Complete Jewish Bible (CJB)

1 For the leader. Set to “Lilies.” By David:

2 Save me, God!

For the water threatens my life.

3 I am sinking down in the mud,

and there is no foothold;

I have come into deep water;

the flood is sweeping over me.

4 I am exhausted from crying,

my throat is dry and sore,

my eyes are worn out

with looking for my God.

5 Those who hate me for no reason

outnumber the hairs on my head.

My persecutors are powerful,

my enemies accuse me falsely.

Am I expected to return

things I didn’t steal?

6 God, you know how foolish I am;

my guilt is not hidden from you.

7 Let those who put their hope in you,

AdonaiElohim-Tzva’ot,

not be put to shame through me;

let those who are seeking you,

God of Isra’el,

not be disgraced through me.

8 For your sake I suffer insults,

shame covers my face.

9 I am estranged from my brothers,

an alien to my mother’s children,

10 because zeal for your house is eating me up,

and on me are falling the insults

of those insulting you.

11 I weep bitterly, and I fast,

but that too occasions insults.

12 I clothe myself with sackcloth

and become an object of scorn,

13 the gossip of those sitting by the town gate,

the theme of drunkards’ songs.

14 As for me,Adonai, let my prayer to you

come at an acceptable time;

In your great grace, God, answer me

with the truth of your salvation.

15 Rescue me from the mud!

Don’t let me sink!

Let me be rescued from those who hate me

and from the deep water.

16 Don’t let the floodwaters overwhelm me,

don’t let the deep swallow me up,

don’t let the pit close its mouth over me.

17 Answer me,Adonai, for your grace is good;

in your great mercy, turn to me.

18 Don’t hide your face from your servant,

for I am in trouble; answer me quickly.

19 Come near to me, and redeem me;

ransom me because of my enemies.

20 You know how I am insulted,

shamed and disgraced;

before you stand all my foes.

21 Insults have broken my heart

to the point that I could die.

I hoped that someone would show compassion,

but nobody did;

and that there would be comforters,

but I found none.

22 They put poison in my food;

in my thirst, they gave me vinegar to drink.

23 Let their dining table

before them become a snare;

when they are at peace,

let it become a trap;

24 let their eyes be darkened,

so that they can’t see,

and let their bodies

always be stumbling.

25 Pour out your fury on them,

let your fierce anger overtake them.

26 Let the place where they live be desolate,

with no one to live in their tents,

27 for persecuting someone you had already stricken,

for adding to the pain of those you wounded.

28 Add guilt to their guilt,

don’t let them enter your righteousness.

29 Erase them from the book of life,

let them not be written with the righteous.

30 Meanwhile, I am afflicted and hurting;

God, let your saving power raise me up.

31 I will praise God’s name with a song

and extol him with thanksgiving.

32 This will pleaseAdonaimore than a bull,

with its horns and hoofs.

33 The afflicted will see it and rejoice;

you seeking after God, let your heart revive.

34 ForAdonaipays attention to the needy

and doesn’t scorn his captive people.

35 Let heaven and earth praise him,

the seas and whatever moves in them.

36 For God will save Tziyon,

he will build the cities of Y’hudah.

[His people] will settle there and possess it.

37 The descendants of his servants will inherit it,

and those who love his name will live there.

1 For the leader. By David. As a reminder:

2 God, rescue me!

Adonai, hurry and help me!

3 May those who seek my life

be disgraced and humiliated.

May those who take pleasure in doing me harm

be turned back and put to confusion.

4 May those who jeer, “Aha! Aha!”

withdraw because of their shame.

5 But may all those who seek you

be glad and take joy in you.

May those who love your salvation say always,

“God is great and glorious!”

6 But I am poor and needy;

God, hurry for me.

You are my helper and rescuer;

Adonai, don’t delay!

1 In you,Adonai, I have taken refuge;

let me never be put to shame.

2 In your righteousness, rescue me;

and help me to escape.

Turn your ear toward me,

and deliver me.

3 Be for me a sheltering rock,

where I can always come.

You have determined to save me,

because you are my bedrock and stronghold.

4 My God, help me escape from the power of the wicked,

from the grasp of the unjust and ruthless.

5 For you are my hope,AdonaiElohim,

in whom I have trusted since I was young.

