Answer me when I call, O God of my righteousness!
You have freed me when I was hemmed in and relieved me when I was in distress;
Be gracious to me and hear [and respond to] my prayer.

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.

You have put joy in my heart,
More than [others know] when their wheat and new wine have yielded abundantly.

When I see and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,
The moon and the stars, which You have established,

When my enemies turn back,
They stumble and perish before You.

He lurks in a hiding place like a lion in his lair;
He lies in wait to catch the afflicted;
He catches the afflicted when he draws him into his net.

And my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
And my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken.

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores His captive people,
Then Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

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

In my distress [when I seemed surrounded] I called upon the Lord
And cried to my God for help;
He heard my voice from His temple,
And my cry for help came before Him, into His very ears.

O Lord, save [the king];
May the King answer us in the day we call.

Yet You are He who pulled me out of the womb;
You made me trust when on my mother’s breasts.

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.

When the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh,
My adversaries and my enemies, they stumbled and fell.

Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud;
Be gracious and compassionate to me and answer me.

“What profit is there in my blood (death), if I go down to the pit (grave)?
Will the dust praise You? Will it declare Your faithfulness [to man]?

Blessed be the Lord,
For He has shown His marvelous favor and lovingkindness to me [when I was assailed] in a besieged city.

As for me, I said in my alarm,
“I am cut off from Your eyes.”
Nevertheless You heard the voice of my supplications (specific requests)
When I cried to You [for help].

When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away
Through my groaning all the day long.

Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [for forgiveness] in a time when You [are near and] may be found;
Surely when the great waters [of trial and distressing times] overflow they will not reach [the spirit in] him.

When the righteous cry [for help], the Lord hears
And rescues them from all their distress and troubles.

But as for me, when they were sick, my clothing was sackcloth (mourning garment);
I humbled my soul with fasting,
And I prayed with my head bowed on my chest.

The steps of a [good and righteous] man are directed and established by the Lord,
And He delights in his way [and blesses his path].

The Lord will not leave him in his hand
Or let him be condemned when he is judged.

Wait for and expect the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
[In the end] when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

For I pray, “May they not rejoice over me,
Who, when my foot slips, would boast against me.”

“With rebukes You discipline man for sin;
You consume like a moth what is precious to him;
Surely every man is a mere breath [a wisp of smoke, a vapor that vanishes]. Selah.

My enemies speak evil of me, saying,
“When will he die and his name perish?”

And when one comes to see me, he speaks empty words,
While his heart gathers malicious gossip [against me];
When he goes away, he tells it [everywhere].

My soul (my life, my inner self) thirsts for God, for the living God.
When will I come and see the face of God?

Why should I fear in the days of evil,
When the wickedness of those who would betray me surrounds me [on every side],

Be not afraid when [an ungodly] man becomes rich,
When the wealth and glory of his house are increased;

For when he dies he will carry nothing away;
His glory will not descend after him.

Though while he lives he counts himself happy and prosperous—
And though people praise you when you do well for yourself—

“When you see a thief, you are pleased with him and condone his behavior,
And you associate with adulterers.

Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When God restores [the fortunes of] His people,
Let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Let them flow away like water that runs off;
When he aims his arrows, let them be as headless shafts.

The [unyieldingly] righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance [of God];
He will wash his feet in the blood of the wicked.

From the end of the earth I call to You, when my heart is overwhelmed and weak;
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I [a rock that is too high to reach without Your help].

When I remember You on my bed,
I meditate and thoughtfully focus on You in the night watches,

You visit the earth and make it overflow [with water];
You greatly enrich it;
The stream of God is full of water;
You provide their grain, when You have prepared the earth.

You made men (charioteers) ride over our heads [in defeat];
We went through fire and through water,
Yet You brought us out into a [broad] place of abundance [to be refreshed].

Which my lips uttered
And my mouth spoke as a promise when I was in distress.

O God, when You went out before Your people,
When You marched through the wilderness, Selah.

You, O God, sent abroad plentiful rain;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was parched and weary.

When the Almighty scattered [the Canaanite] kings in the land of Canaan,
It was snowing on Zalmon.

When I wept and humbled myself with fasting,
It became my reproach.

When I made sackcloth my clothing [as one in mourning],
I became a byword [a mere object of scorn] to them.

May their table [with all its abundance and luxury] become a snare [to them];
And when they are in peace [secure at their sacrificial feasts], may it become a trap.

Do not cast me off nor send me away in the time of old age;
Do not abandon me when my strength fails and I am weak.

