Psalm 7

A song* of David that he sang to the Lord. This song is about {Saul, the son of} Kish,* from the family group of Benjamin.

¹Lord my God, I trust you. Save me from the people who are chasing me. Rescue me! ²If you don’t help me, I will be like an animal caught by a lion. I will be carried away, with no one to save me! ³Lord my God, I did nothing wrong. I promise, I did nothing wrong! ⁴I did not do bad things to my friend.* And I did not help my friend’s enemies. ⁵{If that is not true, then punish me.} Let an enemy chase me, catch me, and kill me. Let him trample my life into the ground and push my soul into the dirt. SELAH* ⁶Lord, get up* and show your anger! My enemy is angry, so stand and fight against him. Lord, get up and demand fairness! ⁷Lord, judge the people. Gather the nations around you, ⁸and judge the people. Lord, judge me. Prove that I am right. Prove that I am innocent. ⁹Punish the bad people, and help the good people. God, you are good. And you can look into peoples’ hearts. ¹⁰God helps people with honest hearts. So God will protect me. ¹¹God is a good judge. He speaks against evil all the time. ¹²If God makes a decision, he does not change his mind. ¹³God is prepared to punish bad people.* ¹⁴Some people are always planning trouble. They make secret plans and tell lies. ¹⁵They try to trap and hurt other people. But they will be hurt in their own traps. ¹⁶They will receive the punishment they should get. They were cruel to other people. But they will get what they deserve. ¹⁷I praise the Lord because he is good. I praise the name of the Lord Most-High.

song Literally, “shiggayon.” This probably means a song full of emotion. Kish Or, “Cush.” friend Or, “ally;” a person or country that has agreed to help another person or country. SELAH This word is for the musicians. It probably means the singers should pause here or the music should be louder here. Lord, get up The people said this when they lifted the Box of the Agreement and took it into battle with them. This showed that God was with them. See Num. 10:35–36. If God … punish people Literally, “He will not turn back. He will sharpen his sword. He will draw and aim his bow. He has prepared the weapon of death. He has made his flaming arrows.”

Psalm 8

To the director,* {accompanied} by the Gittith.* A song of David.*

¹Lord our Master, your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth! Your name brings you praise everywhere in heaven. ²From the mouths of children and babies come songs of praise to you. You gave them {these powerful songs} to silence all your enemies. ³Lord, I look at the heavens you made with your hands. I see the moon and stars you created, {and I wonder:} ⁴Why are people so important to you? Why do you even remember them? Why are people* so important to you? Why do you even notice them? ⁵{But people are important to you!} You made people* almost like gods. And you crowned them with glory and honor. ⁶You put people in charge of everything you made. You put everything under their* control. ⁷People rule over the sheep and cattle and all the wild animals. ⁸They rule over the birds in the sky and over the fish that swim the ocean currents. ⁹Lord our Master, your name is the most wonderful name in all the earth!

director Or, “performer.” by the Gittith Or, “on the Gittith.” This might be a type of instrument, a tune, or a performer in the temple orchestra such as Obed Edom from Gath (the Gittite). See I Chron.15:21, 16:4–7. A song of David Or, “A song dedicated to David.” people Literally, “he.” This is still talking about “man” and “son of man” and can be understood as one person or as all people. their Literally, “his”.

Psalm 9

To the director.* Alamoth of Ben.* A song of David.*

¹I praise the Lord with all my heart. Lord, I will tell about all the wonderful things you did. ²You make me so very happy. God Most-High, I praise your name. ³My enemies turned to run from you. But they fell and were destroyed. ⁴You are the good judge. You sat on your throne* as judge. Lord, you listened to my case. And you made the decision about me. ⁵You criticized those other people. Lord, you destroyed those bad people. You erased their names forever and ever {from the list of people who are alive}. ⁶The enemy is finished! Lord, you destroyed their cities! Now, only ruined buildings are left. Nothing is left to remind us of those bad people. ⁷But the Lord rules forever. The Lord made his kingdom strong. He did this to bring fairness to the world. ⁸The Lord judges everyone on earth fairly. He judges all nations the same. ⁹Many people are trapped and hurting because they have many troubles. Those people are crushed by the weight of their problems. Lord, be a safe place for them to run to. ¹⁰People who know your name should trust you. Lord, if people come to you, you will not leave them without help. ¹¹You people living on Zion, sing praises to the Lord.* Tell other nations about the great things the Lord did. ¹²The Lord remembered the people who went to him for help.* Those poor people cried for help. And the Lord didn’t forget them. ¹³{I said this prayer to God:} “Lord, be kind to me. Look, my enemies are hurting me. Save me from the ‘gates of death.’ ¹⁴Then, at the gates of Jerusalem, I can sing praises to you, Lord. I will be very happy because you saved me.” ¹⁵Those people from other nations dug holes to trap other people. But they fell into their own traps. Those people hid nets to trap other people. But they were caught in those nets. ¹⁶The Lord caught those bad people. So people learned that the Lord punishes people who do bad things. HIGGAYON* SELAH* ¹⁷People who forget God are bad. They will go to the place of death. ¹⁸Sometimes it seems that God forgets about people with troubles. It seems those poor people have no hope. But God doesn’t really forget them forever. ¹⁹Lord, get up* and judge the nations. Don’t let people think they are powerful. ²⁰Teach people a lesson. Let them know they are only human. SELAH*

