Study Desk

For the director of music. According to mahalath.^[b] A maskil^[c] of David.

The fool^(b) says in his heart, "There is no God."^(c) They are corrupt, and their ways are vile; there is no one who does good.

God looks down from heaven^(d) on all mankind to see if there are any who understand,^(e) any who seek God.^(f)

Everyone has turned away, all have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.^(g)

Do all these evildoers know nothing? They devour my people as though eating bread; they never call on God.

But there they are, overwhelmed with dread, where there was nothing to dread.^(h) God scattered the bones⁽ⁱ⁾ of those who attacked you;^(j) you put them to shame,^(k) for God despised them.^(l)

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When God restores his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil^[b] of David.

Listen to my prayer, O God, do not ignore my plea;^(a)

hear me and answer me.^(b) My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught^(c)

because of what my enemy is saying, because of the threats of the wicked; for they bring down suffering on me^(d) and assail^(e) me in their anger.^(f)

My heart is in anguish^(g) within me; the terrors^(h) of death have fallen on me.

Fear and trembling⁽ⁱ⁾ have beset me; horror^(j) has overwhelmed me.

I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest.

I would flee far away and stay in the desert;^[c](k)

I would hurry to my place of shelter,^(l) far from the tempest and storm.^(m)"

Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,⁽ⁿ⁾ for I see violence and strife^(o) in the city.^(p)

Day and night they prowl^(q) about on its walls; malice and abuse are within it.

Destructive forces^(r) are at work in the city; threats and lies^(s) never leave its streets.

If an enemy were insulting me, I could endure it; if a foe were rising against me, I could hide.

But it is you, a man like myself, my companion, my close friend,^(t)

with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship^(u) at the house of God,^(v) as we walked about among the worshipers.

Let death take my enemies by surprise;^(w) let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,^(x) for evil finds lodging among them.

As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me.

Evening,^(y) morning^(z) and noon^(aa) I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice.

He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me.

God, who is enthroned from of old,^(ab) who does not change— he will hear^(ac) them and humble them, because they have no fear of God.^(ad)

My companion attacks his friends;^(ae) he violates his covenant.^(af)

His talk is smooth as butter,^(ag) yet war is in his heart; his words are more soothing than oil,^(ah) yet they are drawn swords.^(ai)

Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you;^(aj) he will never let the righteous be shaken.^(ak)

But you, God, will bring down the wicked into the pit^(al) of decay; the bloodthirsty and deceitful^(am) will not live out half their days.^(an) But as for me, I trust in you.^(ao)

For the director of music. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." Of David. A miktam.^[b]

Do you rulers indeed speak justly?^(a) Do you judge people with equity?

No, in your heart you devise injustice,^(b) and your hands mete out violence on the earth.^(c)

Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.

Their venom is like the venom of a snake,^(d) like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,

that will not heed^(e) the tune of the charmer,^(f) however skillful the enchanter may be.

Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;^(g) Lord , tear out the fangs of those lions!^(h)

Let them vanish like water that flows away;⁽ⁱ⁾ when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.^(j)

May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,^(k) like a stillborn child^(l) that never sees the sun.

Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns^(m)— whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.^[c](n)

The righteous will be glad^(o) when they are avenged,^(p) when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.^(q)

Then people will say, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded;^(r) surely there is a God who judges the earth."^(s)