The Holy Bible

[82:1] God presides in the heavenly council; in the assembly of the gods he gives his decision:

[82:2] “You must stop judging unjustly; you must no longer be partial to the wicked!

[82:3] Defend the rights of the poor and the orphans; be fair to the needy and the helpless.

[82:4] Rescue them from the power of evil people.

[82:5] “How ignorant you are! How stupid! You are completely corrupt, and justice has disappeared from the world.

[82:6] ‘You are gods,’ I said; ‘all of you are children of the Most High.’

[82:7] But you will die like mortals; your life will end like that of any prince.”

[82:8] Come, O God, and rule the world; all the nations are yours.

[83:1] O God, do not keep silent; do not be still, do not be quiet!

[83:2] Look! Your enemies are in revolt, and those who hate you are rebelling.

[83:3] They are making secret plans against your people; they are plotting against those you protect.

[83:4] “Come,” they say, “let us destroy their nation, so that Israel will be forgotten forever.”

[83:5] They agree on their plan and form an alliance against you:

[83:6] the people of Edom and the Ishmaelites; the people of Moab and the Hagrites;

[83:7] the people of Gebal, Ammon, and Amalek, and of Philistia and Tyre.

[83:8] Assyria has also joined them as a strong ally of the Ammonites and Moabites, the descendants of Lot.

[83:9] Do to them what you did to the Midianites, and to Sisera and Jabin at the Kishon River.

[83:10] You defeated them at Endor, and their bodies rotted on the ground.

[83:11] Do to their leaders what you did to Oreb and Zeeb; defeat all their rulers as you did Zebah and Zalmunna,

[83:12] who said, “We will take for our own the land that belongs to God.”

[83:13] Scatter them like dust, O God, like straw blown away by the wind.

[83:14] As fire burns the forest, as flames set the hills on fire,

[83:15] chase them away with your storm and terrify them with your fierce winds.

[83:16] Cover their faces with shame, O Lord, and make them acknowledge your power.

[83:17] May they be defeated and terrified forever; may they die in complete disgrace.

[83:18] May they know that you alone are the Lord, supreme ruler over all the earth.

[84:1] How I love your Temple, Lord Almighty!

[84:2] How I want to be there! I long to be in the Lord's Temple. With my whole being I sing for joy to the living God.

[84:3] Even the sparrows have built a nest, and the swallows have their own home; they keep their young near your altars, Lord Almighty, my king and my God.

[84:4] How happy are those who live in your Temple, always singing praise to you.

[84:5] How happy are those whose strength comes from you, who are eager to make the pilgrimage to Mount Zion.

[84:6] As they pass through the dry valley of Baca, it becomes a place of springs; the autumn rain fills it with pools.

[84:7] They grow stronger as they go; they will see the God of gods on Zion.

[84:8] Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty. Listen, O God of Jacob!

[84:9] Bless our king, O God, the king you have chosen.

[84:10] One day spent in your Temple is better than a thousand anywhere else; I would rather stand at the gate of the house of my God than live in the homes of the wicked.

[84:11] The Lord is our protector and glorious king, blessing us with kindness and honor. He does not refuse any good thing to those who do what is right.

[84:12] Lord Almighty, how happy are those who trust in you!

[85:1] Lord, you have been merciful to your land; you have made Israel prosperous again.

[85:2] You have forgiven your people's sins and pardoned all their wrongs.

[85:3] You stopped being angry with them and held back your furious rage.

[85:4] Bring us back, O God our savior, and stop being displeased with us!

[85:5] Will you be angry with us forever? Will your anger never cease?

[85:6] Make us strong again, and we, your people, will praise you.

[85:7] Show us your constant love, O Lord, and give us your saving help.

[85:8] I am listening to what the Lord God is saying; he promises peace to us, his own people, if we do not go back to our foolish ways.

[85:9] Surely he is ready to save those who honor him, and his saving presence will remain in our land.

[85:10] Love and faithfulness will meet; righteousness and peace will embrace.

[85:11] Human loyalty will reach up from the earth, and God's righteousness will look down from heaven.

[85:12] The Lord will make us prosperous, and our land will produce rich harvests.

[85:13] Righteousness will go before the Lord and prepare the path for him.

[86:1] Listen to me, Lord, and answer me, for I am helpless and weak.

[86:2] Save me from death, because I am loyal to you; save me, for I am your servant and I trust in you.

[86:3] You are my God, so be merciful to me; I pray to you all day long.

[86:4] Make your servant glad, O Lord, because my prayers go up to you.

[86:5] You are good to us and forgiving, full of constant love for all who pray to you.

[86:6] Listen, Lord, to my prayer; hear my cries for help.

[86:7] I call to you in times of trouble, because you answer my prayers.

[86:8] There is no god like you, O Lord, not one has done what you have done.

[86:9] All the nations that you have created will come and bow down to you; they will praise your greatness.

[86:10] You are mighty and do wonderful things; you alone are God.

[86:11] Teach me, Lord, what you want me to do, and I will obey you faithfully; teach me to serve you with complete devotion.

[86:12] I will praise you with all my heart, O Lord my God; I will proclaim your greatness forever.

[86:13] How great is your constant love for me! You have saved me from the grave itself.

[86:14] Proud people are coming against me, O God; a cruel gang is trying to kill me— people who pay no attention to you.

[86:15] But you, O Lord, are a merciful and loving God, always patient, always kind and faithful.

[86:16] Turn to me and have mercy on me; strengthen me and save me, because I serve you just as my mother did.

