Psalm 71:9-78:56
English Standard Version
9 (A)Do not cast me off in the time of old age;
forsake me not when my strength is spent.
10 For my enemies speak concerning me;
those who (B)watch for my life (C)consult together
11 and say, “God has forsaken him;
pursue and seize him,
for there is none to deliver him.”
12 O God, be not (D)far from me;
O my God, (E)make haste to help me!
13 May my accusers be (F)put to shame and consumed;
(G)with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
who (H)seek my hurt.
14 But I will (I)hope continually
and will (J)praise you yet more and more.
15 My (K)mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
of your deeds of salvation all the day,
for (L)their number is past my knowledge.
16 With the mighty deeds of the Lord God I will come;
I will remind them of your righteousness, yours alone.
17 O God, from my youth you have taught me,
and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds.
18 So even to (M)old age and gray hairs,
O God, (N)do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.
19 Your (O)righteousness, O God,
reaches the high heavens.
You who have done (P)great things,
O God, (Q)who is like you?
20 You who have (R)made me see many troubles and calamities
will (S)revive me again;
from the depths of the earth
you will bring me up again.
21 You will increase my greatness
and comfort me again.
22 I will also praise you with (T)the harp
for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
O (U)Holy One of Israel.
23 My lips will shout for joy,
when I sing praises to you;
my soul also, which you have (V)redeemed.
24 And my (W)tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,
for they have been (X)put to shame and disappointed
who sought to do me hurt.
Give the King Your Justice
Of (Y)Solomon.
72 Give the king your (Z)justice, O God,
and your righteousness to the royal son!
2 May he (AA)judge your people with righteousness,
and your poor with justice!
3 Let the mountains bear (AB)prosperity for the people,
and the hills, in righteousness!
4 May he defend the cause of the poor of the people,
give deliverance to the children of the needy,
and crush the oppressor!
5 May they fear you[a] while (AC)the sun endures,
and as long as the moon, (AD)throughout all generations!
6 May he be like (AE)rain that falls on (AF)the mown grass,
like (AG)showers that water the earth!
7 In his days may (AH)the righteous flourish,
and (AI)peace abound, till the moon be no more!
8 May he have dominion from (AJ)sea to sea,
and from (AK)the River[b] to the (AL)ends of the earth!
9 May desert tribes (AM)bow down before him,
and his enemies (AN)lick the dust!
10 May the kings of (AO)Tarshish and of (AP)the coastlands
render him (AQ)tribute;
may the kings of (AR)Sheba and (AS)Seba
bring gifts!
11 May all kings (AT)fall down before him,
all nations serve him!
12 For he delivers (AU)the needy when he calls,
the poor and him who has no helper.
13 He has pity on the weak and the needy,
and saves the lives of the needy.
14 From oppression and violence he redeems their life,
and (AV)precious is their blood in his sight.
15 Long may he live;
may (AW)gold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made (AX)for him continually,
and blessings invoked for him all the day!
16 May there be abundance of grain in the land;
on the tops of the mountains may it wave;
may its fruit be like Lebanon;
and may people (AY)blossom in the cities
like the (AZ)grass of the field!
17 (BA)May his name endure forever,
his fame continue as long as the sun!
(BB)May people be blessed in him,
(BC)all nations call him blessed!
18 (BD)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
who alone does (BE)wondrous things.
19 Blessed be his (BF)glorious name forever;
may (BG)the whole earth be filled with his glory!
(BH)Amen and Amen!
Book Three
God Is My Strength and Portion Forever
A Psalm of (BK)Asaph.
73 Truly God is good to (BL)Israel,
to those who are (BM)pure in heart.
2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,
my steps had nearly slipped.
3 (BN)For I was (BO)envious of the arrogant
when I saw the (BP)prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pangs until death;
their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are;
they are not (BQ)stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 Therefore pride is (BR)their necklace;
violence covers them as (BS)a garment.
7 Their (BT)eyes swell out through fatness;
their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and (BU)speak with malice;
loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them,
and find (BV)no fault in them.[c]
11 And they say, (BW)“How can God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
12 Behold, these are the wicked;
always at ease, they (BX)increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I (BY)kept my heart clean
and (BZ)washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been (CA)stricken
and (CB)rebuked (CC)every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have betrayed (CD)the generation of your children.
