Psalm 19

New American Standard Bible

The Works and the Word of God.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

19 The ^(A)heavens tell of the glory of God;
And their ^(B)expanse declares the work of His hands.
²Day to ^(C)day pours forth speech,
And ^(D)night to night reveals knowledge.
³There is no speech, nor are there words;
Their voice is not heard.
⁴Their ^[a]^(E)line has gone out into all the earth,
And their words to the end of the world.
In them He has ^(F)placed a tent for the sun,
⁵Which is like a groom coming out of his chamber;
It rejoices like a strong person to run his course.
⁶Its ^(G)rising is from ^[b]one end of the heavens,
And its circuit to the ^[c]other end of them;
And there is nothing hidden from its heat.

⁷^(H)The Law of the Lord is ^[d]^(I)perfect, ^(J)restoring the soul;
The testimony of the Lord is ^(K)sure, making ^(L)wise the simple.
⁸The precepts of the Lord are ^(M)right, ^(N)rejoicing the heart;
The commandment of the Lord is ^(O)pure, ^(P)enlightening the eyes.
⁹The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are ^(Q)true; they are ^(R)righteous altogether.
¹⁰They are more desirable than ^(S)gold, yes, than much pure gold;
^(T)Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
¹¹Moreover, ^(U)Your servant is warned by them;
In keeping them there is great ^(V)reward.
¹²Who can ^(W)discern his errors? ^(X)Acquit me of ^(Y)hidden faults.
¹³Also keep Your servant back ^(Z)from presumptuous sins;
Let them not ^(AA)rule over me;
Then I will be ^(AB)innocent,
And I will be blameless of ^(AC)great wrongdoing.
¹⁴May the words of my mouth and ^(AD)the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable in Your sight,
Lord, ^(AE)my rock and my ^(AF)Redeemer.

Footnotes

Psalm 19:4 Another reading is sound
Psalm 19:6 Lit the end
Psalm 19:6 Lit the ends
Psalm 19:7 I.e., blameless

Psalm 49

New American Standard Bible

The Foolishness of Trusting in Riches.

For the music director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

49 ^(A)Hear this, all peoples;
Listen, all ^(B)inhabitants of the world,
²Both ^(C)low and high,
Rich and poor together.
³My mouth will ^(D)speak wisdom,
And the meditation of my heart will be ^(E)understanding.
⁴I will incline my ear to ^(F)a proverb;
^(G)I will ^[a]express my ^(H)riddle on the harp.

⁵Why should I ^(I)fear in days of adversity,
When the injustice of those who betray me surrounds me,
⁶Those who ^(J)trust in their wealth
And boast in the abundance of their riches?
⁷No one can by any means ^(K)redeem another
Or give God a ^(L)ransom for him—
⁸For ^(M)the redemption of ^[b]his soul is priceless,
And he should cease imagining forever—
⁹That he might ^(N)live on eternally,
That he might not ^[c]^(O)undergo decay.

¹⁰For he sees that even ^(P)wise people die;
The ^(Q)foolish and the stupid alike perish
And ^(R)leave their wealth to others.
¹¹Their ^[d]^(S)inner thought is that their houses ^(T)are forever
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have ^(U)named their lands after their own names.
¹²But ^(V)man in his splendor will not endure;
He is like the animals that ^[e]perish.

¹³This is the ^(W)way of those who are foolish,
And of those after them who ^(X)approve their words. Selah
¹⁴Like sheep they sink down ^(Y)to ^[f]Sheol;
Death will be their shepherd;
And the ^(Z)upright will rule over them in the morning,
And their form shall be for ^[g]Sheol ^(AA)to consume
^[h]So that they have no lofty home.
¹⁵But God will ^(AB)redeem my soul from the ^[i]power of ^[j]Sheol,
For ^(AC)He will receive me. Selah

¹⁶Do not be afraid ^(AD)when a person becomes rich,
When the splendor of his house is increased;
¹⁷For when he dies, he will ^(AE)take nothing with him;
His ^[k]wealth will not descend after him.
¹⁸Though while he lives he ^(AF)congratulates ^[l]himself—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—
¹⁹^[m]He will ^(AG)go to the generation of his fathers;
They will never see ^(AH)the light.
²⁰^(AI)Mankind in its splendor, yet without understanding,
Is ^(AJ)like the animals that ^[n]perish.

