NAS - Psalms 48 to 51

Psalm 48

The Beauty and Glory of Zion.

Song; a Psalm of the sons of Korah.

¹Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised, In the city of our God, His holy mountain. ² Beautiful in elevation, the joy of the whole earth, Is Mount Zion in the far north, The city of the great King. ³ God, in her palaces, Has made Himself known as a stronghold.

⁴For, lo, the kings assembled themselves, They passed by together. ⁵They saw it, then they were amazed; They were terrified, they fled in alarm. ⁶ Panic seized them there, Anguish, as of a woman in childbirth. ⁷With the east wind You break the ships of Tarshish. ⁸As we have heard, so have we seen In the city of the LORD of hosts, in the city of our God; God will establish her forever. Selah.

⁹We have thought on Your lovingkindness, O God, In the midst of Your temple. ¹⁰As is Your name, O God, So is Your praise to the ends of the earth; Your right hand is full of righteousness. ¹¹ Let Mount Zion be glad, Let the daughters of Judah rejoice Because of Your judgments. ¹² Walk about Zion and go around her; Count her towers; ¹³Consider her ramparts; Go through her palaces, That you may tell it to the next generation. ¹⁴ For such is God, Our God forever and ever; He will guide us until death.

Psalm 49

The Folly of Trusting in Riches.

For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah.

¹Hear this, all peoples; Give ear, all inhabitants of the world, ²Both low and high, Rich and poor together. ³ My mouth will speak wisdom, And the meditation of my heart will be understanding. ⁴ I will incline my ear to a proverb; I will express my riddle on the harp.

⁵Why should I fear in days of adversity, When the iniquity of my foes surrounds me, ⁶ Even those who trust in their wealth And boast in the abundance of their riches? ⁷ No man can by any means redeem his brother Or give to God a ransom for him-- ⁸ For the redemption of his soul is costly, And he should cease trying forever-- ⁹ That he should live on eternally, That he should not undergo decay.

¹⁰For he sees that even wise men die; The stupid and the senseless alike perish And leave their wealth to others. ¹¹Their inner thought is that their houses are forever And their dwelling places to all generations; They have called their lands after their own names. ¹² But man in his pomp will not endure; He is like the beasts that perish.

¹³This is the way of those who are foolish, And of those after them who approve their words. Selah. ¹⁴ As sheep they are appointed for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd; And the upright shall rule over them in the morning, And their form shall be for Sheol to consume So that they have no habitation. ¹⁵But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol, For He will receive me. Selah.

¹⁶Do not be afraid when a man becomes rich, When the glory of his house is increased; ¹⁷ For when he dies he will carry nothing away; His glory will not descend after him. ¹⁸ Though while he lives he congratulates himself-- And though men praise you when you do well for yourself-- ¹⁹He shall go to the generation of his fathers; They will never see the light. ²⁰Man in his pomp, yet without understanding, Is like the beasts that perish.

Psalm 50

God the Judge of the Righteous and the Wicked.

Psalm of Asaph.

¹The Mighty One, God, the LORD, has spoken, And summoned the earth from the rising of the sun to its setting. ² Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shone forth. ³May our God come and not keep silence; Fire devours before Him, And it is very tempestuous around Him. ⁴He summons the heavens above, And the earth, to judge His people: ⁵"Gather My godly ones to Me, Those who have made a covenant with Me by sacrifice." ⁶And the heavens declare His righteousness, For God Himself is judge. Selah.

⁷"Hear, O My people, and I will speak; O Israel, I will testify against you; I am God, your God. ⁸ "I do not reprove you for your sacrifices, And your burnt offerings are continually before Me. ⁹ "I shall take no young bull out of your house Nor male goats out of your folds. ¹⁰ "For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. ¹¹ "I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. ¹² "If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains. ¹³ "Shall I eat the flesh of bulls Or drink the blood of male goats? ¹⁴ "Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving And pay your vows to the Most High; ¹⁵ Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me."

¹⁶But to the wicked God says, "What right have you to tell of My statutes And to take My covenant in your mouth? ¹⁷"For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you. ¹⁸"When you see a thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers. ¹⁹"You let your mouth loose in evil And your tongue frames deceit. ²⁰"You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother's son. ²¹ "These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.

²²"Now consider this, you who forget God, Or I will tear you in pieces, and there will be none to deliver. ²³ "He who offers a sacrifice of thanksgiving honors Me; And to him who orders his way aright I shall show the salvation of God."

Psalm 51

A Contrite Sinner's Prayer for Pardon.

For the choir director. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

¹Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. ² Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. ³For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. ⁴Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.

⁵Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me. ⁶ Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom. ⁷ Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. ⁸ Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have broken rejoice. ⁹ Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities.

¹⁰Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me. ¹¹Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. ¹² Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. ¹³ Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.

¹⁴Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, the God of my salvation; Then my tongue will joyfully sing of Your righteousness. ¹⁵O Lord, open my lips, That my mouth may declare Your praise. ¹⁶ For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; You are not pleased with burnt offering. ¹⁷ The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.

¹⁸By Your favor do good to Zion; Build the walls of Jerusalem. ¹⁹Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, In burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.