Good News Translation (GNT)

A Cry for Help

1 Save me, O God!

The water is up to my neck;

2 I am sinking in deep mud,

and there is no solid ground;

I am out in deep water,

and the waves are about to drown me.

3 I am worn out from calling for help,

and my throat is aching.

I have strained my eyes,

looking for your help.

4 Those who hate me for no reason

are more numerous than the hairs of my head.

My enemies tell lies against me;

they are strong and want to kill me.

They made me give back things I did not steal.

5 My sins, O God, are not hidden from you;

you know how foolish I have been.

6 Don’t let me bring shame on those who trust in you,

Sovereign Lord Almighty!

Don’t let me bring disgrace to those who worship you,

O God of Israel!

7 It is for your sake that I have been insulted

and that I am covered with shame.

8 I am like a stranger to my relatives,

like a foreigner to my family.

9 My devotion to your Temple burns in me like a fire;

the insults which are hurled at you fall on me.

10 I humble myselfby fasting,

and people insult me;

11 I dress myself in clothes of mourning,

and they laugh at me.

12 They talk about me in the streets,

and drunkards make up songs about me.

13 But as for me, I will pray to you, Lord;

answer me, God, at a time you choose.

Answer me because of your great love,

because you keep your promise to save.

14 Save me from sinking in the mud;

keep me safe from my enemies,

safe from the deep water.

15 Don’t let the flood come over me;

don’t let me drown in the depths

or sink into the grave.

16 Answer me, Lord, in the goodness of your constant love;

in your great compassion turn to me!

17 Don’t hide yourself from your servant;

I am in great trouble—answer me now!

18 Come to me and save me;

rescue me from my enemies.

19 You know how I am insulted,

how I am disgraced and dishonored;

you see all my enemies.

20 Insults have broken my heart,

and I am in despair.

I had hoped for sympathy, but there was none;

for comfort, but I found none.

21 When I was hungry, they gave me poison;

when I was thirsty, they offered me vinegar.

22 May their banquets cause their ruin;

may their sacred feasts cause their downfall.

23 Strike them with blindness!

Make their backs always weak!

24 Pour out your anger on them;

let your indignation overtake them.

25 May their camps be left deserted;

may no one be left alive in their tents.

26 They persecute those whom you have punished;

they talk about the sufferings of those you have wounded.

27 Keep a record of all their sins;

don’t let them have any part in your salvation.

28 May their names be erased from the book of the living;

may they not be included in the list of your people.

29 But I am in pain and despair;

lift me up, O God, and save me!

30 I will praise God with a song;

I will proclaim his greatness by giving him thanks.

31 This will please the Lord more than offering him cattle,

more than sacrificing a full-grown bull.

32 When the oppressed see this, they will be glad;

those who worship God will be encouraged.

33 The Lord listens to those in need

and does not forget his people in prison.

34 Praise God, O heaven and earth,

seas and all creatures in them.

35 He will save Jerusalem

and rebuild the towns of Judah.

His people will live there and possess the land;

36 the descendants of his servants will inherit it,

and those who love him will live there.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/PSA/69-bbd71116852e22aafb349edfcd881aec.mp3?version_id=68—

A Prayer for Help

1 Save me, O God!

Lord, help me now!

2 May those who try to kill me

be defeated and confused.

May those who are happy because of my troubles

be turned back and disgraced.

3 May those who make fun of me

be dismayed by their defeat.

4 May all who come to you

be glad and joyful.

May all who are thankful for your salvation

always say, “How great is God!”

5 I am weak and poor;

come to me quickly, O God.

You are my savior and my Lord—

hurry to my aid!

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/PSA/70-deb854c7efea99e25a47095b4ca6c6ec.mp3?version_id=68—

The Prayer of an Elderly Person

1 Lord, I have come to you for protection;

never let me be defeated!

2 Because you are righteous, help me and rescue me.

Listen to me and save me!

3 Be my secure shelter

and a strong fortressto protect me;

you are my refuge and defense.

4 My God, rescue me from wicked people,

from the power of cruel and evil people.

5 Sovereign Lord, I put my hope in you;

I have trusted in you since I was young.

6 I have relied on you all my life;

you have protectedme since the day I was born.

