Psalm 82-84

English Standard Version

Rescue the Weak and Needy

A Psalm of ^(A)Asaph.

82 ^(B)God ^(C)has taken his place in the divine council;
    in the midst of ^(D)the gods he ^(E)holds judgment:
²“How long will you judge unjustly
    and ^(F)show partiality to ^(G)the wicked? Selah
³^(H)Give justice to ^(I)the weak and the fatherless;
    ^(J)maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
⁴^(K)Rescue the weak and the needy;
    ^(L)deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

⁵^(M)They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
^(N)they walk about in darkness;
^(O)all the foundations of the earth are ^(P)shaken.

⁶^(Q)I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
⁷nevertheless, like men ^(R)you shall die,
and fall like any prince.”^[a]

⁸^(S)Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall ^(T)inherit all the nations!

O God, Do Not Keep Silence

A Song. A Psalm of ^(U)Asaph.

83 O God, do not keep silence;
    ^(V)do not hold your peace or be still, O God!
²For behold, your enemies ^(W)make an uproar;
    those who hate you have ^(X)raised their heads.
³They lay ^(Y)crafty plans against your people;
    they consult together against your ^(Z)treasured ones.
⁴They say, “Come, ^(AA)let us wipe them out as a nation;
    let the name of Israel be remembered no more!”
⁵For they conspire with one accord;
    against you they make a covenant—
⁶the tents of ^(AB)Edom and ^(AC)the Ishmaelites,
    ^(AD)Moab and ^(AE)the Hagrites,
⁷^(AF)Gebal and ^(AG)Ammon and ^(AH)Amalek,
    ^(AI)Philistia with the inhabitants of ^(AJ)Tyre;
⁸^(AK)Asshur also has joined them;
    they are the strong arm of ^(AL)the children of Lot. Selah

⁹Do to them as you did to ^(AM)Midian,
    as to ^(AN)Sisera and Jabin at ^(AO)the river Kishon,
¹⁰who were destroyed at ^(AP)En-dor,
    who became ^(AQ)dung for the ground.
¹¹Make their nobles like ^(AR)Oreb and Zeeb,
    all their princes like ^(AS)Zebah and Zalmunna,
¹²who said, ^(AT)“Let us take possession for ourselves
    of the pastures of God.”

¹³O my God, make them like ^(AU)whirling dust,^[b]
    like ^(AV)chaff before the wind.
¹⁴As ^(AW)fire consumes the forest,
    as the flame ^(AX)sets the mountains ablaze,
¹⁵so may you pursue them ^(AY)with your tempest
    and terrify them with your hurricane!
¹⁶^(AZ)Fill their faces with shame,
    that they may seek your name, O Lord.
¹⁷Let them be ^(BA)put to shame and dismayed forever;
    let them perish in disgrace,
¹⁸that they may ^(BB)know that you alone,
    ^(BC)whose name is the Lord,
    are ^(BD)the Most High over all the earth.

My Soul Longs for the Courts of the Lord

To the choirmaster: according to ^(BE)The Gittith.^[c] A Psalm of ^(BF)the Sons of Korah.

84 How ^(BG)lovely is your ^(BH)dwelling place,
    O Lord of hosts!
²My soul ^(BI)longs, yes, ^(BJ)faints
    for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
    to ^(BK)the living God.

³Even the sparrow finds a home,
    and the swallow a nest for herself,
    where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O Lord of hosts,
    ^(BL)my King and my God.
⁴^(BM)Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
    ever ^(BN)singing your praise! Selah

⁵Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
    ^(BO)in whose heart are the highways to Zion.^[d]
⁶As they go through the Valley of Baca
    they make it a place of springs;
    ^(BP)the early rain also covers it with ^(BQ)pools.
⁷They go ^(BR)from strength to strength;
    each one ^(BS)appears before God in Zion.

⁸O ^(BT)Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
⁹^(BU)Behold our ^(BV)shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!

¹⁰For a day ^(BW)in your courts is better
    than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be ^(BX)a doorkeeper in the house of my God
    than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
¹¹For the Lord God is ^(BY)a sun and ^(BZ)shield;
    the Lord bestows favor and honor.
^(CA)No good thing does he withhold
    from those who ^(CB)walk uprightly.
¹²O Lord of hosts,
    ^(CC)blessed is the one who trusts in you!