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Psalm 8

Divine Majesty and Human Dignity

To the leader: according to The Gittith. A Psalm of David.

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory above the heavens.(A)
    Out of the mouths of babes and infants
you have founded a bulwark because of your foes,
    to silence the enemy and the avenger.(B)

When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers,
    the moon and the stars that you have established;(C)
what are humans that you are mindful of them,
    mortals[a] that you care for them?(D)

Yet you have made them a little lower than God[b]
    and crowned them with glory and honor.(E)
You have given them dominion over the works of your hands;
    you have put all things under their feet,(F)
all sheep and oxen,
    and also the beasts of the field,
the birds of the air, and the fish of the sea,
    whatever passes along the paths of the seas.

O Lord, our Sovereign,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!(G)

Psalm 9

God’s Power and Justice

To the leader: according to Muth-labben. A Psalm of David.

[c]I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart;
    I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.(H)
I will be glad and exult in you;
    I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.(I)

When my enemies turned back,
    they stumbled and perished before you.(J)
For you have maintained my just cause;
    you have sat on the throne giving righteous judgment.(K)

You have rebuked the nations; you have destroyed the wicked;
    you have blotted out their name forever and ever.(L)
The enemies have vanished in everlasting ruins;
    their cities you have rooted out;
    the very memory of them has perished.(M)

But the Lord sits enthroned forever;
    he has established his throne for judgment.(N)
He judges the world with righteousness;
    he judges the peoples with equity.(O)

The Lord is a stronghold for the oppressed,
    a stronghold in times of trouble.(P)
10 And those who know your name put their trust in you,
    for you, O Lord, have not forsaken those who seek you.(Q)

11 Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion.
    Declare his deeds among the peoples.(R)
12 For he who avenges blood is mindful of them;
    he does not forget the cry of the afflicted.(S)

13 Be gracious to me, O Lord.
    See what I suffer from those who hate me;
    you are the one who lifts me up from the gates of death,(T)
14 so that I may recount all your praises
    and, in the gates of daughter Zion,
    rejoice in your deliverance.(U)

15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made;
    in the net that they hid has their own foot been caught.(V)
16 The Lord has made himself known; he has executed judgment;
    the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah(W)

17 The wicked shall depart to Sheol,
    all the nations that forget God.(X)

18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten,
    nor the hope of the poor perish forever.(Y)

19 Rise up, O Lord! Do not let mortals prevail;
    let the nations be judged before you.(Z)
20 Put them in fear, O Lord;
    let the nations know that they are only human. Selah(AA)

Psalm 10

Prayer for Deliverance from Enemies

[d]Why, O Lord, do you stand far off?
    Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
In arrogance the wicked persecute the poor—
    let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.(AB)

For the wicked boast of the desires of their heart;
    those greedy for gain curse and renounce the Lord.(AC)
In the pride of their countenance the wicked say, “God will not seek it out”;
    all their thoughts are, “There is no God.”(AD)

Their ways prosper at all times;
    your judgments are on high, out of their sight;
    as for their foes, they scoff at them.
They think in their heart, “We shall not be moved;
    throughout all generations we shall not meet adversity.”(AE)

Their mouths are filled with cursing and deceit and oppression;
    under their tongues are mischief and iniquity.(AF)
They sit in ambush in the villages;
    in hiding places they murder the innocent.

Their eyes stealthily watch for the helpless;(AG)
    they lurk in secret like a lion in its den;
they lurk that they may seize the poor;
    they seize the poor and drag them off in their net.(AH)

10 They stoop, they crouch,
    and the helpless fall by their might.
11 They think in their heart, “God has forgotten;
    he has hidden his face; he will never see it.”(AI)

12 Rise up, O Lord; O God, lift up your hand;
    do not forget the oppressed.(AJ)
13 Why do the wicked renounce God
    and say in their hearts, “You will not call us to account”?

14 But you do see! Indeed, you note trouble and grief,
    that you may take it into your hands;
the helpless commit themselves to you;
    you have been the helper of the orphan.(AK)

15 Break the arm of the wicked and evildoers;
    seek out their wickedness until you find none.(AL)
16 The Lord is king forever and ever;
    the nations shall perish from his land.(AM)

17 O Lord, you will hear the desire of the meek;
    you will strengthen their heart; you will incline your ear(AN)
18 to do justice for the orphan and the oppressed,
    so that those from earth may strike terror no more.[e](AO)

Footnotes

  1. 8.4 Heb son of man
  2. 8.5 Or than the divine beings or angels
  3. 9.1 Psalms 9–10 were originally one psalm, as in the Greek and Latin traditions. In Hebrew, Psalms 9–10 formed an acrostic.
  4. 10.1 Psalms 9–10 were originally one psalm, as in the Greek and Latin traditions. In Hebrew, Psalms 9–10 formed an acrostic.
  5. 10.18 Meaning of Heb uncertain

Psalm 8[a]

For the director of music. According to gittith.[b] A psalm of David.

Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name(A) in all the earth!

