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Psalm 7-9
Contemporary English Version
Psalm 7-9
Contemporary English Version
(Written by David.[a] He sang this to the Lord because of Cush from the tribe of Benjamin.)
The Lord Always Does Right
1 You, Lord God,
are my protector.
Rescue me and keep me safe
from all who chase me.
2 Or else they will rip me apart
like lions attacking a victim,
and no one will save me.
3 I am innocent, Lord God!
4 I have not betrayed a friend
or had pity on an enemy[b]
who attacks for no reason.
5 If I have done any of this,
then let my enemies
chase and capture me.
Let them trample me to death
and leave me in the dirt.
6 Get angry, Lord God!
Do something!
Attack my furious enemies.
See that justice is done.
7 Make the nations come to you,
as you sit on your throne[c]
above them all.
8 Our Lord, judge the nations!
Judge me and show that I
am honest and innocent.
9 (A) You know every heart and mind,
and you always do right.
Now make violent people stop,
but protect all of us
who obey you.
10 You, God, are my shield,
the protector of everyone
whose heart is right.
11 You see that justice is done,
and each day
you take revenge.
12 Whenever your enemies refuse
to change their ways,
you sharpen your sword
and string your bow.
13 Your deadly arrows are ready
with flaming tips.
14 An evil person is like a woman
about to give birth
to a hateful, deceitful,
and rebellious child.
15 (B) Such people dig a deep hole,
then fall in it themselves.
16 The trouble they cause
comes back on them,
and their heads are crushed
by their own evil deeds.
17 I will praise you, Lord!
You always do right.
I will sing about you,
the Lord Most High.
(A psalm by David for the music leader.[d])
The Wonderful Name of the Lord
1 Our Lord and Ruler,
your name is wonderful
everywhere on earth!
You let your glory be seen[e]
in the heavens above.
2 (C) With praises from children
and from tiny infants,
you have built a fortress.
It makes your enemies silent,
and all who turn against you
are left speechless.
3 I often think of the heavens
your hands have made,
and of the moon and stars
you put in place.
4 (D) Then I ask, “Why do you care
about us humans?
Why are you concerned
for us weaklings?”
5 (E) You made us a little lower
than you yourself,[f]
and you have crowned us
with glory and honor.
6 (F) You let us rule everything
your hands have made.
And you put all of it
under our power—
7 the sheep and the cattle,
and every wild animal,
8 the birds in the sky,
the fish in the sea,
and all ocean creatures.
9 Our Lord and Ruler,
your name is wonderful
everywhere on earth!
(A psalm by David for the music leader. To the tune “The Death of the Son.”)
Sing Praises to the Lord
1 I will praise you, Lord,
with all my heart
and tell about the wonders
you have worked.
2 God Most High, I will rejoice;
I will celebrate and sing
because of you.
3 When my enemies face you,
they run away and stumble
and are destroyed.
4 You take your seat as judge,
and your fair decisions prove
that I was in the right.
5 You warn the nations
and destroy evil people;
you wipe out their names
forever and ever.
6 Our enemies are destroyed
completely for all time.
Their cities are torn down,
and they will never
be remembered again.
7 You rule forever, Lord,
and you are on your throne,
ready for judgment.
8 You judge the world fairly
and treat all nations
with justice.
9 The poor can run to you
because you are a fortress
in times of trouble.
10 Everyone who honors your name
can trust you,
because you are faithful
to all who depend on you.
11 You rule from Zion, Lord,
and we sing about you
to let the nations know
everything you have done.
12 You did not forget
to punish the guilty
or listen to the cries
of those in need.
13 (G) Please have mercy, Lord!
My enemies mistreat me.
Keep me from the gates
that lead to death,
14 and I will sing about you
at the gate to Zion.
I will be happy there
because you rescued me.
15 (H) Our Lord, the nations fell
into their own pits,
and their feet were caught
in their own traps.
16 You showed what you are like,
and you made certain
that justice is done,
but evil people are trapped
by their own evil deeds.
17 The wicked will go down
to the world of the dead
to be with those nations
that forgot about you.
18 The poor and the homeless
won't always be forgotten
and without hope.
19 Do something, Lord!
Don't let the nations win.
Make them stand trial
in your court of law.
20 Make the nations afraid
and let them all discover
just how weak they are.
Footnotes
- Psalm 7 Written by David: The Hebrew text has “a shiggaion by David,” which may refer to a psalm of mourning.
- 7.4 had pity on an enemy: Or “failed to have pity on an enemy.”
- 7.7 sit … throne: Or “return to your place.”
- Psalm 8 leader: The Hebrew text adds “according to the gittith,” which may refer to either a musical instrument or a tune.
- 8.1 You … seen: Or “I will worship your glory.”
