For the Lord knows and fully approves the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked shall perish.

Worship the Lord and serve Him with reverence [with awe-inspired fear and submissive wonder];
Rejoice [yet do so] with trembling.

Kiss (pay respect to) the Son, so that He does not become angry, and you perish in the way,
For His wrath may soon be kindled and set aflame.
How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] are all those who take refuge in Him!

Many are saying of me,
“There is no help [no salvation] for him in God.” Selah.

But You, O Lord, are a shield for me,
My glory [and my honor], and the One who lifts my head.

I lay down and slept [safely];
I awakened, for the Lord sustains me.

Arise, O Lord; save me, O my God!
For You have struck all my enemies on the cheek;
You have shattered the teeth of the wicked.

But know that the Lord has set apart for Himself [and dealt wonderfully with] the godly man [the one of honorable character and moral courage—the one who does right].
The Lord hears and responds when I call to Him.

Tremble [with anger or fear], and do not sin;
Meditate in your heart upon your bed and be still [reflect on your sin and repent of your rebellion]. Selah.

In peace [and with a tranquil heart] I will both lie down and sleep,
For You alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety and confident trust.

Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,
For to You I pray.

In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will prepare [a prayer and a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].

For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil [person] dwells with You.

But as for me, I will enter Your house through the abundance of Your steadfast love and tender mercy;
At Your holy temple I will bow [obediently] in reverence for You.

For there is nothing trustworthy or reliable or truthful in what they say;
Their heart is destruction [just a treacherous chasm, a yawning gulf of lies].
Their throat is an open grave;
They [glibly] flatter with their [silken] tongue.

Hold them guilty, O God;
Let them fall by their own designs and councils!
Cast them out because of the abundance of their transgressions,
For they are mutinous and have rebelled against You.

But let all who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice,
Let them ever sing for joy;
Because You cover and shelter them,
Let those who love Your name be joyful and exult in You.

For You, O Lord, bless the righteous man [the one who is in right standing with You];
You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Have mercy on me and be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am weak (faint, frail);
Heal me, O Lord, for my bones are dismayed and anguished.

Return, O Lord, rescue my soul;
Save me because of Your [unfailing] steadfast love and mercy.

For in death there is no mention of You;
In Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead) who will praise You and give You thanks?

Depart from me, all you who do evil,
For the Lord has heard the voice of my weeping.

Arise, O Lord, in Your anger;
Lift up Yourself against the rage of my enemies;
Rise up for me; You have commanded judgment and vindication.

Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous [those in right standing with You];
For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.

He has also prepared [other] deadly weapons for Himself;
He makes His arrows fiery shafts [aimed at the unrepentant].

What is man that You are mindful of him,
And the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him?

For You have maintained my right and my cause;
You have sat on the throne judging righteously.

But the Lord will remain and sit enthroned forever;
He has prepared and established His throne for judgment.

The Lord also will be a refuge and a stronghold for the oppressed,
A refuge in times of trouble;

And those who know Your name [who have experienced Your precious mercy] will put their confident trust in You,
For You, O Lord, have not abandoned those who seek You.

For He who avenges blood [unjustly shed] remembers them (His people);
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted and abused.

For the poor will not always be forgotten,
Nor the hope of the burdened perish forever.

Put them in [reverent] fear of You, O Lord,
So that the nations may know they are but [frail and mortal] men. Selah.

For the wicked boasts and sings the praises of his heart’s desire,
And the greedy man curses and spurns [and even despises] the Lord.

The wicked, in the haughtiness of his face, will not seek nor inquire for Him;
All his thoughts are, “There is no God [so there is no accountability or punishment].”

His ways prosper at all times;
Your judgments [Lord] are on high, out of his sight [so he never thinks about them];
As for all his enemies, he sneers at them.

He says to himself, “I will not be moved;
For throughout all generations I will not be in adversity [for nothing bad will happen to me].”

He lurks in ambush in the villages;
In hiding places he kills the innocent;
He lies in wait for the unfortunate [the unhappy, the poor, the helpless].

Break the arm of the wicked and the evildoer,
Seek out his wickedness until You find no more.

For look, the wicked are bending the bow;
They take aim with their arrow on the string
To shoot [by stealth] in darkness at the upright in heart.

Upon the wicked (godless) He will rain coals of fire;
Fire and brimstone and a dreadful scorching wind will be the portion of their cup [of doom].

For the Lord is [absolutely] righteous, He loves righteousness (virtue, morality, justice);
The upright shall see His face.

Save and help and rescue, Lord, for godly people cease to be,
For the faithful vanish from among the sons of men.

“Because of the devastation of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the needy,
Now I will arise,” says the Lord; “I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”

The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the children of men
To see if there are any who understand (act wisely),
Who [truly] seek after God, [longing for His wisdom and guidance].

