because of the enemy’s voice,
because of the pressure of the wicked.
For they bring down disaster on me
and harass me in anger.

Let death take them by surprise;
let them go down to Sheol alive,
because evil is in their homes and within them.

God, the One enthroned from long ago,
will hear and will humiliate themSelah
because they do not change
and do not fear God.

Lord, look! They set an ambush for me.
Powerful men attack me,
but not because of any sin or rebellion of mine.

I will keep watch for You, my strength,
because God is my stronghold.

To You, my strength, I sing praises,
because God is my stronghold—
my faithful God.

My lips will glorify You
because Your faithful love is better than life.

because You are my helper;
I will rejoice in the shadow of Your wings.

Say to God, “How awe-inspiring are Your works!
Your enemies will cringe before You
because of Your great strength.

Because of Your temple at Jerusalem,
kings will bring tribute to You.

Do not let those who put their hope in You
be disgraced because of me,
Lord God of Hosts;
do not let those who seek You
be humiliated because of me,
God of Israel.

For I have endured insults because of You,
and shame has covered my face.

because zeal for Your house has consumed me,
and the insults of those who insult You
have fallen on me.

Draw near to me and redeem me;
ransom me because of my enemies.

Let those who say, “Aha, aha!”
retreat because of their shame.

I come because of the mighty acts of the Lord God;
I will proclaim Your righteousness, Yours alone.

My lips will shout for joy
when I sing praise to You
because You have redeemed me.

because they did not believe God
or rely on His salvation.

He surrendered His people to the sword
because He was enraged with His heritage.

God of our salvation, help us—
for the glory of Your name.
Deliver us and atone for our sins,
because of Your name.

Show me a sign of Your goodness;
my enemies will see and be put to shame
because You, Lord, have helped and comforted me.

Because you have made the Lord—my refuge,
the Most High—your dwelling place,

Because he is lovingly devoted to Me,
I will deliver him;
I will protect him because he knows My name.

For You have made me rejoice, Lord,
by what You have done;
I will shout for joy
because of the works of Your hands.

Zion hears and is glad,
and the towns of Judah rejoice
because of Your judgments, Lord.

Because of the sound of my groaning,
my flesh sticks to my bones.

because of Your indignation and wrath;
for You have picked me up and thrown me aside.

Yet He saved them because of His name,
to make His power known.

They angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah,
and Moses suffered because of them;

because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the counsel of the Most High.

Fools suffered affliction
because of their rebellious ways and their sins.

and fruitful land into salty wasteland,
because of the wickedness of its inhabitants.

But You, Yahweh my Lord,
deal kindly with me because of Your name;
deliver me because of the goodness of Your faithful love.

Not to us, Yahweh, not to us,
but to Your name give glory
because of Your faithful love, because of Your truth.

I love the Lord because He has heard
my appeal for mercy.

Because He has turned His ear to me,
I will call out to Him as long as I live.

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

I will walk freely in an open place
because I seek Your precepts.

Rage seizes me because of the wicked
who reject Your instruction.

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

I understand more than the elders
because I obey Your precepts.

I open my mouth and pant
because I long for Your commands.

My eyes pour out streams of tears
because people do not follow Your instruction.

My anger overwhelms me
because my foes forget Your words.

Salvation is far from the wicked
because they do not seek Your statutes.

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

Because of my brothers and friends,
I will say, “Peace be with you.”

Because of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your good.

Because of Your servant David,
do not reject Your anointed one.

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

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

Free me from prison
so that I can praise Your name.
The righteous will gather around me
because You deal generously with me.

Let me experience
Your faithful love in the morning,
for I trust in You.
Reveal to me the way I should go
because I long for You.

Because of Your name, Yahweh,
let me live.
In Your righteousness deliver me from trouble,

because their feet run toward trouble
and they hurry to commit murder.

Because they hated knowledge,
didn’t choose to fear the Lord,

He will die because there is no discipline,
and be lost because of his great stupidity.

The righteousness of the blameless clears his path,
but the wicked person will fall because of his wickedness.

A worker’s appetite works for him
because his hunger urges him on.

Wine is a mocker, beer is a brawler,
and whoever staggers because of them is not wise.

The violence of the wicked sweeps them away
because they refuse to act justly.

A slacker’s craving will kill him
because his hands refuse to work.

