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Psalm 21

For the music leader. A psalm of David.

21 The king celebrates your strength, Lord;
    look how happy he is about your saving help!
You’ve given him what his heart desires;
    you haven’t denied what his lips requested. Selah
You bring rich blessings right to him;
    you put a crown of pure gold on his head.
He asked you for life,
    and you gave it to him, all right—
    long days, forever and always!
The king’s reputation is great
    because of your saving help;
    you’ve conferred on him glory and grandeur.
You grant him blessings forever;
    you make him happy
        with the joy of your presence.
    Because the king trusts the Lord,
    and because of the Most High’s faithful love,
        he will not stumble.

Your hand will catch all your enemies;
    your strong hand will catch all who hate you.
When you appear, Lord,
    you will light them up like an oven on fire.
        God will eat them whole in his anger;
        fire will devour them.
10 You will destroy their offspring from the land;
    destroy their descendants from the human race.
11 Because they sought to do you harm,
    they devised a wicked plan—but they will fail!
12 Because you will make them turn and run
    when you aim your bow straight at their faces!

13 Be exalted, Lord, in your strength!
    We will sing and praise your power!

Psalm 22

For the music leader. According to the “Doe of Dawn.” A psalm of David.

22 My God! My God,
    why have you left me all alone?
    Why are you so far from saving me—
        so far from my anguished groans?
My God, I cry out during the day,
    but you don’t answer;
    even at nighttime I don’t stop.
You are the holy one, enthroned.
You are Israel’s praise.
Our ancestors trusted you—
    they trusted you and you rescued them;
    they cried out to you and they were saved;
    they trusted you and they weren’t ashamed.

But I’m just a worm, less than human;
    insulted by one person, despised by another.
All who see me make fun of me—
    they gape, shaking their heads:
    “He committed himself to the Lord,
        so let God rescue him;
        let God deliver him
        because God likes him so much.”
But you are the one who pulled me from the womb,
    placing me safely at my mother’s breasts.
10 I was thrown on you from birth;
    you’ve been my God
    since I was in my mother’s womb.
11 Please don’t be far from me,
    because trouble is near
        and there’s no one to help.

12 Many bulls surround me;
    mighty bulls from Bashan encircle me.
13 They open their mouths at me
    like a lion ripping and roaring!
14 I’m poured out like water.
    All my bones have fallen apart.
        My heart is like wax;
        it melts inside me.
15 My strength is dried up
    like a piece of broken pottery.
My tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth;
    you’ve set me down in the dirt of death.
16 Dogs surround me;
    a pack of evil people circle me like a lion—
    oh, my poor hands and feet!
17 I can count all my bones!
    Meanwhile, they just stare at me, watching me.
18 They divvy up my garments among themselves;
    they cast lots for my clothes.

19 But you, Lord! Don’t be far away!
    You are my strength!
    Come quick and help me!
20 Deliver me[a] from the sword.
    Deliver my life from the power of the dog.
21     Save me from the mouth of the lion.
    From the horns of the wild oxen
    you have answered me!

22 I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters;
    I will praise you in the very center of the congregation!
23 All of you who revere the Lord—praise him!
    All of you who are Jacob’s descendants—honor him!
    All of you who are all Israel’s offspring—
        stand in awe of him!
24 Because he didn’t despise or detest
    the suffering of the one who suffered—
    he didn’t hide his face from me.
    No, he listened when I cried out to him for help.

25 I offer praise in the great congregation
    because of you;
    I will fulfill my promises
    in the presence of those who honor God.
26 Let all those who are suffering eat and be full!
    Let all who seek the Lord praise him!
        I pray your hearts live forever!
27 Every part of the earth
    will remember and come back to the Lord;
    every family among all the nations will worship you.
28 Because the right to rule belongs to the Lord,
    he rules all nations.
29 Indeed, all the earth’s powerful
    will worship him;[b]
    all who are descending to the dust
    will kneel before him;
    my being also lives for him.[c]
30 Future descendants will serve him;
    generations to come will be told about my Lord.
31 They will proclaim God’s righteousness
        to those not yet born,
        telling them what God has done.

