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Psalm 88-92
New Living Translation
Psalm 88-92
New Living Translation
Psalm 88
For the choir director: A psalm of the descendants of Korah. A song to be sung to the tune “The Suffering of Affliction.” A psalm[a] of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 O Lord, God of my salvation,
I cry out to you by day.
I come to you at night.
2 Now hear my prayer;
listen to my cry.
3 For my life is full of troubles,
and death[b] draws near.
4 I am as good as dead,
like a strong man with no strength left.
5 They have left me among the dead,
and I lie like a corpse in a grave.
I am forgotten,
cut off from your care.
6 You have thrown me into the lowest pit,
into the darkest depths.
7 Your anger weighs me down;
with wave after wave you have engulfed me. Interlude
8 You have driven my friends away
by making me repulsive to them.
I am in a trap with no way of escape.
9 My eyes are blinded by my tears.
Each day I beg for your help, O Lord;
I lift my hands to you for mercy.
10 Are your wonderful deeds of any use to the dead?
Do the dead rise up and praise you? Interlude
11 Can those in the grave declare your unfailing love?
Can they proclaim your faithfulness in the place of destruction?[c]
12 Can the darkness speak of your wonderful deeds?
Can anyone in the land of forgetfulness talk about your righteousness?
13 O Lord, I cry out to you.
I will keep on pleading day by day.
14 O Lord, why do you reject me?
Why do you turn your face from me?
15 I have been sick and close to death since my youth.
I stand helpless and desperate before your terrors.
16 Your fierce anger has overwhelmed me.
Your terrors have paralyzed me.
17 They swirl around me like floodwaters all day long.
They have engulfed me completely.
18 You have taken away my companions and loved ones.
Darkness is my closest friend.
Psalm 89
A psalm[d] of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of the Lord’s unfailing love forever!
Young and old will hear of your faithfulness.
2 Your unfailing love will last forever.
Your faithfulness is as enduring as the heavens.
3 The Lord said, “I have made a covenant with David, my chosen servant.
I have sworn this oath to him:
4 ‘I will establish your descendants as kings forever;
they will sit on your throne from now until eternity.’” Interlude
5 All heaven will praise your great wonders, Lord;
myriads of angels will praise you for your faithfulness.
6 For who in all of heaven can compare with the Lord?
What mightiest angel is anything like the Lord?
7 The highest angelic powers stand in awe of God.
He is far more awesome than all who surround his throne.
8 O Lord God of Heaven’s Armies!
Where is there anyone as mighty as you, O Lord?
You are entirely faithful.
9 You rule the oceans.
You subdue their storm-tossed waves.
10 You crushed the great sea monster.[e]
You scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.
11 The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours;
everything in the world is yours—you created it all.
12 You created north and south.
Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon praise your name.
13 Powerful is your arm!
Strong is your hand!
Your right hand is lifted high in glorious strength.
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne.
Unfailing love and truth walk before you as attendants.
15 Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship,
for they will walk in the light of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice all day long in your wonderful reputation.
They exult in your righteousness.
17 You are their glorious strength.
It pleases you to make us strong.
18 Yes, our protection comes from the Lord,
and he, the Holy One of Israel, has given us our king.
19 Long ago you spoke in a vision to your faithful people.
You said, “I have raised up a warrior.
I have selected him from the common people to be king.
20 I have found my servant David.
I have anointed him with my holy oil.
21 I will steady him with my hand;
with my powerful arm I will make him strong.
22 His enemies will not defeat him,
nor will the wicked overpower him.
23 I will beat down his adversaries before him
and destroy those who hate him.
24 My faithfulness and unfailing love will be with him,
and by my authority he will grow in power.
25 I will extend his rule over the sea,
his dominion over the rivers.
26 And he will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation.’
27 I will make him my firstborn son,
the mightiest king on earth.
28 I will love him and be kind to him forever;
my covenant with him will never end.
29 I will preserve an heir for him;
his throne will be as endless as the days of heaven.
30 But if his descendants forsake my instructions
and fail to obey my regulations,
31 if they do not obey my decrees
and fail to keep my commands,
32 then I will punish their sin with the rod,
and their disobedience with beating.
33 But I will never stop loving him
nor fail to keep my promise to him.
34 No, I will not break my covenant;
I will not take back a single word I said.
35 I have sworn an oath to David,
and in my holiness I cannot lie:
36 His dynasty will go on forever;
his kingdom will endure as the sun.
37 It will be as eternal as the moon,
my faithful witness in the sky!” Interlude
38 But now you have rejected him and cast him off.
You are angry with your anointed king.
39 You have renounced your covenant with him;
you have thrown his crown in the dust.
40 You have broken down the walls protecting him
and ruined every fort defending him.
41 Everyone who comes along has robbed him,
and he has become a joke to his neighbors.
