I will give thanks to You
because You have answered me
and have become my salvation.

You have commanded that Your precepts
be diligently kept.

I have sought You with all my heart;
don’t let me wander from Your commands.

I have treasured Your word in my heart
so that I may not sin against You.

Take insult and contempt away from me,
for I have kept Your decrees.

I have chosen the way of truth;
I have set Your ordinances before me.

ז ZayinRemember Your word to Your servant;
You have given me hope through it.

ח KhetThe Lord is my portion;
I have promised to keep Your words.

I have sought Your favor with all my heart;
be gracious to me according to Your promise.

ט TetLord, You have treated Your servant well,
just as You promised.

The arrogant have smeared me with lies,
but I obey Your precepts with all my heart.

I know, Lord, that Your judgments are just
and that You have afflicted me fairly.

My eyes grow weary
looking for what You have promised;
I ask, “When will You comfort me?”

Though I have become like a wineskin dried by smoke,
I do not forget Your statutes.

The arrogant have dug pits for me;
they violate Your instruction.

Give me life in accordance with Your faithful love,
and I will obey the decree You have spoken.

If Your instruction had not been my delight,
I would have died in my affliction.

I will never forget Your precepts,
for You have given me life through them.

I am Yours; save me,
for I have sought Your precepts.

I have seen a limit to all perfection,
but Your command is without limit.

I have more insight than all my teachers
because Your decrees are my meditation.

I have kept my feet from every evil path
to follow Your word.

I have not turned from Your judgments,
for You Yourself have instructed me.

I have solemnly sworn
to keep Your righteous judgments.

The wicked have set a trap for me,
but I have not wandered from Your precepts.

I have Your decrees as a heritage forever;
indeed, they are the joy of my heart.

ע AyinI have done what is just and right;
do not leave me to my oppressors.

It is time for the Lord to act,
for they have violated Your instruction.

Trouble and distress have overtaken me,
but Your commands are my delight.

Long ago I learned from Your decrees
that You have established them forever.

ר ReshConsider my affliction and rescue me,
for I have not forgotten Your instruction.

My persecutors and foes are many.
I have not turned from Your decrees.

I have seen the disloyal and feel disgust
because they do not keep Your word.

שׂ Sin/ שׁ ShinPrinces have persecuted me without cause,
but my heart fears only Your word.

May Your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen Your precepts.

What misery that I have stayed in Meshech,
that I have lived among the tents of Kedar!

I have lived too long
with those who hate peace.

then they would have swallowed us alive
in their burning anger against us.

Then the waters would have engulfed us;
the torrent would have swept over us;

the raging waters would have swept over us.

We have escaped like a bird from the hunter’s net;
the net is torn, and we have escaped.

You will surely eat
what your hands have worked for.
You will be happy,
and it will go well for you.

A song of ascents.Since my youth they have often attacked me—
let Israel say—

Since my youth they have often attacked me,
but they have not prevailed against me.

Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself
like a little weaned child with its mother;
I am like a little child.

“This is My resting place forever;
I will make My home here
because I have desired it.

There I will make a horn grow for David;
I have prepared a lamp for My anointed one.

For Yahweh will vindicate His people
and have compassion on His servants.

They have mouths but cannot speak,
eyes, but cannot see.

They have ears but cannot hear;
indeed, there is no breath in their mouths.

Daughter Babylon, doomed to destruction,
happy is the one who pays you back
what you have done to us.

I will bow down toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name
for Your constant love and truth.
You have exalted Your name
and Your promise above everything else.

All the kings on earth will give You thanks, Lord,
when they hear what You have promised.

For the choir director. A Davidic psalm.Lord, You have searched me and known me.

You have encircled me;
You have placed Your hand on me.

I will praise You
because I have been remarkably and wonderfully made.
Your works are wonderful,
and I know this very well.

As when one plows and breaks up the soil,
turning up rocks,
so our bones have been scattered
at the mouth of Sheol.

Protect me from the trap they have set for me,
and from the snares of evildoers.

Although my spirit is weak within me,
You know my way.

Along this path I travel
they have hidden a trap for me.

I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all You have done;
I reflect on the work of Your hands.

All You have made will thank You, Lord;
the godly will praise You.

For they can’t sleep
unless they have done what is evil;
they are robbed of sleep
unless they make someone stumble.

My son, if you have put up security for your neighbor
or entered into an agreement with a stranger,

you have been trapped by the words of your lips—
ensnared by the words of your mouth.

Do this, then, my son, and free yourself,
for you have put yourself in your neighbor’s power:
Go, humble yourself, and plead with your neighbor.

I, Wisdom, share a home with shrewdness
and have knowledge and discretion.

I possess good advice and competence;
I have understanding and strength.

“Come, eat my bread,
and drink the wine I have mixed.

Better to be dishonored, yet have a servant,
than to act important but have no food.

The one who works his land will have plenty of food,
but whoever chases fantasies lacks sense.

The wicked desire what evil men have,
but the root of the righteous produces fruit.

Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,
but those who promote peace have joy.

From the words of his mouth,
a man will enjoy good things,
but treacherous people have an appetite for violence.

In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence
and his children have a refuge.

The wicked one is thrown down by his own sin,
but the righteous one has a refuge in his death.

Why does a fool have money in his hand
with no intention of buying wisdom?

A person with great anger bears the penalty;
if you rescue him, you’ll have to do it again.

Who can say, “I have kept my heart pure;
I am cleansed from my sin”?

Don’t love sleep, or you will become poor;
open your eyes, and you’ll have enough to eat.

The rich and the poor have this in common:
the Lord made them both.

I have instructed you today—even you—
so that your confidence may be in the Lord.

If you have no money to pay,
even your bed will be taken from under you.

and put a knife to your throat
if you have a big appetite;

For then you will have a future,
and your hope will never fade.

Let your father and mother have joy,
and let her who gave birth to you rejoice.

realize that wisdom is the same for you.
If you find it, you will have a future,
and your hope will never fade.

For the evil have no future;
the lamp of the wicked will be put out.

The one who works his land
will have plenty of food,
but whoever chases fantasies
will have his fill of poverty.

A faithful man will have many blessings,
but one in a hurry to get rich
will not go unpunished.

The poor and the oppressor have this in common:
the Lord gives light to the eyes of both.

I have not gained wisdom,
and I have no knowledge of the Holy One.

Otherwise, I might have too much
and deny You, saying, “Who is the Lord?”
or I might have nothing and steal,
profaning the name of my God.

locusts have no king,
yet all of them march in ranks;

If you have been foolish by exalting yourself
or if you’ve been scheming,
put your hand over your mouth.

Speak up for those who have no voice,
for the justice of all who are dispossessed.

I, the Teacher, have been king over Israel in Jerusalem.

I have seen all the things that are done under the sun and have found everything to be futile, a pursuit of the wind.

I said to myself, “Look, I have amassed wisdom far beyond all those who were over Jerusalem before me, and my mind has thoroughly grasped wisdom and knowledge.”

So I said to myself, “What happens to the fool will also happen to me. Why then have I been overly wise?” And I said to myself that this is also futile.

There is nothing better for man than to eat, drink, and enjoy his work. I have seen that even this is from God’s hand,