Legacy Standard Bible

Psalm 50

God Himself Is Judge

50
A Psalm of 1Asaph.
aThe Mighty One, God, Yahweh, has spoken,And called the earth bfrom the rising of the sun to its setting.2Out of Zion, athe perfection of beauty,God bhas shone forth.3May our God acome and not be silent;bFire devours before Him,And ca storm whirls around Him.4He acalls the heavens above,And the earth, to render justice to His people:5“Gather My aholy ones to Me,Those who have cut a bcovenant with Me by csacrifice.”6And the aheavens declare His righteousness,For bGod Himself is judge. 1 Selah.7“aHear, O My people, and I will speak;O Israel, I will testify 1against you;I am God, byour God.8“I do anot reprove you for your sacrifices,And your burnt offerings are continually before Me.9“I shall take no ayoung bull out of your houseNor male goats out of your folds.10“For aevery beast of the forest is Mine,The cattle on a thousand hills.11“I know every abird of the mountains,And everything that moves in the field is 1Mine.12“If I were hungry I would not tell you,For the aworld is Mine, as well as its fullness.13“Shall I eat the flesh of 1,abullsOr drink the blood of male goats?14“Offer to God aa sacrifice of thanksgivingAnd bpay your vows to the Most High;15aCall upon Me in the day of distress;I shall brescue you, and you will cglorify Me.”16But to the wicked God says,“What right have you to recount My statutesAnd to take aMy covenant in your mouth?17“For you ahate discipline,And you bcast My words behind you.18“When you see a thief, you 1,aare pleased with him,And 2you bassociate with adulterers.19“You 1,alet your mouth loose in evilAnd you harness your btongue for deceit.20“You sit and aspeak against your brother;You slander your own mother’s son.21“These things you have done and aI kept silent;You thought that I was just like you;I will breprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.22“Now consider this, you who aforget God,Lest I btear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver.23“He who aoffers a sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifies Me;And he who 1,borders his way,I shall cshow the salvation of God.”

Psalms 73 - 83

BOOK 3

The Nearness of God Is My Good

73
A Psalm of Asaph.
Surely God is agood to Israel,To those who are bpure in heart!2But as for me, amy feet had almost stumbled,My steps 1had almost slipped.3For I was aenvious of the boastful,I saw the bpeace of the wicked.4For there are no pains in their death,And their 1body is fat.5They are anot 1in trouble as other 2men,And they are not bstricken along with the rest of mankind.6Therefore lofty pride is atheir necklace;The bgarment of violence covers them.7Their eye 1bulges from afatness;The delusions of their heart overflow.8They ascoff and 1wickedly speak of oppression;They bspeak from on high.9They have aset their mouth 1against the heavens,And their tongue goes through the earth.10Therefore 1his people return here, to his place,And waters of afullness are 2drunk by them.11They say, “aHow does God know?And is there knowledge with the Most High?”12Behold, athese are the wicked;And always bat ease, they have increased in wealth.13Surely ain vain I have 1kept my heart pureAnd bwashed my hands in innocence;14For I have been stricken aall day longAnd 1,breproved every morning.15If I had said, “I will recount thus,”Behold, I would have betrayed the ageneration of Your children.16When I agave thought to know this,It was trouble in my sight17Until I came into the 1,asanctuary of God;Then I understood their bend.18Surely You set them in aslippery places;You cause them to fall to 1,bdestruction.19How they become adesolate in a moment!They are completely swept away by bterrors!20Like a adream when one awakes,O Lord, when baroused, You will cdespise their 1form.21When my aheart was embitteredAnd I was bpierced 1within,22Then I was asenseless and ignorant;I was like 1an banimal 2before You.23Nevertheless aI am continually with You;You have taken hold of my right hand.24With Your counsel You will alead me,And afterward btake me 1in glory.25aWhom have I in heaven but You?And 1besides You, I desire nothing on earth.26My aflesh and my heart fail,But God is the rock of my heart and my bportion forever.27For, behold, athose who are far from You will bperish;You have 1destroyed everyone who 2,cis unfaithful to You.28But as for me, athe nearness of God is my good;I have set Lord Yahweh as my brefuge,That I may crecount all Your works.