6 From birth I have relied on you;

it was you who took me from my mother’s womb.

7 To many, I am an amazing example;

but you are strong protection for me.

8 My mouth is full of praise for you,

filled with your glory all day long.

9 Don’t reject me when I grow old;

when my strength fails, don’t abandon me.

10 For my enemies are talking about me,

those seeking my life are plotting together.

11 They say, “God has abandoned him;

go after him, and seize him,

because no one will save him.”

12 God, don’t distance yourself from me!

My God, hurry to help me!

13 May those who are opposed to me

be put to shame and ruin;

may those who seek to harm me

be covered with scorn and disgrace.

14 But I, I will always hope

and keep adding to your praise.

15 All day long my mouth will tell

of your righteous deeds and acts of salvation,

though their number is past my knowing.

16 I will come in the power ofAdonaiElohim

and recall your righteousness, yours alone.

17 God, you have taught me since I was young,

and I still proclaim your wonderful works.

18 So now that I’m old, and my hair is gray,

don’t abandon me, God, till I have proclaimed

your strength to the next generation,

your power to all who will come,

19 your righteousness too, God,

which reaches to the heights.

God, you have done great things;

who is there like you?

20 You have made me see much trouble and hardship,

but you will revive me again

and bring me up from the depths of the earth.

21 You will increase my honor;

turn and comfort me.

22 As for me, I will praise you with a lyre

for your faithfulness, my God.

I will sing praises to you with a lute,

Holy One of Isra’el.

23 My lips will shout for joy;

I will sing your praise, because you have redeemed me.

24 All day long my tongue

will speak of your righteousness.

For those who are seeking to harm me

will be put to shame and disgraced.

1 By Shlomo:

God, give the king your fairness in judgment,

endow this son of kings with your righteousness,

2 so that he can govern your people rightly

and your poor with justice.

3 May mountains and hills provide your people

with peace through righteousness.

4 May he defend the oppressed among the people,

save the needy and crush the oppressor.

5 May they fear you as long as the sun endures

and as long as the moon, through all generations.

6 May he be like rain falling on mown grass,

like showers watering the land.

7 In his days, let the righteous flourish

and peace abound, till the moon is no more.

8 May his empire stretch from sea to sea,

from the [Euphrates] River to the ends of the earth.

9 May desert-dwellers bow before him;

may his enemies lick the dust.

10 The kings of Tarshish and the coasts will pay him tribute;

the kings of Sh’va and S’va will offer gifts.

11 Yes, all kings will prostrate themselves before him;

all nations will serve him.

12 For he will rescue the needy when they cry,

the poor too and those with none to help them.

13 He will have pity on the poor and needy;

and the lives of the needy he will save.

14 He will redeem them from oppression and violence;

their blood will be precious in his view.

15 May [the king] live long!

May they give him gold from the land of Sh’va!

May they pray for him continually;

yes, bless him all day long.

16 May there be an abundance of grain in the land,

all the way to the tops of the mountains.

May its crops rustle like the L’vanon.

May people blossom in the city like the grasses in the fields.

17 May his name endure forever,

his name, Yinnon, as long as the sun.

May people bless themselves in him,

may all nations call him happy.

18 Blessed beAdonai, God,

the God of Isra’el,

who alone works wonders.

19 Blessed be his glorious name forever,

and may the whole earth be filled with his glory.

Amen. Amen.

20 This completes the prayers of David the son of Yishai.

Book III: Psalms 73–89

1 A psalm of Asaf:

How good God is to Isra’el,

to those who are pure in heart!

2 But as for me, I lost my balance,

my feet nearly slipped,

3 when I grew envious of the arrogant

and saw how the wicked prosper.

4 For when their death comes, it is painless;

and meanwhile, their bodies are healthy;

5 they don’t have ordinary people’s troubles,

they aren’t plagued like others.

6 So for them, pride is a necklace;

and violence clothes them like a robe.

7 Their eyes peep out through folds of fat;

evil thoughts overflow from their hearts.

8 They scoff and speak with malice,

they loftily utter threats.

9 They set their mouths against heaven;

their tongues swagger through the earth.

10 Therefore his people return here

and [thoughtlessly] suck up that whole cup of water.

11 Then they ask, “How does God know?

Does the Most High really have knowledge?”