Footnotes

Psalm 49:4 Lit open up
Psalm 49:8 Lit their
Psalm 49:9 Or see corruption; lit see the pit
Psalm 49:11 Some ancient versions graves are their houses
Psalm 49:12 Lit are destroyed
Psalm 49:14 I.e., the netherworld
Psalm 49:14 I.e., the netherworld
Psalm 49:14 Lit Away from his habitation
Psalm 49:15 Lit hand
Psalm 49:15 I.e., the netherworld
Psalm 49:17 Lit glory
Psalm 49:18 Lit his soul
Psalm 49:19 Lit You; or It
Psalm 49:20 Lit are destroyed

Psalm 79

New American Standard Bible

Grieving over the Destruction of Jerusalem, and Prayer for Help.

A Psalm of Asaph.

79 God, the ^(A)nations have ^[a]invaded ^(B)Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your ^(C)holy temple;
They have ^(D)laid Jerusalem in ruins.
²They have given the ^(E)dead bodies of Your servants to the birds of the sky as food,
The flesh of Your godly ones to the animals of the earth.
³They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem;
And there was ^(F)no one to bury them.
⁴We have become a ^(G)disgrace before our neighbors,
An object of derision and ridicule to those around us.
⁵^(H)How long, Lord? Will You be angry forever?
Will Your ^(I)jealousy ^(J)burn like fire?
⁶^(K)Pour out Your wrath upon the nations which ^(L)do not know You,
And upon the kingdoms which ^(M)do not call upon Your name.
⁷For they have ^(N)devoured Jacob
And ^(O)laid waste his ^[b]settlement.

⁸^(P)Do not ^[c]hold us responsible for ^[d]the guilty deeds of our forefathers;
Let Your compassion come quickly to ^(Q)meet us,
For we have ^(R)become very low.
⁹^(S)Help us, God of our salvation, for the glory of ^(T)Your name;
And save us and ^[e]^(U)forgive our sins ^(V)for the sake of Your name.
¹⁰^(W)Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?”
Let ^(X)vengeance for the blood of Your servants which has been shed
Be known among the nations in our sight.
¹¹Let ^(Y)the groaning of the prisoner come before You;
According to the greatness of Your ^[f]power, let ^[g]those who are ^(Z)doomed to die remain.
¹²And return to our neighbors ^(AA)seven times as much ^(AB)into their lap
Their ^(AC)taunts with which they have taunted You, Lord.
¹³So we Your people and the ^(AD)sheep of Your ^[h]pasture
Will ^(AE)give thanks to You forever;
To all generations we will ^(AF)tell of Your praise.

Footnotes

Psalm 79:1 Lit come into
Psalm 79:7 Lit pasture
Psalm 79:8 Lit remember against us
Psalm 79:8 Or our former sins
Psalm 79:9 Lit cover over, atone for
Psalm 79:11 Lit arm
Psalm 79:11 Lit the sons of death
Psalm 79:13 Or pasturing

Psalm 109

New American Standard Bible

Vengeance Invoked upon Adversaries.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

109 ^(A)God of my praise,
^(B)Do not be silent!
²For they have opened a ^[a]wicked and ^(C)deceitful mouth against me;
They have spoken ^[b]against me with a ^(D)lying tongue.
³They have also surrounded me with words of hatred,
And have fought against me ^(E)without cause.
⁴In return ^(F)for my love they act as my accusers;
But ^(G)I am in prayer.
⁵So they have ^[c]^(H)repaid me evil for good,
And ^(I)hatred for my love.

⁶Appoint a wicked person over him,
And may an ^[d]^(J)accuser stand at his right hand.
⁷When he is judged, may he ^(K)come out guilty,
And may his ^(L)prayer become sin.
⁸May ^(M)his days be few;
May ^(N)another take his office.
⁹May his ^(O)children be fatherless,
And his ^(P)wife a widow.
¹⁰May his ^(Q)children wander about and beg;
And may they ^(R)seek sustenance ^[e]far from their ruined homes.
¹¹May ^(S)the creditor ^[f]seize everything that he has,
And may ^(T)strangers plunder the product of his labor.
¹²May there be none to ^[g]^(U)extend kindness to him,
Nor ^(V)any to be gracious to his fatherless children.
¹³May his ^(W)descendants be ^[h]eliminated;
May their ^(X)name be wiped out in a following generation.

