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].

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.

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.

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.

Return, O Lord, rescue my soul;
Save me because of Your [unfailing] steadfast love and mercy.

So that my enemy will not tear me like a lion,
Dragging me away while there is no one to rescue [me].

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.

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

Arise, O Lord, confront him, cast him down;
Save my soul from the wicked with Your sword,

From men with Your hand, O Lord,
From men of the world [these moths of the night] whose portion [of enjoyment] is in this life—idle and vain,
And whose belly You fill with Your treasure;
They are satisfied with children,
And they leave what they have left [of wealth] to their children.

“I love You [fervently and devotedly], O Lord, my strength.”

He gives great triumphs to His king,
And shows steadfast love and mercy to His anointed,
To David and his descendants forever.

He asked life of You,
And You gave it to him,
Long life forever and evermore.

For the king [confidently] trusts in the Lord,
And through the lovingkindness (faithfulness, goodness) of the Most High he will never be shaken.

All who see me laugh at me and mock me;
They [insultingly] open their lips, they shake their head, saying,

Rescue my life from the sword,
My only life from the paw of the dog (the executioner).

He refreshes and restores my soul (life);
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.

Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the Lord.

To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul.

Do not remember the sins of my youth or my transgressions;
According to Your lovingkindness remember me,
For Your goodness’ sake, O Lord.

All the paths of the Lord are lovingkindness and goodness and truth and faithfulness
To those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

O Lord, I love the habitation of Your house
And the place where Your glory dwells.

Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
Nor [sweep away] my life with men of bloodshed,

The Lord is my light and my salvation—
Whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the refuge and fortress of my life—
Whom shall I dread?

One thing I have asked of the Lord, and that I will seek:
That I may dwell in the house of the Lord [in His presence] all the days of my life,
To gaze upon the beauty [the delightful loveliness and majestic grandeur] of the Lord
And to meditate in His temple.

O Lord, You have brought my life up from Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead);
You have kept me alive, so that I would not go down to the pit (grave).

For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for a lifetime.
Weeping may endure for a night,
But a shout of joy comes in the morning.

I will rejoice and be glad in Your steadfast love,
Because You have seen my affliction;
You have taken note of my life’s distresses,

For my life is spent with sorrow
And my years with sighing;
My strength has failed because of my iniquity,
And even my body has wasted away.

For I have heard the slander and whispering of many,
Terror is on every side;
While they schemed together against me,
They plotted to take away my life.

O love the Lord, all you His godly ones!
The Lord preserves the faithful [those with moral and spiritual integrity]
And fully repays the [self-righteousness of the] arrogant.

My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
The humble and downtrodden will hear it and rejoice.

Who is the man who desires life
And loves many days, that he may see good?

Let those be ashamed and dishonored who seek my life;
Let those be turned back [in defeat] and humiliated who plot evil against me.

For without cause they hid their net for me;
Without cause they dug a pit [of destruction] for my life.

Lord, how long will You look on [without action]?
Rescue my life from their destructions,
My only life from the young lions.

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
The children of men take refuge in the shadow of Your wings.

For with You is the fountain of life [the fountain of life-giving water];
In Your light we see light.

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.

I have not concealed Your righteousness within my heart;
I have proclaimed Your faithfulness and Your salvation.
I have not concealed Your lovingkindness and Your truth from the great assembly.

Let those be ashamed and humiliated together
Who seek my life to destroy it;
Let those be turned back [in defeat] and dishonored
Who delight in my hurt.

Let all who seek You rejoice and be glad in You;
Let those who love Your salvation say continually,
“The Lord be magnified!”

O my God, my soul is in despair within me [the burden more than I can bear];
Therefore I will [fervently] remember You from the land of the Jordan
And the peaks of [Mount] Hermon, from Mount Mizar.

Yet the Lord will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
And in the night His song will be with me,
A prayer to the God of my life.

Rise up! Come be our help,
And ransom us for the sake of Your steadfast love.

You have loved righteousness (virtue, morality, justice) and hated wickedness;
Therefore God, your God, has anointed You
Above Your companions with the oil of jubilation.