16 But when I thought how to understand this,
it seemed to me (CE)a wearisome task,
17 until I went into (CF)the sanctuary of God;
then I discerned their (CG)end.
18 Truly you set them in (CH)slippery places;
you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed (CI)in a moment,
swept away utterly by (CJ)terrors!
20 Like (CK)a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when (CL)you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was (CM)brutish and ignorant;
I was like (CN)a beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
you (CO)hold my right hand.
24 You (CP)guide me with your counsel,
and afterward you will (CQ)receive me to glory.
25 (CR)Whom have I in heaven but you?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 (CS)My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is (CT)the strength[d] of my heart and my (CU)portion (CV)forever.
27 For behold, those who are (CW)far from you shall perish;
you put an end to everyone who is (CX)unfaithful to you.
28 But for me it is good to (CY)be near God;
I have made the Lord God my (CZ)refuge,
that I may (DA)tell of all your works.
Arise, O God, Defend Your Cause
A Maskil[e] of (DB)Asaph.
74 O God, why do you (DC)cast us off forever?
Why does your anger (DD)smoke against (DE)the sheep of your pasture?
2 (DF)Remember your congregation, which you have (DG)purchased of old,
which you have (DH)redeemed to be (DI)the tribe of your heritage!
Remember Mount Zion, (DJ)where you have dwelt.
3 Direct your steps to (DK)the perpetual ruins;
the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!
4 Your foes have (DL)roared in the midst of your meeting place;
(DM)they set up their (DN)own signs for (DO)signs.
5 They were like those who swing (DP)axes
in a forest of trees.[f]
6 And all its (DQ)carved wood
they broke down with hatchets and hammers.
7 They (DR)set your sanctuary on fire;
they (DS)profaned (DT)the dwelling place of your name,
bringing it down to the ground.
8 They (DU)said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”;
they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.
9 We do not see our (DV)signs;
(DW)there is no longer any prophet,
and there is none among us who knows how long.
10 How long, O God, (DX)is the foe to scoff?
Is the enemy to revile your name forever?
11 Why (DY)do you hold back your hand, your right hand?
Take it from the fold of your garment[g] and destroy them!
12 Yet (DZ)God my King is from of old,
working salvation in the midst of the earth.
13 You (EA)divided the sea by your might;
you (EB)broke the heads of (EC)the sea monsters[h] on the waters.
14 You crushed the heads of (ED)Leviathan;
you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.
15 You (EE)split open springs and brooks;
you (EF)dried up ever-flowing streams.
16 Yours is the day, yours also the night;
you have established (EG)the heavenly lights and the sun.
17 You have (EH)fixed all the boundaries of the earth;
you have made (EI)summer and winter.
18 (EJ)Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs,
and (EK)a foolish people reviles your name.
19 Do not deliver the soul of your (EL)dove to the wild beasts;
(EM)do not forget the life of your poor forever.
20 Have regard for (EN)the covenant,
for (EO)the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.
21 Let not (EP)the downtrodden (EQ)turn back in shame;
let (ER)the poor and needy praise your name.
22 Arise, O God, (ES)defend your cause;
(ET)remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!
23 Do not forget the clamor of your foes,
(EU)the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!
God Will Judge with Equity
To the choirmaster: according to (EV)Do Not Destroy. (EW)A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
75 We give thanks to you, O God;
we give thanks, for your name is (EX)near.
We[i] recount your wondrous deeds.
2 “At (EY)the set time that I appoint
I will judge (EZ)with equity.
3 When the earth (FA)totters, and all its inhabitants,
it is I who keep steady its (FB)pillars. Selah
4 I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’
and to the wicked, (FC)‘Do not lift up your horn;
5 do not lift up your horn on high,
or speak with haughty neck.’”
6 For not from the east or from the west
and not from the wilderness comes (FD)lifting up,
7 but it is (FE)God who executes judgment,
(FF)putting down one and lifting up another.
8 (FG)For in the hand of the Lord there is (FH)a cup
with foaming wine, (FI)well mixed,
and he pours out from it,
and all the wicked of the earth
shall (FJ)drain it down to the dregs.
9 But I will declare it forever;
I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.
10 (FK)All the horns of the wicked I will cut off,
(FL)but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.
Who Can Stand Before You?
To the choirmaster: with (FM)stringed instruments. A Psalm of (FN)Asaph. A Song.
76 In Judah God is (FO)known;
his name is great in Israel.
