Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?

Keep me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
Protect me from violent men
Who intend to trip up my steps.

I said to the Lord, “You are my God;
Listen to the voice of my supplications, O Lord.

“O God the Lord, the strength of my salvation,
You have covered my head in the day of battle.

“Do not let a slanderer be established in the earth;
Let evil quickly hunt the violent man [to overthrow him and stop his evil acts].”

Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name;
The upright will dwell in Your presence.

Lord, I call upon You; hurry to me.
Listen to my voice when I call to You.

Do not incline my heart to [consent to or tolerate] any evil thing,
Or to practice deeds of wickedness
With men who plan and do evil;
And let me not eat of their delicacies (be tempted by their gain).

For my eyes are toward You, O God, the Lord;
In You I take refuge; do not pour out my life nor leave me defenseless.

I cry aloud with my voice to the Lord;
I make supplication with my voice to the Lord.

Look to the right [the point of attack] and see;
For there is no one who has regard for me [to act in my favor].
Escape has failed me and I have nowhere to run;
No one cares about my life.

I cried out to You, O Lord;
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.

“Give attention to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Rescue me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.

“Bring my soul out of prison (adversity),
So that I may give thanks and praise Your name;
The righteous will surround me [in triumph],
For You will look after me.”

Hear my prayer, O Lord,
Listen to my supplications!
Answer me in Your faithfulness, and in Your righteousness.

For the enemy has persecuted me,
He has crushed my life down to the ground;
He has made me dwell in dark places, like those who have been long dead.

I reach out my hands to You;
My throat thirsts for You, as a parched land [thirsts for water]. Selah.

Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning,
For I trust in You.
Teach me the way in which I should walk,
For I lift up my soul to You.

Rescue me, O Lord, from my enemies;
I take refuge in You.

Teach me to do Your will [so that I may please You],
For You are my God;
Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.

Blessed be the Lord, my Rock and my great strength,
Who trains my hands for war
And my fingers for battle;

I will sing a new song to You, O God;
Upon a harp of ten strings I will sing praises to You,

Who gives salvation to kings,
Who sets David His servant free from the evil sword.

How blessed and favored are the people in such circumstance;
How blessed [fortunate, prosperous, and favored] are the people whose God is the Lord!

Every day I will bless You and lovingly praise You;
Yes, [with awe-inspired reverence] I will praise Your name forever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and highly to be praised,
And His greatness is [so vast and profound as to be] unsearchable [incomprehensible to man].

One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty and remarkable acts.

The Lord is gracious and full of compassion,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.

The Lord is good to all,
And His tender mercies are over all His works [the entirety of things created].

To make known to the sons of men Your mighty acts
And the glorious majesty of Your kingdom.

The eyes of all look to You [in hopeful expectation],
And You give them their food in due time.

The Lord is near to all who call on Him,
To all who call on Him in truth (without guile).

While I live I will praise the Lord;
I will sing praises to my God as long as I live.

When his spirit leaves him, he returns to the earth;
In that very day his thoughts and plans perish.

How blessed and graciously favored is he whose help is the God of Jacob (Israel),
Whose hope is in the Lord his God,

Who executes justice for the oppressed,
Who gives food to the hungry.
The Lord sets free the prisoners.

The Lord protects the strangers;
He supports the fatherless and the widow;
But He makes crooked the way of the wicked.

The Lord shall reign forever,
Your God, O Zion, to all generations.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Praise the Lord!
For it is good to sing praises to our [gracious and majestic] God;
Praise is becoming and appropriate.

The Lord lifts up the humble;
He casts the wicked down to the ground.

Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving;
Sing praises to our God with the lyre,

Who covers the heavens with clouds,
Who provides rain for the earth,
Who makes grass grow on the mountains.

He gives to the beast its food,
And to the young ravens that for which they cry.

He sends His command to the earth;
His word runs very swiftly.

He gives [to the earth] snow like [a blanket of] wool;
He scatters the frost like ashes.

He sends out His word and melts the ice;
He causes His wind to blow and the waters to flow.

He declares His word to Jacob,
His statutes and His ordinances to Israel.

He has not dealt this way with any [other] nation;
They have not known [understood, appreciated, heeded, or cherished] His ordinances.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

He has lifted up a horn for His people [giving them strength, prosperity, dignity, and preeminence],
Praise for all His godly ones;
For the people of Israel, a people near to Him.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Praise the Lord!
Sing to the Lord a new song,
And praise Him in the congregation of His godly ones (believers).

Let them praise His name with dancing;
Let them sing praises to Him with the tambourine and lyre.

