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Psalm 47-51
Common English Bible
Psalm 47-51
Common English Bible
Psalm 47
For the music leader. A psalm of the Korahites.
47 Clap your hands, all you people!
Shout joyfully to God with a joyous shout!
2 Because the Lord Most High is awesome,
he is the great king of the whole world.
3 He subdues the nations under us,
subdues all people beneath our feet.
4 He chooses our inheritance for us:
the heights of Jacob, which he loves. Selah
5 God has gone up with a joyous shout—
the Lord with the blast of the ram’s horn.
6 Sing praises to God! Sing praises!
Sing praises to our king! Sing praises
7 because God is king of the whole world!
Sing praises with a song of instruction![a]
8 God is king over the nations.
God sits on his holy throne.
9 The leaders of all people are gathered
with the people of Abraham’s God
because the earth’s guardians belong to God;
God is exalted beyond all.
Psalm 48
A song. A psalm of the Korahites.
48 In the city belonging to our God,
the Lord is great and so worthy of praise!
His holy mountain 2 is a beautiful summit,
the joy of the whole world.
Mount Zion, in the far north,
is the city of the great king.
3 God is in its fortifications,
revealing himself as a place of safety.
4 Look: the kings assembled themselves,
advancing all together—
5 when they saw it, they were stunned;
they panicked and ran away frightened.
6 Trembling took hold of them right there—
like a woman giving birth,
7 or like the east wind when it smashes
the ships of Tarshish.
8 Just like we had heard,
now we’ve seen it for ourselves
in the city of the Lord of heavenly forces,
in the city of our God.
May God make it secure forever! Selah
9 We dwell on your faithful love, God,
in your temple.
10 Your praise, God, just like your reputation,
extends to the far corners of the earth.
Your strong hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Let Mount Zion be glad;
let the towns of Judah rejoice
because of your acts of justice!
12 Walk around Zion;
go all the way around it;
count its towers.
13 Examine its defenses closely;
tour its fortifications
so that you may tell future generations:
14 “This is God,
our God, forever and always!
He is the one who will lead us
even to the very end.”[b]
Psalm 49
For the music leader. A psalm of the Korahites.
49 Listen to this, all you people!
Listen closely, all you citizens of the world—
2 people of every kind,
rich and poor alike!
3 My mouth speaks wisdom;
my heart’s meditation is full of insight.
4 I will pay close attention to a proverb;
I will explain my riddle on the lyre.
5 Why should I be afraid in times of trouble,
when the wrongdoing of my bullies engulfs me—
6 those people who trust in their fortunes
and boast of their fantastic wealth?
7 Wealth? It can’t save a single person!
It can’t pay a life’s ransom-price to God.
8 The price to save someone’s life is too high—
wealth will never be enough—
9 no one can live forever
without experiencing the pit.
10 Everyone knows that the wise die too,
just like foolish and stupid people do,
all of them leaving their fortunes to others.
11 Their graves[c] are their eternal homes,
the place they live for all generations,
even if they had counties named after them!
12 People won’t live any longer because of wealth;
they’re just like the animals that pass away.
13 That’s how it goes for those who are foolish,
as well as for those who follow their lead, pleased with their talk.
Selah
14 Like sheep, they’re headed straight for the grave.[d]
Death will be their shepherd—
but those who do right in their hearts will rule over them come morning!—
their forms wasting away in the grave
rather than having some dignified residence.[e]
15 But God will save my life from the power of the grave,
because he will take me. Selah
16 Don’t be overly impressed when someone becomes rich,
their house swelling to fantastic proportions,
17 because when they die, they won’t take any of it with them.
Their fantastic things won’t accompany them down under.
18 Though they consider themselves blessed during their lives,
and even thank you when you deal well with them,[f]
19 they too will join the ancestors who’ve gone ahead;
they too will never see the light again.
20 Wealthy people? They just don’t understand;
they’re just like the animals
that pass away.
Psalm 50
A psalm of Asaph.
50 From the rising of the sun to where it sets,
God, the Lord God, speaks,
calling out to the earth.
2 From Zion, perfect in beauty,
God shines brightly.
3 Our God is coming;
he won’t keep quiet.
A devouring fire is before him;
a storm rages all around him.
