The Holy Bible

[138:1] I thank you, Lord, with all my heart; I sing praise to you before the gods.

[138:2] I face your holy Temple, bow down, and praise your name because of your constant love and faithfulness, because you have shown that your name and your commands are supreme.

[138:3] You answered me when I called to you; with your strength you strengthened me.

[138:4] All the kings in the world will praise you, Lord, because they have heard your promises.

[138:5] They will sing about what you have done and about your great glory.

[138:6] Even though you are so high above, you care for the lowly, and the proud cannot hide from you.

[138:7] When I am surrounded by troubles, you keep me safe. You oppose my angry enemies and save me by your power.

[138:8] You will do everything you have promised; Lord, your love is eternal. Complete the work that you have begun.

[139:1] Lord, you have examined me and you know me.

[139:2] You know everything I do; from far away you understand all my thoughts.

[139:3] You see me, whether I am working or resting; you know all my actions.

[139:4] Even before I speak, you already know what I will say.

[139:5] You are all around me on every side; you protect me with your power.

[139:6] Your knowledge of me is too deep; it is beyond my understanding.

[139:7] Where could I go to escape from you? Where could I get away from your presence?

[139:8] If I went up to heaven, you would be there; if I lay down in the world of the dead, you would be there.

[139:9] If I flew away beyond the east or lived in the farthest place in the west,

[139:10] you would be there to lead me, you would be there to help me.

[139:11] I could ask the darkness to hide me or the light around me to turn into night,

[139:12] but even darkness is not dark for you, and the night is as bright as the day. Darkness and light are the same to you.

[139:13] You created every part of me; you put me together in my mother's womb.

[139:14] I praise you because you are to be feared; all you do is strange and wonderful. I know it with all my heart.

[139:15] When my bones were being formed, carefully put together in my mother's womb, when I was growing there in secret, you knew that I was there—

[139:16] you saw me before I was born. The days allotted to me had all been recorded in your book, before any of them ever began.

[139:17] O God, how difficult I find your thoughts; how many of them there are!

[139:18] If I counted them, they would be more than the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.

[139:19] O God, how I wish you would kill the wicked! How I wish violent people would leave me alone!

[139:20] They say wicked things about you; they speak evil things against your name.

[139:21] O Lord, how I hate those who hate you! How I despise those who rebel against you!

[139:22] I hate them with a total hatred; I regard them as my enemies.

[139:23] Examine me, O God, and know my mind; test me, and discover my thoughts.

[139:24] Find out if there is any evil in me and guide me in the everlasting way.

[140:1] Save me, Lord, from evildoers; keep me safe from violent people.

[140:2] They are always plotting evil, always stirring up quarrels.

[140:3] Their tongues are like deadly snakes; their words are like a cobra's poison.

[140:4] Protect me, Lord, from the power of the wicked; keep me safe from violent people who plot my downfall.

[140:5] The proud have set a trap for me; they have laid their snares, and along the path they have set traps to catch me.

[140:6] I say to the Lord, “You are my God.” Hear my cry for help, Lord!

[140:7] My Sovereign Lord, my strong defender, you have protected me in battle.

[140:8] Lord, don't give the wicked what they want; don't let their plots succeed.

[140:9] Don't let my enemies be victorious; make their threats against me fall back on them.

[140:10] May red-hot coals fall on them; may they be thrown into a pit and never get out.

[140:11] May those who accuse others falsely not succeed; may evil overtake violent people and destroy them.

[140:12] Lord, I know that you defend the cause of the poor and the rights of the needy.

[140:13] The righteous will praise you indeed; they will live in your presence.

[141:1] I call to you, Lord; help me now! Listen to me when I call to you.

[141:2] Receive my prayer as incense, my uplifted hands as an evening sacrifice.

[141:3] Lord, place a guard at my mouth, a sentry at the door of my lips.

[141:4] Keep me from wanting to do wrong and from joining evil people in their wickedness. May I never take part in their feasts.

[141:5] Good people may punish me and rebuke me in kindness, but I will never accept honor from evil people, because I am always praying against their evil deeds.

[141:6] When their rulers are thrown down from rocky cliffs, the people will admit that my words were true.

[141:7] Like wood that is split and chopped into bits, so their bones are scattered at the edge of the grave.

[141:8] But I keep trusting in you, my Sovereign Lord. I seek your protection; don't let me die!

[141:9] Protect me from the traps they have set for me, from the snares of those evildoers.

[141:10] May the wicked fall into their own traps while I go by unharmed.

[142:1] I call to the Lord for help; I plead with him.

[142:2] I bring him all my complaints; I tell him all my troubles.

[142:3] When I am ready to give up, he knows what I should do. In the path where I walk, my enemies have hidden a trap for me.

[142:4] When I look beside me, I see that there is no one to help me, no one to protect me. No one cares for me.

[142:5] Lord, I cry to you for help; you, Lord, are my protector; you are all I want in this life.

[142:6] Listen to my cry for help, for I am sunk in despair. Save me from my enemies; they are too strong for me.

[142:7] Set me free from my distress; then in the assembly of your people I will praise you because of your goodness to me.

[143:1] Lord, hear my prayer! In your righteousness listen to my plea; answer me in your faithfulness!

[143:2] Don't put me, your servant, on trial; no one is innocent in your sight.

[143:3] My enemies have hunted me down and completely defeated me. They have put me in a dark prison, and I am like those who died long ago.

[143:4] So I am ready to give up; I am in deep despair.

[143:5] I remember the days gone by; I think about all that you have done, I bring to mind all your deeds.

[143:6] I lift up my hands to you in prayer; like dry ground my soul is thirsty for you.

[143:7] Answer me now, Lord! I have lost all hope. Don't hide yourself from me, or I will be among those who go down to the world of the dead.

