Psalm 71-75

New International Version

⁵ For you have been my hope,^(I) Sovereign Lord,
    my confidence^(J) since my youth.
⁶ From birth^(K) I have relied on you;
    you brought me forth from my mother’s womb.^(L)
    I will ever praise^(M) you.
⁷ I have become a sign^(N) to many;
    you are my strong refuge.^(O)
8 My mouth^(P) is filled with your praise,
    declaring your splendor^(Q) all day long.

⁹ Do not cast^(R) me away when I am old;^(S)
    do not forsake^(T) me when my strength is gone.
¹⁰ For my enemies^(U) speak against me;
    those who wait to kill^(V) me conspire^(W) together.
¹¹ They say, “God has forsaken^(X) him;
    pursue him and seize him,
    for no one will rescue^(Y) him.”
¹² Do not be far^(Z) from me, my God;
    come quickly, God, to help^(AA) me.
¹³ May my accusers^(AB) perish in shame;^(AC)
    may those who want to harm me
    be covered with scorn and disgrace.^(AD)

¹⁴ As for me, I will always have hope;^(AE)
    I will praise you more and more.

¹⁵ My mouth will tell^(AF) of your righteous deeds,^(AG)
    of your saving acts all day long—
    though I know not how to relate them all.
¹⁶ I will come and proclaim your mighty acts,^(AH) Sovereign Lord;
    I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.
¹⁷ Since my youth, God, you have taught^(AI) me,
    and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.^(AJ)
18 Even when I am old and gray,^(AK)
    do not forsake me, my God,
till I declare your power^(AL) to the next generation,
    your mighty acts to all who are to come.^(AM)

¹⁹ Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,^(AN)
    you who have done great things.^(AO)
    Who is like you, God?^(AP)
20 Though you have made me see troubles,^(AQ)
    many and bitter,
    you will restore^(AR) my life again;
from the depths of the earth^(AS)
    you will again bring me up.
²¹ You will increase my honor^(AT)
    and comfort^(AU) me once more.

²² I will praise you with the harp^(AV)
    for your faithfulness, my God;
I will sing praise to you with the lyre,^(AW)
    Holy One of Israel.^(AX)
23 My lips will shout for joy^(AY)
    when I sing praise to you—
    I whom you have delivered.^(AZ)
24 My tongue will tell of your righteous acts
    all day long,^(BA)
for those who wanted to harm me^(BB)
    have been put to shame and confusion.^(BC)

³ May the mountains bring prosperity to the people,
    the hills the fruit of righteousness.
⁴ May he defend the afflicted^(BF) among the people
    and save the children of the needy;^(BG)
    may he crush the oppressor.^(BH)
5 May he endure^[a](BI) as long as the sun,
    as long as the moon, through all generations.^(BJ)
6 May he be like rain^(BK) falling on a mown field,
    like showers watering the earth.
⁷ In his days may the righteous flourish^(BL)
    and prosperity abound till the moon is no more.

⁸ May he rule from sea to sea
    and from the River^[b](BM) to the ends of the earth.^(BN)
9 May the desert tribes bow before him
    and his enemies lick the dust.
¹⁰ May the kings of Tarshish^(BO) and of distant shores^(BP)
    bring tribute to him.
May the kings of Sheba^(BQ) and Seba
    present him gifts.^(BR)
11 May all kings bow down^(BS) to him
    and all nations serve^(BT) him.

¹² For he will deliver the needy who cry out,
    the afflicted who have no one to help.
¹³ He will take pity^(BU) on the weak and the needy
    and save the needy from death.
¹⁴ He will rescue^(BV) them from oppression and violence,
    for precious^(BW) is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵ Long may he live!
    May gold from Sheba^(BX) be given him.
May people ever pray for him
    and bless him all day long.^(BY)
16 May grain^(BZ) abound throughout the land;
    on the tops of the hills may it sway.
May the crops^(CA) flourish like Lebanon^(CB)
    and thrive^[c] like the grass of the field.^(CC)
17 May his name endure forever;^(CD)
    may it continue as long as the sun.^(CE)

Then all nations will be blessed through him,^[d]
    and they will call him blessed.^(CF)

¹⁸ Praise be to the Lord God, the God of Israel,^(CG)
    who alone does marvelous deeds.^(CH)
19 Praise be to his glorious name^(CI) forever;
    may the whole earth be filled with his glory.^(CJ)
Amen and Amen.^(CK)

²⁰ This concludes the prayers of David son of Jesse.^(CL)

² But as for me, my feet had almost slipped;^(CN)
    I had nearly lost my foothold.^(CO)
3 For I envied^(CP) the arrogant
    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.^(CQ)

⁴ They have no struggles;
    their bodies are healthy and strong.^[e]
5 They are free^(CR) from common human burdens;
    they are not plagued by human ills.
⁶ Therefore pride^(CS) is their necklace;^(CT)
    they clothe themselves with violence.^(CU)
7 From their callous hearts^(CV) comes iniquity^[f];
    their evil imaginations have no limits.
⁸ They scoff, and speak with malice;^(CW)
    with arrogance^(CX) they threaten oppression.^(CY)
9 Their mouths lay claim to heaven,
    and their tongues take possession of the earth.
¹⁰ Therefore their people turn to them
    and drink up waters in abundance.^[g]
11 They say, “How would God know?
    Does the Most High know anything?”

