Psalms 31

1 For the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. In You, O LORD, I have taken refuge; let me never be put to shame; save me by Your righteousness.

Unto the end, a psalm for David, in an ecstasy. In thee, O Lord, have I hoped, let me never be confounded: deliver me in thy justice.

2 Incline Your ear to me; come quickly to my rescue. Be my rock of refuge, the stronghold of my deliverance.

Bow down thy ear to me: make haste to deliver me. Be thou unto me a God, a protector, and a house of refuge, to save me.

3 For You are my rock and my fortress; lead me and guide me for the sake of Your name.

For thou art my strength and my refuge; and for thy name’s sake thou wilt lead me, and nourish me.

4 You free me from the net laid out for me, for You are my refuge.

Thou wilt bring me out of this snare, which they have hidden for me: for thou art my protector.

5 Into Your hands I commit my spirit; You have redeemed me, O LORD, God of truth.

Into thy hands I commend my spirit: thou hast redeemed me, O Lord, the God of truth.

6 I hate those who cling to worthless idols, but in the LORD I trust.

Thou hast hated them that regard vanities, to no purpose. But I have hoped in the Lord:

7 I will be glad and rejoice in Your loving devotion, for You have seen my affliction; You have known the anguish of my soul.

I will be glad and rejoice in thy mercy. For thou best regarded my humility, thou hast saved my soul out of distresses.

8 You have not delivered me to the enemy; You have set my feet in the open.

And thou hast not shut me up in the hands of the enemy: thou hast set my feet in a spacious place.

9 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am in distress; my eyes fail from sorrow, my soul and body as well.

Have mercy on me, O Lord, for I am afflicted: my eye is troubled with wrath, my soul, and my belly:

10 For my life is consumed with grief and my years with groaning; my iniquity has drained my strength, and my bones are wasting away.

For my life is wasted with grief: and my years in sighs. My strength is weakened through poverty and my bones are disturbed.

11 Among all my enemies I am a disgrace, and among my neighbors even more. I am dreaded by my friends— they flee when they see me on the street.

I am become a reproach among all my enemies, and very much to my neighbours; and a fear to my acquaintance. They that saw me without fled from me.

12 I am forgotten like a dead man, out of mind. I am like a broken vessel.

I am forgotten as one dead from the heart. I am become as a vessel that is destroyed.

13 For I hear the slander of many; there is terror on every side. They conspire against me and plot to take my life.

For I have heard the blame of many that dwell round about. While they assembled together against me, they consulted to take away my life.

14 But I trust in You, O LORD; I say, “You are my God.”

But I have put my trust in thee, O Lord: I said: Thou art my God.

15 My times are in Your hands; deliver me from my enemies and from those who pursue me.

My lots are in thy hands. Deliver me out of the hands of my enemies; and from them that persecute me.

16 Make Your face shine on Your servant; save me by Your loving devotion.

Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; save me in thy mercy.

17 O LORD, let me not be ashamed, for I have called on You. Let the wicked be put to shame; let them lie silent in Sheol. (Sheol h7585)

Let me not be confounded, O Lord, for I have called upon thee. Let the wicked be ashamed, and be brought down to hell. (Sheol h7585)

18 May lying lips be silenced— lips that speak with arrogance against the righteous, full of pride and contempt.

Let deceitful lips be made dumb. Which speak iniquity against the just, with pride and abuse.

19 How great is Your goodness which You have laid up for those who fear You, which You have bestowed before the sons of men on those who take refuge in You!

O how great is the multitude of thy sweetness, O Lord, which thou hast hidden for them that fear thee! Which thou hast wrought for them that hope in thee, in the sight of the sons of men.

20 You hide them in the secret place of Your presence from the schemes of men. You conceal them in Your shelter from accusing tongues.

Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy face, from the disturbance of men. Thou shalt protect them in thy tabernacle from the contradiction of tongues.

21 Blessed be the LORD, for He has shown me His loving devotion in a city under siege.

Blessed be the Lord, for he hath shewn his wonderful mercy to me in a fortified city.

22 In my alarm I said, “I am cut off from Your sight!” But You heard my plea for mercy when I called to You for help.

But I said in the excess of my mind: I am cast away from before thy eyes. Therefore thou hast heard the voice of my prayer, when I cried to thee.

23 Love the LORD, all His saints. The LORD preserves the faithful, but fully repays the arrogant.

O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lord will require truth, and will repay them abundantly that act proudly.

24 Be strong and courageous, all you who hope in the LORD.

Do ye manfully, and let your heart be strengthened, all ye that hope in the Lord.