Psalms 49-55

Psalm 49

¹Alamoth. To the chief music-maker. Of the sons of Korah. A Psalm. Give attention to this, all you peoples; let your ears be open, all you who are living in the world.

²High and low together, the poor, and those who have wealth.

³From my mouth will come words of wisdom; and in the thoughts of my heart will be knowledge.

⁴I will put my teaching into a story; I will make my dark sayings clear with music.

⁵What cause have I for fear in the days of evil, when the evil-doing of those who are working for my downfall is round about me?

⁶Even of those whose faith is in their wealth, and whose hearts are lifted up because of their stores.

⁷Truly, no man may get back his soul for a price, or give to God the payment for himself;

⁸(Because it takes a great price to keep his soul from death, and man is not able to give it.)

⁹So that he might have eternal life, and never see the underworld.

¹⁰For he sees that wise men come to their end, and foolish persons of low behaviour come to destruction together, letting their wealth go to others.

¹¹The place of the dead is their house for ever, and their resting-place through all generations; those who come after them give their names to their lands.

¹²But man, like the animals, does not go on for ever; he comes to an end like the beasts.

¹³This is the way of the foolish; their silver is for those who come after them, and their children get the pleasure of their gold. (Selah.)

¹⁴Death will give them their food like sheep; the underworld is their fate and they will go down into it; their flesh is food for worms; their form is wasted away; the underworld is their resting-place for ever.

¹⁵But God will get back my soul; for he will take me from the power of death. (Selah.)

¹⁶Have no fear when wealth comes to a man, and the glory of his house is increased;

¹⁷For at his death, he will take nothing away; his glory will not go down after him.

¹⁸Though he might have pride in his soul in his life-time, and men will give you praise if you do well for yourself,

¹⁹He will go to the generation of his fathers; he will not see the light again.

²⁰Man, like the animals, does not go on for ever; he comes to an end like the beasts.

Psalm 50

¹A Psalm. Of Asaph. The God of gods, even the Lord, has sent out his voice, and the earth is full of fear; from the coming up of the sun to its going down.

²From Zion, most beautiful of places, God has sent out his light.

³Our God will come, and will not keep quiet; with fire burning before him, and storm-winds round him.

⁴His voice will go out to the heavens and to the earth, for the judging of his people:

⁵Let my saints come together to me; those who have made an agreement with me by offerings.

⁶And let the heavens make clear his righteousness; for God himself is the judge. (Selah.)

⁷Give ear, O my people, to my words; O Israel, I will be a witness against you; I am God, even your God.

⁸I will not take up a cause against you because of your offerings, or because of your burned offerings, which are ever before me.

⁹I will take no ox out of your house, or he-goats from your flocks;

¹⁰For every beast of the woodland is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills.

¹¹I see all the birds of the mountains, and the beasts of the field are mine.

¹²If I had need of food, I would not give you word of it; for the earth is mine and all its wealth.

¹³Am I to take the flesh of the ox for my food, or the blood of goats for my drink?

¹⁴Make an offering of praise to God; keep the agreements which you have made with the Most High;

¹⁵Let your voice come up to me in the day of trouble; I will be your saviour, so that you may give glory to me.

¹⁶But to the sinner, God says, What are you doing, talking of my laws, or taking the words of my agreement in your mouth?

¹⁷Seeing that you have no desire for my teaching, turning your back on my words.

¹⁸When you saw a thief, you were in agreement with him, and you were joined with those who took other men's wives.

¹⁹You have given your mouth to evil, your tongue to words of deceit.

²⁰You say evil of your brother; you make false statements against your mother's son.

²¹These things have you done, and I said nothing; it seemed to you that I was such a one as yourself; but I will make a protest against you, and put them in order before your eyes.

²²Now keep this in mind, you who have no memory of God, for fear that you may be crushed under my hand, with no one to give you help:

²³Whoever makes an offering of praise gives glory to me; and to him who is upright in his ways I will make clear the salvation of God.

Psalm 51

¹To the chief music-maker. A Psalm. Of David. When Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba. Have pity on me, O God, in your mercy; out of a full heart, take away my sin.

²Let all my wrongdoing be washed away, and make me clean from evil.

³For I am conscious of my error; my sin is ever before me.

⁴Against you, you only, have I done wrong, working that which is evil in your eyes; so that your words may be seen to be right, and you may be clear when you are judging.

⁵Truly, I was formed in evil, and in sin did my mother give me birth.

⁶Your desire is for what is true in the inner parts: in the secrets of my soul you will give me knowledge of wisdom.

⁷Make me free from sin with hyssop: let me be washed whiter than snow.

⁸Make me full of joy and rapture; so that the bones which have been broken may be glad.

⁹Let your face be turned from my wrongdoing, and take away all my sins.

¹⁰Make a clean heart in me, O God; give me a right spirit again.

¹¹Do not put me away from before you, or take your holy spirit from me.

¹²Give me back the joy of your salvation; let a free spirit be my support.

¹³Then will I make your ways clear to wrongdoers; and sinners will be turned to you.

¹⁴Be my saviour from violent death, O God, the God of my salvation; and my tongue will give praise to your righteousness.

