)afflicted myself with fasting;
I prayed (BH)with head bowed[f] on my chest.
14     I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
as one who laments his mother,
    I (BI)bowed down in mourning.

15 But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;
    they gathered together against me;
(BJ)wretches whom I did not know
    tore at me without ceasing;
16 like profane mockers at a feast,[g]
    they (BK)gnash at me with their teeth.

17 How long, O Lord, will you (BL)look on?
    Rescue me from their destruction,
    (BM)my precious life from the lions!
18 I will thank you in (BN)the great congregation;
    in the mighty throng I will praise you.

19 (BO)Let not those rejoice over me
    who are (BP)wrongfully my foes,
and let not those (BQ)wink the eye
    who (BR)hate me (BS)without cause.
20 For they do not speak peace,
    but against those who are quiet in the land
    they devise words of deceit.
21 They (BT)open wide their mouths against me;
    they say, (BU)“Aha, Aha!
    Our eyes have seen it!”

22 (BV)You have seen, O Lord; (BW)be not silent!
    O Lord, (BX)be not far from me!
23 Awake and (BY)rouse yourself for (BZ)my vindication,
    for my cause, my God and my Lord!
24 (CA)Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,
    according to your righteousness,
    and (CB)let them not rejoice over me!
25 Let them not say in their hearts,
    (CC)“Aha, our heart's desire!”
Let them not say, (CD)“We have swallowed him up.”

26 Let them be (CE)put to shame and disappointed altogether
    who rejoice at my calamity!
Let them be (CF)clothed with shame and dishonor
    who (CG)magnify themselves against me!

27 Let those who delight in my righteousness
    shout for joy and be glad
    (CH)and say evermore,
(CI)“Great is the Lord,
    who (CJ)delights in the welfare of his servant!”
28 Then my (CK)tongue shall tell of your righteousness
    and of your praise all the day long.

How Precious Is Your Steadfast Love

To the choirmaster. Of David, the (CL)servant of the Lord.

36 Transgression speaks to the wicked
    deep in his heart;[h]
(CM)there is no fear of God
    before his eyes.
(CN)For he flatters himself in his own eyes
    that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.
The words of his mouth are (CO)trouble and deceit;
    (CP)he has ceased to act wisely and do good.
He (CQ)plots (CR)trouble while on his bed;
    he sets himself in (CS)a way that is not good;
    (CT)he does not reject evil.

Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the clouds.
(CU)Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
    (CV)your judgments are like the great deep;
    man and beast you (CW)save, O Lord.

(CX)How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
    The children of mankind take refuge (CY)in the shadow of your wings.
They feast on (CZ)the abundance of your house,
    and you give them drink from (DA)the river of (DB)your delights.
For with you is (DC)the fountain of life;
    (DD)in your light do we see light.

10 Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who (DE)know you,
    and your righteousness to (DF)the upright of heart!
11 Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
    nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12 There (DG)the evildoers lie fallen;
    they are thrust down, (DH)unable to rise.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 34:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each verse beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet
  2. Psalm 35:3 Or and close the way
  3. Psalm 35:7 The word pit is transposed from the preceding line; Hebrew For without cause they hid the pit of their net for me; without cause they dug for my life
  4. Psalm 35:11 Or Violent
  5. Psalm 35:12 Hebrew it is bereavement to my soul
  6. Psalm 35:13 Or my prayer shall turn back
  7. Psalm 35:16 The meaning of the Hebrew phrase is uncertain
  8. Psalm 36:1 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Syriac, Jerome (compare Septuagint); most Hebrew manuscripts in my heart

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