Psalm 108-112

Contemporary English Version

⁵ Our God, may you be honored
    above the heavens;
may your glory be seen
    everywhere on earth.
⁶ Answer my prayers
and use your powerful arm
    to give us victory.
Then the people you love
    will be safe.

⁷ Our God, from your holy place
    you made this promise:
“I will gladly divide up
    the city of Shechem
and give away Succoth Valley
    piece by piece.
⁸ The lands of Gilead
    and Manasseh are mine.
Ephraim is my war helmet,
and Judah is my symbol
    of royal power.
⁹ Moab is merely my washbasin,
    and Edom belongs to me.
I shout with victory
    over the Philistines.”

¹⁰ Our God, who will bring me
to the fortress
    or lead me to Edom?
¹¹ Have you rejected us?
    You don't lead our armies.
¹² Help us defeat our enemies!
    No one else can rescue us.
¹³ Only you give us victory
    and crush our enemies.

⁶ My enemies said,
“Find some worthless fools
    to accuse him of a crime.
⁷ Try him and find him guilty!
    Consider his prayers a lie.
^8 (A) Cut his life short
and let someone else
    have his job.
⁹ Make orphans of his children
    and a widow of his wife;
¹⁰ make his children beg for food
    and live in the slums.

¹¹ “Let the people he owes
take everything he owns.
    Give it all to strangers.
¹² Don't let anyone be kind to him
or have pity on the children
    he leaves behind.
¹³ Bring an end to his family,
and from now on let him be
    a forgotten man.

¹⁴ “Don't let the Lord forgive
the sins of his parents
    and his ancestors.
¹⁵ Don't let the Lord forget
    the sins of his family,
or let anyone remember
    his family ever lived.
¹⁶ He was so cruel to the poor,
homeless, and discouraged
    that they died young.

¹⁷ “He cursed others.
    Now place a curse on him!
He never wished others well.
    Wish only trouble for him!
¹⁸ He cursed others more often
    than he dressed himself.
Let his curses strike him deep,
just as water and olive oil
    soak through to our bones.
¹⁹ Let his curses surround him,
just like the belt and clothes
    he wears each day.”

²⁰ Those are the cruel things
my enemies wish for me.
    Let it all happen to them!
²¹ Be true to your name, Lord God!
Show your great kindness
    and rescue me.

²² I am poor and helpless,
    and I have lost all hope.
²³ I am fading away
    like an evening shadow;
I am tossed aside
    like a crawling insect.
²⁴ I have gone without eating,^[b]
until my knees are weak,
    and my body is bony.
^25 (B) When my enemies see me,
they say cruel things
    and shake their heads.

²⁶ Please help me, Lord God!
Come and save me
    because of your love.
²⁷ Let others know that you alone
    have saved me.
²⁸ I don't care if they curse me,
    as long as you bless me.
You will make my enemies fail
    when they attack,
and you will make me glad
    to be your servant.
²⁹ You will cover them with shame,
just as their bodies
    are covered with clothes.

³⁰ I will sing your praises
and thank you, Lord,
    when your people meet.
³¹ You help everyone in need,
    and you save them from death.

² The Lord will let your power
    reach out from Zion,
and you will rule
    over your enemies.
³ Your glorious power
will be seen on the day
    you begin to rule.
You will wear the sacred robes
and shine like the morning sun
    in all of your strength.^[d]
4 (D) The Lord has made a promise
    that will never be broken:
“You will be a priest forever,
    just like Melchizedek.”

⁵ The Lord is at your right side,
    and when he gets angry
he will crush
    the other kings.
⁶ He will judge the nations
    and crack their skulls,
leaving piles of dead bodies
    all over the earth.
⁷ He will drink from any stream
that he chooses, while winning
    victory after victory.^[e]

⁴ The Lord God is famous
for his wonderful deeds,
    and he is kind and merciful.
⁵ He gives food to his worshipers
and always keeps his agreement
    with them.
⁶ He has shown his mighty power
    to his people
and has given them the lands
    of other nations.

⁷ God is always honest and fair,
    and his laws can be trusted.
⁸ They are true and right
    and will stand forever.
⁹ God rescued his people,
    and he will never break
his agreement with them.
    He is fearsome and holy.

^10 (E) Respect and obey the Lord!
This is the first step
    to wisdom and good sense.^[f]
God will always be respected.

⁵ Life will go well for those
who freely lend
    and are honest in business.
⁶ They won't ever be troubled,
and the kind things they do
    will never be forgotten.
⁷ Bad news won't bother them;
they have decided
    to trust the Lord.
⁸ They are dependable
    and not afraid,
and they will live to see
    their enemies defeated.
^9 (F) They will always be remembered
    and greatly praised,
because they were kind
    and freely gave to the poor.
¹⁰ When evil people see this,
they angrily bite their tongues
    and disappear.
They will never get
    what they really want.