Psalm 31-35
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 31
A Plea for Protection
For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.
1 Lord, I seek refuge in You;
let me never be disgraced.(A)
Save me by Your righteousness.
2 Listen closely to me; rescue me quickly.
Be a rock of refuge for me,
a mountain fortress to save me.(B)
3 For You are my rock and my fortress;(C)
You lead and guide me
because of Your name.(D)
4 You will free me from the net
that is secretly set for me,
for You are my refuge.(E)
5 Into Your hand I entrust my spirit;(F)
You redeem[a] me, Lord, God of truth.(G)
6 I[b] hate those who are devoted to worthless idols,
but I trust in the Lord.(H)
7 I will rejoice and be glad in Your faithful love
because You have seen my affliction.
You have known the troubles of my life(I)
8 and have not handed me over to the enemy.(J)
You have set my feet in a spacious place.(K)
9 Be gracious to me, Lord,
because I am in distress;(L)
my eyes are worn out from angry sorrow—
my whole being[c] as well.(M)
10 Indeed, my life is consumed with grief
and my years with groaning;(N)
my strength has failed
because of my sinfulness,[d]
and my bones waste away.(O)
11 I am ridiculed by all my adversaries
and even by my neighbors.
I am dreaded by my acquaintances;
those who see me in the street run from me.(P)
12 I am forgotten: gone from memory
like a dead person—like broken pottery.(Q)
13 I have heard the gossip of many;
terror is on every side.(R)
When they conspired against me,
they plotted to take my life.(S)
14 But I trust in You, Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”(T)
15 The course of my life is in Your power;(U)
deliver me from the power of my enemies
and from my persecutors.(V)
16 Show Your favor to Your servant;
save me by Your faithful love.(W)
17 Lord, do not let me be disgraced when I call on You.(X)
Let the wicked be disgraced;
let them be silent[e][f] in Sheol.(Y)
18 Let lying lips be quieted;(Z)
they speak arrogantly against the righteous
with pride and contempt.(AA)
19 How great is Your goodness
that You have stored up for those who fear You
and accomplished in the sight of everyone
for those who take refuge in You.(AB)
20 You hide them in the protection of Your presence;
You conceal them in a shelter[g]
from the schemes of men,
from quarrelsome tongues.(AC)
21 May the Lord be praised,
for He has wonderfully shown His faithful love to me
in a city under siege.[h](AD)
22 In my alarm I had said,
“I am cut off from Your sight.”(AE)
But You heard the sound of my pleading
when I cried to You for help.(AF)
23 Love the Lord, all His faithful ones.(AG)
The Lord protects the loyal,
but fully repays the arrogant.(AH)
24 Be strong[i] and courageous,
all you who put your hope in the Lord.(AI)
Psalm 32
The Joy of Forgiveness
Davidic. A Maskil.
1 How joyful is the one
whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered!(AJ)
2 How joyful is the man
the Lord does not charge with sin(AK)
and in whose spirit is no deceit!(AL)
3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle
from my groaning all day long.(AM)
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy on me;(AN)
my strength was drained[j]
as in the summer’s heat.(AO)
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You
and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said,
“I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and You took away the guilt of my sin.(AP)
6 Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to You
at a time that You may be found.[k](AQ)
When great floodwaters come,
they will not reach him.(AR)
7 You are my hiding place;(AS)
You protect me from trouble.(AT)
You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance.
