8Our help is in the name of the LORD,

the Maker of heaven and earth.

The LORD Surrounds His People

A song of ascents.

1Those who trust in the LORD are like Mount Zion.

It cannot be moved; it abides forever.

2As the mountains surround Jerusalem,

so the LORD surrounds His people,

both now and forevermore.

3For the scepter of the wicked will not rest

upon the land allotted to the righteous,

so that the righteous will not put forth

their hands to injustice.

4Do good, O LORD, to those who are good,

and to the upright in heart.

5But those who turn to crooked ways

the LORD will banish with the evildoers.

Peace be upon Israel.

Zion’s Captives Restored

A song of ascents.

1When the LORD restored the captives of Zion,

we were like dreamers.

2Then our mouths were filled with laughter,

our tongues with shouts of joy.

Then it was said among the nations,

“The LORD has done great things for them.”

3The LORD has done great things for us;

we are filled with joy.

4Restore our captives, O LORD,

like streams in the Negev.

5Those who sow in tears

will reap with shouts of joy.

6He who goes out weeping,

bearing a trail of seed,

will surely return with shouts of joy,

carrying sheaves of grain.

Children Are a Heritage from the LORD

A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

1Unless the LORD builds the house,

its builders labor in vain;

unless the LORD protects the city,

its watchmen stand guard in vain.

2In vain you rise early

and stay up late,

toiling for bread to eat—

for He gives sleep to His beloved.

3Children are indeed a heritage from the LORD,

and the fruit of the womb is His reward.

4Like arrows in the hand of a warrior,

so are children born in one’s youth.

5Blessed is the man

whose quiver is full of them.

He will not be put to shame

when he confronts the enemies at the gate.

The Blessed Fear of the LORD

A song of ascents.

1Blessed are all who fear the LORD,

who walk in His ways!

2For when you eat the fruit of your labor,

blessings and prosperity will be yours.

3Your wife will be like a fruitful vine

flourishing within your house,

your sons like olive shoots

sitting around your table.

4In this way indeed shall blessing come

to the man who fears the LORD.

5May the LORD bless you from Zion,

that you may see the prosperity of Jerusalem

all the days of your life,

6that you may see

your children’s children.

Peace be upon Israel!

The Cords of the Wicked

A song of ascents.

1Many a time they have persecuted me from my youth—

let Israel now declare—

2many a time they have persecuted me from my youth,

but they have not prevailed against me.

3The plowmen plowed over my back;

they made their furrows long.

4The LORD is righteous;

He has cut me from the cords of the wicked.

5May all who hate Zion

be turned back in shame.

6May they be like grass on the rooftops,

which withers before it can grow,

7unable to fill the hands of the reaper,

or the arms of the binder of sheaves.

8May none who pass by say to them,

“The blessing of the LORD be on you;

we bless you in the name of the LORD.”

Out of the Depths

A song of ascents.

1Out of the depths

I cry to You, O LORD!

2O Lord, hear my voice;

let Your ears be attentive to my plea for mercy.

3If You, O LORD, kept track of iniquities,

then who, O Lord, could stand?

4But with You there is forgiveness,

so that You may be feared.

5I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait,

and in His word I put my hope.

6My soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen wait for the morning—

more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,

for with the LORD is loving devotion,

and with Him is redemption in abundance.

8And He will redeem Israel

from all iniquity.

I Have Stilled My Soul

A song of ascents. Of David.

1My heart is not proud, O LORD,

my eyes are not haughty.

I do not aspire to great things

or matters too lofty for me.

2Surely I have stilled and quieted my soul;

like a weaned child with his mother,

like a weaned child is my soul within me.

3O Israel, put your hope in the LORD,

both now and forevermore.

The LORD Has Chosen Zion

A song of ascents.

1O LORD, remember on behalf of David

all the hardships he endured,

2how he swore an oath to the LORD,

and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob:

3“I will not enter my house

or get into my bed,

4I will not give sleep to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

5until I find a place for the LORD,

a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.”

6We heard that the ark was in Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields of Jaar.

7Let us go to His dwelling place;

let us worship at His footstool.