¹I love you, Lord, my strength.

²The Lord is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;

my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge,

my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.

³I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise,

and I have been saved from my enemies.

⁴The cords of death entangled me;

the torrents of destruction overwhelmed me.

⁵The cords of the grave coiled around me;

the snares of death confronted me.

⁶In my distress I called to the Lord;

I cried to my God for help.

From his temple he heard my voice;

my cry came before him, into his ears.

⁷The earth trembled and quaked,

and the foundations of the mountains shook;

they trembled because he was angry.

⁸Smoke rose from his nostrils;

consuming fire came from his mouth,

burning coals blazed out of it.

⁹He parted the heavens and came down;

dark clouds were under his feet.

¹⁰He mounted the cherubim and flew;

he soared on the wings of the wind.

¹¹He made darkness his covering, his canopy around him –

the dark rain clouds of the sky.

¹²Out of the brightness of his presence clouds advanced,

with hailstones and bolts of lightning.

¹³The Lord thundered from heaven;

the voice of the Most High resounded.

¹⁴He shot his arrows and scattered the enemy,

with great bolts of lightning he routed them.

¹⁵The valleys of the sea were exposed

and the foundations of the earth laid bare

at your rebuke, Lord,

at the blast of breath from your nostrils.

¹⁶He reached down from on high and took hold of me;

he drew me out of deep waters.

¹⁷He rescued me from my powerful enemy,

from my foes, who were too strong for me.

¹⁸They confronted me in the day of my disaster,

but the Lord was my support.

¹⁹He brought me out into a spacious place;

he rescued me because he delighted in me.

²⁰The Lord has dealt with me according to my righteousness;

according to the cleanness of my hands he has rewarded me.

²¹For I have kept the ways of the Lord;

I am not guilty of turning from my God.

²²All his laws are before me;

I have not turned away from his decrees.

²³I have been blameless before him

and have kept myself from sin.

²⁴The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness,

according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight.

²⁵To the faithful you show yourself faithful,

to the blameless you show yourself blameless,

²⁶to the pure you show yourself pure,

but to the devious you show yourself shrewd.

²⁷You save the humble

but bring low those whose eyes are haughty.

²⁸You, Lord, keep my lamp burning;

my God turns my darkness into light.

²⁹With your help I can advance against a troop;

with my God I can scale a wall.

³⁰As for God, his way is perfect:

the Lord’s word is flawless;

he shields all who take refuge in him.

³¹For who is God besides the Lord?

And who is the Rock except our God?

³²It is God who arms me with strength

and keeps my way secure.

³³He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;

he causes me to stand on the heights.

³⁴He trains my hands for battle;

my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁵You make your saving help my shield,

and your right hand sustains me;

your help has made me great.

³⁶You provide a broad path for my feet,

so that my ankles do not give way.

³⁷I pursued my enemies and overtook them;

I did not turn back till they were destroyed.

³⁸I crushed them so that they could not rise;

they fell beneath my feet.

³⁹You armed me with strength for battle;

you humbled my adversaries before me.

⁴⁰You made my enemies turn their backs in flight,

and I destroyed my foes.

⁴¹They cried for help, but there was no-one to save them –

to the Lord, but he did not answer.

⁴²I beat them as fine as windblown dust;

I trampled them like mud in the streets.

⁴³You have delivered me from the attacks of the people;

you have made me the head of nations.

People I did not know now serve me,

⁴⁴foreigners cower before me;

as soon as they hear of me, they obey me.

⁴⁵They all lose heart;

they come trembling from their strongholds.

⁴⁶The Lord lives! Praise be to my Rock!

Exalted be God my Saviour!

⁴⁷He is the God who avenges me,

who subdues nations under me,

⁴⁸who saves me from my enemies.

You exalted me above my foes;

from a violent man you rescued me.

⁴⁹Therefore I will praise you, Lord, among the nations;

I will sing the praises of your name.

⁵⁰He gives his king great victories;

he shows unfailing love to his anointed,

to David and to his descendants for ever.

¹ Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent?

Who may live on your holy mountain?

²The one whose way of life is blameless,

who does what is righteous,

who speaks the truth from their heart;

³whose tongue utters no slander,

who does no wrong to a neighbour,

and casts no slur on others;

⁴who despises a vile person

but honours those who fear the Lord;

who keeps an oath even when it hurts,

and does not change their mind;

⁵who lends money to the poor without interest;

who does not accept a bribe against the innocent.

Whoever does these things

will never be shaken.

¹Help, Lord, for no-one is faithful anymore;

those who are loyal have vanished from the human race.

²Everyone lies to their neighbour;

they flatter with their lips

but harbour deception in their hearts.

³May the Lord silence all flattering lips

and every boastful tongue –

⁴those who say,

‘By our tongues we will prevail;

our own lips will defend us – who is lord over us?’

⁵‘Because the poor are plundered and the needy groan,

I will now arise,’ says the Lord.

‘I will protect them from those who malign them.’

