Book of Psalms

1° The place of the Psalter in the biblical canon; its various names. — In the Hebrew Bible, the Book of Psalms opens the series of K^etubim or Hagiographers (see volume 1, p. 13). However, a number of manuscripts only attribute to it the second rank, and place the small one at the head. book of Ruth). The Septuagint and the Vulgate place it among the wisdom writings, in second place, with the poem of Job occupying first place.

Among the Hebrews, it is very commonly known as Sefer t^eillim, «book of praises» — for short, tillim Or Tillin, "praises" — from the root halal, from which the word alleluia also derives. Although this name is used directly only once in the Psalter to characterize one of its hymns in particular (Ps. 144:1; Heb. 145), it certainly expresses very well the purpose and nature of the Psalms in general, most of them being essentially "alleluias," divine praises. Another name, also very accurate, is that of t^eson, «prayers» which are found either in the titles of some isolated psalms (Ps. 16, Heb. 17; 85, Heb. 86; 89, Heb. 90; 101, Heb. 102; 141, Heb. 142), or at the end of Psalm 72 in the Hebrew. All the Psalms are in reality prayers in the broad sense of this expression, according to the beautiful observation of Saint Jerome: «Read the entire Psalter. You will find nothing in it but a prayer to God adapted to all circumstances.”Contra Pelag., 1, 5). » Nevertheless, another name, also Hebrew in origin, has prevailed in the Christian Church: that of psalmi, «psalms.» This name comes from the Greek ψαλμός, which corresponds very exactly to the Hebrew mizmor, and which was used to designate either the sounds of a stringed instrument or a song accompanied by this type of music. In the original text of the Bible, fifty-six psalms are entitled mizmor. It is by a similar metonymy that the collection of Psalms was named: ψαλτήριον (name of a stringed instrument among the Greeks; the nebel of the Hebrews. See the’Atlas of the Bible, (pl. 63, fig. 8 and 9), psaltery, from which we get the word "psalter".

2° The number and numeration of the Psalms. – One hundred and fifty: this is the normal and canonical number of poems contained in the psalter. Everything exceeding this number is apocryphal, notably psalm 151, which is found in several ancient versions (it recounts the victory of David over Goliath). 

Although the Hebrew text agrees on the total number of psalms, the Septuagint and Vulgate differ in the division of some of them, resulting in an almost perpetual divergence in the numbering (this point is important because of the quotations). Psalms 9 and 10, and 64 and 65 in the Hebrew text are combined into two psalms in the Septuagint and Vulgate; moreover, these same versions divide Psalms 116 and 147 in the Hebrew text into two parts (the Syriac version also has its own distinct numbering). The following table will detail these variants. Psalms 1-8 Hebrew = Psalms 1-8 Septuagint and Vulgate; Psalms 9-10 Hebrew = Psalm 9 Septuagint and Vulgate; Ps. 11-93 Hebrew = Ps. 10-112 Septuagint and Vulgate; Ps. 94-115 Hebrew = Ps. 113 Septuagint and Vulgate; Ps. 116 Hebrew = Ps. 114-115 Septuagint and Vulgate; 

Ps. 117-146 Hebrew = Ps. 116-145 Septuagint and Vulgate; Ps. 147 Hebrew = Ps. 146-147 Septuagint and Vulgate; Ps. 148-150 Hebrew = Ps. 148-150 Septuagint and Vulgate.

As we can see, the Septuagint and the Vulgate are usually one digit behind the Hebrew. Unless otherwise indicated, we will follow the numbering of our Latin version, although that of the Hebrew appears to be the most accurate. 

Some psalms or parts of psalms exist in double form: compare Ps. 13 and 52; Ps. 39, 14-18, and 64; Ps. 16, 8-12; 59, 7-14, and 107.

3° Division of the Psalter. — The one hundred and fifty psalms are divided, in the Hebrew Bible, into five books, which are marked either by special titles (Sefer rišôn, Sefer šéni, etc., "First Book, Second Book," etc.) (placed between Psalms 41 and 42, 72 and 73, 89 and 90, 106 and 107, according to the numbering of the Hebrew text), or final doxologies (Ps. 40:14; 71:19; 88:53; 105:48), added by the collectors of the Psalms (except at the end of the fifth and final book, Psalm 150 itself forming an admirable doxology). This division predates the Septuagint, since they inserted the doxologies into their translation; It is even older than the composition of Chronicles, since the passage in 1 Chronicles 16:36 cites the doxology of the fourth book (Psalm 150:48) as an integral part of Psalm 150. It likely corresponds to the different phases of the Psalter's collection, as we shall soon see. It also corresponds to that of the Pentateuch, the five-volume work. "Moses gave the Israelites the five books of the Pentateuch," says an ancient scholar. midraš or Jewish commentary on Psalm 1:1, and David also gave them the five books of Psalms, to correspond to the Pentateuch.» The Psalter is therefore a kind of «Pentateuch, the echo of the Mosaic Pentateuch, resounding from the heart of Israel; it is the fivefold book from the synagogue to God, just as the Law is the fivefold book from God to the synagogue.». 

4° History of the Psalms Collection.The sacred poems that make up the Psalter were not compiled by a single hand, nor at the same time. Various features of the Bible clearly demonstrate the plurality of compilers and provide valuable clues about the times in which they lived.

We find the first of these features in the Psalter itself, where we read, at the end of the second book (Ps. 72 Hebr., 20): «Here end the prayers of David, son of Jesse.» (the Vulgate, Ps. 71, 20, imperfectly translated: Defecerunt laudes David, filii Jesse). This is certainly a formula that served as a conclusion to a very old collection of psalms, quite different from the current collection, and dating back to David or Solomon.

Second fact: the liturgical purpose of most of the poetry of David, and of the poets contemporary with this prince, quickly made a collection of this kind necessary, and it gradually grew larger as new psalms were composed or rediscovered. Third fact: we learn precisely from 2 Chronicles 29:30 (cf. Prov. 25:1) that the holy King Hezekiah showed great zeal for inspired literature, and that, in concert with the Levites, he had the songs of David and Asaph sung. Now, Psalms 72-88, which make up the third book of the Psalter, belong largely to these two sacred writers; from this, it has been concluded that Hezekiah himself compiled or had compiled in his name this part of the Psalter. Fourth fact: the passage in 2 Maccabees. 2:13 reports that Nehemiah—and doubtless Ezra with him, as Saint Jerome adds—undertook to gather the psalms of David, the books of the prophets, etc. This marks a new stage in the history of the psalter collection. Before, during, and after the exile, other lyric songs had appeared; older psalms, which were not part of previous collections, had been discovered: everything was then combined with what was previously possessed, and the last two books were thus formed, while the first three underwent some changes as a result of new additions. It is therefore probably to the time of Ezra and Nehemiah, around the year 450 BC, that the psalter in its current form dates back (several texts of the New Testament show us that the Psalms occupied their current place in the time of Our Lord. Cf. Luke 20:42; 24:44; Acts 1:20, 13:33).

These hypotheses, already guaranteed by serious facts, are further supported by the intrinsic study of the psalter, in the parts of which one can easily recognize, in general, "a manifest progress from the oldest to the most recent:" psalms 1-42 containing hardly anything but songs of David; psalms 43-90 containing the mass of canticles of the intermediate period; psalms 91-150 the mass of more modern songs.

Often the psalms were simply added one after the other, without any logical connection whatsoever; at other times, it is evident that certain general principles of resemblance served as a basis for grouping them: thus, Psalms 3 and 4 are both evening prayers; Psalms 5 and 6, both morning prayers; Psalms 20 and 21 are linked together, as are prayer and thanksgiving, etc. (on the very varied use of divine names) ‘'Elohim And Y^ehovah in the five books of the Psalter, see the Man. Bibl.(Vol. 2, no. 651. This fact is of no serious importance for criticism, whatever the rationalists may have said.)

5° The subject of the Psalms, their principal species. – «God and man, that is the subject of the Psalms: God in his greatness, his goodness, his mercy, his blessings, his justice; man in his weakness, his smallness, his misery, his infidelities, and his need for the help of his Creator (Man. Bibl., t. 2, n. 655). Or more briefly, and perhaps even more accurately: "God, and man in the face of God." As another interpreter has said, God is, so to speak, the sun around which all the psalms revolve. He is truly their unique and perpetual theme, to such an extent that, "out of the one hundred and fifty that make up the collection, there are only seventeen in which he is not named from the very first verse." (Man. Bibl., lc. These are Psalms 1, 2, 31, 36, 38, 44, 48, 51, 57, 77, 86, 113, 115, 120, 128, 132, 136).

But this single subject is considered and treated from very diverse perspectives: some psalms address God directly, invoking, adoring, and praising him, and thanking him; others celebrate his attributes, his countless perfections, or admire the wonders he has worked in nature and history; others subjectively expound his holy law, which the Pentateuch had objectively promulgated; others contemplate the mysterious problems of human life in its relationship with divine providence, and so on. Hence the numerous attempts at classification. The great variety and rapid change of sentiments within a single psalm make this kind of operation very difficult (see the Man. Bibl., t. 2, n. 656). We can at least distinguish: the Eucharistic psalms, or psalms of thanksgiving (Ps. 8, 17, 18, etc.); the elegiac psalms, or psalms of plaintive prayer (the seven penitential psalms (6, 31, 37, 50, 101, 129, 142) naturally belong to this category) (Ps. 3, 5, 7, etc.); the didactic psalms (Ps. 1, 48, 118, etc.); the historical psalms (Ps. 77, 54, 55, etc.); the prophetic or messianic psalms (Ps. 2, 15, 21, etc.) (on this important category, see below, at 9°).

6° The titles of the Psalms and their value.In the Septuagint and Vulgate versions, all the psalms, except the first two, have a title. These titles also usually exist in the Hebrew text; however, there are as many as thirty-four psalms without one. They indicate sometimes the character, subject, or purpose of the poem; sometimes the author, sometimes the historical occasion, sometimes the musical accompaniment, and sometimes all these details at once. They are generally very short, sometimes consisting of only a simple "Hallelujah"; the title of Psalm 59 is the longest and most complete of all.

Since the end of the 18th century, there has been much debate about their origin, and several critics have denied either their authenticity or their antiquity. It is nevertheless likely that most of them come from the authors of the psalms themselves, for they are certainly very ancient. This second point is demonstrated by three main pieces of evidence. 1. The titles of the psalms are not only earlier than the Septuagint version, which contains them; but the Alexandrian translators sometimes did not understand them and rendered them unintelligibly (as did the Vulgate, following their example): a fact that attests to their great antiquity; the key to the often enigmatic expressions they contain had been lost. 2. Other biblical poems have similar titles, the authenticity of which is not in doubt. Cf. 2 Samuel 1:18 and 23:1; Isaiah 38:9; Habakkuk 3:1, etc. 3° «They form an integral part of the collection (of Psalms), and until modern times they have been, as a whole, accepted without question. Theodore of Mopsuestia is the only one in antiquity who raised doubts on this subject.» Moreover, «their diversity, the absence of a systematic approach, their often obscure form… are guarantees of their great antiquity (Man. Bibl. ( , T. 2, n. 652). If the Septuagint adds a number of psalms not found in the Hebrew, they certainly did so for good reasons, relying on traditions that existed at the time. Nevertheless, it is generally accepted that the titles of some psalms are inaccurate, and they are readily rejected (we will indicate them in the commentary). Several present the interpreter with very serious difficulties, and their meaning can only be determined hypothetically. 

7° The authors of the Psalms. — The titles give the names of the authors of one hundred and one psalms in the Hebrew Bible; of one hundred and fifteen in the Septuagint and the Vulgate. Seventy-three psalms are attributed to David by the Hebrew text (these are Ps. 3-9, 11-32, 34-41, 51-65, 68-70, 86, 101, 103, 108-110, 122, 124, 131, 133, 138-145, according to the Hebrew numbering), eighty-eight by the Septuagint (add to the previous list Ps. 10 according to the Hebrew, 32, 42, 66, 70, 90, 92-98, 113, 136). Also according to the titles, Psalm 89 is by Moses; Two psalms (71 and 126) are by Solomon; Asaph, choirmaster of the temple during the reign of David (cf. 1 Chronicles 15, 16 and ff.; 2 Chronicles 24, 30), is said to have composed twelve; likewise "the sons of Korah", i.e. the descendants of the revolutionary Levite who had received such a terrible punishment in the time of Moses (cf. Num. 16); Heman and Ethan, charged with the music of the temple by David, with Asaph (cf. 1 Chronicles 15, 16 and ff.), each composed one.

According to the Hebrew text, thirty-four psalms are "orphaned," as the Talmud puts it, meaning anonymous. Among these, several were probably written by David (for example, Psalm 2; cf. Acts 4:25). The Septuagint and the Vulgate attribute some to the prophets Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Haggai, and Zechariah: mere conjectures, not always based on solid evidence.

The Book of Psalms, therefore, is far from belonging entirely to David, who does not appear to have composed much more than half of it. Various writers, both Jewish and ecclesiastical, have nevertheless asserted, with an energy worthy of a better cause, that all the psalms without exception were by the royal poet. "We are mistaken," replied Saint Jerome (Epist. 140, 4. Compare these lines from Saint Hilary, Prob. In Ps., &2: «It is absurd to attribute all the psalms to David, and not to those whose names they clearly bear, since they had so many authors, whose names appear in all editions. »"When the Bible refers to the psalter by the names τά τού Δαυίδ (2 Macc. 2:13) and Δαυίδ (cf. Matt. 2:45; Acts 4:25, etc.), when the Council of Trent gives it the epithet Davidicum (Sess. 4), this is by virtue of the adage: A fortiori fit denominatio. David nevertheless remains "the principal and greatest lyric poet of Israel", the psalmist par excellence, as the Holy Books call him: Egregius Psaltes Israel. (2 Samuel 23:1. Cf. Ecclesiastes 47:8-10. According to a charming Talmudic legend, King David had hung an Aeolian harp under his windows. As soon as it made a sound, he would wake up, and, spurred on by emulation, he would compose a song to the glory of God).

From this overview concerning the authors of the Psalms, it follows that the earliest and latest dates for the composition of the Psalter are, on the one hand, around the year 1050; on the other hand, around the year 450 BC, forming an era of approximately six hundred years. As for the recent opinion, according to which a large number of psalms do not date back beyond the time of the Maccabees, we need not refute it here, so futile is it; even among rationalists, it has encountered very energetic opponents. (see Cornely, Historica et critiquea Introductio in utriusque Testamenti libros sacros, (Vol. 2, Part 2, pp. 107-111)

8° Our Latin translation of the Psalms. — The Greek Septuagint and the Vulgate are the two most important translations of the Psalter in antiquity. The first, «frequently leaving much to be desired in the details,» and having in many places, as a result of excessive literalness, a Hebrew coloring no less painful than pronounced, one must expect that the second, which is only a Latin version of this Greek translation, will also present a considerable number of imperfections.

Here, in a few words, which we borrow from Bible manual (Volume 2, no. 663), the history of the Psalter as contained in the Vulgate. «Our Latin translation of the Psalms is that of the ancient Italic; it was not made directly from the Hebrew original…: it is therefore a second-hand work. As, in the time of Saint Jerome, due to the multitude of transcriptions that had been made of it, it was full of errors, this great doctor, at the request of the pope Saint Damasus revised it around 383; his corrections were few, because he feared disturbing the habits of the faithful, most of whom knew the Psalms by heart, with too many changes. This first revision is known as the Roman Psalter (from the place where it was composed). Until Saint Pius V, the Psalter was used in all the churches of Rome. Roman Psaltery; Currently, it is only used in Saint Peter's Church for the Breviary. The invitatory of Matins, Psalm 94, is taken from the Roman Psaltery; But this same psalm, inserted in the 3rd nocturne of the Epiphany office, is taken from Psalterium gallicanum. The passages from the Psalms placed in the Missal are taken from the Roman Psalter, and not from the Gallican Psalter, used in the Breviary. (Thalhofer), Erklaerung der Psalmen, (pp. 12-13 of the 3rd edition, 1871). It was soon deemed insufficient. Saint Jerome therefore returned to the work, between 387 and 391, and published a second edition, more carefully and more extensively corrected, of the Italic version of the Psalms; it bears the name of Gallican Psalter, because it was adopted by the Churches of Gaul. When he later undertook a new version of the Old Testament, based on the Hebrew text, he also made, in 405, a translation of the Psalms from the original: this is the Hebrew Psalter. Whatever the merits of this version, the faithful were so familiar with the old italicized version that the Church, in its wisdom, deemed it necessary to retain the latter in editions of the Vulgate, according to the recension known as the Gallican Psalter. »

As for the characteristics of our official version of the Psalms, the same source defines them very well, in the following terms (Man. Bibl., ibid., n. 604): «Our old Latin Psalter has defects; it is often in an incorrect and barbarous style, obscure in some places, and sometimes it does not even take exactly the meaning of the original. But, although there are numerous differences between the Hebrew text and the Latin text, the substance of the doctrine is quite the same, and the divergences are, consequently, of no consequence for religion (cf. Bossuet, Dissertatio de Psalmis, chapter 5. Works, (Lebel edition, vol. 1, p. 52). Moreover, although our version of the Vulgate is not perfect, it possesses admirable force and concision, combined with a certain pleasing flavor that gives it the greatest value, and makes the words of the sacred singers, in this form of the Latin vernacular, strike the mind and be engraved in the memory much better than if they were adorned with all the elegances of a modern language.» (see in the Man. Bibl., t. 2, n. 686, an explanation, in alphabetical order, of the difficult words of the Vulgate with regard to the Psalms.).

9° The importance of the Psalms is obvious. They have rightly been called "a Bible within the Bible," because they summarize its essence ("« The reason the psalter is so frequently used is that it contains the entire Scripture. » S. Thom. Aq., Exposio aurea ad Davidem, Proleg. «To tell the truth, I consider no book under heaven that can be compared to the Psalter. Therefore, if we were to implore God, through fervent prayers and desires, for a long book containing in summary the essence of Scripture and its most precious aspects, it could be none other than the Psalter, or something very similar to it.» (Preface to an old Psalter dating from 1552), or «the heart of the Bible.» «The Book of Psalms,” he wrote Saint Augustine more generally (Proleg. In Psalmos), It contains what is useful for all things. It foretells future events, it recalls the deeds of the ancients, it presents the law to the living, it determines a way of doing things. »

But we can consider this importance from various points of view. 1. From a historical perspective. Nothing can help us better than the Psalms to understand the theocratic people in the highest and, at the same time, most intimate aspects of their lives. Without the Psalter, we would have only a very imperfect and superficial idea of the Israelite religion. On the contrary, the lyrical songs of the Hebrews allow us to study in depth their relationship with God, their faith, their love, and their tender piety. Furthermore, the Psalms are in perpetual and very close connection with the Old Testament.

1. From a theological perspective. "The Book of Psalms," says Saint Basil (Hom. 1 in Psalm.(n. 2), contains a complete theology. The prophecy of the coming of Our Lord in the flesh, the threats of judgment, the hope of the resurrection, The fear of punishment, the promises of glory, the revelation of mysteries: all these things are gathered in this book as in a vast treasure open to all.» Nothing is richer than the theology, whether dogmatic or moral, of the Psalms, and special volumes have been compiled on this interesting subject (in particular, J. Koenig, Theology of the Psalms, (Freiburg im Breisgau, 1852). But the theological importance of the Psalms lies above all in their prophecies concerning the Messiah and his Church: numerous prophecies of great clarity, which help us in a surprising way to follow the progress of revelation on the most beautiful and most serious of questions. Not only is the Psalter as a whole imbued with the idea of the Messiah, as transmitted by earlier oracles, but this idea takes on a magnificent expansion; it becomes increasingly precise and clear. It should therefore come as no surprise that, of all the books of the Old Testament, the Psalter is the most frequently quoted in the New (it has been estimated that of the two hundred and eighty-three quotations borrowed from the Old Testament by the New, one hundred and sixteen are taken from the Psalms).

However, not all the psalms deal with the Messiah, and among those that do, not all do so in the same way; hence the name Messianic Psalms, applied only to a certain number of them. And here again, distinctions must be made, for not all Messianic psalms deserve this epithet to the same degree: some announce Christ and his reign according to their direct, literal meaning, so that they cannot admit any other application; others relate first and foremost, according to their proper meaning, to various events or figures of the Old Testament, but in such a way that these events, these figures, are types of the Messiah. In the first case, which is relatively rare, the psalms are said to be directly or exclusively messianic (such as Ps. 2, 21, 44, 71, 109; perhaps also Ps. 15 and 68); in the second, they are indirectly so, or according to the typical and figurative sense (among others, Ps. 8, 18, 34, 39, 40, 67, 77, 96, 101, 108, 116, 117, to mention here only the main ones).

The Messianic psalms are sometimes indicated to us by the writers of the New Testament, or by the unanimous testimony of the Church: their character is then indisputable (Psalms 2, 8, 15, 21, 39, 40, 44, 47, 48, 71, 77, 96, 101, 108, 109, 116, 117 belong to this category). At other times, it is the very essence of things, a more or less striking feature, that reminds us of the Messiah (Psalms 20, 23, 46, 84, 86, 88, etc.): a guarantee certainly much weaker than the former. The consent of some ancient Fathers or exegetes also has value in establishing the messianic character of a psalm (Ps. 3, 17, 48, 54, 58, 66, 70, 87, 110, etc.); but it is then necessary that their application to Our Lord Jesus Christ and his Church not be purely accommodating. ("Those psalms which the liturgy applies, in an accommodating sense, to Jesus Christ and his Church should not be classified among the messianic psalms, because the latter certainly does not intend to decide by this, by virtue of its authority, that its application of a passage to the Messiah and his kingdom is real, objective, and willed as its primary meaning by the Holy Spirit." Thalhofer, Erklaerung der Psalmen, p. 16 of the 3rd edition. See in the excellent work by Father Corluy, Spicilegium dogmatico-biblicum, Ghent, 1884, passim, the concise explanation of the principal messianic passages of the Psalter. Cf. G. Reinke, The Messianic Psalms, Giessen, 1857-1858).

1. From a liturgical perspective, everyone knows the immense role that the Psalms have played and will forever play in Jewish and Christian liturgies. Not that they were all composed for a liturgical purpose; but those that were originally merely the outpouring of individual and private feeling adapted wonderfully to this purpose.

We possess few details about the use of the Psalms in the religious ceremonies of Israel before the exile. Several biblical texts, however, suggest that the Psalter formed the basis and essential part of public worship. Compare 1 Chronicles 16; Isaiah 38:20; Jeremiah 33:11, etc., and the titles of a number of psalms. The same was true after the exile, as the Talmud clearly states in various places, even noting which psalms were sung on specific days (today the Psalms still constitute a very important part of worship in synagogues). 

From Jewish worship, the use of the Psalms passed into Christian worship from the very beginning of the Church (cf. 1 Cor. 14:15, Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16). And nothing could be more natural, since the apostles, and those early Christians who came from Judaism, were accustomed to this kind of prayer. Moreover, the Psalter has nothing specifically Jewish about it; its supplications and praises were even more suited to the new religion than to the old («Psalmus vox Ecclesiae est,» said Saint Ambrose, Praef. In Psalm., n. 9); also, when the Christian liturgy gradually became organized, it made very extensive use of the psalms (see Bona, Opera omnia, Antwerp, 1723, pp. 402 et seq.; Gerbert, De musica sacra, t. 1, chap. 1-3, etc): to such an extent that the Churches of Syria sang the entire psalter, "the heart of God," as they called it, at all the vigils of the feasts; the Greek and Latin Churches, once a week.

1. From a moral and mystical point of view. This public and solemn use of the Psalms did not prevent their private use; on the contrary, it encouraged it. «In Christi villa (i.e., in Bethlehem), wrote Saint Jerome (Ep. 18. Cf. S. Greg. Nyss., in Psalm. c. 3), – and what he says about Bethlehem applies to a hundred other cities, – extra psalmos silentium est; quocumque te vertas, arator stivam tenens Alleluia decantat, sudans messor psalmis se avocat, et curva attondens vites falce vinitor aliquid Davidicum canit.» This is because the Psalms contain an inexhaustible treasure of holy teachings, consolations, and heavenly encouragement, which are appropriate for all times, all countries, every individual soul, and every situation in life. The Psalter is, like the’The Imitation of Jesus Christ, A book that will never grow old.« It has this unique and admirable quality: it contains, described within it, the movements of each person's soul, its mutations and its punishments, in such a way that whoever would receive them from it as from an image, and understand them, could transform himself and become what is written….In everything, each person will find divine hymns perfectly suited to us, to our movements and to their moderation. (St. Athanasius, Epist. ad Marcellinum, n. 10. Compare Bossuet, Dissertatio in Psalmos, chap. 8). » « David is… the prince of prayer,… the father of supernatural harmony, the musician of eternity in the things of time, and his voice lends itself to whoever wishes it, to groan, to invoke, to intercede, to praise, to worship (Lacordaire, Letters to a Young Man on the Christian Life, pp. 190 et seq.).

10° Literary beauties of the Psalter. — «I will not dwell on the literary beauties of the Book of Psalms: the Holy Fathers have said it all, placing these divine canticles infinitely above the productions of secular lyric poets (the saying of Saint Jerome is well known: « David, our Simonides, our Pindar, our Aldeus, our Flaccus and our Catullus, sings of Christ with the lyre, and a ten-stringed plasterium. » Epist, L ad PaulinThey prevail, indeed, both in the substance of the things they contain and in the manner in which they express them… To express such great thoughts, the poets of Zion had vivid images, picturesque expressions, striking comparisons, bold tones, sublime movements—in short, all the resources of Eastern genius aided by inspiration. Read the ancient and modern lyric poems one after the other, and you will find nothing in their odes that approaches the majesty and… gentleness of the Psalms; but, alongside these riches, you will no less admire the simplicity of the style, which always contrasts in the Bible with the affectation of secular writers (H. Laurens, Job and the Psalms, pp. 158 et seq., Paris, 1839).

On this interesting theme, we could cite a whole series of remarkable passages from the greatest modern writers. The following lines from Lamartine will suffice: «This divine bard (David) has often touched my heart and captivated my thoughts. He is the foremost of poets of feeling; he is the king of lyric poetry. Never has the human soul resonated with such intimate, penetrating, and profound harmonies; never has the poet's thought risen so high and cried out so true; never has the soul of man poured itself out before man and before God in such tender, sympathetic, and heart-rending expressions and sentiments.» All the most secret groans of the human heart have found their voices and notes on the lips and harp of this man, and if one goes back to the distant era when such songs resounded on the earth, if one considers that then the lyric poetry of the most cultivated nations sang only of wine, love, blood, and the victories of the Muses and steeds in the games of Elis, one is seized with profound astonishment at the accents of the King-Prophet, who speaks to the Creator God as a friend to his friend, who understands and praises His wonders, who admires His justice, who implores His mercy, and seems an anticipated echo of Gospel poetry, repeating the sweet words of Christ before having heard them… Read Horace or Pindar after a psalm; for me, I can no longer do so.”Journey to the Orient). 

In short, the Psalms are rightly considered "among all peoples to be the most perfect work that lyric poetry has ever produced" (Ch. Nodier. See the treasures of eloquence, (Lille, 1846, 3rd ed., vol. 1, pp. 35 et seq.)

11° There is no shortage of works to consult here, since "the Psalms are the book of the Old Testament on which the most has been written," and there are "approximately twelve hundred commentaries on these sacred songs" (Man. Bibl.( ., vol. 2, no. 672). Here are some of the most useful, all penned by Catholic writers. In the time of the Fathers, the’Expositio in Psalmos, attributed to Saint Athanasius; the admirable Homiliae in Psalmos of Saint Basil, which unfortunately only cover twenty-two psalms; the similar and equally incomplete work of Saint John Chrysostom; the’Interpretatio in Psalmos, by Theodoret of Cyrrhus; the Tractatus super Psalmos, of Saint Hilary of Poitiers; the famous Enarrationes in Psalmos, of Saint Augustine. In the Middle Ages, de Psalmorum libro exegesis, by the Venerable Bede; the incomplete commentary of Saint Thomas Aquinas. In modern times, the Paraphrasis in Psalmos cum annotationibus, by Cornelius Jansenius, Bishop of Ghent (Antwerp, 1614; concise and solid work); the Commentarius in Psalmos of Genebrard (1582); the Commentarius in Psalmos and in cantica divini officii, by A. Agellius (Paris, 1611), which is rightly regarded as the best Catholic work of the 17th century 

on the Psalms; the excellent Explanation of the Psalms by Robert Bellarmine [Paris, Librairie de Louis Vives, 1855, in three volumes downloadable for free from JesusMarie.com] […] H. Lesêtre, the Book of Psalms, Paris, 1883; Bishop Meignan, David, king, psalmist, prophet, with an introduction on the new criticism, Paris, 1889 (all these contemporary commentaries are valuable and can be of great service to the study of the Psalms). […] (See, in the Man. bibl.(Vol. 2, nos. 668-671, some excellent practical recommendations on the study of the Psalms.)

Psalm 1

¹ Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the way of sinners, nor sit in the company of mockers. ² but who finds his delight in the law of the Lord, and meditates on it day and night. ³ He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and whose leaves do not wither: everything he does prospers. ⁴ Not so with the wicked: they are like chaff that the wind blows away. ⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand on the day of judgment, nor the fishermen in the assembly of the righteous ⁶ For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, but the way of sinners leads to ruin.

