Psalm 6-10
Holman Christian Standard Bible
Psalm 6
A Prayer for Mercy
For the choir director: with stringed instruments, according to Sheminith.(A) A Davidic psalm.
1 Lord, do not rebuke me in Your anger;
do not discipline me in Your wrath.(B)
2 Be gracious to me, Lord, for I am weak;[a](C)
heal me,(D) Lord, for my bones are shaking;(E)
3 my whole being is shaken with terror.(F)
And You, Lord—how long?(G)
4 Turn, Lord! Rescue me;
save me because of Your faithful love.(H)
5 For there is no remembrance of You in death;
who can thank You in Sheol?(I)
6 I am weary from my groaning;(J)
with my tears I dampen my pillow[b]
and drench my bed every night.(K)
7 My eyes are swollen from grief;(L)
they[c] grow old because of all my enemies.
8 Depart from me, all evildoers,
for the Lord has heard the sound of my weeping.(M)
9 The Lord has heard my plea for help;(N)
the Lord accepts my prayer.(O)
10 All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror;
they will turn back(P) and suddenly be disgraced.(Q)
Psalm 7
Prayer for Justice
A Shiggaion[d] of David, which he sang to the Lord concerning the words of Cush,[e] a Benjaminite.
1 Yahweh my God, I seek refuge in You;(R)
save me from all my pursuers and rescue me(S)
2 or they[f] will tear me like a lion,
ripping me apart with no one to rescue me.[g](T)
3 Yahweh my God, if I have done this,
if there is injustice on my hands,(U)
4 if I have done harm to one at peace with me(V)
or have plundered[h] my adversary without cause,(W)
5 may an enemy pursue and overtake me;
may he trample me to the ground(X)
and leave my honor in the dust.(Y)
6 Rise up, Lord, in Your anger;
lift Yourself up against the fury of my adversaries;(Z)
awake for me;[i](AA)
You have ordained[j] a judgment.(AB)
7 Let the assembly of peoples gather around You;(AC)
take Your seat[k] on high over it.(AD)
8 The Lord judges the peoples;(AE)
vindicate me, Lord,
according to my righteousness and my integrity.[l](AF)
9 Let the evil of the wicked come to an end,(AG)
but establish the righteous.(AH)
The One who examines the thoughts and emotions[m]
is a righteous God.(AI)
10 My shield is with[n] God,(AJ)
who saves the upright in heart.(AK)
11 God is a righteous judge
and a God who shows His wrath every day.(AL)
12 If anyone does not repent,
God[o] will sharpen His sword;(AM)
He has strung[p] His bow and made it ready.(AN)
13 He has prepared His deadly weapons;
He tips His arrows with fire.(AO)
14 See, the wicked one is pregnant with evil,
conceives trouble, and gives birth to deceit.(AP)
15 He dug a pit and hollowed it out
but fell into the hole he had made.(AQ)
16 His trouble comes back on his own head,
and his violence falls on the top of his head.(AR)
17 I will thank the Lord for His righteousness;
I will sing about the name of Yahweh the Most High.(AS)
Psalm 8
God’s Glory, Man’s Dignity
For the choir director: on the Gittith.(AT) A Davidic psalm.
1 Yahweh, our Lord,
how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!(AU)
You have covered the heavens with Your majesty.[q](AV)
2 Because of Your adversaries,
You have established a stronghold[r]
from the mouths of children and nursing infants(AW)
to silence the enemy and the avenger.
3 When I observe Your heavens,
the work of Your fingers,
the moon and the stars,
which You set in place,(AX)
4 what is man that You remember him,
the son of man that You look after him?(AY)
5 You made him little less than God[s][t]
and crowned him with glory and honor.
6 You made him lord over the works of Your hands;
You put everything under his feet:[u](AZ)
7 all the sheep and oxen,
as well as the animals in the wild,
8 the birds of the sky,
and the fish of the sea
that pass through the currents of the seas.(BA)
9 Yahweh, our Lord,
how magnificent is Your name throughout the earth!
Psalm 9
Celebration of God’s Justice
For the choir director: according to Muth-labben.[v] A Davidic psalm.
1 I will thank Yahweh with all my heart;
I will declare all Your wonderful works.(BB)
2 I will rejoice and boast about You;(BC)
I will sing about Your name, Most High.(BD)
3 When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before You.(BE)
4 For You have upheld my just cause;[w](BF)
You are seated on Your throne as a righteous judge.(BG)
5 You have rebuked the nations:(BH)
You have destroyed the wicked;(BI)
You have erased their name forever and ever.(BJ)
6 The enemy has come to eternal ruin;
You have uprooted the cities,
and the very memory of them has perished.(BK)
7 But the Lord sits enthroned forever;(BL)
He has established His throne for judgment.(BM)
8 He judges the world with righteousness;
He executes judgment on the nations with fairness.(BN)
9 The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble.(BO)
10 Those who know Your name trust in You
because You have not abandoned
those who seek You, Yahweh.(BP)
11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;(BQ)
proclaim His deeds among the nations.(BR)
12 For the One who seeks an accounting
for bloodshed remembers them;(BS)
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.(BT)
13 Be gracious to me, Lord;
consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.(BU)
Lift me up from the gates of death,(BV)
14 so that I may declare all Your praises.