¹⁴May ^(Y)the guilt of his fathers be remembered ^[i]before the Lord,
And do not let the sin of his mother be ^(Z)wiped out.
¹⁵May ^(AA)they be before the Lord continually,
So that He may ^(AB)eliminate their memory from the earth;
¹⁶Because he did not remember to show mercy,
But persecuted the ^(AC)afflicted and needy person,
And the ^(AD)despondent in heart, to ^(AE)put them to death.
¹⁷He also loved cursing, so ^(AF)it came to him;
And he did not delight in blessing, so it was far from him.
¹⁸But he ^(AG)clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
And it ^(AH)entered ^[j]his body like water,
And like oil into his bones.
¹⁹May it be to him as ^(AI)a garment with which he covers himself,
And as a belt which he constantly ^(AJ)wears around himself.
²⁰May this be the ^(AK)reward of my accusers from the Lord,
And of those who ^(AL)speak evil against my soul.

²¹But You, ^[k]God, the Lord, deal kindly with me ^(AM)for the sake of Your name;
Because ^(AN)Your mercy is good, rescue me;
²²For ^(AO)I am afflicted and needy,
And ^[l]my heart is ^(AP)wounded within me.
²³I am passing ^(AQ)like a shadow when it lengthens;
I am shaken off ^(AR)like the locust.
²⁴My ^(AS)knees ^[m]are weak from ^(AT)fasting,
And my flesh has grown lean, without fatness.
²⁵I also have become a ^(AU)disgrace to them;
When they see me, they ^(AV)shake their head.

²⁶^(AW)Help me, Lord my God;
Save me according to Your mercy.
²⁷^[n]And may they ^(AX)know that this is Your hand;
You, Lord, have done it.
²⁸^(AY)They will curse, but You bless;
When they arise, they will be ashamed,
But Your ^(AZ)servant will be glad.
²⁹^[o]May ^(BA)my accusers be clothed with dishonor,
And ^[p]may they ^(BB)cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.

³⁰With my mouth I will give thanks abundantly to the Lord;
And ^(BC)I will praise Him in the midst of many.
³¹For He stands ^(BD)at the right hand of the needy,
To save him from those who ^(BE)judge his soul.

Footnotes

Psalm 109:2 Lit wicked mouth and the deceitful
Psalm 109:2 Lit with
Psalm 109:5 Lit laid upon me
Psalm 109:6 Or adversary, Satan
Psalm 109:10 Or out of their desolate places
Psalm 109:11 Lit ensnare, strike at
Psalm 109:12 Lit continue
Psalm 109:13 Lit for cutting off
Psalm 109:14 Lit to
Psalm 109:18 Lit his inward parts
Psalm 109:21 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Psalm 109:22 Lit one has pierced my heart within me
Psalm 109:24 Or totter
Psalm 109:27 Or That they may know
Psalm 109:29 Or My accusers will be
Psalm 109:29 Or they will cover

Psalm 139

New American Standard Bible

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

139 Lord, You have ^(A)searched me and known me.
²You ^(B)know ^[a]when I sit down and ^[b]when I get up;
You ^(C)understand my thought from far away.
³You ^[c]^(D)scrutinize my ^[d]path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴^[e]Even before there is a word on my tongue,
Behold, Lord, You ^(E)know it all.
⁵You have ^(F)encircled me behind and in front,
And ^(G)placed Your hand upon me.
⁶Such ^(H)knowledge is ^(I)too wonderful for me;
It is too high, I cannot comprehend it.

⁷^(J)Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
⁸^(K)If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in ^[f]Sheol, behold, ^(L)You are there.
⁹If I take up the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
¹⁰Even there Your hand will ^(M)lead me,
And Your right hand will take hold of me.
¹¹If I say, “Surely the ^(N)darkness will ^[g]overwhelm me,
And the light around me will be night,”
¹²Even ^(O)darkness is not dark ^[h]to You,
And the night is as bright as the day.
^(P)Darkness and light are alike to You.

¹³For You ^(Q)created my innermost parts;
You ^(R)wove me in my mother’s womb.
¹⁴I will give thanks to You, because ^[i]I am awesomely and wonderfully made;
^(S)Wonderful are Your works,
And my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵My ^[j]^(T)frame was not hidden from You
When I was made in secret,
And skillfully formed in the ^(U)depths of the earth;
¹⁶Your ^(V)eyes have seen my formless substance;
And in ^(W)Your book were written
All the ^(X)days that were ordained for me,
When as yet there was not one of them.

¹⁷How precious also are Your ^(Y)thoughts for me, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸Were I to count them, they would ^(Z)outnumber the sand.
When ^(AA)I awake, I am still with You.

