Psalm 55

Listen to my prayer, O God.
Ignore not my plea for help.
Heed and give me an answer,
For my grievance troubles me
And I groan in my distress.

This, because of my enemy’s threats,
The oppression of the wicked;
They rain disaster upon me
And harass me with their hatred.
Within me my heart is in anguish,
The terrors of death overcome me,
A trembling fear is upon me
And horror has overwhelmed me.

I say, “Oh that I had the wings of a dove
For then I could fly away and be at peace.”
Indeed I would then wander far away
And remain in the desert wilderness.
I would hurry to find a place of shelter
That I might escape the gale and the tempest.

Confound the wicked, O Jehovah,
Make their words hard to understand,
For in the city I have seen
Much violence and civil strife.
Day and night a guards patrol its walls,
But the evil and crime is within:
The forces of destruction are there.
Lies and deceit walk down her streets.

It is not an enemy that taunts me.
If it were that, indeed I could bear it;
And if the one who rises up against me
Was someone that hates me, I could hide from him.
But it is you, my equal, my companion,
My bosom friend whose genial fellowship
I enjoyed, when, in the temple of God,
We mingled among the congregation.

My enemies, let death steal upon them,
Let them go to Hell while they are still alive,
For in their homes and hearts they are evil.

As for me, I call to God,
And Jehovah saves me.
Evening, morning, and noon,
Will I cry out and moan
And he shall hear my voice.

He safely delivers my body
From the battle waged against me,
No matter how many oppose me.

God, enthroned from old, will hear them and humble them,
Because they do no change their ways or have fear of God.
He who raises his hand against those at peace with him
Is in violation of his sacred covenant.
Give your cares to Jehovah, and he will sustain you.
He will never permit the righteous to feel terror.

But you, O God, will drag them down
Into the pit of destruction.
The violent and deceitful
Will live out only half their days. ---
But me, I put my trust in you.   

Psalm 54

(A psalm of David composed when the Ziphites came to Saul and informed him that David was hiding amongst them)

Save me, O God, by your name
And defend me with your might.
Listen to my prayer, O God;
Lend an ear to my words.

Strangers have risen against me
And violent men seek my life.
No reverence do they have for God.
But God is my deliverer,
Jehovah who sustains my life.
Let evil recoil on my foes;
Destroy them as you have promised.
I will make sacrifice to you
And with it a free-will offering.
I will thank your name, Jehovah,
For the name of Jehovah is good.
You have saved me from all my troubles;
My eyes look down upon my foes
With triumphant satisfaction.

Psalm 53

The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.
People are corrupt and commit vile acts.
There is no one among them that does good.”

God looks down from heaven upon the race of men
To find someone of wisdom who seeks after God.
All have turned away and all have become corrupt,
And there is none that does good, not a single one.

Do the workers of evil have no understanding?
They consume my people as they devour bread,
But in their ignorance they never call upon God.
They are in great terror when there is nothing to fear.
God will scatter the bones of those who attack you.
They will be put to shame, because God has spurned them.

Oh that from Zion would come Israel’s salvation!
When God will free his people from their captivity,
Jacob will rejoice and Israel will be glad.

Psalm 52

(A Psalm by David composed when Doeg the Edomite reported to Saul that David had gone to the house of Ahimelek)

Why do you boast of evil, O man of might?
(The goodness of God endures forever).
You tongue is ever plotting destruction,
Like a sharp razor, a worker of deceit.
You love evil over good, lies over truth.
You love destructive words, O lying tongue.

God will surely bring you down for all time.
He will pluck you, pulling you out of your tent,
Rooting you from the land of the living.

The righteous will see this and be awed.
They will laugh at him and observe,
“Look what has happened to a man
Who did not make God his refuge;
He put his trust in his great wealth
And found his strength in evil deeds.”

But I am like an olive tree
That blossoms in the house of God.
I trust in the loving kindness
Of God forever and ever.
And I will praise you forever
Because of all that you have done.
In the presence of the godly,
I put my hope in your good name.

Psalm 51

(A psalm by King David composed at the time when Nathan confronted him after his adultery with Bathsheba)

Be forgiving of me, O God.
In keeping with your compassion
And your many tender mercies.
Please wipe away my transgressions.
Wash away my iniquity
And purify me of my sin,
For I know that my transgressions,
And my sin is ever present.

Against you, and you alone, have I sinned
And in your eyes have done a wicked thing.
You are justified in your pronouncements,
And your judging of me is without blame.

