Psalm 7
Common English Bible
Psalm 7
A shiggayon[a] of David, which he sang to the Lord about Cush, a Benjaminite.
7 I take refuge in you, Lord, my God.
Save me from all who chase me!
Rescue me!
2 Otherwise, they will rip me apart,
dragging me off with no chance of rescue.
3 Lord, my God, if I have done this—
if my hands have done anything wrong,
4 if I have repaid a friend with evil
or oppressed a foe for no reason—
5 then let my enemy
not only chase but catch me,
trampling my life into the ground,
laying my reputation in the dirt. Selah
6 Get up, Lord; get angry!
Stand up against the fury of my foes!
Wake up, my God;[b]
you command that justice be done!
7 Let the assembled peoples surround you.
Rule them from on high![c]
8 The Lord will judge the peoples.
Establish justice for me, Lord,
according to my righteousness
and according to my integrity.
9 Please let the evil of the wicked be over,
but set the righteous firmly in place
because you, the righteous God,
are the one who examines hearts and minds.
10 God is my shield;
he saves those whose heart is right.
11 God is a righteous judge,
a God who is angry at evil[d] every single day.
12 If someone doesn’t change their ways,
God will sharpen his sword,
will bend his bow,
will string an arrow.
13 God has deadly weapons in store
for those who won’t change;
he gets his flaming arrows ready!
14 But look how the wicked hatch evil,
conceive trouble, give birth to lies!
15 They make a pit, dig it all out,
and then fall right into the hole that they’ve made!
16 The trouble they cause
will come back on their own heads;
the violence they commit
will come down on their own skulls.
17 But I will thank the Lord
for his righteousness;
I will sing praises
to the name of the Lord Most High.
Footnotes
- Psalm 7:1 Perhaps lament
- Psalm 7:6 Or for my sake
- Psalm 7:7 Correction; MT Come back to be exalted over them.
- Psalm 7:11 Heb lacks at evil.
Psalm 7
New International Version
Psalm 7[a]
A shiggaion[b](A) of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning Cush, a Benjamite.
1 Lord my God, I take refuge(B) in you;
save and deliver me(C) from all who pursue me,(D)
2 or they will tear me apart like a lion(E)
and rip me to pieces with no one to rescue(F) me.
3 Lord my God, if I have done this
and there is guilt on my hands(G)—
4 if I have repaid my ally with evil
or without cause(H) have robbed my foe—
5 then let my enemy pursue and overtake(I) me;
let him trample my life to the ground(J)
and make me sleep in the dust.[c](K)
6 Arise,(L) Lord, in your anger;
rise up against the rage of my enemies.(M)
Awake,(N) my God; decree justice.
7 Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
while you sit enthroned over them on high.(O)
8 Let the Lord judge(P) the peoples.
Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness,(Q)
according to my integrity,(R) O Most High.(S)
9 Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
and make the righteous secure—(T)
you, the righteous God(U)
who probes minds and hearts.(V)
10 My shield[d](W) is God Most High,
who saves the upright in heart.(X)
11 God is a righteous judge,(Y)
a God who displays his wrath(Z) every day.
12 If he does not relent,(AA)
he[e] will sharpen his sword;(AB)
he will bend and string his bow.(AC)
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
he makes ready his flaming arrows.(AD)
Footnotes
- Psalm 7:1 In Hebrew texts 7:1-17 is numbered 7:2-18.
- Psalm 7:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 7:5 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
- Psalm 7:10 Or sovereign
- Psalm 7:12 Or If anyone does not repent, / God
Psalm 7
English Standard Version
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.
7 O Lord my God, in you do I (B)take refuge;
(C)save me from all my pursuers and deliver me,
2 lest like (D)a lion they tear my soul apart,
rending it in pieces, with (E)none to deliver.
3 O Lord my God, (F)if I have done this,
if there is (G)wrong in my hands,
4 if I have repaid (H)my friend[b] with evil
or (I)plundered my enemy without cause,
5 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
6 (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.
7 Let the assembly of the peoples be gathered about you;
over it return on high.
8 The Lord (N)judges the peoples;
(O)judge me, O Lord, according to my righteousness
and according to the integrity that is in me.
9 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
- Psalm 7:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 7:4 Hebrew the one at peace with me
- Psalm 7:9 Hebrew the hearts and kidneys
- Psalm 7:12 Hebrew he
- Psalm 7:12 Hebrew he
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