Psalm 2

¹ Why do the nations rage and why do the peoples devise vain plans? ² The kings of the earth rise up and the princes take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed. ³ "Let us break their bonds," they say, "and cast away their chains.". ⁴ He who sits in the heavens smiles; the Lord mocks them. ⁵ Then he will speak to them in his anger and fury, and terrify them. ⁶ And I have installed my king on Zion, my holy mountain. ⁷ I will publish the decree: The Lord said to me: You are my Son, today I have begotten you. ⁸ Ask and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. ⁹ You will break them with an iron scepter, you will smash them to pieces like a potter's vessel. ¹⁰ And now, kings, be wise, receive warning, judges of the earth. ¹¹ Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. ¹² Embrace the Son, lest he be angry and you perish in your way, for soon his anger would be kindled; blessed are all who put their trust in him.

Psalm 3

¹ A song of David on the occasion of his flight from Absalom, his son. ² Lord, how many are my enemies! How many rise up against me!. ³ Many are saying about me, "He has no salvation from God." Sela. ⁴ But you, Lord, are my shield, you are my glory, and you lift up my head. ⁵ With my voice I cry out to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain. Sela. ⁶ I lay down and fell asleep, I woke up because the Lord is my support. ⁷ I am not afraid of the countless people who besiege me on all sides. ⁸ Arise, Lord. Save me, my God, for you strike all my enemies on the cheek. You break the teeth of the wicked. ⁹ Salvation belongs to the Lord. May your blessing be upon your people. Sela.

Psalm 4

¹ To the choirmaster, with stringed instruments, a psalm of David. ² When I call upon you, answer me, God of my justice, you who in my distress set me free. Have mercy on me and hear my prayer. ³ Sons of men, how long will my glory be insulted? How long will you love vanity and seek after lies? Sela. ⁴ Know that the Lord has chosen a pious man for himself; the Lord hears when I call upon him. ⁵ Tremble and sin no more. Speak to yourselves on your beds and cease. Sela. ⁶ Offer righteous sacrifices and trust in the Lord. ⁷ Many say: Who will show us happiness? Let the light of your face shine upon us, Lord. ⁸ You have put more joy in my heart than they have in the time when their wheat and new wine abound. ⁹ In peace I will lie down and sleep at once, for you, Lord, you alone, make me dwell in safety.

Psalm 5

¹ To the choirmaster, with flutes, a psalm of David. ² Give ear to my words, Lord, hear my sighs, ³ Hear my cries, O my King and my God, for it is to you that I address my prayer. ⁴ Lord, from the morning you hear my voice, from the morning I prepare my requests and I wait. ⁵ For you are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; the wicked cannot dwell with you. ⁶ The foolish cannot stand before your eyes; you hate all the workers of iniquity. ⁷ You destroy the liars. The Lord abhors the bloodthirsty and deceitful man. ⁸ For me, by your great mercy, I will go into your house, I will bow down in fear of you, before your holy temple. ⁹ Lord, lead me in your righteousness; because of my enemies, make your way straight beneath me. ¹⁰ because there is no sincerity in their mouths, their hearts are full of malice, their throats are open tombs, and their tongues are caressing. ¹¹ Punish them, O God, that they may fail in their plans. Because of their countless sins, cast them down, for they are in revolt against you. ¹² Then all who trust in you will rejoice; they will be filled with perpetual joy, and you will protect them; those who love your name will be filled with joyful delight. ¹³ For you bless the righteous, Lord, you surround them with favor as with a shield.

Psalm 6

¹ To the choirmaster, with stringed instruments, at the octave, a psalm of David. ² Lord, do not punish me in your anger, nor chastise me in your fury. ³ Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am weak; heal me, Lord, for my bones are trembling. ⁴ My soul is in extreme turmoil, and you, Lord, how long? ⁵ Return, Lord, deliver my soul, save me because of your mercy. ⁶ For he who dies no longer remembers you; who will praise you in Sheol? ⁷ I am exhausted from moaning, every night my bed is soaked with my tears, my bed is drenched with my crying. ⁸ My eye is consumed by grief, it has aged because of all those who persecute me. ⁹ Depart from me, all you who do evil, for the Lord has heard the voice of my tears., ¹⁰ The Lord has heard my supplication, the Lord accepts my prayer. ¹¹ All my enemies will be confounded and seized with terror; they will retreat, suddenly covered in shame.

Psalm 7

¹ A dithyramb of David, which he sang to the Lord on the occasion of the words of Cush the Benjamite. ² Lord, my God, in you I trust, save me from all my persecutors and deliver me ³ lest he tear me apart, like a lion, devour his prey, with no one to snatch it away from him. ⁴ Lord, my God, if I have done this, if there is iniquity in my hands, ⁵ If I have repaid evil to those who are at peace with me, if I have plundered those who oppress me without cause, ⁶ Let the enemy pursue me and overtake me, let him trample my life to the ground, let him lay my glory in the dust. ⁷ Arise, Lord, in your anger; come against the fury of my adversaries; awake to my aid, you who decree judgment. ⁸ Let the assembly of the peoples surround you. Then, rising above it, ascend to the heights. ⁹ The Lord judges the peoples: grant me justice, Lord, according to my right and my innocence. ¹⁰ Put an end to the malice of the wicked and strengthen the righteous, you who search hearts and minds, O righteous God. ¹¹ My shield is in God, who saves the upright in heart. ¹² God is a just judge; every day, the Almighty makes his threats heard. ¹³ Indeed, once again he sharpens his sword, he strings his bow and he aims, ¹⁴ He directs deadly arrows at him, he makes his arrows burning hot. ¹⁵ Here is the wicked one, in the labor of iniquity: he conceives evil and gives birth to lies. ¹⁶ He opens a pit, he digs it, and he falls into the abyss he was preparing. ¹⁷ His iniquity falls back upon his own head, and his violence descends upon his brow. ¹⁸ I will praise the Lord for his justice; I will sing the name of the Lord Most High.

Psalm 8

¹ To the choirmaster, according to the Gittite, a song of David. ² Lord, our God, how glorious is your name throughout the earth. You who have clothed the heavens with your majesty. ³ Through the mouths of children and infants, you have established power to confound your enemies, to silence the adversary and the blasphemer. ⁴ When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars that you have created, I exclaim: ⁵ What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? ⁶ You made him a little lower than God, and crowned him with glory and honor. ⁷ You gave him dominion over the works of your hands; you put all things under his feet: ⁸ Sheep and oxen, all together, and the animals of the field, ⁹ Birds of the sky and fish of the sea and all that travels the paths of the seas. ¹⁰ Lord, our God, how glorious is your name throughout the earth.

Psalm 9 A

¹ To the choirmaster, to the tune of Death to the Son, a psalm of David. ² I will praise the Lord with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful things. ³ I will rejoice and exult in you, I will sing your name, O Most High. ⁴ My enemies retreat, they stumble and fall before your face ⁵ for you have upheld my right and my cause, you have sat on your throne as a righteous judge. ⁶ You have punished the nations, you have destroyed the wicked, you have blotted out their name forever and ever. ⁷ The enemy is annihilated. Ruins forever. The memory of the cities you overthrew has vanished. ⁸ But the Lord sits forever; he has set up his throne for judgment. ⁹ He judges the world with justice, he judges the peoples with righteousness. ¹⁰ And the Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of distress. ¹¹ In you all those who know your name trust, for you do not forsake those who seek you, Lord. ¹² Sing to the Lord who dwells in Zion, proclaim among the peoples his mighty deeds. ¹³ For he who demands retribution for shed blood has remembered it; he has not forgotten the cry of the afflicted. ¹⁴ "Have mercy on me, Lord," they said, "see the affliction to which my enemies have reduced me, you who deliver me from the gates of death,", ¹⁵ so that I may recount all the praises, at the gates of the daughter of Zion, exulting in your salvation. ¹⁶ The nations have fallen into the pit they dug; their foot has been caught in the snare they hid. ¹⁷ The Lord has shown himself, he has executed judgment; in the work of his hands, he has ensnared the wicked. Higgaion. Sela. ¹⁸ The wicked return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God. ¹⁹ For the unfortunate are not always forgotten, the hope of the afflicted does not perish forever. ²⁰ Arise, Lord, let not man triumph. Let the nations be judged before your face. ²¹ Spread terror upon them, Lord, so that the peoples may know that they are men. Sela.

Hebrew Psalm No. 10

(No. 9B in the Vulgate)

¹ Why, Lord, do you stand far away and hide yourself in times of distress? ² When the wicked become proud, the unfortunate are consumed; they are caught in the schemes he has devised. ³ For the wicked boast of their covetousness, the accursed thief despises the Lord. ⁴ In his arrogance, the wicked man says: He does not punish, there is no God: these are all his thoughts. ⁵ His ways are prosperous at all times. Your judgments are too high for him to worry about; all his adversaries he dispels with a breath. ⁶ He said in his heart: I will not be shaken, I am forever safe from misfortune. ⁷ His mouth is full of cursing, deceit, and violence; under his tongue are malice and iniquity. ⁸ He lies in ambush near hamlets, in sheltered places, he murders the innocent. His eyes spy on the defenseless man, ⁹ He lies in wait in the covered place, like a lion in its thicket, he lies in wait to surprise the poor, he seizes the poor by pulling him into his net. ¹⁰ He bends down, he stoops, and the unfortunate fall into his claws. ¹¹ He says in his heart: God has forgotten, he has covered his face, he never sees anything. ¹² Arise, O Lord, O God, lift up your hand. Do not forget the afflicted. ¹³ Why does the wicked man despise God? Why does he say in his heart, “You do not punish”? ¹⁴ Yet you have seen, for you look upon pain and suffering, to take up their cause. To you the unfortunate surrender themselves, to the orphan you come to the aid of the orphan. ¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked, the impious one; if you seek his crime, will you not find it? ¹⁶ The Lord is king forever and for eternity; the nations will be exterminated from his land. ¹⁷ You have heard the desire of the afflicted, Lord; you have strengthened their hearts; you have listened attentively., ¹⁸ to do justice to the orphan and the oppressed so that man, taken from the earth, may cease to inspire terror.

Hebrew Psalm No. 11

(No. 10 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, of David. In the Lord I trust, how can you say to my soul: Flee to your mountain, like a bird. ² For behold, the wicked bend their bow, they have fitted their arrow to the string, to shoot in the shadows at men of upright heart. ³ When the foundations are overturned, what can the righteous do? ⁴ The Lord in his holy temple, the Lord, whose throne is in heaven, has his eyes open, his eyelids search the children of men. ⁵ The Lord tests the righteous, but he hates the wicked and those who delight in violence. ⁶ He will rain down on the wicked traps, fire and brimstone, a scorching wind; this is the cup they will be divided against them. ⁷ For the Lord is righteous, he loves justice. The upright will behold his face.

Hebrew Psalm No. 12

(No. 11 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, on the octave, a song of David. ² Save us, Lord, for the pious are passing away, the faithful are disappearing from among the children of men. ³ We tell lies to each other, we speak with flattering lips and a double heart. ⁴ May the Lord cut off all flattering lips, the tongue that speaks with pride, ⁵ Those who say: "By our tongue we are strong, we have our lips with us: who is our master?" ⁶ Because of the oppression of the afflicted, because of the groaning of the poor, I will now arise, says the Lord, I will bring them the salvation for which they yearn. ⁷ The words of the Lord are pure words, like silver melted in a crucible on the earth, purified seven times. ⁸ You, Lord, will keep them, you will preserve them forever from this generation. ⁹ Around them the wicked walk arrogantly: the higher they rise, the more humiliated the children of men will be.

Hebrew Psalm No. 13

(No. 12 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a song of David. ² How long, Lord, will you always forget me? How long will you hide your face from me? ³ How long will I form plans in my soul and sorrow fill my heart every day? How long will my enemy rise up against me? ⁴ Look, answer me, Lord, my God, give light to my eyes, so that I may not sleep in death, ⁵ so that my enemy may not say: I have defeated him, and so that my adversaries may not rejoice when they see me falter. ⁶ I trust in your goodness; my heart will rejoice in your salvation; I will sing to the Lord for the good he has done for me.

Hebrew Psalm No. 14

(No. 13 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, of David. The fool says in his heart, “There is no God. They are corrupt, they commit abominable acts; there is no one who does good.”. ² The Lord looks down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there is anyone who is wise, anyone who seeks God. ³ They are all astray, they are all corrupted together; there is not one who does good, not a single one ⁴ Do not all those who commit iniquity have knowledge? They devour my people as they eat bread; they do not call upon the Lord. ⁵ They will suddenly tremble with terror because God is in the midst of the righteous race. ⁶ You want to confound the plans of the unfortunate, but the Lord is his refuge. ⁷ Oh, may deliverance for Israel come from Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, Jacob will be in joy, Israel rejoices.

Hebrew Psalm No. 15

(No. 14 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of David. Lord, who may dwell in your tent? Who may abide on your holy mountain? ² He who walks in innocence, who practices justice, and who speaks the truth in his heart. ³ He does not slander with his tongue, he does not harm his brother, and he does not cast shame upon his neighbor. ⁴ In his eyes the reprobate is worthy of shame, but he honors those who fear the Lord. If he has sworn to his own detriment, he does not change it. ⁵ He does not lend his money at interest and he does not accept a bribe against the innocent: he who behaves thus will never be shaken.

Hebrew Psalm No. 16

(No. 15 in the Vulgate)

¹ A hymn of David. Keep me safe, O God, for in you I take refuge. ² I say to the Lord: You are my Lord, you alone are my possession. ³ The saints who are in the country, these illustrious ones, are the object of all my affection. ⁴ They multiply idols, they run after foreign gods, I will not pour out their libations of blood, I will not put their names on my lips. ⁵ The Lord is my portion and my cup; you are the one who secures my lot. ⁶ The measuring line has measured out a delicious portion for me, yes, a splendid inheritance is granted to me. ⁷ I bless the Lord who has given me counsel; even at night my loins warn me. ⁸ I keep the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand: I shall not be shaken. ⁹ So my heart is in joy, My soul rejoices, and my body rests securely. ¹⁰ For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, you will not allow him who loves you to see corruption. ¹¹ You will show me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Hebrew Psalm No. 17

(No. 16 in the Vulgate)

¹ David's Prayer. Lord, hear my plea for justice; listen to my cry; incline your ear to my prayer, which is not uttered by deceitful lips. ² Let my judgment come out of your face; let your eyes behold justice. ³ You have tested my heart, you have visited it by night, you have put me in the crucible: you find nothing. My mouth is not at odds with my thoughts. ⁴ As for the actions of man, faithful to the word of your lips, I have heeded the ways of the violent. ⁵ My steps have clung to your paths and my feet have not faltered. I call upon you, for you answer me, O God; incline your ear to me, hear my prayer. ⁷ Show your goodness, you who save those who take refuge in your right hand against their adversaries. ⁸ Keep me as the apple of your eye; shelter me in the shadow of your wings. ⁹ impious people who persecute me, deadly enemies who surround me. ¹⁰ They close their hearts to pity, and their mouths speak arrogantly. ¹¹ They are on our heels, they surround us, they spy on us to bring us down. ¹² They resemble the lion eager to devour, the lion cub camped in its thicket. ¹³ Arise, Lord, go out to meet him, strike him down, deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, ¹⁴ men by your hand, of these men of the world whose portion is in this present life, whose bellies you fill with your treasures, who are satisfied with sons and leave their surplus to their grandsons. ¹⁵ For me, in my innocence, I will gaze upon your face; when I awaken, I will be satiated with your face.

Hebrew Psalm No. 18

(No. 17 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of the servant of the Lord, of David, who addressed to the Lord the words of this song, on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies and from the hand of Saul. ² He said: I love you, Lord, my strength. ³ Lord, my rock, my fortress, my deliverer, my God, my rock in whom I find refuge, my shield, the horn of my salvation, my citadel. ⁴ I called upon the one worthy of praise, the Lord, and I was delivered from my enemies. ⁵ The cords of death surrounded me, the torrents of Belial terrified me, the bonds of Sheol entangled me, the snares of death had fallen before me. ⁷ In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried to my God; from his temple he heard my voice, and my cry before him reached his ears. ⁸ The earth shook and quaked, the foundations of the mountains shook and were shaken, because he was angry. ⁹ Smoke rose from his nostrils and a devouring fire came out of his mouth, from which blazing coals sprang. ¹⁰ He lowered the heavens and descended; a dark cloud was under his feet. ¹¹ He climbed onto a cherub and he flew, he soared on the wings of the wind. ¹² He made darkness his refuge, his tent around him; it was dark waters and gloomy clouds. ¹³ From the brightness that preceded it sprang forth its clouds, bearing hail and burning coals. ¹⁴ The Lord thundered from heaven, the Most High uttered his voice: hail and burning coals. ¹⁵ He launched his arrows and scattered them, he multiplied his thunderbolts and confounded them. ¹⁶ Then the bed of the waters appeared, the foundations of the earth were laid bare, at your rebuke, Lord, at the breath of the wind from your nostrils. ¹⁷ He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of the deep waters. ¹⁸ He delivered me from my powerful enemy, from those who hated me, even though they were stronger than me. ¹⁹ They had surprised me in the day of my misfortune, but the Lord was my support. ²⁰ He set me free, he saved me, because he took pleasure in me. ²¹ The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness; he has repaid me according to the cleanness of my hands. ²² For I have kept the ways of the Lord and have not sinned, to stray from my God. ²³ All his judgments were before me, and I did not cast his laws aside. ²⁴ I was blameless towards him, and I kept myself from my iniquity. ²⁵ The Lord has rewarded me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his sight. ²⁶ With a good person you show yourself good, with an upright person you show yourself upright, ²⁷ With the pure, you show yourself to be pure, and with the deceitful you act treacherously. ²⁸ For you save the humbled people and you humble the proud. ²⁹ Yes, you make my torch shine. Lord, my God, illuminate my darkness. ³⁰ With you I rush upon the armed battalions, with my God, I leap over the walls. ³¹ God, his ways are perfect, the word of the Lord is tried and true; he is a shield for all who trust in him. ³² For who is God except the Lord, and who is a rock except our God? ³³ The God who arms me with strength, who makes my way perfect, ³⁴ which makes my feet like those of deer and enables me to stand upright on my heights, ³⁵ which trains my hands for battle and my arms to draw the bronze bow. ³⁶ You have given me the shield of your salvation, and your right hand sustains me, and your gentleness makes me grow. ³⁷ You widen my step beneath me, and my feet do not falter. ³⁸ I pursue my enemies and I overtake them; I do not return until I have annihilated them. ³⁹ I break them and they do not rise again. They fall beneath my feet. ⁴⁰ You gird me with strength for battle, you make my adversaries bow beneath me. ⁴¹ You make my enemies turn their backs on me, and I will exterminate those who hate me. ⁴² They cry out, but there is no one to save them. They cry out to the Lord, but he does not answer them. ⁴³ I crush them like dust blown by the wind, I sweep them away like mud from the streets. ⁴⁴ You deliver me from the revolts of the people, you place me at the head of the nations, peoples I did not know are enslaved to me. ⁴⁵ As soon as they heard, they obeyed me; the sons of foreigners flattered me. ⁴⁶ The sons of foreigners are failing; they are trembling as they emerge from their fortresses. ⁴⁷ Long live the Lord, and blessed be my rock. May the God of my salvation be exalted!, ⁴⁸ God, who grants me vengeance, who subdues peoples under me, ⁴⁹ who delivers me from my enemies. Yes, you lift me up above my adversaries, you save me from the man of violence. ⁵⁰ Therefore I will praise you among the nations, O Lord, I will sing to the glory of your name ⁵¹ He grants glorious deliverances to his king, he shows mercy to his anointed, to David and to his descendants forever.

Hebrew Psalm No. 19

(No. 18 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a song of David. ² The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament proclaims the work of his hands. ³ The day cries out praise to the day, the night teaches it to the night. ⁴ This is not a language, these are not words whose voice is not heard. ⁵ Their sound travels throughout the earth, their accents reach the ends of the world. It is there that he has pitched a tent for the sun. ⁶ And he, like the bridegroom leaving the bridal chamber, rushes forth joyfully, like a hero, to fulfill his career. ⁷ It starts at one end of the sky and its course ends at the other end: nothing escapes its heat. ⁸ The law of the Lord is perfect, restoring the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, giving wisdom to the simple. ⁹ The Lord's ordinances are right, they gladden the hearts. The Lord's precept is pure, it enlightens the eyes. ¹⁰ The fear of the Lord is holy, it endures forever. The decrees of the Lord are true, they are all just. ¹¹ They are more precious than gold, than much fine gold, sweeter than honey, than that which drips from the honeycomb. ¹² Your servant is also enlightened by them; great is the reward for those who observe them. ¹³ Who knows his own failings? Forgive me those I am unaware of. ¹⁴ Also, preserve your servant from the proud, that they may not rule over me, then I shall be perfect and pure from great sins. ¹⁵ Accept with favor the words of my mouth and the sentiments of my heart, before you, Lord, my rock and my deliverer.

Hebrew Psalm No. 20

(No. 19 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of David. ² May the Lord answer you in the day of distress; may the name of the God of Jacob protect you. ³ May he send you help from the sanctuary, and may he uphold you from Zion. ⁴ May he remember all your offerings and accept your burnt offerings. Selah. ⁵ May He give you what your heart desires and accomplish all your plans. ⁶ May we, with joyful cries, greet your victory, and raise the banner in the name of our God. May the Lord grant all your wishes. ⁷ I already know that the Lord has saved his Anointed, he will answer him from heaven, his holy dwelling place, by the mighty help of his right hand. ⁸ Some rely on their chariots, some on their horses, but we call on the name of the Lord our God. ⁹ They bend and fall, we get up and stand firm. ¹⁰ Lord, save the king, that he may answer us on the day we call upon him.

Hebrew Psalm No. 21

(No. 20 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of David. ² Lord, the king rejoices in your strength, as your help fills him with gladness. ³ You gave her what her heart desired, you did not refuse what her lips asked for. Sela. ⁴ For you have bestowed exquisite blessings upon him; you have placed upon his head a crown of pure gold. ⁵ He asked you for life, you gave it to him, long days forever and in perpetuity. ⁶ His glory is great thanks to your help; you bestow upon him splendor and magnificence. ⁷ You make him a blessing forever, you fill him with joy in your presence ⁸ because the king trusts in the Lord and by kindness He does not waver from the Most High. ⁹ Your hand, O king, will reach all your enemies, your right hand will reach those who hate you. ¹⁰ You will make them like a blazing furnace; on the day you show your face, the Lord will destroy them in his anger, and fire will devour them. ¹¹ You will wipe from the earth their descendants and their race from among the children of men. ¹² They have prepared ruin for you; they have devised wicked plans, but they will be powerless. ¹³ for you will make them turn their backs, and you will aim your arrows at their foreheads. ¹⁴ Arise, Lord, in your strength. We want to sing and celebrate your power.

Hebrew Psalm No. 22

(No. 21 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, on the tune of "The Doe of the Dawn," a psalm of David. ² My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? I groan, and salvation remains far from me. ³ My God, I cry out during the day and you do not answer, at night and I have no rest. ⁴ Yet you are holy, you dwell among the hymns of Israel. ⁵ In you our fathers trusted, they trusted and you delivered them. ⁶ They cried out to you and were saved; they trusted in you and were not put to shame. ⁷ But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by men and despised by the people. ⁸ Everyone who sees me mocks me, they open their lips, they nod their heads. ⁹ Let him surrender to the Lord, let him save him, let him deliver him since he loves him. ¹⁰ Yes, it was you who took me from my mother's breast, who gave me confidence in my mother's breasts. ¹¹ From my birth I was abandoned to you; from my mother's womb you are my God. ¹² Do not leave me, for anguish is near, for no one comes to my aid. ¹³ Many bulls surround me, and the forts of Bashan encircle me. ¹⁴ They open their mouths against me, like a lion tearing and roaring. ¹⁵ I am poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint, my heart is like wax, it melts within me. ¹⁶ My strength has dried up like a shard of clay and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth; you lay me in the dust of death. ¹⁷ For dogs surround me, a band of villains prowl around me; they have pierced my feet and my hands, ¹⁸ I could count all my bones. They watch me, they gaze at me, ¹⁹ They divide my clothes among themselves, they draw lots for my tunic. ²⁰ And you, Lord, do not turn away. You who are my strength, come quickly to my aid. ²¹ Deliver my soul from the sword, my life from the power of the dog. ²² Save me from the lion's mouth, pull me from the buffalo's horns. ²³ Then I will declare your name to my brothers, in the midst of the assembly, I will praise you: ²⁴ «You who fear the Lord, praise him. All you descendants of Jacob, glorify him. Revere him, all you descendants of Israel.”. ²⁵ For he did not despise, he did not reject the suffering of the afflicted, he did not hide his face from him, and when the afflicted cried out to him, he heard. ²⁶ Thanks to you, my hymn will resound in the great assembly, I will fulfill my vows in the presence of those who fear you. ²⁷ The afflicted will eat and be satisfied; those who seek the Lord will praise him. May your hearts live forevermore. ²⁸ All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him. ²⁹ For the kingdom belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. ³⁰ The mighty of the earth will eat and worship him; before him will all who go down to the dust, those who cannot prolong their lives. ³¹ Posterity will serve him, and the Lord will be spoken of to future generations. ³² They will come and proclaim his righteousness to the people yet to be born, telling them what he has done.

Hebrew Psalm No. 23

(No. 22 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. ² He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside refreshing waters, ³ He restores my soul. He leads me in the right paths for his name's sake. ⁴ Even when I walk through a valley of deadly shadow, I fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff reassure me. ⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. ⁶ Yes, goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Hebrew Psalm No. 24

(No. 23 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of David. The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. ² For it is he who founded it upon the seas, who established it upon the rivers. ³ Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? ⁴ He who has innocent hands and a pure heart, he who does not give his soul to falsehood and does not swear to deceive. ⁵ He will receive the blessing of the Lord, the righteousness of the God of his salvation. ⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek him, of those who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Sela. ⁷ Gates, lift up your lintels, lift up yourselves ancient gates, that the King of glory may enter. ⁸ Who is this King of glory? The strong and mighty Lord, the Lord mighty in battle. ⁹ Gates, lift up your lintels, lift up yourselves ancient gates, that the King of glory may enter. ¹⁰ Who is this King of glory? The Lord God of the universe, that is the King of glory. Sela.

Hebrew Psalm No. 25

(No. 24 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of David. ALEPH. To you, Lord, I lift up my soul, my God. ² BETH. In you I trust: let me not be put to shame. Let not my enemies rejoice over me. ³ GHIMEL. No, none of those who hope in you will be put to shame; those who are faithless without cause will be put to shame. ⁴ DALETH. Lord, make me know your ways, teach me your paths. ⁵ HEY. Lead me in your truth, VAV. and instruct me, for you are the God of my salvation; all day long I hope in you. ⁶ ZAÏN. Remember your mercy, Lord, and your goodness, for they are eternal. ⁷ HETH. Do not remember the sins of my youth nor my transgressions; remember me according to your mercy, because of your goodness, O Lord, ⁸ TETH. The Lord is good and upright; therefore he shows sinners the way. ⁹ YOD. He leads the humble in righteousness, he teaches the humble his way. ¹⁰ CAPH. All the paths of the Lord are mercy and faithfulness, for those who keep his covenant and his commandments. ¹¹ LAMED. Because of your name, Lord, you will forgive my iniquity, for it is great. ¹² MEM. Who is the man who fears the Lord? The Lord shows him the way he should choose. ¹³ NUN. His soul rests in happiness and his posterity will possess the land. ¹⁴ SAMECH. The Lord's intimacy is for those who fear him; he makes known to them the blessings of his covenant. ¹⁵ AÏN. My eyes are constantly turned towards the Lord because it is he who will pull my feet from the snare. ¹⁶ PHE. Look at me and have pity on me, for I am abandoned and unhappy. ¹⁷ TSADÉ. The anguish of my heart has increased, deliver me from my distress. ¹⁸ See my misery and my pain and forgive all my sins. ¹⁹ RESCH. See how numerous my enemies are and what violent hatred they have against me. ²⁰ SCHIN. Guard my soul and save me. Let me not be put to shame, for I have placed my trust in you. ²¹ THAV. May innocence and righteousness protect me, for I place my hope in you. ²² O God, deliver Israel from all its troubles.

Hebrew Psalm No. 26

(No. 25 in the Vulgate)

¹ Of David. Vindicate me, Lord, for I have walked without faltering. I trust in the Lord; I shall not be shaken. ² Test me, Lord, and examine me; test my mind and my heart. ³ for your mercy is before my eyes and I walk in your truth. ⁴ I have not sat with men of lies, I do not associate with men of deceit., ⁵ I hate the assembly of those who do evil; I do not sit with the wicked. ⁶ I wash my hands in innocence and I surround your altar, Lord, ⁷ to raise a voice of praise and recount all your wonders. ⁸ Lord, I love the dwelling place of your house, the place where your glory resides. ⁹ Do not take away my soul with that of sinners, my life with that of bloodthirsty men ¹⁰ who have crime in their hands and whose right wing is full of bribes. ¹¹ As for me, I walk in my innocence: deliver me and have mercy on me. ¹² My foot stands on level ground: I will bless the Lord in the assemblies.

