The Holy Bible

[72:1] Teach the king to judge with your righteousness, O God; share with him your own justice,

[72:2] so that he will rule over your people with justice and govern the oppressed with righteousness.

[72:3] May the land enjoy prosperity; may it experience righteousness.

[72:4] May the king judge the poor fairly; may he help the needy and defeat their oppressors.

[72:5] May your people worship you as long as the sun shines, as long as the moon gives light, for ages to come.

[72:6] May the king be like rain on the fields, like showers falling on the land.

[72:7] May righteousness flourish in his lifetime, and may prosperity last as long as the moon gives light.

[72:8] His kingdom will reach from sea to sea, from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.

[72:9] The peoples of the desert will bow down before him; his enemies will throw themselves to the ground.

[72:10] The kings of Spain and of the islands will offer him gifts; the kings of Sheba and Seba will bring him offerings.

[72:11] All kings will bow down before him; all nations will serve him.

[72:12] He rescues the poor who call to him, and those who are needy and neglected.

[72:13] He has pity on the weak and poor; he saves the lives of those in need.

[72:14] He rescues them from oppression and violence; their lives are precious to him.

[72:15] Long live the king! May he be given gold from Sheba; may prayers be said for him at all times; may God's blessings be on him always!

[72:16] May there be plenty of grain in the land; may the hills be covered with crops, as fruitful as those of Lebanon. May the cities be filled with people, like fields full of grass.

[72:17] May the king's name never be forgotten; may his fame last as long as the sun. May all nations ask God to bless them as he has blessed the king.

[72:18] Praise the Lord, the God of Israel! He alone does these wonderful things.

[72:19] Praise his glorious name forever! May his glory fill the whole world.

[72:20] This is the end of the prayers of David son of Jesse.

[73:1] God is indeed good to Israel, to those who have pure hearts.

[73:2] But I had nearly lost confidence; my faith was almost gone

[73:3] because I was jealous of the proud when I saw that things go well for the wicked.

[73:4] They do not suffer pain; they are strong and healthy.

[73:5] They do not suffer as other people do; they do not have the troubles that others have.

[73:6] And so they wear pride like a necklace and violence like a robe;

[73:7] their hearts pour out evil, and their minds are busy with wicked schemes.

[73:8] They laugh at other people and speak of evil things; they are proud and make plans to oppress others.

[73:9] They speak evil of God in heaven and give arrogant orders to everyone on earth,

[73:10] so that even God's people turn to them and eagerly believe whatever they say.

[73:11] They say, “God will not know; the Most High will not find out.”

[73:12] That is what the wicked are like. They have plenty and are always getting more.

[73:13] Is it for nothing, then, that I have kept myself pure and have not committed sin?

[73:14] O God, you have made me suffer all day long; every morning you have punished me.

[73:15] If I had said such things, I would not be acting as one of your people.

[73:16] I tried to think this problem through, but it was too difficult for me

[73:17] until I went into your Temple. Then I understood what will happen to the wicked.

[73:18] You will put them in slippery places and make them fall to destruction!

[73:19] They are instantly destroyed; they go down to a horrible end.

[73:20] They are like a dream that goes away in the morning; when you rouse yourself, O Lord, they disappear.

[73:21] When my thoughts were bitter and my feelings were hurt,

[73:22] I was as stupid as an animal; I did not understand you.

[73:23] Yet I always stay close to you, and you hold me by the hand.

[73:24] You guide me with your instruction and at the end you will receive me with honor.

[73:25] What else do I have in heaven but you? Since I have you, what else could I want on earth?

[73:26] My mind and my body may grow weak, but God is my strength; he is all I ever need.

[73:27] Those who abandon you will certainly perish; you will destroy those who are unfaithful to you.

[73:28] But as for me, how wonderful to be near God, to find protection with the Sovereign Lord and to proclaim all that he has done!

[74:1] Why have you abandoned us like this, O God? Will you be angry with your own people forever?

[74:2] Remember your people, whom you chose for yourself long ago, whom you brought out of slavery to be your own tribe. Remember Mount Zion, where once you lived.

[74:3] Walk over these total ruins; our enemies have destroyed everything in the Temple.

[74:4] Your enemies have shouted in triumph in your Temple; they have placed their flags there as signs of victory.

[74:5] They looked like woodsmen cutting down trees with their axes.

[74:6] They smashed all the wooden panels with their axes and sledge hammers.

[74:7] They wrecked your Temple and set it on fire; they desecrated the place where you are worshiped.

[74:8] They wanted to crush us completely; they burned down every holy place in the land.

[74:9] All our sacred symbols are gone; there are no prophets left, and no one knows how long this will last.