Don’t rob a poor man because he is poor,
and don’t crush the oppressed at the gate,

Don’t be agitated by evildoers,
and don’t envy the wicked.

Therefore, I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me. For everything is futile and a pursuit of the wind.

I hated all my work that I labored at under the sun because I must leave it to the man who comes after me.

I have seen that there is nothing better than for a person to enjoy his activities because that is his reward. For who can enable him to see what will happen after he dies?

Two are better than one because they have a good reward for their efforts.

When you make a vow to God, don’t delay fulfilling it, because He does not delight in fools. Fulfill what you vow.

If you see oppression of the poor and perversion of justice and righteousness in the province, don’t be astonished at the situation, because one official protects another official, and higher officials protect them.

Here is what I have seen to be good: it is appropriate to eat, drink, and experience good in all the labor one does under the sun during the few days of his life God has given him, because that is his reward.

for he does not often consider the days of his life because God keeps him occupied with the joy of his heart.

Yet no one knows what will happen because who can tell him what will happen?

Because the sentence against a criminal act is not carried out quickly, the heart of people is filled with the desire to commit crime.

So I commended enjoyment because there is nothing better for man under the sun than to eat, drink, and enjoy himself, for this will accompany him in his labor during the days of his life that God gives him under the sun.

For the living know that they will die, but the dead don’t know anything. There is no longer a reward for them because the memory of them is forgotten.

Whatever your hands find to do, do with all your strength, because there is no work, planning, knowledge, or wisdom in Sheol where you are going.

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

In the morning sow your seed,
and at evening do not let your hand rest,
because you don’t know which will succeed,
whether one or the other,
or if both of them will be equally good.

Remove sorrow from your heart,
and put away pain from your flesh,
because youth and the prime of life are fleeting.

on the day when the guardians of the house tremble,
and the strong men stoop,
the women who grind cease because they are few,
and the ones who watch through the windows see dimly,

When all has been heard, the conclusion of the matter is: fear God and keep His commands, because this is for all humanity.

Do not stare at me because I am dark,
for the sun has gazed on me.
My mother’s sons were angry with me;
they made me a keeper of the vineyards.
I have not kept my own vineyard.

Indeed, they will be ashamed of the sacred trees
you desired,
and you will be embarrassed because of the gardens
you have chosen.

For You have abandoned Your people,
the house of Jacob,
because they are full of divination from the East
and of fortune-tellers like the Philistines.
They are in league with foreigners.

For Jerusalem has stumbled
and Judah has fallen
because they have spoken and acted against the Lord,
defying His glorious presence.

The Lord also says:

Because the daughters of Zion are haughty,
walking with heads held high
and seductive eyes,
going along with prancing steps,
jingling their ankle bracelets,

Therefore My people will go into exile
because they lack knowledge;
her dignitaries are starving,
and her masses are parched with thirst.

Then I said:

Woe is me for I am ruined
because I am a man of unclean lips
and live among a people of unclean lips,
and because my eyes have seen the King,
the Lord of Hosts.

Say to him: Calm down and be quiet. Don’t be afraid or cowardly because of these two smoldering stubs of firebrands, the fierce anger of Rezin and Aram, and the son of Remaliah.

A man will go there with bow and arrows
because the whole land will be thorns and briers.

Because these people rejected
the slowly flowing waters of Shiloah
and rejoiced with Rezin
and the son of Remaliah,

On that day
his burden will fall from your shoulders,
and his yoke from your neck.
The yoke will be broken because of fatness.

Indeed, God is my salvation;
I will trust Him and not be afraid,
for Yah, the Lord,
is my strength and my song.
He has become my salvation.”

You will not join them in burial,
because you destroyed your land
and slaughtered your own people.
The offspring of evildoers
will never be remembered.

Prepare a place of slaughter for his sons,
because of the iniquity of their fathers.
They will never rise up to possess a land
or fill the surface of the earth with cities.

Don’t rejoice, all of you in Philistia,
because the rod of the one who struck you is broken.
For a viper will come from the root of a snake,
and from its egg comes a flying serpent.

On that day their strong cities will be
like the abandoned woods and mountaintops
that were abandoned because of the Israelites;
there will be desolation.

On that day Egypt will be like women. She will tremble with fear because of the threatening hand of the Lord of Hosts when He raises it against her.

The land of Judah will terrify Egypt; whenever Judah is mentioned, Egypt will tremble because of what the Lord of Hosts has planned against it.