¹⁵O Lord, let my lips be open, so that my mouth may make clear your praise.

¹⁶You have no desire for an offering or I would give it; you have no delight in burned offerings.

¹⁷The offerings of God are a broken spirit; a broken and sorrowing heart, O God, you will not put from you.

¹⁸Do good to Zion in your good pleasure, building up the walls of Jerusalem.

¹⁹Then you will have delight in the offerings of righteousness, in burned offerings and offerings of beasts; then they will make offerings of oxen on your altar.

Psalm 52

¹To the chief music-maker. Maschil. Of David. When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul saying, David has come to the house of Ahimelech. Why do you take pride in wrongdoing, lifting yourself up against the upright man all the day?

²Purposing destruction, using deceit; your tongue is like a sharp blade.

³You have more love for evil than for good, for deceit than for works of righteousness. (Selah.)

⁴Destruction is in all your words, O false tongue.

⁵But God will put an end to you for ever; driving you out from your tent, uprooting you from the land of the living. (Selah.)

⁶The upright will see it with fear, and will say, laughing at you:

⁷See, this is the man who did not make God his strength, but had faith in his goods and his property, and made himself strong in his wealth.

⁸But I am like a branching olive-tree in the house of God; I have put my faith in his mercy for ever and ever.

⁹I will give you praise without end for what you have done; I will give honour to your name before your saints, for it is good.

Psalm 53

¹To the chief music-maker; put to Mahalath. Maschil. Of David. The foolish man has said in his heart, God will not do anything. They are unclean, they have done evil works; there is not one who does good.

²God was looking down from heaven on the children of men, to see if there were any who had wisdom, searching after God.

³Every one of them has gone back; they are unclean: there is not one who does good, no, not one.

⁴Have the workers of evil no knowledge? they take my people for food, as they would take bread; they make no prayer to God.

⁵They were in great fear, where there was no cause for fear: for the bones of those who make war on you have been broken by God; you have put them to shame, because God has no desire for them.

⁶May the salvation of Israel come out of Zion! When the fate of his people is changed by God, Jacob will have joy, and Israel will be glad.

Psalm 54

¹To the chief music-maker; on Neginoth. Maschil. Of David. When the Ziphites came and said to Saul, Is not David keeping himself secret among us? Let your name be my salvation, O God; let my cause be judged by your strength.

²Let my prayer come before you, O God; give ear to the words of my mouth.

³For men who are going after me have come out against me, violent men are purposing to take my soul; they have not put God before their eyes. (Selah.)

⁴See, God is my helper: the Lord is the great supporter of my soul.

⁵Let the evil works of my haters come back on them again; let them be cut off by your good faith.

⁶Freely will I make my offerings to you; I will give praise to your name, O Lord, for it is good.

⁷Because it has been my saviour from all my trouble; and my eyes have seen the punishment of my haters.

Psalm 55

¹To the chief music-maker, on Neginoth. Maschil. Of David. Give hearing to my prayer, O God; and let not your ear be shut against my request.

²Give thought to me, and let my prayer be answered: I have been made low in sorrow;

³I am troubled because of the voice of the cruel ones, because of the loud cry of the evil-doers; for they put a weight of evil on me, and they are cruel in their hate for me.

⁴My heart is deeply wounded, and the fear of death has come on me.

⁵Fear and shaking have come over me, with deep fear I am covered.

⁶And I said, If only I had wings like a dove! for then I would go in flight from here and be at rest.

⁷I would go wandering far away, living in the waste land. (Selah.)

⁸I would quickly take cover from the driving storm and from the violent wind.

⁹Send destruction on them, O Lord, make a division of tongues among them: for I have seen fighting and violent acts in the town.

¹⁰By day and night they go round the town, on the walls; trouble and sorrow are in the heart of it.

¹¹Evil is there; cruel rule and deceit are ever in the streets.

¹²For it was not my hater who said evil of me; that would have been no grief to me; it was not one outside the number of my friends who made himself strong against me, or I would have kept myself from him in a secret place;

¹³But it was you, my equal, my guide, my well-loved friend.

¹⁴We had loving talk together, and went to the house of God in company.

¹⁵Let the hand of death come on them suddenly, and let them go down living into the underworld; because evil is in their houses and in their hearts.

¹⁶As for me, I will make my prayer to God, and he will be my saviour.

¹⁷In the evening and in the morning and in the middle of the day I will make my prayer with sounds of grief; and my voice will come to his ears.

¹⁸He has taken my soul away from the attack which was made against me, and given it peace; for great numbers were against me.

¹⁹God will give thought to me; he who from early times is strong will send pain and trouble on them. (Selah.) Because they are unchanged, they have no fear of God.

²⁰He has put out his hand against those who were at peace with him; he has not kept his agreement.

²¹The words of his mouth were smoother than butter, but war was in his heart; his words were softer than oil, but they were sharp swords.

²²Put your cares on the Lord, and he will be your support; he will not let the upright man be moved.

²³But you, O God, will send them down into the underworld; the cruel and the false will be cut off before half their days are ended; but I will have faith in you.