Hebrew Psalm No. 27

(No. 26 in the Vulgate)

¹ Of David. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? ² When wicked men advanced against me to devour my flesh, when my adversaries and enemies advanced, it was they who stumbled and fell. ³ Though an army come encamped against me, my heart will not fear; though battle be joined against me, then I will have confidence. ⁴ One thing I ask of the Lord, this is what I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to enjoy the graces of the Lord, to behold his sanctuary. ⁵ For he will shelter me in his dwelling in the day of adversity, he will hide me in the secret of his tent, he will establish me upon a rock. ⁶ Then my head will be lifted up above the enemies around me. I will offer sacrifices of thanksgiving in his tabernacle, and I will sing and make hymns to the Lord. ⁷ Lord, hear my voice, I call upon you, have mercy on me and answer me. ⁸ My heart says on your behalf: «Seek my face,» I seek your face, Lord. ⁹ Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you are my help; do not forsake me or abandon me, God of my salvation. ¹⁰ For my father and mother have abandoned me, but the Lord will receive me. ¹¹ Lord, teach me your way, lead me in a straight path, because of those who spy on me. ¹² Do not deliver me to the fury of my adversaries, for against me rise witnesses of lies and people who breathe only violence. ¹³ Ah, if I didn't think I saw kindness of the Lord, in the land of the living. ¹⁴ Hope in the Lord. Be courageous and let your heart be steadfast. Hope in the Lord.

Hebrew Psalm No. 28

(No. 27 in the Vulgate)

¹ Of David. To you, Lord, I cry out; my rock, do not remain deaf to my voice, lest, if you keep silent, I should be like those who go down to the pit. ² Hear the voice of my supplications, when I cry out to you, when I lift my hands toward your holy sanctuary. ³ Do not drag me away with the wicked and the workers of iniquity, who speak peace to their neighbors but have malice in their hearts. ⁴ Repay them according to their deeds and according to the malice of their actions, repay them according to the work of their hands, give them the reward they deserve. ⁵ For they do not heed the works of the Lord; he will destroy the work of his hands and will not build them up. ⁶ Blessed be the Lord, for he has heard the voice of my supplications. ⁷ The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him. I have been helped, therefore my heart rejoices, and I will praise him with my songs. ⁸ The Lord is the strength of his people; he is a fortress of salvation for his Anointed One. ⁹ Save your people and bless your heritage. Be their shepherd and carry them forever.

Hebrew Psalm No. 29

(No. 28 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of David. Give to the Lord, O Son of God, give to the Lord glory and power. ² Give to the Lord the glory due his name. Worship the Lord in holy attire. ³ The voice of the Lord roars over the waters, the God of glory thunders, the Lord is upon the great waters. ⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful, the voice of the Lord is majestic. ⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars, the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon, ⁶ He makes them leap like a young bull, the Lebanon and Sirion like the calf of the buffalo. ⁷ The voice of the Lord brings forth flames of fire, ⁸ The voice of the Lord shakes the desert, the Lord shakes the desert of Kadesh. ⁹ The voice of the Lord makes the deer give birth, it strips the forests of their leaves, and in his temple all cry out: "Glory!"« ¹⁰ The Lord, at the flood, is seated on his throne, the Lord sits on his throne, king forever. ¹¹ The Lord will give strength to his people; the Lord will bless his people by giving them peace.

Hebrew Psalm No. 30

(No. 29 in the Vulgate)

¹ Psalm. A song for the dedication of the house, of David. ² I will exalt you, Lord, for you have lifted me up; you have not given joy to my enemies over me. ³ Lord, my God, I cried out to you and you healed me. ⁴ Lord, you have brought my soul up from Sheol, you have given me life, far from those who go down to the pit. ⁵ Sing to the Lord, you his faithful, celebrate his holy memory ⁶ For his anger lasts only a moment, but his grace lasts a lifetime; weeping may come at night, but joy comes in the morning. ⁷ I told myself, in my sense of security: "I will never be shaken."« ⁸ Lord, by your grace you had established my mountain, you hid your face and I was troubled. ⁹ Lord, I have cried out to you, I have implored the Lord: ¹⁰ «"What do you gain by shedding my blood, by sending me down to the pit? Will the dust sing your praises, will it proclaim your truth?" ¹¹ Listen, Lord, be merciful to me; Lord, come to my aid.» ¹² And you have turned my mourning into joy, you have taken off my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness ¹³ so that my soul may sing to you and not be silent. Lord, my God, I will praise you forever.

Hebrew Psalm No. 31

(No. 30 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of David. ² Lord, in you I have placed my refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your righteousness, save me. ³ Incline your ear to me, hasten to deliver me. Be for me a protective rock, a fortress where I find my salvation. ⁴ For you are my rock, my fortress, and because of your name you will lead me and guide me. ⁵ You will pull me out of the net they have set for me because you are my defense. ⁶ Into your hands I commit my spirit; you will deliver me, Lord, God of truth. ⁷ I hate those who worship worthless idols. As for me, I trust in the Lord. ⁸ I will rejoice and be glad because of your goodness, for you have looked upon my affliction, you have seen the anguish of my soul ⁹ And you did not deliver me into the hands of the enemy, you gave my feet free space. ¹⁰ Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eye is worn out with grief, as are my soul and my bowels. ¹¹ My life is consumed in pain and my years in groaning; my strength is spent because of my iniquity, and my bones waste away. ¹² All my adversaries have made me an object of reproach, a burden to my neighbors, an object of dread to my friends. Those who see me outside flee from me. ¹³ I am forgotten, like a dead man, far from hearts, I am like a broken vase ¹⁴ for I have heard the evil talk of the crowd, the terror that reigns all around, while they take counsel against me: they plot to take my life. ¹⁵ And I trust in you, Lord; I say, «You are my God.» ¹⁶ My destiny is in your hand, deliver me from the hand of my enemies and my persecutors. ¹⁷ Let your face shine upon your servant; save me by your grace. ¹⁸ Lord, let me not be put to shame when I call upon you. Let the wicked be put to shame. Let them descend silently to Sheol. ¹⁹ May the lying lips that speak arrogantly against the righteous, with pride and contempt, be silenced. ²⁰ How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you show to those who take refuge in you, in the sight of the children of men. ²¹ You shelter them in the sanctuary of your face, from the machinations of men; you hide them in your tent, safe from the tongues that attack them. ²² Blessed be the Lord, for he has shown his grace toward me, by placing me in a fortified city. ²³ In my distress I said, "I am cast out from your sight." But you heard the voice of my supplications when I cried out to you. ²⁴ Love the Lord, all you who are devout toward him. The Lord protects the faithful and severely punishes the proud. ²⁵ Be courageous and let your hearts be strong, all you who hope in the Lord.

Hebrew Psalm No. 32

(No. 31 in the Vulgate)

¹ Of David. A pious meditation. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is pardoned. ² Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. ³ As long as I remained silent, my bones were consumed by my groaning each day. ⁴ For day and night your hand weighed heavily upon me, the sap of my life withered in the heat of summer. Sela. ⁵ I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not hide my iniquity; I said, «I confess my transgressions to the Lord,» and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. ⁶ Let every devout person pray to you in the time of favor. No, when the great waters rise, they will not reach him. ⁷ You are my refuge, you will protect me from distress, you will surround me with songs of deliverance. Sela. ⁸ «I will instruct you and show you the way you should follow; I will be your counselor, my eye will be upon you.» ⁹ Don't be like the unintelligent horse or mule; you must govern them with the bit and the bridle, otherwise they will not obey. ¹⁰ Many sorrows are the portion of the wicked, but he who trusts in the Lord is surrounded by his grace. ¹¹ Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones, and be glad. Shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Hebrew Psalm No. 33

(No. 32 in the Vulgate)

¹ Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones. Praise befits the upright. ² Praise the Lord with the harp, sing to him on the ten-stringed lute. ³ Sing a new hymn to his glory, artfully unite your instruments and voices ⁴ for the word of the Lord is right, and all his works are accomplished in loyalty. ⁵ He loves justice and righteousness; the earth is filled with kindness of the Lord. ⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and all their host by the breath of his mouth. ⁷ He gathers the waters of the sea into a heap, and puts the waves of the deep into storehouses. ⁸ Let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the universe tremble before him. ⁹ For he spoke and it was done, he commanded and it came to be. ¹⁰ The Lord thwarts the plans of the nations; he frustrates the thoughts of the peoples. ¹¹ But the plans of the Lord stand forever, and the thoughts of his heart throughout all generations. ¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, blessed is the people he has chosen for his inheritance. ¹³ From heaven the Lord looks down; he sees all the children of men, ¹⁴ From his dwelling place, he observes all the inhabitants of the earth., ¹⁵ He who shapes their hearts, who is attentive to all their actions. ¹⁶ It is not the number of soldiers that gives the king victory, it is not great strength that makes the warrior triumph. ¹⁷ The horse is powerless to bring salvation, and all its strength does not guarantee deliverance. ¹⁸ The eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his goodness., ¹⁹ to deliver their souls from death and to enable them to live in times of famine. ²⁰ Our soul waits with confidence for the Lord; he is our help and our shield., ²¹ for in him our heart finds its joy, for in his holy name we place our trust. ²² Lord, may your grace be upon us as we hope in you.

Hebrew Psalm No. 34

(No. 33 in the Vulgate)

¹ Of David when he pretended to be insane in the presence of Abimelech and, driven out by him, went away. ² ALEPH. I want to bless the Lord at all times; his praise will always be on my lips. ³ BETH. In the Lord my soul will boast: let the humble hear and rejoice. ⁴  GHIMEL. Exalt the Lord with me, let us celebrate his name together. ⁵ DALETH. I sought the Lord and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears. ⁶ HEY. When we look to him, we are radiant with joy, VAV. And our faces are not covered with shame. ⁷  ZAÏN. This poor man cried out and the Lord heard him and saved him from all his anguish. ⁸ HETH. The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he saves them. ⁹ TETH. Taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. ¹⁰ YOD. Fear the Lord, you his saints, for there is no want for those who fear him. ¹¹ CAPH. Lion cubs can experience famine and hunger But those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. ¹² LAMED. Come, my sons, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. ¹³ MEM. What kind of man loves life, who desires long days to enjoy happiness? ¹⁴ NUN. Keep your tongue from evil and your lips from deceitful speech, ¹⁵ SAMECH. Turn away from evil and do good, search peace and pursue it. ¹⁶ AIN. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their cries. ¹⁷ PHE. The face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to cut off their memory from the earth. ¹⁸ TSADÉ. The righteous cry out and the Lord hears them and delivers them from all their distress. ¹⁹ QOPH. The Lord is near to the brokenhearted, he saves those who are crushed in spirit. ²⁰ RESCH. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him from them all. ²¹ SCHIN. He keeps all his bones; not one of them will be broken. ²² THAV. Evil kills the wicked, and the enemies of the righteous are punished. ²³ The Lord delivers the souls of his servants, and all who take refuge in him are not punished.

Hebrew Psalm No. 35

(No. 34 in the Vulgate)

¹ Of David. Lord, fight against those who fight against me, do the war to those who make me the war. ² Take hold of the small and large shields and rise up to help me. ³ Draw your spear and bar the way of my persecutors; say to my soul: «I am your salvation.» ⁴ May those who seek my life be ashamed and confused, may those who plot my downfall be turned back and blush. ⁵ May they be like chaff before the wind, and may the angel of the Lord drive them away before him. ⁶ May their path be dark and slippery, and may the angel of the Lord pursue them. ⁷ For without cause they hid their net for my ruin, without cause they dug the pit to make me perish. ⁸ May ruin fall upon him unexpectedly; may the net he hid seize him, and may he fall into it and perish. ⁹ And my soul will have joy in the Lord, rejoicing in his salvation. ¹⁰ All my bones will say, «Lord, who is like you, delivering the afflicted from those stronger than them, the afflicted and the poor from those who plunder them?» ¹¹ Unjust witnesses are rising up; they accuse me of things I know nothing about. ¹² They repay me evil for good; my soul is in abandonment. ¹³ And I, when they were sick, would put on sackcloth, afflict my soul with fasting, and my prayer would return to my breast. ¹⁴ As if for a friend, for a brother, I dragged myself along slowly, as if mourning a mother, I bowed down in sadness. ¹⁵ And now that I am faltering, they rejoice and gather together; against me, slanderers gather without my knowledge; they tear me apart without ceasing. ¹⁶ Like foul parasites with mocking tongues, they gnash their teeth at me. ¹⁷ Lord, how long will you see him? Deliver my soul from their persecutions, my life from the fury of these lions. ¹⁸ I will praise you in the great assembly; I will extol you among a multitude. ¹⁹ Let not those who attack me without cause rejoice over me. Let not those who hate me without cause blink their eyes. ²⁰ Because their language is not that of peace ; They are plotting treacherous schemes against the peaceful people of the country. ²¹ They open their mouths wide against me, they say: "Ah! Ah! Our eyes have seen…."« ²² Lord, you see it. Do not remain silent, Lord, do not turn away from me. ²³ Awake, rise up to do me justice, my God and my Lord, to take up my cause. ²⁴ Judge me according to your righteousness, Lord my God, and let them not rejoice over me. ²⁵ Let them not say in their hearts, "Our soul is satisfied," nor let them say, "We have swallowed it up."« ²⁶ May they be ashamed and confounded together, those who rejoice in my misfortune. May they be covered with shame and disgrace, those who rise up against me. ²⁷ Whether they are in joy And rejoice, those who desire the triumph of my right and who constantly say: «Glory to the Lord, who wills peace of his servant.» ²⁸ And my tongue will celebrate your righteousness, your praise all day long.

Hebrew Psalm No. 36

(No. 35 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, of David, servant of the Lord. ² Iniquity speaks to the wicked in the depths of their heart; the fear of God is not before their eyes. ³ For he flatters himself, under the divine gaze, doubting that God will ever discover his crime and hate him. ⁴ The words of his mouth are injustice and deceit; he has ceased to have understanding, to do good. ⁵ He plots iniquity on his bed; he stands in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil. ⁶ Lord, your goodness reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the clouds. ⁷ Your righteousness is like the mountains of God, your judgments are like the vast deep. Lord, you protect both people and animals: ⁸ How precious is your goodness, O God! In the shadow of your wings the children of men seek refuge. ⁹ They gorge themselves on the fat of your house, and you give them drink from the river of your delights. ¹⁰ For with you is the source of life, and in your light we see light. ¹¹ Continue your kindness to those who know you and your justice to those who have an upright heart. ¹² May the foot of the proud not reach me, and may the hand of the wicked not make me flee. ¹³ Fallen are those who commit iniquity. They are overthrown and cannot rise again.

Hebrew Psalm No. 37

(No. 36 in the Vulgate)

¹ Of David. ALEPH. Do not fret because of the wicked, nor envy those who do evil. ² For, like grass, they will soon be cut down; like the green of the lawn, they will wither. BETH. ³ Put your trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy his faithfulness. ⁴ Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. GHIMEL. ⁵ Commit your fate to the Lord and trust in him: he will act. ⁶ He will make your justice shine like the light, and your righteousness like the noonday sun. DALETH. ⁷ Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret because of him who prospers in his ways, because of the man who succeeds in his schemes. HE. ⁸ Leave behind anger, abandon fury; do not become irritated, for it only leads to harm. ⁹ For the wicked will be cut off, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land. VAV. ¹⁰ A little more time and the villain is no more; you look at his place and he has disappeared. ¹¹ But the meek will possess the earth; they will taste the delights of profound peace. ZAÏN. ¹² The wicked plot against the righteous, they gnash their teeth at them. ¹³ The Lord laughs at the wicked because he sees that their day is coming. HETH. ¹⁴ The wicked draw their swords, they bend their bows; to strike down the unfortunate and the poor, to slaughter those whose way is upright. ¹⁵ Their sword will pierce their own hearts and their bows will break. TETH. ¹⁶ Better is a little that a righteous person has than the abundance of many wicked people; ; ¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked will be broken, and the Lord upholds the righteous. YOD. ¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance endures forever. ¹⁹ They are not confounded in the day of adversity, and they are satisfied in the days of famine. CAPH. ²⁰ For the wicked perish; the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the meadows; they vanish like smoke, they vanish. LAMED. ²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay; the righteous are compassionate and give. ²² For those whom the Lord blesses will inherit the land, and those whom he curses will be cut off. MEM. ²³ The Lord makes firm the steps of the righteous man, and he delights in his way. ²⁴ If he falls, he will not lie prostrate on the ground, for the Lord upholds his hand. NUN. ²⁵ I was young, and now I am old, and I have not seen the righteous forsaken; nor his descendants begging for their bread. ²⁶ He is always compassionate and lends freely, and his descendants are a blessing. SAMECH. ²⁷ Turn away from evil and do good, and dwell forever in your home. ²⁸ For the Lord loves justice and does not forsake his faithful ones. They are always under his protection, but the offspring of the wicked will be cut off. ²⁹ The righteous will possess the land and dwell in it forever. PHEA. ³⁰ The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom, and his tongue proclaims justice. ³¹ The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not falter. TSADÉ. ³² The wicked man spies on the righteous man and seeks to kill him. ³³ The Lord does not abandon him in his hands, nor does he condemn him when his judgment comes. QOPH. ³⁴ Wait for the Lord and keep to his way, and he will exalt you, and you will possess the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it. RESCH. ³⁵ I saw the wicked man at the height of his power; he spread out like a green tree. ³⁶ I passed by, and behold, he was no more; I sought him, and he could not be found. SCHIN. ³⁷ Observe the one who is blameless and look to the one who is upright; for there is a future for the man of peace. ³⁸ But the rebels will all be annihilated, the posterity of the wicked will be cut off. THAV. ³⁹ From the Lord comes the salvation of the righteous; he is their protector in times of distress. ⁴⁰ The Lord comes to their aid and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them because they have put their trust in him.

Hebrew Psalm No. 38

(No. 37 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of David. In memorial. ² Lord, do not punish me in your anger, nor chastise me in your fury. ³ For your arrows have struck me, and your hand has come down heavily upon me. ⁴ There is nothing sound in my flesh because of your anger, there is nothing safe in my bones because of my sin. ⁵ For my iniquities have risen over my head like a heavy burden; they weigh me down with their weight. ⁶ My bruises are infected and purulent due to the effect of my madness. ⁷ I am bowed down, utterly defeated, all day long I walk in mourning. ⁸ A burning pain devours my kidneys, and there is nothing healthy in my flesh. ⁹ I am powerless, broken beyond measure, the turmoil in my heart tears groans from me. ¹⁰ Lord, all my desires are before you and my sighs are not hidden from you. ¹¹ My heart is pounding, my strength is leaving me, and even the light in my eyes is no longer with me. ¹² My friends and companions are moving away from my wound, and my relatives are keeping their distance. ¹³ Those who seek my life lay their traps, those who seek my downfall utter threats and all day long they plot snares. ¹⁴ And I am like a deaf person, I cannot hear, I am like a mute person, who does not open his mouth. ¹⁵ I am like a man who cannot hear and in whose mouth there is no reply. ¹⁶ It is in you, Lord, that I hope; you will answer, Lord, my God. ¹⁷ For I say, «Let them not rejoice over me, let them not rise up against me, if my foot slips.» ¹⁸ Because I am close to falling and my pain is still before me ¹⁹ for I confess my iniquity, I am afraid because of my sin. ²⁰ And my enemies are full of life, they are powerful. Those who hate me without cause have multiplied. ²¹ They repay me with evil for good; they are hostile to me because I seek justice. ²² Do not abandon me, Lord. My God, do not be far from me. ²³ Hurry to my aid, Lord, you who are my salvation.

Hebrew Psalm No. 39

(No. 38 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, at Idithun, a song of David. ² I said, «I will watch my ways, lest I sin with my tongue; I will keep a muzzle on my mouth, as long as the wicked are before me.» ³ And I remained mute, in silence; I kept quiet, though deprived of all possessions. But my grief intensified, ⁴ My heart was ablaze within me; in my thoughts a fire was kindled and speech came upon my tongue. ⁵ Lord, let me know the end of my life, and the measure of my days, that I may know how perishable I am. ⁶ You have made my days as short as a hand's breadth, and my life is as nothing before you. Yes, every living man is but a breath. Selah. ⁷ Yes, man passes like a shadow; yes, it is in vain that he frets; he amasses wealth and does not know who will gather it. ⁸ Now, what can I expect, Lord? My hope is in you. ⁹ Deliver me from all my transgressions; do not make me the reproach of the fool. ¹⁰ I am silent, I will not open my mouth again because it is you who is acting. ¹¹ Turn your blows away from me; under the severity of your hand, I succumb. ¹² When you chastise a man, punishing him for his iniquity, you destroy, like a moth, what he holds most dear. Yes, every man is but a breath. Selah. ¹³ Hear my prayer, Lord, give ear to my cries, do not be indifferent to my tears, for I am a stranger with you, a traveler, like all my fathers. ¹⁴ Turn your gaze away from me and let me breathe, before I leave and cease to be.

Hebrew Psalm No. 40

(No. 39 in the Vulgate)

¹ From the choirmaster, a psalm of David. ² I have placed all my hope in the Lord; he has inclined to me, he has heard my cry. ³ He lifted me out of the pit of perdition, out of the mire of the mud; he set my feet upon a rock, he made my steps firm. ⁴ He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God; many see him and revere the Lord, and put their trust in him. ⁵ Blessed is the man who has put his trust in the Lord and does not turn to the proud and to those whom falsehood leads astray. ⁶ You have multiplied, Lord my God, your wonders and your plans for us: none can compare to you. I would like to proclaim and declare them; they surpass all accounts. ⁷ You desire neither sacrifice nor offering, you have pierced my ears; you ask neither burnt offering nor sin offering. ⁸ Then I said, "Here I am, I have come with the scroll of the book written about me. ⁹ I want to do your will, O my God, and your law is within my heart.» ¹⁰ I will proclaim justice in a great assembly; I will not close my lips, Lord, you know. ¹¹ I will not keep your righteousness hidden in my heart; I will proclaim your faithfulness and your salvation; I will not conceal your goodness and your truth from the great assembly. ¹² Lord, do not close your mercies to me; may your goodness and your truth always keep me. ¹³ For countless evils surround me; my iniquities have seized me, and I cannot see; they are more numerous than the hairs of my head, and my heart abandons me. ¹⁴ Lord, may it please you to deliver me. Lord, hasten to my aid. ¹⁵ May they be confounded and ashamed together, those who seek my soul to destroy it. May they be turned back and brought to shame, those who desire my ruin. ¹⁶ Let them be astonished because of their shame, those who say to me, "Aha! Aha!"« ¹⁷ May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. May those who love your salvation continually say, «Glory to the Lord.». ¹⁸ I am poor and needy, but the Lord will take care of me. You are my help and my deliverer: my God, do not delay.

Hebrew Psalm No. 41

(No. 40 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of David. ² Blessed is he who cares for the poor. In the day of trouble, the Lord will deliver him. ³ The Lord will protect him and give him life; he will be happy on earth, and you will not give him up to the desires of his enemies. ⁴ The Lord will assist him on his bed of pain; however sick he may be, you will raise him up. ⁵ I say, «Lord, have mercy on me. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against you.» ⁶ And my enemies utter curses against me: «When will he die? When will his name perish?» ⁷ If anyone comes to visit me, he speaks only lies; his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes away, he speaks abroad. ⁸ All my enemies whisper together against me; against me they plot misfortune. ⁹ «"An irreparable illness," they say, "has befallen him; there he lies, he will never rise again."» ¹⁰ Even the man who was my friend, who had my trust and who ate my bread, raises his heel against me. ¹¹ Lord, have mercy on me and raise me up, and I will give them what they deserve. ¹² I will know that you love me, if my enemy does not triumph over me. ¹³ Because of my innocence, you have supported me and established me forever in your presence. ¹⁴ Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, forever and ever. Amen. Amen.

Hebrew Psalm No. 42

(No. 41 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster. A song of the sons of Korah. ² As the deer longs for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, O God. ³ My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I go and appear before the face of God? ⁴ My tears are my food day and night, while people constantly ask me, "Where is your God?"« ⁵ I remember, and at this memory my soul melts within me, when I walked surrounded by the crowd and advanced towards the house of God, amidst the shouts of joy and thanksgiving of a festive multitude. ⁶ Why are you downcast, O my soul, and why are you troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my savior and my God. ⁷ My soul is downcast within me, so I think of you, from the land of the Jordan, of Hermon, of Mount Misar. ⁸ One flood calls for another when your waterfalls roar: so all your waves and torrents pass over me. ⁹ By day, the Lord commanded his grace to visit me. By night, his song was on my lips; I offered a prayer to the God of my life. ¹⁰ Now I say to God, my rock: «Why have you forgotten me? Why must I walk in sorrow under the oppression of the enemy?» ¹¹ I feel my bones breaking when my persecutors insult me, constantly saying, "Where is your God?"« ¹² Why are you downcast, O my soul, and why are you troubled within me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my savior and my God.

Hebrew Psalm No. 43

(No. 42 in the Vulgate)

¹ Grant me justice, O God, defend my cause against an unfaithful nation; deliver me from the man of deceit and iniquity. ² For you are the God of my defense, why do you reject me? Why must I walk in sorrow under the oppression of the enemy? ³ Send forth your light and your faithfulness, that they may guide me, that they may lead me to your holy mountain and to your tabernacles. ⁴ I will go to the altar of God, to the God who is my joy and my gladness, and I will praise you on the harp, O God, my God. ⁵ Why are you downcast, O my soul, and why are you disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my savior and my God.

Hebrew Psalm No. 44

(No. 43 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, of the sons of Korah. A song. ² O God, we have heard with our ears, our fathers have told us the work that you accomplished in their days, in days of old. ³ With your hand you drove out nations to establish them, you struck down peoples to spread them out ⁴ for it was not with their sword that they conquered the land, it was not their arm that gave them victory, but it was your right hand, it was your arm, it was the light of your face, because you loved them. ⁵ You are my king, O God, command the salvation of Jacob. ⁶ Through you we will overthrow our enemies, in your name we will crush our adversaries. ⁷ For it is not in my bow that I trust, it is not my sword that will save me. ⁸ But it is you who delivers us from our enemies and confounds those who hate us. ⁹ In God we glory every day and we celebrate your name forever. Sela. ¹⁰ However, you reject us and cover us with shame; you no longer go out with our armies. ¹¹ You make us retreat before the enemy, and those who hate us plunder us. ¹² You deliver us up like sheep to be slaughtered, you scatter us among the nations. ¹³ You sell your people for a pittance; you do not value them highly. ¹⁴ You make us an object of scorn to our neighbors, of mockery and ridicule to those around us. ¹⁵ You make us a fable of nations and a subject of nodding among peoples. ¹⁶ My shame is always before my eyes, and confusion covers my face., ¹⁷ at the voice of the one who insults and outrages me, at the sight of the enemy and of the one who breathes vengeance. ¹⁸ All this is happening to us without us having forgotten you, without us having been unfaithful to your covenant. ¹⁹ Our hearts have not turned back, our steps have not strayed from your path, ²⁰ so that you may crush us in the jackals' hideout and cover us with the shadow of death. ²¹ If we had forgotten the name of our God and stretched out our hands to a foreign god, ²² Wouldn't God have noticed it, He who knows the secrets of the heart? ²³ But it is because of you that we are slaughtered every day, that we are treated like sheep destined for the slaughter. ²⁴ Wake up. Why are you sleeping, Lord? Wake up and don't reject us forever. ²⁵ Why do you hide your face, do you forget our misery and our oppression? ²⁶ For our soul is cast down to the dust, our body is bound to the earth. ²⁷ Arise to help us, deliver us because of your goodness.

Hebrew Psalm No. 45

(No. 44 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, upon the lilies. A song of the sons of Korah, a song of love. ² From my heart springs a beautiful song, I say: "My work is for a king." My tongue is like the swift reed of the scribe. ³ You are the most handsome of the sons of men; grace is poured upon your lips; therefore God has blessed you forever. ⁴ Gird your sword on your thigh, O hero. Clothe yourself in your splendor and majesty. ⁵ And in your majesty advance, mount your chariot, fight for the truth, gentleness and justice, and may your right hand accomplish wondrous deeds. ⁶ Your arrows are sharp; peoples will fall at your feet; they will pierce the hearts of the king's enemies. ⁷ Your throne, O God, is established forever; the scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of righteousness. ⁸ You love justice and hate wickedness; therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your companions. ⁹ Myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon emanate from all your garments; from ivory palaces, lyres make you glad. ¹⁰ Daughters of kings are among your beloved; the queen is at your right hand, adorned with the gold of Ophir. ¹¹ «Listen, my daughter, look and pay attention: forget your people and your father’s house, ¹² and the king will be captivated by your beauty because he is your Lord: pay him homage. ¹³ The daughter of Tyre, with gifts, and the wealthiest of the people will seek your favor.» ¹⁴ The king's daughter is radiant, her garments within are made of fabrics of gold. ¹⁵ Dressed in various colours, she is presented to the king after the young girls, her companions, are brought to you. ¹⁶ They are brought in amidst rejoicing and jubilation, they enter the King's palace. ¹⁷ Your children will take the place of your fathers; you will establish them as princes over all the earth. ¹⁸ I will remember your name throughout all ages, and the peoples will praise you eternally and forever.

