The Holy Bible

[72:1] Give the king your justice, O God, and your righteousness to the royal son!

[72:2] May he judge your people with righteousness, and your poor with justice!

[72:3] Let the mountains bear prosperity for the people, and the hills, in righteousness!

[72:4] May he defend the cause of the poor of the people, give deliverance to the children of the needy, and crush the oppressor!

[72:5] May they fear you while the sun endures, and as long as the moon, throughout all generations!

[72:6] May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!

[72:7] In his days may the righteous flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!

[72:8] May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!

[72:9] May desert tribes bow down before him, and his enemies lick the dust!

[72:10] May the kings of Tarshish and of the coastlands render him tribute; may the kings of Sheba and Seba bring gifts!

[72:11] May all kings fall down before him, all nations serve him!

[72:12] For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.

[72:13] He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.

[72:14] From oppression and violence he redeems their life, and precious is their blood in his sight.

[72:15] Long may he live; may gold of Sheba be given to him! May prayer be made for him continually, and blessings invoked for him all the day!

[72:16] May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave; may its fruit be like Lebanon; and may people blossom in the cities like the grass of the field!

[72:17] May his name endure forever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May people be blessed in him, all nations call him blessed!

[72:18] Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, who alone does wondrous things.

[72:19] Blessed be his glorious name forever; may the whole earth be filled with his glory!

[72:20] The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended.

Of Solomon.

[73:1] Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.

[73:2] But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.

[73:3] For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

[73:4] For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.

[73:5] They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

[73:6] Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.

[73:7] Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.

[73:8] They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.

[73:9] They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.

[73:10] Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them.

[73:11] And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

[73:12] Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.

[73:13] All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.

[73:14] For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.

[73:15] If I had said, “I will speak thus,” I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

[73:16] But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,

[73:17] until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.

[73:18] Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.

[73:19] How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!

[73:20] Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

[73:21] When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,

[73:22] I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.

[73:23] Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.

[73:24] You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.

[73:25] Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

[73:26] My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

[73:27] For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

[73:28] But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.

A Psalm of Asaph.

[74:1] O God, why do you cast us off forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?

[74:2] Remember your congregation, which you have purchased of old, which you have redeemed to be the tribe of your heritage! Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.

[74:3] Direct your steps to the perpetual ruins; the enemy has destroyed everything in the sanctuary!

[74:4] Your foes have roared in the midst of your meeting place; they set up their own signs for signs.

[74:5] They were like those who swing axes in a forest of trees.

[74:6] And all its carved wood they broke down with hatchets and hammers.

[74:7] They set your sanctuary on fire; they profaned the dwelling place of your name, bringing it down to the ground.

[74:8] They said to themselves, “We will utterly subdue them”; they burned all the meeting places of God in the land.

[74:9] We do not see our signs; there is no longer any prophet, and there is none among us who knows how long.

[74:10] How long, O God, is the foe to scoff? Is the enemy to revile your name forever?

[74:11] Why do you hold back your hand, your right hand? Take it from the fold of your garment and destroy them!

[74:12] Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.

[74:13] You divided the sea by your might; you broke the heads of the sea monsters on the waters.

[74:14] You crushed the heads of Leviathan; you gave him as food for the creatures of the wilderness.

[74:15] You split open springs and brooks; you dried up ever-flowing streams.

[74:16] Yours is the day, yours also the night; you have established the heavenly lights and the sun.

[74:17] You have fixed all the boundaries of the earth; you have made summer and winter.

[74:18] Remember this, O Lord, how the enemy scoffs, and a foolish people reviles your name.

[74:19] Do not deliver the soul of your dove to the wild beasts; do not forget the life of your poor forever.

[74:20] Have regard for the covenant, for the dark places of the land are full of the habitations of violence.

[74:21] Let not the downtrodden turn back in shame; let the poor and needy praise your name.

[74:22] Arise, O God, defend your cause; remember how the foolish scoff at you all the day!

[74:23] Do not forget the clamor of your foes, the uproar of those who rise against you, which goes up continually!

A Maskil of Asaph.