4 God calls out to the skies above
and to the earth in order to judge his people:
5 “Bring my faithful to me,
those who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”
6 The skies proclaim his righteousness
because God himself is the judge. Selah
7 “Listen, my people, I will now speak;
Israel, I will now testify against you.
I am God—your God!
8 I’m not punishing you for your sacrifices
or for your entirely burned offerings,
which are always before me.
9 I won’t accept bulls from your house
or goats from your corrals
10 because every forest animal already belongs to me,
as do the cattle on a thousand hills.
11 I know every mountain bird;
even the insects in the fields are mine.
12 Even if I were hungry, I wouldn’t tell you
because the whole world and everything in it already belong to me.
13 Do I eat bulls’ meat?
Do I drink goats’ blood?
14 Offer God a sacrifice of thanksgiving!
Fulfill the promises you made to the Most High!
15 Cry out to me whenever you are in trouble;
I will deliver you, then you will honor me.”
16 But to the wicked God says,
“Why do you talk about my laws?
Why do you even mention my covenant?
17 You hate discipline, and
you toss my words behind your back.
18 You make friends with thieves whenever you see one;
you spend your time with adulterers.
19 You set your mouth free to do evil,
then harness your tongue to tell lies.
20 You sit around, talking about your own siblings;
you find fault with the children of your very own mother.
21 You’ve done these things and I’ve kept quiet.
You thought I was just like you!
But now I’m punishing you;
I’m laying it all out, right in front of your face.
22 So consider this carefully, all you who forget God,
or I’ll rip you to pieces with no one to deliver you:
23 The one who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving is the one who honors me.
And it is to the one who charts the correct path that I will show divine salvation.”
Psalm 51
For the music leader. A psalm of David, when the prophet Nathan came to him just after he had been with Bathsheba.
51 Have mercy on me, God, according to your faithful love!
Wipe away my wrongdoings according to your great compassion!
2 Wash me completely clean of my guilt;
purify me from my sin!
3 Because I know my wrongdoings,
my sin is always right in front of me.
4 I’ve sinned against you—you alone.
I’ve committed evil in your sight.
That’s why you are justified when you render your verdict,
completely correct when you issue your judgment.
5 Yes, I was born in guilt, in sin,
from the moment my mother conceived me.
6 And yes, you want truth in the most hidden places;
you teach me wisdom in the most secret space.[g]
7 Purify me with hyssop and I will be clean;
wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Let me hear joy and celebration again;
let the bones you crushed rejoice once more.
9 Hide your face from my sins;
wipe away all my guilty deeds!
10 Create a clean heart for me, God;
put a new, faithful spirit deep inside me!
11 Please don’t throw me out of your presence;
please don’t take your holy spirit away from me.
12 Return the joy of your salvation to me
and sustain me with a willing spirit.
13 Then I will teach wrongdoers your ways,
and sinners will come back to you.
14 Deliver me from violence, God, God of my salvation,
so that my tongue can sing of your righteousness.
15 Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will proclaim your praise.
16 You don’t want sacrifices.
If I gave an entirely burned offering,
you wouldn’t be pleased.
17 A broken spirit is my sacrifice, God.[h]
You won’t despise a heart, God, that is broken and crushed.
18 Do good things for Zion by your favor.
Rebuild Jerusalem’s walls.
19 Then you will again want sacrifices of righteousness—
entirely burned offerings and complete offerings.
Then bulls will again be sacrificed on your altar.
Footnotes
- Psalm 47:7 Or Sing praises with understanding or wisely (cf LXX, Vulg); Heb maskil; see the note at Ps 32.
- Psalm 48:14 LXX; Heb uncertain; Heb al muth (unto death or against death), but see the notes at Pss 9–10, 46—the words might belong in the heading of Ps 49.
- Psalm 49:11 Correction with LXX
- Psalm 49:14 Heb Sheol; also again in 49:7, 15
- Psalm 49:14 Heb uncertain in 49:13-14
- Psalm 49:18 LXX, Syr
- Psalm 51:6 Heb uncertain
- Psalm 51:17 Correction
Psalm 47-51
New International Version
Psalm 47-51
New International Version
Psalm 47[a]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
2 For the Lord Most High(C) is awesome,(D)
the great King(E) over all the earth.
