Psalms

I will sing of the mercies of the LORD for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations.

1I will sing about the LORD's faithful love forever. With my mouth I will tell every generation how faithful he is.

2For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens.

2For I have said this: your faithful love will stand forever. You have fixed your faithfulness firmly in the sky itself.

3I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn unto David my servant,

3You said, "I have made an agreement with the man I chose. I gave my sworn promise to David, who serves me.

4Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build up thy throne to all generations. Selah.

4'I will keep your family line going forever. I will build up your throne for all time to come.'" Selah.

Note"Selah" is a Hebrew word left untranslated. It seems to mark a pause or a musical break in the song.

5And the heavens shall praise thy wonders, O LORD: thy faithfulness also in the congregation of the saints.

5LORD, the heavens praise the wonderful things you do. Where your holy ones gather, they praise how faithful you are.

6For who in the heaven can be compared unto the LORD? who among the sons of the mighty can be likened unto the LORD?

6No one up in the sky can be compared to the LORD. None of the heavenly beings is like him.

7God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all them that are about him.

7When the holy ones meet together, God is the one they fear. All around him hold him in deep respect.

8O LORD God of hosts, who is a strong LORD like unto thee? or to thy faithfulness round about thee?

8LORD God, leader of heaven's armies, who is as strong as you? Your faithfulness surrounds you on every side.

9Thou rulest the raging of the sea: when the waves thereof arise, thou stillest them.

9You rule the roaring sea. When its waves rise up, you make them calm again.

10Thou hast broken Rahab in pieces, as one that is slain; thou hast scattered thine enemies with thy strong arm.

10You crushed Rahab like a body left dead on the field. With your strong arm you scattered your enemies.

NoteRahab here is not a person. It is a poetic name for a sea monster, standing for the powers God defeated.

11The heavens are thine, the earth also is thine: as for the world and the fulness thereof, thou hast founded them.

11The heavens are yours, and the earth is yours too. You made the world and everything in it.

12The north and the south thou hast created them: Tabor and Hermon shall rejoice in thy name.

12You created the north and the south. Mount Tabor and Mount Hermon shout for joy at your name.

13Thou hast a mighty arm: strong is thy hand, and high is thy right hand.

13Your arm is mighty. Your hand is strong. Your right hand is lifted high.

14Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face.

14What is right and fair holds up your throne. Faithful love and truth walk ahead of you.

15Blessed is the people that know the joyful sound: they shall walk, O LORD, in the light of thy countenance.

15Happy are the people who know the glad shout of praise. LORD, they walk in the light of your face.

16In thy name shall they rejoice all the day: and in thy righteousness shall they be exalted.

16All day long they are glad because of your name. Your goodness lifts them up.

17For thou art the glory of their strength: and in thy favour our horn shall be exalted.

17You are the glory of their strength. Because you are pleased with us, our strength is lifted high.

Note"Our horn shall be exalted" uses the picture of an animal's raised horn. A lifted horn means strength and honor.

18For the LORD is our defence; and the Holy One of Israel is our king.

18The LORD is the one who guards us. The Holy One of Israel is our king.

19Then thou spakest in vision to thy holy one, and saidst, I have laid help upon one that is mighty; I have exalted one chosen out of the people.

19Long ago you spoke in a vision to your faithful one. You said, "I have given help to a strong man. I have lifted up one I chose from among the people.

20I have found David my servant; with my holy oil have I anointed him:

20I have found David, who serves me. I have poured my holy oil on him to mark him out as king.

21With whom my hand shall be established: mine arm also shall strengthen him.

21My hand will hold him steady. My arm will make him strong.

22The enemy shall not exact upon him; nor the son of wickedness afflict him.

22No enemy will squeeze payments out of him. No wicked man will crush him.

23And I will beat down his foes before his face, and plague them that hate him.

23I will beat down his enemies right in front of him. I will strike down those who hate him.

24But my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him: and in my name shall his horn be exalted.

24My faithfulness and my love will stay with him. Through my name his strength will be lifted high.

25I will set his hand also in the sea, and his right hand in the rivers.

25I will set his hand over the sea, and his right hand over the rivers.

26He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.

26He will call out to me, 'You are my Father, my God, the rock who saves me.'

27Also I will make him my firstborn, higher than the kings of the earth.

27I will make him my firstborn son, the highest of all the kings on earth.

28My mercy will I keep for him for evermore, and my covenant shall stand fast with him.

28I will keep my faithful love for him forever. My agreement with him will stand firm.

29His seed also will I make to endure for ever, and his throne as the days of heaven.

29I will make his family line last forever, and his throne last as long as the sky.

30If his children forsake my law, and walk not in my judgments;

30If his children turn away from my law and do not live by my rules,

31If they break my statutes, and keep not my commandments;

31if they break my laws and do not keep my commands,

32Then will I visit their transgression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes.

32then I will punish their sin with a rod, and their wrongdoing with blows.

33Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.

33But I will not take my love away from him completely. I will not let my faithfulness fail.

34My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips.

34I will not break my agreement. I will not change what I have already spoken.

35Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not lie unto David.

35One time I swore a promise on my own holiness: I will not lie to David.

36His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the sun before me.

36His family line will last forever. His throne will last before me like the sun.

37It shall be established for ever as the moon, and as a faithful witness in heaven. Selah.

37It will stand firm forever, like the moon, a faithful witness in the sky." Selah.

38But thou hast cast off and abhorred, thou hast been wroth with thine anointed.

38But now you have turned away and rejected him. You are angry with the king you chose.

39Thou hast made void the covenant of thy servant: thou hast profaned his crown by casting it to the ground.

39You have thrown out the agreement with your servant. You threw his crown to the ground and treated it as worthless.

40Thou hast broken down all his hedges; thou hast brought his strong holds to ruin.

40You have broken down all his walls. You have left his strong forts in ruins.

41All that pass by the way spoil him: he is a reproach to his neighbours.

41Everyone who passes by robs him. His neighbors make fun of him.

42Thou hast set up the right hand of his adversaries; thou hast made all his enemies to rejoice.

42You have made his enemies strong. You have made every one of them glad.

43Thou hast also turned the edge of his sword, and hast not made him to stand in the battle.

43You have made his sword useless in his hand. You did not hold him up in the battle.

44Thou hast made his glory to cease, and cast his throne down to the ground.

44You have put an end to his splendor. You have thrown his throne to the ground.

45The days of his youth hast thou shortened: thou hast covered him with shame. Selah.

45You have cut short the days of his youth. You have covered him with shame. Selah.

46How long, LORD? wilt thou hide thyself for ever? shall thy wrath burn like fire?

46How long, LORD? Will you hide yourself forever? Will your anger keep burning like fire?

47Remember how short my time is: wherefore hast thou made all men in vain?

47Remember how short my life is. Why did you make all people, if their lives come to so little?

48What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? shall he deliver his soul from the hand of the grave? Selah.

48Is there anyone alive who will never die? Can anyone save himself from the power of the grave? Selah.

49Lord, where are thy former lovingkindnesses, which thou swarest unto David in thy truth?

49Lord, where is the faithful love you showed long ago? You swore it to David, and you keep your word.

50Remember, Lord, the reproach of thy servants; how I do bear in my bosom the reproach of all the mighty people;

50Remember, Lord, how your servants are insulted. I carry in my heart the insults of many peoples.

51Wherewith thine enemies have reproached, O LORD; wherewith they have reproached the footsteps of thine anointed.

51LORD, these are the insults your enemies have thrown. They mock every step the king you chose takes.

52Blessed be the LORD for evermore. Amen, and Amen.

52Blessed be the LORD forever. Amen, and amen.