[75:1] We give thanks to you, O God; we give thanks, for your name is near. We recount your wondrous deeds.

[75:2] “At the set time that I appoint I will judge with equity.

[75:3] When the earth totters, and all its inhabitants, it is I who keep steady its pillars. Selah

[75:4] I say to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’ and to the wicked, ‘Do not lift up your horn;

[75:5] do not lift up your horn on high, or speak with haughty neck.’”

[75:6] For not from the east or from the west and not from the wilderness comes lifting up,

[75:7] but it is God who executes judgment, putting down one and lifting up another.

[75:8] For in the hand of the Lord there is a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and he pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs.

[75:9] But I will declare it forever; I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.

[75:10] All the horns of the wicked I will cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be lifted up.

To the choirmaster: according to Do Not Destroy. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

[76:1] In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel.

[76:2] His abode has been established in Salem, his dwelling place in Zion.

[76:3] There he broke the flashing arrows, the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war. Selah

[76:4] Glorious are you, more majestic than the mountains full of prey.

[76:5] The stouthearted were stripped of their spoil; they sank into sleep; all the men of war were unable to use their hands.

[76:6] At your rebuke, O God of Jacob, both rider and horse lay stunned.

[76:7] But you, you are to be feared! Who can stand before you when once your anger is roused?

[76:8] From the heavens you uttered judgment; the earth feared and was still,

[76:9] when God arose to establish judgment, to save all the humble of the earth. Selah

[76:10] Surely the wrath of man shall praise you; the remnant of wrath you will put on like a belt.

[76:11] Make your vows to the Lord your God and perform them; let all around him bring gifts to him who is to be feared,

[76:12] who cuts off the spirit of princes, who is to be feared by the kings of the earth.

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.

[77:1] I cry aloud to God, aloud to God, and he will hear me.

[77:2] In the day of my trouble I seek the Lord; in the night my hand is stretched out without wearying; my soul refuses to be comforted.

[77:3] When I remember God, I moan; when I meditate, my spirit faints. Selah

[77:4] You hold my eyelids open; I am so troubled that I cannot speak.

[77:5] I consider the days of old, the years long ago.

[77:6] I said, “Let me remember my song in the night; let me meditate in my heart.” Then my spirit made a diligent search:

[77:7] “Will the Lord spurn forever, and never again be favorable?

[77:8] Has his steadfast love forever ceased? Are his promises at an end for all time?

[77:9] Has God forgotten to be gracious? Has he in anger shut up his compassion?” Selah

[77:10] Then I said, “I will appeal to this, to the years of the right hand of the Most High.”

[77:11] I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

[77:12] I will ponder all your work, and meditate on your mighty deeds.

[77:13] Your way, O God, is holy. What god is great like our God?

[77:14] You are the God who works wonders; you have made known your might among the peoples.

[77:15] You with your arm redeemed your people, the children of Jacob and Joseph. Selah

[77:16] When the waters saw you, O God, when the waters saw you, they were afraid; indeed, the deep trembled.

[77:17] The clouds poured out water; the skies gave forth thunder; your arrows flashed on every side.

[77:18] The crash of your thunder was in the whirlwind; your lightnings lighted up the world; the earth trembled and shook.

[77:19] Your way was through the sea, your path through the great waters; yet your footprints were unseen.

[77:20] You led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of Asaph.

[78:1] Give ear, O my people, to my teaching; incline your ears to the words of my mouth!

[78:2] I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings from of old,

[78:3] things that we have heard and known, that our fathers have told us.

[78:4] We will not hide them from their children, but tell to the coming generation the glorious deeds of the Lord, and his might, and the wonders that he has done.

[78:5] He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children,

[78:6] that the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children,

[78:7] so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments;

[78:8] and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God.

[78:9] The Ephraimites, armed with the bow, turned back on the day of battle.

[78:10] They did not keep God’s covenant, but refused to walk according to his law.

[78:11] They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them.

[78:12] In the sight of their fathers he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan.

[78:13] He divided the sea and let them pass through it, and made the waters stand like a heap.

