Blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored by God] is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked [following their advice and example],
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit [down to rest] in the seat of scoffers (ridiculers).

But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And on His law [His precepts and teachings] he [habitually] meditates day and night.

And he will be like a tree firmly planted [and fed] by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season;
Its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers [and comes to maturity].

Therefore the wicked will not stand [unpunished] in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

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

Why are the nations in an uproar [in turmoil against God],
And why do the people devise a vain and hopeless plot?

The kings of the earth take their stand;
And the rulers take counsel together
Against the Lord and His Anointed (the Davidic King, the Messiah, the Christ), saying,

He who sits [enthroned] in the heavens laughs [at their rebellion];
The [Sovereign] Lord scoffs at them [and in supreme contempt He mocks them].

Then He will speak to them in His [profound] anger
And terrify them with His displeasure, saying,

“Yet as for Me, I have anointed and firmly installed My King
Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

‘You shall break them with a rod of iron;
You shall shatter them [in pieces] like earthenware.’”

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.

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.

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.

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.

Offer righteous sacrifices;
Trust [confidently] in the Lord.

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

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.

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.

The boastful and the arrogant will not stand in Your sight;
You hate all who do evil.

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.

O Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight (direct, right) before me.

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.

O Lord, do not rebuke or punish me in Your anger,
Nor discipline me in Your wrath.

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.

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?

O Lord my God, in You I take refuge;
Save me and rescue me from all those who pursue me,

O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is injustice in my hands,

Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me;
And let him trample my life to the ground
And lay my honor in the dust. Selah.

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.

Let the assembly of the nations be gathered around You,
And return on high over them.

The Lord judges the peoples;
Judge me, O Lord, and grant me justice according to my righteousness and according to the integrity within me.

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.

My shield and my defense depend on God,
Who saves the upright in heart.

His mischief will return on his own head,
And his violence will come down on the top of his head [like loose dirt].

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!
You have displayed Your splendor above the heavens.

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

O Lord, our Lord,
How majestic and glorious and excellent is Your name in all the earth!

I will rejoice and exult in you;
I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

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

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

The enemy has been cut off and has vanished in everlasting ruins,
You have uprooted their cities;
The very memory of them has perished.

And He will judge the world in righteousness;
He will execute judgment for the nations with fairness (equity).

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.

Sing praises to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;
Declare among the peoples His [great and wondrous] deeds.

That I may tell aloud all Your praises,
That in the gates of the daughter of Zion (Jerusalem)
I may rejoice in Your salvation and Your help.

The nations have sunk down in the pit which they have made;
In the net which they hid, their own foot has been caught.

The Lord has made Himself known;
He executes judgment;
The wicked are trapped by the work of their own hands. Higgaion (meditation) Selah.

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

Why do You stand far away, O Lord?
Why do You hide [Yourself, veiling Your eyes] in times of trouble?

In pride and arrogance the wicked hotly pursue and persecute the afflicted;
Let them be caught in the plots which they have devised.

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].

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.

He says to himself, “God has [quite] forgotten;
He has hidden His face; He will never see my deed.”

Why has the wicked spurned and shown disrespect to God?
He has said to himself, “You will not require me to account.”

In the Lord I take refuge [and put my trust];
How can you say to me, “Flee like a bird to your mountain;

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.

“If the foundations [of a godly society] are destroyed,
What can the righteous do?”

The Lord is in His holy temple; the Lord’s throne is in heaven.
His eyes see, His eyelids test the children of men.

They speak deceitful and worthless words to one another;
With flattering lips and a double heart they speak.

Who have said, “With our tongue we will prevail;
Our lips are our own; who is lord and master over us?”

“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 words and promises of the Lord are pure words,
Like silver refined in an earthen furnace, purified seven times.

The wicked strut about [in pompous self-importance] on every side,
As vileness is exalted and baseness is prized among the sons of men.

How long must I take counsel in my soul,
Having sorrow in my heart day after day?
How long will my enemy exalt himself and triumph over me?

Consider and answer me, O Lord my God;
Give light (life) to my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death,

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

But I have trusted and relied on and been confident in Your lovingkindness and faithfulness;
My heart shall rejoice and delight in Your salvation.

The [spiritually ignorant] fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed repulsive and unspeakable deeds;
There is no one who does good.

They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.

Have all the workers of wickedness and injustice no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call upon the Lord?

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

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.

O Lord, who may lodge [as a guest] in Your tent?
Who may dwell [continually] on Your holy hill?

He who walks with integrity and strength of character, and works righteousness,
And speaks and holds truth in his heart.

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.

I will bless the Lord who has counseled me;
Indeed, my heart (mind) instructs me in the night.

Therefore my heart is glad and my glory [my innermost self] rejoices;
My body too will dwell [confidently] in safety,

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.

You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
In Your right hand there are pleasures forevermore.

You have tried my heart;
You have visited me in the night;
You have tested me and You find nothing [evil in me];
I intend that my mouth will not transgress.

My steps have held closely to Your paths;
My feet have not staggered.

Wondrously show Your [marvelous and amazing] lovingkindness,
O Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand
From those who rise up against them.

Keep me [in Your affectionate care, protect me] as the apple of Your eye;
Hide me in the [protective] shadow of Your wings