Psalm 28
New International Reader's Version
A psalm of David.
28 Lord, my Rock, I call out to you.
Pay attention to me.
If you remain silent, I will die.
I will be like those who go down into the grave.
2 Hear my cry for your favor
when I call out to you for help.
Hear me when I lift up my hands in prayer
toward your Most Holy Room.
3 Don’t drag me away with sinners.
Don’t drag me away with those who do evil.
They speak in a friendly way to their neighbors.
But their hearts are full of hate.
4 Pay them back for their evil actions.
Pay them back for what their hands have done.
Give them exactly what they should get.
5 They don’t care about the Lord’s mighty acts.
They don’t care about what his hands have done.
So he will tear them down.
He will never build them up again.
6 Give praise to the Lord.
He has heard my cry for his favor.
7 The Lord gives me strength. He is like a shield that keeps me safe.
My heart trusts in him, and he helps me.
My heart jumps for joy.
With my song I praise him.
8 The Lord gives strength to his people.
He guards and saves his anointed king.
9 Save your people. Bless those who belong to you.
Be their shepherd. Take care of them forever.
Psalm 28
King James Version
28 Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me: lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit.
2 Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands toward thy holy oracle.
3 Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity, which speak peace to their neighbours, but mischief is in their hearts.
4 Give them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavours: give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert.
5 Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of his hands, he shall destroy them, and not build them up.
6 Blessed be the Lord, because he hath heard the voice of my supplications.
7 The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped: therefore my heart greatly rejoiceth; and with my song will I praise him.
8 The Lord is their strength, and he is the saving strength of his anointed.
9 Save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: feed them also, and lift them up for ever.
Psalm 28
English Standard Version
The Lord Is My Strength and My Shield
Of David.
28 To you, O Lord, I call;
(A)my rock, be not deaf to me,
lest, if you (B)be silent to me,
I become like those who (C)go down to the pit.
2 (D)Hear the voice of my pleas for mercy,
when I cry to you for help,
when I (E)lift up my hands
(F)toward your most holy sanctuary.[a]
3 Do not (G)drag me off with the wicked,
with the workers of evil,
(H)who speak peace with their neighbors
while evil is in their hearts.
4 (I)Give to them according to their work
and according to the evil of their deeds;
give to them according to the work of their hands;
(J)render them their due reward.
5 Because they (K)do not regard the works of the Lord
or the work of his hands,
he will tear them down and build them up no more.
6 Blessed be the Lord!
For he has (L)heard the voice of my pleas for mercy.
7 The Lord is my strength and (M)my shield;
in him my heart (N)trusts, and I am helped;
my heart exults,
and with my (O)song I give thanks to him.
8 The Lord is the strength of his people;[b]
he is (P)the saving refuge of his anointed.
9 Oh, save your people and bless (Q)your heritage!
(R)Be their shepherd and (S)carry them forever.
Footnotes
- Psalm 28:2 Hebrew your innermost sanctuary
- Psalm 28:8 Some Hebrew manuscripts, Septuagint, Syriac; most Hebrew manuscripts is their strength
Copyright © 1995, 1996, 1998, 2014 by Biblica, Inc.®. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025.
