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

I lay down and slept [safely];
I awakened, for the Lord sustains me.

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.

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.

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?

The law of the Lord is perfect (flawless), restoring and refreshing the soul;
The statutes of the Lord are reliable and trustworthy, making wise the simple.

He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still and quiet waters.

Teach me Your way, O Lord,
And lead me on a level path
Because of my enemies [who lie in wait].

There those who [are perverse and] do evil have fallen;
They have been thrust down and cannot rise.

The law of his God is in his heart;
Not one of his steps will slip.

The wicked lies in wait for the righteous
And seeks to kill him.

Those who seek my life lay snares for me,
And those who seek to injure me threaten mischievous things and destruction;
They devise treachery all the day long.

Sacrifice and meal offering You do not desire, nor do You delight in them;
You have opened my ears and given me the capacity to hear [and obey Your word];
Burnt offerings and sin offerings You do not require.

“I delight to do Your will, O my God;
Your law is within my heart.”

Both low and high,
Rich and poor together:

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.

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

My life is among lions;
I must lie among those who breathe out fire—
The sons of men whose teeth are spears and arrows,
And their tongue a sharp sword.

Look! They lie in wait for my life;
Fierce and powerful men [are uniting together to] launch an attack against me,
Not for my wrongdoing nor for any sin of mine, O Lord.

My God in His [steadfast] lovingkindness will meet me;
God will let me look triumphantly on my enemies [who lie in wait for me].

Men of low degree are only a breath (emptiness), and men of [high] rank are a lie (delusion).
In the balances they go up [because they have no measurable weight or value];
They are together lighter than a breath.

When you lie down [to rest] among the sheepfolds,
You [Israel] are like the wings of a dove [of victory] overlaid with silver,
Its feathers glistening with gold [trophies taken from the enemy].

For He established a testimony (a specific precept) in Jacob
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers
That they should teach to their children [the great facts of God’s transactions with Israel],

They did not keep the covenant of God
And refused to walk according to His law;

O do not remember against us the sins and guilt of our forefathers.
Let Your compassion and mercy come quickly to meet us,
For we have been brought very low.

They concoct crafty schemes against Your people,
And conspire together against Your hidden and precious ones.

The bird has found a house,
And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young—
Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.

Cast away [from the living] and abandoned among the dead,
Like the slain who lie in a [nameless] grave,
Whom You no longer remember,
And they are cut off from Your hand.

“If his children turn away from My law
And do not walk in My ordinances,

“Nevertheless, I will not break off My lovingkindness from him,
Nor allow My faithfulness to fail.

“Once [for all] I have sworn by My holiness, [My vow which cannot be violated];
I will not lie to David.

Nor of the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
Nor of the destruction (sudden death) that lays waste at noon.

My eye has looked on my foes;
My ears hear of the evildoers who rise up against me.

Blessed [with wisdom and prosperity] is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord,
And whom You teach from Your law,

Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,
One which frames and devises mischief by decree [under the sacred name of law]?

I am sleepless and lie awake [mourning],
I have become like a lonely bird on a housetop.

He has exhausted my strength [humbling me with sorrow] in the way;
He has shortened my days.

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

Many times He rescued them;
But they were rebellious in their counsel,
And sank down in their wickedness.

The Lord protects the simple (childlike);
I was brought low [humbled and discouraged], and He saved me.

How blessed and favored by God are those whose way is blameless [those with personal integrity, the upright, the guileless],
Who walk in the law [and who are guided by the precepts and revealed will] of the Lord.

I will meditate on Your precepts
And [thoughtfully] regard Your ways [the path of life established by Your precepts].

Open my eyes [to spiritual truth] so that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.

Remove from me the way of falsehood and unfaithfulness,
And graciously grant me Your law.

Give me understanding [a teachable heart and the ability to learn], that I may keep Your law;
And observe it with all my heart.

I will keep Your law continually,
Forever and ever [writing Your precepts on my heart].

The arrogant utterly ridicule me,
Yet I do not turn away from Your law.

Burning indignation has seized me because of the wicked,
Who reject Your law.

O Lord, I remember Your name in the night,
And keep Your law.

The cords of the wicked have encircled and ensnared me,
But I have not forgotten Your law.

The arrogant have forged a lie against me,
But I will keep Your precepts with all my heart.

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

The law from Your mouth is better to me
Than thousands of gold and silver pieces.

Let Your compassion come to me that I may live,
For Your law is my delight.

The arrogant (godless) have dug pits for me,
Men who do not conform to Your law.

If Your law had not been my delight,
Then I would have perished in my time of trouble.

Mem.
Oh, how I love Your law!
It is my meditation all the day.

My life is continually in my hand,
Yet I do not forget Your law.

Samekh.
I hate those who are double-minded,
But I love and treasure Your law.

It is time for the Lord to act;
They have broken Your law.

My eyes weep streams of water
Because people do not keep Your law.

Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,
And Your law is truth.

Those who follow after wickedness approach;
They are far from Your law.

Resh.
Look upon my agony and rescue me,
For I do not forget Your law.

I see the treacherous and loathe them,
Because they do not respect Your law.

I hate and detest falsehood,
But I love Your law.

Those who love Your law have great peace;
Nothing makes them stumble.

I long for Your salvation, O Lord,
And Your law is my delight.

Our soul is greatly filled
With the scoffing of those who are at ease,
And with the contempt of the proud [who disregard God’s law].

Who [faithfully] remembered us in our lowly condition,
For His lovingkindness endures forever;

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].

“Give attention to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Rescue me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.