Yet God Is My King

74
A 1Maskil of Asaph.
Why, O God? Have You arejected us forever?Why does Your anger bsmoke against the csheep of Your 2pasture?2Remember Your congregation, which You have apurchased of old,Which You have bredeemed to be the ctribe of Your inheritance;And this Mount dZion, where You have dwelt.3Lift up Your steps toward the aperpetual ruins;The enemy bhas damaged everything within the sanctuary.4Your adversaries have aroared in the midst of Your meeting place;They have set up their bown signs cfor signs.5Each seems like one who lifts up1An aaxe against the undergrowth of trees.6And now its acarved work altogetherThey smash with hatchet and 1hammers.7They have aset Your sanctuary on fire;By bringing it to the ground, they have bdefiled the dwelling place of Your name.8They asaid in their heart, “Let us 1completely 2subdue them.”They have burned all the meeting places of God in the land.9We do not see our asigns;There is bno longer any prophet,Nor is there any among us who knows chow long.10How long, O God, will the adversary areproach?Will the enemy bspurn Your name forever?11Why ado You turn back Your hand, even Your right hand?From within Your bosom, bdestroy them!12Yet God is amy King from of old,Who works deeds of 1salvation in the midst of the earth.13You adivided the sea by Your strength;You bbroke the heads of the csea monsters 1in the waters.14You crushed the heads of 1,aLeviathan;You gave him as food for the 2creatures bof the desert.151You asplit open spring and river;2You bdried up ever-flowing rivers.16Yours is the day, Yours also is the night;1You have aestablished the 2light and the sun.171You have acaused all the boundaries of the earth to stand firm;2You have formed bsummer and winter.18Remember this, O Yahweh, that the enemy has areproached,And a bwickedly foolish people has spurned Your name.19Do not deliver the soul of Your aturtledove to the wild beast;bDo not forget the life of Your afflicted forever.20Look to the acovenant;For the bdark places of the land are full of the haunts of violence.21Let not the aoppressed return dishonored;Let the bafflicted and needy praise Your name.22Arise, O God, and aplead Your own cause;Remember 1how the bwicked fool reproaches You all day long.23Do not forget the voice of Your aadversaries,The brumbling of those who rise against You which ascends continually.

God Judges with Equity

75
For the choir director. 1Al-tashheth. A Psalm of Asaph. 2A Song.
We agive thanks to You, O God, we give thanks,For Your name is bnear;Men recount cYour wondrous deeds.2“For I select an aappointed time,It is I who bjudge with equity.3“The aearth and all who dwell in it 1melt;It is I who have firmly set its bpillars. 2 Selah.4“I said to the boastful, ‘Do not boast,’And to the wicked, ‘aDo not raise up the horn;5Do not raise up your horn on high,aNor speak with insolent 1pride.’”6For one’s rising up does not come from the east, nor from the west,And not from the 1,adesert;7But aGod is the Judge;He bputs down one and raises up another.8For a acup is in the hand of Yahweh, and the wine foams;It is bfull of His mixture, and He pours from this;Surely all the wicked of the earth must drain and cdrink down its dregs.9But as for me, I will adeclare it forever;I will sing praises to the God of Jacob.10And all the ahorns of the wicked I will cut off,But bthe horns of the righteous will be raised up.

God’s Name Is Great in Israel

76
For the choir director. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of Asaph. A Song.
God is aknown in Judah;His name is bgreat in Israel.2So His 1,atabernacle is in bSalem;His cdwelling place is in Zion.3There He abroke the 1flaming arrows,The shield and the sword and the battle. 2 Selah.4You are shining,Majestic from the mountains of prey.5The astouthearted were plundered,1They sank into sleep;And none of the 2warriors could use his hands.6At Your arebuke, O God of Jacob,Both bchariot rider and horse slumbered into a deep sleep.7But You, You are 1,afearsome;And bwho can stand in Your presence when once 2You are angry?8You made Your cause to be heard from heaven;The earth afeared and was quiet9When God aarose to judgment,To save all the humble of the earth. Selah.10For the 1,awrath of man shall praise You;With a remnant of wrath You will gird Yourself.11aMake vows to Yahweh your God and bpay them;Let all who are around Him cbring gifts to the Fearsome One.12He will cut off the spirit of princes;He is 1,afeared by the kings of the earth.

