Psalm 14

The immoral do not believe that God exists. ---
Such people are corrupt and commit vile acts;
None of them ever does anything good!

Jehovah looks down from Heaven
To scrutinize the race of men,
To see if any possess wisdom,
To see if any seek out God.

No, all of them have gone astray;
They have all become corrupted.
None of them does anything good,
No, not a single one of them.

Will those who are evil and corrupt ever learn?
Those who consume my people like a piece of bread,
Do they ever call out to Jehovah for help?

The wicked tremble with terror and fright,
For God is on the side of the righteous.
Though the oppressors crush their aspirations,
The oppressed will find refuge in Jehovah.

Would that deliverance and salvation
Come to Israel from the Temple Mount!
When Jehovah will restore his people
And bring them back from their captivity,
How the children of Jacob will rejoice,
And the nation of Israel take delight!

Psalm 13

How long will it be, Jehovah? Forever?
Have long will you forget and ignore me? 
How long must it be that doubt torments my mind
And each day pain and sorrow rend my heart  --
And my enemies triumph over me?

Take heed and respond, Jehovah my god!
Restore to my eyes some glimmer of hope,
Or else they will be shut in the sleep of death.

Let not my enemies gloat and boast,
Claiming, "We have defeated him!"
Let them not rejoice at my downfall.

But I put my trust in your unfailing love,
And in my heart there is a welling of joy
Knowing that my salvation lies with you.

It is thus to Jehovah I sing my prayer
For he bestows his bounty upon me.

Psalm 12

Save us, Jehovah, for godly men are gone,
And the faithful have vanished from the earth.
Men now speak only lies to their neighbors.
Sweet talk and false flattery is on their lips
And they deceive with a duplicitous heart.

May you, Jehovah, still those flattering lips
And silence those boastful tongues that proclaim,
"We, by the words of our tongue, will prevail.
Our lips belong to no one but ourselves.
No master can to tell us what we can say!”

"I will now take action!" cries Jehovah,
"For the downtrodden are sorely oppressed,
And the needy groan in hunger and pain.
I will give them the succor they pray for."

True is the promise of Jehovah,
As true and pure as silver refined
In the fire of an earthen kiln
And purified seven times over.

The human race exalts what is vile,
And the wicked are on every side.
From such a generation of men
You, Jehovah, will protect us
And keep us -- for now and always.   

Psalm 11

In Jehovah I find my refuge,
So why then do you exhort me,
"Fly like a bird and head for the hills!
Look! The wicked have bent their bows
And loaded arrows on their strings.
They shoot in stealth, from the shadows,
Piercing the flesh of the pure in heart.
The foundations of the country
Are now collapsing and crumbling!
Even good men can do nothing."

Jehovah remains in his holy Temple,
And he rules still from his heavenly throne.
His eyes are upon the affairs of men;
He examines and scrutinizes them
And will test the mettle of the righteous.

But he detests those who love violence.
And he will rain down upon the wicked
Burning lava and fiery sulphur,
And a scorching wind will be their just lot.

Jehovah is the essence of righteousness,
He loves the righteous deed, and the upright man
Will know his favor.
  

Psalm 10

Why, Jehovah, do you stand aloof
And hide yourself in troublous times?

The wicked in their pride make prey of the poor
And catch them in the traps of their devising.
They flaunt the evil cravings of their heart. 
They bless the greedy and curse the divine.
They in their pride will never seek out God,
Who has no place in their philosophy.

They seem to succeed in all they do.
They see your laws as far beneath them.
At their enemies they sneer and scoff.
This is what they say to themselves:
"Nothing can ever affect me;
No evil will ever befall me."

Out of their mouths come curses, lies, and threats;
Under their tongues simmer evil and sin.
Outside the villages they lie in wait,
To ambush and murder the innocent.
Secretly watching for helpless victims,
They lie in wait like a lion in cover,
Ready to pounce on their powerless prey.
Or like a hunter they trap in their nets
Poor unfortunates, then drag them away.
Bruised and bowed, the helpless victims stagger
And fall before the strength of the wicked.

They say to themselves, "God does not notice,
For he covers his eyes and will never see."

Rouse yourself, O Jehovah!
Punish the wicked, O God!
Ignore not the helpless!

Why do the wicked reject the true God? ---
Because they think, "He won't hold me to account."

But you, Jehovah, have seen the misery
And the grief to the poor and downtrodden
The wicked have caused -- and taken note of it.
And those afflicted put their faith in you,
For you are protector to the fatherless.

Stay the hand of the guilty evil-doers!
Bring to light their crimes, otherwise hidden, --
And make them pay for every last one of them!
Jehovah is king forever and ever!
Such nations will be banished from his earth.

You've heard the longing cries of those oppressed.
Heed them, Jehovah, and give strength to their hearts.
Protect the fatherless and downtrodden
So they may no more fear the men of this earth. 

Psalm 9

With all my heart I sing my praises to you,
Jehovah, recounting your wondrous deeds.
I rejoice and exult because of you
And exalt the name of the God Most High.

My enemies turn and flee in retreat;
They stumble and drop dead in front of you.
From your throne, judging wisely and justly,
You hear my case and rule in my favor.

You have had strong words for foreign countries,
And those who are wicked, you have destroyed,
Erasing their names for now and for all time.
Your enemies find their final destruction
In the ruins of their overthrown cities.
Even the memory of them will be lost!

For Jehovah will reign forever,
Installed upon his throne of justice,
Ruling the world with righteousness
And judging all people equally --
A sanctuary for those oppressed,
A refuge in adversity.

Those who know your name, Jehovah, put their trust in you,
For you do not abandon those who follow you.

Sing the praises of the God who reigns from Mount Zion!
Tell the peoples of the world his glorious deeds!
Those murdered he remembers, avenging their blood,
Nor does he ignore the cries of the afflicted.

See how my enemies torment me.
Have mercy on me, O Jehovah!
Rescue me from the gates of death
So, at the gate of Jerusalem,
I may proclaim my praise of you
And rejoice how you have saved me.

The nations fall into the pit they themselves have dug,
Entangled are their feet in the snare they have hidden.
Jehovah is renown for his pursuit of justice:
He entraps the wicked with their own handiwork.
Wicked people will return to the grave of death.
Such is the fate of the nations that forget God.

The needy will not always be forgotten,
Nor the hopes of the humble crushed forever.

Rise up, O Jehovah, and take action!
Let not humans defy you and prevail.
Punish the nations yourself; strike them with fear,
So they may know that they are mere mortals.
 

Psalm 8

Jehovah, my god, the majesty of your name
Has spread abroad across the face of all the earth,
And your glory reaches far above the heavens.
Through the praise of suckling babes and toddling infants
Comes your strength, the power over your enemies,
To silence your foes and to thwart the false avengers.

I gaze up to the heavens to view your handiwork,
The moon and the stars set surely in their places,
And I wonder why you give thought to us mortals,
Why you concern yourself with the affairs of men.
You created man to be slightly less than divine, 
Endowing him with dignity, grandeur, and glory.
You made him to be master of your creations,
To be a steward of all that lives upon the earth,
The sheep and cattle, the beasts of field and forest,
The birds in the heavens and the fish in the sea,
All that ply the currents of the vast ocean depths.

Jehovah, my god, how majestic is your name
Known throughout the entire world!