For he sees that even wise men die;
The fool and the stupid alike perish
And leave their wealth to others.

Their inward thought is that their houses will continue forever,
And their dwelling places to all generations;
They have named their lands after their own names [ignoring God].

But man, with all his [self] honor and pomp, will not endure;
He is like the beasts that perish.

This is the fate of those who are foolishly confident,
And of those after them who approve [and are influenced by] their words. Selah.

Like sheep, they are destined for the realm of the dead, with death as their shepherd. The upright will have dominion over them in the morning; their strength will be consumed in the afterlife, so that they have no home.

But God will redeem my life from the power of Sheol,
For He will receive me. Selah.

A man [who is held] in honor,
Yet who lacks [spiritual] understanding and a teachable heart, is like the beasts that perish.

He summons the heavens above,
And the earth, to judge His people:

Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

And the heavens declare His righteousness,
For God Himself is judge. Selah.

I am not condemning you because of your sacrifices, or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me.

For every wild animal in the forest belongs to me, as well as the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.

I know all the birds in the mountains; indeed, everything that moves in the field is mine.

If I be hungry, I will not tell thee: for the whole world is mine, and all that therein is.

Thinkest thou that I will eat the flesh of oxen, or drink the blood of goats?

Call upon me, then, in the day of distress, I will deliver thee, that thou mayest glorify me.

But unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth?

“For you hate instruction and discipline
And cast My words behind you [discarding them].

These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.

“He who offers a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving honors Me;
And to him who orders his way rightly [who follows the way that I show him],
I shall show the salvation of God.”

Against You, You only, have I sinned
And done that which is evil in Your sight,
So that You are justified when You speak [Your sentence]
And faultless in Your judgment.

Wilt thou cleanse me from sin with hyssop, That I may be pure? Wilt thou wash me, That I may be whiter, than snow?

Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

Then shall I teach thy ways unto the wicked, that sinners may be converted unto thee.

Deliver me from blood-guiltiness, O God, thou that art the God of my health; that my tongue may praise thy righteousness.

O Lord, open my lips,
That my mouth may declare Your praise.

For thou wilt not desire sacrifice - that I should give it, Ascending-offering, will not please:

The sacrifices of God, are a spirit that is broken, - A heart - broken and crushed, O God, thou wilt not despise.

{To the Chanter, an exhortation of David when Doeg the Edomite came to Saul, and showed him, saying: David is come to the house of Abimelech} Thy boastest thou thyself, thou tyrant, that thou canst do mischief, whereas the goodness of God endureth yet daily?

You love evil more than good,
And falsehood more than speaking what is right. Selah.

You love to use all the words that destroy, and the tongue that deceives.

But God will break you down forever;
He will take you away and tear you away from your tent,
And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah.

Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength; but trusted in the abundance of his riches, and strengthened himself in his wickedness.

Therefore I will praise you forever because of what you did; I will proclaim that your name is good in the midst of your faithful ones. To the Director: Upon . A Davidic instruction.

{To the chief Musician upon Mahalath, Maschil, A Psalm of David.} The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.

God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.

Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.

How can they have understanding, that are the workers of wickedness, eating up my people as it were bread, and calling not upon God?

They are absolutely terrified, even by things that do not normally cause fear. For God annihilates those who attack you. You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them.

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.

For strangers have risen against me
And violent men have sought my life;
They have not set God before them. Selah.

Behold, God is mine helper: the Lord is with them that uphold my soul.

For thou hast delivered me out of all my trouble, so that mine eye seeth his desire upon mine enemies.

And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove!
I would fly away and be at rest.

“I would wander far away,
I would lodge in the [peace of the] wilderness. Selah.

I will hurry off to a place that is safe from the strong wind and the gale."

For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him:

So that together have we been wont to find sweetness in counsel, In the house of God, used we to walk in the throng.

He has redeemed my life in peace from the battle that was against me,
For there were many against me.

God will hear and humble them,
Even He who sits enthroned from old— Selah.
Because in them there has been no change [of heart],
And they do not fear God [at all].

Cast on Jehovah that which He hath given thee, And He doth sustain thee, He doth not suffer for ever the moving of the righteous.

My enemies have trampled upon me all day long,
For they are many who fight proudly against me.