Psalm 23

A psalm of David.

23 The Lord is my shepherd.
    I lack nothing.
He lets me rest in grassy meadows;
    he leads me to restful waters;
        he keeps me [d] alive.
He guides me in proper paths
    for the sake of his good name.

Even when I walk through the darkest valley,
    I fear no danger because you are with me.
Your rod and your staff—
    they protect me.

You set a table for me
    right in front of my enemies.
You bathe my head in oil;
    my cup is so full it spills over!
Yes, goodness and faithful love
    will pursue me all the days of my life,
    and I will live[e] in the Lord’s house
    as long as I live.

Psalm 24

A psalm of David.

24 The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it,
    the world and its inhabitants too.
Because God is the one who established it on the seas;
    God set it firmly on the waters.

Who can ascend the Lord’s mountain?
    Who can stand in his holy sanctuary?
Only the one with clean hands and a pure heart;
    the one who hasn’t made false promises,
    the one who hasn’t sworn dishonestly.
That kind of person receives blessings from the Lord
    and righteousness from the God who saves.
And that’s how things are
    with the generation that seeks him—
    that seeks the face of Jacob’s God.[f] Selah

Mighty gates: lift up your heads!
    Ancient doors: rise up high!
        So the glorious king can enter!
Who is this glorious king?
    The Lord—strong and powerful!
    The Lord—powerful in battle!
Mighty gates: lift up your heads!
    Ancient doors: rise up high!
        So the glorious king can enter!
10 Who is this glorious king?
    The Lord of heavenly forces—
        he is the glorious king! Selah

Psalm 25[g]

Of David.

25 I offer my life[h] to you, Lord.
    My God, I trust you.
Please don’t let me be put to shame!
    Don’t let my enemies rejoice over me!
For that matter,
    don’t let anyone who hopes in you
        be put to shame;
    instead, let those who are treacherous without excuse be put to shame.

Make your ways known to me, Lord;
    teach me your paths.
Lead me in your truth—teach it to me—
    because you are the God who saves me.
        I put my hope in you all day long.
Lord, remember your compassion and faithful love—
    they are forever!
But don’t remember the sins of my youth or my wrongdoing.
    Remember me only according to your faithful love
        for the sake of your goodness, Lord.

The Lord is good and does the right thing;
    he teaches sinners which way they should go.
God guides the weak to justice,
    teaching them his way.
10 All the Lord’s paths are loving and faithful
    for those who keep his covenant and laws.
11 Please, for the sake of your good name, Lord, forgive my sins, which are many!

12 Where are the ones who honor the Lord?
    God will teach them which path to take.
13 They will live a good life,
    and their descendants will possess the land.
14 The Lord counsels those who honor him;
    he makes his covenant known to them.
15 My eyes are always looking to the Lord
    because he will free my feet from the net.

16 Turn to me, God, and have mercy on me
    because I’m alone and suffering.
17 My heart’s troubles keep getting bigger—
    set me free from my distress!
18 Look at my suffering and trouble—
    forgive all my sins!
19 Look at how many enemies I have
    and how violently they hate me!
20 Please protect my life! Deliver me!
    Don’t let me be put to shame
    because I take refuge in you.
21 Let integrity and virtue guard me
    because I hope in you.

22 Please, God, save Israel from all its troubles!

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 22:20 Or my soul; also in 22:29
  2. Psalm 22:29 Correction; MT All the earth’s powerful have eaten and will worship.
  3. Psalm 22:29 Correction with LXX; Heb uncertain
  4. Psalm 23:3 Or my soul
  5. Psalm 23:6 LXX; MT I will return
  6. Psalm 24:6 LXX, Syr; MT seek your face, Jacob
  7. Psalm 25:1 Ps 25 is an alphabetic acrostic poem; see the note at Pss 9–10.
  8. Psalm 25:1 Or soul; also in 25:13, 20

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