Amplified Bible (AMP)

Hope in the Lord’s Forgiving Love.

A Song of

Ascents.

1 Out of thedepths [of distress] I have cried to You, O Lord.

2 Lord, hear my voice!

Let Your ears be attentive

To the voice of my supplications.

3 If You, Lord, should keep an account of our sinsandtreat us accordingly,

O Lord, who could stand [before you in judgment and claim innocence]?

4 But there is forgiveness with You,

That You may be fearedandworshiped [with submissive wonder].

5 I wait [patiently] for the Lord, my soul [expectantly] waits,

And in His word do I hope.

6 My soul waits for the Lord

More than the watchmen for the morning;

More than the watchmen for the morning.

7 O Israel, hope in the Lord;

For with the Lordthere is lovingkindness,

And with Him is abundant redemption.

8 And He will redeem Israel

From all his sins.

Childlike Trust in the Lord.

A Song of

Ascents. Of David.

1 Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;

Nor do I involve myself in great matters,

Or in things too difficult for me.

2 Surely I have calmed and quieted my soul;

Like a weaned child [resting] with his mother,

My soul is like a weaned child within me [composed and freed from discontent].

3 O Israel, hope in the Lord

From this time forth and forever.

Prayer for the Lord’s Blessing Upon the Sanctuary.

A Song of

Ascents.

1 O Lord, remember on David’s behalf

All his hardshipandaffliction;

2 How he swore to the Lord

And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:

3 “I absolutely will not enter my house,

Nor get into my bed–

4 I certainly will not permit my eyes to sleep

Nor my eyelids to slumber,

5 Until I find a place for the Lord,

A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob (Israel).”

6 Behold, we heard of it at Ephrathah;

We found it in the field of Jaar.

7 Let us go into His tabernacle;

Let us worship at His footstool.

8 Arise, O Lord, to Your resting place,

You and the ark [the symbol] of Your strength.

9 Let Your priests be clothed with righteousness (right living),

And let Your godly ones shout for joy.

10 For the sake of Your servant David,

Do not turn away the face of Your anointed.

11 The Lordswore to David

A truth from which He will not turn back:

“One of yourdescendants I will set upon your throne.

12 “If your children will keep My covenant

And My testimony which I will teach them,

Their children also shall sit upon your throne forever.”

13 For the Lordhas chosen Zion;

He has desired it for His dwelling place:

14 “This is My resting place forever” [says the Lord];

“Here will I dwell, for I have desired it.

15 “I will abundantly bless her provisions;

I will satisfy her poor with bread.

16 “Her priests also I will clothe with salvation,

And her godly ones will shout aloud for joy.

17 “There I will make the horn (strength) of David grow;

I have prepared a lamp for My anointed [fulfilling the promises].

18 “His enemies I will clothe with shame,

But upon himself shall his crown shine.”

The Excellency of Brotherly Unity.

A Song of

Ascents. Of David.

1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is

For brothers to dwell together in unity!

2 It is like the precious oil [of consecration] poured on the head,

Coming down on the beard,

Even the beard of Aaron,

Coming down upon the edge of his [priestly] robes [consecrating the whole body].

3 It is like the dew of [Mount] Hermon

Coming down on the hills of Zion;

For there the Lordhas commanded the blessing: life forevermore.

Greetings of Night Watchers.

A Song of

Ascents.

1 Behold, blessandpraise the Lord, all servants of the Lord(priests, Levites),

Who standandserve by night in the house of the Lord.

2 Lift up your hands to the sanctuary

And bless the Lord.

3 May the Lordbless you from Zion,

He who made heaven and earth.

Praise the Lord’s Wonderful Works. Vanity of Idols.

1 Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Praise the name of the Lord;

Praise Him, O servants of the Lord(priests, Levites),

2 You who stand in the house of the Lord,

In the courts of the house of our God,

3 Praise the Lord, for the Lordis good;

Sing praises to His name, for it is graciousandlovely.

4 For the Lordhas chosen [the descendants of] Jacob for Himself,

Israel for His own special treasureandpossession.

5 For I know that the Lordis great

And that our Lord is above all gods.

6 Whatever the Lordpleases, He does,

In the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all deeps–

7 Who causes the clouds to rise from the ends of the earth;

Who makes lightning for the rain,

Who brings the wind from His storehouses;

8 Who struck the firstborn of Egypt,

Both of man and animal;

9 Who sent signs and wonders into your midst, O Egypt,

Upon Pharaoh and all his servants.

10 Who struck many nations

And killed mighty kings,

11 Sihon, king of the Amorites,

Og, king of Bashan,

And all the kingdoms of Canaan;

12 And He gave their land as a heritage,

A heritage to Israel His people.

13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever,

Your fameandremembrance, O Lord, [endures] throughout all generations.

14 For the Lordwill judge His people

And He will have compassion on His servants [revealing His mercy].

15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,

The work of men’s hands.

16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;

They have eyes, but they do not see;

17 They have ears, but they do not hear,

Nor is there any breath in their mouths.

18 Those who make idols are like them [absolutely worthless–spiritually blind, deaf, and powerless];

So is everyone who trusts inandrelies on them.

19 O house of Israel, blessandpraise the Lord[with gratitude];

O house of Aaron, bless the Lord;

20 O house of Levi, bless the Lord;

You who fear the Lord[and worship Him with obedience], bless the Lord[with grateful praise]!