12 Yes, this is what the wicked are like;

those free of misfortune keep increasing their wealth.

13 It’s all for nothing that I’ve kept my heart clean

and washed my hands, staying free of guilt;

14 for all day long I am plagued;

my punishment comes every morning.

15 If I had said, “I will talk like them,”

I would have betrayed a generation of your children.

16 When I tried to understand all this,

I found it too hard for me —

17 until I went into the sanctuaries of God

and grasped what their destiny would be.

18 Indeed, you place them on a slippery slope

and make them fall to their ruin.

19 How suddenly they are destroyed,

swept away by terrors!

20 They are like a dream when one awakens;

Adonai, when you rouse yourself,

you will despise their phantoms.

21 When I had a sour attitude

and felt stung by pained emotions,

22 I was too stupid to understand;

I was like a brute beast with you.

23 Nevertheless, I am always with you;

you hold my right hand.

24 You will guide me with your advice;

and afterwards, you will receive me with honor.

25 Whom do I have in heaven but you?

And with you, I lack nothing on earth.

26 My mind and body may fail; but God

is the rock for my mind and my portion forever.

27 Those who are far from you will perish;

you destroy all who adulterously leave you.

28 But for me, the nearness of God is my good;

I have madeAdonaiElohimmy refuge,

so that I can tell of all your works.

1 Amaskilof Asaf:

Why have you rejected us forever, God,

with your anger smoking against the sheep you once pastured?

2 Remember your community, which you acquired long ago,

the tribe you redeemed to be your very own.

Remember Mount Tziyon, where you came to live.

3 Hurry your steps to these endless ruins,

to the sanctuary devastated by the enemy.

4 The roar of your foes filled your meeting-place;

they raised their own banners as a sign of their conquest.

5 The place seemed like a thicket of trees

when lumbermen hack away with their axes.

6 With hatchet and hammer they banged away,

smashing all the carved woodwork.

7 They set your sanctuary on fire,

tore down and profaned the abode of your name.

8 They said to themselves, “We will oppress them completely.”

They have burned down all God’s meeting-places in the land.

9 We see no signs, there is no prophet any more;

none of us knows how long it will last.

10 How much longer, God, will the foe jeer at us?

Will the enemy insult your name forever?

11 Why do you hold back your hand?

Draw your right hand from your coat, and finish them off!

12 God has been my king from earliest times,

acting to save throughout all the earth.

13 By your strength you split the sea in two,

in the water you smashed sea monsters’ heads,

14 you crushed the heads of Livyatan

and gave it as food to the creatures of the desert.

15 You cut channels for springs and streams,

you dried up rivers that had never failed.

16 The day is yours, and the night is yours;

it was you who established light and sun.

17 It was you who fixed all the limits of the earth,

you made summer and winter.

18 Remember how the enemy scoffs atAdonai,

how a brutish people insults your name.

19 Don’t hand over the soul of your dove to wild beasts,

don’t forget forever the life of your poor.

20 Look to the covenant, for the land’s dark places

are full of the haunts of violence.

21 Don’t let the oppressed retreat in confusion;

let the poor and needy praise your name.

22 Arise, God, and defend your cause;

remember how brutish men insult you all day.

23 Don’t forget what your foes are saying,

the ever-rising uproar of your adversaries.

1 For the leader. Set to “Do Not Destroy!” A psalm of Asaf. A song:

2 We give thanks to you, God, we give thanks;

your name is near, people tell of your wonders.

3 “At the time of my own choice,

I will dispense justice fairly.

4 When the earth quakes, with all living on it,

it is I who hold its support-pillars firm.”(Selah)

5 To the boastful I say, “Do not boast!”

and to the wicked, “Don’t flaunt your strength!

6 Don’t flaunt your strength so proudly;

don’t speak arrogantly, with your nose in the air!

7 For you will not be raised to power

by those in the east, the west or the desert;

8 since God is the judge; and it is he

who puts down one and lifts up another.

9 InAdonai’s hand there is a cup of wine,

foaming, richly spiced;

when he pours it out, all the wicked of the earth

will drain it, drinking it to the dregs.”

10 But I will always speak out,

singing praises to the God of Ya‘akov.

11 I will break down the strength of the wicked,

but the strength of the righteous will be raised up.