I will always praise you.

7 My life has been an example to many,

because you have been my strong defender.

8 All day long I praise you

and proclaim your glory.

9 Do not reject me now that I am old;

do not abandon me now that I am feeble.

10 My enemies want to kill me;

they talk and plot against me.

11 They say, “God has abandoned him;

let’s go after him and catch him;

there is no one to rescue him.”

12 Don’t stay so far away, O God;

my God, hurry to my aid!

13 May those who attack me

be defeated and destroyed.

May those who try to hurt me

be shamed and disgraced.

14 I will always put my hope in you;

I will praise you more and more.

15 I will tell of your goodness;

all day long I will speak of your salvation,

though it is more than I can understand.

16 I will go in the strength of the Lord God;

I will proclaim your goodness, yours alone.

17 You have taught me ever since I was young,

and I still tell of your wonderful acts.

18 Now that I am old and my hair is gray,

do not abandon me, O God!

Be with me while I proclaim your power and might

to all generations to come.

19 Your righteousness, God, reaches the skies.

You have done great things;

there is no one like you.

20 You have sent troubles and suffering on me,

but you will restore my strength;

you will keep me from the grave.

21 You will make me greater than ever;

you will comfort me again.

22 I will indeed praise you with the harp;

I will praise your faithfulness, my God.

On my harp I will play hymns to you,

the Holy One of Israel.

23 I will shout for joy as I play for you;

with my whole being I will sing

because you have saved me.

24 I will speak of your righteousness all day long,

because those who tried to harm me

have been defeated and disgraced.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/PSA/71-a187f8d94c00edab7b4d3f88825f444d.mp3?version_id=68—

A Prayer for the King

1 Teach the king to judge with your righteousness, O God;

share with him your own justice,

2 so that he will rule over your people with justice

and govern the oppressed with righteousness.

3 May the land enjoy prosperity;

may it experience righteousness.

4 May the king judge the poor fairly;

may he help the needy

and defeat their oppressors.

5 May your people worship you as long as the sun shines,

as long as the moon gives light, for ages to come.

6 May the king be like rain on the fields,

like showers falling on the land.

7 May righteousness flourish in his lifetime,

and may prosperity last as long as the moon gives light.

8 His kingdom will reach from sea to sea,

from the Euphrates to the ends of the earth.

9 The peoples of the desert will bow down before him;

his enemies will throw themselves to the ground.

10 The kings of Spain and of the islands will offer him gifts;

the kings of Sheba and Sebawill bring him offerings.

11 All kings will bow down before him;

all nations will serve him.

12 He rescues the poor who call to him,

and those who are needy and neglected.

13 He has pity on the weak and poor;

he saves the lives of those in need.

14 He rescues them from oppression and violence;

their lives are precious to him.

15 Long live the king!

May he be given gold from Sheba;

may prayers be said for him at all times;

may God’s blessings be on him always!

16 May there be plenty of grain in the land;

may the hills be covered with crops,

as fruitful as those of Lebanon.

May the cities be filled with people,

like fields full of grass.

17 May the king’s name never be forgotten;

may his fame last as long as the sun.

May all nations ask God to bless them

as he has blessed the king.

18 Praise the Lord, the God of Israel!

He alone does these wonderful things.

19 Praise his glorious name forever!

May his glory fill the whole world.

Amen! Amen!

20 This is the end of the prayers of David son of Jesse.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/PSA/72-09eec5b229f8381e629302dd4e821c2a.mp3?version_id=68—

The Justice of God

1 God is indeed good to Israel,

to those who have pure hearts.

2 But I had nearly lost confidence;

my faith was almost gone

3 because I was jealous of the proud

when I saw that things go well for the wicked.

4 They do not suffer pain;

they are strong and healthy.

5 They do not suffer as other people do;

they do not have the troubles that others have.

6 And so they wear pride like a necklace

and violence like a robe;

7 their hearts pour out evil,

and their minds are busy with wicked schemes.

8 They laugh at other people and speak of evil things;

they are proud and make plans to oppress others.

9 They speak evil of God in heaven

and give arrogant orders to everyone on earth,

10 so that even God’s people turn to them

and eagerly believe whatever they say.

