1 For the leader. A psalm of David:
2 How blessed are those who care for the poor!
When calamity comes,Adonaiwill save them.
3 Adonaiwill preserve them, keep them alive,
and make them happy in the land.
You will not hand them over
to the whims of their enemies.
4 Adonaisustains them on their sickbed;
when they lie ill, you make them recover.
5 I said, “Adonai, have pity on me!
Heal me, for I have sinned against you!”
6 My enemies say the worst about me:
“When will he die and his name disappear?”
7 When they come to see me they speak insincerely,
their hearts meanwhile gathering falsehoods;
then they go out and spread bad reports.
8 All who hate me whisper together against me,
imagining the worst about me.
9 “A fatal disease has attached itself to him;
now that he lies ill, he will never get up.”
10 Even my close friend, on whom I relied,
who shared my table, has turned against me.
11 But you,Adonai, have pity on me,
put me on my feet, so I can pay them back.
12 I will know you are pleased with me
if my enemy doesn’t defeat me.
13 You uphold me because of my innocence
you establish me in your presence forever.
14 Blessed beAdonaithe God of Isra’el
from eternity past to eternity future.
Amen.Amen.