Psalm 40-45
English Standard Version
My Help and My Deliverer
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
40 I (A)waited patiently for the Lord;
he inclined to me and (B)heard my cry.
2 He drew me up from (C)the pit of destruction,
out of (D)the miry bog,
and (E)set my feet upon a rock,
(F)making my steps secure.
3 He put (G)a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will (H)see and fear,
and put their trust in the Lord.
4 Blessed is the man who (I)makes
the Lord his trust,
who does not turn to the proud,
to those who (J)go astray after a lie!
5 You have multiplied, O Lord my God,
your (K)wondrous deeds and your (L)thoughts toward us;
none can compare with you!
I will proclaim and tell of them,
yet they are (M)more than can be told.
6 (N)In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted,
but you have given me an open (O)ear.[a]
Burnt offering and sin offering
you have not required.
7 Then I said, “Behold, I have come;
in the scroll of the book it is written (P)of me:
8 (Q)I delight to do your will, O my God;
your law is (R)within my heart.”
9 I have told the glad news of deliverance[b]
in (S)the great congregation;
behold, I have not (T)restrained my lips,
(U)as you know, O Lord.
10 I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart;
I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation;
I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness
from the great congregation.
11 As for you, O Lord, you will not restrain
your mercy from me;
your (V)steadfast love and your faithfulness will
ever preserve me!
12 For evils have (W)encompassed me
beyond number;
my (X)iniquities have overtaken me,
and I cannot (Y)see;
they are (Z)more than the hairs of my head;
my heart (AA)fails me.
13 (AB)Be pleased, O Lord, to (AC)deliver me!
O Lord, (AD)make haste to help me!
14 (AE)Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether
who seek to snatch away my life;
let those be (AF)turned back and brought to dishonor
who delight in my hurt!
15 Let those be appalled because of their shame
who (AG)say to me, “Aha, Aha!”
16 But may all who seek you
rejoice and be glad in you;
may those who love your salvation
(AH)say continually, “Great is the Lord!”
17 As for me, I am (AI)poor and needy,
but (AJ)the Lord takes thought for me.
You are my help and my deliverer;
do not delay, O my God!
O Lord, Be Gracious to Me
To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.
41 (AK)Blessed is the one who considers the poor![c]
(AL)In the day of trouble the Lord delivers him;
2 the Lord protects him and keeps him alive;
he is called blessed in the land;
you (AM)do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
3 The Lord sustains him on his sickbed;
in his illness you restore him to full health.[d]
4 As for me, I said, “O Lord, (AN)be gracious to me;
(AO)heal me,[e] for I have sinned against you!”
5 My enemies say of me in malice,
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
6 And when one comes to see me, (AP)he utters empty words,
while his heart gathers iniquity;
when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
7 All who hate me whisper together about me;
they imagine the worst for me.[f]
8 They say, “A deadly thing is poured out[g] on him;
he will not rise again from where he lies.”
9 Even my (AQ)close friend in whom I trusted,
who (AR)ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
10 But you, O Lord, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them!
11 By this I know that (AS)you delight in me:
my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
12 But (AT)you have upheld me because of (AU)my integrity,
and (AV)set me in your presence (AW)forever.
13 (AX)Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting!
Amen and Amen.
Book Two
Why Are You Cast Down, O My Soul?
To the choirmaster. A Maskil[h] of (AY)the Sons of Korah.
42 (AZ)As a deer pants for flowing streams,
so pants my soul for you, O God.
2 (BA)My soul thirsts for God,
for (BB)the living God.
When shall I come and (BC)appear before God?[i]
3 (BD)My tears have been my food
day and night,
(BE)while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
4 These things I remember,
as I (BF)pour out my soul:
(BG)how I would go (BH)with the throng
and lead them in procession to the house of God
with glad shouts and songs of praise,
(BI)a multitude keeping festival.
5 (BJ)Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you (BK)in turmoil within me?
(BL)Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation[j] 6 and my God.
My soul is cast down within me;
therefore I (BM)remember you
(BN)from the land of Jordan and of (BO)Hermon,
from Mount Mizar.
7 Deep calls to deep
at the roar of your waterfalls;
(BP)all your breakers and your (BQ)waves
have gone over me.
8 By day the Lord (BR)commands his steadfast love,
and at (BS)night his song is with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
9 I say to God, (BT)my rock:
“Why have you forgotten me?
(BU)Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
10 As with a deadly wound in my bones,
my adversaries taunt me,
(BV)while they say to me all the day long,
“Where is your God?”
11 (BW)Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Send Out Your Light and Your Truth
43 (BX)Vindicate me, O God, and (BY)defend my cause
against an ungodly people,
from (BZ)the deceitful and unjust man
deliver me!
2 For you are (CA)the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you (CB)rejected me?
Why do I (CC)go about mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?
3 (CD)Send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your (CE)holy hill
and to your (CF)dwelling!
4 Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the lyre,
O God, my God.
5 (CG)Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you in turmoil within me?
(CH)Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.
Come to Our Help
To the choirmaster. (CI)A Maskil[k] of the Sons of Korah.
