Psalms 9-16

Psalm 9

¹For the choirmaster. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A Psalm of David. I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will recount all Your wonders.

²I will be glad and rejoice in You; I will sing praise to Your name, O Most High.

³When my enemies retreat, they stumble and perish before You.

⁴For You have upheld my just cause; You sit on Your throne judging righteously.

⁵You have rebuked the nations; You have destroyed the wicked; You have erased their name forever and ever.

⁶The enemy has come to eternal ruin, and You have uprooted their cities; the very memory of them has vanished.

⁷But the LORD abides forever; He has established His throne for judgment.

⁸He judges the world with justice; He governs the people with equity.

⁹The LORD is a refuge for the oppressed, a stronghold in times of trouble.

¹⁰Those who know Your name trust in You, for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You.

¹¹Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion; proclaim His deeds among the nations.

¹²For the Avenger of bloodshed remembers; He does not ignore the cry of the afflicted.

¹³Be merciful to me, O LORD; see how my enemies afflict me! Lift me up from the gates of death,

¹⁴that I may declare all Your praises— that within the gates of Daughter Zion I may rejoice in Your salvation.

¹⁵The nations have fallen into a pit of their making; their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.

¹⁶The LORD is known by the justice He brings; the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands. Higgaion Selah

¹⁷The wicked will return to Sheol— all the nations who forget God.

¹⁸For the needy will not always be forgotten; nor the hope of the oppressed forever dashed.

¹⁹Rise up, O LORD, do not let man prevail; let the nations be judged in Your presence.

²⁰Lay terror upon them, O LORD; let the nations know they are but men. Selah

Psalm 10

¹Why, O LORD, do You stand far off? Why do You hide in times of trouble?

²In pride the wicked pursue the needy; let them be caught in the schemes they devise.

³For the wicked man boasts in the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.

⁴In his pride the wicked man does not seek Him; in all his schemes there is no God.

⁵He is secure in his ways at all times; Your lofty judgments are far from him; he sneers at all his foes.

⁶He says to himself, “I will not be moved; from age to age I am free of distress.”

⁷His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; trouble and malice are under his tongue.

⁸He lies in wait near the villages; in ambush he slays the innocent; his eyes watch in stealth for the helpless.

⁹He lies in wait like a lion in a thicket; he lurks to seize the oppressed; he catches the lowly in his net.

¹⁰They are crushed and beaten down; the hapless fall prey to his strength.

¹¹He says to himself, “God has forgotten; He hides His face and never sees.”

¹²Arise, O LORD! Lift up Your hand, O God! Do not forget the helpless.

¹³Why has the wicked man renounced God? He says to himself, “You will never call me to account.”

¹⁴But You have regarded trouble and grief; You see to repay it by Your hand. The victim entrusts himself to You; You are the helper of the fatherless.

¹⁵Break the arm of the wicked and evildoer; call him to account for his wickedness until none is left to be found.

¹⁶The LORD is King forever and ever; the nations perish from His land.

¹⁷You have heard, O LORD, the desire of the humble; You will strengthen their hearts. You will incline Your ear,

¹⁸to vindicate the fatherless and oppressed, that the men of the earth may strike terror no more.

Psalm 11

¹For the choirmaster. Of David. In the LORD I take refuge. How then can you say to me: “Flee like a bird to your mountain!

²For behold, the wicked bend their bows. They set their arrow on the string to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.

³If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?”

⁴The LORD is in His holy temple; the LORD is on His heavenly throne. His eyes are watching closely; they examine the sons of men.

⁵The LORD tests the righteous and the wicked; His soul hates the lover of violence.

⁶On the wicked He will rain down fiery coals and sulfur; a scorching wind will be their portion.

⁷For the LORD is righteous; He loves justice. The upright will see His face.

Psalm 12

¹For the choirmaster. According to Sheminith. A Psalm of David. Help, O LORD, for the godly are no more; the faithful have vanished from among men.

²They lie to one another; they speak with flattering lips and a double heart.

³May the LORD cut off all flattering lips and every boastful tongue.

⁴They say, “With our tongues we will prevail. We own our lips—who can be our master?”

⁵“For the cause of the oppressed and for the groaning of the needy, I will now arise,” says the LORD. “I will bring safety to him who yearns.”

⁶The words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace, like gold purified sevenfold.

⁷You, O LORD, will keep us; You will forever guard us from this generation.

⁸The wicked wander freely, and vileness is exalted among men.

Psalm 13

¹For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?

²How long must I wrestle in my soul, with sorrow in my heart each day? How long will my enemy dominate me?

³Consider me and respond, O LORD my God. Give light to my eyes, lest I sleep in death,

⁴lest my enemy say, “I have overcome him,” and my foes rejoice when I fall.

⁵But I have trusted in Your loving devotion; my heart will rejoice in Your salvation.

⁶I will sing to the LORD, for He has been good to me.

Psalm 14

¹For the choirmaster. Of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt; their acts are vile. There is no one who does good.

²The LORD looks down from heaven upon the sons of men to see if any understand, if any seek God.

³All have turned away, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one.

⁴Will the workers of iniquity never learn? They devour my people like bread; they refuse to call upon the LORD.

⁵There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is in the company of the righteous.

⁶You sinners frustrate the plans of the oppressed, yet the LORD is their shelter.

⁷Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come from Zion! When the LORD restores His captive people, let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad!

Psalm 15

¹A Psalm of David. O LORD, who may abide in Your tent? Who may dwell on Your holy mountain?

²He who walks with integrity and practices righteousness, who speaks the truth from his heart,

³who has no slander on his tongue, who does no harm to his neighbor, who casts no scorn on his friend,

⁴who despises the vile but honors those who fear the LORD, who does not revise a costly oath,

⁵who lends his money without interest and refuses a bribe against the innocent. He who does these things will never be shaken.

Psalm 16

¹A Miktam of David. Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge.

²I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.”

³As for the saints in the land, they are the excellence in whom all my delight resides.

⁴Sorrows will multiply to those who chase other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood, or speak their names with my lips.

⁵The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.

⁶The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places; surely my inheritance is delightful.

⁷I will bless the LORD who counsels me; even at night my conscience instructs me.

⁸I have set the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

⁹Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will dwell securely.

¹⁰For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.

¹¹You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.