Psalm 36-41

Common English Bible

⁵ But your loyal love, Lord, extends to the skies;
    your faithfulness reaches the clouds.
⁶ Your righteousness is like the strongest mountains;
    your justice is like the deepest sea.
        Lord, you save both humans and animals.
⁷ Your faithful love is priceless, God!
    Humanity finds refuge in the shadow of your wings.
⁸ They feast on the bounty of your house;
    you let them drink from your river of pure joy.
⁹ Within you is the spring of life.
    In your light, we see light.

¹⁰ Extend your faithful love to those who know you;
    extend your righteousness to those whose heart is right.
¹¹ Don’t let the feet of arrogant people walk all over me;
    don’t let the hands of the wicked drive me off.
¹² Look—right there is where the evildoers have fallen,
    pushed down, unable to get up!

⁸ Let go of anger and leave rage behind!
    Don’t get upset—it will only lead to evil.
⁹ Because evildoers will be eliminated,
    but those who hope in the Lord—
    they will possess the land.
¹⁰ In just a little while the wicked won’t exist!
    If you go looking around their place,
    they won’t be there.
¹¹ But the weak will inherit the land;
    they will enjoy a surplus of peace.
¹² The wicked plot against the righteous,
    grinding their teeth at them.
¹³ But my Lord just laughs at them
    because he knows that their day is coming.
¹⁴ The wicked draw their swords and bend their bows
    to bring down the weak and the needy,
    to slaughter those whose way is right.
¹⁵ But the sword of the wicked will enter their own hearts!
    Their bows will be broken!

¹⁶ Better is the little that the righteous have
    than the overabundant wealth of the wicked.^[e]
17 The arms of the wicked will be broken,
    but the Lord supports the righteous.
¹⁸ The Lord is intimately acquainted
    with the lives of the blameless;
    their heritage will last forever.
¹⁹ They won’t be ashamed in troubling times,
    and in a period of famine they will eat their fill.
²⁰ But the wicked will die,
    the Lord’s enemies will disappear—
    disappear like the beauty of a meadow—in smoke.
²¹ The wicked borrow and don’t pay it back, but the righteous are generous and giving.
²² Those blessed by God will possess the land,
    but those cursed by God will be cut off.

²³ A person’s steps are made secure by the Lord
    when they delight in his way.
²⁴ Though they trip up, they won’t be thrown down,
    because the Lord holds their hand.
²⁵ I was young and now I’m old,
    but I have never seen the righteous left all alone,
    have never seen their children begging for bread.
²⁶ They are always gracious and generous.
    Their children are a blessing.

²⁷ Turn away from evil! Do good!
    Then you will live in the land forever.
²⁸ The Lord loves justice.
    He will never leave his faithful all alone.
    They are guarded forever,
        but the children of the wicked are eliminated.
²⁹ The righteous will possess the land;
    they will live on it forever.

³⁰ The mouths of the righteous recite wisdom;
    their tongues discuss justice.
³¹ The Instruction of their God is in their hearts;
    they don’t miss a step.
³² The wicked, on the other hand, target the righteous,
    seeking to kill them.
³³ But the Lord won’t leave the righteous
    to the power of the wicked,
    and won’t let the righteous
    be found guilty when they are judged.

³⁴ Hope in the Lord and keep his way!
    He will lift you up so you can possess the land.
        When the wicked are eliminated,
        you will see it for yourself!
³⁵ I myself have seen wicked powerful people,
    exalting themselves like a stately cedar.^[f]
36 But when I^[g] came back, they were gone!
    I looked all over for them,
    but they couldn’t be found!

³⁷ Observe those who have integrity
    and watch those whose heart is right
    because the future belongs to persons of peace.
³⁸ But wrongdoers will be destroyed all together;
    the future of the wicked will be cut short.
³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their refuge in times of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord will help them and rescue them—
    rescue them from the wicked—and he will save them
    because they have taken refuge in him.

