< Psalms 31 >

1 Unto the end. A Psalm of David according to an ecstasy. In you, Lord, I have hoped; let me never be confounded. In your justice, deliver me.
For the chief musician. A psalm of David. In you, Yahweh, I take refuge; never let me be humiliated. Rescue me in your righteousness.
2 Incline your ear to me. Hasten to rescue me. Be for me a protector God and a house of refuge, so as to accomplish my salvation.
Listen to me; rescue me quickly; be my rock of refuge, a stronghold to save me.
3 For you are my strength and my refuge; and for the sake of your name, you will lead me and nourish me.
For you are my rock and my fortress; therefore for your name's sake, lead and guide me.
4 You will lead me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me. For you are my protector.
Pluck me out of the net that they have hidden for me, for you are my refuge.
5 Into your hands, I commend my spirit. You have redeemed me, O Lord, God of truth.
Into your hands I entrust my spirit; you will redeem me, Yahweh, God of trustworthiness.
6 You have hated those who practice emptiness to no purpose. But I have hoped in the Lord.
I hate those who serve worthless idols, but I trust in Yahweh.
7 I will exult and rejoice in your mercy. For you have looked upon my humility; you have saved my soul from needfulness.
I will be glad and rejoice in your covenant faithfulness, for you saw my affliction; you knew the distress of my soul.
8 And you have not enclosed me in the hands of the enemy. You have set my feet in a spacious place.
You have not given me into the hand of my enemy. You have set my feet in a wide open place.
9 Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am troubled. My eye has been disturbed by wrath, along with my soul and my gut.
Have mercy upon me, Yahweh, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weary with grief with my soul and my body.
10 For my life has fallen into sorrow, and my years into sighing. My virtue has been weakened in poverty, and my bones have been disturbed.
For my life is weary with sorrow and my years with groaning. My strength fails because of my sin, and my bones are wasting away.
11 I have become a disgrace among all my enemies, and even more so to my neighbors, and a dread to my acquaintances. Those who catch sight of me, flee away from me.
Because of all my enemies, people disdain me; my neighbors are appalled at my situation, and those who know me are horrified. Those who see me in the street run from me.
12 I have become forgotten, like one dead to the heart. I have become like a damaged utensil.
I am forgotten as a dead man whom no one thinks about. I am like a broken pot.
13 For I have heard the harsh criticism of many who linger in the area. While assembled together against me in that place, they deliberated on how to take away my life.
For I have heard the whispering of many, terrifying news from every side as they plot together against me. They plot to take away my life.
14 But I have hoped in you, O Lord. I said, “You are my God.”
But I trust in you, Yahweh; I say, “You are my God.”
15 My fate is in your hands. Rescue me from the hand of my enemies and from those who are persecuting me.
My times are in your hand. Rescue me from the hands of my enemies and from those who pursue me.
16 Shine your face upon your servant. Save me in your mercy.
Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your covenant faithfulness.
17 Do not let me be confounded, Lord, for I have called upon you. Let the impious be ashamed and be drawn down into Hell. (Sheol h7585)
Do not let me be humiliated, Yahweh; for I call out to you! May the wicked be humiliated! May they be silent in Sheol. (Sheol h7585)
18 May deceitful lips be silenced: those that speak iniquity against the just, in arrogance and in abusiveness.
May lying lips be silenced that speak against the righteous defiantly with arrogance and contempt.
19 How great is the multitude of your sweetness, O Lord, which you keep hidden for those who fear you, which you have perfected for those who hope in you, in the sight of the sons of men.
How great is your goodness that you have stored up for those who revere you, that you perform for those who take refuge in you before all the children of mankind!
20 You hide them in the concealment of your face, from the disturbance of men. You protect them in your tabernacle, from the contradiction of tongues.
In the shelter of your presence, you hide them from the plots of men. You hide them in a shelter from the violence of tongues.
21 Blessed is the Lord. For he has shown his wonderful mercy to me, in a fortified city.
Blessed be Yahweh, for he showed me his marvelous covenant faithfulness when I was in a besieged city.
22 But I said in the excess of my mind: “I have been cast away from the glance of your eyes.” And so, you heeded the voice of my prayer, while I was still crying out to you.
Though I said in my haste, “I am cut off from your eyes,” yet you heard my plea for help when I cried to you.
23 Love the Lord, all you his saints. For the Lord will require truth, and he will abundantly repay those who act with arrogance.
Oh, love Yahweh, all you faithful followers. Yahweh protects the faithful, but he pays back the arrogant in full.
24 Act manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all you who hope in the Lord.
Be strong and confident, all you who trust in Yahweh for help.

< Psalms 31 >