2 His (FP)abode has been established in (FQ)Salem,
his (FR)dwelling place in Zion.
3 There he (FS)broke the flashing arrows,
the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah
4 Glorious are you, more majestic
(FT)than the mountains full of (FU)prey.
5 (FV)The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil;
(FW)they sank into sleep;
all the men of war
were unable to use their hands.
6 At your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
both (FX)rider and horse lay stunned.
7 (FY)But you, you are to be feared!
Who can (FZ)stand before you
when once your anger is roused?
8 From the heavens you uttered judgment;
(GA)the earth feared and was still,
9 when God (GB)arose to establish judgment,
to save all the humble of the earth. Selah
10 Surely (GC)the wrath of man shall praise you;
the remnant[j] of wrath you will put on like a belt.
11 (GD)Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them;
let all around him (GE)bring gifts
to him who (GF)is to be feared,
12 who (GG)cuts off the spirit of princes,
who (GH)is to be feared by the kings of the earth.
In the Day of Trouble I Seek the Lord
To the choirmaster: according to (GI)Jeduthun. A Psalm of (GJ)Asaph.
77 I (GK)cry aloud to God,
aloud to God, and he will hear me.
2 (GL)In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord;
in (GM)the night my (GN)hand is stretched out without wearying;
my soul (GO)refuses to be comforted.
3 When I remember God, I (GP)moan;
when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah
4 You hold my eyelids open;
I am so (GQ)troubled that I cannot speak.
5 I consider (GR)the days of old,
the years long ago.
6 I said,[k] “Let me remember my (GS)song in the night;
let me (GT)meditate in my heart.”
Then my spirit made a diligent search:
7 “Will the Lord (GU)spurn forever,
and never again (GV)be favorable?
8 Has his steadfast love forever ceased?
Are his (GW)promises at an end for all time?
9 (GX)Has God forgotten to be gracious?
(GY)Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah
11 I will remember the deeds of the Lord;
yes, I will (HA)remember your wonders of old.
12 I will ponder all your (HB)work,
and meditate on your (HC)mighty deeds.
13 Your way, O God, is (HD)holy.
(HE)What god is great like our God?
14 You are the God who (HF)works wonders;
you have (HG)made known your might among the peoples.
15 You (HH)with your arm redeemed your people,
the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah
16 When (HI)the waters saw you, O God,
when the waters saw you, they were afraid;
indeed, the deep trembled.
17 The clouds poured out water;
the skies (HJ)gave forth thunder;
your (HK)arrows flashed on every side.
18 (HL)The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind;
(HM)your lightnings lighted up the world;
the earth (HN)trembled and shook.
19 Your (HO)way was through the sea,
your path through the great waters;
yet your footprints (HP)were unseen.[m]
20 You (HQ)led your people like a flock
by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Tell the Coming Generation
A Maskil[n] of (HR)Asaph.
78 (HS)Give ear, O my people, to my teaching;
incline your ears to the words of my mouth!
2 (HT)I will open my mouth (HU)in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings from of old,
3 things that we have heard and known,
that our (HV)fathers have told us.
4 We will not (HW)hide them from their children,
but (HX)tell to the coming generation
the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might,
and (HY)the wonders that he has done.
5 He established (HZ)a testimony in (IA)Jacob
and appointed a law in (IB)Israel,
which he commanded our fathers
to teach to their children,
6 that (IC)the next generation might know them,
the children yet unborn,
and arise and tell them to their children,
7 so that they should set their hope in God
and not forget (ID)the works of God,
but (IE)keep his commandments;
8 and that they should not be (IF)like their fathers,
(IG)a stubborn and rebellious generation,
a generation (IH)whose heart was not steadfast,
whose spirit was not faithful to God.
9 The Ephraimites, armed with[o] the bow,
(II)turned back on the day of battle.
10 They (IJ)did not keep God's covenant,
but refused to walk according to his law.
11 They (IK)forgot his works
and (IL)the wonders that he had shown them.
12 In the sight of their fathers (IM)he performed wonders
in the land of Egypt, in (IN)the fields of Zoan.
13 He (IO)divided the sea and let them pass through it,
and made the waters (IP)stand like a heap.
14 (IQ)In the daytime he led them with a cloud,
and all the night with a fiery light.
15 He (IR)split rocks in the wilderness
and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.
16 He made streams come out of (IS)the rock
and caused waters to flow down like rivers.
