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Psalm 88-92
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 88-92
New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition
Psalm 88
Prayer for Help in Despondency
A Song. A Psalm of the Korahites. To the leader: according to Mahalath Leannoth. A Maskil of Heman the Ezrahite.
1 O Lord, God of my salvation,
at night, when I cry out before you,(A)
2 let my prayer come before you;
incline your ear to my cry.(B)
3 For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.(C)
4 I am counted among those who go down to the Pit;
I am like those who have no help,(D)
5 like those forsaken among the dead,
like the slain that lie in the grave,
like those whom you remember no more,
for they are cut off from your hand.(E)
6 You have put me in the depths of the Pit,
in the regions dark and deep.(F)
7 Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and you overwhelm me with all your waves. Selah(G)
8 You have caused my companions to shun me;
you have made me a thing of horror to them.
I am shut in so that I cannot escape;(H)
9 my eye grows dim through sorrow.
Every day I call on you, O Lord;
I spread out my hands to you.(I)
10 Do you work wonders for the dead?
Do the shades rise up to praise you? Selah(J)
11 Is your steadfast love declared in the grave
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
12 Are your wonders known in the darkness
or your saving help in the land of forgetfulness?(K)
13 But I, O Lord, cry out to you;
in the morning my prayer comes before you.(L)
14 O Lord, why do you cast me off?
Why do you hide your face from me?(M)
15 Wretched and close to death from my youth up,
I suffer your terrors; I am desperate.[a](N)
16 Your wrath has swept over me;
your dread assaults destroy me.
17 They surround me like a flood all day long;
from all sides they close in on me.(O)
18 You have caused friend and neighbor to shun me;
my companions are in darkness.(P)
Psalm 89
God’s Covenant with David
A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
1 I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord,[b] forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.(Q)
2 I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.(R)
3 You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one;
I have sworn to my servant David:(S)
4 ‘I will establish your descendants forever
and build your throne for all generations.’ ” Selah(T)
5 Let the heavens praise your wonders, O Lord,
your faithfulness in the assembly of the holy ones.(U)
6 For who in the skies can be compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings is like the Lord,(V)
7 a God feared in the council of the holy ones,
great and awesome[c] above all who are around him?(W)
8 O Lord God of hosts,
who is as mighty as you, O Lord?
Your faithfulness surrounds you.(X)
9 You rule the raging of the sea;
when its waves rise, you still them.(Y)
10 You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with your mighty arm.(Z)
11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;
the world and all that is in it—you founded them.(AA)
12 The north and the south[d]—you created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously praise your name.(AB)
13 You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your right hand.(AC)
14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.(AD)
15 Happy are the people who know the festal shout,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of your countenance;(AE)
16 they exult in your name all day long
and extol[e] your righteousness.
17 For you are the glory of their strength;
by your favor our horn is exalted.(AF)
18 For our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.(AG)
19 Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one and said,
“I have set the crown[f] on one who is mighty;
I have exalted one chosen from the people.(AH)
20 I have found my servant David;
with my holy oil I have anointed him;(AI)
21 my hand shall always remain with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
22 The enemy shall not outwit him;
the wicked shall not humble him.(AJ)
23 I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.(AK)
24 My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him,
and in my name his horn shall be exalted.(AL)
25 I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
26 He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’(AM)
27 I will make him the firstborn,
the highest of the kings of the earth.(AN)
28 Forever I will keep my steadfast love for him,
and my covenant with him will stand firm.(AO)
29 I will establish his line forever
and his throne as long as the heavens endure.(AP)
30 If his children forsake my law
and do not walk according to my ordinances,(AQ)
31 if they violate my statutes
and do not keep my commandments,
32 then I will punish their transgression with the rod
and their iniquity with scourges,(AR)
33 but I will not remove from him my steadfast love
or be false to my faithfulness.(AS)
34 I will not violate my covenant
or alter the word that went forth from my lips.(AT)
35 Once and for all I have sworn by my holiness;
I will not lie to David.(AU)
36 His line shall continue forever,
and his throne endure before me like the sun.(AV)
37 It shall be established forever like the moon,
an enduring witness in the skies.” Selah
38 But now you have spurned and rejected him;
you are full of wrath against your anointed.(AW)
39 You have renounced the covenant with your servant;
you have defiled his crown in the dust.(AX)
40 You have broken through all his walls;
you have laid his strongholds in ruins.(AY)
41 All who pass by plunder him;
he has become the scorn of his neighbors.(AZ)
42 You have exalted the right hand of his foes;
you have made all his enemies rejoice.(BA)
43 Moreover, you have turned back the edge of his sword,
and you have not supported him in battle.(BB)
44 You have removed the scepter from his hand[g]
and hurled his throne to the ground.(BC)
45 You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him with shame. Selah(BD)
46 How long, O Lord? Will you hide yourself forever?
How long will your wrath burn like fire?(BE)
47 Remember how short my time is—[h]
for what vanity you have created all mortals!(BF)
48 Who can live and never see death?
Who can escape the power of Sheol? Selah(BG)
49 Lord, where is your steadfast love of old,
which by your faithfulness you swore to David?(BH)
50 Remember, O Lord, how your servant is taunted,
how I bear in my bosom the insults of the peoples,[i](BI)
51 with which your enemies taunt, O Lord,
with which they taunted the footsteps of your anointed.(BJ)
52 Blessed be the Lord forever.
Amen and Amen.(BK)
Book IV
(Psalms 90–106)
Psalm 90
God’s Eternity and Human Frailty
A Prayer of Moses, the man of God.