[74:10] How long, O God, will our enemies laugh at you? Will they insult your name forever?

[74:11] Why have you refused to help us? Why do you keep your hands behind you?

[74:12] But you have been our king from the beginning, O God; you have saved us many times.

[74:13] With your mighty strength you divided the sea and smashed the heads of the sea monsters;

[74:14] you crushed the heads of the monster Leviathan and fed his body to desert animals.

[74:15] You made springs and fountains flow; you dried up large rivers.

[74:16] You created the day and the night; you set the sun and the moon in their places;

[74:17] you set the limits of the earth; you made summer and winter.

[74:18] But remember, O Lord, that your enemies laugh at you, that they are godless and despise you.

[74:19] Don't abandon your helpless people to their cruel enemies; don't forget your persecuted people!

[74:20] Remember the covenant you made with us. There is violence in every dark corner of the land.

[74:21] Don't let the oppressed be put to shame; let those poor and needy people praise you.

[74:22] Rouse yourself, God, and defend your cause! Remember that godless people laugh at you all day long.

[74:23] Don't forget the angry shouts of your enemies, the continuous noise made by your foes.

[75:1] We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks to you! We proclaim how great you are and tell of the wonderful things you have done.

[75:2] “I have set a time for judgment,” says God, “and I will judge with fairness.

[75:3] Though every living creature tremble and the earth itself be shaken, I will keep its foundations firm.

[75:4] I tell the wicked not to be arrogant;

[75:5] I tell them to stop their boasting.”

[75:6] Judgment does not come from the east or from the west, from the north or from the south;

[75:7] it is God who is the judge, condemning some and acquitting others.

[75:8] The Lord holds a cup in his hand, filled with the strong wine of his anger. He pours it out, and all the wicked drink it; they drink it down to the last drop.

[75:9] But I will never stop speaking of the God of Jacob or singing praises to him.

[75:10] He will break the power of the wicked, but the power of the righteous will be increased.

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

[76:2] He has his home in Jerusalem; he lives on Mount Zion.

[76:3] There he broke the arrows of the enemy, their shields and swords, yes, all their weapons.

[76:4] How glorious you are, O God! How majestic, as you return from the mountains where you defeated your foes.

[76:5] Their brave soldiers have been stripped of all they had and now are sleeping the sleep of death; all their strength and skill was useless.

[76:6] When you threatened them, O God of Jacob, the horses and their riders fell dead.

[76:7] But you, Lord, are feared by all. No one can stand in your presence when you are angry.

[76:8] You made your judgment known from heaven; the world was afraid and kept silent,

[76:9] when you rose up to pronounce judgment, to save all the oppressed on earth.

[76:10] Human anger only results in more praise for you; those who survive the wars will keep your festivals.

[76:11] Give the Lord your God what you promised him; bring gifts to him, all you nearby nations. God makes everyone fear him;

[76:12] he humbles proud princes and terrifies great kings.

[77:1] I cry aloud to God; I cry aloud, and he hears me.

[77:2] In times of trouble I pray to the Lord; all night long I lift my hands in prayer, but I cannot find comfort.

[77:3] When I think of God, I sigh; when I meditate, I feel discouraged.

[77:4] He keeps me awake all night; I am so worried that I cannot speak.

[77:5] I think of days gone by and remember years of long ago.

[77:6] I spend the night in deep thought; I meditate, and this is what I ask myself:

[77:7] “Will the Lord always reject us? Will he never again be pleased with us?

[77:8] Has he stopped loving us? Does his promise no longer stand?

[77:9] Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has anger taken the place of his compassion?”

[77:10] Then I said, “What hurts me most is this— that God is no longer powerful.”

[77:11] I will remember your great deeds, Lord; I will recall the wonders you did in the past.

[77:12] I will think about all that you have done; I will meditate on all your mighty acts.

[77:13] Everything you do, O God, is holy. No god is as great as you.

[77:14] You are the God who works miracles; you showed your might among the nations.

[77:15] By your power you saved your people, the descendants of Jacob and of Joseph.

[77:16] When the waters saw you, O God, they were afraid, and the depths of the sea trembled.

[77:17] The clouds poured down rain; thunder crashed from the sky, and lightning flashed in all directions.

[77:18] The crash of your thunder rolled out, and flashes of lightning lit up the world; the earth trembled and shook.

[77:19] You walked through the waves; you crossed the deep sea, but your footprints could not be seen.

[77:20] You led your people like a shepherd, with Moses and Aaron in charge.

[78:1] Listen, my people, to my teaching, and pay attention to what I say.

[78:2] I am going to use wise sayings and explain mysteries from the past,

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

[78:4] We will not keep them from our children; we will tell the next generation about the Lord's power and his great deeds and the wonderful things he has done.

