them on.
6Let their path be dark and slippery,
with the LORD’s angel in pursuit.
7For without cause they hid a net to trap me;
without cause they dug a pita for me.
8Let disaster overtake them unawares;
let the net they hid catch them;
let them fall into it when disaster [strikes].
9Then shall I exult in the LORD,
rejoice in His deliverance.
10All my bones shall say,
“LORD, who is like You?
You save the poor from one stronger than he,
the poor and needy from his despoiler.”
11Malicious witnesses appear
who question me about things I do not know.
12They repay me evil for good,
[seeking] my bereavement.
13Yet, when they were ill,
my dress was sackcloth,
I kept a fast—
b-may what I prayed for happen to me!-b
14I walked about as though it were my friend or my brother;
I was bowed with gloom, like one mourning for his mother.
15But when I stumble, they gleefully gather;
wretches gather against me,
I know not why;
c-they tear at me without end.
16With impious, mocking grimace-c
they gnash their teeth at me.
17O Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue me c-from their attacks,-c
my precious life, from the lions,
18that I may praise You in a great congregation,
acclaim You in a mighty throng.
19Let not my treacherous enemies rejoice over me,
or those who hate me without reason wink their eyes.
20For they do not offer amity,
but devise fraudulent schemes against harmless folk.
21They open wide their mouths at me,
saying, “Aha, aha, we have seen it!”
22You have seen it, O LORD;
do not hold aloof!
O Lord, be not far from me!
23Wake, rouse Yourself for my cause,
for my claim, O my God and my Lord!
24Take up my cause, O LORD my God, as You are beneficent,
and let them not rejoice over me.
25Let them not think,
“Aha, just what we wished!”
Let them not say,
“We have destroyed him!”
26May those who rejoice at my misfortune
be frustrated and utterly disgraced;
may those who vaunt themselves over me
be clad in frustration and shame.
27May those who desire my vindication
sing forth joyously;
may they always say,
“Extolled be the LORD
who desires the well-being of His servant,”
28while my tongue shall recite Your beneficent acts,
Your praises all day long.
36 For the leader. Of the servant of the LORD, of David.
2a-I know-a what Transgression says to the wicked;
he has no sense of the dread of God,
3b-because its speech is seductive to him
till his iniquity be found out and he be hated.-b
4His words are evil and deceitful;
he will not consider doing good.
5In bed he plots mischief;
he is set on a path of no good,
he does not reject evil.
6O LORD, Your faithfulness reaches to heaven;
Your steadfastness to the sky;
7Your beneficence is like the high mountains;
Your justice like the great deep;
man and beast You deliver, O LORD.
8How precious is Your faithful care, O God!
Mankind shelters in the shadow of Your wings.
9They feast on the rich fare of Your house;
You let them drink at Your refreshing stream.
10With You is the fountain of life;
by Your light do we see light.
11Bestow Your faithful care on those devoted to You,
and Your beneficence on upright men.
12Let not the foot of the arrogant tread on me,
or the hand of the wicked drive me away.
13There lie the evildoers, fallen,
thrust down, unable to rise.
37 Of David.
Do not be vexed by evil men;
do not be incensed by wrongdoers;
2for they soon wither like grass,
like verdure fade away.
3Trust in the LORD and do good,
abide in the land and remain loyal.
4Seek the favor of the LORD,
and He will grant you the desires of your heart.
5Leave alla to the LORD;
trust in Him; He will do it.
6He will cause your vindication to shine forth like the light,
the justice of your case, like the noonday sun.
7Be patient and wait for the LORD,
do not be vexed by the prospering man
who carries out his schemes.
8Give up anger, abandon fury,
do not be vexed;
it can only do harm.
9For evil men will be cut off,
but those who look to the LORD—
they shall inherit the land.
10A little longer and there will be no wicked man;
you will look at where he was—
he will be gone.
11But the lowly shall inherit the land,
and delight in abundant well-being.
12The wicked man schemes against the righteous,
and gnashes his teeth at him.
13The Lord laughs at him,
for He knows that his day will come.
14The wicked draw their swords, bend their bows,
to bring down the lowly and needy,
to slaughter b-upright men.-b
15Their swords shall pierce their own hearts,
and their bows shall be broken.
16Better the little that the righteous man has
than the great abundance of the wicked.
17For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the LORD is the support of the righteous.
18The LORD is concerned for the needsc of the blameless;
their portion lasts forever;
19they shall not come to grief in bad times;
in famine, they shall eat their fill.
20But the wicked shall perish,
and the enemies of the LORD shall be consumed,
like meadow grassd consumed in smoke.