21 Blessed be the Lordfrom Zion,

Who dwells [with us] at Jerusalem.

Praise the Lord! (Hallelujah!)

Thanks for the Lord’s Goodness to Israel.

1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.

2 Give thanks to the God of gods,

For His lovingkindness endures forever.

3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

For His lovingkindness endures forever.

4 To Him who alone does great wonders,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

5 To Him who made the heavens with skill,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

6 To Him who stretched out the earth upon the waters,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

7 To Him who made the great lights,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

8 The sun to rule over the day,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

9 The moon and stars to rule by night,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

10 To Him who struck the firstborn of Egypt,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

11 And brought Israel out from among them,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

12 With a strong hand and with an outstretched arm,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

13 To Him who divided theRed Sea into parts,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

14 And made Israel pass through the midst of it,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

15 But tossed Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

16 To Him who led His people through the wilderness,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

17 To Him who struck down great kings,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

18 And killed mighty kings,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

19 Sihon, king of the Amorites,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

20 And Og, king of Bashan,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

21 And gave their land as a heritage,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

22 Even a heritage to Israel His servant,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

23 Who [faithfully] remembered us in our lowly condition,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

24 And has rescued us from our enemies,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

25 Who gives food to all flesh,

For His lovingkindness endures forever;

26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,

For His lovingkindness (graciousness, mercy, compassion) endures forever.

An Experience of the Captivity.

1 By the rivers of Babylon,

There we [captives] sat down and wept,

When we remembered Zion [the city God imprinted on our hearts].

2 On the willow trees in the midst of Babylon

We hung our harps.

3 For there they who took us captive demanded of us a song with words,

And our tormentors [who made a mockery of us demanded] amusement,saying,

“Sing us one of the songs of Zion.”

4 How can we sing the Lord’ssong

In a strangeandforeign land?

5 If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

Let my right hand forget [her skill with the harp].

6 Let my tongue cling to the roof of my mouth

If I do not remember you,

If I do not prefer Jerusalem

Above my chief joy.

7 Remember, O Lord, against the sons of Edom,

The day of [the fall of] Jerusalem,

Who said “Down, down [with her]

To her very foundation.”

8 O daughter of Babylon, you devastator,

How blessed will be the one

Who repays you [with destruction] as you have repaid us.

9 How blessed will be the one who seizes and dashes your little ones

Against the rock.

Thanksgiving for the Lord’s Favor.

A Psalm

of David.

1 I will give You thanks with all my heart;

I sing praises to You before the [pagan] gods.

2 I will bow down [in worship] toward Your holy temple

And give thanks to Your name for Your lovingkindness and Your truth;

For You have magnified Your word together with Your name.

3 On the day I called, You answered me;

And You made me boldandconfident with [renewed] strength in my life.

4 All the kings of the land will give thanksandpraise You, O Lord,

When they have heard of the promises of Your mouth [which were fulfilled].

5 Yes, they will sing of the ways of the Lord[joyfully celebrating His wonderful acts],

For great is the gloryandmajesty of the Lord.

6 Though the Lordis exalted,

He regards the lowly [and invites them into His fellowship];

But the proudandhaughty He knows from a distance.

7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You will revive me;

You will stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,

And Your right hand will save me.

8 The Lordwill accomplish that which concerns me;

Your [unwavering] lovingkindness, O Lord, endures forever–

Do not abandon the works of Your own hands.

God’s Omnipresence and Omniscience.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

1 O Lord, you have searched me [thoroughly] and have known me.

2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up [my entire life, everything I do];

You understand my thought from afar.

3 You scrutinize my path and my lying down,

And You are intimately acquainted with all my ways.

4 Even before there is a word on my tongue [still unspoken],

Behold, O Lord, You know it all.

5 You have enclosed me behind and before,

And [You have] placed Your hand upon me.

6 Such [infinite] knowledge is too wonderful for me;

It is too high [above me], I cannot reach it.

7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in Sheol (the nether world, the place of the dead), behold, You are there.

9 If I take the wings of the dawn,

If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,

10 Even there Your hand will lead me,

And Your right hand will take hold of me.

11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will cover me,

And the night will be the only light around me,”

12 Even the darkness is not dark to Youandconceals nothing from You,

But the night shines as bright as the day;

Darkness and light are aliketo You.

13 For You formed my innermost parts;

You knit me [together] in my mother’s womb.

14 I will give thanksandpraise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made;

Wonderful are Your works,

And my soul knows it very well.

15 My frame was not hidden from You,

When I was being formed in secret,

And intricatelyandskillfully formed [as if embroidered with many colors] in the depths of the earth.

16 Your eyes have seen my unformed substance;

And in Your book were all written

The days that were appointedfor me,

When as yet there was not one of them [even taking shape].

17 How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God!

How vast is the sum of them!

18 If I could count them, they would outnumber the sand.

When I awake, I am still with You.

19 O that You would kill the wicked, O God;

Go away from me, therefore, men of bloodshed.

20 For they speak against You wickedly,

Your enemies takeYour namein vain.

21 Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord?

And do I not loathe those who rise up against You?

22 I hate them with perfectandutmost hatred;

They have become my enemies.

23 Search me [thoroughly], O God, and know my heart;

Test me and know my anxious thoughts;

24 And see if there is any wickedorhurtful way in me,

And lead me in the everlasting way.