1 For the leader. With string music. A psalm of Asaf. A song:

2 In Y’hudah God is known;

his name is great in Isra’el.

3 His tent is in Shalem,

his place is in Tziyon.

4 There he broke the flashing arrows,

the shield, the sword, and the weapons of war.(Selah)

5 You are glorious, majestic,

more so than mountains of prey.

6 The bravest have been stripped of their spoil

and now are sleeping their final sleep;

not one of these courageous men

finds strength to raise his hands.

7 At your rebuke, God of Ya‘akov,

riders and horses lie stunned.

8 You are fearsome! When once you are angry,

who can stand in your presence?

9 You pronounce sentence from heaven;

the earth grows silent with fear

10 when God arises to judge,

to save all the humble of the earth.(Selah)

11 Human wrath serves only to praise you;

what remains of this wrath you wear as an ornament.

12 Make vows toAdonaiyour God, and keep them;

all who are around him must bring presents to the one who should be feared.

13 He curbs the spirit of princes;

he is fearsome to the kings of the earth.

1 For the leader. For Y’dutun. A psalm of Asaf:

2 I cry aloud to God,

aloud to God; and he hears me.

3 On the day of my distress I am seekingAdonai;

my hands are lifted up;

my tears flow all night without ceasing;

my heart refuses comfort.

4 When remembering God, I moan;

when I ponder, my spirit fails.(Selah)

5 You hold my eyelids [and keep me from sleeping];

I am too troubled to speak.

6 I think about the days of old,

the years of long ago;

7 in the night I remember my song,

I commune with myself, my spirit inquires:

8 “WillAdonaireject forever?

will he never show his favor again?

9 Has his grace permanently disappeared?

Is his word to all generations done away?

10 Has God forgotten to be compassionate?

Has he in anger withheld his mercy?”(Selah)

11 Then I add, “That’s my weakness —

[supposing] the Most High’s right hand could change.”

12 So I will remind myself ofYah’s doings;

yes, I will remember your wonders of old.

13 I will meditate on your work

and think about what you have done.

14 God, your way is in holiness.

What god is as great as God?

15 You are the God who does wonders,

you revealed your strength to the peoples.

16 With your arm you redeemed your people,

the descendants of Ya‘akov and Yosef.(Selah)

17 The water saw you, God;

the water saw you and writhed in anguish,

agitated to its depths.

18 The clouds poured water, the skies thundered,

and your arrows flashed here and there.

19 The sound of your thunder was in the whirlwind,

the lightning flashes lit up the world,

the earth trembled and shook.

20 Your way went through the sea,

your path through the turbulent waters;

but your footsteps could not be traced.

21 You led your people like a flock

under the care of Moshe and Aharon.

1 Amaskilof Asaf:

Listen, my people, to my teaching;

turn your ears to the words from my mouth.

2 I will speak to you in parables

and explain mysteries from days of old.

3 The things which we have heard and known,

and which our fathers told us

4 we will not hide from their descendants;

we will tell the generation to come

the praises ofAdonaiand his strength,

the wonders that he has performed.

5 He raised up a testimony in Ya‘akov

and established aTorahin Isra’el.

He commanded our ancestors

to make this known to their children,

6 so that the next generation would know it,

the children not yet born,

who would themselves arise

and tell their own children,

7 who could then put their confidence in God,

not forgetting God’s deeds,

but obeying hismitzvot.

8 Then they would not be like their ancestors,

a stubborn, rebellious generation,

a generation with unprepared hearts,

with spirits unfaithful to God.

9 The people of Efrayim, though armed with bows and arrows,

turned their backs on the day of battle.

10 They did not keep the covenant of God

and refused to live by hisTorah.

11 They forgot what he had done,

his wonders which he had shown them.

12 He had done wonderful things

in the presence of their ancestors

in the land of Egypt,

in the region of Tzo‘an.

13 He split the sea and made them pass through,

he made the waters stand up like a wall.

14 He also led them by day with a cloud

and all night long with light from a fire.

15 He broke apart the rocks in the desert

and let them drink as if from boundless depths;

16 yes, he brought streams out of the rock,

making the water flow down like rivers.

17 Yet they sinned still more against him,

rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High;

18 in their hearts they tested God

by demanding food that would satisfy their cravings.