Hebrew Psalm No. 46

(No. 45 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a song of the sons of Korah, in the style of virgins. ² God is our refuge and our strength, a help that is always found in distress. ³ Therefore, we have no fear if the earth is shaken, if the mountains are plunged into the ocean, ⁴ If the sea waves churn and boil, and in their fury make the mountains tremble. Sela. ⁵ A river gladdens with its currents the city of God, the sanctuary where the Most High dwells. ⁶ God is in her midst; she is unshakeable at the breaking of dawn; God comes to her aid. ⁷ Nations are in turmoil, kingdoms are crumbling, he makes his voice heard and the earth melts with terror. ⁸ The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Sela. ⁹ Come, behold the works of the Lord, the desolations he has wrought on the earth. ¹⁰ He has stopped the fighting to the ends of your land, he has broken the bow, he has shattered the spear, he has burned the chariots with fire. ¹¹ «Be still and acknowledge that I am God. I rule over the nations, I rule over the earth.» ¹² The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Sela.

Hebrew Psalm No. 47

(No. 46 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, of the sons of Korah, a psalm. ² All you peoples, clap your hands, praise God with shouts of joy! ³ for the Lord is most high, awesome, a great king over all the earth. ⁴ He subjugates peoples under us, he puts nations under our feet. ⁵ He chose our inheritance for us, the glory of Jacob, his beloved. Selah. ⁶ God ascends to his sanctuary amid shouts of acclamation, the Lord, to the sound of the trumpet. ⁷ Sing to God, sing, sing, to our King, sing, ⁸ For God is king of all the earth. Sing a song of praise. ⁹ God reigns over the nations; he sits on his holy throne. ¹⁰ The princes of the peoples gather together to form a people of the God of Abraham, for the shields of the earth belong to God. He is supremely exalted.

Hebrew Psalm No. 48

(No. 47 in the Vulgate)

¹ A song, a psalm of the sons of Korah. ² The Lord is great and most worthy of praise, in the city of our God, on his holy mountain. ³ She rises gracefully, joy of all the earth, the mountain of Zion, on the farthest reaches of the north, the city of the great King. ⁴ God, in his palaces, has revealed himself as a refuge. ⁵ For behold, the kings had gathered together, they had advanced. ⁶ They saw it, suddenly, they were stunned, bewildered, they fled. 7 There a trembling seized them, a pain like that of a woman giving birth. ⁸ By the east wind, you shatter the ships of Tharsis. ⁹ What we had heard, we have seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God. God establishes it forever. Selah. ¹⁰ O God, we remember your goodness in the midst of your temple. ¹¹ As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is full of justice. ¹² Let Mount Zion rejoice, let the daughters of Judah be glad, because of your judgments. ¹³ Explore Zion and walk around it, count its fortresses, ¹⁴ Observe its rampart, examine its palaces, so that you can tell the story to future generations. ¹⁵ This is the God who is our God forever and always; he will be our guide throughout all ages.

Hebrew Psalm No. 49

(No. 48 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of the sons of Korah. ² Listen to all this, O peoples, lend an ear, all you inhabitants of the world, ³ common men and men of high standing, together rich and poor. ⁴ My mouth will speak wise words, and my heart has meaningful thoughts. ⁵ I listen to the sentences that God inspires in me, I explain my enigma to the sound of the harp. ⁶ Why should I fear in times of trouble, when the iniquity of my persecutors besieges me? ⁷ They who place their trust in their possessions, their glory in their great riches. ⁸ A man cannot redeem his brother, nor pay God his ransom. ⁹ Buying back their lives is too expensive; it is forever impossible., ¹⁰ so that he may live forever and never see the grave. ¹¹ No, he will see it; the wise die, the foolish and the stupid also perish, leaving their possessions to others. ¹² They imagine that their houses will be eternal, that their dwellings will endure from age to age, and they name their estates after themselves. ¹³ But even in his splendor, man does not last; he is like deer that perish. ¹⁴ Such is their fate, these trusting men and those who follow them, approving their words. Sela. ¹⁵ Like a flock, they are driven into Sheol; death is their shepherd; in the morning, the upright rule over them, and their shade will be consumed in Sheol, with no other dwelling place. ¹⁶ But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, for he will take me with him. Sela. ¹⁷Therefore, do not be afraid when a man becomes wealthy, when the opulence of his house increases. ¹⁸ for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his wealth will not descend with him. ¹⁹ He may consider himself fortunate during his life, but you may be praised for the pleasures you give yourself: ²⁰ You will join the generation of your fathers, who will never see the light again. ²¹ Man, even in his splendor, does not understand; he is like the beasts that perish. 

Hebrew Psalm No. 50

(No. 49 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of Asaph. The God of gods, the Lord, speaks and summons the earth, from the rising of the sun to its setting. ² From Zion, perfect beauty, God shines forth. ³ He is coming, our God, and he will not be silent. Before him is a devouring fire. Around him rages a tempest. ⁴ He calls upon the heavens above and the earth, to judge his people. ⁵ «"Gather for me my faithful ones who have made a covenant with me on sacrifice."» ⁶ And the heavens proclaim his righteousness, for it is God who will judge. Sela. ⁷ «Listen, my people, and I will speak, Israel, and I will rebuke you: I am God, your God. ⁸ It is not for your sacrifices that I blame you; your holocausts are constantly before me. ⁹ I will not take a bull from your house, nor goats from your sheepfolds. ¹⁰ For mine are all the animals of the forests, all the beasts of the mountains by the thousands. ¹¹ I know all the mountain birds and what moves in the fields is within my grasp. ¹² If I were hungry, I wouldn't tell you because the world is mine and everything in it. ¹³ Do I eat the flesh of bulls? Do I drink the blood of goats? ¹⁴ Offer thanksgiving as a sacrifice to God and fulfill your vows to the Most High. ¹⁵ And call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will glorify me.» ¹⁶ But to the wicked God said, «What then do you say? You recite my precepts and you take my covenant on your lips, ¹⁷ you who hate discipline and throw my words behind you. ¹⁸ If you see a thief, you take pleasure in his company and make common cause with adulterers. ¹⁹ You give your mouth over to evil, and your tongue plots deceit. ²⁰ You sit and speak against your brother, you slander your mother's son. ²¹ "That's what you did, and I kept quiet. You thought I was just like you, but I'm going to set you straight and lay it all out for you."» ²² Therefore, take heed, you who forget God, lest I tear you apart, with no one to deliver. ²³ Whoever offers thanksgiving as a sacrifice honors me, and to the one who plans his way, I will show the salvation of God.

Hebrew Psalm No. 51

(No. 50 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of David. ² When Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone to Bathsheba. ³ Have mercy on me, O God, according to your goodness; according to your great mercy blot out my transgressions. ⁴ Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. ⁵ For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. ⁶ It is against you, you only, that I have sinned, and done what is evil in your sight, so that you may be found righteous in your sentence and blameless in your judgment. ⁷ Behold, I was born in iniquity, and my mother conceived me in sin. ⁸ Behold, you desire sincerity to be in the heart; within me, make me know wisdom. ⁹ Purify me with hyssop and I shall be pure. Wash me and I shall be whiter than snow. ¹⁰ Tell me joy And the joy and the bones you have broken will rejoice. ¹¹ Turn your face from my sins, blot out all my iniquities. ¹² O God, create in me a pure heart and renew a steadfast spirit within me. ¹³ Do not cast me away from your presence, and do not take your Holy Spirit from me. ¹⁴ Give me back joy of your salvation and sustain me with a spirit of goodwill. ¹⁵ I will teach your ways to those who transgress them and the fishermen will come back to you. ¹⁶ O God, God of my salvation, deliver me from bloodshed, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. ¹⁷ Lord, open my lips and my mouth will proclaim your praise. ¹⁸ For you do not desire sacrifices, I would offer them to you; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. ¹⁹ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; O God, you do not despise a broken and contrite heart. ²⁰ In your goodness, bestow your blessings upon Zion, rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. ²¹ Then you will accept the sacrifices of righteousness, the burnt offering and the perfect gift; then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Hebrew Psalm No. 52

(No. 51 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David. ² When Doeg the Edomite came to Saul with this report: David has gone to the house of Ahimelech. ³ Why do you glorify yourself in evil, O hero?. Kindness God's will always remain. ⁴ Your tongue plots only malice, like a sharpened blade, you deceitful wretch. ⁵ You prefer evil to good, lies to righteousness. Sela. ⁶ You love all words of perdition, O lying tongue. ⁷ Therefore God will overthrow you forever; he will seize you and tear you from the tent; he will uproot you from the land of the living. Selah. ⁸ The righteous will see it and be terrified, and they will laugh at him: ⁹ «"This was the man who did not consider God his fortress, but trusted in the greatness of his riches and made himself strong in his malice."» ¹⁰ And I am like a green olive tree in the house of God; I trust in kindness of God forever. ¹¹ I will praise you continually because you have done this, and I will hope in your name, for it is good, in the presence of your faithful ones.

Hebrew Psalm No. 53

(No. 52 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, in a plaintive tone. A Psalm of David. ² The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." They are corrupt, they commit abominable crimes; there is none who does good. ³ God looks down from heaven upon the sons of men, to see if there is anyone who is wise, anyone who seeks God. ⁴ They have all gone astray, they have all become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. ⁵ Do those who commit iniquity have no knowledge? They devour my people as they eat bread, and they do not call upon God. ⁶ They will suddenly tremble with terror, though there is no cause for terror, for God has scattered the bones of those who encamped against you. You have confounded them, for God has rejected them. ⁷ Oh! May deliverance for Israel come from Zion when God restores the captives of his people; Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.

Hebrew Psalm No. 54

(No. 53 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster. With stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. ² When the Ziphites came and told Saul: David is hiding among us. ³ O God, save me by your name, and vindicate me by your power. ⁴ O God, hear my prayer, give ear to the words of my mouth. ⁵ For foreigners have risen up against me, violent men seek my life; they do not set God before their eyes. Sela. ⁶ Behold, God is my helper, the Lord is the sustainer of my soul. ⁷ He will bring the evil back upon my adversaries; in your truth, annihilate them. ⁸ With all my heart I will offer sacrifices to you, I will praise your name, Lord, for it is good. ⁹ He delivers me from all anguish and my eyes rest with joy upon my enemies.

Hebrew Psalm No. 55

(No. 54 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, with stringed instruments. A Psalm of David. ² O God, give ear to my prayer, do not turn away from my supplications. ³ Listen to me and answer me. I wander here and there, plaintive and moaning, ⁴ in the face of the enemy's threats, in the face of the oppression of the wicked, for they bring misfortune upon me and pursue me in anger. ⁵ My heart trembles within me, and the terrors of death descend upon me. ⁶ Fear and terror assail me, and a shiver envelops me. ⁷ And I say: Oh, if I had the wings of a dove, I would fly away and settle down at rest, ⁸ I would flee far away and remain in the desert. Sela. ⁹ I would hasten to seek refuge, far from the impetuous wind, far from the hurricane. ¹⁰ Destroy them, Lord, divide their tongues, for I see violence and discord in the city. ¹¹ Day and night they patrol its ramparts; iniquity and vexation are in its midst., ¹² Perversity is within its walls; oppression and cunning never leave its places. ¹³ For it is not an enemy who insults me, I would bear it. It is not an adversary who rises up against me, I would hide from him. ¹⁴ But you, you were another version of myself, my confidant and my friend. ¹⁵ We lived together in sweet intimacy, we went with the crowd to the house of God. ¹⁶ Let death overtake them, let them descend alive into Sheol, for wickedness is in their dwelling place, in their midst. ¹⁷ As for me, I cry out to God and the Lord will save me. ¹⁸ Evening, morning, midday, I complain, I groan, and he will hear my voice. ¹⁹ He will deliver my soul in peace from the struggle I face, for many are those who are against me the war. ²⁰ God will hear and humble them, he who sits forever on his throne. Sela. For they have no change, nor do they fear God. ²¹ He lays hands on those who were at peace with him; he violates his covenant. ²² From her mouth came words as sweet as milk and the war is in his heart. His speeches are smoother than oil, but they are naked swords. ²³ Commit your way to the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never allow the righteous to be shaken. ²⁴ And you, O God, will bring them down to the pit of destruction. The bloodthirsty and deceitful will not live half their lives. But I put my trust in you.

Hebrew Psalm No. 56

(No. 55 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, upon the silent dove of distant lands. A psalm of David. When the Philistines seized him in Geth. ² Have mercy on me, O God, for man persecutes me all day long; they do to me the war, I am being persecuted. ³ All day long my adversaries harass me because there are many who fight me with their heads held high. ⁴ When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. ⁵ With God's help, I will celebrate the fulfillment of His word. I trust in God, I fear nothing; what can a weak mortal do to me? ⁶ They constantly poison my words; all their thoughts are against me, seeking to destroy me. ⁷ They are plotting, they are spying, they are watching my every move, because they want my life. ⁸ Charged with so many crimes, will they escape? In your anger, O God, strike down the peoples. ⁹ You have counted the steps of my wandering life, you have collected my tears in your wineskin, are they not inscribed in your book? ¹⁰ Then my enemies will turn back on the day I call upon you. I know that God is on my side. ¹¹ Through God's help, I will celebrate the fulfillment of his word; through the Lord's help, I will celebrate the fulfillment of his promise. ¹² I trust in God, I fear nothing, what can a weak mortal do to me? ¹³ The vows I have made to you, O God, I must fulfill. I will offer you sacrifices of thanksgiving. ¹⁴ For you have delivered my soul from death, have you not kept my feet from stumbling? So that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

Hebrew Psalm No. 57

(No. 56 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster. "Do not destroy." A hymn of David, when, pursued by Saul, he took refuge in the cave. ² Have mercy on me, O God, have mercy on me, for in you my soul seeks refuge. I will take shelter in the shadow of your wings, until the calamity has passed. ³ I cry out to the Most High God, the God who does everything for me. ⁴ He will send me salvation from heaven; my persecutor heaps insults upon me, Sela. God will send his goodness and his truth. ⁵ I lie among lions, men who breathe fire, whose teeth are spears and arrows, and whose tongues are sharp swords. ⁶ Rise above the heavens, O God, let your glory shine throughout the earth. ⁷ They had laid a trap before my steps, already my soul bowed, they had dug a pit before me, they fell into it, Sela. ⁸ My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast, I will sing and make joyful instruments resound. ⁹ Awake, my glory. Awake, my lyre and my harp. Let me awaken the dawn. ¹⁰ I will praise you among the peoples, Lord; I will sing to you among the nations. ¹¹ For your faithfulness reaches to the heavens and your truth to the clouds. ¹² Rise above the heavens, O God, let your glory shine over all the earth.

Hebrew Psalm No. 58

(No. 57 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster. Do not destroy. A hymn of David. ² Is it by remaining silent that you administer justice? Is it according to the law that you judge, sons of men? ³ No, deep in your hearts you plot your wicked schemes, in the land you sell by weight the violence of your hands. ⁴ The wicked are corrupted from the womb, from birth; the deceitful have gone astray. ⁵ Their venom is similar to the venom of the snake, of the deaf viper that closes its ears ⁶ and does not hear the voice of the enchanter, the charmer skilled in his art. ⁷ O God, break their teeth in their mouths. Lord, tear out the jaws of the lion cubs. ⁸ Let them vanish like a flowing torrent. If they aim arrows, let them become blunt. ⁹ May they be like the slug that melts away. Like a woman's stillborn child, may they not see the sun. ¹⁰ Before your boilers smell of pine needles, green or burning, the hurricane will carry them away. ¹¹ The righteous will be in joy At the sight of vengeance, he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. ¹² And it will be said: «Yes, there is a reward for the righteous. Yes, there is a God who judges on earth.».

Hebrew Psalm No. 59

(No. 58 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster. Do not destroy. A Psalm of David. When Saul sent men to guard his house to kill him. ² Deliver me from my enemies, O my God, protect me from my adversaries. ³ Deliver me from those who commit iniquity and save me from men of blood. ⁴ For behold, they are lying in wait to take my life. Violent men are plotting against me, though I am not guilty, though I have not sinned, Lord. ⁵ Despite my innocence, they rush in and lie in ambush. Wake up, come to me and look. ⁶ You, Lord, God of hosts, God of Israel, rise up to punish all the nations; have no mercy on these traitors and evildoers. Sela. ⁷ They come back in the evening, they growl like dogs, they roam around the town. ⁸ Behold, their mouths spew forth insults, there are swords upon their lips: "Who is listening?" they say. ⁹ And you, Lord, laugh at them, you mock all the nations. ¹⁰ My strength lies in you, for God is my fortress. ¹¹ The God who favors me will come to meet me. God will allow me to see my enemies. ¹² Do not kill them, lest my people forget; make them wander by your power and overthrow them, O Lord, our shield. ¹³ Their mouths sin with every word from their lips; let them be caught in their own pride because of the curses and lies they utter. ¹⁴ Destroy them in your fury, destroy them, and let them be no more, so that they may know that God reigns over Jacob, to the ends of the earth. Selah. ¹⁵ They come back in the evening, they growl like dogs, they roam around the town. ¹⁶ They wander here and there, searching for their prey, and they grunt if they are not satiated. ¹⁷ And I will sing of your strength and in the morning I will celebrate your goodness, for you are my fortress, a refuge in the day of my distress. ¹⁸ O my strength, I will sing in your honor, for God is my fortress, the God who is favorable to me.

Hebrew Psalm No. 60

(No. 59 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, according to the Lily of the Testimony. A hymn of David, to be taught. ² When he did the war to the Syrians of Mesopotamia and to the Syrians of Zobah, and that Joab returned and defeated Edom in the Valley of Salt, killing twelve thousand of them. ³ O God, you have rejected us, you have scattered us, you were angry, restore our favor. ⁴ You have shaken the country, you have torn it apart. Repair its breaches, for it is tottering. ⁵ You have shown your people harsh trials, you have made us drink a wine of dizziness. ⁶ But you have given a banner to those who fear you, so that it may be raised because of your truth. Selah. ⁷ So that your beloved ones may be delivered, save by your right hand and answer me. ⁸ God has spoken in his holiness: «I will rejoice greatly. I will have Shechem as my inheritance and I will measure out the valley of Succoth. ⁹ Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine. Ephraim is the armor of my head and Judah my scepter. ¹⁰ Moab is the basin where I wash. On Edom, I throw my sandal. Land of the Philistines, shout for me!» ¹¹ Who will lead me to the fortified city? Who will bring me to Edom? ¹² Was it not you, O God, who had rejected us, O God, who no longer went out with our armies? ¹³ Lend us your aid against the oppressor. Man's help is but vanity. ¹⁴ With God we will accomplish great things; he will crush our enemies.

Hebrew Psalm No. 61

(No. 60 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, on stringed instruments, of David. ² O God, hear my cries, be attentive to my prayer. ³ From the ends of the earth I cry to you; in the anguish of my heart lead me to the rock that I cannot reach. ⁴ For you are my refuge, a strong tower against the enemy. ⁵ I would like to remain forever in your tent, to take refuge under the shelter of your wings. Sela. ⁶ For you, O God, have heard my vows; you have given me the inheritance of those who revere your name. ⁷ Add days to the king's days, that his years may be prolonged from age to age. ⁸ May he remain on the throne forever before God. Command your goodness and your truth to keep him. ⁹ Then I will celebrate your name forever and fulfill my vows every day.

Hebrew Psalm No. 62

(No. 61 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster… Idithun, a psalm of David. ² Yes, to God my soul surrenders itself in peace; from him comes my help. ³ Yes, he is my rock and my salvation, he is my fortress; I will not be shaken. ⁴ How long will you attack a man, to bring him down all together, like a leaning fence, like a crumbling wall? ⁵ Yes, they plot to throw him down from his height; they delight in lies; they bless with their mouths and curse in their hearts. Selah. ⁶ Yes, O my soul, surrender yourself in peace to God, for from him comes my hope. ⁷ Yes, he is my rock and my salvation, he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. ⁸ My salvation and my glory rest on God; the rock of my strength, my refuge, is in God. ⁹ At all times, O people, trust in him, pour out your hearts to him, God is our refuge. Selah. ¹⁰ Yes, mortals are vanity, the sons of men are lies; in the balance they would rise, all together lighter than a breath. ¹¹ Do not trust in violence, nor place your hope in theft. If your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. ¹² God said a word, or two, that I heard: «The power belongs to God, ¹³ to you too, Lord, kindness."For you repay each person according to their deeds.".

Hebrew Psalm No. 63

(No. 62 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of David. When he was in the wilderness of Judah. ² O God, you are my God, I seek you from dawn, my soul thirsts for you, my flesh longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. ³ This is how I beheld you in the sanctuary, to see your power and your glory. ⁴ For your grace is better than life: let my lips celebrate your praises. ⁵ Therefore I will bless you all my life; in your name I will lift up my hands. ⁶ My soul is satisfied, as with marrow and fat, and, joy On my lips, my mouth praises you. ⁷ When I think of you on my bed, I meditate on you during the night watches. ⁸ For you are my help, and I rejoice in the shadow of your wings. ⁹ My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me. ¹⁰ But they seek to take my life; they will go to the depths of the earth. ¹¹ They will be handed over to the sword, they will be prey to jackals. ¹² And the king will rejoice in God. Whoever swears by him will boast, for the mouths of liars will be silenced.

Hebrew Psalm No. 64

(No. 63 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of David. ² O God, hear my voice when I cry out; defend my life against an enemy who terrifies me., ³ protect me from the plots of evildoers, from the rebellious band of wicked men, ⁴ who sharpen their tongues like swords, who prepare their arrows, their bitter words, ⁵ To unleash them in the shadows against the innocent, they unleash them against him unexpectedly, without fear. ⁶ They become more determined in their wicked plans; they conspire to lay their traps, saying, "Who will see them?"« ⁷ They only plot crimes: "We are ready," they say, "our plan is well laid out." The inside of man and his heart are an abyss. ⁸ But God launched his arrows at them: suddenly they were wounded. ⁹ They are thrown to the ground, the arrows of their tongues fall back upon them. All who see them nod their heads. ¹⁰ All men are filled with awe; they proclaim the work of God, they understand what he has done. ¹¹ The righteous rejoice in the Lord and trust in him; all the upright in heart glory in him.

Hebrew Psalm No. 65

(No. 64 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of David. A song. ² To you is due the praise, O God; in Zion, it is in your honor that vows are fulfilled. ³ O you who hear prayer, all men come to you. ⁴ A heap of iniquities weighed upon me: you forgive our transgressions. ⁵ Blessed is the one you choose and bring near to dwell in your courts. May we be satisfied with the good things of your house, your holy temple. ⁶ Through wonders, you answer us in your justice, God of our salvation, hope of the ends of the earth and of distant seas. ⁷ He established the mountains by his strength; he is girded with his power., ⁸ It calms the fury of the seas, the fury of their waves, and the tumult of the peoples. ⁹ The inhabitants of distant lands fear before your wonders, you gladden the ends of the earth, the East and the West. ¹⁰ You have visited the earth to give it abundance, you fill it with riches. The divine spring is filled with water: you prepare the grain, when you fertilize it thus. ¹¹ Watering its furrows, leveling its clods, you soften it with showers, you bless its sprouts. ¹² You crown the year with your blessings, and fat flows in your wake. ¹³ The desert pastures are watered and the hills are clothed with gladness. ¹⁴ The meadows are covered with herds and the valleys are adorned with ears of corn, all rejoice and sing.

Hebrew Psalm No. 66

(No. 65 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster. A song, a psalm. Shout for joy to God, all the earth. ² Sing the glory of his name, celebrate his praises magnificently. ³ Say to God: "How awesome are your works because of your omnipotence, your enemies flatter you. ⁴ Let all the earth bow down before you, let them sing in your honor, let them sing your name.» Selah. ⁵ Come and see the works of God. He is awesome in his plans for the sons of men. ⁶ He turned the sea into dry land, we crossed the river on foot, so we rejoiced in him. ⁷ He reigns forever by his power; his eyes watch over the nations: let not the rebels rise up. Selah. ⁸ Peoples, bless our God, let his praise resound. ⁹ He preserved the life of our soul and did not allow our foot to falter. ¹⁰ For you have tested us, O God, you have refined us like silver. ¹¹ You led us into the net, you laid a burden on our backs. ¹² You made men walk over our heads, we went through fire and water, but you brought us out of it to fill us with good things. ¹³ I come to your house with burnt offerings, to fulfill my vows to you, ¹⁴ that my lips uttered, that my mouth spoke in the day of my distress. ¹⁵ I offer you fat sheep as a burnt offering; with the smoke of the rams I sacrifice the bull and the young goat. Selah. ¹⁶ Come, listen, and I will tell you, all you who fear God, what he has done to my soul. ¹⁷ I cried out to him with my mouth, and his praise was on my tongue. ¹⁸ If I had seen iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have answered me. ¹⁹ But God answered me; he listened to the voice of my prayer. ²⁰ Blessed be God, who has not rejected my prayer and has not withheld his grace from me.

Hebrew Psalm No. 67

(No. 66 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, a psalm. A song. ² May God be favorable to us and bless us, and make his face shine upon us. Sela. ³ so that your way may be known on earth and your salvation among all nations. ⁴ Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you. ⁵ Let the nations rejoice and be glad, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations on earth. Selah. ⁶ Let the peoples praise you, O God, let all the peoples praise you. ⁷ The earth has given its produce; may God, our God, bless us. ⁸ May God bless us and may all the ends of the earth revere Him.

Hebrew Psalm No. 68

(No. 67 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of David. A song. ² May God arise, and may his enemies be scattered, and may those who hate him flee before his face. ³ As smoke is driven away, so drive them away as wax melts before the fire; let the wicked perish before God. ⁴ But let the righteous rejoice and exult before God; let them be filled with gladness. ⁵ Sing to God, celebrate his name. Make way for him who rides through the plains, the Lord is his name, exult before him. ⁶ He is a father to orphans and judge of widows, God in his holy dwelling. ⁷ To the abandoned, God gives a home, he delivers the captives and restores them to happiness, only the rebels remain in the burning desert. ⁸ O God, when you went out at the head of your people, when you advanced in the desert, Sela. ⁹ the earth shook, the heavens themselves melted before God, Sinai trembled before God, the God of Israel. ¹⁰ You sent down, O God, a shower of blessings; your inheritance was exhausted, you comforted it. ¹¹ Sent by you, animals came to fall there in your goodness, O God, you prepare their food for the unfortunate. ¹² The Lord has made his word heard women Those who announce the victory are a large group. ¹³ «"The kings of the armies flee, flee, and she who dwells in the house divides the spoils."» ¹⁴ When you were lying in the midst of the sheepfolds, the dove's wings were covered with silver and its feathers shone with the brilliance of gold. ¹⁵ When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land, snow fell on the Selmon. ¹⁶ Mountain of God, mountain of Bashan, mountain of lofty peaks, mountain of Bashan, ¹⁷ Why do you look with envy, high peaked mountains, at the mountain that God chose as his dwelling place? Yes, the Lord will dwell there forever. ¹⁸ The chariot of God is thousands upon thousands; the Lord comes from Sinai into his sanctuary. ¹⁹ You ascend on the heights, leading the multitude of captives; you receive gifts from men. Even the rebellious will dwell near the Lord God. ²⁰ Blessed be the Lord. Every day he bears our burden; he is the God who saves us. Sela. ²¹ God is for us the God of deliverance, the Lord, the Lord, can deliver from death. ²² Yes, God will crush the head of his enemies, the hairy forehead of him who walks in iniquity. ²³ The Lord said, «I will bring them back from Bashan, I will bring them back from the depths of the sea, ²⁴ so that you may plunge your foot in blood and that the tongues of your dogs may have their share of the enemies.» ²⁵ We see your steps, O God, the steps of my God, my King, into the sanctuary. ²⁶ In front are the singers, then the musicians, in the middle, young girls beating tambourines. ²⁷ «Bless the Lord in the congregations, you who are from the source of Israel.» ²⁸ Here is Benjamin, the youngest, who rules over them; here are the princes of Judah with their troops, the princes of Zebulun, the princes of Naphtali. ²⁹ Command, O God, by your power; establish, O God, what you have done for us. ³⁰ To your sanctuary, which is high above Jerusalem, kings will offer gifts. ³¹ Threaten the beast of the reeds, the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples, so that they will bow down with pieces of silver. Scatter the nations that delight in war. ³² Let the great ones come from Egypt, let Ethiopia hasten to stretch out her hands to God. ³³ Kingdoms of the earth, sing to God, praise the Lord. Sela. ³⁴ Sing to him who is carried upon the heavens, the ancient heavens. Behold, he makes his voice heard, his mighty voice. ³⁵ Acknowledge the power of God. His majesty is over Israel and his power is in the clouds. ³⁶ From your sanctuary, O God, you are awesome. The God of Israel gives strength and power to his people. Blessed be God.