21The wicked man borrows and does not repay;
the righteous is generous and keeps giving.
22Those blessed by Him shall inherit the land,
but those cursed by Him shall be cut off.
23The steps of a man are made firm by the LORD,
when He delights in his way.
24Though he stumbles, he does not fall down,
for the LORD gives him support.
25I have been young and am now old,
but I have never seen a righteous man abandoned,
or his children seeking bread.
26He is always generous, and lends,
and his children are held blessed.
27Shun evil and do good,
and you shall abide forever.
28For the LORD loves what is right,
He does not abandon His faithful ones.
They are preserved forever,
while the children of the wicked will be cut off.
29The righteous shall inherit the land,
and abide forever in it.
30The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks what is right.
31The teaching of his God is in his heart;
his feet do not slip.
32The wicked watches for the righteous,
seeking to put him to death;
33the LORD will not abandon him to his power;
He will not let him be condemned in judgment.
34Look to the LORD and keep to His way,
and He will raise you high that you may inherit the land;
when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
35I saw a wicked man, powerful,
well-rooted like a robust native tree.
36Suddenly he vanished and was gone;
I sought him, but he was not to be found.
37Mark the blameless, note the upright,
for there is a future for the man of integrity.
38But transgressors shall be utterly destroyed,
the future of the wicked shall be cut off.
39The deliverance of the righteous comes from the LORD,
their stronghold in time of trouble.
40The LORD helps them and rescues them,
rescues them from the wicked and delivers them,
for they seek refuge in Him.
38 A psalm of David. Lehazkir.a
2O LORD, do not punish me in wrath;
do not chastise me in fury.
3For Your arrows have struck me;
Your blows have fallen upon me.
4There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your rage,
no wholeness in my bones because of my sin.
5For my iniquities have b-overwhelmed me;-b
they are like a heavy burden, more than I can bear.
6My wounds stink and fester
because of my folly.
7I am all bent and bowed;
I walk about in gloom all day long.
8For my sinews are full of fever;
there is no soundness in my flesh.
9I am all benumbed and crushed;
I roar because of the turmoil in my mind.
10O LORD, You are aware of all my entreaties;
my groaning is not hidden from You.
11My mind reels;
my strength fails me;
my eyes too have lost their luster.
12My friends and companions stand back from my affliction;
my kinsmen stand far off.
13Those who seek my life lay traps;
those who wish me harm speak malice;
they utter deceit all the time.
14But I am like a deaf man, unhearing,
like a dumb man who cannot speak up;
15I am like one who does not hear,
who has no retort on his lips.
16But I wait for You, O LORD;
You will answer, O Lord, my God.
17For I fear they will rejoice over me;
when my foot gives way they will vaunt themselves against
me.
18For I am on the verge of collapse;
my pain is always with me.
19I acknowledge my iniquity;
I am fearful over my sin;
20for my mortal enemies are numerous;
my treacherous foes are many.
21Those who repay evil for good
harass me for pursuing good.
22Do not abandon me, O LORD;
my God, be not far from me;
23hasten to my aid,
O Lord, my deliverance.
39 For the leader; for Jeduthun. A psalm of David.
2I resolved I would watch my step
lest I offend by my speech;
I would keep my mouth muzzled
while the wicked man was in my presence.
3I was dumb, silent;
I was verya still
while my pain was intense.
4My mind was in a rage,
my thoughts were all aflame;
I spoke out:
5Tell me, O LORD, what my term is,
what is the measure of my days;
I would know how fleeting my life is.
6You have made my life just handbreadths long;
its span is as nothing in Your sight;
b-no man endures any longer than a breath.-b
Selah.
7Man walks about as a mere shadow;
mere futility is his hustle and bustle,
amassing and not knowing who will gather in.
8What, then, can I count on, O Lord?
In You my hope lies.
9Deliver me from all my transgressions;
make me not the butt of the benighted.
10I am dumb, I do not speak up,
for it is Your doing.
11Take away Your plague from me;
I perish from Your blows.
12You chastise a man in punishment for his sin,
consuming like a moth what he treasures.
No man is more than a breath.

Selah.
13Hear my prayer, O LORD;
give ear to my cry;
do not disregard my tears;
for like all my forebears
I am an alien, resident with You.
14Look away from me, b-that I may recover,-b
before I pass away and am gone.
40 For the leader. A psalm of David.
2I put my hope in the LORD;
He inclined toward me,
and heeded my cry.
3He lifted me out of the miry pit,
the slimy clay,
and set my feet on a rock,
steadied my legs.
4He put a new song into my mouth,
a hymn to our God.
May many see it and stand in awe,
and trust in the LORD.
5Happy is the man who