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Psalm 31-35
Common English Bible
Psalm 31-35
Common English Bible
Psalm 31
For the music leader. A psalm of David.
31 I take refuge in you, Lord.
Please never let me be put to shame.
Rescue me by your righteousness!
2 Listen closely to me!
Deliver me quickly;
be a rock that protects me;
be a strong fortress that saves me!
3 You are definitely my rock and my fortress.
Guide me and lead me for the sake of your good name!
4 Get me out of this net that’s been set for me
because you are my protective fortress.
5 I entrust my spirit into your hands;
you, Lord, God of faithfulness—
you have saved me.
6 I hate those who embrace what is completely worthless.
I myself trust the Lord.
7 I rejoice and celebrate in your faithful love
because you saw my suffering—
you were intimately acquainted with my deep distress.
8 You didn’t hand me over to the enemy,
but set my feet in wide-open spaces.
9 Have mercy on me, Lord, because I’m depressed.
My vision fails because of my grief,
as do my spirit and my body.
10 My life is consumed with sadness;
my years are consumed with groaning.
Strength fails me because of my suffering;[a]
my bones dry up.
11 I’m a joke to all my enemies,
still worse to my neighbors.
I scare my friends,
and whoever sees me in the street runs away!
12 I am forgotten, like I’m dead,
completely out of mind;
I am like a piece of pottery, destroyed.
13 Yes, I’ve heard all the gossiping,
terror all around;
so many gang up together against me,
they plan to take my life!
14 But me? I trust you, Lord!
I affirm, “You are my God.”
15 My future is in your hands.
Don’t hand me over to my enemies,
to all who are out to get me!
16 Shine your face on your servant;
save me by your faithful love!
17 Lord, don’t let me be put to shame
because I have cried out to you.
Let the wicked be put to shame;
let them be silenced in death’s domain![b]
18 Let their lying lips be shut up
whenever they speak arrogantly
against the righteous with pride and contempt!
19 How great is the goodness
that you’ve reserved for those who honor you,
that you commit to those who take refuge in you—
in the sight of everyone!
20 You hide them in the shelter of your wings,[c]
safe from human scheming.
You conceal them in a shelter,
safe from accusing tongues.
21 Bless the Lord,
because he has wondrously revealed
his faithful love to me
when I was like a city under siege!
22 When I was panicked, I said,
“I’m cut off from your eyes!”
But you heard my request for mercy
when I cried out to you for help.
23 All you who are faithful, love the Lord!
The Lord protects those who are loyal,
but he pays the proud back to the fullest degree.
24 All you who wait for the Lord,
be strong and let your heart take courage.
Psalm 32
A maskil[d] of David.
32 The one whose wrongdoing is forgiven,
whose sin is covered over, is truly happy!
2 The one the Lord doesn’t consider guilty—
in whose spirit there is no dishonesty—
that one is truly happy!
3 When I kept quiet, my bones wore out;
I was groaning all day long—
every day, every night!—
4 because your hand was heavy upon me.
My energy was sapped as if in a summer drought. Selah
5 So I admitted my sin to you;
I didn’t conceal my guilt.
“I’ll confess my sins to the Lord, ” is what I said.
Then you removed the guilt of my sin. Selah
6 That’s why all the faithful should pray to you during troubled times,[e]
so that a great flood of water won’t reach them.
7 You are my secret hideout!
You protect me from trouble.
You surround me with songs of rescue! Selah
8 I will instruct you and teach you
about the direction you should go.
I’ll advise you and keep my eye on you.
9 Don’t be like some senseless horse or mule,
whose movement must be controlled
with a bit and a bridle.[f]
Don’t be anything like that![g]
10 The pain of the wicked is severe,
but faithful love surrounds the one who trusts the Lord.
11 You who are righteous, rejoice in the Lord and be glad!
All you whose hearts are right, sing out in joy!
Psalm 33
33 All you who are righteous,
shout joyfully to the Lord!
It’s right for those who do right to praise God.
2 Give thanks to the Lord with the lyre!
Sing praises to him with the ten-stringed harp!
3 Sing to him a new song!
Play your best with joyful shouts!
4 Because the Lord’s word is right,
his every act is done in good faith.
5 He loves righteousness and justice;
the Lord’s faithful love fills the whole earth.
6 The skies were made by the Lord’s word,
all their starry multitude by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathered the ocean waters into a heap;
he put the deep seas into storerooms.
8 All the earth honors the Lord;
all the earth’s inhabitants stand in awe of him.
9 Because when he spoke, it happened!
When he commanded, there it was!