3 He subdued(F) nations under us,
peoples under our feet.
4 He chose our inheritance(G) for us,
the pride of Jacob,(H) whom he loved.[b]
5 God has ascended(I) amid shouts of joy,(J)
the Lord amid the sounding of trumpets.(K)
6 Sing praises(L) to God, sing praises;
sing praises to our King, sing praises.
7 For God is the King of all the earth;(M)
sing to him a psalm(N) of praise.
8 God reigns(O) over the nations;
God is seated on his holy throne.(P)
9 The nobles of the nations assemble
as the people of the God of Abraham,
for the kings[c] of the earth belong to God;(Q)
he is greatly exalted.(R)
Psalm 48[d]
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah.
1 Great is the Lord,(S) and most worthy of praise,(T)
in the city of our God,(U) his holy mountain.(V)
2 Beautiful(W) in its loftiness,
the joy of the whole earth,
like the heights of Zaphon[e](X) is Mount Zion,(Y)
the city of the Great King.(Z)
3 God is in her citadels;(AA)
he has shown himself to be her fortress.(AB)
4 When the kings joined forces,
when they advanced together,(AC)
5 they saw her and were astounded;
they fled in terror.(AD)
6 Trembling seized(AE) them there,
pain like that of a woman in labor.(AF)
7 You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish(AG)
shattered by an east wind.(AH)
8 As we have heard,
so we have seen
in the city of the Lord Almighty,
in the city of our God:
God makes her secure
forever.[f](AI)
9 Within your temple, O God,
we meditate(AJ) on your unfailing love.(AK)
10 Like your name,(AL) O God,
your praise reaches to the ends of the earth;(AM)
your right hand is filled with righteousness.
11 Mount Zion rejoices,
the villages of Judah are glad
because of your judgments.(AN)
12 Walk about Zion, go around her,
count her towers,(AO)
13 consider well her ramparts,(AP)
view her citadels,(AQ)
that you may tell of them
to the next generation.(AR)
14 For this God is our God for ever and ever;
he will be our guide(AS) even to the end.
Psalm 49[g]
For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm.
1 Hear(AT) this, all you peoples;(AU)
listen, all who live in this world,(AV)
2 both low and high,(AW)
rich and poor alike:
3 My mouth will speak words of wisdom;(AX)
the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.(AY)
4 I will turn my ear to a proverb;(AZ)
with the harp(BA) I will expound my riddle:(BB)
5 Why should I fear(BC) when evil days come,
when wicked deceivers surround me—
6 those who trust in their wealth(BD)
and boast(BE) of their great riches?(BF)
7 No one can redeem the life of another
or give to God a ransom for them—
8 the ransom(BG) for a life is costly,
no payment is ever enough—(BH)
9 so that they should live on(BI) forever
and not see decay.(BJ)
10 For all can see that the wise die,(BK)
that the foolish and the senseless(BL) also perish,
leaving their wealth(BM) to others.(BN)
11 Their tombs(BO) will remain their houses[h] forever,
their dwellings for endless generations,(BP)
though they had[i] named(BQ) lands after themselves.
13 This is the fate of those who trust in themselves,(BT)
and of their followers, who approve their sayings.[j]
14 They are like sheep and are destined(BU) to die;(BV)
death will be their shepherd
(but the upright will prevail(BW) over them in the morning).
Their forms will decay in the grave,
far from their princely mansions.
15 But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead;(BX)
he will surely take me to himself.(BY)
16 Do not be overawed when others grow rich,
when the splendor of their houses increases;
17 for they will take nothing(BZ) with them when they die,
their splendor will not descend with them.(CA)
18 Though while they live they count themselves blessed—(CB)
and people praise you when you prosper—
19 they will join those who have gone before them,(CC)
who will never again see the light(CD) of life.
Psalm 50
A psalm of Asaph.
1 The Mighty One, God, the Lord,(CG)
speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to where it sets.(CH)
2 From Zion,(CI) perfect in beauty,(CJ)
God shines forth.(CK)
3 Our God comes(CL)
and will not be silent;(CM)
a fire devours(CN) before him,(CO)
and around him a tempest(CP) rages.
