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Prayer for Help in Trouble.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

13 How long, O Lord? Will You forget me forever?
How long will You hide Your face from me?

How long must I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy exalt himself and triumph over me?


Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Give light (life) to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,

And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.


But I have trusted and relied on and been confident in Your lovingkindness and faithfulness;
My heart shall rejoice and delight in Your salvation.

I will sing to the Lord,
Because He has dealt bountifully with me.

Folly and Wickedness of Men.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

14 The [spiritually ignorant] fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed repulsive and unspeakable deeds;
There is no one who does good.(A)

The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the children of men
To see if there are any who understand (act wisely),
Who [truly] seek after God, [longing for His wisdom and guidance].

They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.(B)


Have all the workers of wickedness and injustice no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call upon the Lord?

There they tremble with great fear,
For God is with the [consistently] righteous generation.

You [evildoers] shamefully plan against the poor,
But the Lord is his safe refuge.


Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores His captive people,
Then Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.(C)

Description of a Citizen of Zion.

A Psalm of David.

15 O Lord, who may lodge [as a guest] in Your tent?
Who may dwell [continually] on Your holy hill?

He who walks with integrity and strength of character, and works righteousness,
And speaks and holds truth in his heart.

He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

In his eyes an evil person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord [and obediently worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].
He keeps his word even to his own disadvantage and does not change it [for his own benefit];

He does not put out his money at interest [to a fellow Israelite],
And does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.(D)

Psalm 13[a]

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

How long,(A) Lord? Will you forget me(B) forever?
    How long will you hide your face(C) from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts(D)
    and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
    How long will my enemy triumph over me?(E)

Look on me(F) and answer,(G) Lord my God.
    Give light to my eyes,(H) or I will sleep in death,(I)
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,(J)
    and my foes will rejoice when I fall.(K)

But I trust in your unfailing love;(L)
    my heart rejoices in your salvation.(M)
I will sing(N) the Lord’s praise,
    for he has been good to me.

Psalm 14(O)

For the director of music. Of David.

The fool[b] says in his heart,
    “There is no God.”(P)
They are corrupt, their deeds are vile;
    there is no one who does good.

The Lord looks down from heaven(Q)
    on all mankind
to see if there are any who understand,(R)
    any who seek God.(S)
All have turned away,(T) all have become corrupt;(U)
    there is no one who does good,(V)
    not even one.(W)

Do all these evildoers know nothing?(X)

They devour my people(Y) as though eating bread;
    they never call on the Lord.(Z)
But there they are, overwhelmed with dread,
    for God is present in the company of the righteous.
You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor,
    but the Lord is their refuge.(AA)

Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!(AB)
    When the Lord restores(AC) his people,
    let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Psalm 15

A psalm of David.

Lord, who may dwell(AD) in your sacred tent?(AE)
    Who may live on your holy mountain?(AF)

The one whose walk is blameless,(AG)
    who does what is righteous,
    who speaks the truth(AH) from their heart;
whose tongue utters no slander,(AI)
    who does no wrong to a neighbor,
    and casts no slur on others;
who despises a vile person
    but honors(AJ) those who fear the Lord;
who keeps an oath(AK) even when it hurts,
    and does not change their mind;
who lends money to the poor without interest;(AL)
    who does not accept a bribe(AM) against the innocent.

Whoever does these things
    will never be shaken.(AN)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 13:1 In Hebrew texts 13:1-6 is numbered 13:2-6.
  2. Psalm 14:1 The Hebrew words rendered fool in Psalms denote one who is morally deficient.