O sons of men, how long will my honor and glory be [turned into] shame?
How long will you [my enemies] love worthless (vain, futile) things and seek deception and lies? Selah.

He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has fallen into the [very] pit which he made [as a trap].

The wicked will turn to Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead),
Even all the nations who forget God.

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.

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.

He brought me out into a broad place;
He rescued me because He was pleased with me and delighted in me.

My strength is dried up like a fragment of clay pottery;
And my [dry] tongue clings to my jaws;
And You have laid me in the dust of death.

Who may ascend onto the mountain of the Lord?
And who may stand in His holy place?

You have turned my mourning into dancing for me;
You have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,

Into Your hand I commit my spirit;
You have redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth and faithfulness.

And You have not given me into the hand of the enemy;
You have set my feet in a broad place.

For day and night Your hand [of displeasure] was heavy upon me;
My energy (vitality, strength) was drained away as with the burning heat of summer. Selah.

Let destruction come upon my enemy by surprise;
Let the net he hid for me catch him;
Into that very destruction let him fall.

For Your arrows have sunk into me and penetrate deeply,
And Your hand has pressed down on me and greatly disciplined me.

With gladness and rejoicing will they be led;
They will enter into the King’s palace.

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains be shaken and slip into the heart of the seas,

He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth;
He breaks the bow into pieces and snaps the spear in two;
He burns the chariots with fire.

But You, O God, will bring down the wicked to the pit of destruction;
Men of blood and treachery will not live out half their days.
But I will [boldly and unwaveringly] trust in You.

You have taken account of my wanderings;
Put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not recorded in Your book?

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.

Who will bring me into the besieged city [of Petra]?
Who will lead me to Edom?

But those who seek my life to destroy it
Will [be destroyed and] go into the depths of the earth [into the underworld].

To You belongs silence [the submissive wonder of reverence], and [it bursts into] praise in Zion, O God;
And to You the vow shall be performed.

He turned the sea into dry land;
They crossed through the river on foot;
There we rejoiced in Him.

You brought us into the net;
You laid a heavy burden [of servitude] on us.

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].

I shall come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I shall pay You my vows,

They have seen Your [solemn] procession, O God,
The procession of my God, my King, into the sanctuary [in holiness].

I have sunk in deep mire, where there is no foothold;
I have come into deep waters, where a flood overwhelms me.

Add [unforgiven] iniquity to their iniquity [in Your book],
And may they not come into Your righteousness.

Until I came into the sanctuary of God;
Then I understood [for I considered] their end.

At Your rebuke, O God of Jacob,
Both rider and horse were cast into a dead sleep [of death].

And turned their rivers into blood,
And their streams, so that they could not drink.

And gave up His strength and power (the ark of the covenant) into captivity,
And His glory into the hand of the enemy (the Philistines).

O God, the nations have invaded [the land of Your people] Your inheritance;
They have defiled Your sacred temple;
They have laid Jerusalem in ruins.

And return into the lap of our neighbors sevenfold
The taunts with which they have taunted You, O Lord.

Let my prayer come before You and enter into Your presence;
Incline Your ear to my cry!

I am counted among those who go down to the pit (grave);
I am like a man who has no strength [a mere shadow],

Ascribe to the Lord the glory of His name;
Bring an offering and come into His courts.

Enter His gates with a song of thanksgiving
And His courts with praise.
Be thankful to Him, bless and praise His name.

You send springs into the valleys;
Their waters flow among the mountains.

His feet they hurt with shackles;
He was put in chains of iron,

Israel also came into Egypt;
Thus Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham.

He turned Egypt’s waters into blood
And caused their fish to die.

Who can put into words the mighty deeds of the Lord?
Or who can proclaim all His praise [that is due Him]?

So He gave them their request,
But sent a wasting disease among them.

Therefore He said He would destroy them,
[And He would have done so] had not Moses, His chosen one, stepped into the gap before Him,
To turn away His wrath from destroying them.

He gave them into the hands of the nations,
And those who hated them ruled over them.

Their enemies also oppressed them,
And they were subdued under the [powerful] hand of their enemies.

He turns rivers into a wilderness,
And springs of water into a thirsty ground;

A productive land into a [barren] salt waste,
Because of the wickedness of those who dwell in it.

He turns a wilderness into a pool of water
And a dry land into springs of water;

Who will bring me into the fortified city [of Petra]?
Who will lead me to Edom?

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

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.

Who turned the rock into a pool of water,
The flint into a fountain of water.

The dead do not praise the Lord,
Nor do any who go down into silence;

Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord;
We have blessed you from the house of the Lord [you who come into His sanctuary under His guardianship].

I have seen that all [human] perfection has its limits [no matter how grand and perfect and noble];
Your commandment is exceedingly broad and extends without limits [into eternity].

“I absolutely will not enter my house,
Nor get into my bed—

Let us go into His tabernacle;
Let us worship at His footstool.

Who sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,
Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.

For the Lord will judge His people
And He will have compassion on His servants [revealing His mercy].

To Him who divided the Red Sea into parts,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;

But tossed Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;

Though the Lord is exalted,
He regards the lowly [and invites them into His fellowship];
But the proud and haughty He knows from a distance.

If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there.

“Let burning coals fall upon them;
Let them be thrown into the fire,
Into deep [water] pits from which they cannot rise.

Let the wicked fall into their own nets,
While I pass by and safely escape [from danger].

And do not enter into judgment with Your servant,
For in Your sight no man living is righteous or justified.

Answer me quickly, O Lord, my spirit fails;
Do not hide Your face from me,
Or I will become like those who go down into the pit (grave).

Teach me to do Your will [so that I may please You],
For You are my God;
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.