In My Distress I Sought the Lord

77
For the choir director. According to 1Jeduthun. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
My voice rises to God, and I must acry aloud;My voice rises to God, and He will hear me.2In the aday of my distress I sought the Lord;bIn the night my chand was stretched out 1without weariness;My soul drefused to be comforted.3I remember God and I am adisturbed;I bmuse and cmy spirit faints. 1 Selah.4You have held my eyelids open;I am so troubled that I acannot speak.5I give thought to the adays of old,The years of long ago.6I remember my amusic in the night;I bam musing with my heart,And my spirit is searching:7Will the Lord areject evermore?And will He bnot be favorable again?8Has His alovingkindness ceased forever?Has His 1,bword ended 2from generation to generation?9Has God aforgotten to be gracious,Or has He in anger shut up His bcompassion? Selah.10Then I said, “aIt is my 1grief,That the bright hand of the Most High has changed.”11I shall remember the adeeds of Yah;Surely I will bremember Your wonders of old.12I will ameditate on all Your workAnd muse on Your deeds.13O God, Your way is aholy;bWhat god is great like God?14You are the aGod who works wonders;You have bmade known Your strength among the peoples.15You have by Your arm aredeemed Your people,The sons of Jacob and bJoseph. Selah.16The awaters saw You, O God;The waters saw You, they were in anguish;The deeps also trembled.17The aclouds poured out water;The skies bgave forth a sound;Your carrows went here and there.18The asound of Your thunder was in the whirlwind;The blightnings lit up the world;The cearth trembled and shook.19Your away was in the seaAnd Your paths in the mighty waters,But Your footprints were not known.20You aled Your people like a flockBy the hand of bMoses and Aaron.

That the Generation to Come Might Know

78
A 1Maskil of Asaph.
aGive ear, O my people, to my 2instruction;bIncline your ears to the words of my mouth.2I will aopen my mouth in a parable;I will pour forth bdark sayings of old,3Which we have heard and known,And aour fathers have recounted to us.4We will anot conceal them from their children,But brecount to the generation to come the praises of Yahweh,And His strength and His cwondrous deeds that He has done.5For He established a atestimony in JacobAnd set a blaw in Israel,Which He ccommanded our fathersThat they should 1,dteach them to their children,6aThat the generation to come might know, even bthe children yet to be born,That they may arise and crecount them to their children,7That they should set their confidence in GodAnd anot forget the deeds of God,But bobserve His commandments,8And anot be like their fathers,A bstubborn and rebellious generation,A generation that cdid not 1prepare its heartAnd whose spirit was not dfaithful to God.9The sons of Ephraim 1were aarchers equipped with bows,Yet bthey turned back in the day of battle.10They adid not keep the covenant of GodAnd refused to bwalk in His law;11So they aforgot His actsAnd His 1wondrous deeds that He had shown them.12aHe did wonders before their fathersIn the land of Egypt, in the bfield of Zoan.13He asplit the sea and caused them to pass through,And He made the waters stand bup like a heap.14Then He led them with the cloud by adayAnd all the night with a blight of fire.15He was asplitting the rocks in the wildernessAnd so gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths.16He abrought forth streams also from the cliff faceAnd caused waters to run down like rivers.17Yet they still continued to sin against Him,To arebel against the Most High in the desert.18And in their heart they aput God to the testBy asking for bfood according to their desire.19Then they spoke against God;They said, “aCan God prepare a table in the wilderness?20“Behold, He astruck the rock so that waters gushed out,And streams were overflowing;Can He give bread also?Will He prepare 1,bmeat for His people?”21Therefore Yahweh heard and 1was afull of wrath;And a fire was kindled against JacobAnd anger also mounted against Israel,22Because they adid not believe in GodAnd did not trust in His salvation.23Yet He commanded the skies aboveAnd aopened the doors of heaven;24He arained down manna upon them to eatAnd gave them bgrain from heaven.25Man ate the bread of 1angels;He sent them provision ato satisfy.26He aled forth the east wind in the heavensAnd by His strength He guided the south wind.27Then He rained 1meat upon them like the dust,Even awinged fowl like the sand of the seas,28He caused them to fall in the midst of His camp,All around His dwelling places.29So they aate and were very satisfied,And their desire He brought to them.301Before they had satisfied their desire,aWhile their food was in their mouths,31The aanger of God rose against themAnd killed 1some of their bstoutest ones,And 2subdued the choice men of Israel.32In spite of all this they astill sinnedAnd bdid not believe in His wondrous deeds.33So He brought atheir days to an end in 1futilityAnd their years in sudden terror.34When He killed them, then they asought Him,And returned and sought bearnestly for God;35And they remembered that God was their arock,And the Most High God their bRedeemer.36But they adeceived Him with their mouthAnd blied to Him with their tongue.37For their heart was not aprepared to remain with Him,Nor were they faithful in His covenant.38But He, being acompassionate, batoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them;And He abounded in cturning back His angerAnd did not arouse all His wrath.39Thus aHe remembered that they were but bflesh,A 1,cwind that goes and does not return.40How often they arebelled against Him in the wildernessAnd bgrieved Him in the cwasteland!41Again and again they 1,atested God,And pained the bHoly One of Israel.42They adid not remember bHis 1power,The day when He credeemed them from the adversary,43When He performed His asigns in EgyptAnd His bmiracles in the field of Zoan,44And aturned their rivers to blood,And their streams, they could not drink.45He sent among them swarms of aflies which devoured them,And bfrogs which destroyed them.46He gave also their crops to the agrasshopperAnd the fruit of their labor to the blocust.47He killed their vines with ahailstonesAnd their sycamore trees with frost.48He gave over their acattle also to the hailstonesAnd their herds to bolts of lightning.49He asent upon them His burning anger,Fury and indignation and 1distress,2A band of destroying angels.50He leveled a path for His anger;He did not hold back their soul from death,But agave over their life to the plague,51So He astruck all the firstborn in Egypt,The bfirst of their vigor in the tents of cHam.52But He aled forth His own people like sheepAnd guided them in the wilderness blike a flock;53He led them asafely, so that they did not fear;But bthe sea covered their enemies.54So aHe brought them to His holy 1land,To this 2,bhill country cwhich His right hand had acquired.55He also adrove out the nations before themAnd bapportioned them for an inheritance by measurement,And made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents.56Yet they 1,atested and brebelled against the Most High GodAnd did not keep His testimonies,57But turned back and aacted treacherously like their fathers;They bturned aside like a treacherous bow.58For they aprovoked Him with their bhigh placesAnd caroused His jealousy with their dgraven images.59God heard and 1was filled with awrathAnd greatly brejected Israel;60So that He aabandoned the bdwelling place at Shiloh,The tent 1which He caused to dwell among men,61And gave up His astrength to captivityAnd His beauty binto the hand of the adversary.62He also agave over His people to the sword,And 1was filled with wrath at His inheritance.63aFire devoured 1His choice men,And 2His bvirgins had no wedding songs.641His apriests fell by the sword,And 2His bwidows could not weep.65Then the Lord aawoke as if from sleep,As if He were a bwarrior 1overcome by wine.66He astruck His adversaries backward;He put on them an everlasting reproach.67He also arejected the tent of Joseph,And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim,68But chose the tribe of Judah,Mount aZion which He loved.69And He abuilt His sanctuary like the heights,Like the earth which He has founded forever.70He also achose David His servantAnd took him from the sheepfolds;71From afollowing the 1,bnursing ewes He brought himTo cshepherd Jacob His people,And Israel dHis inheritance.72So he shepherded them according to the aintegrity of his heart,And led them with his skillful hands.