⁶And the words of the Lord are flawless,

like silver purified in a crucible,

like gold refined seven times.

⁷You, Lord, will keep the needy safe

and will protect us for ever from the wicked,

⁸who freely strut about

when what is vile is honoured by the human race.

¹Answer me when I call to you,

my righteous God.

Give me relief from my distress;

have mercy on me and hear my prayer.

²How long will you people turn my glory into shame?

How long will you love delusions and seek false gods?

³Know that the Lord has set apart his faithful servant for himself;

the Lord hears when I call to him.

⁴Tremble and do not sin;

when you are on your beds,

search your hearts and be silent.

⁵Offer the sacrifices of the righteous

and trust in the Lord.

⁶Many, Lord, are asking, ‘Who will bring us prosperity?’

Let the light of your face shine on us.

⁷Fill my heart with joy

when their grain and new wine abound.

⁸In peace I will lie down and sleep,

for you alone, Lord,

make me dwell in safety.

¹Wine is a mocker and beer a brawler;

whoever is led astray by them is not wise.

²A king’s wrath strikes terror like the roar of a lion;

those who anger him forfeit their lives.

³It is to one’s honour to avoid strife,

but every fool is quick to quarrel.

⁴Sluggards do not plough in season;

so at harvest time they look but find nothing.

⁵The purposes of a person’s heart are deep waters,

but one who has insight draws them out.

⁶Many claim to have unfailing love,

but a faithful person who can find?

⁷The righteous lead blameless lives;

blessed are their children after them.

⁸When a king sits on his throne to judge,

he winnows out all evil with his eyes.

⁹Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure;

I am clean and without sin’?

¹⁰Differing weights and differing measures –

the Lord detests them both.

¹¹Even small children are known by their actions,

so is their conduct really pure and upright?

¹²Ears that hear and eyes that see –

the Lord has made them both.

¹³Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;

stay awake and you will have food to spare.

¹⁴‘It’s no good, it’s no good!’ says the buyer –

then goes off and boasts about the purchase.

¹⁵Gold there is, and rubies in abundance,

but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.

¹⁶Take the garment of one who puts up security for a stranger;

hold it in pledge if it is done for an outsider.

¹⁷Food gained by fraud tastes sweet,

but one ends up with a mouth full of gravel.

¹⁸Plans are established by seeking advice;

so if you wage war, obtain guidance.

¹⁹A gossip betrays a confidence;

so avoid anyone who talks too much.

²⁰If someone curses their father or mother,

their lamp will be snuffed out in pitch darkness.

²¹An inheritance claimed too soon

will not be blessed at the end.

²²Do not say, ‘I’ll pay you back for this wrong!’

Wait for the Lord, and he will avenge you.

²³The Lord detests differing weights,

and dishonest scales do not please him.

²⁴A person’s steps are directed by the Lord.

How then can anyone understand their own way?

²⁵It is a trap to dedicate something rashly

and only later to consider one’s vows.

²⁶A wise king winnows out the wicked;

he drives the threshing wheel over them.

²⁷The human spirit is the lamp of the Lord

that sheds light on one’s inmost being.

²⁸Love and faithfulness keep a king safe;

through love his throne is made secure.

²⁹The glory of young men is their strength,

grey hair the splendour of the old.

³⁰Blows and wounds scrub away evil,

and beatings purge the inmost being.

¹My son, pay attention to my wisdom,

turn your ear to my words of insight,

²that you may maintain discretion

and your lips may preserve knowledge.

³For the lips of the adulterous woman drip honey,

and her speech is smoother than oil;

⁴but in the end she is bitter as gall,

sharp as a double-edged sword.

⁵Her feet go down to death;

her steps lead straight to the grave.

⁶She gives no thought to the way of life;

her paths wander aimlessly, but she does not know it.

⁷Now then, my sons, listen to me;

do not turn aside from what I say.

⁸Keep to a path far from her,

do not go near the door of her house,

⁹lest you lose your honour to others

and your dignity to one who is cruel,

¹⁰lest strangers feast on your wealth

and your toil enrich the house of another.

¹¹At the end of your life you will groan,

when your flesh and body are spent.

¹²You will say, ‘How I hated discipline!

How my heart spurned correction!

¹³I would not obey my teachers

or turn my ear to my instructors.

¹⁴And I was soon in serious trouble

in the assembly of God’s people.’

¹⁵Drink water from your own cistern,

running water from your own well.

¹⁶Should your springs overflow in the streets,

your streams of water in the public squares?

¹⁷Let them be yours alone,

never to be shared with strangers.

¹⁸May your fountain be blessed,

and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.

¹⁹A loving doe, a graceful deer –

may her breasts satisfy you always,

may you ever be intoxicated with her love.

²⁰Why, my son, be intoxicated with another man’s wife?

Why embrace the bosom of a wayward woman?

²¹For your ways are in full view of the Lord,

and he examines all your paths.

²²The evil deeds of the wicked ensnare them;

the cords of their sins hold them fast.

²³For lack of discipline they will die,

led astray by their own great folly.