The Book of Psalms

O LORD my God, I take refuge in You; save me and deliver me from all my pursuers,

or they will shred my soul like a lion and tear me to pieces with no one to rescue me.

O LORD my God, if I have done this, if injustice is on my hands,

if I have rewarded my ally (a) with evil, if I have plundered my foe without cause,

then may my enemy pursue me and overtake me; may he trample me to the ground and leave my honor in the dust.

Selah Arise, O LORD, in Your anger; rise up against the fury of my enemies. Awake, my God, and ordain judgment.

Let the assembled peoples gather around You; take Your seat over them on high.

The LORD judges the peoples; vindicate me, O LORD, according to my righteousness and integrity.

Put an end to the evil of the wicked, but establish the righteous, O righteous God who searches hearts and minds.(b)

My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.

God is a righteous judge and a God who feels indignation each day.

If one does not repent, God will sharpen His sword; He has bent and strung His bow.

He has prepared His deadly weapons; He ordains His arrows with fire.

Behold, the wicked man travails with evil; he conceives trouble and births falsehood.

He has dug a hole and hollowed it out; he has fallen into a pit of his own making.

His trouble recoils on himself, and his violence falls on his own head.

I will thank the LORD for His righteousness and sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

(a)7:4 Hebrew the one at peace with me

(b)7:9 Hebrew hearts and kidneys

LORD, my God, I take refuge in you. Save me from all those who pursue me, and deliver me,

lest they tear apart my soul like a lion, ripping it in pieces, while there is no one to deliver.

LORD, my God, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands,

if I have rewarded evil to him who was at peace with me (yes, I have delivered him who without cause was my adversary),

let the enemy pursue my soul, and overtake it; yes, let him tread my life down to the earth, and lay my glory in the dust. Selah.

Arise, LORD, in your anger. Lift up yourself against the rage of my adversaries. Awake for me. You have commanded judgment.

Let the congregation of the peoples surround you. Rule over them on high.

The LORD administers judgment to the peoples. Judge me, LORD, according to my righteousness, and to my integrity that is in me.

Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous; their minds and hearts are searched by the righteous God.

My shield is with God, who saves the upright in heart.

God is a righteous judge, yes, a God who has indignation every day.

If a man doesn’t repent, he will sharpen his sword; he has bent and strung his bow.

He has also prepared for himself the instruments of death. He makes ready his flaming arrows.

Behold,(a) he travails with iniquity. Yes, he has conceived mischief, and brought out falsehood.

He has dug a hole, and has fallen into the pit which he made.

The trouble he causes shall return to his own head. His violence shall come down on the crown of his own head.

I will give thanks to the LORD according to his righteousness, and will sing praise to the name of the LORD Most High.

(a)7:14 “Behold”, from “הִנֵּה”, means look at, take notice, observe, see, or gaze at. It is often used as an interjection.