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].

The wicked [those who live in disobedience to God’s law] are not so,
But they are like the chaff [worthless and without substance] which the wind blows away.

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

I will not be intimidated or afraid of the ten thousands
Who have set themselves against me all around.

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.

For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil [person] dwells with You.

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

I am weary with my groaning;
Every night I soak my bed with tears,
I drench my couch with my weeping.

If a man does not repent, God will sharpen His sword;
He has strung and bent His [mighty] bow and made it ready.

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.

For He who avenges blood [unjustly shed] remembers them (His people);
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted and abused.

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

For the poor will not always be forgotten,
Nor the hope of the burdened perish forever.

Arise, O Lord, do not let man prevail;
Let the nations be judged before You.

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].”

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 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.

Arise, O Lord! O God, lift up Your hand [in judgment];
Do not forget the suffering.

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

You have seen it, for You have noted mischief and vexation (irritation) to take it into Your hand.
The unfortunate commits himself to You;
You are the helper of the fatherless.

To vindicate and obtain justice for the fatherless and the oppressed,
So that man who is of the earth will no longer terrify them.

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?

He does not slander with his tongue,
Nor does evil to his neighbor,
Nor takes up a reproach against his friend;

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.

The sorrows [pain and suffering] of those who have chosen another god will be multiplied [because of their idolatry];
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood,
Nor will I take their names upon my lips.

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

I have set the Lord continually before me;
Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

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 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.

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.

For I have kept the ways of the Lord,
And have not wickedly departed from my God.

For all His ordinances were before me,
And I did not put away His statutes from me.

You enlarge the path beneath me and make my steps secure,
So that my feet will not slip.

I shattered them so that they were not able to rise;
They fell [wounded] under my feet.

They cried for help, but there was no one to save them—
Even to the Lord [they cried], but He did not answer them.

You have rescued me from the contentions of the people;
You have placed me as the head of the nations;
A people whom I have not known serve me.

Day after day pours forth speech,
And night after night reveals knowledge.

There is no speech, nor are there [spoken] words [from the stars];
Their voice is not heard.

Also keep back Your servant from presumptuous (deliberate, willful) sins;
Let them not rule and have control over me.
Then I will be blameless (complete),
And I shall be acquitted of great transgression.

You have given him his heart’s desire,
And You have not withheld the request of his lips. Selah.

For they planned evil against You;
They devised a [malevolent] plot
And they will not succeed.

O my God, I call out by day, but You do not answer;
And by night, but I find no rest nor quiet.

They cried out to You and were delivered;
They trusted in You and were not disappointed or ashamed.

Do not be far from me, for trouble is near;
And there is no one to help.

But You, O Lord, do not be far from me;
O You my help, come quickly to my assistance.

For He has not despised nor detested the suffering of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from him;
But when he cried to Him for help, He listened.

The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who [diligently] seek Him and require Him [as their greatest need] will praise the Lord.
May your hearts live forever!

The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me],
I shall not want.

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

He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
Who has not lifted up his soul to what is false,
Nor has sworn [oaths] deceitfully.

O my God, in You I [have unwavering] trust [and I rely on You with steadfast confidence],
Do not let me be ashamed or my hope in You be disappointed;
Do not let my enemies triumph over me.

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

My eyes are continually toward the Lord,
For He will bring my feet out of the net.

Guard my soul and rescue me;
Do not let me be ashamed or disappointed,
For I have taken refuge in You.

Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity;
I have [relied on and] trusted [confidently] in the Lord without wavering and I shall not slip.

I do not sit with deceitful or unethical or worthless men,
Nor seek companionship with pretenders (self-righteous hypocrites).

I hate the company of evildoers,
And will not sit with the wicked.

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

Though an army encamp against me,
My heart will not fear;
Though war arise against me,
Even in this I am confident.

When You said, “Seek My face [in prayer, require My presence as your greatest need],” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, I will seek [on the authority of Your word].”

Do not hide Your face from me,
Do not turn Your servant away in anger;
You have been my help;
Do not abandon me nor leave me,
O God of my salvation!

Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries,
For false witnesses have come against me;
They breathe out violence.

I would have despaired had I not believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.

To you I call, O Lord,
My rock, do not be deaf to me,
For if You are silent to me,
I will become like those who go down to the pit (grave).

Do not drag me away with the wicked
And with those who do evil,
Who speak peace with their neighbors,
While malice and mischief are in their hearts.

Because they have no regard for the works of the Lord
Nor the deeds of His hands,
He will tear them down and not rebuild them.

I will extol and praise You, O Lord, for You have lifted me up,
And have not let my enemies rejoice over me.

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.

That my soul may sing praise to You and not be silent.
O Lord my God, I will give thanks to You forever.

You will draw me out of the net that they have secretly laid for me,
For You are my strength and my stronghold.

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,

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

Let me not be put to shame, O Lord, for I call on You;
Let the wicked (godless) be put to shame, let them be silent in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead).

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.

I acknowledged my sin to You,
And I did not hide my wickedness;
I said, “I will confess [all] my transgressions to the Lord”;
And You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah.

Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You [for forgiveness] in a time when You [are near and] may be found;
Surely when the great waters [of trial and distressing times] overflow they will not reach [the spirit in] him.

Do not be like the horse or like the mule which have no understanding,
Whose trappings include bridle and rein to hold them in check,
Otherwise they will not come near to you.

The king is not saved by the great size of his army;
A warrior is not rescued by his great strength.

The young lions lack [food] and grow hungry,
But they who seek the Lord will not lack any good thing.

He keeps all his bones;
Not one of them is broken.

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

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

Malicious witnesses rise up;
They ask me of things that I do not know.

But in my stumbling they rejoiced and gathered together [against me];
The slanderers whom I did not know gathered against me;
They slandered and reviled me without ceasing.

Do not let those who are wrongfully my enemies rejoice over me;
Nor let those who hate me without cause wink their eye [maliciously].

For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful words [half-truths and lies] against those who are quiet in the land.

You have seen this, O Lord; do not keep silent.
O Lord, do not be far from me.

Judge me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness and justice;
And do not let them rejoice over me.

Do not let them say in their heart, “Aha, that is what we wanted!”
Do not let them say, “We have swallowed him up and destroyed him.”

For he flatters and deceives himself in his own eyes
Thinking that his sinfulness will not be discovered and hated [by God].

He plans wrongdoing on his bed;
He sets himself on a path that is not good;
He does not reject or despise evil.

Do not let the foot of the proud [person] overtake me,
And do not let the hand of the wicked drive me away.

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

Do not worry because of evildoers,
Nor be envious toward wrongdoers;