Psalm 42-51

BOOK II Psalm 42In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm.,In Hebrew texts 42:1-11 is numbered 42:2-12. 1For the director of music. A maskil Title: Probably a literary or musical term of the Sons of Korah. As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God.

2My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?

3My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?”

4These things I remember as I pour out my soul: how I used to go to the house of God under the protection of the Mighty One See Septuagint and Syriac; the meaning of the Hebrew for this line is uncertain. with shouts of joy and praise among the festive throng.

5Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

6My soul is downcast within me; therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, the heights of Hermon—from Mount Mizar.

7Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls; all your waves and breakers have swept over me.

8By day the LORD directs his love, at night his song is with me— a prayer to the God of my life.

9I say to God my Rock, “Why have you forgotten me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?”

10My bones suffer mortal agony as my foes taunt me, saying to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 11Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 43In many Hebrew manuscripts Psalms 42 and 43 constitute one psalm. 1Vindicate me, my God, and plead my cause against an unfaithful nation. Rescue me from those who are deceitful and wicked.

2You are God my stronghold. Why have you rejected me? Why must I go about mourning, oppressed by the enemy?

3Send me your light and your faithful care, let them lead me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.

4Then I will go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the lyre, O God, my God. 5Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.

Psalm 44In Hebrew texts 44:1-26 is numbered 44:2-27. 1For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. Title: Probably a literary or musical term We have heard it with our ears, O God; our ancestors have told us what you did in their days, in days long ago.

2With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our ancestors; you crushed the peoples and made our ancestors flourish.

3It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.

4You are my King and my God, who decrees Septuagint, Aquila and Syriac; Hebrew King, O God; / command victories for Jacob.

5Through you we push back our enemies; through your name we trample our foes.

6I put no trust in my bow, my sword does not bring me victory;

7but you give us victory over our enemies, you put our adversaries to shame.

8In God we make our boast all day long, and we will praise your name forever. The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

9But now you have rejected and humbled us; you no longer go out with our armies.

10You made us retreat before the enemy, and our adversaries have plundered us.

11You gave us up to be devoured like sheep and have scattered us among the nations.

12You sold your people for a pittance, gaining nothing from their sale.

13You have made us a reproach to our neighbors, the scorn and derision of those around us.

14You have made us a byword among the nations; the peoples shake their heads at us.

15I live in disgrace all day long, and my face is covered with shame

16at the taunts of those who reproach and revile me, because of the enemy, who is bent on revenge.

17All this came upon us, though we had not forgotten you; we had not been false to your covenant.

18Our hearts had not turned back; our feet had not strayed from your path.

19But you crushed us and made us a haunt for jackals; you covered us over with deep darkness.

20If we had forgotten the name of our God or spread out our hands to a foreign god,

21would not God have discovered it, since he knows the secrets of the heart?

22Yet for your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.

23Awake, Lord! Why do you sleep? Rouse yourself! Do not reject us forever.

24Why do you hide your face and forget our misery and oppression?

25We are brought down to the dust; our bodies cling to the ground. 26Rise up and help us; rescue us because of your unfailing love.

Psalm 45In Hebrew texts 45:1-17 is numbered 45:2-18. 1For the director of music. To the tune of “Lilies.” Of the Sons of Korah. A maskil. Title: Probably a literary or musical term A wedding song. My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.

2You are the most excellent of men and your lips have been anointed with grace, since God has blessed you forever.

3Gird your sword on your side, you mighty one; clothe yourself with splendor and majesty.

4In your majesty ride forth victoriously in the cause of truth, humility and justice; let your right hand achieve awesome deeds.

5Let your sharp arrows pierce the hearts of the king’s enemies; let the nations fall beneath your feet.

6Your throne, O God, Here the king is addressed as God’s representative. will last for ever and ever; a scepter of justice will be the scepter of your kingdom.

7You love righteousness and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy.

8All your robes are fragrant with myrrh and aloes and cassia; from palaces adorned with ivory the music of the strings makes you glad.

9Daughters of kings are among your honored women; at your right hand is the royal bride in gold of Ophir.

10Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention: Forget your people and your father’s house.

11Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord.

12The city of Tyre will come with a gift, Or A Tyrian robe is among the gifts people of wealth will seek your favor.

13All glorious is the princess within her chamber; her gown is interwoven with gold.

14In embroidered garments she is led to the king; her virgin companions follow her— those brought to be with her.

15Led in with joy and gladness, they enter the palace of the king.

16Your sons will take the place of your fathers; you will make them princes throughout the land. 17I will perpetuate your memory through all generations; therefore the nations will praise you for ever and ever.

Psalm 46In Hebrew texts 46:1-11 is numbered 46:2-12. 1For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. According to alamoth. Title: Probably a musical term A song. God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.

2Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verses 7 and 11.

4There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells.

5God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.

6Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8Come and see what the LORD has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth.

9He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields Or chariots with fire.