8 I will instruct you and show you the way to go;(AU)
with My eye on you, I will give counsel.(AV)
9 Do not be like a horse or mule,
without understanding,
that must be controlled with bit and bridle
or else it will not come near you.(AW)
10 Many pains come to the wicked,(AX)
but the one who trusts in the Lord
will have faithful love surrounding him.(AY)
11 Be glad in the Lord and rejoice,
you righteous ones;
shout for joy,
all you upright in heart.(AZ)
Psalm 33
Praise to the Creator
1 Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;
praise from the upright is beautiful.(BA)
2 Praise the Lord with the lyre;
make music to Him with a ten-stringed harp.(BB)
3 Sing a new song to Him;(BC)
play skillfully on the strings, with a joyful shout.(BD)
4 For the word of the Lord is right,
and all His work is trustworthy.(BE)
5 He loves righteousness and justice;(BF)
the earth is full of the Lord’s unfailing love.(BG)
6 The heavens were made by the word of the Lord,(BH)
and all the stars, by the breath of His mouth.(BI)
7 He gathers the waters of the sea into a heap;[l]
He puts the depths into storehouses.(BJ)
8 Let the whole earth tremble before the Lord;
let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.(BK)
9 For He spoke, and it came into being;
He commanded, and it came into existence.(BL)
10 The Lord frustrates the counsel of the nations;
He thwarts the plans of the peoples.(BM)
11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever,
the plans of His heart from generation to generation.(BN)
12 Happy is the nation whose God is Yahweh—
the people He has chosen to be His own possession!(BO)
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
He observes everyone.(BP)
14 He gazes on all the inhabitants of the earth
from His dwelling place.(BQ)
15 He alone shapes their hearts;
He considers all their works.(BR)
16 A king is not saved by a large army;
a warrior will not be delivered by great strength.(BS)
17 The horse is a false hope for safety;
it provides no escape by its great power.(BT)
18 Now the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him—
those who depend on His faithful love(BU)
19 to deliver them from death
and to keep them alive in famine.(BV)
20 We wait for Yahweh;(BW)
He is our help and shield.(BX)
21 For our hearts rejoice in Him(BY)
because we trust in His holy name.(BZ)
22 May Your faithful love rest on us, Yahweh,
for we put our hope in You.(CA)
Psalm 34
The Lord Delivers the Righteous
Concerning David, when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech,[m](CB) who drove him out, and he departed.
1 I[n] will praise the Lord at all times;
His praise will always be on my lips.(CC)
2 I will boast in the Lord;(CD)
the humble will hear and be glad.(CE)
3 Proclaim Yahweh’s greatness with me;(CF)
let us exalt His name together.(CG)
4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.(CH)
5 Those who look to Him are[o] radiant with joy;(CI)
their faces will never be ashamed.(CJ)
6 This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him
and saved him from all his troubles.(CK)
7 The Angel of the Lord encamps
around those who fear Him, and rescues them.(CL)
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good.(CM)
How happy is the man who takes refuge in Him!(CN)
9 You who are His holy ones, fear Yahweh,
for those who fear Him lack nothing.(CO)
10 Young lions[p] lack food and go hungry,(CP)
but those who seek the Lord
will not lack any good thing.(CQ)
11 Come, children, listen to me;
I will teach you the fear of the Lord.(CR)
12 Who is the man who delights in life,
loving a long life to enjoy what is good?(CS)
13 Keep your tongue from evil
and your lips from deceitful speech.(CT)
14 Turn away from evil and do what is good;(CU)
seek peace and pursue it.(CV)
15 The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,
and His ears are open to their cry for help.(CW)
16 The face of the Lord is set
against those who do what is evil,(CX)
to erase[q] all memory of them from the earth.(CY)
17 The righteous[r] cry out, and the Lord hears,
and delivers them from all their troubles.(CZ)
18 The Lord is near the brokenhearted;
He saves those crushed in spirit.(DA)
19 Many adversities come to the one who is righteous,
but the Lord delivers him from them all.(DB)
20 He protects all his bones;
not one of them is broken.(DC)
21 Evil brings death to the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be punished.(DD)
22 The Lord redeems the life of His servants,
and all who take refuge in Him will not be punished.(DE)
Psalm 35
Prayer for Victory
Davidic.
