Psalms 72

1A psalm for Asaph. How good is God to Israel, to them that are of a right heart!

1 OGod, give the king thy judgments, and thy righteousness unto the king's son.

2But my feet were almost moved; my steps had well nigh slipped.

2 He will judge thy people with righteousness, and thine afflicted with judgment.

3Because I had a zeal on occasion of the wicked, seeing the prosperity of sinners.

3 The mountains shall bring peace to the people, and the hills, by righteousness.

4For there is no regard to their death, nor is there strength in their stripes.

4 He will do justice to the afflicted of the people; he will save the children of the needy, and will break in pieces the oppressor.

5They are not in the labour of men: neither shall they be scourged like other men.

5 They shall fear thee as long as sun and moon endure, from generation to generation.

6Therefore pride hath held them fast: they are covered with their iniquity and their wickedness.

6 He shall come down like rain on the mown grass, as showers that water the earth.

7Their iniquity hath come forth, as it were from fatness: they have passed into the affection of the heart.

7 In his days shall the righteous flourish, and abundance of peace till the moon be no more.

8They have thought and spoken wickedness: they have spoken iniquity on high.

8 And he shall have dominion from sea to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the earth.

9They have set their mouth against heaven: and their tongue hath passed through the earth.

9 The dwellers in the desert shall bow before him, and his enemies shall lick the dust.

10Therefore will my people return here and full days shall be found in them.

10 The kings of Tarshish and of the isles shall render presents; the kings of Sheba and Seba shall offer tribute:

11And they said: How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High?

11 Yea, all kings shall bow down before him; all nations shall serve him.

12Behold these are sinners; and yet, abounding in the world they have obtained riches.

12 For he will deliver the needy who crieth, and the afflicted, who hath no helper;

13And I said: Then have I in vain justified my heart, and washed my hands among the innocent.

13 He will have compassion on the poor and needy, and will save the souls of the needy:

14And I have been scourged all the day; and my chastisement hath been in the mornings.

14 He will redeem their souls from oppression and violence, and precious shall their blood be in his sight.

15If I said: I will speak thus; behold I should condemn the generation of thy children.

15 And he shall live; and to him shall be given of the gold of Sheba; and prayer shall be made for him continually: all the day shall he be blessed.

16I studied that I might know this thing, it is a labour in my sight:

16 There shall be abundance of corn in the earth, upon the top of the mountains; the fruit thereof shall shake like Lebanon; and they of the city shall bloom like the herb of the earth.

17Until I go into the sanctuary of God, and understand concerning their last ends.

17 His name shall endure for ever; his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and [men] shall bless themselves in him; all nations shall call him blessed.

18But indeed for deceits thou hast put it to them: when they were lifted up thou hast cast them down.

18 Blessed be Jehovah Elohim, theGod of Israel, who alone doeth wondrous things!

19How are they brought to desolation? they have suddenly ceased to be: they have perished by reason of their iniquity.

19 And blessed be his glorious name for ever! and let the whole earth be filled with his glory! Amen, and Amen.

20As the dream of them that awake, O Lord; so in thy city thou shalt bring their image to nothing.

20 The prayers of David the son of Jesse are ended.

21For my heart hath been inflamed, and my reins have been changed:

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22And I am brought to nothing, and I knew not.

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23I am become as a beast before thee: and I am always with thee.

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24Thou hast held me by my right hand; and by thy will thou hast conducted me, and with thy glory thou hast received me.

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25For what have I in heaven? and besides thee what do I desire upon earth?

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26For thee my flesh and my heart hath fainted away: thou art the God of my heart, and the God that is my portion for ever.

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27For behold they that go far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that are disloyal to thee.

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28But it is good for me to adhere to my God, to put my hope in the Lord God: That I may declare all thy praises, in the gates of the daughter of Sion.

28(not in this translation)