Chapters 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

1 ¹The fool says in his heart,
"Life is a game that I can win."
² They are corrupt,
they do abominable deeds,
there is none that does good.
³ For in their pursuit of heaven,
they step on those who get in their way,
and make the world a living hell.
(V)

2 ¹Even though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death.
² I will fear no evil;
for there is no evil,
there is no god,
and I have no fear of death.
(V)

3 ¹If the Lord is your shepherd, you shall have no will;
he makes you lie down in green pastures.
² He leads you beside still waters;
he fills your mind with commands.
³ He leads you in the paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
⁴ You will do as he says or suffer his wrath.
(V)

4 ¹My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
² Why art thou so far from helping me,
from the words of my groaning?
³ O my God, I cry by day,
but thou dost not answer;
and by night, but find no rest.
⁴ My God I know why you are silent,
⁵ You were never real to begin with.
(V)

5¹ Consider how many are my foes,
and with what violent hatred they hate me.
² Oh guard my life, and deliver me;
let me not be put to shame,
for I take refuge in thee.
³ May integrity and uprightness preserve me,
for I wait for thee.
⁴ For I have done your bidding,
⁵ I have slain mine enemies in your name.
⁶ I have put women and children to death
in your honor,
⁷ I have caused great pain among them,
for your glory,
and for this they seek my death.
⁸ Crush them with your might O Lord.
⁹ Beat them fine as dust before the wind.
¹⁰ Deliver me for I have done no wrong,
and I do not deserve to die.
(V)

6¹ Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
² Blessed is the man to whom the Lord
imputes no iniquity,
³ for he has been absolved of his sin,
and has no need of a conscience.
(V)

7¹ Transgression speaks to the wicked
deep in her heart;
there is no fear of God
before her eyes.
² For she has grown up in other's eyes
and become a mature adult.
³ The words of her mouth are honest and caring;
she has begun to act wisely and do good.
⁴ She seeks to help others and ease their pain;
she sets herself in a way that is most loving;
she spurns those who hate.
(V)

8¹ The wicked plots against the righteous,
and gnashes his teeth at him;
² But the Lord laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his day is coming.
³ Any day now.
⁴ Really soon.
⁵ Beware he is coming.
⁶ I know because He told me so.
⁷ He told me in a vision.
⁸ I am not insane.
(V)

9¹ My wounds grow foul and fester
because of my foolishness,
² I am utterly bowed down and prostrate
all the day I go about mourning.
³ For my loins are filled with burning,
and there is no soundness in my flesh.
⁴ I am utterly spent and crushed;
I groan because of the tumult in my heart.
⁵ I cannot meet your impossible demands,
I cannot be pure of heart
I cannot be free of sin.
⁶ I live in agony with my guilt and shame,
my life is nothing but pain.
⁷ Still I obey you my Lord,
I have no other choice.
⁸ It was you who brought me this pain;
I beg you to take it away.
⁹ Do not forsake me, O Lord!
O my God, be not far from me!
¹⁰ Make haste to help me,
O Lord, my salvation!
¹¹ Promise me Heaven,
promise me salvation,
promise me everything,
¹² I'll believe you;
I am so pathetic.
(V)

10¹ I said, "I will guard my ways,
that I may not sin with my tongue;
I will bridle my mouth,
so long as the wicked are in my presence."
² I was dumb and silent,
I held my peace to no avail;
my distress grew worse,
³ my heart became hot within me.
As I mused, the fire burned;
then I spoke with my tongue:
⁴ "There is no God!", I shouted;
and then I was free.
(V)

11¹ As a hart longs for the flowing streams
so longs my soul for thee, O God.
² My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God?
³ My tears have been my food day and night,
while men say to me continually,
"Where is your God?"
⁴ Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
⁵ Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
again and again and again.
⁶ And when he does not answer,
again I shall praise him,
again and again and again;
⁷ until I hear a voice speak to me,
and that voice I will call God.
(V)

12¹ Clap your hands, all peoples!
Shout to God with loud songs of joy!
² For the Lord, the Most High, is terrible,
a great king over all the earth.
³ He subdued people under us,
and nations under our feet.
⁴ Sing praises to God sing praises!
⁵ For God is the king of all earth;
sing praises with a psalm!
⁶ God reigns over the nations;
God sits on his holy throne.
⁷ Sing praises to Him, or else.
(V)

13¹ Man cannot abide in his pomp,
he is like the beasts that perish.
² This is the fate of those who have
foolish confidence in God.
the end of those who are pleased
to serve another all their life.
³ Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;
Death shall be their shepherd;
straight to the grave they descend,
and their form shall waste away;
Sheol shall be their home.
⁴ They spend their lives suffering
in subservience,
waiting for God to ransom their souls;
⁵ Only to end up in the ground beside
those who dared to enjoy their lives.
(V)

14¹ Be merciful to me O God,
be merciful to me,
for in thee my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of thy wings
I will take refuge,
till the storms of destruction pass by.
² I am too weak to stand up for myself.
³ I cry to God Most High,
to God who fulfils his purpose for me,
⁴ For I have no self esteem.
⁵ He will send from Heaven and save me,
he will put to shame those
who trample upon me.
⁶ God will send forth his staidfast
love and his faithfulness,
in the form of death and pain.
⁷ I must see them suffer so that
I can feel righteous.
(V)

15¹ The righteous one will rejoice when he
sees the vengeance;
he will bathe his feet in the blood
of the wicked.
² Men will say, "Surely there is none more evil
on the face of the earth;
than the one who worships
such a bloodthirsty God."
(V)

16¹ The preachers and the proselytizers are
at my door again.
² Each evening they come back,
howling like dogs
and prowling about the city.
³ They roam about for food, and growl
if they do not get their fill.
⁴ When they smile their teeth glisten,
their hunger is never satisfied;
They lust endlessly after my
non-existant soul.
⁵ I have learned all their weaknesses
and I can keep them at bay.
⁶ I hold the truth before them, like
a rolled up newspaper;
and at a distance they stay.
(V)

17¹ For God alone my soul waits in silence,
for my hope is from him.
² He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress;
I shall not be shaken.
³ How long will you set upon a man
to shatter him, all of you,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
⁴ On God rests my deliverance and my honor;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
⁵ How long will all of you argue with me
with your logic and reason?
Can't you see that I'm psychotic?
I shall not be moved.
⁶ And God is my rock.
(V)

18¹ When my soul was embittered,
when I was pricked in heart,
² I was stupid and ignorant,
I was like a beast towards thee.
³ Nevertheless I am continually with thee;
thou dost hold my right hand.
⁴ Thou dost guide me with counsel,
and afterward thou wilt receive
me to glory.
⁵ I am still like a beast towards thee,
like one that has been domesticated,
and told to heel forever.
(V)

19¹ O that thou would slay the wicked, O God,
and that men of blood would depart from me,
² men who maliciously defy thee,
who lift themselves up against
thee for evil!
³ Do I not hate them that hate thee, O Lord?
And do I not loathe them that rise
up against thee?
⁴ I hate them with perfect hatred;
I count them my enemies.
⁵ Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
⁶ And see if there be any wicked ways in me,
except for all that stuff about hatred.
(V)

20¹ The Lord is just in all his ways,
and kind in all his doings.
² The Lord is near to all who call upon him,
to all who call upon him in truth.
³ He fulfills the desire of all who fear him,
he also hears their cry, and saves them,
well, sometimes.
⁴ The Lord preserves all who love him;
but all the wicked he will destroy.
⁵ And the Lord loves those who brown-nose him,
and he gives unto them salvation.
(V)

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