¹² This is what the wicked are like—
    always free of care,^(CZ) they go on amassing wealth.^(DA)

¹³ Surely in vain^(DB) I have kept my heart pure
    and have washed my hands in innocence.^(DC)
14 All day long I have been afflicted,^(DD)
    and every morning brings new punishments.

¹⁵ If I had spoken out like that,
    I would have betrayed your children.
¹⁶ When I tried to understand^(DE) all this,
    it troubled me deeply
¹⁷ till I entered the sanctuary^(DF) of God;
    then I understood their final destiny.^(DG)

¹⁸ Surely you place them on slippery ground;^(DH)
    you cast them down to ruin.^(DI)
19 How suddenly^(DJ) are they destroyed,
    completely swept away^(DK) by terrors!
²⁰ They are like a dream^(DL) when one awakes;^(DM)
    when you arise, Lord,
    you will despise them as fantasies.^(DN)

²¹ When my heart was grieved
    and my spirit embittered,
²² I was senseless^(DO) and ignorant;
    I was a brute beast^(DP) before you.

²³ Yet I am always with you;
    you hold me by my right hand.^(DQ)
24 You guide^(DR) me with your counsel,^(DS)
    and afterward you will take me into glory.
²⁵ Whom have I in heaven but you?^(DT)
    And earth has nothing I desire besides you.^(DU)
26 My flesh and my heart^(DV) may fail,^(DW)
    but God is the strength^(DX) of my heart
    and my portion^(DY) forever.

²⁷ Those who are far from you will perish;^(DZ)
    you destroy all who are unfaithful^(EA) to you.
²⁸ But as for me, it is good to be near God.^(EB)
    I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge;^(EC)
    I will tell of all your deeds.^(ED)

⁴ Your foes roared^(EO) in the place where you met with us;
    they set up their standards^(EP) as signs.
⁵ They behaved like men wielding axes
    to cut through a thicket of trees.^(EQ)
6 They smashed all the carved^(ER) paneling
    with their axes and hatchets.
⁷ They burned your sanctuary to the ground;
    they defiled^(ES) the dwelling place^(ET) of your Name.^(EU)
8 They said in their hearts, “We will crush^(EV) them completely!”
    They burned^(EW) every place where God was worshiped in the land.

⁹ We are given no signs from God;^(EX)
    no prophets^(EY) are left,
    and none of us knows how long this will be.
¹⁰ How long^(EZ) will the enemy mock^(FA) you, God?
    Will the foe revile^(FB) your name forever?
¹¹ Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand?^(FC)
    Take it from the folds of your garment^(FD) and destroy them!

¹² But God is my King^(FE) from long ago;
    he brings salvation^(FF) on the earth.

¹³ It was you who split open the sea^(FG) by your power;
    you broke the heads of the monster^(FH) in the waters.
¹⁴ It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan^(FI)
    and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.^(FJ)
15 It was you who opened up springs^(FK) and streams;
    you dried up^(FL) the ever-flowing rivers.
¹⁶ The day is yours, and yours also the night;
    you established the sun and moon.^(FM)
17 It was you who set all the boundaries^(FN) of the earth;
    you made both summer and winter.^(FO)

¹⁸ Remember how the enemy has mocked you, Lord,
    how foolish people^(FP) have reviled your name.
¹⁹ Do not hand over the life of your dove^(FQ) to wild beasts;
    do not forget the lives of your afflicted^(FR) people forever.
²⁰ Have regard for your covenant,^(FS)
    because haunts of violence fill the dark places^(FT) of the land.
²¹ Do not let the oppressed^(FU) retreat in disgrace;
    may the poor and needy^(FV) praise your name.
²² Rise up,^(FW) O God, and defend your cause;
    remember how fools^(FX) mock you all day long.
²³ Do not ignore the clamor^(FY) of your adversaries,^(FZ)
    the uproar^(GA) of your enemies,^(GB) which rises continually.

² You say, “I choose the appointed time;^(GE)
    it is I who judge with equity.^(GF)
3 When the earth and all its people quake,^(GG)
    it is I who hold its pillars^(GH) firm.^[j]
4 To the arrogant^(GI) I say, ‘Boast no more,’^(GJ)
    and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horns.^[k](GK)
5 Do not lift your horns against heaven;
    do not speak so defiantly.^(GL)’”

⁶ No one from the east or the west
    or from the desert can exalt themselves.
⁷ It is God who judges:^(GM)
    He brings one down, he exalts another.^(GN)
8 In the hand of the Lord is a cup
    full of foaming wine mixed^(GO) with spices;
he pours it out, and all the wicked of the earth
    drink it down to its very dregs.^(GP)

⁹ As for me, I will declare^(GQ) this forever;
    I will sing^(GR) praise to the God of Jacob,^(GS)
10 who says, “I will cut off the horns of all the wicked,
    but the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.”^(GT)