44 O God, we have heard with our ears,
(CJ)our fathers have told us,
what deeds you performed in their days,
(CK)in the days of old:
2 you with your own hand (CL)drove out the nations,
but (CM)them you planted;
you afflicted the peoples,
but (CN)them you set free;
3 for not (CO)by their own sword did they win the land,
nor did their own arm save them,
but your right hand and your arm,
and (CP)the light of your face,
(CQ)for you delighted in them.
4 (CR)You are my King, O God;
(CS)ordain salvation for Jacob!
5 Through you we (CT)push down our foes;
through your name we (CU)tread down those who rise up against us.
6 For not in (CV)my bow do I trust,
nor can my sword save me.
7 But you have saved us from our foes
and have (CW)put to shame those who hate us.
8 (CX)In God we have boasted continually,
and we will give thanks to your name forever. Selah
9 But you have (CY)rejected us and disgraced us
and (CZ)have not gone out with our armies.
10 You have made us (DA)turn back from the foe,
and those who hate us have gotten spoil.
11 You have made us like (DB)sheep for slaughter
and have (DC)scattered us among the nations.
12 (DD)You have sold your people for a trifle,
demanding no high price for them.
13 You have made us (DE)the taunt of our neighbors,
the derision and (DF)scorn of those around us.
14 You have made us (DG)a byword among the nations,
(DH)a laughingstock[l] among the peoples.
15 All day long my disgrace is before me,
and (DI)shame has covered my face
16 at the sound of the taunter and reviler,
at the sight of (DJ)the enemy and the avenger.
17 (DK)All this has come upon us,
though we have not forgotten you,
and we have not been false to your covenant.
18 Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our (DL)steps (DM)departed from your way;
19 yet you have (DN)broken us in the place of (DO)jackals
and covered us with (DP)the shadow of death.
20 If we had forgotten the name of our God
or (DQ)spread out our hands to (DR)a foreign god,
21 (DS)would not God discover this?
(DT)For he knows the secrets of the heart.
22 Yet (DU)for your sake we are killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.
23 (DV)Awake! Why are you sleeping, O Lord?
Rouse yourself! (DW)Do not reject us forever!
24 Why (DX)do you hide your face?
Why do you forget our affliction and oppression?
25 For our (DY)soul is bowed down to the dust;
our belly clings to the ground.
26 Rise up; (DZ)come to our help!
(EA)Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
Your Throne, O God, Is Forever
To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Maskil[m] of (EB)the Sons of Korah; a love song.
45 My heart overflows with a pleasing theme;
I address my verses to the king;
my tongue is like the pen of (EC)a ready scribe.
2 You are (ED)the most handsome of the sons of men;
(EE)grace is poured upon your lips;
therefore God has blessed you forever.
3 (EF)Gird your (EG)sword on your thigh, O (EH)mighty one,
in (EI)your splendor and majesty!
4 In your majesty (EJ)ride out victoriously
for the cause of truth and meekness and righteousness;
let your right hand teach you (EK)awesome deeds!
5 Your arrows are sharp
in the heart of the king's enemies;
the peoples fall under you.
6 (EL)Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The (EM)scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
7 (EN)you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore (EO)God, your God, has (EP)anointed you
with the oil of (EQ)gladness (ER)beyond your companions;
8 your robes are all fragrant with (ES)myrrh and aloes and cassia.
From ivory palaces (ET)stringed instruments make you glad;
9 daughters of kings are among your ladies of honor;
(EU)at your right hand stands the queen in (EV)gold of Ophir.
10 Hear, O daughter, and consider, and incline your ear:
forget your people and your father's house,
11 and the king will desire your beauty.
Since he is your (EW)lord, (EX)bow to him.
12 The people[n] of Tyre will (EY)seek your favor with (EZ)gifts,
(FA)the richest of the people.[o]
13 All glorious is (FB)the princess in her chamber, with robes interwoven with gold.
14 (FC)In many-colored robes (FD)she is led to the king,
with her virgin companions following behind her.
15 With joy and gladness they are led along
as they enter the palace of the king.
16 In place of your fathers shall be your sons;
you will make them (FE)princes in all the earth.
17 (FF)I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations;
therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.
Footnotes
- Psalm 40:6 Hebrew ears you have dug for me
- Psalm 40:9 Hebrew righteousness; also verse 10
- Psalm 41:1 Or weak
- Psalm 41:3 Hebrew you turn all his bed
- Psalm 41:4 Hebrew my soul
- Psalm 41:7 Or they devise evil against me
- Psalm 41:8 Or has fastened
- Psalm 42:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 42:2 Revocalization yields and see the face of God
- Psalm 42:5 Hebrew the salvation of my face; also verse 11 and 43:5
- Psalm 44:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 44:14 Hebrew a shaking of the head
- Psalm 45:1 Probably a musical or liturgical term
- Psalm 45:12 Hebrew daughter
- Psalm 45:12 Or The daughter of Tyre is here with gifts, the richest of people seek your favor
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Text Edition: 2016. Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.
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