17 Yet they sinned still more against him,
(IT)rebelling against the Most High in the desert.
18 They (IU)tested God in their heart
by demanding the food they craved.
19 They spoke against God, saying,
(IV)“Can God (IW)spread a table in the wilderness?
20 (IX)He struck the rock so that water gushed out
and streams overflowed.
Can he also give bread
or provide meat for his people?”
21 Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath;
(IY)a fire was kindled against Jacob;
his anger rose against Israel,
22 because they (IZ)did not believe in God
and did not trust his saving power.
23 Yet he commanded the skies above
and (JA)opened the doors of heaven,
24 and he (JB)rained down on them manna to eat
and gave them (JC)the grain of heaven.
25 Man ate of the bread of (JD)the angels;
he sent them food (JE)in abundance.
26 He (JF)caused the east wind to blow in the heavens,
and by his power he led out the south wind;
27 he rained meat on them like (JG)dust,
winged birds like (JH)the sand of the seas;
28 he (JI)let them fall in the midst of their camp,
all around their dwellings.
29 And they (JJ)ate and were well filled,
for he gave them what they (JK)craved.
30 But before they had satisfied their craving,
(JL)while the food was still in their mouths,
31 the anger of God rose against them,
and he killed (JM)the strongest of them
and laid low (JN)the young men of Israel.
32 In spite of all this, they (JO)still sinned;
(JP)despite his wonders, they did not believe.
33 So he made (JQ)their days (JR)vanish like[p] a breath,[q]
and their years in terror.
34 When he killed them, they (JS)sought him;
they repented and sought God earnestly.
35 They remembered that God was their (JT)rock,
the Most High God their (JU)redeemer.
36 But they (JV)flattered him with their mouths;
they (JW)lied to him with their tongues.
37 Their (JX)heart was not (JY)steadfast toward him;
they were not faithful to his covenant.
38 Yet he, being (JZ)compassionate,
(KA)atoned for their iniquity
and did not destroy them;
he restrained his anger often
and did not stir up all his wrath.
39 He (KB)remembered that they were but (KC)flesh,
(KD)a wind that passes and comes not again.
40 How often they (KE)rebelled against him in the wilderness
and (KF)grieved him in (KG)the desert!
41 They (KH)tested God again and again
and provoked (KI)the Holy One of Israel.
42 They (KJ)did not remember his power[r]
or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,
43 (KK)when he performed his (KL)signs in Egypt
and his (KM)marvels in (KN)the fields of Zoan.
44 He (KO)turned their rivers to blood,
so that they could not drink of their streams.
45 He sent among them swarms of (KP)flies, which devoured them,
and (KQ)frogs, which destroyed them.
46 He gave their crops to (KR)the destroying locust
and the fruit of their labor to the locust.
47 He destroyed their vines with (KS)hail
and their sycamores with frost.
48 He gave over their (KT)cattle to the hail
and their flocks to thunderbolts.
49 He let loose on them his burning anger,
wrath, indignation, and distress,
a company of (KU)destroying angels.
50 He made a path for his anger;
he did not spare them from death,
but gave their lives over to the plague.
51 He struck down every (KV)firstborn in Egypt,
the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of (KW)Ham.
52 Then he led out his people (KX)like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
53 (KY)He led them in safety, so that they (KZ)were not afraid,
but (LA)the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
54 And he brought them to his (LB)holy land,
(LC)to the mountain which his right hand had (LD)won.
55 He (LE)drove out nations before them;
he (LF)apportioned them for a possession
and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.
Footnotes
- Psalm 72:5 Septuagint He shall endure
- Psalm 72:8 That is, the Euphrates
- Psalm 73:10 Probable reading; Hebrew the waters of a full cup are drained by them
- Psalm 73:26 Hebrew rock
- Psalm 74:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 74:5 The meaning of the Hebrew is uncertain
- Psalm 74:11 Hebrew from your bosom
- Psalm 74:13 Or the great sea creatures
- Psalm 75:1 Hebrew They
- Psalm 76:10 Or extremity
- Psalm 77:6 Hebrew lacks I said
- Psalm 77:10 Or This is my grief: that the right hand of the Most High has changed
- Psalm 77:19 Hebrew unknown
- Psalm 78:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 78:9 Hebrew armed and shooting
- Psalm 78:33 Hebrew in
- Psalm 78:33 Or vapor
- Psalm 78:42 Hebrew hand
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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