Psalm 32-36

English Standard Version

³ For when I kept silent, my ^(E)bones wasted away
    through my ^(F)groaning all day long.
⁴ For day and night your ^(G)hand was heavy upon me;
    my strength was dried up^[b] as by the heat of summer. Selah

⁵ I ^(H)acknowledged my sin to you,
    and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I ^(I)will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
    and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

⁶ Therefore let everyone who is ^(J)godly
    offer prayer to you at a time when you ^(K)may be found;
surely in the rush of ^(L)great waters,
    they shall not reach him.
⁷ You are a ^(M)hiding place for me;
    you preserve me from ^(N)trouble;
    you surround me with ^(O)shouts of deliverance. Selah

⁸ I will ^(P)instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
    I will ^(Q)counsel you with my eye upon you.
^9 (R)Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding,
    which must be curbed with ^(S)bit and bridle,
    or it will not stay near you.

^10 (T)Many are the sorrows of the wicked,
    but steadfast love surrounds the one who ^(U)trusts in the Lord.
^11 (V)Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
    and ^(W)shout for joy, all you ^(X)upright in heart!

⁴ For the word of the Lord is upright,
    and all his work is done in ^(AE)faithfulness.
⁵ He ^(AF)loves righteousness and justice;
    ^(AG)the earth is full of the steadfast love of the Lord.

⁶ By ^(AH)the word of the Lord the heavens were made,
    and by ^(AI)the breath of his mouth all ^(AJ)their host.
⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea as ^(AK)a heap;
    he ^(AL)puts the deeps in storehouses.

⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord;
    let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him!
⁹ For ^(AM)he spoke, and it came to be;
    he commanded, and it stood firm.

¹⁰ The Lord ^(AN)brings the counsel of the nations to nothing;
    he frustrates the plans of the peoples.
^11 (AO)The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
    the plans of his heart to all generations.
^12 (AP)Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,
    the people whom he has ^(AQ)chosen as his heritage!

¹³ The Lord ^(AR)looks down from heaven;
    he sees all the children of man;
¹⁴ from ^(AS)where he sits enthroned he ^(AT)looks out
    on all the inhabitants of the earth,
¹⁵ he who fashions the hearts of them all
    and observes all their deeds.
^16 (AU)The king is not saved by his great army;
    a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.
^17 (AV)The war horse is a false hope for salvation,
    and by its great might it cannot rescue.

¹⁸ Behold, ^(AW)the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him,
    ^(AX)on those who hope in his steadfast love,
¹⁹ that he may ^(AY)deliver their soul from death
    and keep them alive in ^(AZ)famine.

²⁰ Our soul ^(BA)waits for the Lord;
    he is our ^(BB)help and ^(BC)our shield.
²¹ For our heart is ^(BD)glad in him,
    because we ^(BE)trust in his holy name.
²² Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,
    even as we hope in you.

⁴ I ^(BL)sought the Lord, and he answered me
    and delivered me from all my fears.
⁵ Those who look to him are ^(BM)radiant,
    and their faces shall never be ashamed.
^6 (BN)This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
    and ^(BO)saved him out of all his troubles.
^7 (BP)The angel of the Lord ^(BQ)encamps
    around those who fear him, and delivers them.

⁸ Oh, ^(BR)taste and see that ^(BS)the Lord is good!
    ^(BT)Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!
⁹ Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints,
    for those who fear him have no lack!
^10 (BU)The young lions suffer want and hunger;
    but those who ^(BV)seek the Lord lack no good thing.

^11 (BW)Come, O children, listen to me;
    ^(BX)I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
^12 (BY)What man is there who desires life
    and loves many days, that he may ^(BZ)see good?
^13 (CA)Keep your tongue from evil
    and your lips from ^(CB)speaking deceit.
^14 (CC)Turn away from evil and do good;
    seek peace and ^(CD)pursue it.

^15 (CE)The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
    ^(CF)and his ears toward their cry.
^16 (CG)The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to ^(CH)cut off the memory of them from the earth.
^17 (CI)When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
    and delivers them out of all their troubles.
¹⁸ The Lord is near to ^(CJ)the brokenhearted
    and saves ^(CK)the crushed in spirit.