- 8.5 you yourself: Or “the angels” or “the beings in heaven.”
Psalm 7-9
New International Version
Psalm 7-9
New International Version
Psalm 7[a]
A shiggaion[b](A) of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
1 Lord my God, I take refuge(B) in you;
save and deliver me(C) from all who pursue me,(D)
2 or they will tear me apart like a lion(E)
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue(F) me.
3 Lord my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands(G)—
4 if I have repaid my ally with evil
or without cause(H) have robbed my foe—
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake(I) me;
let him trample my life to the ground(J)
and make me sleep in the dust.[c](K)
6 Arise,(L) Lord, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.(M)
Awake,(N) my God; decree justice.
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
while you sit enthroned over them on high.(O)
8 Let the Lord judge(P) the peoples.
Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness,(Q)
according to my integrity,(R) O Most High.(S)
9 Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure—(T)
you, the righteous God(U)
who probes minds and hearts.(V)
10 My shield[d](W) is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.(X)
11 God is a righteous judge,(Y)
a God who displays his wrath(Z) every day.
12 If he does not relent,(AA)
he[e] will sharpen his sword;(AB)
he will bend and string his bow.(AC)
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.(AD)
14 Whoever is pregnant with evil
conceives trouble and gives birth(AE) to disillusionment.
15 Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
falls into the pit(AF) they have made.(AG)
16 The trouble they cause recoils on them;
their violence comes down on their own heads.
17 I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;(AH)
I will sing the praises(AI) of the name of the Lord Most High.(AJ)
Psalm 8[f]
For the director of music. According to gittith.[g] A psalm of David.
1 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name(AK) in all the earth!
You have set your glory(AL)
in the heavens.(AM)
2 Through the praise of children and infants
you have established a stronghold(AN) against your enemies,
to silence the foe(AO) and the avenger.
3 When I consider your heavens,(AP)
the work of your fingers,(AQ)
the moon and the stars,(AR)
which you have set in place,
4 what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
human beings that you care for them?[h](AS)
5 You have made them[i] a little lower than the angels[j](AT)
and crowned them[k] with glory and honor.(AU)
6 You made them rulers(AV) over the works of your hands;(AW)
you put everything under their[l] feet:(AX)
7 all flocks and herds,(AY)
and the animals of the wild,(AZ)
8 the birds in the sky,
and the fish in the sea,(BA)
all that swim the paths of the seas.
9 Lord, our Lord,
how majestic is your name in all the earth!(BB)
Psalm 9[m][n]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.
1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;(BC)
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.(BD)
2 I will be glad and rejoice(BE) in you;
I will sing the praises(BF) of your name,(BG) O Most High.
3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my right(BH) and my cause,(BI)
sitting enthroned(BJ) as the righteous judge.(BK)
5 You have rebuked the nations(BL) and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name(BM) for ever and ever.
6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
you have uprooted their cities;(BN)
even the memory of them(BO) has perished.
7 The Lord reigns forever;(BP)
he has established his throne(BQ) for judgment.
8 He rules the world in righteousness(BR)
and judges the peoples with equity.(BS)
9 The Lord is a refuge(BT) for the oppressed,(BU)
a stronghold in times of trouble.(BV)
10 Those who know your name(BW) trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken(BX) those who seek you.(BY)
11 Sing the praises(BZ) of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;(CA)
proclaim among the nations(CB) what he has done.(CC)
12 For he who avenges blood(CD) remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.(CE)
13 Lord, see how my enemies(CF) persecute me!
Have mercy(CG) and lift me up from the gates of death,(CH)
14 that I may declare your praises(CI)
in the gates of Daughter Zion,(CJ)
and there rejoice in your salvation.(CK)
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;(CL)
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.(CM)
16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.[o](CN)
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,(CO)
all the nations that forget God.(CP)
18 But God will never forget the needy;
the hope(CQ) of the afflicted(CR) will never perish.
Footnotes
- Psalm 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-17 is numbered 7:2-18.
- Psalm 7:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 7:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
- Psalm 7:10 Or sovereign
- Psalm 7:12 Or If anyone does not repent, / God
- Psalm 8:1 In Hebrew texts 8:1-9 is numbered 8:2-10.
- Psalm 8:1 Title: Probably a musical term
- Psalm 8:4 Or what is a human being that you are mindful of him, / a son of man that you care for him?
- Psalm 8:5 Or him
- Psalm 8:5 Or than God
- Psalm 8:5 Or him
- Psalm 8:6 Or made him ruler . . . ; / . . . his
- Psalm 9:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
- Psalm 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1-20 is numbered 9:2-21.
- Psalm 9:16 The Hebrew has Higgaion and Selah (words of uncertain meaning) here; Selah occurs also at the end of verse 20.
Contemporary English Version (CEV) 
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New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.