You handed us over like sheep to be eaten; you scattered us among the nations.

Yet because of you we are killed all day long; we are treated like sheep at the slaughtering block.

Look at them shake uncontrollably, like a woman writhing in childbirth.

but, despite their wealth, people do not last, they are like animals that perish.

They will travel to Sheol like sheep, with death as their shepherd. The godly will rule over them when the day of vindication dawns; Sheol will consume their bodies and they will no longer live in impressive houses.

Wealthy people do not understand; they are like animals that perish.

When you did these things, I was silent, so you thought I was exactly like you. But now I will condemn you and state my case against you!

But I am like a flourishing olive tree in the house of God; I continually trust in God's loyal love.

I say, "I wish I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and settle in a safe place!

But it is you, a man like me, my close friend in whom I confided.

His words are as smooth as butter, but he harbors animosity in his heart. His words seem softer than oil, but they are really like sharp swords.

Their venom is like that of a snake, like a deaf serpent that does not hear,

Let them disappear like water that flows away! Let them wither like grass!

Let them be like a snail that melts away as it moves along! Let them be like stillborn babies that never see the sun!

They return in the evening; they growl like a dog and prowl around outside the city.

They return in the evening; they growl like a dog and prowl around outside the city.

They sharpen their tongues like a sword; they aim their arrow, a slanderous charge,

For you, O God, tested us; you purified us like refined silver.

Then those living on earth will know what you are like; all nations will know how you deliver your people.

Sound your battle cry against the wild beast of the reeds, and the nations that assemble like a herd of calves led by bulls! They humble themselves and offer gold and silver as tribute. God scatters the nations that like to do battle.

My own brothers treat me like a stranger; they act as if I were a foreigner.

He will descend like rain on the mown grass, like showers that drench the earth.

May there be an abundance of grain in the earth; on the tops of the mountains may it sway! May its fruit trees flourish like the forests of Lebanon! May its crops be as abundant as the grass of the earth!

Take a good look! This is what the wicked are like, those who always have it so easy and get richer and richer.

They are like a dream after one wakes up. O Lord, when you awake you will despise them.

They invade like lumberjacks swinging their axes in a thick forest.

You led your people like a flock of sheep, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Then they will not be like their ancestors, who were a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that was not committed and faithful to God.

He caused streams to flow from the rock, and made the water flow like rivers.

He rained down meat on them like dust, birds as numerous as the sand on the seashores.

He remembered that they were made of flesh, and were like a wind that blows past and does not return.

Yet he brought out his people like sheep; he led them through the wilderness like a flock.

But then the Lord awoke from his sleep; he was like a warrior in a drunken rage.

They have made their blood flow like water all around Jerusalem, and there is no one to bury them.

How long will this go on, O Lord? Will you stay angry forever? How long will your rage burn like fire?

For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; a psalm of Asaph. O shepherd of Israel, pay attention, you who lead Joseph like a flock of sheep! You who sit enthroned above the winged angels, reveal your splendor!

Yet you will die like mortals; you will fall like all the other rulers."

They were destroyed at Endor; their corpses were like manure on the ground.

Make their nobles like Oreb and Zeeb, and all their rulers like Zebah and Zalmunna,

O my God, make them like dead thistles, like dead weeds blown away by the wind!

Like the fire that burns down the forest, or the flames that consume the mountainsides,

They treat me like those who descend into the grave. I am like a helpless man,

adrift among the dead, like corpses lying in the grave, whom you remember no more, and who are cut off from your power.

They surround me like water all day long; they join forces and encircle me.

For who in the skies can compare to the Lord? Who is like the Lord among the heavenly beings,

O Lord, sovereign God! Who is strong like you, O Lord? Your faithfulness surrounds you.

His dynasty will last forever. His throne will endure before me, like the sun,

it will remain stable, like the moon, his throne will endure like the skies." (Selah)

How long, O Lord, will this last? Will you remain hidden forever? Will your anger continue to burn like fire?