42 You have strengthened his enemies
and made them all rejoice.
43 You have made his sword useless
and refused to help him in battle.
44 You have ended his splendor
and overturned his throne.
45 You have made him old before his time
and publicly disgraced him. Interlude
46 O Lord, how long will this go on?
Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your anger burn like fire?
47 Remember how short my life is,
how empty and futile this human existence!
48 No one can live forever; all will die.
No one can escape the power of the grave.[f] Interlude
49 Lord, where is your unfailing love?
You promised it to David with a faithful pledge.
50 Consider, Lord, how your servants are disgraced!
I carry in my heart the insults of so many people.
51 Your enemies have mocked me, O Lord;
they mock your anointed king wherever he goes.
52 Praise the Lord forever!
Amen and amen!
Book four (Psalms 90–106)
Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1 Lord, through all the generations
you have been our home!
2 Before the mountains were born,
before you gave birth to the earth and the world,
from beginning to end, you are God.
3 You turn people back to dust, saying,
“Return to dust, you mortals!”
4 For you, a thousand years are as a passing day,
as brief as a few night hours.
5 You sweep people away like dreams that disappear.
They are like grass that springs up in the morning.
6 In the morning it blooms and flourishes,
but by evening it is dry and withered.
7 We wither beneath your anger;
we are overwhelmed by your fury.
8 You spread out our sins before you—
our secret sins—and you see them all.
9 We live our lives beneath your wrath,
ending our years with a groan.
10 Seventy years are given to us!
Some even live to eighty.
But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble;
soon they disappear, and we fly away.
11 Who can comprehend the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve.
12 Teach us to realize the brevity of life,
so that we may grow in wisdom.
13 O Lord, come back to us!
How long will you delay?
Take pity on your servants!
14 Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love,
so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
15 Give us gladness in proportion to our former misery!
Replace the evil years with good.
16 Let us, your servants, see you work again;
let our children see your glory.
17 And may the Lord our God show us his approval
and make our efforts successful.
Yes, make our efforts successful!
Psalm 91
1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
8 Just open your eyes,
and see how the wicked are punished.
9 If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
11 For he will order his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
13 You will trample upon lions and cobras;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!
14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
16 I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”
Psalm 92
A psalm. A song to be sung on the Sabbath Day.
1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to the Most High.
2 It is good to proclaim your unfailing love in the morning,
your faithfulness in the evening,
3 accompanied by a ten-stringed instrument, a harp,
and the melody of a lyre.
4 You thrill me, Lord, with all you have done for me!
I sing for joy because of what you have done.
5 O Lord, what great works you do!
And how deep are your thoughts.
6 Only a simpleton would not know,
and only a fool would not understand this:
7 Though the wicked sprout like weeds
and evildoers flourish,
they will be destroyed forever.
8 But you, O Lord, will be exalted forever.
9 Your enemies, Lord, will surely perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.
10 But you have made me as strong as a wild ox.
You have anointed me with the finest oil.
11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the defeat of my wicked opponents.
12 But the godly will flourish like palm trees
and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon.
13 For they are transplanted to the Lord’s own house.
They flourish in the courts of our God.
14 Even in old age they will still produce fruit;
they will remain vital and green.
15 They will declare, “The Lord is just!
He is my rock!
There is no evil in him!”
Footnotes
Psalm 88-92
New International Version
Psalm 88-92
New International Version
Psalm 88[a]
A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. For the director of music. According to mahalath leannoth.[b] A maskil[c] of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 Lord, you are the God who saves me;(A)
day and night I cry out(B) to you.
2 May my prayer come before you;
turn your ear to my cry.
3 I am overwhelmed with troubles(C)
and my life draws near to death.(D)
4 I am counted among those who go down to the pit;(E)
I am like one without strength.(F)
5 I am set apart with the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom you remember no more,
who are cut off(G) from your care.
6 You have put me in the lowest pit,
in the darkest depths.(H)
7 Your wrath(I) lies heavily on me;
you have overwhelmed me with all your waves.[d](J)
8 You have taken from me my closest friends(K)
and have made me repulsive to them.
I am confined(L) and cannot escape;(M)
9 my eyes(N) are dim with grief.
I call(O) to you, Lord, every day;
I spread out my hands(P) to you.
10 Do you show your wonders to the dead?
Do their spirits rise up and praise you?(Q)
11 Is your love declared in the grave,
your faithfulness(R) in Destruction[e]?
12 Are your wonders known in the place of darkness,
or your righteous deeds in the land of oblivion?
13 But I cry to you for help,(S) Lord;
in the morning(T) my prayer comes before you.(U)
14 Why, Lord, do you reject(V) me
and hide your face(W) from me?