Hebrew Psalm No. 69

(No. 68 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, according to the lilies, of David. ² Save me, O God, for the waters have risen up to my soul. ³ I am sunk in deep mud and there is nowhere to put my foot. I have fallen into a watery abyss and the waves are engulfing me. ⁴ I exhaust myself screaming, my throat is on fire, my eyes are consumed in waiting for my God. ⁵ They are more numerous than the hairs on my head, those who hate me without cause; powerful are those who wish to destroy me, who are, without reason, my enemies. What I did not steal, I must return. ⁶ O God, you know my folly and my sins are not hidden from you. ⁷ Let those who hope in you not be put to shame because of me, Lord, Lord of hosts, let those who seek you not be confounded because of me, God of Israel. ⁸ For it is for you that I bear reproach, that shame covers my face. ⁹ I have become a stranger to my brothers, an unknown person to my mother's sons. ¹⁰ For zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall upon me. ¹¹ I shed tears and I fast, and I am made a subject of shame. ¹² I take a bag for clothes and I am the object of their sarcasm. ¹³ Those who sit at the gate talk about me, and the drinkers of strong liquor make songs about me. ¹⁴ And I address my prayer to you, Lord, in the favorable time, O God, according to your great goodness, hear me, according to the truth of your salvation. ¹⁵ Pull me out of the mud and let me not remain mired in it; let me be delivered from my enemies and the deep waters. ¹⁶ May the waves not overwhelm me again, may the abyss not swallow me up, may the pit not close over me. ¹⁷ Hear me, Lord, for your goodness is compassionate; in your great mercy turn to me., ¹⁸ And do not hide your face from your servant. I am in anguish; answer me quickly. ¹⁹ Draw near to my soul, deliver it, save me from my enemies. ²⁰ You know my reproach, my shame, my ignominy; all my persecutors are before you. ²¹ Shame has broken my heart and I am sick; I wait for pity, but in vain, for comforters, but I find none. ²² For food they give me bitter herbs. In my thirst, they give me vinegar to drink. ²³ May their table be a trap for them, a net within their security. ²⁴ May their eyes grow dim so they can no longer see. May their backs tremble forever. ²⁵ Pour out your anger upon them and let the fire of your wrath overwhelm them. ²⁶ May their dwelling be devastated, may there be no more inhabitants in their tents. ²⁷ For they persecute the one you strike, they recount the sufferings of the one you wound. ²⁸ Add iniquity to their iniquity, and let them have no share in your righteousness. ²⁹ May they be blotted out of the book of life and not be enrolled with the righteous. ³⁰ I am unhappy and suffering; may your help, O God, raise me up. ³¹ I will celebrate God's name with songs, I will exalt him with thanksgiving. ³² And the Lord will consider them more pleasing than a bull, than a young bull with horns and hooves. ³³ The unfortunate, seeing him, will rejoice, and you who seek God, your heart will revive. ³⁴ For the Lord listens the poor and he does not despise his captives. ³⁵ Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and all that moves in them. ³⁶ for God will save Zion and rebuild the cities of Judah, and people will settle there and take possession of them. ³⁷ The race of his servants will inherit it, and those who love his name will have their dwelling place there.

Hebrew Psalm No. 70

(No. 69 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, of David. In memorial. ² O God, hasten to deliver me. Lord, hasten to help me. ³ Let them be ashamed and confused, those who seek my soul. Let them turn back and blush, those who desire my downfall. ⁴ Let them turn back in shame, those who say, "Ha! Ha!"« ⁵ May all who seek you rejoice and be glad in you. May those who love your salvation continually say, «Glory to God.». ⁶ I am poor and needy. O God, hasten to me. You are my help and my deliverer: Lord, do not delay.

Hebrew Psalm No. 71

(No. 70 in the Vulgate)

¹ Lord, in you I have placed my refuge; may I never be put to shame. ² In your righteousness, deliver me and save me. Incline your ear to me and rescue me. ³ Be for me an inaccessible rock where I can always retreat. You have commanded me to save you, for you are my rock and my fortress. ⁴ My God, deliver me from the hand of the wicked, from the hand of the unjust and cruel man. ⁵ For you are my hope, Lord God, the object of my trust since my youth. ⁶ It is on you that I have relied since my birth, you who brought me forth from the womb, you are my praise forever. ⁷ I am like a prodigy to the crowd, but you are my mighty refuge. ⁸ May my mouth be filled with your praise, may it exalt your magnificence every day. ⁹ Do not cast me away in the days of my old age. Do not abandon me in the decline of my strength. ¹⁰ For my enemies conspire against me, and those who spy on my soul plot together., ¹¹ saying: "God has abandoned him. Pursue him. Seize him; there is no one to defend him."« ¹² O God, do not be far from me, my God, hasten to my aid. ¹³ May they be confounded and perish, those who seek my life. May they be covered with shame and reproach, those who seek my downfall. ¹⁴ For my part, I will always hope for all your praise, and I will add new praise. ¹⁵ My mouth will proclaim your righteousness, all day long your favors, for I do not know their number. ¹⁶ I will speak of your mighty works, Lord God, I will recall your righteousness, yours alone. ¹⁷ O God, you have instructed me from my youth and to this day I proclaim your wonders. ¹⁸ Even until old age and gray hair, O God, do not forsake me, so that I may make known your strength to the present generation, your power to the next. ¹⁹ Your justice, O God, reaches to the heavens; you who accomplish great things, O God, who is like you? ²⁰ You who have caused us many terrible trials. But you will restore our lives and from the depths of the earth, you will raise us up. ²¹ You will restore my greatness and once again you will comfort me. ²² And I will praise you with the sound of the lute, I will sing of your faithfulness, O my God, I will celebrate you with the harp, Holy One of Israel. ²³ Joy will be on my lips when I sing to you, and in my soul, which you have delivered. ²⁴ And my tongue will proclaim your righteousness every day, for those who seek my downfall will be ashamed and blushed.

Hebrew Psalm No. 72

(No. 71 in the Vulgate)

¹ Of Solomon. O God, give your judgments to the king and your righteousness to the king's son. ² May he lead your people with justice and your poor with equity. ³ That the mountains produce peace to the people, and to the hills, through justice. ⁴ May he do justice to the unfortunate of his people, may he assist the children of the poor, and may he crush the oppressor. ⁵ May you be revered, as long as the sun endures, as long as the moon shines, from age to age. ⁶ Let it fall like rain on the grass, like showers that water the earth. ⁷ May the righteous flourish in his days, with abundance of peace, until there is no more moon. ⁸ He will rule from sea to sea, from the River to the ends of the earth. ⁹ Before him will the inhabitants of the desert prostrate themselves, and his enemies will bite the dust. ¹⁰ The kings of Tharsis and the islands will pay tribute, the kings of Sheba and Meroë will offer gifts. ¹¹ All kings will bow down before him, all nations will serve him. ¹² For he will deliver the poor who cry out to him, and the needy who have no helper. ¹³ He will have pity on the wretched and the needy, and he will save the life of the poor. ¹⁴ He will free them from oppression and violence, and their blood will be precious in his eyes. ¹⁵ They will live and give him gold from Sheba. They will continually make vows to him, they will bless him every day. ¹⁶ May the land be abundant in grain, even to the mountaintops; may its ears of grain wave like the trees of the Lebanon, that men flourish in the city like the grass of the fields. ¹⁷ May his name endure forever as long as the sun shines, may his name spread, may blessings be sought in him, may all nations proclaim him blessed. ¹⁸ Blessed be the Lord God, the God of Israel, who alone performs wonders. ¹⁹ Blessed be His glorious name forever. May the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen. Amen. ²⁰ The prayers of David, son of Jesse, have come to an end.

Hebrew Psalm No. 73

(No. 72 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of Asaph. Yes, God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart. ² However, I was about to falter, my foot almost slipped. ³ For I was indignant against the godless, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. ⁴ For them, there is no pain until death; their bodies are full of vigor. ⁵ They have no share in the labor of mortals, they are not struck down with the rest of men. ⁶ Pride is the adornment of their necks, and violence is the precious robe that covers them. ⁷ Iniquity comes forth from their entrails; the thoughts of their hearts are revealed. ⁸ They mock, they speak of iniquity and violence, they utter haughty speeches. ⁹ They direct their mouths against the heavens themselves, and their tongues practice on the earth. ¹⁰ That is why my people turn to them, they swallow the water in great gulps. ¹¹ They say, "How would God know? How would the Most High know?"« ¹² Such are the wicked, always happy, they increase their wealth. ¹³ So it was in vain that I kept my heart pure, that I washed my hands in innocence, ¹⁴ All day long I am struck; every morning my punishment is there.» ¹⁵ If I had said, "I want to speak like them," I would have betrayed the race of your children. ¹⁶ I thought about it to understand these things; the difficulty seemed great to me., ¹⁷ until I have entered the sanctuary of God and considered their final fate. ¹⁸ Yes, you place them on slippery tracks, you make them fall and they are nothing but ruins. ¹⁹ What? In an instant they are destroyed. They are annihilated, they disappear in catastrophes. ²⁰ As one does with a dream upon waking, Lord, when you awake, you reject their image. ²¹ When my heart grew sour and I felt deeply moved, ²² I was stupid and unintelligent, I was like a brute in front of you. ²³ But I will be with you forever, you took my right hand, ²⁴ You will guide me with your counsel and then receive me into glory. ²⁵ Who else but you do I have in heaven? With you, I desire nothing on earth. ²⁶ My flesh and my heart are consumed, but God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever. ²⁷ Behold, those who stray from you perish; you exterminate all those who are unfaithful to you. ²⁸ For me, being united with God is my happiness. In the Lord God I place my trust to recount all your works.

Hebrew Psalm No. 74

(No. 73 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of Asaph. Why, O God, have you rejected us forever? Why is your anger kindled against the flock of your pasture? ² Remember your people whom you acquired in days of old, whom you redeemed to be the tribe of your inheritance. Remember your mountain Zion, where you made your dwelling. ³ Turn your steps towards these irreparable ruins; the enemy has ravaged everything in the sanctuary. ⁴ Your adversaries have roared in the midst of your holy courts; they have set up their emblems as symbols. ⁵ We saw them, like the lumberjack, raising his axe in a thick forest. ⁶ And now, all the sculptures together, they smashed them with axes and hammers. ⁷ They have burned your sanctuary; they have desecrated and profaned the dwelling place of your name. ⁸ They said in their hearts, "Let us destroy them all together." They burned all the holy places in the land. ⁹ We no longer see our signs, there is no longer a prophet, and no one among us knows how long this will last. ¹⁰ How long, O God, will the oppressor insult, will the enemy blaspheme your name forever? ¹¹ Why do you withdraw your hand and your right hand? Pull it out of your bosom and destroy them. ¹² Yet God is my king from ancient times, he who has brought about so many deliverances on earth. ¹³ It is you who divided the sea by your power, you who broke the heads of the monsters in the waters. ¹⁴ It was you who crushed the heads of Leviathan and gave it as food to the desert people. ¹⁵ It is you who caused the spring and the torrent to gush forth, you who dried up the rivers that never run dry. ¹⁶ Yours is the day, yours is the night, you created the moon and the sun. ¹⁷ You are the one who set all the boundaries of the earth, summer and winter; you are the one who established them. ¹⁸ Remember, the enemy insults the Lord, a foolish people blasphemes your name. ¹⁹ Do not give the soul of your turtledove to the beasts, do not forget forever the lives of your poor. ²⁰ Beware of your alliance, for every corner of the country is full of dens of violence. ²¹ May the oppressed not return in shame, may the unfortunate and the poor bless your name. ²² Arise, O God, take up your cause, remember the insults that the fool hurls at you every day. ²³ Don't forget the clamor of your adversaries, the ever-increasing insolence of those who hate you.

Hebrew Psalm No. 75

(No. 74 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster. "Do not destroy." Psalm of Asaph. Song. ² We praise you, O God, we praise you, your name is near, your wonders are recounted. ³ «"When the time comes, I will judge fairly.". ⁴ The earth is shaken, and all who dwell on it, but I will establish its pillars.» Selah. ⁵ I say to the proud: Do not be proud, and to the wicked: Do not lift up your heads. ⁶ Don't hold your head so high, don't speak with such arrogance. ⁷ For it is neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the desert of the mountains. ⁸ No, it is God who exercises judgment; he humbles one and exalts another. ⁹ For in the Lord's hand is a cup, full of aromatic wine, which he pours out: yes, all the wicked of the earth will suck up the dregs and drink them. ¹⁰ And I will publish forever, I will sing the praises of the God of Jacob. ¹¹ And I will cut off all the horns of the wicked, and the horns of the righteous will be exalted.

Hebrew Psalm No. 76

(No. 75 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster. With stringed instruments, a psalm of Asaph, a song. ² God has made himself known in Judah, in Israel his name is great. ³ His tabernacle is in Salem, and his dwelling place is in Zion. ⁴ That's where he shattered the lightning bolts of the bow, the shield, the sword, and the war. Séla. ⁵ You shine in your majesty, on the mountains from which you swoop down on your prey. ⁶ They were stripped bare, these kind-hearted heroes, they fell asleep in their sleep, they did not know, all these valiant men, how to use their arms. ⁷ At your threat, God of Jacob, chariot and steed remained motionless. ⁸ You are formidable. Who can stand before you when your anger erupts? ⁹ From heaven you proclaimed the sentence, the earth trembled and fell silent, ¹⁰ when God arose to do justice, to save all the unfortunate of the land. Sela. ¹¹ Thus man's fury turns to glory and the remnants of anger. ¹² Make vows and fulfill them to the Lord your God, that all those around him may bring gifts to the awesome God. ¹³ He humbles the pride of the powerful; he is fearsome to the kings of the earth.

Hebrew Psalm No. 77

(No. 76 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the songmaster, Idithun, psalm of Asaph. ² My voice rises to God and I cry out. My voice rises to God, that he may hear me. ³ In the day of my distress, I seek the Lord; my hands are stretched out at night without ceasing; my soul refuses all consolation. ⁴ I remember God and I groan, I meditate and my spirit is downcast. Selah. ⁵ You hold my eyelids open and, in my agitation, I cannot speak. ⁶ So I think of bygone days, of years gone by. ⁷ I remember my hymns during the night, I reflect within my heart and my mind asks: ⁸ «Will the Lord reject forever? Will he no longer be favorable?” ⁹ Is His goodness exhausted forever? Are His promises for future ages fulfilled? ¹⁰ Has God forgotten his clemency? Has he, in his anger, withdrawn his mercy? Sela. ¹¹ I say, "What causes my suffering is that the right hand of the Most High has changed."« ¹² I want to recall the works of the Lord, for I remember your wonders of old. ¹³ I want to reflect on all your works and meditate on your great deeds. ¹⁴ O God, your ways are holy; what God is as great as our God? ¹⁵ You are the God who performs wonders; you have manifested your power among the nations. ¹⁶ With your arm you have delivered your people, the sons of Jacob and Joseph. Sela. ¹⁷ The waters saw you, O God, the waters saw you and trembled, the depths were shaken. ¹⁸ The clouds poured forth their waters, the clouds made their voices heard, and your arrows flew in every direction. ¹⁹ Your thunder resounded in the whirlwind, lightning illuminated the world, the earth shuddered and trembled. ²⁰ The sea was your path, the great waters your trail, and your tracks could not be recognized. ²¹ You led your people like a flock, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.

Hebrew Psalm No. 78

(No. 77 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of Asaph. Listen, O my people, to my teaching; give ear to the words of my mouth. ² I will open my mouth to speak pronouncements, I will publish the mysteries of ancient times. ³ What we have heard, what we have learned, what our fathers have told us, ⁴ We will not hide it from their children; we will tell the next generation the praises of the Lord and his power and the wonders he has performed. ⁵ He established a rule for Jacob, he instituted a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers to teach to their children, ⁶ so that they may be known to future generations, to children who would be born and who would grow up, to tell them in turn to their children. ⁷ Thus they would put their trust in God, they would not forget God's works, and they would observe his precepts., ⁸ They would not be, like their fathers, an unruly and rebellious race, a fickle race whose spirit is not faithful to God. ⁹ The sons of Ephraim, skilled archers, turned their backs on the day of battle., ¹⁰ They did not keep God's covenant; they refused to walk according to his law., ¹¹ They have forgotten his great works and the wonders he had shown them. ¹² Before their fathers, he had performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the countryside of Tanis. ¹³ He parted the sea to let them pass through, He held back the waters piled up like a heap. ¹⁴ He led them by day by cloud and all night by brilliant fire. ¹⁵ He split the rocks in the desert and gave drink like abundant streams. ¹⁶ From the rock he made streams spring forth and water flow in torrents. ¹⁷ But they continued to sin against him, to rebel against the Most High in the desert. ¹⁸ They tested God in their hearts by asking for food according to their cravings. ¹⁹ They spoke against God and said, «Can God set up a table in the desert? ²⁰ »Now that he has struck the rock, waters have gushed out and torrents have overflowed, will he also be able to give us bread or provide meat for his people?” ²¹ The Lord heard and was angry; a fire was kindled against Jacob, and your anger rose against Israel., ²² because they had not had faith in God and had not hoped for his help. ²³ However, he commanded the clouds above and opened the gates of heaven, ²⁴ He rained down manna on them to feed them and gave them the wheat from heaven. ²⁵ Everyone ate the bread of the strong. He sent them food until they were full. ²⁶ He caused the east wind to blow across the sky, and by his power he brought the south wind, ²⁷ He rained down upon them meat like dust and winged birds like the sand of the sea. ²⁸ He made them fall in the middle of their camp, around their tents. ²⁹ They ate and were more than satisfied. God gave them what they desired. ³⁰ They had not yet satisfied their craving, and their food was still in their mouths., ³¹ When God's anger rose against them, he struck down the most well-fed, he struck down the young men of Israel. ³² After all this, they sinned again and did not believe in his wonders. ³³ Then he dissipated their days like a breath and their years with a sudden end. ³⁴ When he struck them dead, they sought him out, they returned, eager to find God again, ³⁵ They remembered that God was their rock and the Most High God their liberator. ³⁶ But they deceived him with their words, and their tongues lied to him., ³⁷ Their hearts were not steadfast toward him; they were not faithful to his covenant. ³⁸ But he is merciful, he forgives sin and does not destroy; often he restrained his anger and did not give free rein to his fury. ³⁹ He remembered that they were only flesh, a breath that departs and never returns. ⁴⁰ How often they rebelled against him in the desert, how often they angered him in the solitude. ⁴¹ They continued to test God and provoke the Holy One of Israel. ⁴² They no longer remembered his power, the day he delivered them from the oppressor, ⁴³ where he showed his wonders in Egypt, his marvelous deeds in the campaigns of Tanis. ⁴⁴ He turned their rivers into blood, and they could not drink from their streams. ⁴⁵ He sent against them the gnat that devoured them and the frog that caused them to perish. ⁴⁶ He gave their crops to the grasshopper, the produce of their labor to its swarms. ⁴⁷ He destroyed their vineyards with hail and their sycamore trees with hailstones. ⁴⁸ He abandoned their cattle to the hail and their herds to the lightning strikes. ⁴⁹ He unleashed against them the fire of his wrath, fury, rage, and distress, a whole army of angels of misfortune. ⁵⁰ He gave free rein to his anger; he did not save their souls from death, but delivered their lives to destruction. ⁵¹ He struck down all the firstborn in Egypt, the first fruits of strength under the tents of Ham. ⁵² He led his people out like sheep, he guided them like a flock in the desert. ⁵³ He led them safely, without them having anything to fear, and the sea swallowed their enemies. ⁵⁴ He brought them to his holy border, to the mountain that his right hand had conquered. ⁵⁵ He drove out the nations before them, assigned them by lot their portion of inheritance, and made the tribes of Israel dwell in their tents. ⁵⁶ However, they still tried and provoked the Most High God and did not observe his ordinances. ⁵⁷ They have turned away and been unfaithful like their fathers; they have turned away like a deceitful bow. ⁵⁸ They angered him with their high places, they aroused his jealousy with their idols. ⁵⁹ God heard and was indignant; he took a great aversion to Israel. ⁶⁰ He scorned the dwelling place of Shiloh, the tent where he lived among men. ⁶¹ He surrendered his strength to captivity and his majesty to the hands of the enemy. ⁶² He abandoned his people to the sword and he railed against his heritage. ⁶³ The fire devoured her young men and her virgins did not hear the wedding song. ⁶⁴ His priests fell by the sword, and his widows did not mourn. ⁶⁵ The Lord awoke, like a sleeping man, like a warrior overcome by wine. ⁶⁶ He struck his enemies from behind, inflicting eternal shame upon them. ⁶⁷ But he abhorred Joseph's tent and he divorced the tribe of Ephraim. ⁶⁸ He chose the tribe of Judah, the mountain of Zion which he loved. ⁶⁹ And he built his sanctuary like the heights of heaven, like the earth which he founded forever. ⁷⁰ He chose David, his servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; ; ⁷¹ He took him from behind the mother ewes, to shepherd Jacob, his people, and Israel, his inheritance. ⁷² And David guided them in the uprightness of his heart and led them with a skillful hand.

Hebrew Psalm No. 79

(No. 78 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of Asaph. O God, the nations have invaded your inheritance, they have defiled your holy temple, they have made Jerusalem a heap of ruins. ² They have given the corpses of your servants as food to the birds of the air and the flesh of your faithful ones to the beasts of the earth. ³ They shed their blood like water all around Jerusalem, and no one was there to bury them. ⁴ We have become an object of scorn to our neighbors, of ridicule and mockery to those around us. ⁵ How long, Lord, will you be angry forever, and will your wrath burn like fire? ⁶ Pour out your fury on the nations that do not know you, on the kingdoms that do not call upon your name. ⁷ For they devoured Jacob and ravaged his dwelling. ⁸ Do not remember against us the iniquities of our fathers. Let your compassion come quickly to meet us, for our misery is at its fullest. ⁹ Help us, God of our salvation, for the glory of your name. Deliver us and forgive our sins for your name's sake. ¹⁰ Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?" Let it be known among the nations and before our eyes the vengeance you exact for the blood of your servants when it is shed. ¹¹ Let the groans of the captives rise up to you. According to the greatness of your arm, save those who are about to perish. ¹² Lord, make the insults that our neighbors have committed against you fall seven times over into their hearts. ¹³ And we, your people, the flock of your pasture, will give you glory forever; from age to age, we will proclaim your praises.

Hebrew Psalm No. 80

(No. 79 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, according to the lilies of the testimony, a psalm of Asaph. ² Shepherd of Israel, give ear, you who lead Joseph like a flock, you who sit enthroned upon the Cherubim, appear in splendor. ³ Before Ephraim, Benjamin and Manasseh, rouse your strength and come to our aid. ⁴ O God, restore us, let your face shine upon us and we shall be saved. ⁵ Lord, God of hosts, how long will you be angry with the prayer of your people? ⁶ You fed them with the bread of tears, you gave them abundant tears to drink. ⁷ You have made us a subject of contention to our neighbors, and our enemies mock us. ⁸ God of hosts, restore us, let your face shine upon us and we shall be saved. ⁹ You brought a vine out of Egypt, you drove out the nations and planted it. ¹⁰ You made room for it, it put down its roots and filled the earth. ¹¹ Its shadow covered the mountains and its branches the cedars of God, ¹² It extended its branches to the Sea and its offshoots to the River. ¹³ Why did you break down its fences, so that all passersby devastate it? ¹⁴ The wild boar in the forest devours it, and the beasts of the fields feed on it. ¹⁵ God of hosts, come back, look down from heaven and see, consider this vine. ¹⁶ Protect what your right hand has planted and the son you have chosen for yourself. ¹⁷ She is burned by fire, she is cut, before your menacing face, everything perishes. ¹⁸ Let your hand be upon the man of your right hand, upon the son of man whom you have chosen for yourself. ¹⁹ And we will never turn away from you again. Give us life and we will call upon your name. ²⁰ Lord, God of hosts, restore us. Let your face shine upon us, and we shall be saved.

Hebrew Psalm No. 81

(Psalm No. 80 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, according to the Gitthian. Of Asaph. ² Sing with gladness to God, our strength; shout for joy to the God of Jacob. ³ Sing the hymn, to the sound of the tambourine, the harmonious harp and the lute. ⁴ Sound the trumpet at the new moon, at the full moon, for the day of our feast. ⁵ For it is a precept for Israel, an ordinance of the God of Jacob. ⁶ He made it a law for Joseph when he marched against the land of Egypt. I hear a voice I do not know: ⁷ «"I took the burden off her shoulder and her hands left the basket.". ⁸ You cried out in distress and I delivered you; I answered you from the heart of the stormy cloud. I tested you at the waters of Meribah. Sela. ⁹ «Listen, my people, I want to give you a warning, Israel, may you listen to me. ¹⁰ Let there be no foreign god among you; do not worship the god of another people. ¹¹ «I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt. Open your mouth and I will fill it.”. ¹² «But my people did not listen to my voice; Israel did not obey me.”. ¹³ So I abandoned him to the hardening of his heart, and they followed their own advice. ¹⁴ «Oh, if only my people would listen to me, if only Israel would walk in my ways, ¹⁵ Soon I will confound their enemies, I will turn my hand against their oppressors. ¹⁶ «Those who hate the Lord would flatter him, and the existence of Israel would be assured forever.”. ¹⁷ I would feed him with the finest wheat and satisfy him with honey from the rock.»

Hebrew Psalm No. 82

(No. 81 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of Asaph. God stands in the assembly of the Almighty; in the midst of the gods he renders his judgment: ² «"How long will you judge unjustly and take the side of the wicked? Sela.". ³ «"Do justice to the weak and the orphan, and uphold the rights of the unfortunate and the poor, ⁴ Save the poor and needy, deliver them from the hand of the wicked. ⁵ «They have neither knowledge nor understanding; they walk in darkness; all the foundations of the earth are shaken.”. ⁶ «"I said: You are gods, you are all sons of the Most High. ⁷ However, you will die like men, you will fall like any other prince.» ⁸ Arise, O God, judge the earth, for all the nations belong to you.

Hebrew Psalm No. 83

(No. 82 in the Vulgate)

¹ Song, a psalm of Asaph. ² O God, do not remain in inaction, do not be silent and do not rest, O God. ³ For behold, your enemies are noisily agitated, those who hate you are raising their heads. ⁴ They are plotting a treacherous scheme against your people; they are conspiring against those you protect. ⁵ «Come,» they say, “let us exterminate them from among the nations, and let the name of Israel be spoken no more.” ⁶ They all conspire together, forming an alliance against you., ⁷ the tents of Edom and the Ishmaelites, Moab and the Hagarenes, ⁸ Gebal, Ammon and Amalek, the Philistines with the inhabitants of Tyre. ⁹ Assur also joined them and lent his arm to Lot's children. Sela. ¹⁰ Treat them like Midian, like Sisera, like Jabin at the Cishon River. ¹¹ They were destroyed at Endor, they served as fertilizer for the earth. ¹² Treat their leaders like Oreb and Zeb, and all their princes like Zeba and Shalman. ¹³ For they say, «Let us seize the dwellings of God.» ¹⁴ My God, make them like the whirlwind, like the stubble that the wind carries away. ¹⁵ Like fire devours the forest, like flames engulf the mountains, ¹⁶ So pursue them in your storm, terrify them in your hurricane. ¹⁷ Cover their faces with shame, so that they may seek your name, Lord. ¹⁸ May they forever be in confusion and terror, in shame and ruin. ¹⁹ Let them know that you, your name is the Lord, you alone are the Most High over all the earth.

Hebrew Psalm No. 84

(No. 83 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, according to the Gittite, a psalm of the sons of Korah. ² How lovely are your dwelling places, Lord of hosts. ³ My soul faints, longing for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh yearn for the living God. ⁴ Even the sparrow finds a home and the swallow a nest where she lays her young: Your altars, Lord of hosts, my king and my God. ⁵ Blessed are those who dwell in your house. They can still praise you. Selah. ⁶ Blessed are the men whose strength lies in you; they think only of holy ascents. ⁷ When they cross the Valley of Tears, they transform it into a place full of springs, and the autumn rain also covers it with blessings. ⁸ During their journey their strength increased, and they appeared before God in Zion: ⁹ «Lord, God of hosts,» they say, “hear my prayer, give ear, God of Jacob.” Selah. ¹⁰ You who are our shield, see, O God, and look upon the face of your Anointed One. ¹¹ For one day in your courts is better than a thousand; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. ¹² For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and glory; he withholds no good thing from those who walk in innocence. ¹³ Lord of hosts, blessed is he who trusts in you.

Hebrew Psalm No. 85

(No. 84 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of the sons of Korah. ² You have been favorable to your country, Lord; you have restored the captives of Jacob., ³ You have forgiven your people their iniquity; you have covered all their sins. Selah. ⁴ You have withdrawn all your indignation, you have turned away from the heat of your anger. ⁵ Restore us, God of our salvation, and put an end to your feelings against us. ⁶ Will you always be angry with us? Will you prolong your wrath forever? ⁷ Will you not restore us to life, so that your people may rejoice in you? ⁸ Lord, show us your goodness and grant us your salvation. ⁹ I want to listen to what the Lord God will say. He has words of peace for his people and for his faithful, provided they do not return to their folly. ¹⁰ Yes, his salvation is near to those who fear him, and glory will dwell again in our land. ¹¹ Kindness and truth will meet, justice and peace They will kiss. ¹² Truth will spring forth from the earth, and justice will look down from heaven. ¹³ The Lord himself will grant all good things, and our land will yield its fruit. ¹⁴ Justice will go before him and pave the way for his steps.

Hebrew Psalm No. 86

(No. 85 in the Vulgate)

¹ David's Prayer. Give ear, Lord, answer me, for I am poor and needy. ² Guard my soul, for I am devout; save your servant, O my God, who trusts in you. ³ Have mercy on me, Lord, for I cry out to you all day long. ⁴ Rejoice the soul of your servant, for to you, Lord, I lift up my soul. ⁵ For you are good, Lord, and merciful and full of compassion to all who call upon you. ⁶ Lord, give ear to my prayer, be attentive to the voice of my supplications. ⁷ I call upon you in the day of my distress, and you will answer me. ⁸ No one among the gods can compare with you, Lord; nothing resembles your works. ⁹ All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, Lord, and give glory to your name. ¹⁰ For you are great and you perform wonders. You alone are God. ¹¹ Teach me your ways, Lord, that I may walk in your faithfulness. Attach my heart to the fear of your name. ¹² I will praise you with all my heart, Lord, my God, and I will glorify your name forever. ¹³ For your kindness is great towards me; you have drawn my soul from the depths of Sheol. ¹⁴ O God, the proud have risen up against me, a band of violent men seek my life, without any regard for you. ¹⁵ But you, Lord, are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness. ¹⁶ Turn your eyes toward me and have mercy on me, give your strength to your servant and save the son of your handmaid. ¹⁷Show your kindness to me, that my enemies may see it and be confounded, for it is you, Lord, who assists and comforts me.

