“Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God.
I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.”

When I considered how to understand this,
It was too great an effort for me and too painful

The rulers do not know nor do they understand;
They walk on in the darkness [of complacent satisfaction];
All the foundations of the earth [the fundamental principles of the administration of justice] are shaken.

Blessed and happy are the people who know the joyful sound [of the trumpet’s blast]!
They walk, O Lord, in the light and favor of Your countenance!

A senseless man [in his crude and uncultivated state] knows nothing,
Nor does a [self-righteous] fool understand this:

Consider thoughtfully, you senseless (stupid ones) among the people;
And you [dull-minded] fools, when will you become wise and understand?

Know and fully recognize with gratitude that the Lord Himself is God;
It is He who has made us, not we ourselves [and we are His].
We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Make me understand the way of Your precepts,
So that I will meditate (focus my thoughts) on Your wonderful works.

I understand more than the aged [who have not observed Your precepts],
Because I have observed and kept Your precepts.

You know when I sit down and when I rise up [my entire life, everything I do];
You understand my thought from afar.