11 They say, “God will not know;

the Most High will not find out.”

12 That is what the wicked are like.

They have plenty and are always getting more.

13 Is it for nothing, then, that I have kept myself pure

and have not committed sin?

14 O God, you have made me suffer all day long;

every morning you have punished me.

15 If I had said such things,

I would not be acting as one of your people.

16 I tried to think this problem through,

but it was too difficult for me

17 until I went into your Temple.

Then I understood what will happen to the wicked.

18 You will put them in slippery places

and make them fall to destruction!

19 They are instantly destroyed;

they go down to a horrible end.

20 They are like a dream that goes away in the morning;

when you rouse yourself, O Lord, they disappear.

21 When my thoughts were bitter

and my feelings were hurt,

22 I was as stupid as an animal;

I did not understand you.

23 Yet I always stay close to you,

and you hold me by the hand.

24 You guide me with your instruction

and at the end you will receive me with honor.

25 What else do I have in heaven but you?

Since I have you, what else could I want on earth?

26 My mind and my body may grow weak,

but God is my strength;

he is all I ever need.

27 Those who abandon you will certainly perish;

you will destroy those who are unfaithful to you.

28 But as for me, how wonderful to be near God,

to find protection with the Sovereign Lord

and to proclaim all that he has done!

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/PSA/73-2f08841b8b0f0fc9a4afca40dcebd82e.mp3?version_id=68—

A Prayer for National Deliverance

1 Why have you abandoned us like this, O God?

Will you be angry with your own people forever?

2 Remember your people, whom you chose for yourself long ago,

whom you brought out of slavery to be your own tribe.

Remember Mount Zion, where once you lived.

3 Walk over these total ruins;

our enemies have destroyed everything in the Temple.

4 Your enemies have shouted in triumph in your Temple;

they have placed their flags there as signs of victory.

5 They looked like woodsmen

cutting down trees with their axes.

6 They smashed all the wooden panels

with their axes and sledge hammers.

7 They wrecked your Temple and set it on fire;

they desecrated the place where you are worshiped.

8 They wanted to crush us completely;

they burned down every holy place in the land.

9 All our sacred symbols are gone;

there are no prophets left,

and no one knows how long this will last.

10 How long, O God, will our enemies laugh at you?

Will they insult your name forever?

11 Why have you refused to help us?

Why do you keep your hands behind you?

12 But you have been our king from the beginning, O God;

you have saved us many times.

13 With your mighty strength you divided the sea

and smashed the heads of the sea monsters;

14 you crushed the heads of the monster Leviathan

and fed his body to desert animals.

15 You made springs and fountains flow;

you dried up large rivers.

16 You created the day and the night;

you set the sun and the moon in their places;

17 you set the limits of the earth;

you made summer and winter.

18 But remember, O Lord, that your enemies laugh at you,

that they are godless and despise you.

19 Don’t abandon your helpless people to their cruel enemies;

don’t forget your persecuted people!

20 Remember the covenant you made with us.

There is violence in every dark corner of the land.

21 Don’t let the oppressed be put to shame;

let those poor and needy people praise you.

22 Rouse yourself, God, and defend your cause!

Remember that godless people laugh at you all day long.

23 Don’t forget the angry shouts of your enemies,

the continuous noise made by your foes.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/PSA/74-ef387ca5668d46dbb8b945966c814411.mp3?version_id=68—

God the Judge

1 We give thanks to you, O God, we give thanks to you!

We proclaim how great you are

and tell ofthe wonderful things you have done.

2 “I have set a time for judgment,” says God,

“and I will judge with fairness.

3 Though every living creature tremble

and the earth itself be shaken,

I will keep its foundations firm.

4 I tell the wicked not to be arrogant;

5 I tell them to stop their boasting.”

6 Judgment does not come from the east or from the west,

from the north or from the south;

7 it is God who is the judge,

condemning some and acquitting others.

8 The Lord holds a cup in his hand,

filled with the strong wine of his anger.

He pours it out, and all the wicked drink it;

they drink it down to the last drop.

9 But I will never stop speaking of the God of Jacob

or singing praises to him.

