See our shield, O God,
And look at the face of Your anointed [the king as Your representative].

“I will mention Rahab (Egypt) and Babylon among those who know Me—
Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Ethiopia (Cush)—
‘This one was born there.’”

The singers as well as the players of flutes will say,
“All my springs and sources of joy are in you [Jerusalem, city of God].”

Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave
Or Your faithfulness in Abaddon (the underworld)?

“His descendants I will establish forever,
And his throne [will endure] as the days of heaven.

“His descendants shall endure forever
And his throne [will continue] as the sun before Me.

“It shall be established forever like the moon,
And the witness in the heavens is ever faithful.” Selah.

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

You have swept them away like a flood, they fall asleep [forgotten as soon as they are gone];
In the morning they are like grass which grows anew—

For all our days pass away in Your wrath;
We have finished our years like a whispered sigh.

You will only [be a spectator as you] look on with your eyes
And witness the [divine] repayment of the wicked [as you watch safely from the shelter of the Most High].

Do not harden your hearts and become spiritually dull as at Meribah [the place of strife],
And as at Massah [the place of testing] in the wilderness,

Clouds and thick darkness surround Him [as at Sinai];
Righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.

My enemies taunt me all day long;
Those who ridicule me use my name as a curse.

For I have eaten ashes like bread,
And have mingled my drink with tears

For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence].

As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.

Just as a father loves his children,
So the Lord loves those who fear and worship Him [with awe-filled respect and deepest reverence].

As for man, his days are like grass;
Like a flower of the field, so he flourishes.

To those who honor and keep His covenant,
And remember to do His commandments [imprinting His word on their hearts].

[You are the One] who covers Yourself with light as with a garment,
Who stretches out the heavens like a tent curtain,

You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
The waters were standing above the mountains.

Where the birds make their nests;
As for the stork, the fir trees are her house.

I will sing to the Lord as long as I live;
I will sing praise to my God while I have my being.

May my meditation be sweet and pleasing to Him;
As for me, I will rejoice and be glad in the Lord.

Glory in His holy name;
Let the hearts of those who seek and require the Lord [as their most essential need] rejoice.

Remember [with awe and gratitude] the wonderful things which He has done,
His amazing deeds and the judgments uttered by His mouth [on His enemies, as in Egypt],

Which He confirmed to Jacob as a statute,
To Israel as an everlasting covenant,

Saying, “To you I will give the land of Canaan
As the measured portion of your inheritance.”

He sent a man before them,
Joseph, who was sold as a slave.

We have sinned like our fathers;
We have committed iniquity, we have behaved wickedly.

He rebuked the Red Sea, and it dried up;
And He led them through the depths as through a pasture.

Therefore He lifted up His hand [swearing] to them,
That He would cause them to fall in the wilderness,

They did not destroy the [pagan] peoples [in Canaan],
As the Lord commanded them,

For Your lovingkindness is great and higher than the heavens;
Your truth reaches to the skies.

Appoint a wicked man against him,
And let an attacker stand at his right hand [to kill him].

Let his children wander and beg;
Let them seek their food and be driven far from their ruined homes.

He clothed himself with cursing as with his garment,
And it seeped into his inner self like water
And like [anointing] oil into his bones.

Let it be to him as a robe with which he covers himself,
And as a sash with which he is constantly bound.

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

Let my attackers be clothed with dishonor,
And let them cover themselves with their own shame as with a robe.

Your people will offer themselves willingly [to participate in Your battle] in the day of Your power;
In the splendor of holiness, from the womb of the dawn,
Your young men are to You as the dew.

He raises the poor out of the dust
And lifts the needy from the ash heap,

Because He has inclined His ear to me,
Therefore I will call on Him as long as I live.

I have rejoiced in the way of Your testimonies,
As much as in all riches.

This has become mine [as the gift of Your grace],
That I observe Your precepts [accepting them with loving obedience].

Their heart is insensitive like fat [their minds are dull and brutal],
But I delight in Your law.

Lamedh.
Forever, O Lord,
Your word is settled in heaven [standing firm and unchangeable].

I am Yours, save me [as Your own];
For I have [diligently] sought Your precepts and required them [as my greatest need].

I have taken Your testimonies as a heritage forever,
For they are the joy of my heart.

You have removed all the wicked of the earth like dross [for they have no value];
Therefore I love Your testimonies.

Be the guarantee for Your servant for good [as Judah was the guarantee for Benjamin];
Do not let the arrogant oppress me.

Therefore I esteem as right all Your precepts concerning everything;
I hate every false way.

Turn to me and be gracious to me and show me favor,
As is Your way to those who love Your name.

I rejoice at Your word,
As one who finds great treasure.

Woe to me, for I sojourn in Meshech,
and I live among the tents of Kedar [among hostile people]!

Jerusalem, that is built
As a city that is firmly joined together;

To which the [twelve] tribes go up, even the tribes of the Lord,
[As was decreed as] an ordinance for Israel,
To give thanks to the name of the Lord.

Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their master,
And as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress,
So our eyes look to the Lord our God,
Until He is gracious and favorable toward us.

Blessed be the Lord,
Who has not given us as prey to be torn by their teeth.

As the mountains surround Jerusalem,
So the Lord surrounds His people
From this time forth and forever.

But as for those who turn aside to their crooked ways [in unresponsiveness to God],
The Lord will lead them away with those who do evil.
Peace be upon Israel.

Restore our captivity, O Lord,
As the stream-beds in the South (the Negev) [are restored by torrents of rain].

Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.

Let them be like the grass on the housetops,
Which withers before it grows up,

And He gave their land as a heritage,
A heritage to Israel His people.

And gave their land as a heritage,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;

O daughter of Babylon, you devastator,
How blessed will be the one
Who repays you [with destruction] as you have repaid us.

Even the darkness is not dark to You and conceals nothing from You,
But the night shines as bright as the day;
Darkness and light are alike to You.

My frame was not hidden from You,
When I was being formed in secret,
And intricately and skillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.

Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;
And in Your book were all written
The days that were appointed for me,
When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].

The proud have hidden a trap for me, and cords;
They have spread a net by the wayside;
They have set traps for me. Selah.

Let my prayer be counted as incense before You;
The lifting up of my hands as the evening offering.

As when the one plows and breaks open the ground [and the soil scatters behind him],
Our bones have been scattered at the mouth of Sheol [by the injustices of the wicked].

For the enemy has persecuted me,
He has crushed my life down to the ground;
He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have been long dead.

Man is like a mere breath;
His days are like a shadow that passes away.

Let our sons in their youth be like plants full grown,
And our daughters like corner pillars fashioned for a palace;

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is [so vast and profound as to be] unsearchable [incomprehensible to man].