[78:5] He gave laws to the people of Israel and commandments to the descendants of Jacob. He instructed our ancestors to teach his laws to their children,

[78:6] so that the next generation might learn them and in turn should tell their children.

[78:7] In this way they also will put their trust in God and not forget what he has done, but always obey his commandments.

[78:8] They will not be like their ancestors, a rebellious and disobedient people, whose trust in God was never firm and who did not remain faithful to him.

[78:9] The Ephraimites, armed with bows and arrows, ran away on the day of battle.

[78:10] They did not keep their covenant with God; they refused to obey his law.

[78:11] They forgot what he had done, the miracles they had seen him perform.

[78:12] While their ancestors watched, God performed miracles in the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.

[78:13] He divided the sea and took them through it; he made the waters stand like walls.

[78:14] By day he led them with a cloud and all night long with the light of a fire.

[78:15] He split rocks open in the desert and gave them water from the depths.

[78:16] He caused a stream to come out of the rock and made water flow like a river.

[78:17] But they continued to sin against God, and in the desert they rebelled against the Most High.

[78:18] They deliberately put God to the test by demanding the food they wanted.

[78:19] They spoke against God and said, “Can God supply food in the desert?

[78:20] It is true that he struck the rock, and water flowed out in a torrent; but can he also provide us with bread and give his people meat?”

[78:21] And so the Lord was angry when he heard them; he attacked his people with fire, and his anger against them grew,

[78:22] because they had no faith in him and did not believe that he would save them.

[78:23] But he spoke to the sky above and commanded its doors to open;

[78:24] he gave them grain from heaven, by sending down manna for them to eat.

[78:25] So they ate the food of angels, and God gave them all they wanted.

[78:26] He also caused the east wind to blow, and by his power he stirred up the south wind;

[78:27] and to his people he sent down birds, as many as the grains of sand on the shore;

[78:28] they fell in the middle of the camp all around the tents.

[78:29] So the people ate and were satisfied; God gave them what they wanted.

[78:30] But they had not yet satisfied their craving and were still eating,

[78:31] when God became angry with them and killed their strongest men, the best young men of Israel.

[78:32] In spite of all this the people kept sinning; in spite of his miracles they did not trust him.

[78:33] So he ended their days like a breath and their lives with sudden disaster.

[78:34] Whenever he killed some of them, the rest would turn to him; they would repent and pray earnestly to him.

[78:35] They remembered that God was their protector, that the Almighty came to their aid.

[78:36] But their words were all lies; nothing they said was sincere.

[78:37] They were not loyal to him; they were not faithful to their covenant with him.

[78:38] But God was merciful to his people. He forgave their sin and did not destroy them. Many times he held back his anger and restrained his fury.

[78:39] He remembered that they were only mortal beings, like a wind that blows by and is gone.

[78:40] How often they rebelled against him in the desert; how many times they made him sad!

[78:41] Again and again they put God to the test and brought pain to the Holy God of Israel.

[78:42] They forgot his great power and the day when he saved them from their enemies

[78:43] and performed his mighty acts and miracles in the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.

[78:44] He turned the rivers into blood, and the Egyptians had no water to drink.

[78:45] He sent flies among them, that tormented them, and frogs that ruined their land.

[78:46] He sent locusts to eat their crops and to destroy their fields.

[78:47] He killed their grapevines with hail and their fig trees with frost.

[78:48] He killed their cattle with hail and their flocks with lightning.

[78:49] He caused them great distress by pouring out his anger and fierce rage, which came as messengers of death.

[78:50] He did not restrain his anger or spare their lives, but killed them with a plague.

[78:51] He killed the first-born sons of all the families of Egypt.

[78:52] Then he led his people out like a shepherd and guided them through the desert.

[78:53] He led them safely, and they were not afraid; but the sea came rolling over their enemies.

[78:54] He brought them to his holy land, to the mountains which he himself conquered.

[78:55] He drove out the inhabitants as his people advanced; he divided their land among the tribes of Israel and gave their homes to his people.

[78:56] But they rebelled against Almighty God and put him to the test. They did not obey his commandments,

[78:57] but were rebellious and disloyal like their ancestors, unreliable as a crooked arrow.

[78:58] They angered him with their heathen places of worship, and with their idols they made him furious.

[78:59] God was angry when he saw it, so he rejected his people completely.

[78:60] He abandoned his tent in Shiloh, the home where he had lived among us.

[78:61] He allowed our enemies to capture the Covenant Box, the symbol of his power and glory.

[78:62] He was angry with his own people and let them be killed by their enemies.

