For you are the God who shelters me. Why do you reject me? Why must I walk around mourning because my enemies oppress me?

Yet because of you we are killed all day long; we are treated like sheep at the slaughtering block.

Rise up and help us! Rescue us because of your loyal love!

Mount Zion rejoices; the towns of Judah are happy, because of your acts of judgment.

I am not condemning you because of your sacrifices, or because of your burnt sacrifices that you continually offer me.

For the music director; a psalm of David, written when Nathan the prophet confronted him after David's affair with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, because of your loyal love! Because of your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts!

Rescue me from the guilt of murder, O God, the God who delivers me! Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your deliverance.

Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her! Fortify the walls of Jerusalem!

They are absolutely terrified, even by things that do not normally cause fear. For God annihilates those who attack you. You are able to humiliate them because God has rejected them.

because of what the enemy says, and because of how the wicked pressure me, for they hurl trouble down upon me and angrily attack me.

Because they are bent on violence, do not let them escape! In your anger bring down the nations, O God!

For look, they wait to ambush me; powerful men stalk me, but not because I have rebelled or sinned, O Lord.

Do not strike them dead suddenly, because then my people might forget the lesson. Use your power to make them homeless vagabonds and then bring them down, O Lord who shields us!

Because experiencing your loyal love is better than life itself, my lips will praise you.

Say to God: "How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great power your enemies cower in fear before you.

Let none who rely on you be disgraced because of me, O sovereign Lord and king! Let none who seek you be ashamed because of me, O God of Israel!

O Lord, may you hear my prayer and be favorably disposed to me! O God, because of your great loyal love, answer me with your faithful deliverance!

Answer me, O Lord, for your loyal love is good! Because of your great compassion, turn toward me!

Come near me and redeem me! Because of my enemies, rescue me!

because they did not have faith in God, and did not trust his ability to deliver them.

It is burned and cut down. They die because you are displeased with them.

My eyes grow weak because of oppression. I call out to you, O Lord, all day long; I spread out my hands in prayer to you.

The Lord says, "Because he is devoted to me, I will deliver him; I will protect him because he is loyal to me.

For you, O Lord, have made me happy by your work. I will sing for joy because of what you have done.

He will pay them back for their sin. He will destroy them because of their evil; the Lord our God will destroy them.

Zion hears and rejoices, the towns of Judah are happy, because of your judgments, O Lord.

Because of the anxiety that makes me groan, my bones protrude from my skin.

because of your anger and raging fury. Indeed, you pick me up and throw me away.

They made him angry by the waters of Meribah, and Moses suffered because of them,

He remembered his covenant with them, and relented because of his great loyal love.

because they had rebelled against God's commands, and rejected the instructions of the sovereign king.

They acted like fools in their rebellious ways, and suffered because of their sins.

They reached up to the sky, then dropped into the depths. The sailors' strength left them because the danger was so great.

The sailors rejoiced because the waves grew quiet, and he led them to the harbor they desired.

and a fruitful land into a barren place, because of the sin of its inhabitants.

As for their enemies, they decreased in number and were beaten down, because of painful distress and suffering.

O sovereign Lord, intervene on my behalf for the sake of your reputation! Because your loyal love is good, deliver me!

Help me, O Lord my God! Because you are faithful to me, deliver me!

because he stands at the right hand of the needy, to deliver him from those who threaten his life.

I love the Lord because he heard my plea for mercy,

Rage takes hold of me because of the wicked, those who reject your law.

I know, Lord, that your regulations are just. You disciplined me because of your faithful devotion to me.

My body trembles because I fear you; I am afraid of your judgments.

I open my mouth and pant, because I long for your commands.

Tears stream down from my eyes, because people do not keep your law.

Listen to me because of your loyal love! O Lord, revive me, as you typically do!

I take note of the treacherous and despise them, because they do not keep your instructions.

Seven times a day I praise you because of your just regulations.

A song of ascents, by David. I was glad because they said to me, "We will go to the Lord's temple."

I will bow down toward your holy temple, and give thanks to your name, because of your loyal love and faithfulness, for you have exalted your promise above the entire sky.

I will give you thanks because your deeds are awesome and amazing. You knew me thoroughly;

Free me from prison, that I may give thanks to your name. Because of me the godly will assemble, for you will vindicate me.

A psalm of David. O Lord, hear my prayer! Pay attention to my plea for help! Because of your faithfulness and justice, answer me!

May I hear about your loyal love in the morning, for I trust in you. Show me the way I should go, because I long for you.

O Lord, for the sake of your reputation, revive me! Because of your justice, rescue me from trouble!