You have set your glory(B)
    in the heavens.(C)
Through the praise of children and infants
    you have established a stronghold(D) against your enemies,
    to silence the foe(E) and the avenger.
When I consider your heavens,(F)
    the work of your fingers,(G)
the moon and the stars,(H)
    which you have set in place,
what is mankind that you are mindful of them,
    human beings that you care for them?[c](I)

You have made them[d] a little lower than the angels[e](J)
    and crowned them[f] with glory and honor.(K)
You made them rulers(L) over the works of your hands;(M)
    you put everything under their[g] feet:(N)
all flocks and herds,(O)
    and the animals of the wild,(P)
the birds in the sky,
    and the fish in the sea,(Q)
    all that swim the paths of the seas.

Lord, our Lord,
    how majestic is your name in all the earth!(R)

Psalm 9[h][i]

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;(S)
    I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.(T)
I will be glad and rejoice(U) in you;
    I will sing the praises(V) of your name,(W) O Most High.

My enemies turn back;
    they stumble and perish before you.
For you have upheld my right(X) and my cause,(Y)
    sitting enthroned(Z) as the righteous judge.(AA)
You have rebuked the nations(AB) and destroyed the wicked;
    you have blotted out their name(AC) for ever and ever.
Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
    you have uprooted their cities;(AD)
    even the memory of them(AE) has perished.

The Lord reigns forever;(AF)
    he has established his throne(AG) for judgment.
He rules the world in righteousness(AH)
    and judges the peoples with equity.(AI)
The Lord is a refuge(AJ) for the oppressed,(AK)
    a stronghold in times of trouble.(AL)
10 Those who know your name(AM) trust in you,
    for you, Lord, have never forsaken(AN) those who seek you.(AO)

11 Sing the praises(AP) of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;(AQ)
    proclaim among the nations(AR) what he has done.(AS)
12 For he who avenges blood(AT) remembers;
    he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.(AU)

13 Lord, see how my enemies(AV) persecute me!
    Have mercy(AW) and lift me up from the gates of death,(AX)
14 that I may declare your praises(AY)
    in the gates of Daughter Zion,(AZ)
    and there rejoice in your salvation.(BA)

15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;(BB)
    their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.(BC)
16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
    the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.[j](BD)
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,(BE)
    all the nations that forget God.(BF)
18 But God will never forget the needy;
    the hope(BG) of the afflicted(BH) will never perish.

19 Arise,(BI) Lord, do not let mortals triumph;(BJ)
    let the nations be judged(BK) in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror,(BL) Lord;
    let the nations know they are only mortal.(BM)

Psalm 10[k]

Why, Lord, do you stand far off?(BN)
    Why do you hide yourself(BO) in times of trouble?

In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak,(BP)
    who are caught in the schemes he devises.
He boasts(BQ) about the cravings of his heart;
    he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord.(BR)
In his pride the wicked man does not seek him;
    in all his thoughts there is no room for God.(BS)
His ways are always prosperous;
    your laws are rejected by[l] him;
    he sneers at all his enemies.
He says to himself, “Nothing will ever shake me.”
    He swears, “No one will ever do me harm.”(BT)

His mouth is full(BU) of lies and threats;(BV)
    trouble and evil are under his tongue.(BW)
He lies in wait(BX) near the villages;
    from ambush he murders the innocent.(BY)
His eyes watch in secret for his victims;
    like a lion in cover he lies in wait.
He lies in wait to catch the helpless;(BZ)
    he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.(CA)
10 His victims are crushed,(CB) they collapse;
    they fall under his strength.
11 He says to himself, “God will never notice;(CC)
    he covers his face and never sees.”(CD)

12 Arise,(CE) Lord! Lift up your hand,(CF) O God.
    Do not forget the helpless.(CG)
13 Why does the wicked man revile God?(CH)
    Why does he say to himself,
    “He won’t call me to account”?(CI)
14 But you, God, see the trouble(CJ) of the afflicted;
    you consider their grief and take it in hand.
The victims commit themselves to you;(CK)
    you are the helper(CL) of the fatherless.
15 Break the arm of the wicked man;(CM)
    call the evildoer to account for his wickedness
    that would not otherwise be found out.

16 The Lord is King for ever and ever;(CN)
    the nations(CO) will perish from his land.
17 You, Lord, hear the desire of the afflicted;(CP)
    you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,(CQ)
18 defending the fatherless(CR) and the oppressed,(CS)
    so that mere earthly mortals
    will never again strike terror.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 8:1 In Hebrew texts 8:1-9 is numbered 8:2-10.
  2. Psalm 8:1 Title: Probably a musical term
  3. Psalm 8:4 Or what is a human being that you are mindful of him, / a son of man that you care for him?
  4. Psalm 8:5 Or him
  5. Psalm 8:5 Or than God
  6. Psalm 8:5 Or him
  7. Psalm 8:6 Or made him ruler . . . ; / . . . his
  8. Psalm 9:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
  9. Psalm 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1-20 is numbered 9:2-21.
  10. Psalm 9:16 The Hebrew has Higgaion and Selah (words of uncertain meaning) here; Selah occurs also at the end of verse 20.
  11. Psalm 10:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
  12. Psalm 10:5 See Septuagint; Hebrew / they are haughty, and your laws are far from