Hebrew Psalm No. 87

(No. 86 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song. He founded it on the holy mountains. ² The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. ³ Glorious things have been said about you, city of God. Selah. ⁴ «Among those who know me, I will name Rahab and Babylon; behold, the Philistines and Tyre, with Ethiopia: for there they were born.» ⁵ And it will be said of Zion: This one and that one were born there; it is He, the Most High, who founded it. ⁶ The Lord will record in the rolls of the peoples: «This one was born there.» Sela. ⁷ And singers and musicians say, "All my sources are in you."«

Hebrew Psalm No. 88

(No. 87 in the Vulgate)

¹ Songs, a psalm of the sons of Korah. To the choirmaster. To be sung with a mournful tone. A psalm of Heman the Ezrahite. ² Lord, God of my salvation, when I cry out to you in the night, ³ May my prayer reach your presence; listen to my supplications. ⁴ for my soul is full of evils and my life draws near to Sheol. ⁵ I am counted among those who go down into the pit; I am like a man at the end of his strength. ⁶ I am like one abandoned among the dead, like the corpses lying in the tomb, whom you no longer remember and who are taken from your hand. ⁷ You threw me into the pit, into the darkness, into the abyss. ⁸ Your fury weighs heavily upon me, you overwhelm me with all your waves. Sela. ⁹ You have taken my friends away from me, you have made me an object of horror to them, I am imprisoned without being able to get out. ¹⁰ My eyes are consumed by suffering. I call upon you all day long, Lord, I stretch out my hands to you. ¹¹ Will you perform a miracle for the dead, or will the shades rise to praise you? Sela. ¹² Is your goodness proclaimed in the tomb, your faithfulness in the grave? ¹³ Are your wonders known in the region of darkness, and your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness? ¹⁴ And I, Lord, cry out to you; my prayer comes to you early in the morning. ¹⁵ Why, Lord, do you reject my soul, hide your face from me? ¹⁶ I have been unhappy and dying since my youth, under the weight of your terrors, I do not know what to become. ¹⁷ Your fury overwhelms me, your terrors crush me. ¹⁸ Like overflowing waters they surround me all day long, they all besiege me together. ¹⁹ You have taken away from me my friends and my relatives; my companions are the darkness of the grave.

Hebrew Psalm No. 89

(No. 88 in the Vulgate)

¹ Song of Ethan the Ezrahite. ² I want to sing forever of the Lord's goodness; to all generations my mouth will make known your faithfulness. ³ Because I say: Kindness is an eternal edifice; in the heavens you have established your faithfulness. ⁴ «I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn this oath to David, my servant: ⁵ "I want to establish your race forever, to set up your throne for all generations." Sela. ⁶ The heavens praise your wonders, Lord, and your faithfulness in the assembly of the saints. ⁷ For who in heaven can compare with the Lord? Who is like the Lord among the sons of God? ⁸ God is awesome in the great assembly of the saints; he is dreadful to all who surround him. ⁹ Lord, God of hosts, who is like you? You are mighty, Lord, and your faithfulness surrounds you. ¹⁰ It is you who tames the pride of the sea; when its waves rise, it is you who calms them. ¹¹ It was you who crushed Rahab like a corpse, who scattered your enemies by the strength of your arm. ¹² Yours are the heavens, and yours also the earth, the world and all that is in it; you founded it. ¹³ You created the north and the south; Tabor and Hermon tremble at your name. ¹⁴ Your arm is strong, your hand is strong, your right hand is raised. ¹⁵ Justice and fairness are the foundation of your throne, kindness And loyalty stand before your face. ¹⁶ Blessed are the people who know joyful acclamations, who walk in the light of your face, Lord. ¹⁷ He rejoices continually in your name and is exalted by your righteousness. ¹⁸ For you are his glory and his power, and your favor exalts our strength. ¹⁹ For from the Lord comes our shield, and from the Holy One of Israel our king. ²⁰ You once spoke in a vision to your beloved, saying: «I have helped a hero, I have raised up a young man from among the people. ²¹ I have found David my servant, and I have anointed him with my holy oil. ²² My hand will be constantly with him and my arm will strengthen him. ²³ «The enemy will not surprise him, and the son of iniquity will not prevail over him.”. ²⁴ I will crush his adversaries before him and strike down those who hate him. ²⁵ My faithfulness and my goodness will be with him, and through my name his power will increase. ²⁶ I will stretch out his hand over the sea and his right hand over the rivers. ²⁷ «He will call on me: You are my Father, my God, and the rock of my salvation, ²⁸ and I will make him the firstborn, the highest of the kings of the earth. ²⁹ I will maintain my kindness to him forever, and my covenant with him will be faithful. ³⁰ I will establish his descendants forever, and his throne will endure for all the days of heaven. ³¹ «If his sons forsake my law and do not walk according to my ordinances, ³² if they violate my precepts and do not observe my commandments, ³³ I will punish their transgressions with the rod and their iniquities with blows, ³⁴ But I will not withdraw my kindness from him, nor will I betray my faithfulness. ³⁵«I will not violate my covenant and I will not alter the word that has come out of my lips.”. ³⁶ I swore once by my holiness, no, I will not lie to David. ³⁷ His posterity will endure forever, his throne will be before me like the sun, ³⁸ Like the moon, it is established forever, and the witness in heaven is faithful.» Selah. ³⁹ And you have rejected and scorned and become angry with your Anointed One. ⁴⁰ You have loathed the alliance with his servant, you have cast his desecrated diadem to the ground. ⁴¹ You have torn down all its walls, you have laid its fortresses to ruin. ⁴² All the passers-by are robbing him; he has become the disgrace of his neighbors. ⁴³ You have exalted the right hand of his oppressors, you have gladdened all his enemies. ⁴⁴ You turned back the edge of his sword and you did not support him in the fight. ⁴⁵ You have stripped it of its splendor and thrown its throne to the ground. ⁴⁶ You cut short the days of his youth and covered him with disgrace. Selah. ⁴⁷ How long, Lord, will you hide yourself forever, and will your fury burn like fire? ⁴⁸ Remember how short my life is, and for what futility you have created the sons of men. ⁴⁹ Who is the living one who will not see death, who will deliver his soul from the power of Sheol? Sela. ⁵⁰ Where, Lord, are your former mercies, which you swore to David in your faithfulness? ⁵¹ Remember, Lord, the reproach of your servants, remember that I bear in my breast the insults of so many numerous peoples. ⁵² Remember the insults of your enemies, Lord, their insults against the steps of your Anointed One. ⁵³ Blessed be the Lord forever. Amen. Amen.

Hebrew Psalm No. 90

(No. 89 in the Vulgate)

¹ A prayer of Moses, man of God. Lord, you have been our refuge from age to age. ² Before the mountains were born and you brought forth the earth and the world, from eternity to eternity you are, O God. ³ You reduce mortals to dust and you say, "Return, son of man."« ⁴ For a thousand years in your sight are like yesterday when it passes, or like a watch in the night. ⁵ You carry them away, like a dream, in the morning; like grass, they spring up again. ⁶ In the morning, it blooms and grows. In the evening, it withers and dries up. ⁷ Thus we are consumed by your anger and your fury terrifies us. ⁸ You have set before you our iniquities, our hidden sins, in the light of your face. ⁹ All our days disappear through your wrath, we see our years vanish like a faint sound. ¹⁰ Our days amount to seventy years, and in their full measure to eighty years, and their splendor is but toil and misery, for they pass quickly and we fly away. ¹¹ Who understands the power of your anger and your wrath, according to the fear that is due you? ¹² Teach us to number our days well, so that we may acquire a wise heart. ¹³ Return, Lord, how long will it be? Have mercy on your servants. ¹⁴ Satisfy us in the morning with your goodness, and we will be in it all our days. joy and joy. ¹⁵ Rejoice us for as many days as you have humiliated us, for as many years as we have known misfortune. ¹⁶ May your work be manifested to your servants, and your glory to their children. ¹⁷ May the favor of the Lord our God be upon us. Establish for us the work of our hands. Yes, establish the work of our hands.

Hebrew Psalm No. 91

(No. 90 in the Vulgate)

¹ He who takes refuge under the protection of the Most High rests in the shade of the Almighty. ² I say to the Lord, «You are my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.» ³ For it is he who delivers you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly plague. ⁴ He will cover you with his wings, and under his feathers you will find refuge. His faithfulness is a shield and a breastplate. ⁵ You will have no fear of the terrors of the night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, ⁶ neither the plague that walks in the darkness, nor the contagion that ravages at midday. ⁷ Though a thousand fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, you will not be harmed. ⁸ With your own eyes you will look and you will see the retribution of the wicked. ⁹ For you have said, «You are my refuge, Lord.» You have made the Most High your dwelling place. ¹⁰ No harm will come near you, no plague will approach your tent. ¹¹ For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. ¹² They will lift you up in their hands, so that your foot will not strike against a stone. ¹³ You will tread on the lion and the asp, you will trample the young lion and the dragon. ¹⁴ «Because he has attached himself to me, I will deliver him, I will protect him, because he knows my name.”. ¹⁵ He will call upon me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. ¹⁶ I will satisfy him with long life and show him my salvation.»

Hebrew Psalm No. 92

(No. 91 in the Vulgate)

¹ Psalm. A song for the Sabbath day. ² It is good to praise the Lord and to celebrate your name, O Most High, ³ to proclaim in the morning your goodness and your faithfulness during the night, ⁴ on the ten-stringed instrument and on the lute, with the chords of the harp. ⁵ You make me glad, Lord, by your works, and I rejoice in the works of your hands. ⁶ How great are your works, Lord, how profound your thoughts. ⁷ A stupid man knows nothing about it, and a fool cannot understand it. ⁸ When the wicked spring up like grass and all evildoers flourish, they are to be exterminated forever. ⁹ But you, Lord, are exalted for eternity. ¹⁰ For behold, your enemies, Lord, behold, your enemies perish; all who do evil are scattered. ¹¹ And you raise my horn, like that of a buffalo, I am sprinkled with fresh oil. ¹² My eye delights in beholding my enemies and my ear in hearing the wicked who rise up against me. ¹³ The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of the Lebanon. ¹⁴ Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God. ¹⁵ They will still bear fruit in old age, they will be full of sap and green, ¹⁶ to proclaim that the Lord is just: he is my rock and there is no injustice in him.

Hebrew Psalm No. 93

(No. 92 in the Vulgate)

¹ The Lord is king, he is clothed with majesty, the Lord is clothed, he is girded with strength, therefore the world is firm, it does not totter. ² Your throne was established from the beginning; you are from eternity. ³ The rivers raise their voices, O Lord, the rivers raise their resounding waves. ⁴ More than the voice of the great waters, of the powerful waves of the sea, the Lord is magnificent on high. ⁵ Your testimonies are immutable; holiness befits your house, Lord, for all the days of your life.

Hebrew Psalm No. 94

(No. 93 in the Vulgate)

¹ God of vengeance, Lord, God of vengeance, appear. ² Arise, judge of the earth, and repay the proud according to their deeds. ³ How long, Lord, how long will the wicked triumph? ⁴ They indulge in arrogant speeches, they glorify themselves, all these artisans of iniquity. ⁵ Lord, they crush your people, they oppress your heritage, ⁶ They slaughter widows and foreigners, they massacre orphans. ⁷ And they say, "The Lord does not see; the God of Jacob does not pay attention."« ⁸ Understand, you stupid children of the people. Fools, when will you gain intelligence? ⁹ He who planted the ear, will he not hear? He who formed the eye, will he not see? ¹⁰ He who chastises the nations, will he not punish? He who gives man understanding, will he not recognize? ¹¹ The Lord knows the thoughts of men; he knows that they are vain. ¹² Blessed is the man whom you instruct, Lord, and to whom you give the teaching of your law., ¹³ to appease him in the days of trouble, until the pit is dug for the wicked. ¹⁴ For the Lord will not reject his people, he will not abandon his inheritance, ¹⁵ But the judgment will once again conform to justice, and all upright men will applaud it. ¹⁶ Who will rise up for me against the wicked? Who will stand up for me against those who do evil? ¹⁷ If the Lord were not my help, my soul would soon dwell in the abode of silence. ¹⁸ When I say, "My foot is slipping," your goodness, Lord, sustains me. ¹⁹ When anxieties crowd my thoughts, your consolations gladden my soul. ²⁰ Does the tribunal of perdition, which does evil within the bounds of legality, have nothing in common with you? ²¹ They hasten against the life of the righteous and they condemn innocent blood. ²² But the Lord is my fortress, my God is the rock in whom I take refuge. ²³ He will bring their iniquity back upon them, he will exterminate them by their own wickedness, he will exterminate them, Lord, our God.

Hebrew Psalm No. 95

(No. 94 in the Vulgate)

¹ Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord. Let us shout for joy to the Rock of our salvation. ² Let us go to meet him with praise, let us raise hymns in his honor. ³ For the Lord is a great God, a great king above all gods. ⁴ In his hand he holds the foundations of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. ⁵ The sea is his, for he made it, and the earth also, his hands formed it. ⁶ Come, let us bow down and worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Creator. ⁷ For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Oh, that you would listen to his voice today!. ⁸ Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did on the day of Massah in the desert, ⁹ where your fathers tested me, tried me, although they had seen my works. ¹⁰ For forty years I loathed this race and said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways."« ¹¹ So I swore in my anger, "They shall not enter my rest."«

Hebrew Psalm No. 96

(No. 95 in the Vulgate)

¹ Sing to the Lord a new song. Sing to the Lord, all you inhabitants of the earth! ² Sing to the Lord, bless his name. Proclaim his salvation day after day. ³ Declare his glory among the nations, his wonders among all peoples. ⁴ For the Lord is great and worthy of all praise; he is to be feared above all gods, ⁵ For all the gods of the peoples are worthless. But the Lord made the heavens. ⁶ Splendor and magnificence are before him; power and majesty are in his sanctuary. ⁷ Ascribe to the Lord, O family of nations, ascribe to the Lord glory and power. ⁸ Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name. Bring the offering and come into his courts. ⁹ Bow down before the Lord in the holy splendor, tremble before him, all you inhabitants of the earth. ¹⁰ Say among the nations: «The Lord is king; therefore the world shall be established and not to fall; he shall judge the peoples with equity.» ¹¹ Let the heavens rejoice and let the earth be glad. Let the sea surge, and all that is in it. ¹² May the countryside rejoice with all that it contains, may all the trees in the forests cry out with joy, ¹³ before the Lord, for he is coming, for he is coming to judge the earth. He will judge the world with justice and the peoples according to his faithfulness.

Hebrew Psalm No. 97

(No. 96 in the Vulgate)

¹ The Lord is king, let the earth rejoice, let the many islands be glad. ² Clouds and shadows surround him; justice and equity are the foundation of his throne. ³ The fire advances before him and devours his adversaries around him. ⁴ His lightning illuminates the world; the earth sees it and trembles. ⁵ The mountains melt like wax before the Lord, before the Lord of all the earth. ⁶ The heavens proclaim his righteousness, and all the peoples behold his glory. ⁷ All image worshippers, who are proud of their idols, will be confounded. All the gods prostrate themselves before him. ⁸ Zion heard and rejoiced, the daughters of Judah exulted because of your judgments, Lord. ⁹ For you, Lord, are the Most High over all the earth; you are exalted far above all gods. ¹⁰ You who love the Lord, hate evil. He protects the souls of his faithful ones; he delivers them from the hand of the wicked. ¹¹ Light is sown for the righteous and joy for those who have a pure heart. ¹² Righteous ones, rejoice in the Lord and give glory to his holy name.

Hebrew Psalm No. 98

(No. 97 in the Vulgate)

¹ Psalm. Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things; his holy right hand and arm have given him victory. ² The Lord has manifested his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations. ³ He remembered his kindness and faithfulness to the house of Israel. All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God. ⁴ Shout for joy to the Lord, all you inhabitants of the earth, burst into joyful celebration with the sound of instruments. ⁵ Praise the Lord with the harp, with the harp and with the sound of hymns. ⁶ With trumpets and the sound of the horn, shout for joy before the King, the Lord. ⁷ Let the sea stir with all that it contains, let the earth and its inhabitants burst forth in joy. ⁸ Let the rivers applaud, let the mountains together shout for joy ⁹ before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth; he will judge the world with justice and the peoples with equity.

Hebrew Psalm No. 99

(No. 98 in the Vulgate)

¹ The Lord is king, the peoples tremble, he sits upon the cherubim, the earth quakes. ² The Lord is great in Zion; he is exalted above all peoples. ³ Let us celebrate your great and awesome name. It is holy. ⁴ Let us celebrate the power of the King who loves justice. You establish equity, you exercise justice and equity in Jacob. ⁵ Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool. He is holy. ⁶ Moses and Aaron were among his priests, and Samuel among those who called on his name. They called on the Lord, and he answered them., ⁷ He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud, and they observed his commandments and the law that he had given them. ⁸ Lord, our God, you answered them, you were a merciful God to them and you punished them for their sins. ⁹ Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy mountain, for the Lord our God is holy.

Hebrew Psalm No. 100

(No. 99 in the Vulgate)

¹ A psalm of praise. Shout for joy to the Lord, all you inhabitants of the earth. ² Serve the Lord with joy, come before him with gladness. ³ Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He is the one who made us and we belong to him; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture. ⁴ Come to his porticoes with praise, to his courts with songs of praise, celebrate him, bless his name. ⁵ For the Lord is good, his mercy endures forever, and his faithfulness continues through all generations.

Hebrew Psalm No. 101

(No. 100 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of David. I want to sing kindness and justice. It is you, Lord, whom I want to praise. ² I will heed the path of innocence. When will you come to me? I will walk in the integrity of my heart, in the midst of my house. ³ I will not set any evil deed before my eyes. I hate perverse conduct; it will not cling to me. ⁴ A false heart will never be mine; I do not want to know evil. ⁵ The detractor who secretly tears apart his neighbor, I will exterminate him. The man with a haughty gaze and a heart swollen with pride, I will not tolerate him. ⁶ I will keep my eyes on the faithful men of the land, that they may remain with me. He who walks in a blameless way will be my servant. ⁷ He who acts deceitfully will have no place in my house. He who utters lies will not stand before my eyes. ⁸ Every morning I will exterminate all the wicked of the land, in order to cut off from the city of the Lord all those who commit iniquity.

Hebrew Psalm No. 102

(No. 101 in the Vulgate)

¹ Prayer of the unfortunate, when he is overwhelmed and pours out his complaint before the Lord. ² Lord, hear my prayer and let my cry reach you. ³ Do not hide your face from me in the day of my distress; incline your ear to me when I cry out; answer me quickly. ⁴ For my days vanish like smoke, and my bones are consumed as by fire. ⁵ Struck like grass, my heart withers, I even forget to eat my bread. ⁶ From screaming and moaning, my bones cling to my flesh. ⁷ I resemble the desert pelican, I have become like the owl of the ruins. ⁸ I spend the nights sleepless, like the lonely bird on the roof. ⁹ All day long my adversaries insult me, my furious enemies swear my ruin. ¹⁰ I eat the ashes like bread and I mix my tears with my drink, ¹¹ because of your anger and indignation, for you lifted me up and threw me away. ¹² My days are like a lengthening shadow, and I wither like grass. ¹³ But you, Lord, are seated on an eternal throne, and your memory lives on from age to age. ¹⁴ You will arise, you will have compassion on Zion, for the time to show her mercy, the appointed time has come. ¹⁵ For your servants cherish its stones, they despise its dust. ¹⁶ Then the nations will revere the name of the Lord, and all the kings of the earth your majesty, ¹⁷ because the Lord has rebuilt Zion, he has shown himself in his glory. ¹⁸ He turned to the prayer of the wretched man; he did not disdain his supplication. ¹⁹ Let this be written for the future generation, and let the people yet to be created praise the Lord., ²⁰ because he looked down from his holy height, because the Lord looked down from heaven upon earth, ²¹ to hear the groans of the captives, to deliver those condemned to death, ²² so that they may proclaim the name of the Lord in Zion and his praise in Jerusalem ²³ when all the peoples and kingdoms are gathered together to serve the Lord. ²⁴ He broke my strength on the path, he shortened my days. ²⁵ I say: My God, do not take me away in the midst of my days, you whose years endure from age to age. ²⁶ In the beginning you laid the foundations of the earth, and the heavens are the work of your hands. ²⁷ They will perish, but you remain. They will all wear out like a garment. You will change them like a cloak, and they will be changed., ²⁸ But you, you remain the same and your years have no end. ²⁹ The sons of your servants will dwell in their land, and their descendants will be established before you.

Hebrew Psalm No. 103

(No. 102 in the Vulgate)

¹ Of David. My soul, bless the Lord, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. ² My soul, bless the Lord and do not forget his many benefits. ³ He is the one who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases. ⁴ It is he who delivers your life from the pit, who crowns you with goodness and mercy. ⁵ He is the one who fulfills your desires with good things, and your renewed youth has the strength of an eagle. ⁶ The Lord exercises justice; he gives justice to all the oppressed. ⁷ He revealed his ways to Moses, his great works to the children of Israel. ⁸ The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. ⁹ He does not reprimand forever; he does not hold onto his anger forever. ¹⁰ He does not treat us according to our sins, nor punish us according to our iniquities. ¹¹ For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his goodness to those who fear him. ¹² As far as the east is from the west, so too does it distance us from our transgressions. ¹³ As a father has compassion on his children, the Lord has compassion on those who fear him. ¹⁴ Because he knows what we are made of, he remembers that we are dust. ¹⁵ Man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field. ¹⁶ Let a breath pass over him, and he is no more, and the place he occupied no longer recognizes him. ¹⁷ But kindness the Lord's will endures forever for those who fear him, and his righteousness for their children's children., ¹⁸ for those who keep his covenant and remember to observe his commandments. ¹⁹ The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his dominion extends over all things. ²⁰ Bless the Lord, you his angels, who are mighty and strong and who carry out his commands, obeying the voice of his word. ²¹ Bless the Lord, all you his armies, who are his servants and who carry out his will. ²² Bless the Lord, all you his works, in all places of his dominion. My soul, bless the Lord.

Hebrew Psalm No. 104

(No. 103 in the Vulgate)

¹ My soul, bless the Lord. Lord, my God, you are infinitely great. You are clothed in majesty and splendor. ² He wraps himself in light as with a cloak, he unfurls the heavens like a tent. ³ In the waters of heaven he builds his dwelling, he makes his chariot of the clouds, he rides on the wings of the wind. ⁴ He makes the winds his messengers, and the flames of fire his servants. ⁵ He has established the earth on its foundations; it is forever unshakeable. ⁶ You had wrapped her in the abyss as with a garment; the waters covered the mountains. ⁷ They fled from your threat, at the sound of your thunder, they retreated in terror. ⁸ The mountains rose up, the valleys were carved out, in the place you had assigned them. ⁹ You set a boundary that the waters will no longer cross; they will never again cover the earth. ¹⁰ It sends the springs into the valleys, they flow between the mountains. ¹¹ They provide water for all the field animals; the onagers come to quench their thirst there. ¹² The birds of the sky live on their banks and make their voices resound in the foliage. ¹³ From his lofty abode, he waters the mountains; the earth is satisfied with the fruit of your works. ¹⁴ He makes grass grow for the flocks and plants for human use. He brings forth bread from the earth. ¹⁵ And the wine that gladdens the heart of man, he gives him the oil that shines on his face and the bread that strengthens his heart. ¹⁶ The Lord's trees are full of sap, and the cedars of the Lebanon that he planted. ¹⁷ This is where the birds make their nests and the stork that lives in the cypress trees. ¹⁸ The high mountains are for the chamois, the rocks are the shelter of the jerboas. ¹⁹ He made the moon to mark the times and the sun, which knows the time of its setting. ²⁰ He brings the darkness and it is night; immediately all the beasts of the forest begin to move. ²¹ The lion cubs roar after the prey and ask God for their food. ²² The sun rises, they retreat and go to sleep in their dens. ²³ The man then goes out to his work and to his job until evening. ²⁴ How many are your works, Lord! You have made them all in wisdom. The earth is full of your creatures. ²⁵ Here is the sea, wide and vast, teeming with countless animals, both small and large. ²⁶ There the ships sail and the leviathan that you formed to play in the waves. ²⁷ They all expect you to give them food at the right time. ²⁸ You give it to them and they gather it up. You open your hand and they are satisfied with your bounty. ²⁹ You hide your face, they are terrified. You take away their breath, they exhale and return to their dust. ³⁰ You send forth your breath, they are created, and you renew the face of the earth. ³¹ May the glory of the Lord endure forever. May the Lord rejoice in his works. ³² He looks at the earth and it trembles. He touches the mountains and they smoke. ³³ I want to sing to the Lord as long as I live, to celebrate my God as long as I exist. ³⁴ May my song be pleasing to him. I find my joy in the Lord. ³⁵ That the fishermen May they disappear from the earth and may the wicked be no more. My soul, bless the Lord. Alleluia.

Hebrew Psalm No. 105

(No. 104 in the Vulgate)

¹ Praise the Lord, call upon his name, make known among the nations his great works. ² Sing to him, celebrate him. Proclaim all his wonders. ³ Glory in his holy name. Joyful be the hearts of those who seek the Lord. ⁴ Seek the Lord and his strength; do not cease to seek his face. ⁵ Remember the wonders he has performed, his miracles, and the judgments that came from his mouth, ⁶ descendants of Abraham, his servant, children of Jacob, his chosen ones. ⁷ He, the Lord, is our God. His judgments reach all the earth. ⁸ He will forever remember his covenant, the word he affirmed for a thousand generations, ⁹ of the covenant he made with Abraham and the oath he swore to Isaac. ¹⁰ He established it as a law for Jacob, as an everlasting covenant for Israel, ¹¹ saying, "I will give you the land of Canaan as your inheritance."« ¹² Since they were then few in number, few in number, and foreigners in the country, ¹³ that they went from one nation to another and from one kingdom to another people, ¹⁴ He allowed no one to oppress them, and he punished the kings because of them: ¹⁵ «Do not touch those who have received my anointing, and do not harm my prophets.» ¹⁶ He brought famine upon the land, depriving them of the bread that sustained them. ¹⁷ He sent a man ahead of them, and Joseph was sold into slavery. ¹⁸ They bound his feet with shackles, they threw him into irons, ¹⁹ until the day when his prediction was fulfilled and the word of God vindicated him. ²⁰ The king sent to remove his bonds, and the sovereign of the people set him free. ²¹ He established him as lord of his house and governor of all his domains., ²² in order to bind the princes, according to his will, and to teach wisdom to his elders. ²³ Then Israel came to Egypt, and Jacob sojourned in the land of Ham. ²⁴ God greatly increased his people and made them more powerful than their oppressors. ²⁵ He changed their hearts, to the point that they hated his people and acted treacherously towards his servants. ²⁶ He sent Moses, his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen. ²⁷ They performed his wonders among them; they did miracles in the land of Ham. ²⁸ He sent darkness and made it night, and they did not rebel against his word. ²⁹ He turned their waters into blood and caused their fish to perish. ³⁰ Their country teemed with frogs, even in the chambers of their kings. ³¹ He spoke, and a swarm of insects came, gnats all over their territory. ³² He gave them hail for rain, flames of fire in their land. ³³ He struck their vines and their fig trees and broke the trees of their land. ³⁴ He spoke, and there came the locust, locusts without number. ³⁵ They devoured all the grass of their land, they devoured the produce of their fields. ³⁶ It struck all the firstborn of their countries, the very beginnings of their full vigor. ³⁷ He brought his people out with silver and gold, and none of his tribes wavered. ³⁸ The Egyptians rejoiced at their departure, for fear of Israel had seized them. ³⁹ He spread the cloud to cover them and the fire to light their way at night. ⁴⁰ At their request, he brought quails and fed them with the bread of heaven. ⁴¹ He opened the rock and water gushed out, flowing like a river in the desert. ⁴² For he remembered his holy word to Abraham, his servant. ⁴³ He led his people out in jubilation, his chosen ones amid shouts of joy. ⁴⁴ He gave them the lands of the nations, and they possessed the fruits of the peoples' labor., ⁴⁵ provided that we keep its precepts and observe its laws. Hallelujah.