Let the godly rejoice because of their vindication! Let them shout for joy upon their beds!

However, because I called but you refused to listen, because I stretched out my hand but no one paid attention,

because you neglected all my advice, and did not comply with my rebuke,

Because they hated moral knowledge, and did not choose to fear the Lord,

Because I give you good instruction, do not forsake my teaching.

Hold on to instruction, do not let it go; protect it, because it is your life.

He will die because there was no discipline; because of the greatness of his folly he will reel.

then, my child, do this in order to deliver yourself, because you have fallen into your neighbor's power: go, humble yourself, and appeal firmly to your neighbor.

For because of me your days will be many, and years will be added to your life.

Doing wickedness is an abomination to kings, because a throne is established in righteousness.

The violence done by the wicked will drag them away because they refuse to do what is right.

Do not exploit a poor person because he is poor and do not crush the needy in court,

because drunkards and gluttons become impoverished, and drowsiness clothes them with rags.

Do not fret because of evil people or be envious of wicked people,

For the wise man, like the fool, will not be remembered for very long, because in the days to come, both will already have been forgotten. Alas, the wise man dies -- just like the fool!

So I loathed life because what happens on earth seems awful to me; for all the benefits of wisdom are futile -- like chasing the wind.

So I loathed all the fruit of my effort, for which I worked so hard on earth, because I must leave it behind in the hands of my successor.

So I perceived there is nothing better than for people to enjoy their work, because that is their reward; for who can show them what the future holds?

Two people are better than one, because they can reap more benefit from their labor.

For he does not think much about the fleeting days of his life because God keeps him preoccupied with the joy he derives from his activity.

Whatever has happened was foreordained, and what happens to a person was also foreknown. It is useless for him to argue with God about his fate because God is more powerful than he is.

Sorrow is better than laughter, because sober reflection is good for the heart.

Obey the king's command, because you took an oath before God to be loyal to him.

But it will not go well with the wicked, nor will they prolong their days like a shadow, because they do not stand in fear before God.

Go, eat your food with joy, and drink your wine with a happy heart, because God has already approved your works.

Whatever you find to do with your hands, do it with all your might, because there is neither work nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom in the grave, the place where you will eventually go.

The toil of a stupid fool wears him out, because he does not even know the way to the city.

Because of laziness the roof caves in, and because of idle hands the house leaks.

when those who keep watch over the house begin to tremble, and the virile men begin to stoop over, and the grinders begin to cease because they grow few, and those who look through the windows grow dim,

and they are afraid of heights and the dangers in the street; the almond blossoms grow white, and the grasshopper drags itself along, and the caper berry shrivels up -- because man goes to his eternal home, and the mourners go about in the streets --

Having heard everything, I have reached this conclusion: Fear God and keep his commandments, because this is the whole duty of man.

Do not stare at me because I am dark, for the sun has burned my skin. My brothers were angry with me; they made me the keeper of the vineyards. Alas, my own vineyard I could not keep!

When you spread out your hands in prayer, I look the other way; when you offer your many prayers, I do not listen, because your hands are covered with blood.

Indeed, they will be ashamed of the sacred trees you find so desirable; you will be embarrassed because of the sacred orchards where you choose to worship.

Therefore my people will be deported because of their lack of understanding. Their leaders will have nothing to eat, their masses will have nothing to drink.

Then you must recall the Lord's instructions and the prophetic testimony of what would happen. Certainly they say such things because their minds are spiritually darkened.

Because of the anger of the Lord who commands armies, the land was scorched, and the people became fuel for the fire. People had no compassion on one another.

At that time the Lord will remove their burden from your shoulders, and their yoke from your neck; the yoke will be taken off because your neck will be too large.

So I will shake the heavens, and the earth will shake loose from its foundation, because of the fury of the Lord who commands armies, in the day he vents his raging anger.

You will not be buried with them, because you destroyed your land and killed your people. The offspring of the wicked will never be mentioned again.

Don't be so happy, all you Philistines, just because the club that beat you has been broken! For a viper will grow out of the serpent's root, and its fruit will be a darting adder.

They went up to the temple, the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, Moab wails. Every head is shaved bare, every beard is trimmed off.

My heart cries out because of Moab's plight, and for the fugitives stretched out as far as Zoar and Eglath Shelishiyah. For they weep as they make their way up the ascent of Luhith; they loudly lament their demise on the road to Horonaim.

At that time their fortified cities will be like the abandoned summits of the Amorites, which they abandoned because of the Israelites; there will be desolation.

At that time the Egyptians will be like women. They will tremble and fear because the Lord who commands armies brandishes his fist against them.