Psalm 71-73

English Standard Version

^4 (E)Rescue me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked,
    from the grasp of the unjust and cruel man.
⁵ For you, O Lord, are my ^(F)hope,
    my trust, O Lord, from my youth.
⁶ Upon you I have leaned ^(G)from before my birth;
    you are he who ^(H)took me from my mother's womb.
My praise is continually of you.

⁷ I have been as ^(I)a portent to many,
    but you are my strong refuge.
⁸ My ^(J)mouth is filled with your praise,
    and with your glory all the day.
^9 (K)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 ^(L)watch for my life ^(M)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 ^(N)far from me;
    O my God, ^(O)make haste to help me!
¹³ May my accusers be ^(P)put to shame and consumed;
    ^(Q)with scorn and disgrace may they be covered
    who ^(R)seek my hurt.
¹⁴ But I will ^(S)hope continually
    and will ^(T)praise you yet more and more.
¹⁵ My ^(U)mouth will tell of your righteous acts,
    of your deeds of salvation all the day,
    for ^(V)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 ^(W)old age and gray hairs,
    O God, ^(X)do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
    your power to all those to come.
¹⁹ Your ^(Y)righteousness, O God,
    reaches the high heavens.
You who have done ^(Z)great things,
    O God, ^(AA)who is like you?
²⁰ You who have ^(AB)made me see many troubles and calamities
    will ^(AC)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 ^(AD)the harp
    for your faithfulness, O my God;
I will sing praises to you with the lyre,
    O ^(AE)Holy One of Israel.
²³ My lips will shout for joy,
    when I sing praises to you;
    my soul also, which you have ^(AF)redeemed.
²⁴ And my ^(AG)tongue will talk of your righteous help all the day long,
for they have been ^(AH)put to shame and disappointed
    who sought to do me hurt.

⁵ May they fear you^[a] while ^(AM)the sun endures,
    and as long as the moon, ^(AN)throughout all generations!
⁶ May he be like ^(AO)rain that falls on ^(AP)the mown grass,
    like ^(AQ)showers that water the earth!
⁷ In his days may ^(AR)the righteous flourish,
    and ^(AS)peace abound, till the moon be no more!

⁸ May he have dominion from ^(AT)sea to sea,
    and from ^(AU)the River^[b] to the ^(AV)ends of the earth!
⁹ May desert tribes ^(AW)bow down before him,
    and his enemies ^(AX)lick the dust!
¹⁰ May the kings of ^(AY)Tarshish and of ^(AZ)the coastlands
    render him ^(BA)tribute;
may the kings of ^(BB)Sheba and ^(BC)Seba
    bring gifts!
¹¹ May all kings ^(BD)fall down before him,
    all nations serve him!

¹² For he delivers ^(BE)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 ^(BF)precious is their blood in his sight.

¹⁵ Long may he live;
    may ^(BG)gold of Sheba be given to him!
May prayer be made ^(BH)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 ^(BI)blossom in the cities
    like the ^(BJ)grass of the field!
^17 (BK)May his name endure forever,
    his fame continue as long as the sun!
^(BL)May people be blessed in him,
    ^(BM)all nations call him blessed!

^18 (BN)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
    who alone does ^(BO)wondrous things.
¹⁹ Blessed be his ^(BP)glorious name forever;
    may ^(BQ)the whole earth be filled with his glory!
^(BR)Amen and Amen!

^20 (BS)The prayers of ^(BT)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 ^(CA)stricken like the rest of mankind.
⁶ Therefore pride is ^(CB)their necklace;
    violence covers them as ^(CC)a garment.
⁷ Their ^(CD)eyes swell out through fatness;
    their hearts overflow with follies.
⁸ They scoff and ^(CE)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 ^(CF)no fault in them.^[c]
11 And they say, ^(CG)“How can God know?
    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
¹² Behold, these are the wicked;
    always at ease, they ^(CH)increase in riches.
¹³ All in vain have I ^(CI)kept my heart clean
    and ^(CJ)washed my hands in innocence.
¹⁴ For all the day long I have been ^(CK)stricken
    and ^(CL)rebuked ^(CM)every morning.
¹⁵ If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
    I would have betrayed ^(CN)the generation of your children.

¹⁶ But when I thought how to understand this,
    it seemed to me ^(CO)a wearisome task,
¹⁷ until I went into ^(CP)the sanctuary of God;
    then I discerned their ^(CQ)end.

¹⁸ Truly you set them in ^(CR)slippery places;
    you make them fall to ruin.
¹⁹ How they are destroyed ^(CS)in a moment,
    swept away utterly by ^(CT)terrors!
²⁰ Like ^(CU)a dream when one awakes,
    O Lord, when ^(CV)you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
²¹ When my soul was embittered,
    when I was pricked in heart,
²² I was ^(CW)brutish and ignorant;
    I was like ^(CX)a beast toward you.

²³ Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
    you ^(CY)hold my right hand.
²⁴ You ^(CZ)guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will ^(DA)receive me to glory.
^25 (DB)Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
^26 (DC)My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is ^(DD)the strength^[d] of my heart and my ^(DE)portion ^(DF)forever.

²⁷ For behold, those who are ^(DG)far from you shall perish;
    you put an end to everyone who is ^(DH)unfaithful to you.
²⁸ But for me it is good to ^(DI)be near God;
    I have made the Lord God my ^(DJ)refuge,
    that I may ^(DK)tell of all your works.