Psalm 40-42

English Standard Version

My Help and My Deliverer

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

40 I ^(A)waited patiently for the Lord;
    he inclined to me and ^(B)heard my cry.
²He drew me up from ^(C)the pit of destruction,
    out of ^(D)the miry bog,
and ^(E)set my feet upon a rock,
    ^(F)making my steps secure.
³He put ^(G)a new song in my mouth,
    a song of praise to our God.
Many will ^(H)see and fear,
    and put their trust in the Lord.

⁴Blessed is the man who ^(I)makes
    the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
    to those who ^(J)go astray after a lie!
⁵You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
    your ^(K)wondrous deeds and your ^(L)thoughts toward us;
    none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
    yet they are ^(M)more than can be told.

⁶^(N)In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
    but you have given me an open ^(O)ear.^[a]
Burnt offering and sin offering
    you have not required.
⁷Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
    in the scroll of the book it is written ^(P)of me:
⁸^(Q)I delight to do your will, O my God;
    your law is ^(R)within my heart.”

⁹I have told the glad news of deliverance^[b]
    in ^(S)the great congregation;
behold, I have not ^(T)restrained my lips,
    ^(U)as you know, O Lord.
¹⁰I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
    I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
    from the great congregation.

¹¹As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
    your mercy from me;
your ^(V)steadfast love and your faithfulness will
    ever preserve me!
¹²For evils have ^(W)encompassed me
    beyond number;
my ^(X)iniquities have overtaken me,
    and I cannot ^(Y)see;
they are ^(Z)more than the hairs of my head;
    my heart ^(AA)fails me.

¹³^(AB)Be pleased, O Lord, to ^(AC)deliver me!
    O Lord, ^(AD)make haste to help me!
¹⁴^(AE)Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
    who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be ^(AF)turned back and brought to dishonor
    who delight in my hurt!
¹⁵Let those be appalled because of their shame
    who ^(AG)say to me, “Aha, Aha!”

¹⁶But may all who seek you
    rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
    ^(AH)say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
¹⁷As for me, I am ^(AI)poor and needy,
    but ^(AJ)the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
    do not delay, O my God!

O Lord, Be Gracious to Me

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

41 ^(AK)Blessed is the one who considers the poor!^[c]
    ^(AL)In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
²the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
    he is called blessed in the land;
    you ^(AM)do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
³The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
    in his illness you restore him to full health.^[d]

⁴As for me, I said, “O Lord, ^(AN)be gracious to me;
    ^(AO)heal me,^[e] for I have sinned against you!”
⁵My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die, and his name perish?”
⁶And when one comes to see me, ^(AP)he utters empty words,
    while his heart gathers iniquity;
    when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
⁷All who hate me whisper together about me;
    they imagine the worst for me.^[f]

⁸They say, “A deadly thing is poured out^[g] on him;
    he will not rise again from where he lies.”
⁹Even my ^(AQ)close friend in whom I trusted,
    who ^(AR)ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
¹⁰But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
    and raise me up, that I may repay them!

¹¹By this I know that ^(AS)you delight in me:
my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
¹²But ^(AT)you have upheld me because of ^(AU)my integrity,
and ^(AV)set me in your presence ^(AW)forever.

¹³^(AX)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.

Book Two

Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?

To the choirmaster. A Maskil^[h] of ^(AY)the Sons of Korah.

42 ^(AZ)As a deer pants for flowing streams,
    so pants my soul for you, O God.
²^(BA)My soul thirsts for God,
    for ^(BB)the living God.
When shall I come and ^(BC)appear before God?^[i]
³^(BD)My tears have been my food
    day and night,
^(BE)while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”
⁴These things I remember,
    as I ^(BF)pour out my soul:
^(BG)how I would go ^(BH)with the throng
    and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
    ^(BI)a multitude keeping festival.

⁵^(BJ)Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you ^(BK)in turmoil within me?
^(BL)Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation^[j] ⁶and my God.

My soul is cast down within me;
    therefore I ^(BM)remember you
^(BN)from the land of Jordan and of ^(BO)Hermon,
    from Mount Mizar.
⁷Deep calls to deep
    at the roar of your waterfalls;
^(BP)all your breakers and your ^(BQ)waves
    have gone over me.
⁸By day the Lord ^(BR)commands his steadfast love,
    and at ^(BS)night his song is with me,
    a prayer to the God of my life.
⁹I say to God, ^(BT)my rock:
    “Why have you forgotten me?
^(BU)Why do I go mourning
    because of the oppression of the enemy?”
¹⁰As with a deadly wound in my bones,
    my adversaries taunt me,
^(BV)while they say to me all the day long,
    “Where is your God?”