Psalm 138-140

English Standard Version

Give Thanks to the Lord

Of David.

138 ^(A)I give you thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
    before ^(B)the gods I sing your praise;
²I bow down ^(C)toward your ^(D)holy temple
    and give thanks to your name for your steadfast love and your faithfulness,
    for you have exalted above all things
    your name and your word.^[a]
³On the day I called, you answered me;
    my strength of soul you increased.^[b]

⁴^(E)All the kings of the earth shall give you thanks, O Lord,
    for they have heard the words of your mouth,
⁵and they shall sing of ^(F)the ways of the Lord,
    for great is the glory of the Lord.
⁶^(G)For though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly,
    but the haughty he knows from afar.

⁷^(H)Though I walk in the midst of trouble,
    you ^(I)preserve my life;
you ^(J)stretch out your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
    and your ^(K)right hand delivers me.
⁸The Lord will ^(L)fulfill his purpose for me;
    ^(M)your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
    Do not forsake ^(N)the work of your hands.

Search Me, O God, and Know My Heart

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

139 O Lord, you have ^(O)searched me and known me!
²You ^(P)know when I sit down and when I rise up;
    you ^(Q)discern my thoughts from afar.
³You search out my path and my lying down
    and are acquainted with all my ways.
⁴Even before a word is on my tongue,
    behold, O Lord, ^(R)you know it altogether.
⁵You ^(S)hem me in, behind and before,
    and ^(T)lay your hand upon me.
⁶^(U)Such knowledge is ^(V)too wonderful for me;
    it is high; I cannot attain it.

⁷^(W)Where shall I go from your Spirit?
    Or where ^(X)shall I flee from your presence?
⁸^(Y)If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
    ^(Z)If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
⁹If I take the wings of the morning
    and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
¹⁰even there your hand shall ^(AA)lead me,
    and your right hand shall hold me.
¹¹If I say, ^(AB)“Surely the darkness shall cover me,
    and the light about me be night,”
¹²^(AC)even the darkness is not dark to you;
    the night is bright as the day,
    for darkness is as light with you.

¹³For you ^(AD)formed my inward parts;
    you ^(AE)knitted me together in my mother's womb.
¹⁴I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.^[c]
^(AF)Wonderful are your works;
    my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵^(AG)My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
    intricately woven in ^(AH)the depths of the earth.
¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your ^(AI)book were written, every one of them,
    the days that were formed for me,
    when as yet there was none of them.

¹⁷How precious to me are your ^(AJ)thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
¹⁸^(AK)If I would count them, they are more than ^(AL)the sand.
I awake, and I am still with you.

¹⁹Oh that you would ^(AM)slay the wicked, O God!
    O ^(AN)men of blood, ^(AO)depart from me!
²⁰They ^(AP)speak against you with malicious intent;
    your enemies ^(AQ)take your name in vain.^[d]
²¹^(AR)Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
    And do I not ^(AS)loathe those who ^(AT)rise up against you?
²²I hate them with complete hatred;
    I count them my enemies.

²³Search me, O God, and know my heart!
^(AU)Try me and know my thoughts!^[e]
²⁴And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and ^(AV)lead me in ^(AW)the way everlasting!^[f]

Deliver Me, O Lord, from Evil Men

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

140 ^(AX)Deliver me, O Lord, from evil men;
    preserve me from ^(AY)violent men,
²who plan evil things in their heart
    and ^(AZ)stir up wars continually.
³They make ^(BA)their tongue sharp as ^(BB)a serpent's,
    and ^(BC)under their lips is the ^(BD)venom of asps. Selah

⁴Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    preserve me from ^(BE)violent men,
    who have planned to trip up my feet.
⁵The arrogant have ^(BF)hidden a trap for me,
    and with cords they have spread ^(BG)a net;^[g]
    beside the way they have set ^(BH)snares for me. Selah

⁶^(BI)I say to the Lord, You are my God;
    give ear to ^(BJ)the voice of my pleas for mercy, O Lord!
⁷O Lord, my Lord, ^(BK)the strength of my salvation,
    you have covered my head in the day of battle.
⁸^(BL)Grant not, O Lord, the desires of the wicked;
    do not further their^[h] evil plot, or ^(BM)they will be exalted! Selah

⁹As for the head of those who surround me,
    let ^(BN)the mischief of their lips overwhelm them!
¹⁰Let ^(BO)burning coals fall upon them!
    Let them be cast into fire,
    into miry pits, no more to rise!
¹¹Let not the slanderer be established in the land;
    let evil hunt down the violent man speedily!

¹²I know that the Lord will ^(BP)maintain the cause of the afflicted,
and ^(BQ)will execute justice for the needy.
¹³Surely ^(BR)the righteous shall give thanks to your name;
^(BS)the upright shall dwell in your presence.