How Long, O Yahweh?

79
A Psalm of Asaph.
O God, the anations have come into bYour inheritance;They have defiled Your choly temple;They have dlaid Jerusalem in ruins.2They have given the adead bodies of Your slaves for food to the birds of the heavens,The flesh of Your holy ones to the beasts of the earth.3They have poured out their blood like water round about Jerusalem;And there was ano one to bury them.4We have become a areproach to our neighbors,A mockery and derision to those around us.5aHow long, O Yahweh? Will You be angry forever?Will Your bjealousy cburn like fire?6aPour out Your wrath upon the nations which bdo not know You,And upon the kingdoms which cdo not call upon Your name.7For they have adevoured JacobAnd blaid waste his 1abode.8aDo not remember our former iniquities against us;Let Your compassion quickly bapproach us,For we are cbrought very low.9aHelp us, O God of our salvation, for the glory of bYour name;And deliver us and catone for our sins dfor Your name’s sake.10aWhy should the nations say, “Where is their God?”Let it be known among the nations before our eyes:bVengeance for the blood of Your slaves which has been poured out.11Let athe groaning of the prisoner come before You;According to the greatness of Your 1power preserve 2those who are bdoomed to die.12And return to our neighbors asevenfold binto their bosom1The creproach with which they have reproached You, O Lord.13But as for us, as Your people and the asheep of Your pasture,We will bgive thanks to You forever;From generation to generation we will crecount Your praise.