Hebrew Psalm No. 106

(No. 105 in the Vulgate)

¹ Alleluia. Praise the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures forever. ² Who can tell of the mighty deeds of the Lord, who can proclaim all his glory? ³ Blessed are those who observe the law, who do what is right at all times. ⁴ Remember me, Lord, in your goodness to your people, visit me with your help, ⁵ so that I may see the happiness of your chosen ones, that I may rejoice in joy of your people, and that I may glory in your inheritance. ⁶ We have sinned like our fathers, we have committed iniquity, we have done evil. ⁷ Our fathers in Egypt did not regard your wonders, they did not remember the multitude of your graces, they rebelled at the sea, at the Red Sea. ⁸ Yet he saved them because of his name, to display his power. ⁹ He rebuked the Red Sea and it dried up, and he made them walk through the abyss as through a desert. ¹⁰ He saved them from the hand of the one who hated them, he delivered them from the hand of the oppressor. ¹¹ The waves covered their adversaries; not one escaped. ¹² They then believed his words, they sang his praises. ¹³ But they soon forgot his works; they did not wait for him to carry out his plans. ¹⁴ They were seized with lust in the desert, and they tested God in the solitude. ¹⁵ He granted them what they asked for, but he struck them with wasting away. ¹⁶ Then they were jealous of Moses in the camp and of Aaron, the holy one of the Lord. ¹⁷ The earth opened and swallowed Dathan and closed again on Abiron's troop. ¹⁸ The fire devoured their troop, the flame consumed the wicked. ¹⁹ They made a calf at Mount Horeb, and they worshiped an image of molten metal. ²⁰ They exchanged their glory for the image of an ox eating grass. ²¹ They forgot God, their savior, who had done great things in Egypt, ²² miracles in the land of Ham, wonders at the Red Sea. ²³ He spoke of exterminating them, if Moses, his chosen one, had not stood in the breach before him, to prevent his anger from destroying them. ²⁴ They scorned the land of delights; they did not believe the word of the Lord. ²⁵ They murmured in their tents and did not obey his voice. ²⁶ Then he raised his hand against them, swearing to destroy them in the desert, ²⁷ to destroy their race among the nations and to scatter them in other countries. ²⁸ They became attached to Beelphegor and ate victims offered to the dead. ²⁹ They angered the Lord by their actions, and a plague broke out among them. ³⁰ Phinehas stood up and gave satisfaction, and the plague was stopped. ³¹This action was attributed to justice, from age to age, forever. ³² They angered the Lord at the waters of Meribah, and Moses suffered because of them. ³³ because they embittered his mind and he spoke rashly. ³⁴ They did not exterminate the peoples whom the Lord had commanded them to destroy. ³⁵ They mingled with the nations and learned their works. ³⁶ They served their idols, who became a trap for them. ³⁷ They sacrificed their sons and daughters to demons. ³⁸ They shed innocent blood, the blood of their sons and daughters, whom they sacrificed to the idols of Canaan, and the land was desecrated by murders. ³⁹ They defiled themselves by their deeds, they prostituted themselves by their actions. ⁴⁰ The Lord's anger was kindled against his people, and he abhorred his inheritance. ⁴¹ He delivered them into the hands of the nations, and those who hated them ruled over them. ⁴² Their enemies oppressed them and they were humiliated under their hand. ⁴³ Many times he delivered them, but they were rebellious in their plans and were destroyed by their iniquities. ⁴⁴ Nevertheless, he looked at their distress when he heard their pleas. ⁴⁵ He remembered his covenant with them, and he had compassion on them according to his great mercy. ⁴⁶ and he showed them mercy in the presence of all those who held them captive. ⁴⁷ Save us, Lord our God, and gather us from among the nations, so that we may celebrate your holy name and glory in praising you. ⁴⁸ Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting, and let all the people say: Amen. Alleluia.

Hebrew Psalm No. 107

(No. 106 in the Vulgate)

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his mercy endures forever. ² Let the redeemed of the Lord say this, those whom he has redeemed from the hands of the enemy. ³ and that he has gathered from all countries, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the sea. ⁴ They wandered in the desert, along a lonely path, without finding a city to inhabit. ⁵ Plagued by hunger, They felt their souls failing from thirst. ⁶ In their distress they cried out to the Lord and he delivered them from their anguish. ⁷ He led them along the right path, to bring them to a habitable city. ⁸ Let them praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonders in favor of the son of man. ⁹ For he has quenched the thirst of the thirsty soul and filled the hungry soul with good things. ¹⁰ They dwelt in darkness and the shadow of death, prisoners in suffering and in chains. ¹¹ Because they had rebelled against the oracles of God and despised the counsel of the Most High, ¹² He humbled their hearts with suffering; they collapsed and no one came to their aid. ¹³ In their distress they cried out to the Lord and he saved them from their anguish. ¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death, and he broke their chains. ¹⁵ Let them praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonders toward the sons of men. ¹⁶ For he has broken down the bronze gates and cut through the iron bars. ¹⁷ The fools, through their criminal conduct and iniquities, had brought suffering upon themselves. ¹⁸ Their souls abhorred all food and they were near the gates of death. ¹⁹ In their distress they cried out to the Lord and he saved them from their anguish. ²⁰ He sent his word and he healed them and he rescued them from their tombs. ²¹ Let them praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonders toward the sons of men. ²² Let them offer sacrifices of thanksgiving and proclaim his works with shouts of joy. ²³ They had gone down to sea in ships, to trade on the vast waters, ²⁴ These are the ones who have seen the works of the Lord and his wonders in the midst of the abyss. ²⁵ He spoke, and he caused a stormy wind to rise up, which lifted the waves of the sea. ²⁶ They ascended to the heavens, they descended into the abyss, their souls faltered in sorrow. ²⁷ Overcome with dizziness, they staggered like a drunken man, and all their wisdom was annihilated. ²⁸ In their distress they cried out to the Lord, and he delivered them from their anguish. ²⁹ He changed the hurricane into a light breeze and the waves of the sea fell silent. ³⁰ They rejoiced when they saw them at peace, and the Lord led them to the desired port. ³¹ Let them praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonders toward the sons of men. ³² Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people and celebrate him in the council of elders. 

³³ He turned rivers into deserts and springs of water into arid land. ³⁴ The fertile land is covered in salt flats because of the wickedness of its inhabitants. ³⁵ He made the desert a pool of water and the arid land a soil full of springs. ³⁶ He settled the starving people there, and they founded a city to inhabit. ³⁷ They sowed fields and planted vineyards and reaped abundant harvests. ³⁸ He blessed them and they multiplied greatly, and he did not let their flocks decrease. ³⁹ They had been reduced to a small number and humiliated, under the weight of misfortune and suffering. ⁴⁰ He had spread shame upon their princes, he had made them wander in pathless deserts. ⁴¹ But he lifted the poor from their misery and made families like flocks. ⁴² The righteous see it and rejoice, and all the wicked shut their mouths. ⁴³ Let the wise take heed to these things and understand the goodness of the Lord.

Hebrew Psalm No. 108

(No. 107 in the Vulgate)

¹ Song, a psalm of David. ² My heart is steadfast, O God, I will sing and make joyful instruments resound. Arise, my glory! ³ Awake, my lyre and my harp, that I may awaken the dawn. ⁴ I will praise you among the peoples, Lord; I will sing to you among the nations. ⁵ For your goodness is higher than the heavens, and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds. ⁶ Rise above the heavens, O God, let your glory shine over all the earth ⁷ so that your beloved ones may be delivered, save by your right hand and answer me. ⁸ God has spoken in his holiness: «I will rejoice greatly, I will have Shechem as my inheritance, I will measure out the valley of Succoth. ⁹ Gilead is mine, Manasseh is mine, Ephraim is the armor of my head, and Judah is my scepter. ¹⁰ Moab is my washbasin; on Edom I throw my sandal; on the land of the Philistines I shout for joy.» ¹¹ Who will lead me to the fortified city? Who will bring me to Edom? ¹² Was it not you, O God, who had rejected us, O God, who no longer went out with our armies? ¹³ Lend us your aid against the oppressor. Man's help is but vanity. ¹⁴ With God we will accomplish great things; he will crush our enemies.

Hebrew Psalm No. 109

(No. 108 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of David. God of my praise, do not remain silent ² For the mouth of the wicked, the mouth of the treacherous, opens open against me. They speak against me with a lying tongue, ³ They besiege me with hateful words and they make me the war without reason. ⁴ In return for my affection, they fight me, and all I do is pray. ⁵ They repay me with evil for good and hatred for love. ⁶ Put it in the power of a wicked man, and let the accuser stand at his right hand. ⁷ When he is judged, let him be found guilty and let his prayer be considered a sin. ⁸ May his days be shortened and may another take his place. ⁹ May his children become orphans, may his wife be widowed. ¹⁰ May his children be vagrants and beggars, seeking their bread far from their ruined homes. ¹¹ Let the creditor seize all that belongs to him, and let foreigners plunder what he has earned through his labor. ¹² May he have no one to show him affection, may no one have pity on his orphans. ¹³ May his descendants be doomed to ruin and may their name be erased in the second generation. ¹⁴ May the iniquity of their fathers be remembered before the Lord, and may the sin of their mother not be blotted out. ¹⁵ May they always be before the Lord, and may he erase their memory from the earth. ¹⁶ Because he didn't remember exercising mercy, because he persecuted the unfortunate, the needy, and the brokenhearted to put them to death. ¹⁷ He loved the curse, it falls upon him. He scorned the blessing, it turns away from him. ¹⁸ He has clothed himself with the curse as with a garment; like water it enters into him, and like oil it penetrates his bones. ¹⁹ May she be for him the garment that envelops him, the belt that never ceases to encircle him. ²⁰ May this be the reward from the Lord for my adversaries and for those who speak maliciously against me. ²¹ And you, Lord God, defend me because of your name; in your great goodness, deliver me. ²² For I am unhappy and needy, and my heart is wounded within me. ²³ I am fading away like a shadow in its decline, I am swept away like a grasshopper. ²⁴ From fasting, my knees are shaky and my body is exhausted from being too thin. ²⁵ I am an object of scorn to them; they look at me and nod their heads. ²⁶ Help me, Lord, my God, save me in your goodness. ²⁷ Let them know that it is your hand, that it is you, Lord, who did it. ²⁸ They will curse, but you will bless; they will rise up, but they will be put to shame, and your servant will be in joy. ²⁹ My adversaries will be clothed in ignominy; they will be wrapped in their shame as in a cloak. ³⁰ My lips will praise the Lord highly; I will extol him in the midst of the multitude ³¹ for he stands at the right hand of the poor, to save them from those who condemn them.

Hebrew Psalm No. 110

(No. 109 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of David. The Lord said to my Lord, «Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.» ² The Lord will extend your mighty scepter from Zion: Reign as master in the midst of your enemies. ³ Your people flock to you on the day you assemble your army, adorned with sacred regalia. From the womb of dawn comes to you the dew of your young warriors. ⁴ The Lord has sworn, and he will not change his mind: «You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.» ⁵ The Lord is on the right. He will crush kings on the day of his wrath. ⁶ He executes his judgment among the nations, everything is filled with corpses, he crushes the heads of the whole earth. ⁷ He drinks from the stream on the way, that's why he raises his head.

Hebrew Psalm No. 111

(No. 110 in the Vulgate)

¹ Hallelujah. ALEPH. I want to praise the Lord with all my heart. BETH. In the gathering of the righteous and in the assembly. ² GHIMEL. Great are the works of the Lord. DALETH. Sought after for all the delights they provide. ³ HEY. His work is nothing but splendor and magnificence. VAV. And his justice endures forever. ⁴ ZAÏN. He left a memory of his wonders. HETH. The Lord is merciful and compassionate. ⁵ TETH. He gave food to those who fear him. YOD. He remembers his covenant forever. ⁶ CAPH. He demonstrated to his people the power of his works. LAMED. By delivering to them the heritage of the nations. ⁷ MEM. The works of his hands are truth and justice. NUN. All his commandments are immutable. ⁸ SAMECH. Established forever. AÏN. Made according to truth and righteousness. ⁹ PHE. He sent redemption to his people. TZADÉ. He established his covenant forever. QOPH. His name is holy and awesome. ¹⁰ RESCH. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. SHIN. Truly, those who observe his law are wise. TALV. His praise endures forever.

Hebrew Psalm No. 112

(No. 111 in the Vulgate)

¹ Hallelujah. Aleph. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord. Beth. Who finds his delight in keeping his precepts. ² GHIMEL. His descendants will be mighty on earth. DALETH. The race of the righteous will be blessed. ³ HEY. He has in his house well-being and riches. VAV. And his righteousness endures forever. ⁴ ZAÏN. Light dawns in the darkness for the upright. HETH. For the one who is merciful, compassionate, and just. ⁵ TETH. Blessed is the man who practices mercy And who lends. YOD. In court, he makes his case prevail. ⁶ CAPH. For it will never be shaken. LAMED. The righteous will leave an eternal memory. ⁷ MEM. He is not afraid of bad news. NUN. His heart is steadfast, trusting in the Lord. ⁸ SAMECH. His heart is unwavering; he does not fear. AÏN. Until he sees his enemies defeated. ⁹ PHE. He sows alms, he gives to the needy. TZADÉ. His righteousness endures forever. QOPH. His horn is lifted up in glory. ¹⁰ RESCH. The wicked see it and are angered. SCHIN. He gnashes his teeth and envy consumes him. THAV. The desire of the wicked will perish.

Hebrew Psalm No. 113

(No. 112 in the Vulgate)

¹ Alleluia. Praise, servants of the Lord, praise the name of the Lord. ² Blessed be the name of the Lord, now and forever. ³ From sunrise to sunset, praise be to the name of the Lord. ⁴ The Lord is exalted above all nations, his glory is above the heavens. ⁵ Who is like the Lord our God? He sits enthroned on high. ⁶ and he looks down, at the heavens and at the earth. ⁷ He raises the unfortunate from the dust, he lifts the poor from the dung heap, ⁸ to have them sit with the princes, with the princes of his people. ⁹ He gives a home to the barren woman of the house; he makes her a joyful mother in the midst of her children. Alleluia.

Hebrew Psalm No. 114

(No. 113A in the Vulgate)

¹ When Israel left Egypt, when the house of Jacob departed from a barbarous people, ² Judah became his sanctuary, Israel his domain. ³ The sea saw it and fled, the Jordan turned back. ⁴ The mountains leaped like rams, the hills like lambs. ⁵ What ails you, sea, that you flee? Jordan, that you turn back? ⁶ What is it you mountains have that makes you leap like rams, and you hills like lambs? ⁷ Tremble, O earth, before the face of the Lord, before the face of the God of Jacob, ⁸ which transforms the rock into a pond, the boulder into a spring of water.

Hebrew Psalm No. 115

(No. 113B in the Vulgate)

¹ Not to us, Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, because of your goodness, because of your faithfulness. ² Why should the nations say, "Where is their God?"« ³ Our God is in heaven. He does whatever he wants. ⁴ Their idols are silver and gold, the work of human hands. ⁵ They have mouths but do not speak, they have eyes but do not see. ⁶ They have ears but cannot hear, they have nostrils but cannot smell. ⁷ They have hands but do not touch, they have feet but do not walk, they make no sound from their throats. ⁸ May those who create them and anyone who confides in them resemble them. ⁹ Israel, put your trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. ¹⁰ House of Aaron, put your trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. ¹¹ You who fear the Lord, put your trust in the Lord. He is their help and their shield. ¹² The Lord has remembered us; he will bless us. He will bless the house of Israel, he will bless the house of Aaron., ¹³ He will bless those who fear the Lord, the small with the great. ¹⁴ May the Lord multiply his favors upon you and upon your children. ¹⁵ May you be blessed by the Lord, who made heaven and earth. ¹⁶ The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but he has given the earth to the sons of men. ¹⁷ It is not the dead who praise the Lord, those who descend into the place of silence. ¹⁸ But we will bless the Lord, now and forever. Hallelujah.

Hebrew Psalm No. 116

(Psalms No. 114 and 115 in the Vulgate)

¹ I love Him, for the Lord hears my voice, my supplications. ² For he has inclined his ear to me, and all my life I will invoke him. ³ The bonds of death surrounded me and the anguish of Sheol had seized me; I was prey to distress and affliction. ⁴ And I called upon the name of the Lord: «Lord, save my soul.» ⁵ The Lord is merciful and just, our God is compassionate. ⁶ The Lord protects the weak; I was unfortunate and he saved me. ⁷ My soul, return to your rest, for the Lord has filled you with good things. ⁸ Yes, you saved my soul from death, my eye from tears, my feet from falling. ⁹ I will walk before the Lord again, in the land of the living. ¹⁰ I have faith, even as I say, "I am excessively unhappy."« ¹¹ In my despondency, I said, "Every man is a liar."« ¹² What shall I give back to the Lord for all his blessings towards me?. ¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. ¹⁴ I will fulfill my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people. ¹⁵ The death of his faithful is precious in the eyes of the Lord. ¹⁶ Ah Lord, because I am your servant, your servant, son of your handmaid, you have loosed my bonds. ¹⁷ I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving and I will call upon the name of the Lord. ¹⁸ I will fulfill my vows to the Lord, in the presence of all his people, ¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the Lord, within your walls, Jerusalem. Alleluia.

Hebrew Psalm No. 117

(No. 116 in the Vulgate)

¹ All nations, praise the Lord; all peoples, extol him. ² For his goodness to us is great, and the truth of the Lord endures forever. Alleluia.

Hebrew Psalm No. 118

(No. 117 in the Vulgate)

At the start of the procession. ¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his mercy endures forever. ² Let Israel say, «Yes, His mercy endures forever.» ³ Let the house of Aaron say, «Yes, his mercy endures forever.» ⁴ Let those who fear the Lord say, «Yes, his mercy endures forever.» During the journey. ⁵ Out of my distress I called upon the Lord: the Lord answered me and set me free. ⁶ The Lord is for me; I fear nothing. What can men do to me? ⁷ The Lord is on my side among those who help me; I will see the ruin of those who hate me. ⁸ It is better to seek refuge in the Lord than to trust in men. ⁹ It is better to seek refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes. ¹⁰ All nations surrounded me, in the name of the Lord, I cut them to pieces. ¹¹ They surrounded and enveloped me; in the name of the Lord, I cut them to pieces. ¹² They surrounded me like bees, they died out like a fire of thorns, in the name of the Lord, I cut them to pieces. ¹³ You pushed me violently to make me fall, but the Lord helped me. ¹⁴ The Lord is my strength and the subject of my songs; he has been my salvation. ¹⁵ Shouts of triumph and deliverance resound in the tents of the righteous. The right hand of the Lord has displayed its power. ¹⁶ The right hand of the Lord is exalted; the right hand of the Lord has displayed its strength. ¹⁷ I will not die, but I will live and proclaim the works of the Lord. ¹⁸ The Lord has severely punished me, but he has not given me over to death. The leader arrived before the temple. ¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter and praise the Lord. The priests. ²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord; the righteous may enter through it. The leader of the people. ²¹ I will celebrate you, because you answered my call and you have been my salvation. ²² The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone. The priests. ²³ This is the Lord's work; it is a marvelous thing in our eyes. The people, upon entering. ²⁴ This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad! joy. ²⁵ O Lord, grant salvation. O Lord, grant prosperity. The priests, to the leader. ²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. We bless you from the house of the Lord. ²⁷ The Lord is God; he makes light shine upon us. The priests, to the people: Bind the victim with cords, up to the horns of the altar. The people. ²⁸ You are my God and I will praise you, my God and I will exalt you. All together. ²⁹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his mercy endures forever.

Hebrew Psalm No. 119

(No. 118 in the Vulgate)

ALEPH. ¹ Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. ² Blessed are those who keep his teachings, who seek him with all their heart., ³ who do not commit iniquity and who walk in his ways. ⁴ You prescribed your orders so that they would be carefully followed. ⁵ May my ways be guided so that I may observe your laws. ⁶ Then I will not have to be ashamed, in view of all your commandments. ⁷ I will praise you with the uprightness of my heart, learning the precepts of your righteousness. ⁸ I want to keep your laws: don't abandon me completely. BETH. ⁹ How can a young man keep his path pure? By keeping to your word. ¹⁰ I seek you with all my heart: do not let me wander far from your commandments. ¹¹ I have kept your word hidden in my heart, so that I might not sin against you. ¹² Blessed are you, Lord, teach me your laws. ¹³ From my lips I enumerate all the precepts of your mouth. ¹⁴ I have joy to follow your teachings, as if I possessed all the treasures. ¹⁵ I want to meditate on your precepts, to keep my eyes on your paths. ¹⁶ I delight in your laws; I will not forget your word. GHIMEL. ¹⁷ Show kindness to your servant, so that I may live and keep your word. ¹⁸ Open my eyes, so that I may behold the wonders of your law. ¹⁹ I am a stranger on earth, do not hide your commandments from me. ²⁰ My soul is broken by desire, which always draws it towards your precepts. ²¹ You threaten the proud, those cursed ones, who stray far from your commandments. ²² Keep shame and contempt away from me, for I observe your teachings. ²³ Let the princes sit and speak against me: your servant will meditate on your laws. ²⁴ Yes, your teachings are my delight; they are the men of my council. DALETH. ²⁵ My soul clings to the dust; give me life, according to your word. ²⁶ I have explained my ways to you, and you have answered me: teach me your laws. ²⁷ Help me understand the way of your ordinances and I will meditate on your wonders. ²⁸ My soul, overcome with sorrow, melts into tears: raise me up according to your word. ²⁹ Turn away from me the way of falsehood and grant me the favor of your law. ³⁰ I chose the path of loyalty, I place your precepts before my eyes. ³¹ I have clung to your teachings: Lord, do not let me be put to shame. ³² I run in the way of your commandments, for you have enlarged my heart. HE. ³³ Teach me, Lord, the way of your precepts, so that I may keep it until the end of my life. ³⁴ Give me understanding so that I may keep your law and observe it with all my heart. ³⁵ Lead me in the path of your commandments, for I find happiness there. ³⁶ Incline my heart towards your teachings and not towards gain. ³⁷ Turn my eyes away from vanity, and lead me to live in your way. ³⁸ Fulfill your promise to your servant, which you made to those who fear you. ³⁹ Remove from me the reproach that I dread, for your precepts are good. ⁴⁰ I earnestly desire to carry out your ordinances; by your justice, give me life. VAV. ⁴¹ May your mercy come upon me, Lord, and your salvation, according to your word. ⁴² And I will be able to answer the one who insults me, because I trust in your word. ⁴³ Do not take the word of truth entirely from my mouth, for I have hope in your precepts. ⁴⁴ I want to keep your law constantly, always, and in perpetuity. ⁴⁵ I will walk far out, for I seek your prescriptions. ⁴⁶ I will speak of your teachings before kings, and I will not be ashamed. ⁴⁷ I will delight in your commandments, for I love them. ⁴⁸ I will raise my hands to your commandments which I love, and I will meditate on your laws. ZAÏN. ⁴⁹ Remember the promise you made to your servant, on which you have placed my hope. ⁵⁰ It is my consolation in misery, that your word gives me life. ⁵¹ The proud heap their mockery upon me: I do not deviate from your law. ⁵² I think of your precepts of times past, Lord, and I am comforted. ⁵³ Indignation seizes me because of the wicked, who abandon your law. ⁵⁴ Your laws are the subject of my songs, in the place of my pilgrimage. ⁵⁵ At night I remember your name, Lord, and I observe your law. ⁵⁶ This is the portion given to me: I keep your ordinances. HETH. ⁵⁷ My part, Lord, I say, is to keep your words. ⁵⁸ I implore you with all my heart; have mercy on me according to your word. ⁵⁹ I reflect on my paths and I turn my steps back towards your teachings. ⁶⁰ I hasten, I do not delay to observe your commandments. ⁶¹ The traps of the wicked surround me, and I do not forget your law. ⁶² In the middle of the night, I rise to praise you, because of your righteous judgments. ⁶³ I am a friend to all who fear you and to those who keep your precepts. ⁶⁴ The earth is full of your goodness, Lord: teach me your laws. TETH. ⁶⁵ You have shown kindness to your servant, Lord, according to your word. ⁶⁶ Teach me right judgment and understanding, for I have faith in your commandments. ⁶⁷ Before I was humiliated, I went astray; now I heed your word. ⁶⁸ You are good and benevolent, teach me your laws. ⁶⁹ Proud people are inventing lies against me; but I will keep your decrees with all my heart. ⁷⁰ Their heart is as callous as fat; but I delight in your law. ⁷¹ It is good for me to have been humbled, so that I may learn your precepts. ⁷² Better to me is the law from your mouth than heaps of gold and silver. YOD. ⁷³ Your hands made me and fashioned me; give me understanding to learn your commandments. ⁷⁴ Those who fear you will rejoice when they see me, for I trust in your word. ⁷⁵ I know, Lord, that your judgments are just; it is in your faithfulness that you have humbled me. ⁷⁶ May your goodness be my comfort, according to your word given to your servant. ⁷⁷ May your compassion come upon me and let me live, for your law is my delight. ⁷⁸ May the proud who unjustly mistreat me be confounded. I, however, meditate on your decrees. ⁷⁹ Let those who fear you and those who know your teachings turn to me. ⁸⁰ May my heart be wholly devoted to your laws, so that I may not be put to shame. CAPH. ⁸¹ My soul longs for your salvation; I hope in your word. ⁸² My eyes yearn for your promise, I say, "When will you comfort me?"« ⁸³ For I am like a wineskin exposed to smoke, but I do not forget your laws. ⁸⁴ How many days has your servant lived? When will you bring justice to those who persecute me? ⁸⁵ The proud dig pits to destroy me; they are the adversaries of your law. ⁸⁶ All your commandments are faithful, they persecute me without cause: help me. ⁸⁷ They almost wiped me out in the country, and I will not abandon your orders. ⁸⁸ Restore my life in your goodness, and I will observe the teaching from your mouth. LAMED. ⁸⁹ Forever, Lord, your word is established in heaven. ⁹⁰ Your faithfulness endures from age to age; you have founded the earth, and it remains. ⁹¹ It is according to your laws that everything exists to this day, for everything obeys your commands. ⁹² If your law did not bring me delight, I would already have perished in my misery. ⁹³ I will never forget your prescriptions, because it was through them that you gave me back my life. ⁹⁴ I am yours: save me, for I seek your precepts. ⁹⁵ The wicked are waiting to destroy me: I pay attention to your teachings. ⁹⁶ I have seen limits to everything that is perfect, but your command has no limits. MEM. ⁹⁷ How I love your law. It is the object of my meditation all day long. ⁹⁸ Through your commandments, you make me wiser than my enemies, for I always have them with me. ⁹⁹ I am wiser than all my teachers, for your teachings are the object of my meditation. ¹⁰⁰ I am more intelligent than the old men, for I observe your ordinances. ¹⁰¹ I keep my foot far from every evil path, so that I may keep your word. ¹⁰² I do not deviate from your precepts, for it is you who instructed me. ¹⁰³ How sweet your words are to my palate, sweeter than honey to my mouth. ¹⁰⁴ By your decrees I become wise, therefore I hate all paths of falsehood. NUN. ¹⁰⁵ Your word is a torch before my feet, a light for my path. ¹⁰⁶ I have sworn, and I will be faithful to it, to observe the precepts of your justice. ¹⁰⁷ I am reduced to extreme affliction: Lord, restore me to life, according to your word. ¹⁰⁸ Accept, Lord, the offering of my lips and teach me your precepts. ¹⁰⁹ My life is continually in my hands and I do not forget your law. ¹¹⁰ The wicked lay traps for me, but I do not stray far from your commandments. ¹¹¹ I have your teachings as an inheritance forever, for they are joy from my heart. ¹¹² I have inclined my heart to observe your laws, always, until the end. SAMECH. ¹¹³ I hate men with double hearts and I love your law. ¹¹⁴ You are my refuge and my shield; I trust in your word. ¹¹⁵ Depart from me, you wicked, and I will observe the commandments of my God. ¹¹⁶ Uphold me according to your promise, so that I may live, and do not let me be put to shame in my hope. ¹¹⁷ Be my support and I will be saved, and I will always have your laws before my eyes. ¹¹⁸ You despise all those who deviate from your laws, for their cunning is nothing but lies. ¹¹⁹ You reject all the wicked of the earth like dross, that is why I love your teachings. ¹²⁰ My flesh trembles with fear before you, and I dread your judgments. AÏN. ¹²¹ I uphold law and justice, and will not surrender to my oppressors. ¹²² Take under your guarantee the property of your servant and let not the proud oppress me. ¹²³ My eyes long for your salvation and for the promise of your justice. ¹²⁴ Deal with your servant according to your goodness and teach me your laws. ¹²⁵ I am your servant: give me understanding, so that I may know your teachings. ¹²⁶ It is time for the Lord to intervene; they are violating your law. ¹²⁷ That is why I love your commandments more than gold and fine gold. ¹²⁸ That is why I find all your precepts just; I hate every path of falsehood. PHEASANT. ¹²⁹ Your teachings are wonderful, and so my soul observes them. ¹³⁰ The revelation of your words illuminates; it gives understanding to the simple. ¹³¹ I open my mouth and breathe in, for I long for your commandments. ¹³² Turn your face toward me and have mercy on me, for this is justice toward those who love your name. ¹³³ Strengthen my steps in your word and let no iniquity have dominion over me. ¹³⁴ Deliver me from the oppression of men and I will keep your ordinances. ¹³⁵ Let your face shine upon your servant and teach me your laws. ¹³⁶ My eyes overflow with tears because your law is not observed. TSADÉ. ¹³⁷ You are just, Lord, and your judgments are fair. ¹³⁸ You gave your teachings according to justice and perfect faithfulness. ¹³⁹ My zeal consumes me, because my adversaries forget your words. ¹⁴⁰ Your word is entirely tried and true, and your servant loves it. ¹⁴¹ I am small and despised, but I do not forget your prescriptions. ¹⁴² Your justice is eternal justice, and your law is truth. ¹⁴³ Distress and anguish have overtaken me, but your commandments are my delight. ¹⁴⁴ Your teachings are eternally true; grant me understanding, so that I may live. QOPH. ¹⁴⁵ I call upon you with all my heart, hear me, Lord, so that I may keep your laws. ¹⁴⁶ I call upon you, save me, so that I may observe your teachings. ¹⁴⁷ I rise before dawn and cry out to you; I hope in your word. ¹⁴⁸ My eyes stay up before the watches of the night, to meditate on your word. ¹⁴⁹ Listen to my voice according to your goodness, Lord; restore me to life according to your judgment. ¹⁵⁰ They are approaching, those who persecute crime, who have strayed from your law. ¹⁵¹ You are near, Lord, and all your commandments are truth. ¹⁵² I have long known about your teachings that you have established them forever. RESCH. ¹⁵³ See my misery and deliver me, for I do not forget your law. ¹⁵⁴ Defend my cause and be my avenger, give me back my life according to your word. ¹⁵⁵ Salvation is far from the wicked, for they do not care about your laws. ¹⁵⁶ Your mercies are many, Lord; restore me to life according to your judgments. ¹⁵⁷ Many are my persecutors and enemies, but I do not depart from your teachings. ¹⁵⁸ At the sight of the unbelievers, I felt horror, because they do not observe your word. ¹⁵⁹ Consider that I love your precepts, Lord; restore me to life according to your goodness. ¹⁶⁰ The summary of your word is truth, and all your laws of justice are eternal. SIN, SHIN. ¹⁶¹ Princes persecute me without cause; it is because of your words that my heart is afraid. ¹⁶² I rejoice in your word, as if I had found rich spoils. ¹⁶³ I hate lies, I abhor them, I love your law. ¹⁶⁴ Seven times a day I praise you, because of your righteous laws. ¹⁶⁵ There is great peace for those who love your law, and nothing will cause them to stumble. ¹⁶⁶ I hope in your salvation, Lord, and I practice your commandments. ¹⁶⁷ My soul observes your teachings and is enamored of them. ¹⁶⁸ I keep your ordinances and your teachings, for all my ways are before you. THAV. ¹⁶⁹ May my cry reach you, Lord. According to your word, give me understanding. ¹⁷⁰ May my supplication reach you. According to your word, deliver me. ¹⁷¹ May my lips utter your praise, for you have taught me your laws. ¹⁷² Let my tongue proclaim your word, for all your commandments are righteous. ¹⁷³ May your hand reach out to help me, for I have chosen your precepts. ¹⁷⁴ I long for your salvation, Lord, and your law is my delight. ¹⁷⁵ May my soul live to praise you, and may your judgments come to my aid. ¹⁷⁶ I am wandering like a lost sheep; seek your servant, for I do not forget your commandments.