10He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11The LORD Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Psalm 47In Hebrew texts 47:1-9 is numbered 47:2-10. 1For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. Clap your hands, all you nations; shout to God with cries of joy.

2For the LORD Most High is awesome, the great King over all the earth.

3He subdued nations under us, peoples under our feet.

4He chose our inheritance for us, the pride of Jacob, whom he loved. The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

5God has ascended amid shouts of joy, the LORD amid the sounding of trumpets.

6Sing praises to God, sing praises; sing praises to our King, sing praises.

7For God is the King of all the earth; sing to him a psalm of praise.

8God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne. 9The nobles of the nations assemble as the people of the God of Abraham, for the kings Or shields of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.

Psalm 48In Hebrew texts 48:1-14 is numbered 48:2-15. 1A song. A psalm of the Sons of Korah. Great is the LORD, and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, his holy mountain.

2Beautiful in its loftiness, the joy of the whole earth, like the heights of Zaphon Zaphon was the most sacred mountain of the Canaanites. is Mount Zion, the city of the Great King.

3God is in her citadels; he has shown himself to be her fortress.

4When the kings joined forces, when they advanced together,

5they saw her and were astounded; they fled in terror.

6Trembling seized them there, pain like that of a woman in labor.

7You destroyed them like ships of Tarshish shattered by an east wind.

8As we have heard, so we have seen in the city of the LORD Almighty, in the city of our God: God makes her secure forever. The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

9Within your temple, O God, we meditate on your unfailing love.

10Like your name, O God, your praise reaches to the ends of the earth; your right hand is filled with righteousness.

11Mount Zion rejoices, the villages of Judah are glad because of your judgments.

12Walk about Zion, go around her, count her towers,

13consider well her ramparts, view her citadels, that you may tell of them to the next generation. 14For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.

Psalm 49In Hebrew texts 49:1-20 is numbered 49:2-21. 1For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. A psalm. Hear this, all you peoples; listen, all who live in this world,

2both low and high, rich and poor alike:

3My mouth will speak words of wisdom; the meditation of my heart will give you understanding.

4I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle:

5Why should I fear when evil days come, when wicked deceivers surround me—

6those who trust in their wealth and boast of their great riches?

7No one can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for them—

8the ransom for a life is costly, no payment is ever enough—

9so that they should live on forever and not see decay.

10For all can see that the wise die, that the foolish and the senseless also perish, leaving their wealth to others.

11Their tombs will remain their houses Septuagint and Syriac; Hebrew In their thoughts their houses will remain forever, their dwellings for endless generations, though they had Or generations, / for they have named lands after themselves.

12People, despite their wealth, do not endure; they are like the beasts that perish.

13This is the fate of those who trust in themselves, and of their followers, who approve their sayings. The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here and at the end of verse 15.

14They are like sheep and are destined to die; death will be their shepherd (but the upright will prevail over them in the morning). Their forms will decay in the grave, far from their princely mansions.

15But God will redeem me from the realm of the dead; he will surely take me to himself.

16Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases;

17for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them.

18Though while they live they count themselves blessed— and people praise you when you prosper—

19they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life. 20People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 50 1A psalm of Asaph. The Mighty One, God, the LORD, speaks and summons the earth from the rising of the sun to where it sets.

2From Zion, perfect in beauty, God shines forth.

3Our God comes and will not be silent; a fire devours before him, and around him a tempest rages.

4He summons the heavens above, and the earth, that he may judge his people:

5“Gather to me this consecrated people, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice.”

6And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for he is a God of justice. With a different word division of the Hebrew; Masoretic Text for God himself is judge The Hebrew has Selah (a word of uncertain meaning) here.

7“Listen, my people, and I will speak; I will testify against you, Israel: I am God, your God.

8I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me.

9I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens,

10for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.

11I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.

12If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

13Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

14“Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High,

15and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”

16But to the wicked person, God says: “What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips?

17You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you.

18When you see a thief, you join with him; you throw in your lot with adulterers.

19You use your mouth for evil and harness your tongue to deceit.

20You sit and testify against your brother and slander your own mother’s son.

21When you did these things and I kept silent, you thought I was exactly Or thought the ‘I am’ was like you. But I now arraign you and set my accusations before you.

22“Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you: 23Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless Probable reading of the original Hebrew text; the meaning of the Masoretic Text for this phrase is uncertain. I will show my salvation.”

Psalm 51In Hebrew texts 51:1-19 is numbered 51:3-21. 1For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba. Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

2Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

3For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.

4Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge.

5Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.

6Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

7Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice.

9Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.

10Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.

11Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

12Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.

13Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you.

14Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness.

15Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise.

16You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings.

17My sacrifice, O God, is Or The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

18May it please you to prosper Zion, to build up the walls of Jerusalem. 19Then you will delight in the sacrifices of the righteous, in burnt offerings offered whole; then bulls will be offered on your altar.