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Psalm 7

An Ode of David, [probably] in a wild, irregular, enthusiastic strain, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjamite.

O Lord my God, in You I take refuge and put my trust; save me from all those who pursue and persecute me, and deliver me,

Lest my foe tear my life [from my body] like a lion, dragging me away while there is none to deliver.

O Lord my God, if I have done this, if there is wrong in my hands,

If I have paid back with evil him who was at peace with me or without cause have robbed him who was my enemy,

Let the enemy pursue my life and take it; yes, let him trample my life to the ground and lay my honor in the dust. Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!

Arise, O Lord, in Your anger; lift up Yourself against the rage of my enemies; and awake [and stir up] for me the justice and vindication [that] You have commanded.

Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about You, and return on high over them.

The Lord judges the people; judge me, O Lord, and do me justice according to my righteousness [my rightness, justice, and right standing with You] and according to the integrity that is in me.

Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the [uncompromisingly] righteous [those upright and in harmony with You]; for You, Who try the hearts and emotions and thinking powers, are a righteous God.(A)

10 My defense and shield depend on God, Who saves the upright in heart.

11 God is a righteous Judge, yes, a God Who is indignant every day.

12 If a man does not turn and repent, [God] will whet His sword; He has strung and bent His [huge] bow and made it ready [by treading it with His foot].

13 He has also prepared for him deadly weapons; He makes His arrows fiery shafts.

14 Behold, [the wicked man] conceives iniquity and is pregnant with mischief and gives birth to lies.

15 He made a pit and hollowed it out and has fallen into the hole which he made [before the trap was completed].

16 His mischief shall fall back in return upon his own head, and his violence come down [with the loose dirt] upon his own scalp.

17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to His rightness and justice, and I will sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

In You Do I Take Refuge

A (A)Shiggaion[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush, a Benjaminite.

O Lord my God, in you do I (B)take refuge;
    (C)save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
lest like (D)a lion they tear my soul apart,
    rending it in pieces, with (E)none to deliver.

O Lord my God, (F)if I have done this,
    if there is (G)wrong in my hands,
if I have repaid (H)my friend[b] with evil
    or (I)plundered my enemy without cause,
let the enemy pursue my soul and overtake it,
    and let him (J)trample my life to the ground
    and lay my glory in the dust. Selah

(K)Arise, O Lord, in your anger;
    (L)lift yourself up against the fury of my enemies;
    (M)awake for me; you have appointed a judgment.
Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;
    over it return on high.

The Lord (N)judges the peoples;
    (O)judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
    and according to the integrity that is in me.
Oh, let the evil of the wicked come to an end,
    and may you establish the righteous—
you who (P)test (Q)the minds and hearts,[c]
    O righteous God!
10 My shield is (R)with God,
    who saves (S)the upright in heart.
11 God is (T)a righteous judge,
    and a God who feels (U)indignation every day.

12 If a man[d] does not repent, God[e] will (V)whet his sword;
    he has (W)bent and (X)readied his bow;
13 he has prepared for him his deadly weapons,
    making his (Y)arrows (Z)fiery shafts.
14 Behold, the wicked man (AA)conceives evil
    and is (AB)pregnant with mischief
    and gives birth to lies.
15 He makes (AC)a pit, digging it out,
    and falls into the hole that he has made.
16 His (AD)mischief returns upon his own head,
    and on his own skull his violence descends.

17 I will give to the Lord the thanks due to his righteousness,
    and I will (AE)sing praise to the name of the Lord, the Most High.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 7:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
  2. Psalm 7:4 Hebrew the one at peace with me
  3. Psalm 7:9 Hebrew the hearts and kidneys
  4. Psalm 7:12 Hebrew he
  5. Psalm 7:12 Hebrew he