15 From my youth(X) I have suffered(Y) and been close to death;
I have borne your terrors(Z) and am in despair.(AA)
16 Your wrath(AB) has swept over me;
your terrors(AC) have destroyed me.
17 All day long they surround me like a flood;(AD)
they have completely engulfed me.
18 You have taken from me friend(AE) and neighbor—
darkness is my closest friend.
Psalm 89[f]
A maskil[g] of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing(AF) of the Lord’s great love forever;
with my mouth I will make your faithfulness known(AG)
through all generations.
2 I will declare that your love stands firm forever,
that you have established your faithfulness in heaven itself.(AH)
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to David my servant,
4 ‘I will establish your line forever
and make your throne firm through all generations.’”[h](AI)
5 The heavens(AJ) praise your wonders, Lord,
your faithfulness too, in the assembly(AK) of the holy ones.
6 For who in the skies above can compare with the Lord?
Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings?(AL)
7 In the council(AM) of the holy ones(AN) God is greatly feared;
he is more awesome than all who surround him.(AO)
8 Who is like you,(AP) Lord God Almighty?(AQ)
You, Lord, are mighty, and your faithfulness surrounds you.
9 You rule over the surging sea;
when its waves mount up, you still them.(AR)
10 You crushed Rahab(AS) like one of the slain;
with your strong arm you scattered(AT) your enemies.
11 The heavens are yours,(AU) and yours also the earth;(AV)
you founded the world and all that is in it.(AW)
12 You created the north and the south;
Tabor(AX) and Hermon(AY) sing for joy(AZ) at your name.
13 Your arm is endowed with power;
your hand is strong, your right hand exalted.(BA)
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;(BB)
love and faithfulness go before you.(BC)
15 Blessed are those who have learned to acclaim you,
who walk(BD) in the light(BE) of your presence, Lord.
16 They rejoice in your name(BF) all day long;
they celebrate your righteousness.
17 For you are their glory and strength,(BG)
and by your favor you exalt our horn.[i](BH)
18 Indeed, our shield[j](BI) belongs to the Lord,
our king(BJ) to the Holy One of Israel.
19 Once you spoke in a vision,
to your faithful people you said:
“I have bestowed strength on a warrior;
I have raised up a young man from among the people.
20 I have found David(BK) my servant;(BL)
with my sacred oil(BM) I have anointed(BN) him.
21 My hand will sustain him;
surely my arm will strengthen him.(BO)
22 The enemy will not get the better of him;(BP)
the wicked will not oppress(BQ) him.
23 I will crush his foes before him(BR)
and strike down his adversaries.(BS)
24 My faithful love will be with him,(BT)
and through my name his horn[k] will be exalted.
25 I will set his hand over the sea,
his right hand over the rivers.(BU)
26 He will call out to me, ‘You are my Father,(BV)
my God, the Rock(BW) my Savior.’(BX)
27 And I will appoint him to be my firstborn,(BY)
the most exalted(BZ) of the kings(CA) of the earth.
28 I will maintain my love to him forever,
and my covenant with him will never fail.(CB)
29 I will establish his line forever,
his throne as long as the heavens endure.(CC)
30 “If his sons forsake my law
and do not follow my statutes,
31 if they violate my decrees
and fail to keep my commands,
32 I will punish their sin with the rod,
their iniquity with flogging;(CD)
33 but I will not take my love from him,(CE)
nor will I ever betray my faithfulness.
34 I will not violate my covenant
or alter what my lips have uttered.(CF)
35 Once for all, I have sworn by my holiness—
and I will not lie to David—
36 that his line will continue forever
and his throne endure before me like the sun;(CG)
37 it will be established forever like the moon,
the faithful witness in the sky.”(CH)
38 But you have rejected,(CI) you have spurned,
you have been very angry with your anointed one.
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant
and have defiled his crown in the dust.(CJ)
40 You have broken through all his walls(CK)
and reduced his strongholds(CL) to ruins.
41 All who pass by have plundered(CM) him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.(CN)
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.(CO)
43 Indeed, you have turned back the edge of his sword
and have not supported him in battle.(CP)
44 You have put an end to his splendor
and cast his throne to the ground.
45 You have cut short(CQ) the days of his youth;
you have covered him with a mantle of shame.(CR)
46 How long, Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?(CS)
47 Remember how fleeting is my life.(CT)
For what futility you have created all humanity!
48 Who can live and not see death,
or who can escape the power of the grave?(CU)
49 Lord, where is your former great love,
which in your faithfulness you swore to David?
50 Remember, Lord, how your servant has[l] been mocked,(CV)
how I bear in my heart the taunts of all the nations,
51 the taunts with which your enemies, Lord, have mocked,
with which they have mocked every step of your anointed one.(CW)
52 Praise be to the Lord forever!
Amen and Amen.(CX)
BOOK IV
Psalms 90–106
Psalm 90
A prayer of Moses the man of God.