And even when I am old and gray-headed, O God, do not abandon me,
Until I declare Your [mighty] strength to this generation,
Your power to all who are to come.

My lips will shout for joy when I sing praises to You,
And my soul, which You have redeemed.

For he will rescue the needy when he cries for help,
The afflicted and abused also, and him who has no helper.

For I was envious of the arrogant
As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

When I considered how to understand this,
It was too great an effort for me and too painful

Like a dream [which seems real] until one awakens,
O Lord, when stirred, [You observe the wicked], You will despise their image.

“When I select an appointed time,
I will judge with equity,” [says the Lord].

“The earth and all the inhabitants of it melt [in tumultuous times].
It is I who will steady its pillars. Selah.

You, even You, are to be feared [with the submissive wonder of reverence];
Who may stand in Your presence when once You are angry?

When God arose to [establish] judgment,
To save all the humble of the earth. Selah.

The waters [of the Red Sea] saw You, O God;
The waters saw You, they were in anguish;
The deeps also trembled.

Therefore, when the Lord heard, He was full of wrath;
A fire was kindled against Jacob,
And His anger mounted up against Israel,

When He killed [some of] them, then those remaining sought Him,
And they returned [to Him] and searched diligently for God [for a time].

They did not remember [the miracles worked by] His [powerful] hand,
Nor the day when He redeemed them from the enemy,

When God heard this, He was filled with [righteous] wrath;
And utterly rejected Israel, [greatly hating her ways],

He established it for a testimony in Joseph
When He went throughout the land of Egypt.
I heard the language [of One whom] I did not know, saying,

Show me a sign of [Your] goodwill,
That those who hate me may see it and be ashamed,
Because You, O Lord, helped and comforted me.

The Lord will count, when He registers the peoples,
“This one was born there.” Selah.

You rule the swelling of the sea;
When its waves rise, You still them.

For a thousand years in Your sight
Are like yesterday when it is past,
Or as a watch in the night.

Consider thoughtfully, you senseless (stupid ones) among the people;
And you [dull-minded] fools, when will you become wise and understand?

If I say, “My foot has slipped,”
Your compassion and lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.

“When your fathers tested Me,
They tried Me, even though they had seen My work [of miracles].

I will behave wisely and follow the way of integrity.
When will You come to me?
I will walk in my house in integrity and with a blameless heart.

Do not hide Your face from me in the day of my distress!
Incline Your ear to me;
In the day when I call, answer me quickly.

For the Lord has built up Zion;
He has appeared in His glory and brilliance;

When the peoples are gathered together,
And the kingdoms, to serve the Lord.

When the sun arises, they withdraw
And lie down in their dens.

You give it to them, they gather it up;
You open Your hand, they are filled and satisfied with good [things].

You hide Your face, they are dismayed;
You take away their breath, they die
And return to their dust.

You send out Your Spirit, they are created;
You renew the face of the ground.

When there were only a few men in number,
Very few [in fact], and strangers in it;

And they wandered from one nation to another,
From one kingdom to another people,

Egypt was glad when they departed,
For the dread and fear of them had fallen on the Egyptians.

Remember me, O Lord, when You favor Your people.
Visit me with Your salvation [when You rescue them],

Nevertheless He looked [sympathetically] at their distress
When He heard their cry;

And He remembered His covenant for their sake,
And relented [rescinding their sentence] according to the greatness of His lovingkindness [when they cried out to Him],

When they are diminished and bowed down (humbled)
Through oppression, misery, and sorrow,

When he enters into dispute, let wickedness come about.
Let his prayer [for help] result [only] in sin.

I am vanishing like a shadow when it lengthens and fades;
I am shaken off like the locust.

I also have become a reproach and an object of taunting to others;
When they see me, they shake their heads [in derision].

Let them curse, but You bless.
When adversaries arise, let them be ashamed,
But let Your servant rejoice.

When Israel came out of Egypt,
The house of Jacob from a people of strange language,

I believed [and clung to my God] when I said,
“I am greatly afflicted.”

Then I will not be ashamed
When I look [with respect] to all Your commandments [as my guide].

I will give thanks to You with an upright heart,
When I learn [through discipline] Your righteous judgments [for my transgressions].

I will run the way of Your commandments [with purpose],
For You will give me a heart that is willing.

I have remembered [carefully] Your ancient ordinances, O Lord,
And I have taken comfort.

My eyes fail [with longing, watching] for [the fulfillment of] Your promise,
Saying, “When will You comfort me?”

How many are the days of Your servant [which he must endure]?
When will You execute judgment on those who persecute me?