In the day that I am afraid, I will confide in thee.

They vex me daily in my words: all that they imagine is to do me evil.

Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call;
This I know, that God is for me.

For You have rescued my soul from death,
Yes, and my feet from stumbling,
So that I may walk before God
In the light of life.

I will cry unto God most high; unto God that performeth all things for me.

He will send from heaven and save me;
He calls to account him who tramples me down. Selah.
God will send out His lovingkindness and His truth.

My soul is among lions: and I lie even among them that are set on fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and their tongue a sharp sword.

They set a net for my steps;
My very life was bowed down.
They dug a pit before me;
Into the midst of it they themselves have fallen. Selah.

How is it that by remaining silent you can speak righteously? How can you judge people fairly?

Their poison is like the venom of a serpent;
They are like the deaf horned viper that stops up its ear,

that does not respond to the magicians, or to a skilled snake-charmer.

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

Let them be as a snail which melts away (secretes slime) as it goes along,
Like the miscarriage of a woman which never sees the sun.

Before your cooking pots can feel the fire of thorns [burning under them as fuel],
He will sweep them away with a whirlwind, the green and the burning ones alike.

The righteous rejoiceth that he hath seen vengeance, His steps he washeth in the blood of the wicked.

So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth.

{To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David; when Saul sent, and they watched the house to kill him.} Deliver me from mine enemies, O my God: defend me from them that rise up against me.

For no iniquity, do they run that they may take their stand, Rouse thyself to meet me, and see.

You, O Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel,
Arise to punish all the nations;
Spare no one and do not be merciful to any who treacherously plot evil. Selah.

Angrily wipe them out! Wipe them out so they vanish! Let them know that God rules in Jacob and to the ends of the earth! (Selah)

For the music director; according to the shushan-eduth style; a prayer of David written to instruct others. It was written when he fought against Aram Naharaim and Aram-Zobah. That was when Joab turned back and struck down 12,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. O God, you have rejected us. You suddenly turned on us in your anger. Please restore us!

Thou that hast moved the land, and divided it; heal the sores thereof, for it shaketh.

You have made Your people experience hardship;
You have given us wine to drink that makes us stagger and fall.

You have given your loyal followers a rallying flag, so that they might seek safety from the bow. (Selah)

Deliver by your power and answer me, so that the ones you love may be safe.

Shall not thou do it, O God, thou that hast cast us out? Wilt not thou, O God, go out with our hosts?

Through God we shall do valiantly: for he it is that shall tread down our enemies.

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].

Indeed, you are my shelter, a strong tower that protects me from the enemy.

Let me dwell in Your tent forever;
Let me take refuge in the shelter of Your wings. Selah.

For you, O God, hear my vows; you grant me the reward that belongs to your loyal followers.

Thou shalt grant the king a long life; that his years may endure throughout all generations,

May he reign forever before God! Decree that your loyal love and faithfulness should protect him.

So will I sing praise unto thy name for ever, that I may daily perform my vows.

He only is my strength, my salvation, my defense, so that I shall not greatly fall.

How long will you attack a man
So that you may murder him, all of you,
Like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?

They consult only to throw him down from his high position [to dishonor him];
They delight in lies.
They bless with [the words of] their mouths,
But inwardly they curse. Selah.

He only is my strength, my salvation, my defense: so that I shall not fall.

Trust [confidently] in Him at all times, O people;
Pour out your heart before Him.
God is a refuge for us. Selah.

God has spoken once,
Twice I have heard this:
That power belongs to God.

and that thou, LORD, art merciful; for thou rewardest every man according to his work.

A Davidic psalm. When he was in the Wilderness of Judah.God, You are my God; I eagerly seek You.
I thirst for You;
my body faints for You
in a land that is dry, desolate, and without water.

Thus do I look for thee in thy Sanctuary, that I might behold thy power and glory.

But those that seek my soul, to destroy it, shall go into the lower parts of the earth.

But the king will rejoice in God;
Everyone who swears by Him [honoring the true God, acknowledging His authority and majesty] will glory,
For the mouths of those who speak lies will be stopped.

That they may shoot in secret at the perfect: suddenly do they shoot at him, and fear not.

But God shall suddenly shoot with a swift arrow, that they shall be wounded.