June 27

Psalms 50:1 — 55:23

A melody of Asaph.

50 The Divine One, God, Jehovah, has himself spoken,

    And he proceeds to call the earth,

      From the rising of the sun until its setting.

 2 Out of Zion, the perfection of prettiness, God himself has beamed forth.

 3 Our God will come and cannot possibly keep silent.

      Before him there devours a fire,

      And all around him it has become exceedingly stormy weather.

 4 He calls to the heavens above and to the earth

      So as to execute judgment on his people:

 5 “Gather to me my loyal ones,

      Those concluding my covenant over sacrifice.”

 6 And the heavens tell of his righteousness,

      For God himself is Judge. Selah.

 7 “Do listen, O my people, and I will speak,

      O Israel, and I will bear witness against you.

      I am God, your God.

 8 Not concerning your sacrifices do I reprove you,

      Nor [concerning] your whole burnt offerings [that are] in front of me constantly.

 9 I will not take out of your house a bull,

      Out of your pens he-goats.

10 For to me belongs every wild animal of the forest,

      The beasts upon a thousand mountains.

11 I well know every winged creature of the mountains,

       And the animal throngs of the open field are with me.

12 If I were hungry, I would not say it to you;

       For to me the productive land and its fullness belong.

13 Shall I eat the flesh of powerful [bulls],

       And the blood of he-goats shall I drink?

14 Offer thanksgiving as your sacrifice to God,

       And pay to the Most High your vows;

15 And call me in the day of distress.

       I shall rescue you, and you will glorify me.”

16 But to the wicked one God will have to say:

       “What right do you have to enumerate my regulations,

       And that you may bear my covenant in your mouth?

17 Why, you—you have hated discipline,

       And you keep throwing my words behind you.

18 Whenever you saw a thief, you were even pleased with him;

      And your sharing was with adulterers.

19 Your mouth you have let loose to what is bad,

       And your tongue you keep attached to deception.

20 You sit [and] speak against your own brother,

       Against the son of your mother you give away a fault.

21 These things you have done, and I kept silent.

       You imagined that I would positively become like you.

       I am going to reprove you, and I will set things in order before your eyes.

22 Understand this, please, YOU forgetters of God,

       That I may not tear [YOU] to pieces without there being any deliverer.

23 The one offering thanksgiving as his sacrifice is the one that glorifies me;

       And as for the one keeping a set way,

       I will cause him to see salvation by God.”

To the director. A melody of David. When Nathan the prophet came in to him after he had had relations with Bath-sheba.

51 Show me favor, O God, according to your loving-kindness.

    According to the abundance of your mercies wipe out my transgressions.

 2 Thoroughly wash me from my error,

      And cleanse me even from my sin.

 3 For my transgressions I myself know,

      And my sin is in front of me constantly.

 4 Against you, you alone, I have sinned,

      And what is bad in your eyes I have done,

      In order that you may prove to be righteous when you speak,

      That you may be in the clear when you judge.

 5 Look! With error I was brought forth with birth pains,

      And in sin my mother conceived me.

 6 Look! You have taken delight in truthfulness itself in the inward parts;

      And in the secret self may you cause me to know sheer wisdom.

 7 May you purify me from sin with hyssop, that I may be clean;

      May you wash me, that I may become whiter even than snow.

 8 May you cause me to hear exultation and rejoicing,

      That the bones that you have crushed may be joyful.

 9 Conceal your face from my sins,

      And wipe out even all my errors.

10 Create in me even a pure heart, O God,

       And put within me a new spirit, a steadfast one.

11 Do not throw me away from before your face;

       And your holy spirit O do not take away from me.

12 Do restore to me the exultation of salvation by you,

       And may you support me even with a willing spirit.

13 I will teach transgressors your ways,

       That sinners themselves may turn right back to you.

14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God the God of my salvation,

       That my tongue may joyfully tell about your righteousness.

15 O Jehovah, may you open these lips of mine,

       That my own mouth may tell forth your praise.

16 For you do not take delight in sacrifice—otherwise I would give [it];

       In whole burnt offering you do not find pleasure.

17 The sacrifices to God are a broken spirit;

       A heart broken and crushed, O God, you will not despise.

18 In your goodwill do deal well with Zion;

      May you build the walls of Jerusalem.

19 In that case you will be delighted with sacrifices of righteousness,

       With burnt sacrifice and whole offering;

       In that case bulls will be offered up on your very own altar.

To the director. Maskil. Of David, when Doeg the Edomite came and proceeded to tell Saul and say to him that David had come to the house of Ahimelech.

52 Why do you make your boast over what is bad, O you mighty one?

    The loving-kindness of God is all day long.

 2 Adversities your tongue schemes up, sharpened like a razor,

      Working deceitfully.

 3 You have loved what is bad more than what is good,

      Falsehood more than speaking righteousness. Selah.

 4 You have loved all devouring words,

      O you deceitful tongue.