10 He will break the power of the wicked,

but the power of the righteous will be increased.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/PSA/75-6eb251ba225d747e726e0238936241a3.mp3?version_id=68—

God the Victor

1 God is known in Judah;

his name is honored in Israel.

2 He has his home in Jerusalem;

he lives on Mount Zion.

3 There he broke the arrows of the enemy,

their shields and swords, yes, all their weapons.

4 How glorious you are, O God!

How majestic, as you return from the mountains

where you defeated your foes.

5 Their brave soldiers have been stripped of all they had

and now are sleeping the sleep of death;

all their strength and skill was useless.

6 When you threatened them, O God of Jacob,

the horses and their riders fell dead.

7 But you, Lord, are feared by all.

No one can stand in your presence

when you are angry.

8 You made your judgment known from heaven;

the world was afraid and kept silent,

9 when you rose up to pronounce judgment,

to save all the oppressed on earth.

10 Human anger only results in more praise for you;

those who survive the wars will keep your festivals.

11 Give the Lord your God what you promised him;

bring gifts to him, all you nearby nations.

God makes everyone fear him;

12 he humbles proud princes

and terrifies great kings.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/PSA/76-040761fb6ffaab61063edba00599d803.mp3?version_id=68—

Comfort in Time of Distress

1 I cry aloud to God;

I cry aloud, and he hears me.

2 In times of trouble I pray to the Lord;

all night long I lift my hands in prayer,

but I cannot find comfort.

3 When I think of God, I sigh;

when I meditate, I feel discouraged.

4 He keeps me awake all night;

I am so worried that I cannot speak.

5 I think of days gone by

and remember years of long ago.

6 I spend the night in deep thought;

I meditate, and this is what I ask myself:

7 “Will the Lord always reject us?

Will he never again be pleased with us?

8 Has he stopped loving us?

Does his promise no longer stand?

9 Has God forgotten to be merciful?

Has anger taken the place of his compassion?”

10 Then I said, “What hurts me most is this—

that God is no longer powerful.”

11 I will remember your great deeds, Lord;

I will recall the wonders you did in the past.

12 I will think about all that you have done;

I will meditate on all your mighty acts.

13 Everything you do, O God, is holy.

No god is as great as you.

14 You are the God who works miracles;

you showed your might among the nations.

15 By your power you saved your people,

the descendants of Jacob and of Joseph.

16 When the waters saw you, O God, they were afraid,

and the depths of the sea trembled.

17 The clouds poured down rain;

thunder crashed from the sky,

and lightning flashed in all directions.

18 The crash of your thunder rolled out,

and flashes of lightning lit up the world;

the earth trembled and shook.

19 You walked through the waves;

you crossed the deep sea,

but your footprints could not be seen.

20 You led your people like a shepherd,

with Moses and Aaron in charge.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/PSA/77-d1367cc2ca04feda730b48283469e564.mp3?version_id=68—

God and His People

1 Listen, my people, to my teaching,

and pay attention to what I say.

2 I am going to use wise sayings

and explain mysteries from the past,

3 things we have heard and known,

things that our ancestors told us.

4 We will not keep them from our children;

we will tell the next generation

about the Lord’s power and his great deeds

and the wonderful things he has done.

5 He gave laws to the people of Israel

and commandments to the descendants of Jacob.

He instructed our ancestors

to teach his laws to their children,

6 so that the next generation might learn them

and in turn should tell their children.

7 In this way they also will put their trust in God

and not forget what he has done,

but always obey his commandments.

8 They will not be like their ancestors,

a rebellious and disobedient people,

whose trust in God was never firm

and who did not remain faithful to him.

9 The Ephraimites, armed with bows and arrows,

ran away on the day of battle.

10 They did not keep their covenant with God;

they refused to obey his law.

11 They forgot what he had done,

the miracles they had seen him perform.

12 While their ancestors watched, God performed miracles

in the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.

13 He divided the sea and took them through it;

he made the waters stand like walls.

14 By day he led them with a cloud

and all night long with the light of a fire.

15 He split rocks open in the desert

and gave them water from the depths.

16 He caused a stream to come out of the rock

and made water flow like a river.

17 But they continued to sin against God,

and in the desert they rebelled against the Most High.

18 They deliberately put God to the test

by demanding the food they wanted.

