Psalm 71:9-78:56

English Standard Version

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.

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!

^20 (BI)The prayers of ^(BJ)David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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

¹⁰ Then I said, “I will appeal to this,
    to the years of the ^(GZ)right hand of the Most High.”^[l]

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.

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.

⁵⁶ Yet they ^(LG)tested and ^(LH)rebelled against the Most High God
    and did not keep his testimonies,