 5 God himself will also pull you down forever;

      He will knock you down and tear you away from [your] tent,

      And he will certainly root you out of the land of the living ones. Selah.

 6 And the righteous ones will see [it] and will be afraid,

      And over him they will laugh.

 7 Here is the able-bodied man that does not put God as his fortress,

      But that trusts in the abundance of his riches,

      That takes shelter in adversities by him.

 8 But I shall be like a luxuriant olive tree in God’s house;

      I do trust in the loving-kindness of God to time indefinite, even forever.

 9 I will laud you to time indefinite, for you have taken action;

      And I shall hope in your name, because it is good, in front of your loyal ones.

To the director over Mahalath. Maskil. Of David.

53 The senseless one has said in his heart:

    “There is no Jehovah.”

      They have acted ruinously and have acted detestably in unrighteousness;

      There is no one doing good.

 2 As for God, he has looked down from heaven itself upon the sons of men,

      To see whether there exists anyone having insight, anyone seeking Jehovah.

 3 They have all of them turned back, they are [all] alike corrupt;

      There is no one doing good,

      Not even one.

 4 Have none of the practicers of what is hurtful got knowledge,

      Eating up my people as they have eaten bread?

      They have not called even upon Jehovah.

 5 There they were filled with a great dread,

      Where there had proved to be no dread;

      For God himself will certainly scatter the bones of anyone camping against you.

      You will certainly put [them] to shame, for Jehovah himself has rejected them.

 6 O that out of Zion there were the grand salvation of Israel!

      When Jehovah gathers back the captive ones of his people,

      Let Jacob be joyful, let Israel rejoice.

To the director on stringed instruments. Maskil. Of David. When the Ziphites came in and proceeded to say to Saul: “Is not David concealing himself with us?”

54 O God, by your name save me,

    And with your mightiness may you plead my cause.

 2 O God, hear my prayer;

      Do give ear to the sayings of my mouth.

 3 For there are strangers that have risen up against me,

      And tyrants that do seek my soul.

      They have not set God in front of them. Selah.

 4 Look! God is my helper;

      Jehovah is among those supporting my soul.

 5 He will repay the bad to my foes;

      In your trueness silence them.

 6 In willingness I will sacrifice to you.

      I shall laud your name, O Jehovah, for it is good.

 7 For out of every distress he delivered me,

      And upon my enemies my eye has looked.

To the director on stringed instruments. Maskil. Of David.

55 Do give ear, O God, to my prayer;

    And do not hide yourself from my request for favor.

 2 Do pay attention to me and answer me.

      I am driven restlessly about by my concern,

      And I cannot but show disquietude,

 3 Due to the voice of the enemy, because of the pressure of the wicked one.

      For they keep dropping upon me what is hurtful,

      And in anger they harbor animosity against me.

 4 My very heart is in severe pain within me,

      And the frights of death itself have fallen upon me.

 5 Fear, yes, trembling itself enters into me,

      And shuddering covers me.

 6 And I keep saying: “O that I had wings as a dove has!

      I would fly away and reside.

 7 Look! I would go far away in flight;

      I would lodge in the wilderness.—Selah—

 8 I would hasten to a place of escape for me

      From the rushing wind, from the tempest.”

 9 Confuse, O Jehovah, divide their tongue,

      For I have seen violence and disputing in the city.

10 Day and night they go round about it upon its walls;

       And hurtfulness and trouble are within it.

11 Adversities are within it;

       And from its public square oppression and deception have not moved away.

12 For it was not an enemy that proceeded to reproach me;

       Otherwise I could put up with it.

       It was not an intense hater of me that assumed great airs against me;

       Otherwise I could conceal myself from him.

13 But it was you, a mortal man who was as my equal,

       One familiar to me and my acquaintance,

14 Because we used to enjoy sweet intimacy together;

       Into the house of God we used to walk with the throng.

15 Desolations [be] upon them!

       Let them go down into Sheol alive;

       For during their alien residence bad things have been within them.

16 As for me, to God I shall call out;

       And Jehovah himself will save me.

17 Evening and morning and noontime I cannot but show concern and I moan,

       And he hears my voice.

18 He will certainly redeem [and put] my soul in peace from the fight that is against me,

       For in multitudes they have come to be against me.

19 God will hear and answer them,

       Even He that is sitting [enthroned] as in the past—Selah—

       Those with whom there are no changings

       And who have not feared God.

20 He has thrust out his hands against those at peace with him;

       He has profaned his covenant.

21 Smoother than butter are [the words of] his mouth,

       But his heart is disposed to fight.

       His words are softer than oil,

       But they are drawn swords.

22 Throw your burden upon Jehovah himself,

       And he himself will sustain you.

       Never will he allow the righteous one to totter.

23 But you yourself, O God, will bring them down to the lowest pit.

       As for bloodguilty and deceitful men, they will not live out half their days.

       But as for me, I shall trust in you.