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place(CY)
throughout all generations.
2 Before the mountains were born(CZ)
or you brought forth the whole world,
from everlasting to everlasting(DA) you are God.(DB)
3 You turn people back to dust,
saying, “Return to dust, you mortals.”(DC)
4 A thousand years in your sight
are like a day that has just gone by,
or like a watch in the night.(DD)
5 Yet you sweep people away(DE) in the sleep of death—
they are like the new grass of the morning:
6 In the morning it springs up new,
but by evening it is dry and withered.(DF)
7 We are consumed by your anger
and terrified by your indignation.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins(DG) in the light of your presence.(DH)
9 All our days pass away under your wrath;
we finish our years with a moan.(DI)
10 Our days may come to seventy years,(DJ)
or eighty,(DK) if our strength endures;
yet the best of them are but trouble and sorrow,(DL)
for they quickly pass, and we fly away.(DM)
11 If only we knew the power of your anger!
Your wrath(DN) is as great as the fear that is your due.(DO)
12 Teach us to number our days,(DP)
that we may gain a heart of wisdom.(DQ)
13 Relent, Lord! How long(DR) will it be?
Have compassion on your servants.(DS)
14 Satisfy(DT) us in the morning with your unfailing love,(DU)
that we may sing for joy(DV) and be glad all our days.(DW)
15 Make us glad for as many days as you have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen trouble.
16 May your deeds be shown to your servants,
your splendor to their children.(DX)
17 May the favor[m] of the Lord our God rest on us;
establish the work of our hands for us—
yes, establish the work of our hands.(DY)
Psalm 91
1 Whoever dwells in the shelter(DZ) of the Most High
will rest in the shadow(EA) of the Almighty.[n]
2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge(EB) and my fortress,(EC)
my God, in whom I trust.”
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler’s snare(ED)
and from the deadly pestilence.(EE)
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;(EF)
his faithfulness will be your shield(EG) and rampart.
5 You will not fear(EH) the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.(EI)
9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,”
and you make the Most High your dwelling,
10 no harm(EJ) will overtake you,
no disaster will come near your tent.
11 For he will command his angels(EK) concerning you
to guard you in all your ways;(EL)
12 they will lift you up in their hands,
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.(EM)
13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the great lion and the serpent.(EN)
14 “Because he[o] loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him;
I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name.
15 He will call on me, and I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble,
I will deliver him and honor him.(EO)
16 With long life(EP) I will satisfy him
and show him my salvation.(EQ)”
Psalm 92[p]
A psalm. A song. For the Sabbath day.
1 It is good to praise the Lord
and make music(ER) to your name,(ES) O Most High,(ET)
2 proclaiming your love in the morning(EU)
and your faithfulness at night,
3 to the music of the ten-stringed lyre(EV)
and the melody of the harp.(EW)
4 For you make me glad by your deeds, Lord;
I sing for joy(EX) at what your hands have done.(EY)
5 How great are your works,(EZ) Lord,
how profound your thoughts!(FA)
6 Senseless people(FB) do not know,
fools do not understand,
7 that though the wicked spring up like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they will be destroyed forever.(FC)
8 But you, Lord, are forever exalted.
9 For surely your enemies(FD), Lord,
surely your enemies will perish;
all evildoers will be scattered.(FE)
10 You have exalted my horn[q](FF) like that of a wild ox;(FG)
fine oils(FH) have been poured on me.
11 My eyes have seen the defeat of my adversaries;
my ears have heard the rout of my wicked foes.(FI)
12 The righteous will flourish(FJ) like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;(FK)
13 planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.(FL)
14 They will still bear fruit(FM) in old age,
they will stay fresh and green,
15 proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
he is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in him.(FN)”
Footnotes
- Psalm 88:1 In Hebrew texts 88:1-18 is numbered 88:2-19.
- Psalm 88:1 Title: Possibly a tune, “The Suffering of Affliction”
- Psalm 88:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 88:7 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 10.
- Psalm 88:11 Hebrew Abaddon
- Psalm 89:1 In Hebrew texts 89:1-52 is numbered 89:2-53.
- Psalm 89:1 Title: Probably a literary or musical term
- Psalm 89:4 The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 37, 45 and 48.
- Psalm 89:17 Horn here symbolizes strong one.
- Psalm 89:18 Or sovereign
- Psalm 89:24 Horn here symbolizes strength.
- Psalm 89:50 Or your servants have
- Psalm 90:17 Or beauty
- Psalm 91:1 Hebrew Shaddai
- Psalm 91:14 That is, probably the king
- Psalm 92:1 In Hebrew texts 92:1-15 is numbered 92:2-16.
- Psalm 92:10 Horn here symbolizes strength.
New Living Translation (NLT)
Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.