1 Oppose my opponents, Lord;
fight those who fight me.(DF)
2 Take Your shields—large and small—
and come to my aid.(DG)
3 Draw the spear and javelin against my pursuers,
and assure me: “I am your deliverance.”(DH)
4 Let those who seek to kill me
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who plan to harm me
be turned back and ashamed.(DI)
5 Let them be like chaff in the wind,
with the angel of the Lord driving them away.(DJ)
6 Let their way be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.(DK)
7 They hid their net for me without cause;
they dug a pit for me without cause.(DL)
8 Let ruin come on him unexpectedly,
and let the net that he hid ensnare him;
let him fall into it—to his ruin.(DM)
9 Then I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will delight in His deliverance.(DN)
10 My very bones will say,
“Lord, who is like You,(DO)
rescuing the poor from one too strong for him,
the poor or the needy from one who robs him?”(DP)
11 Malicious witnesses come forward;
they question me about things I do not know.(DQ)
12 They repay me evil for good,
making me desolate.(DR)
13 Yet when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting,
and my prayer was genuine.[s](DS)
14 I went about grieving as if for my friend or brother;
I was bowed down with grief,
like one mourning a mother.(DT)
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
they gathered against me.
Assailants I did not know
tore at me and did not stop.(DU)
16 With godless mockery[t]
they gnashed their teeth at me.(DV)
17 Lord, how long will You look on?(DW)
Rescue my life from their ravages,
my only one from the young lions.(DX)
18 I will praise You in the great congregation;
I will exalt You among many people.(DY)
19 Do not let my deceitful enemies rejoice over me;
do not let those who hate me without cause(DZ)
look at me maliciously.(EA)
20 For they do not speak in friendly ways,
but contrive deceitful schemes[u]
against those who live peacefully in the land.(EB)
21 They open their mouths wide against me and say,
“Aha, aha! We saw it!”[v](EC)
22 You saw it, Lord; do not be silent.
Lord, do not be far from me.(ED)
23 Wake up and rise to my defense,
to my cause, my God and my Lord!(EE)
24 Vindicate me, Lord my God,
in keeping with Your righteousness,
and do not let them rejoice over me.(EF)
25 Do not let them say in their hearts,
“Aha! Just what we wanted.”
Do not let them say,
“We have swallowed him up!”(EG)
26 Let those who rejoice at my misfortune
be disgraced and humiliated;
let those who exalt themselves over me
be clothed with shame and reproach.(EH)
27 Let those who want my vindication
shout for joy and be glad;
let them continually say,
“The Lord be exalted.
He takes pleasure in His servant’s well-being.”(EI)
28 And my tongue will proclaim Your righteousness,
Your praise all day long.(EJ)
Footnotes
- Psalm 31:5 Or You have redeemed, or You will redeem, or spirit. Redeem
- Psalm 31:6 One Hb ms, LXX, Syr, Vg, Jer read You
- Psalm 31:9 Lit my soul and my belly
- Psalm 31:10 LXX, Syr, Sym read affliction
- Psalm 31:17 LXX reads brought down
- Psalm 31:17 Or them perish, or them wail
- Psalm 31:20 Lit canopy
- Psalm 31:21 Or a fortified city
- Psalm 31:24 Lit Let your heart be strong
- Psalm 32:4 Hb obscure
- Psalm 32:6 Lit time of finding
- Psalm 33:7 LXX, Tg, Syr, Vg, Jer read sea as in a bottle
- Psalm 34:1 Probably Achish, king of Gath
- Psalm 34:1 The lines of this poem form an acrostic.
- Psalm 34:5 Some Hb mss, LXX, Aq, Syr, Jer read Look to Him and be
- Psalm 34:10 LXX, Syr, Vg read The rich
- Psalm 34:16 Or cut off
- Psalm 34:17 Lit They
- Psalm 35:13 Lit prayer returned to my chest
- Psalm 35:16 Hb obscure
- Psalm 35:20 Lit but devise deceitful words
- Psalm 35:21 Lit Our eyes saw!
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