[78:14] In the daytime he led them with a cloud, and all the night with a fiery light.

[78:15] He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep.

[78:16] He made streams come out of the rock and caused waters to flow down like rivers.

[78:17] Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the Most High in the desert.

[78:18] They tested God in their heart by demanding the food they craved.

[78:19] They spoke against God, saying, “Can God spread a table in the wilderness?

[78:20] He struck the rock so that water gushed out and streams overflowed. Can he also give bread or provide meat for his people?”

[78:21] Therefore, when the Lord heard, he was full of wrath; a fire was kindled against Jacob; his anger rose against Israel,

[78:22] because they did not believe in God and did not trust his saving power.

[78:23] Yet he commanded the skies above and opened the doors of heaven,

[78:24] and he rained down on them manna to eat and gave them the grain of heaven.

[78:25] Man ate of the bread of the angels; he sent them food in abundance.

[78:26] He caused the east wind to blow in the heavens, and by his power he led out the south wind;

[78:27] he rained meat on them like dust, winged birds like the sand of the seas;

[78:28] he let them fall in the midst of their camp, all around their dwellings.

[78:29] And they ate and were well filled, for he gave them what they craved.

[78:30] But before they had satisfied their craving, while the food was still in their mouths,

[78:31] the anger of God rose against them, and he killed the strongest of them and laid low the young men of Israel.

[78:32] In spite of all this, they still sinned; despite his wonders, they did not believe.

[78:33] So he made their days vanish like a breath, and their years in terror.

[78:34] When he killed them, they sought him; they repented and sought God earnestly.

[78:35] They remembered that God was their rock, the Most High God their redeemer.

[78:36] But they flattered him with their mouths; they lied to him with their tongues.

[78:37] Their heart was not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant.

[78:38] Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.

[78:39] He remembered that they were but flesh, a wind that passes and comes not again.

[78:40] How often they rebelled against him in the wilderness and grieved him in the desert!

[78:41] They tested God again and again and provoked the Holy One of Israel.

[78:42] They did not remember his power or the day when he redeemed them from the foe,

[78:43] when he performed his signs in Egypt and his marvels in the fields of Zoan.

[78:44] He turned their rivers to blood, so that they could not drink of their streams.

[78:45] He sent among them swarms of flies, which devoured them, and frogs, which destroyed them.

[78:46] He gave their crops to the destroying locust and the fruit of their labor to the locust.

[78:47] He destroyed their vines with hail and their sycamores with frost.

[78:48] He gave over their cattle to the hail and their flocks to thunderbolts.

[78:49] He let loose on them his burning anger, wrath, indignation, and distress, a company of destroying angels.

[78:50] He made a path for his anger; he did not spare them from death, but gave their lives over to the plague.

[78:51] He struck down every firstborn in Egypt, the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.

[78:52] Then he led out his people like sheep and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.

[78:53] He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid, but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.

[78:54] And he brought them to his holy land, to the mountain which his right hand had won.

[78:55] He drove out nations before them; he apportioned them for a possession and settled the tribes of Israel in their tents.

[78:56] Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God and did not keep his testimonies,

[78:57] but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers; they twisted like a deceitful bow.

[78:58] For they provoked him to anger with their high places; they moved him to jealousy with their idols.

[78:59] When God heard, he was full of wrath, and he utterly rejected Israel.

[78:60] He forsook his dwelling at Shiloh, the tent where he dwelt among mankind,

[78:61] and delivered his power to captivity, his glory to the hand of the foe.

[78:62] He gave his people over to the sword and vented his wrath on his heritage.

[78:63] Fire devoured their young men, and their young women had no marriage song.

[78:64] Their priests fell by the sword, and their widows made no lamentation.

[78:65] Then the Lord awoke as from sleep, like a strong man shouting because of wine.

[78:66] And he put his adversaries to rout; he put them to everlasting shame.

[78:67] He rejected the tent of Joseph; he did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,

[78:68] but he chose the tribe of Judah, Mount Zion, which he loves.

[78:69] He built his sanctuary like the high heavens, like the earth, which he has founded forever.

