Psalm 20

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for Victory over Enemies.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

20 May the Lord answer you ^(A)on a day of trouble!
May the ^(B)name of the ^(C)God of Jacob ^[a]protect you!
²May He send you help ^(D)from the sanctuary,
And ^(E)support you from Zion!
³May He ^(F)remember all your meal offerings
And ^[b]^(G)accept your burnt offering! Selah

⁴May He grant you your ^(H)heart’s desire
And ^(I)fulfill your whole plan!
⁵^[c]We will ^(J)sing for joy over your ^[d]victory,
And in the name of our God we will ^(K)set up our banners.
May the Lord ^(L)fulfill all your desires.

⁶Now ^(M)I know that the Lord saves His anointed;
He will ^(N)answer him from His holy heaven
With the ^[e]^(O)saving strength of His right hand.
⁷Some praise their chariots and some their ^(P)horses,
But ^(Q)we will praise the name of the Lord, our God.
⁸They have ^(R)bowed down and fallen,
But we have ^(S)risen and stood upright.
⁹^[f]^(T)Save, Lord;
May the ^(U)King answer us on the day we call.

Footnotes

Psalm 20:1 Lit make you high and inaccessible
Psalm 20:3 Lit consider your...as fat
Psalm 20:5 Or Let’s sing
Psalm 20:5 Or salvation
Psalm 20:6 Or mighty deeds of the victory of His right hand
Psalm 20:9 Or O Lord, save the king; answer us

Psalm 50

New American Standard Bible

God, the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.

A Psalm of ^[a]Asaph.

50 ^(A)The Mighty One, God, the Lord, has spoken
And summoned the earth, ^(B)from ^[b]the rising of the sun to its setting.
²Out of Zion, ^(C)the perfection of beauty,
God ^(D)has shone.
³May our God ^(E)come and not keep silent;
^(F)Fire devours before Him,
And a storm is violently ^(G)raging around Him.
⁴He ^(H)summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:
⁵“Gather My ^(I)godly ones to Me,
Those who have made a ^(J)covenant with Me by ^(K)sacrifice.”
⁶And the ^(L)heavens declare His righteousness,
For ^(M)God Himself is judge. Selah

⁷“^(N)Hear, My people, and I will speak;
Israel, I will testify ^[c]against you;
I am God, ^(O)your God.
⁸I do ^(P)not rebuke you for your sacrifices,
And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.
⁹I will not take a ^(Q)bull from your house,
Nor male goats from your folds.
¹⁰For ^(R)every animal of the forest is Mine,
The cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹I know every ^(S)bird of the mountains,
And everything that moves in the field is ^[d]Mine.
¹²If I were hungry I would not tell you,
For the ^(T)world is Mine, and ^[e]everything it contains.
¹³Shall I eat the flesh of ^[f]^(U)bulls
Or drink the blood of male goats?
¹⁴Offer God ^(V)a sacrifice of thanksgiving
And ^(W)pay your vows to the Most High;
¹⁵^(X)Call upon Me on the day of trouble;
I will ^(Y)rescue you, and you will ^(Z)honor Me.”

¹⁶But to the wicked God says,
“What right do you have to tell of My statutes
And to take ^(AA)My covenant in your mouth?
¹⁷For you yourself ^(AB)hate discipline,
And you ^(AC)throw My words behind you.
¹⁸When you see a thief, you ^(AD)become friends with him,
And ^[g]you ^(AE)associate with adulterers.
¹⁹You ^[h]^(AF)let your mouth loose in evil,
And your ^(AG)tongue harnesses deceit.
²⁰You sit and ^(AH)speak against your brother;
You slander your own mother’s son.
²¹These things you have done and ^(AI)I kept silent;
You thought that I was just like you;
I will ^(AJ)rebuke you and present the case before your eyes.

²²“Now consider this, you who ^(AK)forget God,
Or I will ^(AL)tear you in pieces, and there will be no one to save you.
²³He who ^(AM)offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who ^(AN)sets his way properly
I will ^(AO)show the salvation of God.”

Footnotes

Psalm 50 Title 1 Chr 15:17; 2 Chr 29:30
Psalm 50:1 I.e., the east to the west
Psalm 50:7 Or to
Psalm 50:11 Or in My mind; lit with Me
Psalm 50:12 Lit its fullness
Psalm 50:13 Lit strong ones
Psalm 50:18 Lit your part is with
Psalm 50:19 Lit send

Psalm 80

New American Standard Bible

God Implored to Rescue His People from Their Calamities.

For the music director; set to ^[a]El Shoshannim; ^[b]Eduth. A Psalm of Asaph.