4 He summons the heavens above,
and the earth,(CQ) that he may judge his people:(CR)
5 “Gather to me this consecrated people,(CS)
who made a covenant(CT) with me by sacrifice.”
6 And the heavens proclaim(CU) his righteousness,
for he is a God of justice.[k][l](CV)
7 “Listen, my people, and I will speak;
I will testify(CW) against you, Israel:
I am God, your God.(CX)
8 I bring no charges(CY) against you concerning your sacrifices
or concerning your burnt offerings,(CZ) which are ever before me.
9 I have no need of a bull(DA) from your stall
or of goats(DB) from your pens,(DC)
10 for every animal of the forest(DD) is mine,
and the cattle on a thousand hills.(DE)
11 I know every bird(DF) in the mountains,
and the insects in the fields(DG) are mine.
12 If I were hungry I would not tell you,
for the world(DH) is mine, and all that is in it.(DI)
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?
14 “Sacrifice thank offerings(DJ) to God,
fulfill your vows(DK) to the Most High,(DL)
15 and call(DM) on me in the day of trouble;(DN)
I will deliver(DO) you, and you will honor(DP) me.”
16 But to the wicked person, God says:
“What right have you to recite my laws
or take my covenant(DQ) on your lips?(DR)
17 You hate(DS) my instruction
and cast my words behind(DT) you.
18 When you see a thief, you join(DU) with him;
you throw in your lot with adulterers.(DV)
19 You use your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue to deceit.(DW)
20 You sit and testify against your brother(DX)
and slander your own mother’s son.
21 When you did these things and I kept silent,(DY)
you thought I was exactly[m] like you.
But I now arraign(DZ) you
and set my accusations(EA) before you.
22 “Consider this, you who forget God,(EB)
or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you:(EC)
23 Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me,
and to the blameless[n] I will show my salvation.(ED)”
Psalm 51[o]
For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.(EE)
1 Have mercy(EF) on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;(EG)
according to your great compassion(EH)
blot out(EI) my transgressions.(EJ)
2 Wash away(EK) all my iniquity
and cleanse(EL) me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.(EM)
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned(EN)
and done what is evil in your sight;(EO)
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.(EP)
5 Surely I was sinful(EQ) at birth,(ER)
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom(ES) in that secret place.(ET)
7 Cleanse(EU) me with hyssop,(EV) and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.(EW)
8 Let me hear joy and gladness;(EX)
let the bones(EY) you have crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins(EZ)
and blot out(FA) all my iniquity.
10 Create in me a pure heart,(FB) O God,
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.(FC)
11 Do not cast me(FD) from your presence(FE)
or take your Holy Spirit(FF) from me.
12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation(FG)
and grant me a willing spirit,(FH) to sustain me.(FI)
13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways,(FJ)
so that sinners(FK) will turn back to you.(FL)
14 Deliver me(FM) from the guilt of bloodshed,(FN) O God,
you who are God my Savior,(FO)
and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.(FP)
15 Open my lips, Lord,(FQ)
and my mouth will declare your praise.
16 You do not delight in sacrifice,(FR) or I would bring it;
you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.
17 My sacrifice,(FS) O God, is[p] a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart(FT)
you, God, will not despise.
Footnotes
- Psalm 47:1 In Hebrew texts 47:1-9 is numbered 47:2-10.
- Psalm 47:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
- Psalm 47:9 Or shields
- Psalm 48:1 In Hebrew texts 48:1-14 is numbered 48:2-15.
- Psalm 48:2 Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites.
- Psalm 48:8 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
- Psalm 49:1 In Hebrew texts 49:1-20 is numbered 49:2-21.
- Psalm 49:11 Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew In their thoughts their houses will remain
- Psalm 49:11 Or generations, / for they have
- Psalm 49:13 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 15.
- Psalm 50:6 With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text for God himself is judge
- Psalm 50:6 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.
- Psalm 50:21 Or thought the ‘I am’ was
- Psalm 50:23 Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; the meaning of the Masoretic Text for this phrase is uncertain.
- Psalm 51:1 In Hebrew texts 51:1-19 is numbered 51:3-21.
- Psalm 51:17 Or The sacrifices of God are
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.