I was sinful when I was born,
Sinful since my mother conceived me.
But you desire an honest heart
Even in the womb and it was there
That you taught me your hidden wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop and I will be clean.
Wash me and will be whiter than the snow.

Let me hear again sounds of joy and gladness
That the bones you have broken may rejoice.

Turn your face away from my sins
And erase all my iniquities.

Create in me, O God, a heart of virtue.
Renew the devoted spirit within me.
Do not send me away from your presence
Or withdraw your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of your salvation
And a spirit willing to sustain me.
Then will I teach your ways to transgressors,
So that sinners will be brought back to you.

Save me from the guilt of shedding blood,
O God, the god of my salvation,
And I will extol your righteousness.
Part my lips, O Master Jehovah,
That my mouth may sing your praises.
You do not crave a sacrifice,
Or else I would have brought you one --
Burnt offerings give you no delight.
The sacrifice pleasing to God
Is a bowed and broken spirit,
And you will not reject, O God,
A heart that is humbled and contrite.

At your pleasure, may you favor Zion
And so build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then you will take delight in sacrifices
Properly made, in the burnt offerings
And the whole burnt offerings when young bulls
Will be sacrificed upon your altar.

Psalm 50

(A psalm by Asaph)

Jehovah, who is the Almighty God, has spoken
He summons from east to west the people of the earth.
God shines from Zion, the paragon of beauty.
Our god comes to us and it is not quietly:
A consuming conflagration rages before him,
And a turbulent tempest swirls all about him.
He calls to the heavens above and the earth below
That all may witness the judgment of his people.

“Gather together all my faithful followers,
Who have pledged themselves to me with a sacrifice.”

The heavens proclaim his justice, for God himself is judge.

“Listen, O my people, and I will speak.
I lay charges against you, O Israel.
I am God, your god.

“I do not reprove you for your sacrifices,
The burnt offerings continually made to me.
I need no bull from your pen, or goat from your fold,
For all the animals of the forest are mine,
Even the cattle that graze on a thousand hills.
I know every bird that flies above the mountain slopes,
And all the creatures that creep in the field are mine.
Should I be hungry, I have no need to tell you,
For the earth and all it contains belongs to me.
Need I eat the meat of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

“Make to God sacrifices of thanksgiving
And fulfill the vows you made to the Most High.
Call upon me when you are in distress.
I will save you and you will honor me.”

But to the wicked, God will say,
“What right have you to quote my laws
Or recite aloud my covenant?
You have refused my instruction
And have turned your back on my words.
If you see a thief, you join with him
And take the part of adulterers.
Your mouth gives vent to words of evil
And your tongue practices deceit.
You sit and speak against your brother
And slander your own mother’s son.

“When you did these things I held my peace,
And you assumed I was just like you.
But I will admonish you now
And lay my charges before you.
You who forget God, ponder these things,
Or else I may tear you apart --
And there will been none to save you.

“Whoever makes a sacrifice to me,
An offering of thanksgiving, honors me.
Whoever orders his conduct aright,
To him I will reveal God’s salvation.”

Psalm 49

(By the descendants of Korah)

Listen to this, all you people!
Lend an ear, all who live in the world,
High and low, rich and poor alike.
From my mouth are words of wisdom,
The meditations of my mind
Are imbued with understanding.
To a proverb I incline my ear,
With a harp I solve a riddle.

Why should I fear the troublous times ahead,
When the evil of my foes surround me?

Those who rely upon their wealth
And boast of their lavish riches,
They cannot redeem their brother man,
Or pay ransom to God for him,
For the price of a man’s redemption
Is dear: one can never pay enough
To prolong a life forever
That it may know not death and decay.
One can surely see that wise men die,
As do the foolish and slow-witted,
Passing on their wealth to others.
The tomb, he thinks, will be his home,
A monument lasting forever.
His estate will always bear his name,
But wealth will not make a man endure,
For, like a beast, he perishes.

Such is the fate of arrogant fools
And those who find wisdom in their words.
They are like sheep led to the tomb,
And their shepherd is death itself.
In the morning of resurrection
Godly men will be placed above them.
Their bodies will rot in the grave
And they will have no habitation.

But as for me, God will redeem my body
From the power of death and receive me.

Do not be impressed when someone becomes rich
And the prestige of his family grows.
For when he dies, he will take nothing with him,
His wealth will not go with him to the grave.
While alive, he regards himself as blessed,
And is praised for having done well for himself,
Yet, he will go down to join his ancestors
And, like them, never see the light again.

Those who have wealth, but not understanding,
Are like the beasts and will, like them, perish.