Psalm 9

Celebration of God’s Justice

For the choir director: according to Muth-labben.[a] A Davidic psalm.

I will thank Yahweh with all my heart;
I will declare all Your wonderful works.(A)
I will rejoice and boast about You;(B)
I will sing about Your name, Most High.(C)

When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before You.(D)
For You have upheld my just cause;[b](E)
You are seated on Your throne as a righteous judge.(F)
You have rebuked the nations:(G)
You have destroyed the wicked;(H)
You have erased their name forever and ever.(I)
The enemy has come to eternal ruin;
You have uprooted the cities,
and the very memory of them has perished.(J)

But the Lord sits enthroned forever;(K)
He has established His throne for judgment.(L)
He judges the world with righteousness;
He executes judgment on the nations with fairness.(M)
The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed,
a refuge in times of trouble.(N)
10 Those who know Your name trust in You
because You have not abandoned
those who seek You, Yahweh.(O)

11 Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion;(P)
proclaim His deeds among the nations.(Q)
12 For the One who seeks an accounting
for bloodshed remembers them;(R)
He does not forget the cry of the afflicted.(S)

13 Be gracious to me, Lord;
consider my affliction at the hands of those who hate me.(T)
Lift me up from the gates of death,(U)
14 so that I may declare all Your praises.
I will rejoice in Your salvation(V)
within the gates of Daughter Zion.

15 The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.(W)
16 The Lord has revealed Himself;
He has executed justice,(X)
striking down[c] the wicked[d]
by the work of their hands.(Y)Higgaion. Selah

17 The wicked will return to Sheol(Z)
all the nations that forget God.(AA)
18 For the oppressed will not always be forgotten;
the hope of the afflicted[e] will not perish forever.(AB)

19 Rise up, Lord! Do not let man prevail;
let the nations be judged in Your presence.(AC)
20 Put terror in them, Lord;(AD)
let the nations know they are only men.(AE)Selah

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 9:1 Perhaps a musical term
  2. Psalm 9:4 Lit my justice and my cause
  3. Psalm 9:16 Or justice, snaring
  4. Psalm 9:16 LXX, Aq, Syr, Tg read justice, the wicked is trapped
  5. Psalm 9:18 Alt Hb tradition reads humble

Psalm 9[a][b]

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.

I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;(A)
    I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.(B)
I will be glad and rejoice(C) in you;
    I will sing the praises(D) of your name,(E) O Most High.

My enemies turn back;
    they stumble and perish before you.
For you have upheld my right(F) and my cause,(G)
    sitting enthroned(H) as the righteous judge.(I)
You have rebuked the nations(J) and destroyed the wicked;
    you have blotted out their name(K) for ever and ever.
Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
    you have uprooted their cities;(L)
    even the memory of them(M) has perished.

The Lord reigns forever;(N)
    he has established his throne(O) for judgment.
He rules the world in righteousness(P)
    and judges the peoples with equity.(Q)
The Lord is a refuge(R) for the oppressed,(S)
    a stronghold in times of trouble.(T)
10 Those who know your name(U) trust in you,
    for you, Lord, have never forsaken(V) those who seek you.(W)

11 Sing the praises(X) of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;(Y)
    proclaim among the nations(Z) what he has done.(AA)
12 For he who avenges blood(AB) remembers;
    he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.(AC)

13 Lord, see how my enemies(AD) persecute me!
    Have mercy(AE) and lift me up from the gates of death,(AF)
14 that I may declare your praises(AG)
    in the gates of Daughter Zion,(AH)
    and there rejoice in your salvation.(AI)

15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;(AJ)
    their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.(AK)
16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
    the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.[c](AL)
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,(AM)
    all the nations that forget God.(AN)
18 But God will never forget the needy;
    the hope(AO) of the afflicted(AP) will never perish.

19 Arise,(AQ) Lord, do not let mortals triumph;(AR)
    let the nations be judged(AS) in your presence.
20 Strike them with terror,(AT) Lord;
    let the nations know they are only mortal.(AU)

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 9:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
  2. Psalm 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1-20 is numbered 9:2-21.
  3. Psalm 9:16 The Hebrew has Higgaion and Selah (words of uncertain meaning) here; Selah occurs also at the end of verse 20.

I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.

I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.

When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.

For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.

Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.

O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.

But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.

And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.

The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.

10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.

11 Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.

12 When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.

13 Have mercy upon me, O Lord; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:

14 That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.

15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.

16 The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.

17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.

19 Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.

20 Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.