Psalm 26

New King James Version

A Prayer for Divine Scrutiny and Redemption

A Psalm of David.

26 Vindicate ^(A)me, O Lord,
For I have ^(B)walked in my integrity.
^(C)I have also trusted in the Lord;
I shall not slip.
²^(D)Examine me, O Lord, and ^[a]prove me;
Try my mind and my heart.
³For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes,
And ^(E)I have walked in Your truth.
⁴I have not ^(F)sat with idolatrous mortals,
Nor will I go in with hypocrites.
⁵I have ^(G)hated the assembly of evildoers,
And will not sit with the wicked.

⁶I will wash my hands in innocence;
So I will go about Your altar, O Lord,
⁷That I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving,
And tell of all Your wondrous works.
⁸Lord, ^(H)I have loved the habitation of Your house,
And the place ^[b]where Your glory dwells.

⁹^(I)Do^[c] not gather my soul with sinners,
Nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
¹⁰In whose hands is a sinister scheme,
And whose right hand is full of ^(J)bribes.

¹¹But as for me, I will walk in my integrity;
Redeem me and be merciful to me.
¹²^(K)My foot stands in an even place;
In the congregations I will bless the Lord.

Footnotes

Psalm 26:2 test me
Psalm 26:8 Lit. of the tabernacle of Your glory
Psalm 26:9 Do not take away

Habakkuk 1:1-11

New King James Version

The Prophet Questions God’s Judgments

1 The ^[a]burden which the prophet Habakkuk saw.

The Prophet’s Question

²O Lord, how long shall I cry,
^(A)And You will not hear?
Even cry out to You, ^(B)“Violence!”
And You will ^(C)not save.
³Why do You show me iniquity,
And cause me to see ^[b]trouble?
For plundering and violence are before me;
There is strife, and contention arises.
⁴Therefore the law is powerless,
And justice never goes forth.
For the ^(D)wicked surround the righteous;
Therefore perverse judgment proceeds.

The Lord’s Reply

⁵“Look^(E) among the nations and watch—
Be utterly astounded!
For I will work a work in your days
Which you would not believe, though it were told you.
⁶For indeed I am ^(F)raising up the Chaldeans,
A bitter and hasty ^(G)nation
Which marches through the breadth of the earth,
To possess dwelling places that are not theirs.
⁷They are terrible and dreadful;
Their judgment and their dignity proceed from themselves.
⁸Their horses also are ^(H)swifter than leopards,
And more fierce than evening wolves.
Their ^[c]chargers ^[d]charge ahead;
Their cavalry comes from afar;
They fly as the ^(I)eagle that hastens to eat.

⁹“They all come for violence;
Their faces are set like the east wind.
They gather captives like sand.
¹⁰They scoff at kings,
And princes are scorned by them.
They deride every stronghold,
For they heap up earthen mounds and seize it.
¹¹Then his ^[e]mind changes, and he transgresses;
He commits offense,
^(J)Ascribing this power to his god.”