10 The Lord overrules what the nations plan;
he frustrates what the peoples intend to do.
11 But the Lord’s plan stands forever;
what he intends to do lasts from one generation to the next.
12 The nation whose God is the Lord,
the people whom God has chosen as his possession,
is truly happy!
13 The Lord looks down from heaven;
he sees every human being.
14 From his dwelling place God observes
all who live on earth.
15 God is the one who made all their hearts,
the one who knows everything they do.
16 Kings aren’t saved by the strength of their armies;
warriors aren’t rescued by how much power they have.
17 A warhorse is a bad bet for victory;
it can’t save despite its great strength.
18 But look here: the Lord’s eyes watch all who honor him,
all who wait for his faithful love,
19 to deliver their lives[h] from death
and keep them alive during a famine.
20 We put our hope in the Lord.
He is our help and our shield.
21 Our heart rejoices in God
because we trust his holy name.
22 Lord, let your faithful love surround us
because we wait for you.
Psalm 34[i]
Of David, when he pretended to be crazy before Abimelech, who banished him so that he left.
34 I will bless the Lord at all times;
his praise will always be in my mouth.
2 I[j] praise the Lord—
let the suffering listen and rejoice.
3 Magnify the Lord with me!
Together let us lift his name up high!
4 I sought the Lord and he answered me.
He delivered me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to God will shine;
their faces are never ashamed.
6 This suffering person cried out:
the Lord listened and saved him from every trouble.
7 On every side, the Lord’s messenger protects those who honor God; and he delivers them.
8 Taste and see how good the Lord is!
The one who takes refuge in him is truly happy!
9 You who are the Lord’s holy ones, honor him,
because those who honor him don’t lack a thing.
10 Even strong young lions go without and get hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.
11 Come, children, listen to me.
Let me teach you how to honor the Lord:
12 Do you love life;
do you relish the chance to enjoy good things?
13 Then you must keep your tongue from evil
and keep your lips from speaking lies!
14 Turn away from evil! Do good!
Seek peace and go after it!
15 The Lord’s eyes watch the righteous,
his ears listen to their cries for help.
16 But the Lord’s face is set against those who do evil,
to eliminate even the memory of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry out, the Lord listens;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close to the brokenhearted;
he saves those whose spirits are crushed.
19 The righteous have many problems,
but the Lord delivers them from every one.
20 He protects all their bones;
not even one will be broken.
21 But just one problem will kill the wicked,
and those who hate the righteous will be held responsible.
22 The Lord saves his servants’ lives;
all those who take refuge in him
won’t be held responsible for anything.
Psalm 35
Of David.
35 Lord, argue with those who argue with me;
fight with those who fight against me!
2 Grab a shield and armor;
stand up and help me!
3 Use your spear and ax[k]
against those who are out to get me!
Say to me:[l] “I’m your salvation!”
4 Let those who want me dead
be humiliated and put to shame.
Let those who intend to hurt me
be thoroughly frustrated and disgraced.
5 Let them be like dust on the wind—
and let the Lord’s messenger be the one who does the blowing!
6 Let their path be dark and slippery—
and let the Lord’s messenger be the one who does the chasing!
7 Because they hid their net for me for no reason,
they dug a pit for me for no reason.
8 Let disaster come to them when they don’t suspect it.
Let the net they hid catch them instead!
Let them fall into it—to their disaster!
9 But I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will celebrate his salvation.
10 All my bones will say, “Lord, who could compare to you?
You rescue the weak from those who overpower them;
you rescue the weak and the needy from those who plunder them.”
11 Violent witnesses stand up.
They question me about things I know nothing about.
12 They pay me back evil for good,
leaving me stricken with grief.
13 But when they were sick, I wore clothes for grieving,
and I kept a strict fast.
When my prayer came back unanswered,[m]
14 I would wander around like I was grieving a friend or a brother.
I was weighed down, sad, like I was a mother in mourning.
15 But when I stumbled, they celebrated and gathered together—
they gathered together against me!
Strangers[n] I didn’t know tore me to pieces and wouldn’t quit.
16 They ridiculed me over and over again,
like godless people would do,
grinding their teeth at me.
17 How long, my Lord, will you watch this happen?
Rescue me from their attacks;
rescue my precious life from these predatory lions!
18 Then I will thank you in the great assembly;
I will praise you in a huge crowd of people.
19 Don’t let those who are my enemies
without cause celebrate over me;
don’t let those who hate me for no reason
wink at my demise.
20 They don’t speak the truth;
instead, they plot false accusations
against innocent people in the land.
21 They speak out against me,
saying, “Yes! Oh, yes! We’ve seen it with our own eyes!”