[78:63] Young men were killed in war, and young women had no one to marry.

[78:64] Priests died by violence, and their widows were not allowed to mourn.

[78:65] At last the Lord woke up as though from sleep; he was like a strong man excited by wine.

[78:66] He drove his enemies back in lasting and shameful defeat.

[78:67] But he rejected the descendants of Joseph; he did not select the tribe of Ephraim.

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

[78:69] There he built his Temple like his home in heaven; he made it firm like the earth itself, secure for all time.

[78:70] He chose his servant David; he took him from the pastures,

[78:71] where he looked after his flocks, and he made him king of Israel, the shepherd of the people of God.

[78:72] David took care of them with unselfish devotion and led them with skill.

[79:1] O God, the heathen have invaded your land. They have desecrated your holy Temple and left Jerusalem in ruins.

[79:2] They left the bodies of your people for the vultures, the bodies of your servants for wild animals to eat.

[79:3] They shed your people's blood like water; blood flowed like water all through Jerusalem, and no one was left to bury the dead.

[79:4] The surrounding nations insult us; they laugh at us and mock us.

[79:5] Lord, will you be angry with us forever? Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

[79:6] Turn your anger on the nations that do not worship you, on the people who do not pray to you.

[79:7] For they have killed your people; they have ruined your country.

[79:8] Do not punish us for the sins of our ancestors. Have mercy on us now; we have lost all hope.

[79:9] Help us, O God, and save us; rescue us and forgive our sins for the sake of your own honor.

[79:10] Why should the nations ask us, “Where is your God?” Let us see you punish the nations for shedding the blood of your servants.

[79:11] Listen to the groans of the prisoners, and by your great power free those who are condemned to die.

[79:12] Lord, pay the other nations back seven times for all the insults they have hurled at you.

[79:13] Then we, your people, the sheep of your flock, will thank you forever and praise you for all time to come.

[80:1] Listen to us, O Shepherd of Israel; hear us, leader of your flock. Seated on your throne above the winged creatures,

[80:2] reveal yourself to the tribes of Ephraim, Benjamin, and Manasseh. Show us your strength; come and save us!

[80:3] Bring us back, O God! Show us your mercy, and we will be saved!

[80:4] How much longer, Lord God Almighty, will you be angry with your people's prayers?

[80:5] You have given us sorrow to eat, a large cup of tears to drink.

[80:6] You let the surrounding nations fight over our land; our enemies insult us.

[80:7] Bring us back, Almighty God! Show us your mercy, and we will be saved!

[80:8] You brought a grapevine out of Egypt; you drove out other nations and planted it in their land.

[80:9] You cleared a place for it to grow; its roots went deep, and it spread out over the whole land.

[80:10] It covered the hills with its shade; its branches overshadowed the giant cedars.

[80:11] It extended its branches to the Mediterranean Sea and as far as the Euphrates River.

[80:12] Why did you break down the fences around it? Now anyone passing by can steal its grapes;

[80:13] wild hogs trample it down, and wild animals feed on it.

[80:14] Turn to us, Almighty God! Look down from heaven at us; come and save your people!

[80:15] Come and save this grapevine that you planted, this young vine you made grow so strong!

[80:16] Our enemies have set it on fire and cut it down; look at them in anger and destroy them!

[80:17] Preserve and protect the people you have chosen, the nation you made so strong.

[80:18] We will never turn away from you again; keep us alive, and we will praise you.

[80:19] Bring us back, Lord God Almighty. Show us your mercy, and we will be saved.

[81:1] Shout for joy to God our defender; sing praise to the God of Jacob!

[81:2] Start the music and beat the tambourines; play pleasant music on the harps and the lyres.

[81:3] Blow the trumpet for the festival, when the moon is new and when the moon is full.

[81:4] This is the law in Israel, an order from the God of Jacob.

[81:5] He gave it to the people of Israel when he attacked the land of Egypt. I hear an unknown voice saying,

[81:6] “I took the burdens off your backs; I let you put down your loads of bricks.

[81:7] When you were in trouble, you called to me, and I saved you. From my hiding place in the storm, I answered you. I put you to the test at the springs of Meribah.

[81:8] Listen, my people, to my warning; Israel, how I wish you would listen to me!

[81:9] You must never worship another god.

[81:10] I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt. Open your mouth, and I will feed you.

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

[81:12] So I let them go their stubborn ways and do whatever they wanted.

[81:13] How I wish my people would listen to me; how I wish they would obey me!

[81:14] I would quickly defeat their enemies and conquer all their foes.

[81:15] Those who hate me would bow in fear before me; their punishment would last forever.

[81:16] But I would feed you with the finest wheat and satisfy you with wild honey.”