¹⁹If only You would ^(AB)put the wicked to death, God;
^(AC)Leave me, ^(AD)you men of bloodshed.
²⁰For they ^(AE)speak ^[k]against You wickedly,
And Your enemies ^[l]^(AF)take Your name in vain.
²¹Do I not ^(AG)hate those who hate You, Lord?
And do I not ^(AH)loathe those who rise up against You?
²²I hate them with the utmost hatred;
They have become my enemies.

²³^(AI)Search me, God, and know my heart;
^(AJ)Put me to the test and know my anxious thoughts;
²⁴And see if there is any ^[m]^(AK)hurtful way in me,
And ^(AL)lead me in the ^(AM)everlasting way.

Footnotes

Psalm 139:2 Lit my sitting
Psalm 139:2 Lit my rising
Psalm 139:3 Lit winnow
Psalm 139:3 Or journeying
Psalm 139:4 Lit For there is not
Psalm 139:8 I.e., the netherworld
Psalm 139:11 Lit bruise; some commentators cover
Psalm 139:12 Lit from
Psalm 139:14 Some ancient versions You are fearfully wonderful
Psalm 139:15 Lit bones were
Psalm 139:20 Or of
Psalm 139:20 Some mss lift themselves up against You
Psalm 139:24 Lit way of pain

Proverbs 19

New American Standard Bible

On Life and Conduct

19 ^(A)Better is a poor person who ^(B)walks in his integrity
Than a person who is perverse in ^[a]speech and is a fool.
²Also it is not good for a person to be without knowledge,
And one who hurries ^[b]^(C)his footsteps ^[c]errs.
³The ^(D)foolishness of a person ruins his way,
And his heart ^(E)rages against the Lord.
⁴^(F)Wealth adds many friends,
But a poor person is separated from his friend.
⁵A ^(G)false witness will not go unpunished,
And one who ^(H)declares lies will not escape.
⁶^(I)Many will seek the favor of a ^[d]generous person,
And every person is a friend to ^(J)him who gives gifts.
⁷All the brothers of a poor person hate him;
How much more do his ^(K)friends abandon him!
He ^(L)pursues them with words, but they are ^[e]gone.
⁸One who gets ^[f]wisdom loves his own soul;
One who keeps understanding will ^(M)find good.
⁹A ^(N)false witness will not go unpunished,
And one who declares lies will perish.
¹⁰Luxury is ^(O)not fitting for a fool;
Much less for a ^(P)slave to rule over princes.
¹¹A person’s ^(Q)discretion makes him slow to anger,
And it is his glory ^(R)to overlook an offense.
¹²A ^(S)king’s wrath is like the roaring of a lion,
But his favor is like ^(T)dew on the grass.
¹³A ^(U)foolish son is destruction to his father,
And the ^(V)quarrels of a wife are a constant dripping.
¹⁴House and wealth are an ^(W)inheritance from fathers,
But a prudent wife is from the Lord.
¹⁵^(X)Laziness casts one into a deep sleep,
And ^[g]a lazy ^[h]person will suffer hunger.
¹⁶One who ^(Y)keeps the commandment keeps his soul,
But one who ^[i]is careless of ^[j]conduct will die.
¹⁷One who ^(Z)is gracious to a poor person lends to the Lord,
And He will repay him for his ^[k]^(AA)good deed.
¹⁸^(AB)Discipline your son while there is hope,
And do not desire ^[l]his death.
¹⁹A person of great anger will suffer the penalty,
For if you rescue him, you will only have to do it again.
²⁰^(AC)Listen to advice and accept discipline,
So that you may be wise ^[m]the rest of your days.
²¹Many ^(AD)plans are in a person’s heart,
But the ^(AE)advice of the Lord will stand.
²²What is desirable in a person is his ^[n]kindness,
And it is better to be a poor person than a liar.
²³^[o]The ^(AF)fear of the Lord leads to life,
So that one may sleep ^(AG)satisfied, ^[p]^(AH)untouched by evil.
²⁴The ^[q]^(AI)lazy one buries his hand ^(AJ)in the dish,
But will not even bring it back to his mouth.
²⁵^(AK)Strike a scoffer and the naive may become clever,
But ^(AL)rebuke one who has understanding, and he will ^[r]gain knowledge.
²⁶He ^(AM)who assaults his father and drives his mother away
Is a shameful and disgraceful son.
²⁷Stop listening, my son, to discipline,
And you will stray from the words of knowledge.
²⁸A worthless witness makes a mockery of justice,
And the mouth of the wicked ^[s]^(AN)swallows wrongdoing.
²⁹^[t]Judgments are prepared for ^(AO)scoffers,
And ^(AP)beatings for the backs of fools.