5
Give Ear to My Words
For the choirmaster, to be accompanied by flutes. A Psalm of David.
1 Give ear to my words, O LORD;
consider my groaning.
2 Attend to the sound of my cry,
my King and my God,
for to You I pray.
3 In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice;
at daybreak I lay my plea before You
and wait in expectation.
4 For You are not a God who delights in wickedness;
no evil can dwell with You.
5 The boastful cannot stand in Your presence;
You hate all workers of iniquity.
6 You destroy those who tell lies;
the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.
7 But I will enter Your house
by the abundance of Your loving devotion;*
in reverence I will bow down
toward Your holy temple.
8 Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness
because of my enemies;
make straight Your way before me.
9 For not a word they speak can be trusted;
destruction lies within them.
Their throats are open graves;
their tongues practice deceit.†
10 Declare them guilty, O God;
let them fall by their own devices.
Drive them out for their many transgressions,
for they have rebelled against You.
11 But let all who take refuge in You rejoice;
let them ever shout for joy.
May You shelter them,
that those who love Your name may rejoice in You.
12 For surely You, O LORD, bless the righteous;
You surround them with the shield of Your favor.
* 5:7 Forms of the Hebrew chesed are translated here and in most cases throughout the Scriptures as loving devotion; the range of meaning includes love, goodness, kindness, faithfulness, and mercy, as well as loyalty to a covenant. † 5:9 Or flattery; cited in Romans 3:13