Hebrew Psalm No. 120

(No. 119 in the Vulgate)

¹ Song of Ascents. To the Lord, in my distress, I cried out, and he answered me. ² «"Lord, deliver my soul from lying lips and from a deceitful tongue."» ³ What will be given to you, what will be your gain, you treacherous tongue? ⁴ The sharp arrows of the Almighty, with the burning coals of the broom. ⁵ How unhappy I am to be staying in Mesek, to be living under Cedar's tents. ⁶ For too long I have stayed with those who hate peace. ⁷ I am a man of peace and when I speak to them, they are for the war.

Hebrew Psalm No. 121

(No. 120 in the Vulgate)

¹ A hymn for the ascents. I lift my eyes to the mountains, where will my help come from? ² My help will come from the Lord who made heaven and earth. ³ He will not allow your foot to stumble; he who watches over you will not slumber. ⁴ No, he who guards Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps. ⁵ The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your refuge, always at your right hand. ⁶ During the day, the sun will not strike you, nor the moon during the night. ⁷ The Lord will keep you from all harm; he will keep your soul. ⁸ The Lord will watch over your going out and your coming in, now and forever.

Hebrew Psalm No. 122

(No. 121 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Song of Ascents, by David. I have been in joy when they told me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord."« ² Finally, our feet stop at your gates, Jerusalem. ³ Jerusalem, you are built like a city where everything fits together. ⁴ There the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, according to the law of Israel, to praise the name of the Lord. ⁵ There are seats for judgment, the seats of the house of David. ⁶ Make vows for Jerusalem. May those who love you be blessed. ⁷ That peace reign within your walls, prosperity within your palaces. ⁸ Because of my brothers and friends, I ask for you peace. ⁹ For the sake of the house of the Lord our God, I desire happiness for you.

Hebrew Psalm No. 123

(No. 122 in the Vulgate)

¹ Song of Ascents. I lift up my eyes to you, O you who sit enthroned in the heavens. ² As the eye of a servant looks to the hand of his master, and the eye of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until he has mercy on us. ³ Have mercy on us, Lord, have mercy on us, for we have been more than filled with reproach. ⁴ Our soul has been more than satiated with the mockery of the proud, with the contempt of the arrogant.

Hebrew Psalm No. 124

(No. 123 in the Vulgate)

¹ A song of ascents, of David. If the Lord had not been for us, let Israel proclaim it, ² If the Lord had not been on our side when men rose up against us, ³ They would have devoured us alive when their anger was kindled against us., ⁴ The waters would have engulfed us, the torrent would have swept over our souls, ⁵ The impetuous waters would have passed over our souls. ⁶ Blessed be the Lord, who did not deliver us to their teeth. ⁷ Our soul, like the sparrow, has escaped from the fowler's snare. The snare is broken, and we have been delivered. ⁸ Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Hebrew Psalm No. 125

(No. 124 in the Vulgate)

¹ A song of ascents. Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be shaken, but is established forever. ² Jerusalem has a belt of mountains around it, so the Lord surrounds his people, now and forever. ³ The scepter of the wicked will not remain over the inheritance of the righteous, so that the righteous will not also turn their hands toward iniquity. ⁴ Lord, shower your goodness on the good and on those who have a righteous heart. ⁵ But as for those who turn aside to crooked ways, may the Lord abandon them with those who do evil. Peace be upon Israel.

Hebrew Psalm No. 126

(No. 125 in the Vulgate)

¹ A song of ascents. When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, it was like a dream to us. ² Then our mouths shouted for joy, our tongues sang songs of gladness. Then it was said among the nations, «The Lord has done great things for them.» ³ Yes, the Lord has done great things for us; we are in joy. ⁴ Lord, restore our captives, as you make the streams flow in the Negev. ⁵ Those who sow in tears will reap in gladness. ⁶ They go, weeping, carrying seed to sow, and they will return with shouts of joy, carrying sheaves of their harvest.

Hebrew Psalm No. 127

(No. 126 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Song of Ascents, by Solomon. Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stands guard at its gates in vain. ² It is in vain that you rise before the day and delay your rest, eating the bread of sorrow, for he gives as much to his beloved in his sleep. ³ Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, and the fruits of a fruitful womb a reward. ⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are the sons of youth. ⁵ Happy is the man who has filled his quiver with them. They will not be ashamed when they answer their enemies at the city gate.

Hebrew Psalm No. 128

(No. 127 in the Vulgate)

¹ A song of ascents. Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways. ² You then feed yourself from the work of your hands, you are happy and filled with possessions. ³ Your wife is like a fruitful vine within your house, your children like young olive shoots around your table. ⁴ This is how the man who fears the Lord will be blessed. ⁵ May the Lord bless you from Zion. May you see Jerusalem flourishing all the days of your life. ⁶ May you see your children's children. peace either on Israel.

Hebrew Psalm No. 129

(No. 128 in the Vulgate)

¹ Song of Ascents. They have cruelly oppressed me from my youth, let Israel say. ² They cruelly oppressed me from my youth, but they did not prevail against me. ³ They plowed my back, they traced long furrows there. ⁴ But the Lord is just; he has cut the chains of the wicked. ⁵ May they be confounded and turned back, all those who hate Zion. ⁶ May they be like the grass on the rooftops, which dries up before it is pulled up. ⁷ The reaper does not fill his hand, nor does the one who binds the sheaves fill his lap, ⁸ And the passersby do not say, "The blessing of the Lord be upon you; we bless you in the name of the Lord."«

Hebrew Psalm No. 130

(No. 129 in the Vulgate)

¹ Song of Ascents. From the depths of the abyss I cry out to you, Lord. ² Lord, hear my voice, let your ears be attentive to the sounds of my prayer. ³ If you, Lord, keep a record of iniquity, Lord, who can stand? ⁴ But beside you is forgiveness, so that you may be revered. ⁵ I hope in the Lord, my soul hopes and I wait for his word. ⁶ My soul longs for the Lord more than watchmen long for the dawn. ⁷ Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is mercy, with him an abundant deliverance. ⁸ He is the one who will redeem Israel from all its iniquities.

Hebrew Psalm No. 131

(No. 130 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Song of Ascents, of David. Lord, my heart is not proud, nor are my eyes haughty. I do not seek great things, nor what is exalted above me. ² No, I keep my soul in calm and silence. Like a weaned child at its mother's breast, like a weaned child my soul is within me. ³ Israel, put your hope in the Lord now and forever.

Hebrew Psalm No. 132

(No. 131 in the Vulgate)

¹ Song of Ascents. Remember, Lord, David, and all his sufferings. ² He made this oath to the Lord, this vow to the Fortress of Jacob: ³ «I will not enter the tent where I live, I will not climb onto the bed where I rest, ⁴ I will grant no sleep to my eyes, nor slumber to my eyelids, ⁵ until I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling place for Jacob's Fortress."» ⁶ We heard that she was in Ephrathah; we found her in the fields of Jaar. ⁷ Let us go to the tabernacle of the Lord, let us bow down before the footstool of his feet. ⁸ Arise, O Lord, come to your resting place, you and the ark of your majesty. ⁹ May your priests be clothed with righteousness and may your faithful shout for joy. ¹⁰ For the sake of David, your servant, do not reject the face of your Anointed One. ¹¹ The Lord swore to David a sure oath, and he will not depart from it: «From the fruit of your womb I will place on your throne. ¹² If your sons keep my covenant and the statutes I will teach them, their sons also will sit on your throne forever.» ¹³ For the Lord has chosen Zion, he has desired it for his dwelling place. ¹⁴  «"This is the place of my rest forever; I will dwell there, for I have desired it.". ¹⁵ I will shower rich blessings upon his sustenance, I will satisfy his poor with bread. ¹⁶ I will clothe her priests with salvation and her faithful will shout for joy. ¹⁷ There I will increase the power of David, I will prepare a torch for my Anointed One. ¹⁸ I will shame his enemies, and his diadem will shine upon his brow.»

Hebrew Psalm No. 133

(No. 132 in the Vulgate)

¹ A song of ascents, of David. How good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity!. ² It is like the precious oil that, poured on the head, runs down on the beard, on Aaron's beard, and down onto the edge of his garment. ³ It is like the dew of Hermon, which falls on the peaks of Zion, for it is there that the Lord has established the blessing, life, forever.

Hebrew Psalm No. 134

(No. 133 in the Vulgate)

¹ Song of Ascents. Behold, bless the Lord, all you servants of the Lord, who serve in the house of the Lord by night. ² Raise your hands toward the sanctuary and bless the Lord. ³ May the Lord bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth.

Hebrew Psalm No. 135

(No. 134 in the Vulgate)

¹ Alleluia. Praise the name of the Lord, praise him, servants of the Lord, ² you who serve in the house of the Lord, in the courts of the house of our God. ³ Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good; sing his name on the harp, for he is full of sweetness. ⁴ For the Lord chose Jacob for himself, he chose Israel to be his inheritance. ⁵ Yes, I know it, the Lord is great, our Lord is above all gods. ⁶ Whatever the Lord wills, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the sea and in all the depths. ⁷ He makes the clouds rise from the ends of the earth, he produces lightning with the rain, he draws the wind from his treasures. ⁸ It once struck down the firstborn of Egypt, from man to animal. ⁹ He performed signs and wonders in your midst, O Egypt, against Pharaoh and all his servants. ¹⁰ He struck down many nations and killed powerful kings, ¹¹ Sihon, king of the Amorites, Og, king of Bashan, and all the kings of Canaan. ¹² And he gave their land as an inheritance, as an inheritance to Israel, his people. ¹³ Lord, your name endures forever. Lord, your memory persists from generation to generation. ¹⁴ For the Lord does justice to his people and has compassion on his servants. ¹⁵ The idols of the nations are silver and gold, the work of human hands. ¹⁶ They have mouths but do not speak, they have eyes but do not see. ¹⁷ They have ears but cannot hear. There isn't even a breath in their mouths. ¹⁸ May those who make them resemble them, whoever trusts in them. ¹⁹ House of Israel, bless the Lord. House of Aaron, bless the Lord. ²⁰ House of Levi, bless the Lord. You who fear the Lord, bless the Lord. ²¹ Blessed be the Lord from Zion, who dwells in Jerusalem. Alleluia.

Hebrew Psalm No. 136

(No. 135 in the Vulgate)

¹ Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his mercy endures forever. ² Give thanks to the God of gods, for his mercy endures forever. ³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords, for his mercy endures forever. ⁴ To him who alone performs great wonders, for his mercy is eternal. ⁵ Who made the heavens with wisdom, for his mercy endures forever. ⁶ Who spread out the earth upon the waters, for his mercy is eternal. ⁷ Who made the great lights, for his mercy is eternal. ⁸ The sun to rule over the day, for its mercy is eternal. ⁹ The moon and the stars to rule over the night, for His mercy is eternal. ¹⁰ To him who struck the Egyptians in their firstborn, for his mercy is eternal. ¹¹ He brought Israel out from among them, for his mercy endures forever. ¹² With a strong hand and an outstretched arm, for his mercy is eternal. ¹³ To him who divided the Red Sea in two, for his mercy endures forever. ¹⁴ Who allowed Israel to pass through, for his mercy is eternal. ¹⁵ And he hurled Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea, for his mercy endures forever. ¹⁶ To him who led his people in the desert, for his mercy is eternal. ¹⁷ Who struck down great kings, for his mercy is eternal. ¹⁸ And he destroyed mighty kings, for his mercy is eternal. ¹⁹ Sehon, king of the Amorites, for his mercy is eternal. ²⁰ And Og, king of Bashan, for his mercy is eternal. ²¹ Who gave their land as an inheritance, for his mercy is eternal. ²² As an inheritance to Israel, his servant, for his mercy is eternal. ²³ To him who remembered us when we were humbled, for his mercy endures forever. ²⁴ And he delivered us from our oppressors, for his mercy is eternal. ²⁵ To him who gives food to all that lives, for his mercy is eternal. ²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his mercy endures forever.

Hebrew Psalm No. 137

(No. 136 in the Vulgate)

¹ By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept, remembering Zion. ² We had hung our harps from the willows in its valleys. ³ For there, those who held us captive demanded hymns and songs from us, our oppressors, joyful songs: «Sing us a song of Zion.» ⁴ How can we sing the Lord's song in a foreign land? ⁵ If I ever forget you, Jerusalem, may my right hand be paralyzed. ⁶ May my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth if I cease to think of you, if I do not consider Jerusalem my highest joy. ⁷ Remember, Lord, the children of Edom, when on the day of Jerusalem, they said, «Destroy it, destroy it to its foundations.» ⁸ Daughter of Babylon, doomed to ruin, happy is he who will repay you for the evil you have done to us. ⁹ Blessed is the one who seizes your little children and dashes them against a stone.

Hebrew Psalm No. 138

(No. 137 in the Vulgate)

¹ Of David. I want to praise you with all my heart, to sing to you on the harp, in the presence of the angels. ² I want to bow down in your holy temple and praise your name, because of your goodness and faithfulness, because you have made a magnificent promise, above all the glories of your name. ³ The day I called upon you, you answered my prayer, you restored strength and courage to my soul. ⁴ All the kings of the earth will praise you, Lord, when they hear the oracles from your mouth. ⁵ They will celebrate the ways of the Lord, for the glory of the Lord is great. ⁶ For the Lord is exalted and sees the humble, but he knows the proud from afar. ⁷ Though I walk in distress, you preserve my life; you stretch out your hand to restrain the wrath of my enemies, and your right hand saves me. ⁸ The Lord will complete what he has done for me. Lord, your goodness endures forever; do not abandon the work of your hands.

Hebrew Psalm No. 139

(No. 138 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of David. Lord, you have searched me and known me, ² You know, when I'm sitting or standing, you can tell what I'm thinking from afar. ³ You observe me when I am walking or lying down, and all my ways are familiar to you. ⁴ Before the word is on my tongue, Lord, you know it completely. ⁵ You circle me from side to side and place your hand on me: ⁶ Science is too wonderful for me; it is too lofty for me to attain. ⁷ Where can I go far from your mind, where can I flee far from your face? ⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. ⁹ If I take the wings of dawn and go to live at the edge of the sea, ¹⁰ There again your hand will guide me and your right hand will grasp me. ¹¹ And I say: At least darkness will cover me and night will be the only light that surrounds me. ¹² Even darkness has no darkness for you; for you the night shines like the day, and darkness like light. ¹³ It is you who formed my inmost being and knit me together in my mother's womb. ¹⁴ I praise you for having made me such a wonderful creature; your works are admirable, and my soul delights in acknowledging it. ¹⁵ My substance was not hidden from you, when I was formed in secret, artfully woven in the depths of the earth. ¹⁶ I was but a formless seed, and your eyes saw me, and in your book were written all the days that were destined for me, before any of them yet came to be. ¹⁷ O God, how delightful your thoughts seem to me. How numerous they are. ¹⁸ If I count them, they outnumber grains of sand. I wake up and I am still with you. ¹⁹ O God, will you not destroy the wicked? Men of blood, depart from me. ²⁰ They speak of you in a criminal manner; they take your name in vain, they, your enemies. ²¹ Lord, should I not hate those who hate you, abhor those who rise up against you? ²² Yes, I hate them with a complete hatred; they are enemies to me. ²³ Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. ²⁴ See if I am on a fatal path and lead me on the eternal path.

Hebrew Psalm No. 140

(No. 139 in the Vulgate)

¹ To the choirmaster, a psalm of David. ² Lord, deliver me from the wicked man, preserve me from violent men, ³ who plot evil in their hearts, who constantly stir up the war against me, ⁴ who sharpen their tongues like a snake and have the venom of the asp under their lips. Sela. ⁵ Lord, keep me from the hands of the wicked, preserve me from violent men who plot to make me stumble. ⁶ The proud have set a trap for me, and snares; they have placed snares along my path, they have laid traps for me. Selah. ⁷ I say to the Lord: You are my God. Hear, Lord, the voice of my supplications. ⁸ Lord God, my mighty savior, you cover my head in the day of battle. ⁹ Lord, do not grant the desires of the wicked, do not let his plans succeed, he would be too proud. Selah. ¹⁰ May the iniquity of their lips fall back upon the heads of those who besiege me, ¹¹ May burning coals be shaken over them. May God cast them into the fire, into the abyss from which they will never rise again. ¹² No, the slanderer will not prosper on earth, and misfortune will relentlessly pursue the violent man. ¹³ I know that the Lord gives justice to the poor and right to the needy. ¹⁴ Yes, the righteous will celebrate your name, and the upright will dwell in your presence.

Hebrew Psalm No. 141

(No. 140 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of David. Lord, I call upon you; come quickly to me. Give ear to my voice when I call upon you. ² May my prayer be before your face like incense, and the raising of my hands like the evening offering. ³ Lord, set a guard over my mouth, a watchman at the door of my lips. ⁴ Do not incline my heart to evil things, do not incline it to engage in wicked deeds with men who commit iniquity, that I may not take part in their feasts. ⁵ Let the righteous strike me, it is a favor; let him rebuke me, it is perfume on my head; my head will not refuse it, for then I will only oppose their evil designs with my prayer. ⁶ But soon their leaders will be hurled down the rocks and my words will be heeded because they are pleasing. ⁷ Just as when we plow and loosen the soil, so our bones are sown at the edge of Sheol. ⁸ For to you, Lord God, I turn my eyes. In you I seek refuge; do not abandon my soul. ⁹ Protect me from the traps they set for me, from the snares of those who do evil. ¹⁰ May the wicked fall into their own traps and may I escape at the same time.

Hebrew Psalm No. 142

(No. 141 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of David. When he was in the cave. A prayer. ² With my voice I cry out to the Lord, with my voice I implore the Lord. ³ I pour out my complaint in his presence; before him I lay bare my distress. ⁴ When my mind fails me, you know my path, you know that on the road I walk, they lay traps for me. ⁵ Look to my right and see: no one recognizes me, no refuge is found in me, no one cares for my soul. ⁶ I cry out to you, Lord, I say: You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living. ⁷ Listen to my complaint, for I am exceedingly unhappy; deliver me from those who pursue me, for they are stronger than I. ⁸ Draw my soul from this prison, so that I may celebrate your name. The righteous will triumph with me because of the good you have done for me.

Hebrew Psalm No. 143

(No. 142 in the Vulgate)

¹ A Psalm of David. Lord, hear my prayer, give ear to my supplications, answer me in your truth and in your justice. ² Do not enter into judgment with your servant, for no living man is righteous before you. ³ The enemy seeks my soul, he tramples my life to the ground. He relegates me to dark places, like those who have long since died. ⁴ My mind is failing me, my heart is troubled in my chest. ⁵ I think of the days of old, I meditate on all your works, I reflect on the work of your hands. ⁶ I stretch out my hands and my soul to you; like parched land, I yearn for you. Sela. ⁷ Lord, answer me quickly, my spirit fails; do not hide your face from me, I am becoming like those who go down to the pit. ⁸ Let me feel your goodness early, for it is in you that I hope. Show me the way I should walk, for it is to you that I lift up my soul. ⁹ Deliver me from my enemies, Lord, I take refuge in you. ¹⁰ Teach me to do your will, for you are my God. May your good spirit guide me in the right path. ¹¹ For your name's sake, Lord, give me life; in your righteousness, deliver my soul from distress. ¹² In your goodness, annihilate my enemies and destroy all those who oppress me, for I am your servant.

Hebrew Psalm No. 144

(No. 143 in the Vulgate)

¹ Of David. Blessed be the Lord, my rock, who trained my hands for battle and my fingers to the war, ² my benefactor and my fortress, my high refuge and my deliverer, my shield, the one who is my refuge, who gathers my people under me. ³ Lord, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you are mindful of him? ⁴ Man is like a breath, his days are like a passing shadow. ⁵ Lord, bow down your heavens and come down, touch the mountains and let them burn with fire, ⁶ Make the lightning flash and scatter the enemies, launch your arrows and rout them. ⁷ Stretch out your hands from on high, deliver me and save me from the great waters, from the hand of the foreigners, ⁸ whose mouth utters lies and whose hand is a perjured hand. ⁹ O God, I will sing to you a new song, I will praise you on the ten-stringed lute. ¹⁰You who give victory to kings, who save David, your servant, from the deadly sword, ¹¹Deliver me and save me from the hand of the sons of foreigners, whose mouths speak lies and whose hands are perjured hands. ¹² May our sons, like vigorous plants, grow in their youth. May our daughters be like corner pillars, carved like those of a temple. ¹³ May our granaries be filled and overflowing with all kinds of provisions. May our sheep in our pastures multiply by thousands and by myriads. ¹⁴ May our heifers be fertile. May there be no breach or surrender in our walls, nor any cry of alarm in our public squares. ¹⁵ Blessed are the people who enjoy these blessings. Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord.

Hebrew Psalm No. 145

(No. 144 in the Vulgate)

¹ A song of praise, by David. ALEPH. I will exalt you, my God, O King, and bless your name forever and ever. ² BETH. I want to bless you every day and celebrate your name always and forever. ³ GHIMEL. The Lord is great and worthy of all praise, and his greatness is unfathomable. ⁴ DALETH. Each generation will tell the next of the praise of your works, they will proclaim your wonders. ⁵ HEY. I will sing of the glorious splendor of your majesty and your prodigious works. ⁶ WAV. And we will speak of your formidable power and I will recount your greatness. ⁷ ZAÏN. We will proclaim the memory of your immense goodness and we will celebrate your justice. ⁸ HETH. The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in kindness. ⁹ TETH. The Lord is good to all and his mercy extends to all his creatures. ¹⁰ YOD. All your works praise you, Lord, and your faithful bless you. ¹¹ CAPH. They speak of the glory of your reign and proclaim your power, ¹² LAMED. In order to make known to the sons of men his wonders and the glorious splendor of his reign. ¹³ MEM. Your kingdom is an eternal kingdom and your dominion endures throughout all ages. ¹⁴ SAMECH. The Lord upholds all who fall, he raises up all who are bowed down. ¹⁵ AÏN. The eyes of all beings are turned towards you in expectation and you give them their food in due time. ¹⁶ PHE. You open your hand and you satisfy with your bounty all that breathes. ¹⁷ TSADÉ. The Lord is just in all his ways and merciful in all his works. ¹⁸ QOPH. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him with a sincere heart. ¹⁹ RESCH. He fulfills the desires of those who fear him, he hears their cry and he saves them. ²⁰ SCHIN. The Lord protects all who love him and destroys all the wicked. ²¹ THAV. May my mouth proclaim the praise of the Lord, and may all flesh bless his holy name, always and forever.

Hebrew Psalm No. 146

(No. 145 in the Vulgate)

¹ Alleluia. My soul, praise the Lord. ² All my life, I want to praise the Lord; as long as I live, I want to sing to my God. ³ Do not put your trust in princes, in the son of man, who cannot save. ⁴ His breath departs, he returns to his dust, and on that same day, his plans vanish. ⁵ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the Lord his God. ⁶ The Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that is in it. He remains faithful forever. ⁷ He gives justice to the oppressed, he feeds the hungry. The Lord sets the captives free. ⁸ The Lord opens the eyes of the blind. The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down. The Lord loves the righteous. ⁹ The Lord protects the foreigner, he sustains the orphan and the widow, but he makes the way of the wicked crooked. ¹⁰ The Lord is king forever, your God, O Zion, from age to age. Alleluia.

Psalm 147

¹ Alleluia. Praise the Lord, for it is good to praise our God; for he is gracious, it is lovely to praise him. ² The Lord rebuilds Jerusalem; he gathers the scattered people of Israel. ³ He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. ⁴ He counts the number of stars, he calls them all by name. ⁵ Our Lord is great, and his strength is infinite and his intelligence has no limits. ⁶ The Lord helps the humble, he casts the wicked to the ground. ⁷ Sing to the Lord a song of thanksgiving; praise our God with the harp. ⁸ He covers the skies with clouds and prepares rain for the earth. He makes grass grow on the mountains. ⁹ He gives food to the cattle, to the young ravens that cry out to him. ¹⁰ It is not in the vigor of the horse that he takes pleasure, nor in the legs of the man that he places his delight. ¹¹ The Lord delights in those who fear him, in those who hope in his goodness. ¹² Jerusalem, praise the Lord. Zion, praise your God. ¹³ For he strengthens the bars of your gates, he blesses your children in your midst, ¹⁴ he assures peace at your borders, it satisfies you with the finest wheat. ¹⁵ He sends his orders to the earth, his word travels swiftly. ¹⁶ It makes the snow fall like wool, it scatters the frost like ashes. ¹⁷ He throws his ice cubes in chunks; who can withstand his cold? ¹⁸ He sends forth his word and melts them. He makes his wind blow and the waters flow. ¹⁹ It was he who revealed his word to Jacob, his laws and his will to Israel. ²⁰ He has not done the same for all other nations; they do not know his will. Hallelujah.

Psalm 148

¹ Alleluia. Praise the Lord from the heavens, praise him in the heights. ² Praise him, all you his angels; praise him, all you his armies. ³ Praise him, sun and moon; praise him, all you shining stars. ⁴ Praise him, you highest heavens, and you waters above the heavens. ⁵ Let them praise the name of the Lord, for he commanded and they were created. ⁶ He established them forever and ever; he laid down a law that shall not be transgressed. ⁷ From the earth, praise the Lord, sea monsters and all you oceans, ⁸ Fire and hail, snow and vapors, impetuous winds, who carry out his orders, ⁹ mountains and all of you, hills, fruit trees and all of you, cedars, ¹⁰ wild animals and herds of all kinds, reptiles and winged birds, ¹¹ kings of the earth and all peoples, princes, and all you judges of the earth, ¹² young men and young virgins, old men and children. ¹³ Let them praise the name of the Lord, for his name alone is great; his glory is above heaven and earth. ¹⁴ He has raised up the power of his people, a subject of praise for all his faithful, for the children of Israel, the people who are near to him, Alleluia.

Psalm 149

¹ Alleluia. Sing to the Lord a new song, let his praise resound in the assembly of the saints. ² Let Israel rejoice in its Creator, let the children of Zion exult in their King. ³ Let them praise his name in their dances, let them sing to him with the tambourine and the harp. ⁴ For the Lord takes pleasure in his people; he glorifies the humble by saving them. ⁵ The faithful triumph in glory; they leap for joy on their beds. ⁶ The praises of God are in their mouths, and in their hands they hold a two-edged sword., ⁷ to exact vengeance upon the nations and bring punishment upon the peoples, ⁸ to bind their kings with chains and their nobles with iron stocks, ⁹ to execute against them the written decree, that is the glory reserved for all his faithful. Alleluia.

Psalm 150

¹ Hallelujah. Praise God in his sanctuary. Praise him in the dwelling place of his power. ² Praise him for his mighty deeds. Praise him according to the immensity of his greatness. ³ Praise him with the sound of the trumpet. Praise him with the harp and the lyre. ⁴ Praise him in your dances with the tambourine. Praise him with the stringed instruments and the pipe. ⁵ Praise him with clear cymbals. Praise him with resounding cymbals. ⁶ Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Alleluia.