There they tremble with great fear,
For God is with the [consistently] righteous generation.

In his eyes an evil person is despised,
But he honors those who fear the Lord [and obediently worship Him with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].
He keeps his word even to his own disadvantage and does not change it [for his own benefit];

He does not put out his money at interest [to a fellow Israelite],
And does not take a bribe against the innocent.
He who does these things will never be shaken.

Keep and protect me, O God, for in You I have placed my trust and found refuge.

As for the saints (godly people) who are in the land,
They are the majestic and the noble and the excellent ones in whom is all my delight.

The [boundary] lines [of the land] have fallen for me in pleasant places;
Indeed, my heritage is beautiful to me.

For You will not abandon me to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
Nor will You allow Your Holy One to undergo decay.

I have called upon You, for You, O God, will answer me;
Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech.

As for me, I shall see Your face in righteousness;
I will be [fully] satisfied when I awake [to find myself] seeing Your likeness.

Out of the brightness before Him passed His thick clouds,
Hailstones and coals of fire.

The Lord also thundered in the heavens,
And the Most High uttered His voice,
Hailstones and coals of fire.

He rescued me from my strong enemy,
And from those who hated me, for they were too strong for me.

For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.

For all His ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.

I was blameless before Him,
And I kept myself free from my sin.

For You save an afflicted and humble people,
But bring down those [arrogant fools] with haughty eyes.

For You cause my lamp to be lighted and to shine;
The Lord my God illumines my darkness.

For by You I can crush a troop,
And by my God I can leap over a wall.

As for God, His way is blameless.
The word of the Lord is tested [it is perfect, it is faultless];
He is a shield to all who take refuge in Him.

For who is God, but the Lord?
Or who is a rock, except our God,

You enlarge the path beneath me and make my steps secure,
So that my feet will not slip.

For You have encircled me with strength for the battle;
You have subdued under me those who rose up against me.

They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
Even to the Lord [they cried], but He did not answer them.

Yet their voice [in quiet evidence] has gone out through all the earth,
Their words to the end of the world.
In them and in the heavens He has made a tent for the sun,

The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever;
The judgments of the Lord are true, they are righteous altogether.

For You meet him with blessings of good things;
You set a crown of pure gold on his head.

For You make him most blessed [and a blessing] forever;
You make him joyful with the joy of Your presence.

For the king [confidently] trusts in the Lord,
And through the lovingkindness (faithfulness, goodness) of the Most High he will never be shaken.

You will make them as [if in] a blazing oven in the time of your anger;
The Lord will swallow them up in His wrath,
And the fire will devour them.

For they planned evil against You;
They devised a [malevolent] plot
And they will not succeed.

For You will make them turn their backs [in defeat];
You will aim Your bowstring [of divine justice] at their faces.

My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?
Why are You so far from helping me, and from the words of my groaning?

Do not be far from me, for trouble is near;
And there is no one to help.

For [a pack of] dogs have surrounded me;
A gang of evildoers has encircled me,
They pierced my hands and my feet.

They divide my clothing among them
And cast lots for my garment.

But You, O Lord, do not be far from me;
O You my help, come quickly to my assistance.

Save me from the lion’s mouth;
From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.

You who fear the Lord [with awe-inspired reverence], praise Him!
All you descendants of Jacob, honor Him.
Fear Him [with submissive wonder], all you descendants of Israel.

For He has not despised nor detested the suffering of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from him;
But when he cried to Him for help, He listened.

My praise will be of You in the great assembly.
I will pay my vows [made in the time of trouble] before those who [reverently] fear Him.

The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who [diligently] seek Him and require Him [as their greatest need] will praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!

For the kingship and the kingdom are the Lord’s
And He rules over the nations.

He refreshes and restores my soul (life);
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.

Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.

For He has founded it upon the seas
And established it upon the streams and the rivers.

This is the generation (description) of those who diligently seek Him and require Him as their greatest need,
Who seek Your face, even [as did] Jacob. Selah.

Indeed, none of those who [expectantly] wait for You will be ashamed;
Those who turn away from what is right and deal treacherously without cause will be ashamed (humiliated, embarrassed).

Guide me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You [and only You] I wait [expectantly] all the day long.

Remember, O Lord, Your [tender] compassion and Your lovingkindnesses,
For they have been from of old.

Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and goodness and truth and faithfulness
To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

For Your name’s sake, O Lord,
Pardon my wickedness and my guilt, for they are great.

The secret [of the wise counsel] of the Lord is for those who fear Him,
And He will let them know His covenant and reveal to them [through His word] its [deep, inner] meaning.

My eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will bring my feet out of the net.

Turn to me [Lord] and be gracious to me,
For I am alone and afflicted.