[86:17] Show me proof of your goodness, Lord; those who hate me will be ashamed when they see that you have given me comfort and help.

[87:1] The Lord built his city on the sacred hill;

[87:2] more than any other place in Israel he loves the city of Jerusalem.

[87:3] Listen, city of God, to the wonderful things he says about you:

[87:4] “I will include Egypt and Babylonia when I list the nations that obey me; the people of Philistia, Tyre, and Ethiopia I will number among the inhabitants of Jerusalem.”

[87:5] Of Zion it will be said that all nations belong there and that the Almighty will make her strong.

[87:6] The Lord will write a list of the peoples and include them all as citizens of Jerusalem.

[87:7] They dance and sing, “In Zion is the source of all our blessings.”

[88:1] Lord God, my savior, I cry out all day, and at night I come before you.

[88:2] Hear my prayer; listen to my cry for help!

[88:3] So many troubles have fallen on me that I am close to death.

[88:4] I am like all others who are about to die; all my strength is gone.

[88:5] I am abandoned among the dead; I am like the slain lying in their graves, those you have forgotten completely, who are beyond your help.

[88:6] You have thrown me into the depths of the tomb, into the darkest and deepest pit.

[88:7] Your anger lies heavy on me, and I am crushed beneath its waves.

[88:8] You have caused my friends to abandon me; you have made me repulsive to them. I am closed in and cannot escape;

[88:9] my eyes are weak from suffering. Lord, every day I call to you and lift my hands to you in prayer.

[88:10] Do you perform miracles for the dead? Do they rise up and praise you?

[88:11] Is your constant love spoken of in the grave or your faithfulness in the place of destruction?

[88:12] Are your miracles seen in that place of darkness or your goodness in the land of the forgotten?

[88:13] Lord, I call to you for help; every morning I pray to you.

[88:14] Why do you reject me, Lord? Why do you turn away from me?

[88:15] Ever since I was young, I have suffered and been near death; I am worn out from the burden of your punishments.

[88:16] Your furious anger crushes me; your terrible attacks destroy me.

[88:17] All day long they surround me like a flood; they close in on me from every side.

[88:18] You have made even my closest friends abandon me, and darkness is my only companion.

[89:1] O Lord, I will always sing of your constant love; I will proclaim your faithfulness forever.

[89:2] I know that your love will last for all time, that your faithfulness is as permanent as the sky.

[89:3] You said, “I have made a covenant with the man I chose; I have promised my servant David,

[89:4] ‘A descendant of yours will always be king; I will preserve your dynasty forever.’”

[89:5] The heavens sing of the wonderful things you do; the holy ones sing of your faithfulness, Lord.

[89:6] No one in heaven is like you, Lord; none of the heavenly beings is your equal.

[89:7] You are feared in the council of the holy ones; they all stand in awe of you.

[89:8] Lord God Almighty, none is as mighty as you; in all things you are faithful, O Lord.

[89:9] You rule over the powerful sea; you calm its angry waves.

[89:10] You crushed the monster Rahab and killed it; with your mighty strength you defeated your enemies.

[89:11] Heaven is yours, the earth also; you made the world and everything in it.

[89:12] You created the north and the south; Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon sing to you for joy.

[89:13] How powerful you are! How great is your strength!

[89:14] Your kingdom is founded on righteousness and justice; love and faithfulness are shown in all you do.

[89:15] How happy are the people who worship you with songs, who live in the light of your kindness!

[89:16] Because of you they rejoice all day long, and they praise you for your goodness.

[89:17] You give us great victories; in your love you make us triumphant.

[89:18] You, O Lord, chose our protector; you, the Holy God of Israel, gave us our king.

[89:19] In a vision long ago you said to your faithful servants, “I have given help to a famous soldier; I have given the throne to one I chose from the people.

[89:20] I have made my servant David king by anointing him with holy oil.

[89:21] My strength will always be with him, my power will make him strong.

[89:22] His enemies will never succeed against him; the wicked will not defeat him.

[89:23] I will crush his foes and kill everyone who hates him.

[89:24] I will love him and be loyal to him; I will make him always victorious.

[89:25] I will extend his kingdom from the Mediterranean to the Euphrates River.

[89:26] He will say to me, ‘You are my father and my God; you are my protector and savior.’

[89:27] I will make him my first-born son, the greatest of all kings.

[89:28] I will always keep my promise to him, and my covenant with him will last forever.

[89:29] His dynasty will be as permanent as the sky; a descendant of his will always be king.

[89:30] “But if his descendants disobey my law and do not live according to my commands,

[89:31] if they disregard my instructions and do not keep my commandments,

[89:32] then I will punish them for their sins; I will make them suffer for their wrongs.

[89:33] But I will not stop loving David or fail to keep my promise to him.

[89:34] I will not break my covenant with him or take back even one promise I made him.

[89:35] “Once and for all I have promised by my holy name: I will never lie to David.

[89:36] He will always have descendants, and I will watch over his kingdom as long as the sun shines.

[89:37] It will be as permanent as the moon, that faithful witness in the sky.”

[89:38] But you are angry with your chosen king; you have deserted and rejected him.

[89:39] You have broken your covenant with your servant and thrown his crown in the dirt.

[89:40] You have torn down the walls of his city and left his forts in ruins.

[89:41] All who pass by steal his belongings; all his neighbors laugh at him.

[89:42] You have given the victory to his enemies; you have made them all happy.

[89:43] You have made his weapons useless and let him be defeated in battle.

[89:44] You have taken away his royal scepter and knocked his throne to the ground.

[89:45] You have made him old before his time and covered him with disgrace.