22 But you’ve seen it too, Lord.
Don’t keep quiet about it.
Please don’t be far from me, my Lord.
23 Wake up! Get up and do justice for me;
argue my case, my Lord and my God!
24 Establish justice for me
according to your righteousness, Lord, my God.
Don’t let them celebrate over me.
25 Don’t let them say to themselves,
Yes! Exactly what we wanted!
Don’t let them say, “We ate him up!”
26 Let all those who celebrate my misfortune be disgraced and put to shame!
Let those who exalt themselves over me
be dressed up in shame and dishonor!
27 But let those who want things to be set right for me
shout for joy and celebrate!
Let them constantly say, “The Lord is great—
God wants his servant to be at peace.”
28 Then my tongue will talk
all about your righteousness;
it will talk
about your praise all day long.
Footnotes
- Psalm 31:10 LXX, Syr; MT my sin
- Psalm 31:17 Heb Sheol
- Psalm 31:20 Correction; see Ps 61:5; MT in the hiding place of your face.
- Psalm 32:1 Perhaps instruction; it also appears in Pss 42, 44–45, 52–55, 74, 78, 88–89, 142; cf 47:7; the root is used in Ps 32:8.
- Psalm 32:6 Correction; MT at a time of finding only
- Psalm 32:9 Heb uncertain
- Psalm 32:9 Heb uncertain
- Psalm 33:19 Or souls; also in 33:20
- Psalm 34:1 Ps 34 is an alphabetic acrostic poem; see the note at Pss 9–10.
- Psalm 34:2 Or my soul; also in 34:22
- Psalm 35:3 Correction
- Psalm 35:3 Or my soul; also in 35:4, 7, 9, 12, 13, 17, 24
- Psalm 35:13 Heb uncertain
- Psalm 35:15 Correction
Psalm 31-35
New International Version
Psalm 31-35
New International Version
Psalm 31[a](A)
For the director of music. A psalm of David.
1 In you, Lord, I have taken refuge;(B)
let me never be put to shame;
deliver me in your righteousness.(C)
2 Turn your ear to me,(D)
come quickly to my rescue;(E)
be my rock of refuge,(F)
a strong fortress to save me.
3 Since you are my rock and my fortress,(G)
for the sake of your name(H) lead and guide me.
4 Keep me free from the trap(I) that is set for me,
for you are my refuge.(J)
5 Into your hands I commit my spirit;(K)
deliver me, Lord, my faithful God.(L)
6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols;(M)
as for me, I trust in the Lord.(N)
7 I will be glad and rejoice in your love,
for you saw my affliction(O)
and knew the anguish(P) of my soul.
8 You have not given me into the hands(Q) of the enemy
but have set my feet in a spacious place.(R)
9 Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress;(S)
my eyes grow weak with sorrow,(T)
my soul and body(U) with grief.
10 My life is consumed by anguish(V)
and my years by groaning;(W)
my strength fails(X) because of my affliction,[b](Y)
and my bones grow weak.(Z)
11 Because of all my enemies,(AA)
I am the utter contempt(AB) of my neighbors(AC)
and an object of dread to my closest friends—
those who see me on the street flee from me.
12 I am forgotten as though I were dead;(AD)
I have become like broken pottery.
13 For I hear many whispering,(AE)
“Terror on every side!”(AF)
They conspire against me(AG)
and plot to take my life.(AH)
14 But I trust(AI) in you, Lord;
I say, “You are my God.”
15 My times(AJ) are in your hands;
deliver me from the hands of my enemies,
from those who pursue me.
16 Let your face shine(AK) on your servant;
save me in your unfailing love.(AL)
17 Let me not be put to shame,(AM) Lord,
for I have cried out to you;
but let the wicked be put to shame
and be silent(AN) in the realm of the dead.
18 Let their lying lips(AO) be silenced,
for with pride and contempt
they speak arrogantly(AP) against the righteous.
19 How abundant are the good things(AQ)
that you have stored up for those who fear you,
that you bestow in the sight of all,(AR)
on those who take refuge(AS) in you.
20 In the shelter(AT) of your presence you hide(AU) them
from all human intrigues;(AV)
you keep them safe in your dwelling
from accusing tongues.
21 Praise be to the Lord,(AW)
for he showed me the wonders of his love(AX)
when I was in a city under siege.(AY)
22 In my alarm(AZ) I said,
“I am cut off(BA) from your sight!”
Yet you heard my cry(BB) for mercy
when I called to you for help.
23 Love the Lord, all his faithful people!(BC)
The Lord preserves those who are true to him,(BD)
but the proud he pays back(BE) in full.