^19 (CL)Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
    ^(CM)but the Lord delivers him out of them all.
²⁰ He keeps all his bones;
    ^(CN)not one of them is broken.
^21 (CO)Affliction will slay the wicked,
    and those who hate the righteous will be condemned.
²² The Lord ^(CP)redeems the life of his servants;
    none of those who take refuge in him will be ^(CQ)condemned.

^4 (CU)Let them be ^(CV)put to shame and dishonor
    who seek after my life!
Let them be ^(CW)turned back and disappointed
    who devise evil against me!
⁵ Let them be like ^(CX)chaff before the wind,
    with the angel of the Lord driving them away!
⁶ Let their way be dark and ^(CY)slippery,
    with the angel of the Lord pursuing them!

⁷ For ^(CZ)without cause ^(DA)they hid their net for me;
    without cause they dug ^(DB)a pit for my life.^[e]
8 Let ^(DC)destruction come upon him ^(DD)when he does not know it!
And let the net that he hid ensnare him;
    let him fall into it—to his destruction!

⁹ Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord,
    ^(DE)exulting in his salvation.
¹⁰ All my ^(DF)bones shall say,
    “O Lord, ^(DG)who is like you,
delivering the poor
    from him who is too strong for him,
    the poor and needy from him who robs him?”

^11 (DH)Malicious^[f] witnesses rise up;
    they ask me of things that I do not know.
^12 (DI)They repay me evil for good;
    my soul is bereft.^[g]
13 But I, ^(DJ)when they were sick—
    I ^(DK)wore sackcloth;
    I ^(DL)afflicted myself with fasting;
I prayed ^(DM)with head bowed^[h] on my chest.
¹⁴     I went about as though I grieved for my friend or my brother;
as one who laments his mother,
    I ^(DN)bowed down in mourning.

¹⁵ But at my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered;
    they gathered together against me;
^(DO)wretches whom I did not know
    tore at me without ceasing;
¹⁶ like profane mockers at a feast,^[i]
    they ^(DP)gnash at me with their teeth.

¹⁷ How long, O Lord, will you ^(DQ)look on?
    Rescue me from their destruction,
    ^(DR)my precious life from the lions!
¹⁸ I will thank you in ^(DS)the great congregation;
    in the mighty throng I will praise you.

^19 (DT)Let not those rejoice over me
    who are ^(DU)wrongfully my foes,
and let not those ^(DV)wink the eye
    who ^(DW)hate me ^(DX)without cause.
²⁰ For they do not speak peace,
    but against those who are quiet in the land
    they devise words of deceit.
²¹ They ^(DY)open wide their mouths against me;
    they say, ^(DZ)“Aha, Aha!
    Our eyes have seen it!”

^22 (EA)You have seen, O Lord; ^(EB)be not silent!
    O Lord, ^(EC)be not far from me!
²³ Awake and ^(ED)rouse yourself for ^(EE)my vindication,
    for my cause, my God and my Lord!
^24 (EF)Vindicate me, O Lord, my God,
    according to your righteousness,
    and ^(EG)let them not rejoice over me!
²⁵ Let them not say in their hearts,
    ^(EH)“Aha, our heart's desire!”
Let them not say, ^(EI)“We have swallowed him up.”

²⁶ Let them be ^(EJ)put to shame and disappointed altogether
    who rejoice at my calamity!
Let them be ^(EK)clothed with shame and dishonor
    who ^(EL)magnify themselves against me!

²⁷ Let those who delight in my righteousness
    shout for joy and be glad
    ^(EM)and say evermore,
^(EN)“Great is the Lord,
    who ^(EO)delights in the welfare of his servant!”
²⁸ Then my ^(EP)tongue shall tell of your righteousness
    and of your praise all the day long.

⁵ Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,
    your faithfulness to the clouds.
^6 (EZ)Your righteousness is like the mountains of God;
    ^(FA)your judgments are like the great deep;
    man and beast you ^(FB)save, O Lord.

^7 (FC)How precious is your steadfast love, O God!
    The children of mankind take refuge ^(FD)in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ They feast on ^(FE)the abundance of your house,
    and you give them drink from ^(FF)the river of ^(FG)your delights.
⁹ For with you is ^(FH)the fountain of life;
    ^(FI)in your light do we see light.

¹⁰ Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who ^(FJ)know you,
    and your righteousness to ^(FK)the upright of heart!
¹¹ Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,
    nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.
¹² There ^(FL)the evildoers lie fallen;
    they are thrust down, ^(FM)unable to rise.