80 Listen, ^(A)Shepherd of Israel,
Who leads ^(B)Joseph like a flock;
You who ^(C)are enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!
²Before ^(D)Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh, ^(E)awaken Your power,
And come to save us!
³God, ^(F)restore us
And ^(G)make Your face shine upon us, ^[c]and we will be saved.

⁴^(H)Lord God of armies,
^(I)How long will You ^[d]be angry with the prayer of Your people?
⁵You have fed them with the ^(J)bread of tears,
And You have made them drink tears in ^[e]large measure.
⁶You make us ^[f]an object of contention ^(K)to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh among themselves.
⁷God of armies, restore us
And make Your face shine upon us, ^[g]and we will be saved.

⁸You removed a ^(L)vine from Egypt;
You ^(M)drove out the ^[h]nations and ^(N)planted it.
⁹You ^(O)cleared the ground before it,
And it ^(P)took deep root and filled the land.
¹⁰The mountains were covered with its shadow,
And ^[i]the cedars of God with its ^(Q)branches.
¹¹It was sending out its branches ^(R)to the sea
And its shoots to the Euphrates River.
¹²Why have You ^(S)broken down its ^[j]hedges,
So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?
¹³A boar from the forest ^(T)eats it away,
And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.

¹⁴God of armies, do ^(U)turn back;
^(V)Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine,
¹⁵The ^[k]^(W)shoot which Your right hand has planted,
And of the ^[l]son whom You have ^[m]strengthened for Yourself.
¹⁶It is ^(X)burned with fire, it is cut down;
They perish from the ^(Y)rebuke of Your face.
¹⁷Let ^(Z)Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand,
Upon the son of man whom You ^(AA)made strong for Yourself.
¹⁸Then we will not ^(AB)turn back from You;
^(AC)Revive us, and we will call upon Your name.
¹⁹Lord God of armies, ^(AD)restore us;
Make Your face shine upon us, ^[n]and we will be saved.

Footnotes

Psalm 80 Title Possibly, to the Lilies
Psalm 80 Title Lit A testimony
Psalm 80:3 Or that we may
Psalm 80:4 Lit smoke against
Psalm 80:5 Lit a third part of a
Psalm 80:6 Lit strife to
Psalm 80:7 Or that we may
Psalm 80:8 Or Gentiles
Psalm 80:10 Or its boughs are like the cedars of God
Psalm 80:12 Or walls, fences
Psalm 80:15 Or root
Psalm 80:15 Or figuratively: branch
Psalm 80:15 Or secured
Psalm 80:19 Or that we may

Psalm 110

New American Standard Bible

The Lord Gives Dominion to the King.

A Psalm of David.

110 ^(A)The Lord says to my Lord:
“^(B)Sit at My right hand
Until I make ^(C)Your enemies a footstool for Your feet.”
²The Lord will stretch out Your strong ^(D)scepter from Zion, saying,
“^(E)Rule in the midst of Your enemies.”
³Your ^(F)people ^[a]will volunteer freely on the day of Your ^[b]power;
^(G)In ^[c]holy splendor, from the womb of the dawn,
^[d]Your youth are to You as the ^(H)dew.

⁴^(I)The Lord has sworn and will ^(J)not ^[e]change His mind,
“You are a ^(K)priest forever
According to the order of Melchizedek.”
⁵The Lord is ^(L)at Your right hand;
He ^[f]will ^(M)shatter kings in the ^(N)day of His wrath.
⁶He will ^(O)judge among the nations,
He ^[g]will fill them with ^(P)corpses,
He ^[h]will ^(Q)shatter the ^[i]chief men over a broad country.
⁷He will ^(R)drink from the brook by the wayside;
Therefore He will ^(S)lift up His head.

Footnotes

Psalm 110:3 Lit will be voluntary offerings
Psalm 110:3 Or army
Psalm 110:3 Or the splendor of holiness
Psalm 110:3 Or The dew of Your youth is Yours
Psalm 110:4 Lit be sorry
Psalm 110:5 Or has shattered
Psalm 110:6 Or has filled
Psalm 110:6 Or has shattered
Psalm 110:6 Lit head over

Psalm 140

New American Standard Bible

Prayer for Protection against the Wicked.

For the music director. A Psalm of David.