1 Lord, you have been our dwelling place[j]
in all generations.(BL)
2 Before the mountains were brought forth
or ever you had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting you are God.(BM)
3 You turn us[k] back to dust
and say, “Turn back, you mortals.”(BN)
4 For a thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday when it is past
or like a watch in the night.(BO)
5 You sweep them away; they are like a dream,
like grass that is renewed in the morning;(BP)
6 in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;
in the evening it fades and withers.(BQ)
7 For we are consumed by your anger;
by your wrath we are overwhelmed.
8 You have set our iniquities before you,
our secret sins in the light of your countenance.(BR)
9 For all our days pass away under your wrath;
our years come to an end[l] like a sigh.(BS)
10 The days of our life are seventy years
or perhaps eighty, if we are strong;
even then their span[m] is only toil and trouble;
they are soon gone, and we fly away.(BT)
11 Who considers the power of your anger?
Your wrath is as great as the fear that is due you.(BU)
12 So teach us to count our days
that we may gain a wise heart.(BV)
13 Turn, O Lord! How long?
Have compassion on your servants!(BW)
14 Satisfy us in the morning with your steadfast love,
so that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.(BX)
15 Make us glad as many days as you have afflicted us
and as many years as we have seen evil.
16 Let your work be manifest to your servants
and your glorious power to their children.(BY)
17 Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us
and prosper for us the work of our hands—
O prosper the work of our hands!(BZ)
Psalm 91
Assurance of God’s Protection
1 You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,[n](CA)
2 will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust.”(CB)
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the hunter
and from the deadly pestilence;(CC)
4 he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and defense.(CD)
5 You will not fear the terror of the night
or the arrow that flies by day(CE)
6 or the pestilence that stalks in darkness
or the destruction that wastes at noonday.(CF)
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 look with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked.(CG)
9 Because you have made the Lord your refuge,[o]
the Most High your dwelling place,
10 no evil shall befall you,
no scourge come near your tent.(CH)
11 For he will command his angels concerning you
to guard you in all your ways.(CI)
12 On their hands they will bear you up,
so that you will not dash your foot against a stone.
13 You will tread on the lion and the adder;
the young lion and the serpent you will trample under foot.(CJ)
14 Those who love me, I will deliver;
I will protect those who know my name.(CK)
15 When they call to me, I will answer them;
I will be with them in trouble;
I will rescue them and honor them.(CL)
16 With long life I will satisfy them
and show them my salvation.(CM)
Psalm 92
Thanksgiving for Vindication
A Psalm. A Song for the Sabbath Day.
1 It is good to give thanks to the Lord,
to sing praises to your name, O Most High,(CN)
2 to declare your steadfast love in the morning
and your faithfulness by night,(CO)
3 to the music of the lute and the harp,
to the melody of the lyre.(CP)
4 For you, O Lord, have made me glad by your work;
at the works of your hands I sing for joy.
5 How great are your works, O Lord!
Your thoughts are very deep!(CQ)
6 The dullard cannot know;
the stupid cannot understand this:
7 though the wicked sprout like grass
and all evildoers flourish,
they are doomed to destruction forever,(CR)
8 but you, O Lord, are on high forever.(CS)
9 For your enemies, O Lord,
for your enemies shall perish;
all evildoers shall be scattered.(CT)
10 But you have exalted my horn like that of the wild ox;
you have anointed me with fresh oil.
11 My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies;
my ears have heard the doom of my evil assailants.(CU)
12 The righteous flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.(CV)
13 They are planted in the house of the Lord;
they flourish in the courts of our God.
14 In old age they still produce fruit;
they are always green and full of sap,(CW)
15 showing that the Lord is upright;
he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.(CX)
Footnotes
- 88.15 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 89.1 Gk: Heb the steadfast love of the Lord
- 89.7 Gk Syr: Heb greatly awesome
- 89.12 Or Zaphon and Yamin
- 89.16 Cn: Heb are exalted in
- 89.19 Cn: Heb help
- 89.44 Cn: Heb removed his cleanness
- 89.47 Meaning of Heb uncertain
- 89.50 Cn: Heb bosom all of many peoples
- 90.1 Or our refuge
- 90.3 Heb humankind
- 90.9 Syr: Heb we bring our years to an end
- 90.10 Cn Compare Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb pride
- 91.1 Traditional rendering of Heb Shaddai
- 91.9 Cn: Heb Because you, Lord, are my refuge; you have made
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.
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