Let the high praises of God be in their throats,
And a two-edged sword in their hands,

To execute vengeance on the nations
And punishment on the peoples,

To bind their kings with chains
And their nobles with fetters of iron,

To execute on them the judgment written.
This is the honor for all His godly ones.
Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Praise Him for His mighty acts;
Praise Him according to [the abundance of] His greatness.

That prudence (good judgment, astute common sense) may be given to the naive or inexperienced [who are easily misled],
And knowledge and discretion (intelligent discernment) to the youth,

The wise will hear and increase their learning,
And the person of understanding will acquire wise counsel and the skill [to steer his course wisely and lead others to the truth],

My son, if sinners entice you,
Do not consent.

If they say, “Come with us;
Let us lie in wait to shed blood,
Let us ambush the innocent without cause;

My son, do not walk on the road with them;
Keep your foot [far] away from their path,

For their feet run to evil,
And they hurry to shed blood.

“How long, O naive ones [you who are easily misled], will you love being simple-minded and undiscerning?
How long will scoffers [who ridicule and deride] delight in scoffing,
How long will fools [who obstinately mock truth] hate knowledge?

“If you will turn and pay attention to my rebuke,
Behold, I [Wisdom] will pour out my spirit on you;
I will make my words known to you.

“Because I called and you refused [to answer],
I stretched out my hand and no one has paid attention [to my offer];

“But whoever listens to me (Wisdom) will live securely and in confident trust
And will be at ease, without fear or dread of evil.”

So that your ear is attentive to [skillful and godly] wisdom,
And apply your heart to understanding [seeking it conscientiously and striving for it eagerly];

He stores away sound wisdom for the righteous [those who are in right standing with Him];
He is a shield to those who walk in integrity [those of honorable character and moral courage],

For [skillful and godly] wisdom will enter your heart
And knowledge will be pleasant to your soul.

To keep you from the way of evil and the evil man,
From the man who speaks perverse things;

From those who leave the paths of uprightness
To walk in the ways of darkness;

Who find joy in doing evil
And delight in the perversity of evil,

To keep you from the immoral woman;
From the seductress with her flattering words,

For her house leads down to death
And her paths lead to the dead;

None who go to her return again,
Nor do they regain the paths of life—

So you will walk in the way of good men [that is, those of personal integrity, moral courage and honorable character],
And keep to the paths of the righteous.

For length of days and years of life [worth living]
And tranquility and prosperity [the wholeness of life’s blessings] they will add to you.

Trust in and rely confidently on the Lord with all your heart
And do not rely on your own insight or understanding.

It will be health to your body [your marrow, your nerves, your sinews, your muscles—all your inner parts]
And refreshment (physical well-being) to your bones.

My son, do not reject or take lightly the discipline of the Lord [learn from your mistakes and the testing that comes from His correction through discipline];
Nor despise His rebuke,

She is more precious than rubies;
And nothing you can wish for compares with her [in value].

She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her,
And happy [blessed, considered fortunate, to be admired] is everyone who holds her tightly.

By His knowledge the deeps were broken up
And the clouds drip with dew.

And they will be life to your soul (your inner self)
And a gracious adornment to your neck (your outer self).

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due [its rightful recipients],
When it is in your power to do it.

Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back,
And tomorrow I will give it,”
When you have it with you.

Do not devise evil against your neighbor,
Who lives securely beside you.

Do not envy a man of violence
And do not choose any of his ways.

For the devious are repulsive to the Lord;
But His private counsel is with the upright [those with spiritual integrity and moral courage].

Though He scoffs at the scoffers and scorns the scorners,
Yet He gives His grace [His undeserved favor] to the humble [those who give up self-importance].

Hear, O children, the instruction of a father,
And pay attention [and be willing to learn] so that you may gain understanding and intelligent discernment.

For I give you good doctrine;
Do not turn away from my instruction.

He taught me and said to me,
“Let your heart hold fast my words;
Keep my commandments and live.

“Get [skillful and godly] wisdom! Acquire understanding [actively seek spiritual discernment, mature comprehension, and logical interpretation]!
Do not forget nor turn away from the words of my mouth.

“Prize wisdom [and exalt her], and she will exalt you;
She will honor you if you embrace her.

“She will place on your head a garland of grace;
She will present you with a crown of beauty and glory.”

Take hold of instruction; [actively seek it, grip it firmly and] do not let go.
Guard her, for she is your life.

Avoid it, do not travel on it;
Turn away from it and pass on.

For the wicked cannot sleep unless they do evil;
And they are deprived of sleep unless they make someone stumble and fall.

But the path of the just (righteous) is like the light of dawn,
That shines brighter and brighter until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day.