O God, Restore Us

80
For the choir director. 1El Shoshannim. 2Eduth. Of Asaph. A Psalm.
O aShepherd of Israel, give ear,You who guide bJoseph like a flock;You who care enthroned above the cherubim, shine forth!2Before aEphraim and Benjamin and Manasseh, bstir up Your mightAnd come to save us!3O God, arestore usAnd bcause Your face to shine upon us, that we would be saved.4O aYahweh God of hosts,bHow long will You 1smolder against the prayer of Your people?5You have fed them with the abread of tears,And You have made them to drink tears in 1large measure.6You set us as 1an object of strife ato our neighbors,And our enemies mock us among themselves.7O God of hosts, restore usAnd cause Your face to shine upon us, that we might be saved.8You removed a avine from Egypt;You bdrove out the 1nations and then You cplanted it.9You acleared the ground before it,And it btook deep root and filled the land.10The mountains were covered with its shadow,And 1the cedars of God with its aboughs.11It sent out its branches ato the seaAnd its shoots to the River.12Why have You abroken down its 1hedges,So that all who pass that way pick its fruit?13A boar from the forest adevours itAnd whatever moves in the field feeds on it.14O God of hosts, areturn now, we beseech You;bLook down from heaven and see, and visit this vine,15Even the 1,asapling which Your right hand has planted,And on the 2son whom You have 3strengthened for Yourself.16It is aburned with fire, it is cut down;They perish at the brebuke of Your face.17Let aYour hand be upon the man of Your right hand,Upon the son of man whom You bmade strong for Yourself.18Then we shall not aturn back from You;bRevive us, and we will call upon Your name.19O Yahweh God of hosts, arestore us;Cause Your face to shine upon us, that we might be saved.

Oh That My People Would Listen to Me

81
For the choir director. According to the Gittith. Of Asaph.
aSing for joy to God our bstrength;Make a loud cshout to the dGod of Jacob.2Lift up a song of praise, strike athe tambourine,The sweet sounding blyre with the charp.3Blow the trumpet at the anew moon,At the full moon, on our bfeast day.4For it is a statute for Israel,aA judgment of the God of Jacob.5He established it for a testimony in JosephWhen he awent forth over the land of Egypt.I heard a blanguage that I did not know:6“I 1,arelieved his shoulder of the burden,His hands were freed from the 2basket.7“You acalled in distress and I rescued you;I banswered you in the hiding place of thunder;I tested you at the cwaters of Meribah. 1 Selah.8“aHear, O My people, and I will testify against you;O Israel, if you bwould listen to Me!9“Let there be no astrange god among you;And you shall not worship a foreign god.10“aI am Yahweh your God,Who brought you up from the land of Egypt;bOpen your mouth wide and I will cfill it.11“But My people adid not listen to My voice,And Israel was not willing to obey Me.12“So I areleased 1them over to the stubbornness of their heart,That they would walk in their own devices.13“Oh that My people awould listen to Me,That Israel would bwalk in My ways!14“I would quickly asubdue their enemiesAnd I would bturn My hand against their adversaries.15“aThose who hate Yahweh would bcower before Him,And their time of punishment would be forever.16“1But I would feed you with the 2,afinest of the wheat,And with bhoney from the rock I would satisfy you.”

God Stands in Judgment

82
A Psalm of Asaph.
God takes His astand in the congregation of 1God;He bjudges in the midst of 2,cgods.2How long will you ajudge unrighteouslyAnd bshow partiality to the wicked? 1 Selah.3aGive justice to the poor and the orphan;Justify the afflicted and destitute.4aProtect the poor and needy;Deliver them out of the hand of the wicked.5They ado not know and do not understand;They bwalk about in darkness;All the cfoundations of the earth are shaken.61I asaid, “You are gods,And all of you are bsons of the Most High.7“Nevertheless ayou will die like menAnd you will fall like any bone of the princes.”8aArise, O God, bjudge the earth!For it is You who cwill inherit all the nations.

O God, Do Not Be Quiet

83
A Song. A Psalm of Asaph.
O God, ado not remain at rest;bDo not be silent and, O God, do not be quiet.2For behold, Your enemies aroar,And bthose who hate You have clifted up their heads.3They amake shrewd plans against Your people,And 1conspire together against bYour 2treasured ones.4They have said, “Come, and alet us wipe them out 1as a nation,That the bname of Israel be remembered no more.”5For they have 1,aconspired together with one heart;Against You they cut a covenant:6The tents of aEdom and the bIshmaelites,cMoab and the dHagrites;7aGebal and bAmmon and cAmalek,dPhilistia with the inhabitants of eTyre;8aAssyria also has joined with them;They have become 1the power of the bchildren of Lot. 2 Selah.9Do to them aas to Midian,As bto Sisera, and Jabin at the river of Kishon,10Who were destroyed at En-dor,Who awere as dung for the ground.11Make their nobles like aOreb and ZeebAnd all their princes like bZebah and Zalmunna,12Who said, “aLet us possess for ourselvesThe bpastures of God.”13O my God, make them like the 1,awhirling dust,Like bchaff before the wind.14Like afire that burns the forestAnd like a flame that bburns up the mountains,15So pursue them awith Your tempestAnd dismay them with Your storm.16aFill their faces with disgrace,That they may seek Your name, O Yahweh.17Let them be aashamed and dismayed forever,And let them be humiliated and perish,18That they may aknow that bYou alone—Your name is Yahweh—Are the cMost High over all the earth.