director Or, “performer.” Alamoth of Ben This might be the name of a tune, “On the Death of the Son.” Or, it might refer to one of the two main orchestral groups in the temple. Ben might be Benaiah, one of the musicians. See 1 Chron.15:20. A song of David Or, “A song dedicated to David.” throne The chair a king or queen sits on. You people … Lord Or, “Sing praises to the Lord who sits as King in Zion.” went to him for help Literally, “sought blood.” The family of a person who was killed could go to court to ask that the killer be punished. Here, God is like the judge who listens to people who have been hurt by other people. HIGGAYON Or, “Meditation.” This may mean a time to think quietly during the song. SELAH This word is for the musicians. It probably means the singers should pause here or the music should be louder here. Lord, get up The people said this when they lifted the Box of the Agreement and took it into battle with them. This showed that God was with them. See Numbers 10:35–36.

Psalm 10

¹Lord, why do you stay so far away? People with troubles can’t see you. ²Proud and wicked people make evil plans. And they hurt poor people. ³Evil people brag about the things they want. And those greedy people curse God. In this way, the evil people show that they hate the Lord. ⁴Bad people are too proud to follow God. They make all their evil plans. And they act like there is no God. ⁵Bad people are always doing crooked things. They don’t even notice God’s laws and wise teachings.* God’s enemies ignore {his teachings}. ⁶Those people think bad things will never happen to them. {They say,} “We will have fun and never be punished.” ⁷Those people are always cursing. They are always saying bad things about other people. They are always planning evil things to do. ⁸Those people hide in secret places and wait to catch people. They hide, looking for people to hurt. They kill innocent people. ⁹Those bad people are like lions trying to catch the animals they will eat. They attack poor people. The poor people are caught in the traps that the evil people make. ¹⁰Again and again, those bad people hurt poor, hurting people. ¹¹So those poor people begin thinking, “God has forgotten us! He has turned away from us forever! God doesn’t see what is happening to us!” ¹²Lord, get up and do something! God, punish those bad people! Don’t forget the poor people! ¹³Why do bad people turn against God? Because they think he won’t punish them. ¹⁴{Lord,} surely you see the cruel and evil things that bad people do. Look at those things, and do something! People with many troubles come to you for help. Lord, you are the One who helps orphans.* {So help them!} ¹⁵{Lord,} destroy the evil people. ¹⁶Remove those people from your land! ¹⁷Lord, you heard what poor people want. Listen to their prayers and do what they ask! ¹⁸Lord, protect the children without parents. Don’t let sad people suffer more troubles. Make bad people too afraid to stay here.

They … wise teachings Literally, “Your justice is far above him.” orphans Children without parents to take care of them.

Psalm 11

To the director.* David’s {song}*

¹I trust the Lord. So why did you tell me {to run and hide}? {You told me,} “Fly like a bird to your mountain!” ²{Bad people are like a hunter} They hide in the dark. They pull back on the bowstring. They aim their arrows and shoot straight into the hearts of good, honest people. ³What would happen if they destroyed all that is good?* What would good people do then? ⁴The Lord is in his holy palace.* The Lord sits on his throne* in heaven. And he sees everything that happens. The Lord watches people closely to see if they are good or bad. ⁵The Lord searches for good people, but he rejects* cruel, evil people. ⁶He will make hot coals and burning sulphur fall like rain on those bad people. Those bad people will get nothing but a hot, burning wind.* ⁷But the Lord is good. And he loves people doing good things. Good people will {be with him} and see his face.

director Or, “performer.” David’s {song} Or “Dedicated to David.” What would happen … good Or, “What if the foundations {of society} were really destroyed? palace A large house built for a king. Here, it is the temple. throne The chair a king or queen sits on. rejects Or, “hates” or “refuses to accept.” hot, burning wind This is like the hot fire a worker uses to melt silver. The silver separates from all the worthless things in it. These things are thrown away and only the pure silver is left.

Psalm 12

To the director,* {accompanied} by the Sheminith.* A song of David.* ¹Save {me} Lord! The good people are all gone. There are no true believers left among all the people on earth.* ²People tell lies to their neighbors. Each and every person flatters* his neighbors with lies. ³The Lord should cut off those lips that tell lies. The Lord should cut out those tongues that tell their big stories. ⁴Those people say, “We will say the right lies and become very important. We know what to say, so that no one will be our master.” ⁵But the Lord says: “Bad people stole from the poor people. They took things from helpless people. But now I will stand and defend those weary (tired) people.” ⁶The Lord’s words are true and pure like silver melted in a hot fire. They are pure like silver that was melted and made pure seven times. ⁷Lord, take care of helpless people. Protect them now and forever! ⁸Those bad people act important, but really, they are like costume jewelry. It looks expensive, but it is really very cheap.*

director Or, “performer.” by the Sheminith This might be a special instrument, a special way of tuning an instrument, or one of the groups that played harps in the temple orchestra. See 1 Chron.15:21. A song of David Or, “A song dedicated to David.” all the people on earth Literally, “the sons of man.” flatter To say good things about people when you don’t really mean it. Those bad … very cheap Literally, “Bad people strut around like expensive cheap things belonging to sons of man.”