24 Be strong and take heart,(BF)
all you who hope in the Lord.
Psalm 32
Of David. A maskil.[c]
1 Blessed is the one
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.(BG)
2 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord does not count against them(BH)
and in whose spirit is no deceit.(BI)
3 When I kept silent,(BJ)
my bones wasted away(BK)
through my groaning(BL) all day long.
4 For day and night
your hand was heavy(BM) on me;
my strength was sapped(BN)
as in the heat of summer.[d]
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.(BO)
I said, “I will confess(BP)
my transgressions(BQ) to the Lord.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.(BR)
6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you
while you may be found;(BS)
surely the rising(BT) of the mighty waters(BU)
will not reach them.(BV)
7 You are my hiding place;(BW)
you will protect me from trouble(BX)
and surround me with songs of deliverance.(BY)
8 I will instruct(BZ) you and teach you(CA) in the way you should go;
I will counsel you with my loving eye on(CB) you.
9 Do not be like the horse or the mule,
which have no understanding
but must be controlled by bit and bridle(CC)
or they will not come to you.
10 Many are the woes of the wicked,(CD)
but the Lord’s unfailing love
surrounds the one who trusts(CE) in him.
11 Rejoice in the Lord(CF) and be glad, you righteous;
sing, all you who are upright in heart!
Psalm 33
1 Sing joyfully(CG) to the Lord, you righteous;
it is fitting(CH) for the upright(CI) to praise him.
2 Praise the Lord with the harp;(CJ)
make music to him on the ten-stringed lyre.(CK)
3 Sing to him a new song;(CL)
play skillfully, and shout for joy.(CM)
4 For the word of the Lord is right(CN) and true;(CO)
he is faithful(CP) in all he does.
5 The Lord loves righteousness and justice;(CQ)
the earth is full of his unfailing love.(CR)
6 By the word(CS) of the Lord the heavens were made,(CT)
their starry host(CU) by the breath of his mouth.
7 He gathers the waters(CV) of the sea into jars[e];(CW)
he puts the deep into storehouses.
8 Let all the earth fear the Lord;(CX)
let all the people of the world(CY) revere him.(CZ)
9 For he spoke, and it came to be;
he commanded,(DA) and it stood firm.
10 The Lord foils(DB) the plans(DC) of the nations;(DD)
he thwarts the purposes of the peoples.
11 But the plans of the Lord stand firm(DE) forever,
the purposes(DF) of his heart through all generations.
12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,(DG)
the people he chose(DH) for his inheritance.(DI)
13 From heaven the Lord looks down(DJ)
and sees all mankind;(DK)
14 from his dwelling place(DL) he watches
all who live on earth—
15 he who forms(DM) the hearts of all,
who considers everything they do.(DN)
16 No king is saved by the size of his army;(DO)
no warrior escapes by his great strength.
17 A horse(DP) is a vain hope for deliverance;
despite all its great strength it cannot save.
18 But the eyes(DQ) of the Lord are on those who fear him,
on those whose hope is in his unfailing love,(DR)
19 to deliver them from death(DS)
and keep them alive in famine.(DT)
20 We wait(DU) in hope for the Lord;
he is our help and our shield.
21 In him our hearts rejoice,(DV)
for we trust in his holy name.(DW)
22 May your unfailing love(DX) be with us, Lord,
even as we put our hope in you.
Psalm 34[f][g]
Of David. When he pretended to be insane(DY) before Abimelek, who drove him away, and he left.
1 I will extol the Lord at all times;(DZ)
his praise will always be on my lips.
2 I will glory(EA) in the Lord;
let the afflicted hear and rejoice.(EB)
3 Glorify the Lord(EC) with me;
let us exalt(ED) his name together.
4 I sought the Lord,(EE) and he answered me;
he delivered(EF) me from all my fears.
5 Those who look to him are radiant;(EG)
their faces are never covered with shame.(EH)
6 This poor man called, and the Lord heard him;
he saved him out of all his troubles.(EI)
7 The angel of the Lord(EJ) encamps around those who fear him,
and he delivers(EK) them.
8 Taste and see that the Lord is good;(EL)
blessed is the one who takes refuge(EM) in him.
9 Fear the Lord,(EN) you his holy people,
for those who fear him lack nothing.(EO)
10 The lions may grow weak and hungry,
but those who seek the Lord lack no good thing.(EP)
11 Come, my children, listen(EQ) to me;
I will teach you(ER) the fear of the Lord.(ES)
12 Whoever of you loves life(ET)
and desires to see many good days,
13 keep your tongue(EU) from evil
and your lips from telling lies.(EV)
14 Turn from evil and do good;(EW)
seek peace(EX) and pursue it.