I will rejoice in Your salvation(BW)
within the gates of Daughter Zion.
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.(BX)
16 The Lord has revealed Himself;
He has executed justice,(BY)
striking down[x] the wicked[y]
by the work of their hands.(BZ)
17 The wicked will return to Sheol(CA)—
all the nations that forget God.(CB)
18 For the oppressed will not always be forgotten;
the hope of the afflicted[z] will not perish forever.(CC)
19 Rise up, Lord! Do not let man prevail;
let the nations be judged in Your presence.(CD)
20 Put terror in them, Lord;(CE)
let the nations know they are only men.(CF)
Psalm 10
1 Lord,[aa][ab] why do You stand so far away?(CG)
Why do You hide in times of trouble?(CH)
2 In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue the afflicted;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(CI)
3 For the wicked one boasts about his own cravings;(CJ)
the one who is greedy curses[ac] and despises the Lord.(CK)
4 In all his scheming,
the wicked arrogantly thinks:[ad]
“There is no accountability,
since God does not exist.”(CL)
5 His ways are always secure;[ae]
Your lofty judgments are beyond his sight;
he scoffs at all his adversaries.(CM)
6 He says to himself, “I will never be moved—
from generation to generation without calamity.”(CN)
7 Cursing, deceit, and violence fill his mouth;
trouble and malice are under his tongue.(CO)
8 He waits in ambush near the villages;(CP)
he kills the innocent in secret places.
His eyes are on the lookout for the helpless;(CQ)
9 he lurks in secret like a lion in a thicket.
He lurks in order to seize the afflicted;
he seizes the afflicted and drags him in his net.
10 So he is oppressed and beaten down;
the helpless fall because of his strength.(CR)
11 He says to himself, “God has forgotten;
He hides His face and will never see.”(CS)
12 Rise up, Lord God! Lift up Your hand.(CT)
Do not forget the afflicted.(CU)
13 Why has the wicked person despised God?
He says to himself, “You will not demand an account.”(CV)
14 But You Yourself have seen trouble and grief,
observing it in order to take the matter into Your hands.(CW)
The helpless entrusts himself to You;
You are a helper of the fatherless.(CX)
15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil person;(CY)
call his wickedness into account
until nothing remains of it.[af](CZ)
16 The Lord is King forever and ever;(DA)
the nations will perish from His land.(DB)
17 Lord, You have heard the desire of the humble;[ag]
You will strengthen their hearts.
You will listen carefully,(DC)
18 doing justice for the fatherless and the oppressed
so that men of the earth may terrify them no more.(DD)
Footnotes
- Psalm 6:2 Or sick
- Psalm 6:6 Lit bed
- Psalm 6:7 LXX, Aq, Sym, Jer read I
- Psalm 7:1 Perhaps a passionate song with rapid changes of rhythm, or a dirge
- Psalm 7:1 LXX, Aq, Sym, Theod, Jer read of the Cushite
- Psalm 7:2 Lit he
- Psalm 7:2 Lit ripping, and without a rescuer
- Psalm 7:4 Or me and have spared
- Psalm 7:6 LXX reads awake, Lord my God
- Psalm 7:6 Or me; ordain
- Psalm 7:7 MT reads and return
- Psalm 7:8 Lit integrity on me
- Psalm 7:9 Lit examines hearts and kidneys
- Psalm 7:10 Lit on
- Psalm 7:12 Lit He
- Psalm 7:12 Lit bent; that is, bent the bow to string it
- Psalm 8:1 Lit earth, which has set Your splendor upon the heavens
- Psalm 8:2 LXX reads established praise
- Psalm 8:5 LXX reads angels
- Psalm 8:5 Or gods, or a god, or heavenly beings; lit Elohim
- Psalm 8:6 Or authority
- Psalm 9:1 Perhaps a musical term
- Psalm 9:4 Lit my justice and my cause
- Psalm 9:16 Or justice, snaring
- Psalm 9:16 LXX, Aq, Syr, Tg read justice, the wicked is trapped
- Psalm 9:18 Alt Hb tradition reads humble
- Psalm 10:1 Some Hb mss, LXX connect Pss 9–10.
- Psalm 10:1 Together these 2 psalms form a partial acrostic.
- Psalm 10:3 Or he blesses the greedy
- Psalm 10:4 Lit wicked according to the height of his nose
- Psalm 10:5 Or prosperous
- Psalm 10:15 Lit account You do not find
- Psalm 10:17 Some Hb mss, LXX, Syr read afflicted
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