19 They spoke against God and said,

“Can God supply food in the desert?

20 It is true that he struck the rock,

and water flowed out in a torrent;

but can he also provide us with bread

and give his people meat?”

21 And so the Lord was angry when he heard them;

he attacked his people with fire,

and his anger against them grew,

22 because they had no faith in him

and did not believe that he would save them.

23 But he spoke to the sky above

and commanded its doors to open;

24 he gave them grain from heaven,

by sending down manna for them to eat.

25 So they ate the food of angels,

and God gave them all they wanted.

26 He also caused the east wind to blow,

and by his power he stirred up the south wind;

27 and to his people he sent down birds,

as many as the grains of sand on the shore;

28 they fell in the middle of the camp

all around the tents.

29 So the people ate and were satisfied;

God gave them what they wanted.

30 But they had not yet satisfied their craving

and were still eating,

31 when God became angry with them

and killed their strongest men,

the best young men of Israel.

32 In spite of all this the people kept sinning;

in spite of his miracles they did not trust him.

33 So he ended their days like a breath

and their lives with sudden disaster.

34 Whenever he killed some of them,

the rest would turn to him;

they would repent and pray earnestly to him.

35 They remembered that God was their protector,

that the Almighty came to their aid.

36 But their words were all lies;

nothing they said was sincere.

37 They were not loyal to him;

they were not faithful to their covenant with him.

38 But God was merciful to his people.

He forgave their sin

and did not destroy them.

Many times he held back his anger

and restrained his fury.

39 He remembered that they were only mortal beings,

like a wind that blows by and is gone.

40 How often they rebelled against him in the desert;

how many times they made him sad!

41 Again and again they put God to the test

and brought pain to the Holy God of Israel.

42 They forgot his great power

and the day when he saved them from their enemies

43 and performed his mighty acts and miracles

in the plain of Zoan in the land of Egypt.

44 He turned the rivers into blood,

and the Egyptians had no water to drink.

45 He sent flies among them, that tormented them,

and frogs that ruined their land.

46 He sent locusts to eat their crops

and to destroy their fields.

47 He killed their grapevines with hail

and their fig trees with frost.

48 He killed their cattle with hail

and their flocks with lightning.

49 He caused them great distress

by pouring out his anger and fierce rage,

which came as messengers of death.

50 He did not restrain his anger

or spare their lives,

but killed them with a plague.

51 He killed the first-born sons

of all the families of Egypt.

52 Then he led his people out like a shepherd

and guided them through the desert.

53 He led them safely, and they were not afraid;

but the sea came rolling over their enemies.

54 He brought them to his holy land,

to the mountains which he himself conquered.

55 He drove out the inhabitants as his people advanced;

he divided their land among the tribes of Israel

and gave their homes to his people.

56 But they rebelled against Almighty God

and put him to the test.

They did not obey his commandments,

57 but were rebellious and disloyal like their ancestors,

unreliable as a crooked arrow.

58 They angered him with their heathen places of worship,

and with their idols they made him furious.

59 God was angry when he saw it,

so he rejected his people completely.

60 He abandoned his tent in Shiloh,

the home where he had lived among us.

61 He allowed our enemies to capture the Covenant Box,

the symbol of his power and glory.

62 He was angry with his own people

and let them be killed by their enemies.

63 Young men were killed in war,

and young women had no one to marry.

64 Priests died by violence,

and their widows were not allowed to mourn.

65 At last the Lord woke up as though from sleep;

he was like a strong man excited by wine.

66 He drove his enemies back

in lasting and shameful defeat.

67 But he rejected the descendants of Joseph;

he did not select the tribe of Ephraim.

68 Instead he chose the tribe of Judah

and Mount Zion, which he dearly loves.

69 There he built his Temple

like his home in heaven;

he made it firm like the earth itself,

secure for all time.

70 He chose his servant David;

he took him from the pastures,

71 where he looked after his flocks,

and he made him king of Israel,

the shepherd of the people of God.

72 David took care of them with unselfish devotion

and led them with skill.

—https://cdn-youversionapi.global.ssl.fastly.net/audio-bible-youversionapi/363/32k/PSA/78-f7ab15fe11968cde2c9ca6c77cb25514.mp3?version_id=68—