15 The eyes of the Lord(EY) are on the righteous,(EZ)
and his ears are attentive(FA) to their cry;
16 but the face of the Lord is against(FB) those who do evil,(FC)
to blot out their name(FD) from the earth.
17 The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears(FE) them;
he delivers them from all their troubles.
18 The Lord is close(FF) to the brokenhearted(FG)
and saves those who are crushed in spirit.
19 The righteous person may have many troubles,(FH)
but the Lord delivers him from them all;(FI)
20 he protects all his bones,
not one of them will be broken.(FJ)
21 Evil will slay the wicked;(FK)
the foes of the righteous will be condemned.
22 The Lord will rescue(FL) his servants;
no one who takes refuge(FM) in him will be condemned.
Psalm 35
Of David.
1 Contend,(FN) Lord, with those who contend with me;
fight(FO) against those who fight against me.
2 Take up shield(FP) and armor;
arise(FQ) and come to my aid.(FR)
3 Brandish spear(FS) and javelin[h](FT)
against those who pursue me.
Say to me,
“I am your salvation.(FU)”
4 May those who seek my life(FV)
be disgraced(FW) and put to shame;(FX)
may those who plot my ruin
be turned back(FY) in dismay.
5 May they be like chaff(FZ) before the wind,
with the angel of the Lord(GA) driving them away;
6 may their path be dark and slippery,
with the angel of the Lord pursuing them.
7 Since they hid their net(GB) for me without cause(GC)
and without cause dug a pit(GD) for me,
8 may ruin overtake them by surprise—(GE)
may the net they hid entangle them,
may they fall into the pit,(GF) to their ruin.
9 Then my soul will rejoice(GG) in the Lord
and delight in his salvation.(GH)
10 My whole being will exclaim,
“Who is like you,(GI) Lord?
You rescue the poor from those too strong(GJ) for them,
the poor and needy(GK) from those who rob them.”
11 Ruthless witnesses(GL) come forward;
they question me on things I know nothing about.
12 They repay me evil for good(GM)
and leave me like one bereaved.
13 Yet when they were ill, I put on sackcloth(GN)
and humbled myself with fasting.(GO)
When my prayers returned to me unanswered,
14 I went about mourning(GP)
as though for my friend or brother.
I bowed my head in grief
as though weeping for my mother.
15 But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;(GQ)
assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.
They slandered(GR) me without ceasing.
16 Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked;[i](GS)
they gnashed their teeth(GT) at me.
17 How long,(GU) Lord, will you look on?
Rescue me from their ravages,
my precious life(GV) from these lions.(GW)
18 I will give you thanks in the great assembly;(GX)
among the throngs(GY) I will praise you.(GZ)
19 Do not let those gloat over me
who are my enemies(HA) without cause;
do not let those who hate me without reason(HB)
maliciously wink the eye.(HC)
20 They do not speak peaceably,
but devise false accusations(HD)
against those who live quietly in the land.
21 They sneer(HE) at me and say, “Aha! Aha!(HF)
With our own eyes we have seen it.”
22 Lord, you have seen(HG) this; do not be silent.
Do not be far(HH) from me, Lord.
23 Awake,(HI) and rise(HJ) to my defense!
Contend(HK) for me, my God and Lord.
24 Vindicate me in your righteousness, Lord my God;
do not let them gloat(HL) over me.
25 Do not let them think, “Aha,(HM) just what we wanted!”
or say, “We have swallowed him up.”(HN)
26 May all who gloat(HO) over my distress(HP)
be put to shame(HQ) and confusion;
may all who exalt themselves over me(HR)
be clothed with shame and disgrace.
27 May those who delight in my vindication(HS)
shout for joy(HT) and gladness;
may they always say, “The Lord be exalted,
who delights(HU) in the well-being of his servant.”(HV)
Footnotes
- Psalm 31:1 In Hebrew texts 31:1-24 is numbered 31:2-25.
- Psalm 31:10 Or guilt
- Psalm 32:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 32:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 5 and 7.
- Psalm 33:7 Or sea as into a heap
- Psalm 34:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the verses of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
- Psalm 34:1 In Hebrew texts 34:1-22 is numbered 34:2-23.
- Psalm 35:3 Or and block the way
- Psalm 35:16 Septuagint; Hebrew may mean Like an ungodly circle of mockers,
Common English Bible (CEB)
Copyright © 2011 by Common English Bible
New International Version (NIV) 
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NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.