We have thought of Your lovingkindness, O God,
In the midst of Your temple.

For the ransom of his soul is too costly,
And he should cease trying forever—

So that he should live on eternally,
That he should never see the pit (grave) and undergo decay.

Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness;
According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.

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

You love all words that devour,
O deceitful tongue.

The righteous will see it and fear,
And will [scoffingly] laugh, saying,

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

Behold, God is my helper and ally;
The Lord is the sustainer of my soul [my upholder].

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

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.

They attack, they hide and lurk,
They watch my steps,
As they have [expectantly] waited to take my life.

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.

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.

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.

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.

But You, O Lord, will laugh at them [in scorn];
You scoff at and deride all the nations.

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

To You, O [God] my strength, I will sing praises;
For God is my stronghold [my refuge, my protector, my high tower], the God who shows me [steadfast] lovingkindness.

You will prolong the king’s life [adding days upon days];
His years will be like many generations.

Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
My lips shall praise You.

So will I bless You as long as I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.

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

Hear my voice, O God, in my complaint;
Guard my life from the terror of the enemy.

Save me, O God,
For the waters have threatened my life [they have come up to my neck].

Answer me, O Lord, for Your lovingkindness is sweet and good and comforting;
According to the greatness of Your compassion, turn to me.

May they be blotted out of the book of life [and their lives come to an end]
And may they not be recorded with the righteous (those in right standing with God).

The humble have seen it and are glad;
You who seek God [requiring Him as your greatest need], let your heart revive and live.

The descendants of His servants will inherit it,
And those who love His name will dwell in it.

Let those be ashamed and humiliated
Who seek my life;
Let them be turned back and humiliated
Who delight in my hurt.

May all those who seek You [as life’s first priority] rejoice and be glad in You;
May those who love Your salvation say continually,
“Let God be magnified!”

For my enemies have spoken against me;
Those who watch for my life have consulted together,

Let those who attack my life be ashamed and consumed;
Let them be covered with reproach and dishonor, who seek to injure me.

So may he live, and may the gold of Sheba be given to him;
And let them pray for him continually;
Let them bless and praise him all day long.

Oh, do not hand over the soul of your turtledove to the wild beast;
Do not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.

He leveled a path for His anger [to give it free run];
He did not spare their souls from death,
But turned over their lives to the plague.

You make us an object of contention to our neighbors,
And our enemies laugh [at our suffering] among themselves.

Then we shall not turn back from You;
Revive us and we will call on Your name.

Protect my life (soul), for I am godly and faithful;
O You my God, save Your servant, who trusts in You [believing in You and relying on You, confidently committing everything to You].

Teach me Your way, O Lord,
I will walk and live in Your truth;
Direct my heart to fear Your name [with awe-inspired reverence and submissive wonder].

O God, arrogant and insolent men have risen up against me;
A band of violent men have sought my life,
And they have not set You before them.

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].”

For my soul is full of troubles,
And my life draws near the grave (Sheol, the place of the dead).

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

Remember how fleeting my lifetime is;
For what vanity, [for what emptiness, for what futility, for what wisp of smoke] You have created all the sons of men!

What man can live and not see death?
Can he rescue his soul from the [powerful] hand of Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead)? Selah.

Who understands the power of Your anger? [Who connects this brevity of life among us with Your judgment of sin?]
And Your wrath, [who connects it] with the [reverent] fear that is due You?

“Because he set his love on Me, therefore I will save him;
I will set him [securely] on high, because he knows My name [he confidently trusts and relies on Me, knowing I will never abandon him, no, never].

“With a long life I will satisfy him
And I will let him see My salvation.”

[Growing in grace] they will still thrive and bear fruit and prosper in old age;
They will flourish and be vital and fresh [rich in trust and love and contentment];

They band themselves together against the life of the righteous
And condemn the innocent to death.

You who love the Lord, hate evil;
He protects the souls of His godly ones (believers),
He rescues them from the hand of the wicked.

Who redeems your life from the pit,
Who crowns you [lavishly] with lovingkindness and tender mercy;

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