Psalm 49

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

1Hear this, all ye peoples;

Give ear, all ye inhabitants of the world,

2Both low and high,

Rich and poor together.

3My mouth shall speak wisdom;

And the meditation of my heart shall be of understanding.

4I will incline mine ear to a parable:

I will open my dark saying upon the harp.

5Wherefore should I fear in the days of evil,

When iniquity at my heels compasseth me about?

6They that trust in their wealth,

And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches;

7None of them can by any means redeem his brother,

Nor give to God a ransom for him;

8(For the redemption of their life is costly,

And it faileth for ever),

9That he should still live alway,

That he should not see corruption.

10For he shall see it.

Wise men die;

The fool and the brutish alike perish,

And leave their wealth to others.

11Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever,

And their dwelling-places to all generations;

They call their lands after their own names.

12But man being in honor abideth not:

He is like the beasts that perish.

13This their way is their folly:

Yet after them men approve their sayings. Selah

14They are appointed as a flock for Sheol;

Death shall be their shepherd;

And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning;

And their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume,

That there be no habitation for it.

15But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol;

For he will receive me. Selah

16Be not thou afraid when one is made rich,

When the glory of his house is increased:

17For when he dieth he shall carry nothing away;

His glory shall not descend after him.

18Though while he lived he blessed his soul

(And men praise thee, when thou doest well to thyself),

19He shall go to the generation of his fathers;

They shall never see the light.

20Man that is in honor, and understandeth not,

Is like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 50

A Psalm of Asaph.

1The Mighty One, God, Jehovah, hath spoken,

And called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof.

2Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty,

God hath shined forth.

3Our God cometh, and doth not keep silence:

A fire devoureth before him,

And it is very tempestuous round about him.

4He calleth to the heavens above,

And to the earth, that he may judge his people:

5Gather my saints together unto me,

Those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.

6And the heavens shall declare his righteousness;

For God is judge himself. Selah

7Hear, O my people, and I will speak;

O Israel, and I will testify unto thee:

I am God, even thy God.

8I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices;

And thy burnt-offerings are continually before me.

9I will take no bullock out of thy house,

Nor he-goats out of thy folds.

10For every beast of the forest is mine,

And the cattle upon a thousand hills.

11I know all the birds of the mountains;

And the wild beasts of the field are mine.

12If I were hungry, I would not tell thee;

For the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.

13Will I eat the flesh of bulls,

Or drink the blood of goats?

14Offer unto God the sacrifice of thanksgiving;

And pay thy vows unto the Most High;

15And call upon me in the day of trouble:

I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

16But unto the wicked God saith,

What hast thou to do to declare my statutes,

And that thou hast taken my covenant in thy mouth,

17Seeing thou hatest instruction,

And castest my words behind thee?

18When thou sawest a thief, thou consentedst with him,

And hast been partaker with adulterers.

19Thou givest thy mouth to evil,

And thy tongue frameth deceit.

20Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother;

Thou slanderest thine own mother’s son.

21These things hast thou done, and I kept silence;

Thou thoughtest that I was altogether such a one as thyself:

But I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes.

22Now consider this, ye that forget God,

Lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver:

23Whoso offereth the sacrifice of thanksgiving glorifieth me;

And to him that ordereth his way aright

Will I show the salvation of God.

Psalm 51

For the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David; when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bath-sheba.

1Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness:

According to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

2Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity,

And cleanse me from my sin.

3For I know my transgressions;

And my sin is ever before me.

4Against thee, thee only, have I sinned,

And done that which is evil in thy sight;

That thou mayest be justified when thou speakest,

And be clear when thou judgest.

5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity;

And in sin did my mother conceive me.

6Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts;

And in the hidden part thou wilt make me to know wisdom.

7Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean:

Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8Make me to hear joy and gladness,

That the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

9Hide thy face from my sins,

And blot out all mine iniquities.

10Create in me a clean heart, O God;

And renew a right spirit within me.

11Cast me not away from thy presence;

And take not thy holy Spirit from me.

12Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation;

And uphold me with a willing spirit.

13Then will I teach transgressors thy ways;

And sinners shall be converted unto thee.

14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation;

And my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.

15O Lord, open thou my lips;

And my mouth shall show forth thy praise.

16For thou delightest not in sacrifice; else would I give it:

Thou hast no pleasure in burnt-offering.

17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit:

A broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

18Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion:

Build thou the walls of Jerusalem.

19Then wilt thou delight in the sacrifices of righteousness,

In burnt-offering and whole burnt-offering:

Then will they offer bullocks upon thine altar.

Psalm 52

For the Chief Musician. Maschil of David; when Doeg the Edomite came and told Saul, and said unto him, David is come to the house of Ahimelech.

1Why boastest thou thyself in mischief, O mighty man?

The lovingkindness of God endureth continually.

2Thy tongue deviseth very wickedness,

Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully.

3Thou lovest evil more than good,

And lying rather than to speak righteousness. Selah

4Thou lovest all devouring words,

O thou deceitful tongue.

5God will likewise destroy thee for ever;

He will take thee up, and pluck thee out of thy tent,

And root thee out of the land of the living. Selah

6The righteous also shall see it, and fear,

And shall laugh at him, saying,

7Lo, this is the man that made not God his strength,

But trusted in the abundance of his riches,

And strengthened himself in his wickedness.

8But as for me, I am like a green olive-tree in the house of God:

I trust in the lovingkindness of God for ever and ever.

9I will give thee thanks for ever, because thou hast done it;

And I will hope in thy name, for it is good, in the presence of thy saints.

Psalm 53

For the Chief Musician; set to Mahalath. Maschil of David.

1The fool hath said in his heart,

There is no God.

Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity;

There is none that doeth good.

2God looked down from heaven upon the children of men,

To see if there were any that did understand,

That did seek after God.

3Every one of them is gone back; they are together become filthy;

There is none that doeth good, no, not one.

4Have the workers of iniquity no knowledge,

Who eat up my people as they eat bread,

And call not upon God?

5There were they in great fear, where no fear was;

For God hath scattered the bones of him that encampeth against thee:

Thou hast put them to shame, because God hath rejected them.

6Oh that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion!

When God bringeth back the captivity of his people,

Then shall Jacob rejoice, and Israel shall be glad.