19 Yes, they spoke against God by asking,

“Can God spread a table in the desert?

20 True, he struck the rock, and water gushed out,

until thevadis overflowed;

but what about bread? Can he give that?

Can he provide meat for his people?”

21 Therefore, whenAdonaiheard, he was angry;

fire blazed up against Ya‘akov;

his anger mounted against Isra’el;

22 because they had no faith in God,

no trust in his power to save.

23 So he commanded the skies above

and opened the doors of heaven.

24 He rained downmanon them as food;

he gave them grain from heaven —

25 mortals ate the bread of angels;

he provided for them to the full.

26 He stirred up the east wind in heaven,

brought on the south wind by his power,

27 and rained down meat on them like dust,

birds flying thick as the sand on the seashore.

28 He let them fall in the middle of their camp,

all around their tents.

29 So they ate till they were satisfied;

he gave them what they craved.

30 They were still fulfilling their craving,

the food was still in their mouths,

31 when the anger of God rose up against them

and slaughtered their strongest men,

laying low the young men of Isra’el.

32 Still, they kept on sinning

and put no faith in his wonders.

33 Therefore, he ended their days in futility

and their years in terror.

34 When he brought death among them, they would seek him;

they would repent and seek God eagerly,

35 remembering that God was their Rock,

El ‘Elyontheir Redeemer.

36 But they tried to deceive him with their words,

they lied to him with their tongues;

37 for their hearts were not right with him,

and they were unfaithful to his covenant.

38 Yet he, because he is full of compassion,

forgave their sin and did not destroy;

many times he turned away his anger

and didn’t rouse all his wrath.

39 So he remembered that they were but flesh,

a wind that blows past and does not return.

40 How often they rebelled against him in the desert

and grieved him in the wastelands!

41 Repeatedly they challenged God

and pained the Holy One of Isra’el.

42 They didn’t remember how he used his hand

on the day he redeemed them from their enemy,

43 how he displayed his signs in Egypt,

his wonders in the region of Tzo‘an.

44 He turned their rivers into blood,

so they couldn’t drink from their streams.

45 He sent swarms of flies, which devoured them,

and frogs, which destroyed them.

46 He gave their harvest to shearer-worms,

the fruit of their labor to locusts.

47 He destroyed their vineyards with hail

and their sycamore-figs with frost.

48 Their cattle too he gave over to the hail

and their flocks to lightning bolts.

49 He sent over them his fierce anger,

fury, indignation and trouble,

with a company of destroying angels

50 to clear a path for his wrath.

He did not spare them from death,

but gave them over to the plague,

51 striking all the firstborn in Egypt,

the firstfruits of their strength in the tents of Ham.

52 But his own people he led out like sheep,

guiding them like a flock in the desert.

53 He led them safely, and they weren’t afraid,

even when the sea overwhelmed their foes.

54 He brought them to his holy land,

to the hill-country won by his right hand.

55 He expelled nations before them,

apportioned them property to inherit

and made Isra’el’s tribes live in their tents.

56 Yet they testedEl ‘Elyon

and rebelled against him,

refusing to obey his instructions.

57 They turned away and were faithless, like their fathers;

they were unreliable, like a bow without tension.

58 They provoked him with their high places

and made him jealous with their idols.

59 God heard, and he was angry;

he came to detest Isra’el completely.

60 He abandoned the tabernacle at Shiloh,

the tent he had made where he could live among people.

61 He gave his strength into exile,

his pride to the power of the foe.

62 He gave his people over to the sword

and grew angry with his own heritage.

63 Fire consumed their young men,

their virgins had no wedding-song,

64 theircohanimfell by the sword,

and their widows could not weep.

65 ThenAdonaiawoke, as if from sleep,

like a warrior shouting for joy from wine.

66 He struck his foes, driving them back

and putting them to perpetual shame.

67 Rejecting the tents of Yosef

and passing over the tribe of Efrayim,

68 he chose the tribe of Y’hudah,

Mount Tziyon, which he loved.

69 He built his sanctuary like the heights;

like the earth, he made it to last forever.

70 He chose David to be his servant,

taking him from the sheep-yards;

71 from tending nursing ewes he brought him

to shepherd Ya‘akov his people,

Isra’el his heritage.

72 With upright heart he shepherded them

and guided them with skillful hands.