[143:8] Remind me each morning of your constant love, for I put my trust in you. My prayers go up to you; show me the way I should go.

[143:9] I go to you for protection, Lord; rescue me from my enemies.

[143:10] You are my God; teach me to do your will. Be good to me, and guide me on a safe path.

[143:11] Rescue me, Lord, as you have promised; in your goodness save me from my troubles!

[143:12] Because of your love for me, kill my enemies and destroy all my oppressors, for I am your servant.

[144:1] Praise the Lord, my protector! He trains me for battle and prepares me for war.

[144:2] He is my protector and defender, my shelter and savior, in whom I trust for safety. He subdues the nations under me.

[144:3] Lord, what are mortals, that you notice them; mere mortals, that you pay attention to us?

[144:4] We are like a puff of wind; our days are like a passing shadow.

[144:5] O Lord, tear the sky open and come down; touch the mountains, and they will pour out smoke.

[144:6] Send flashes of lightning and scatter your enemies; shoot your arrows and send them running.

[144:7] Reach down from above, pull me out of the deep water, and rescue me; save me from the power of foreigners,

[144:8] who never tell the truth and lie even under oath.

[144:9] I will sing you a new song, O God; I will play the harp and sing to you.

[144:10] You give victory to kings and rescue your servant David.

[144:11] Save me from my cruel enemies; rescue me from the power of foreigners, who never tell the truth and lie even under oath.

[144:12] May our sons in their youth be like plants that grow up strong. May our daughters be like stately columns which adorn the corners of a palace.

[144:13] May our barns be filled with crops of every kind. May the sheep in our fields bear young by the tens of thousands.

[144:14] May our cattle reproduce plentifully without miscarriage or loss. May there be no cries of distress in our streets.

[144:15] Happy is the nation of whom this is true; happy are the people whose God is the Lord!

[145:1] I will proclaim your greatness, my God and king; I will thank you forever and ever.

[145:2] Every day I will thank you; I will praise you forever and ever.

[145:3] The Lord is great and is to be highly praised; his greatness is beyond understanding.

[145:4] What you have done will be praised from one generation to the next; they will proclaim your mighty acts.

[145:5] They will speak of your glory and majesty, and I will meditate on your wonderful deeds.

[145:6] People will speak of your mighty deeds, and I will proclaim your greatness.

[145:7] They will tell about all your goodness and sing about your kindness.

[145:8] The Lord is loving and merciful, slow to become angry and full of constant love.

[145:9] He is good to everyone and has compassion on all he made.

[145:10] All your creatures, Lord, will praise you, and all your people will give you thanks.

[145:11] They will speak of the glory of your royal power and tell of your might,

[145:12] so that everyone will know your mighty deeds and the glorious majesty of your kingdom.

[145:13] Your rule is eternal, and you are king forever. The Lord is faithful to his promises; he is merciful in all his acts.

[145:14] He helps those who are in trouble; he lifts those who have fallen.

[145:15] All living things look hopefully to you, and you give them food when they need it.

[145:16] You give them enough and satisfy the needs of all.

[145:17] The Lord is righteous in all he does, merciful in all his acts.

[145:18] He is near to those who call to him, who call to him with sincerity.

[145:19] He supplies the needs of those who honor him; he hears their cries and saves them.

[145:20] He protects everyone who loves him, but he will destroy the wicked.

[145:21] I will always praise the Lord; let all his creatures praise his holy name forever.

[146:1] Praise the Lord! Praise the Lord, my soul!

[146:2] I will praise him as long as I live; I will sing to my God all my life.

[146:3] Don't put your trust in human leaders; no human being can save you.

[146:4] When they die, they return to the dust; on that day all their plans come to an end.

[146:5] Happy are those who have the God of Jacob to help them and who depend on the Lord their God,

[146:6] the Creator of heaven, earth, and sea, and all that is in them. He always keeps his promises;

[146:7] he judges in favor of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry. The Lord sets prisoners free

[146:8] and gives sight to the blind. He lifts those who have fallen; he loves his righteous people.

[146:9] He protects the strangers who live in our land; he helps widows and orphans, but takes the wicked to their ruin.

[146:10] The Lord is king forever. Your God, O Zion, will reign for all time. Praise the Lord!

[147:1] Praise the Lord! It is good to sing praise to our God; it is pleasant and right to praise him.

[147:2] The Lord is restoring Jerusalem; he is bringing back the exiles.

[147:3] He heals the broken-hearted and bandages their wounds.

[147:4] He has decided the number of the stars and calls each one by name.

[147:5] Great and mighty is our Lord; his wisdom cannot be measured.

[147:6] He raises the humble, but crushes the wicked to the ground.

[147:7] Sing hymns of praise to the Lord; play music on the harp to our God.

[147:8] He spreads clouds over the sky; he provides rain for the earth and makes grass grow on the hills.

[147:9] He gives animals their food and feeds the young ravens when they call.

[147:10] His pleasure is not in strong horses, nor his delight in brave soldiers;

[147:11] but he takes pleasure in those who honor him, in those who trust in his constant love.

[147:12] Praise the Lord, O Jerusalem! Praise your God, O Zion!

[147:13] He keeps your gates strong; he blesses your people.

[147:14] He keeps your borders safe and satisfies you with the finest wheat.

[147:15] He gives a command to the earth, and what he says is quickly done.

[147:16] He spreads snow like a blanket and scatters frost like dust.

[147:17] He sends hail like gravel; no one can endure the cold he sends!

[147:18] Then he gives a command, and the ice melts; he sends the wind, and the water flows.

[147:19] He gives his message to his people, his instructions and laws to Israel.

[147:20] He has not done this for other nations; they do not know his laws. Praise the Lord!