140 ^(A)Rescue me, Lord, from evil people;
Protect me from ^(B)violent men
²Who ^(C)devise evil things in their hearts;
They ^(D)continually stir up wars.
³They ^(E)sharpen their tongues like a snake;
^(F)The venom of a viper is under their lips. Selah

⁴^(G)Keep me, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
^(H)Protect me from violent men
Who ^[a]intend to ^[b]^(I)trip up my feet.
⁵The proud have ^(J)hidden a trap for me, and snares;
They have spread a ^(K)net at the ^[c]wayside;
They have set ^(L)snares for me. Selah

⁶I ^(M)said to the Lord, “You are my God;
^(N)Listen, Lord, to the ^(O)sound of my pleadings.
⁷^[d]God the Lord, ^(P)the strength of my salvation,
You have ^(Q)covered my head on the day of ^[e]battle.
⁸Do not grant, Lord, the ^(R)desires of the wicked;
Do not bring about ^(S)his evil planning, so that they are not exalted. Selah

⁹“As for the head of those who surround me,
May the ^(T)harm of their lips cover them.
¹⁰May ^(U)burning coals fall upon them;
May they be ^(V)cast into the fire,
Into bottomless pits from which they ^(W)cannot rise.
¹¹May a ^[f]slanderer not endure on the earth;
^(X)May evil hunt a violent person ^[g]violently.”

¹²I know that the Lord will ^(Y)maintain the cause of the afflicted,
And ^(Z)justice for the poor.
¹³Certainly the ^(AA)righteous will give thanks to Your name;
The ^(AB)upright will dwell in Your presence.

Footnotes

Psalm 140:4 Or devise
Psalm 140:4 Lit push
Psalm 140:5 Lit track
Psalm 140:7 Heb YHWH, usually rendered Lord
Psalm 140:7 Lit weapons
Psalm 140:11 Lit man of tongue
Psalm 140:11 Lit blow upon blow

Proverbs 20

New American Standard Bible

On Life and Conduct

20 ^(A)Wine is a mocker, ^(B)intoxicating drink a brawler,
And whoever ^[a]is intoxicated by it is not wise.
²The terror of a king is like the roaring of a lion;
One who provokes him to anger ^[b]^(C)forfeits his own life.
³^(D)Avoiding strife is an honor for a person,
But any fool will ^[c]quarrel.
⁴The ^[d]^(E)lazy one does not plow after the autumn,
So he ^[e]begs during the harvest and has nothing.
⁵A plan in the heart of a person is like deep water,
But a person of understanding draws it out.
⁶Many a person ^(F)proclaims his own loyalty,
But who can find a ^(G)trustworthy person?
⁷A righteous person who ^(H)walks in his integrity—
^(I)How blessed are his sons after him.
⁸^(J)A king who sits on the throne of justice
^[f]Disperses all evil with his eyes.
⁹^(K)Who can say, “I have cleansed my heart,
I am pure from my sin”?
¹⁰^[g]^(L)Differing weights and differing measures,
Both of them are abominable to the Lord.
¹¹It is by his deeds that a boy ^[h]^(M)distinguishes himself,
If his conduct is pure and right.
¹²The hearing ^(N)ear and the seeing eye,
The Lord has made both of them.
¹³^(O)Do not love sleep, or you will become poor;
Open your eyes, and you will be satisfied with ^[i]food.
¹⁴“Bad, bad,” says the buyer,
But when he goes his way, then he boasts.
¹⁵There is gold, and an abundance of ^[j]jewels;
But lips of knowledge are a more precious thing.
¹⁶Take his garment when he becomes guarantor for a stranger;
And for foreigners, seize a pledge from him.
¹⁷^(P)Bread obtained by a lie is sweet to a person,
But afterward his mouth will be filled with gravel.
¹⁸Prepare ^(Q)plans by consultation,
And ^(R)make war by wise guidance.
¹⁹One who ^(S)goes about as a slanderer reveals secrets;
Therefore do not associate with ^[k]^(T)a gossip.
²⁰He who ^(U)curses his father or his mother,
His ^(V)lamp will go out in time of darkness.
²¹An inheritance gained in a hurry at the beginning
Will not be blessed in the end.
²²^(W)Do not say, “I will repay evil”;
^(X)Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.
²³^[l]^(Y)Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord,
And a ^[m]^(Z)false scale is not good.
²⁴^(AA)A man’s steps are ordained by the Lord;
How then can a person understand his way?
²⁵It is a trap for a person to say carelessly, “It is holy!”
And ^(AB)after the vows to make inquiry.
²⁶A ^(AC)wise king scatters the wicked,
And ^[n]drives a ^(AD)threshing wheel over them.
²⁷The ^[o]^(AE)spirit of a person is the lamp of the Lord,
Searching all the ^[p]innermost parts of his being.
²⁸^[q]Loyalty and ^(AF)truth watch over the king,
And he upholds his throne by ^[r]loyalty.
²⁹The glory of young men is their strength,
And the ^[s]^(AG)honor of old men is their gray hair.
³⁰^(AH)Bruising wounds clean away evil,
And blows cleanse the ^[t]innermost parts.