⁹ Everything I long for is laid out before you, my Lord;
    my sighs aren’t hidden from you.
¹⁰ My heart pounds; my strength abandons me.
    Even the light of my eyes is gone.
¹¹ My loved ones and friends keep their distance
        from me in my sickness;
    those who were near me now stay far away.
¹² Those who want me dead lay traps;
    those who want me harmed utter threats,
        muttering lies all day long.
¹³ But I’m like someone who is deaf,
    who can’t hear;
    like someone who can’t speak,
    whose mouth won’t open.
¹⁴ I’ve become like a person
    who doesn’t hear what is being said,
    whose mouth has no good comeback.
¹⁵ But I wait for you, Lord!
    You will answer, my Lord, my God!
¹⁶ Because I prayed:
    “Don’t let them celebrate over me
    or exalt themselves over me when my foot slips,”
¹⁷ because I’m very close to falling,
    and my pain is always with me.
¹⁸ Yes, I confess my wrongdoing;
    I’m worried about my sin.
¹⁹ But my mortal enemies are so strong;
    those who hate me for no reason seem countless.
²⁰ Those who give, repay good with evil;
    they oppose me for pursuing good.

²¹ Don’t leave me all alone, Lord!
    Please, my God, don’t be far from me!
²² Come quickly and help me,
    my Lord, my salvation!

⁶ Yes, people wander around like shadows;
    yes, they hustle and bustle, but pointlessly;
        they don’t even know who will get the wealth they’ve amassed.
⁷ So now, Lord, what should I be waiting for?
        My hope is set on you.
⁸ Deliver me from all my sins;
    don’t make me some foolish person’s joke.
⁹ I am completely silent; I won’t open my mouth
    because you have acted.
¹⁰ Get this plague of yours off me!
    I’m being destroyed by the blows from your fist.
¹¹ You discipline people for their sin, punishing them;
    like a moth, you ruin what they treasure.
        Yes, a human life is just a puff of air! Selah

¹² Hear my prayer, Lord!
    Listen closely to my cry for help!
Please don’t ignore my tears!
    I’m just a foreigner—
        an immigrant staying with you,
        just like all my ancestors were.
¹³ Look away from me
    so I can be happy again
    before I pass away and am gone.

⁵ You, Lord my God!
    You’ve done so many things—
    your wonderful deeds and your plans for us—
        no one can compare with you!
    If I were to proclaim and talk about all of them,
        they would be too numerous to count!
⁶ You don’t relish sacrifices or offerings;
    you don’t require entirely burned offerings or compensation offerings—
    but you have given me ears!
⁷ So I said, “Here I come!
    I’m inscribed in the written scroll.
⁸     I want to do your will, my God.
    Your Instruction is deep within me.”
⁹ I’ve told the good news of your righteousness
    in the great assembly.
    I didn’t hold anything back—
        as you well know, Lord!
¹⁰ I didn’t keep your righteousness only to myself.
    I declared your faithfulness and your salvation.
I didn’t hide your loyal love and trustworthiness
    from the great assembly.

¹¹ So now you, Lord—
    don’t hold back any of your compassion from me.
Let your loyal love and faithfulness always protect me,
¹²     because countless evils surround me.
My wrongdoings have caught up with me—
    I can’t see a thing!
There’s more of them than hairs on my head—
    my courage leaves me.
¹³ Favor me, Lord, and deliver me!
    Lord, come quickly and help me!
¹⁴ Let those who seek my life, who want me dead,
    be disgraced and put to shame.
Let those who want to do me harm
    be thoroughly frustrated and humiliated.
¹⁵ Let those who say to me, “Yes! Oh, yes!”^[h]
    be destroyed by their shame.
¹⁶ But let all who seek you
    celebrate and rejoice in you.
Let those who love your salvation always say,
    “The Lord is great!”
¹⁷ But me? I’m weak and needy.
    Let my Lord think of me.
You are my help and my rescuer.
    My God, don’t wait any longer!

⁴ But me? I said, “Lord, have mercy on me!
    Heal me because I have sinned against you.”
⁵ My enemies speak maliciously about me:
    “When will he die and his name disappear?”
⁶ Whenever they come to visit, they say nothing of value.
    Their hearts collect evil gossip;
    once they leave, they tell it to everybody.
⁷ All of those who hate me talk about me, whispering to each other,
    plotting evil against me:
⁸ “Some horrible thing has been poured into him;
    the next time he lies down, he won’t get up.”
⁹ Even my good friend,
    the one I trusted,
    who shared my food,
    has kicked me with his heel—a betrayer!
¹⁰ But you, Lord, please have mercy on me and lift me up
    so I can pay them back!
¹¹ Then I’ll know you are pleased with me
    because my enemy won’t be shouting in triumph over me.
¹² You support me in my integrity;
    you put me in your presence forever.

¹³ Bless the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from forever to forever!
        Amen and Amen!