Yes, in your eyes a thousand years are like yesterday that quickly passes, or like one of the divisions of the nighttime.

You bring their lives to an end and they "fall asleep." In the morning they are like the grass that sprouts up;

Yes, throughout all our days we experience your raging fury; the years of our lives pass quickly, like a sigh.

He will shelter you with his wings; you will find safety under his wings. His faithfulness is like a shield or a protective wall.

When the wicked sprout up like grass, and all the evildoers glisten, it is so that they may be annihilated.

You exalt my horn like that of a wild ox. I am covered with fresh oil.

The godly grow like a palm tree; they grow high like a cedar in Lebanon.

He says, "Do not be stubborn like they were at Meribah, like they were that day at Massah in the wilderness,

The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of the whole earth.

For my days go up in smoke, and my bones are charred like a fireplace.

My heart is parched and withered like grass, for I am unable to eat food.

I am like an owl in the wilderness; I am like a screech owl among the ruins.

I stay awake; I am like a solitary bird on a roof.

My days are coming to an end, and I am withered like grass.

They will perish, but you will endure. They will wear out like a garment; like clothes you will remove them and they will disappear.

who satisfies your life with good things, so your youth is renewed like an eagle's.

A person's life is like grass. Like a flower in the field it flourishes,

He covers himself with light as if it were a garment. He stretches out the skies like a tent curtain,

The watery deep covered it like a garment; the waters reached above the mountains.

We have sinned like our ancestors; we have done wrong, we have done evil.

They acted like fools in their rebellious ways, and suffered because of their sins.

They swayed and staggered like a drunk, and all their skill proved ineffective.

Yet he protected the needy from oppression, and cared for his families like a flock of sheep.

He made cursing a way of life, so curses poured into his stomach like water and seeped into his bones like oil.

May a curse attach itself to him, like a garment one puts on, or a belt one wears continually!

I am fading away like a shadow at the end of the day; I am shaken off like a locust.

The mountains skipped like rams, the hills like lambs.

Why do you skip like rams, O mountains, like lambs, O hills?

Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them.

They surrounded me like bees. But they disappeared as quickly as a fire among thorns. Indeed, in the name of the Lord I pushed them away.

I am like a foreigner in this land. Do not hide your commands from me!

For I am like a wineskin dried up in smoke. I do not forget your statutes.

You remove all the wicked of the earth like slag. Therefore I love your rules.

I rejoice in your instructions, like one who finds much plunder.

I have wandered off like a lost sheep. Come looking for your servant, for I do not forget your commands.

We escaped with our lives, like a bird from a hunter's snare. The snare broke, and we escaped.

A song of ascents. Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion; it cannot be upended and will endure forever.

Sons born during one's youth are like arrows in a warrior's hand.

Your wife will be like a fruitful vine in the inner rooms of your house; your children will be like olive branches, as they sit all around your table.

May they be like the grass on the rooftops which withers before one can even pull it up,

Indeed I am composed and quiet, like a young child carried by its mother; I am content like the young child I carry.

It is like fine oil poured on the head which flows down the beard -- Aaron's beard, and then flows down his garments.

It is like the dew of Hermon, which flows down upon the hills of Zion. Indeed that is where the Lord has decreed a blessing will be available -- eternal life.

Those who make them will end up like them, as will everyone who trusts in them.

Their tongues wound like a serpent; a viper's venom is behind their lips. (Selah)

May you accept my prayer like incense, my uplifted hands like the evening offering!

Certainly my enemies chase me. They smash me into the ground. They force me to live in dark regions, like those who have been dead for ages.

People are like a vapor, their days like a shadow that disappears.

Then our sons will be like plants, that quickly grow to full size. Our daughters will be like corner pillars, carved like those in a palace.

He sends the snow that is white like wool; he spreads the frost that is white like ashes.

He throws his hailstones like crumbs. Who can withstand the cold wind he sends?