[78:70] He chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds;

[78:71] from following the nursing ewes he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, Israel his inheritance.

[78:72] With upright heart he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand.

A Maskil of Asaph.

[79:1] O God, the nations have come into your inheritance; they have defiled your holy temple; they have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

[79:2] They have given the bodies of your servants to the birds of the heavens for food, the flesh of your faithful to the beasts of the earth.

[79:3] They have poured out their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and there was no one to bury them.

[79:4] We have become a taunt to our neighbors, mocked and derided by those around us.

[79:5] How long, O Lord? Will you be angry forever? Will your jealousy burn like fire?

[79:6] Pour out your anger on the nations that do not know you, and on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name!

[79:7] For they have devoured Jacob and laid waste his habitation.

[79:8] Do not remember against us our former iniquities; let your compassion come speedily to meet us, for we are brought very low.

[79:9] Help us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of your name; deliver us, and atone for our sins, for your name’s sake!

[79:10] Why should the nations say, “Where is their God?” Let the avenging of the outpoured blood of your servants be known among the nations before our eyes!

[79:11] Let the groans of the prisoners come before you; according to your great power, preserve those doomed to die!

[79:12] Return sevenfold into the lap of our neighbors the taunts with which they have taunted you, O Lord!

[79:13] But we your people, the sheep of your pasture, will give thanks to you forever; from generation to generation we will recount your praise.

A Psalm of Asaph.

[80:1] Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.

[80:2] Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, stir up your might and come to save us!

[80:3] Restore us, O God; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

[80:4] O Lord God of hosts, how long will you be angry with your people’s prayers?

[80:5] You have fed them with the bread of tears and given them tears to drink in full measure.

[80:6] You make us an object of contention for our neighbors, and our enemies laugh among themselves.

[80:7] Restore us, O God of hosts; let your face shine, that we may be saved!

[80:8] You brought a vine out of Egypt; you drove out the nations and planted it.

[80:9] You cleared the ground for it; it took deep root and filled the land.

[80:10] The mountains were covered with its shade, the mighty cedars with its branches.

[80:11] It sent out its branches to the sea and its shoots to the River.

[80:12] Why then have you broken down its walls, so that all who pass along the way pluck its fruit?

[80:13] The boar from the forest ravages it, and all that move in the field feed on it.

[80:14] Turn again, O God of hosts! Look down from heaven, and see; have regard for this vine,

[80:15] the stock that your right hand planted, and for the son whom you made strong for yourself.

[80:16] They have burned it with fire; they have cut it down; may they perish at the rebuke of your face!

[80:17] But let your hand be on the man of your right hand, the son of man whom you have made strong for yourself!

[80:18] Then we shall not turn back from you; give us life, and we will call upon your name!

[80:19] Restore us, O Lord God of hosts! Let your face shine, that we may be saved!

To the choirmaster: according to Lilies. A Testimony. Of Asaph, a Psalm.

[81:1] Sing aloud to God our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob!

[81:2] Raise a song; sound the tambourine, the sweet lyre with the harp.

[81:3] Blow the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, on our feast day.

[81:4] For it is a statute for Israel, a rule of the God of Jacob.

[81:5] He made it a decree in Joseph when he went out over the land of Egypt. I hear a language I had not known:

[81:6] “I relieved your shoulder of the burden; your hands were freed from the basket.

[81:7] In distress you called, and I delivered you; I answered you in the secret place of thunder; I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Selah

[81:8] Hear, O my people, while I admonish you! O Israel, if you would but listen to me!

[81:9] There shall be no strange god among you; you shall not bow down to a foreign god.

[81:10] I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth wide, and I will fill it.

[81:11] “But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel would not submit to me.

[81:12] So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts, to follow their own counsels.

[81:13] Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!

[81:14] I would soon subdue their enemies and turn my hand against their foes.

[81:15] Those who hate the Lord would cringe toward him, and their fate would last forever.

[81:16] But he would feed you with the finest of the wheat, and with honey from the rock I would satisfy you.”