Psalm 31:1-16

Common English Bible

Psalm 31

For the music leader. A psalm of David.

31 I take refuge in you, Lord.
    Please never let me be put to shame.
        Rescue me by your righteousness!
²Listen closely to me!
    Deliver me quickly;
        be a rock that protects me;
        be a strong fortress that saves me!
³You are definitely my rock and my fortress.
    Guide me and lead me for the sake of your good name!
⁴Get me out of this net that’s been set for me
    because you are my protective fortress.
⁵I entrust my spirit into your hands;
    you, Lord, God of faithfulness—
    you have saved me.
⁶I hate those who embrace what is completely worthless.
    I myself trust the Lord.
⁷I rejoice and celebrate in your faithful love
    because you saw my suffering—
    you were intimately acquainted with my deep distress.
⁸You didn’t hand me over to the enemy,
    but set my feet in wide-open spaces.

⁹Have mercy on me, Lord, because I’m depressed.
    My vision fails because of my grief,
    as do my spirit and my body.
¹⁰My life is consumed with sadness;
    my years are consumed with groaning.
Strength fails me because of my suffering;^[a]
    my bones dry up.
¹¹I’m a joke to all my enemies,
    still worse to my neighbors.
    I scare my friends,
    and whoever sees me in the street runs away!
¹²I am forgotten, like I’m dead,
    completely out of mind;
    I am like a piece of pottery, destroyed.
¹³Yes, I’ve heard all the gossiping,
    terror all around;
    so many gang up together against me,
        they plan to take my life!

¹⁴But me? I trust you, Lord!
    I affirm, “You are my God.”
¹⁵My future is in your hands.
    Don’t hand me over to my enemies,
    to all who are out to get me!
¹⁶Shine your face on your servant;
    save me by your faithful love!

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Footnotes

Psalm 31:10 LXX, Syr; MT my sin

1 Peter 5:6-14

Common English Bible

⁶Therefore, humble yourselves under God’s power so that he may raise you up in the last day. ⁷Throw all your anxiety onto him, because he cares about you. ⁸Be clearheaded. Keep alert. Your accuser, the devil, is on the prowl like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, standing firm in the faith. Do so in the knowledge that your fellow believers are enduring the same suffering throughout the world. ¹⁰After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, the one who called you into his eternal glory in Christ Jesus, will himself restore, empower, strengthen, and establish you. ¹¹To him be power forever and always. Amen.

Final greeting

¹²I have written and sent these few lines to you by Silvanus. I consider him to be a faithful brother. In these lines I have urged and affirmed that this is the genuine grace of God. Stand firm in it. ¹³The fellow-elect church in Babylon greets you, and so does my son Mark. ¹⁴Greet each other with the kiss of love. Peace to you all who are in Christ.

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