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Psalm 9
The Message
Psalm 9
The Message
9 1-2 I’m thanking you, God, from a full heart,
I’m writing the book on your wonders.
I’m whistling, laughing, and jumping for joy;
I’m singing your song, High God.
3-4 The day my enemies turned tail and ran,
they stumbled on you and fell on their faces.
You took over and set everything right;
when I needed you, you were there, taking charge.
5-6 You blow the whistle on godless nations;
you throw dirty players out of the game,
wipe their names right off the roster.
Enemies disappear from the sidelines,
their reputation trashed,
their names erased from the halls of fame.
7-8 God holds the high center,
he sees and sets the world’s mess right.
He decides what is right for us earthlings,
gives people their just deserts.
9-10 God’s a safe-house for the battered,
a sanctuary during bad times.
The moment you arrive, you relax;
you’re never sorry you knocked.
11-12 Sing your songs to Zion-dwelling God,
tell his stories to everyone you meet:
How he tracks down killers
yet keeps his eye on us,
registers every whimper and moan.
13-14 Be kind to me, God;
I’ve been kicked around long enough.
Once you’ve pulled me back
from the gates of death,
I’ll write the book on Hallelujahs;
on the corner of Main and First
I’ll hold a street meeting;
I’ll be the song leader; we’ll fill the air
with salvation songs.
15-16 They’re trapped, those godless countries,
in the very snares they set,
Their feet all tangled
in the net they spread.
They have no excuse;
the way God works is well-known.
The shrewd machinery made by the wicked
has maimed their own hands.
17-20 The wicked bought a one-way
ticket to hell.
No longer will the poor be nameless—
no more humiliation for the humble.
Up, God! Aren’t you fed up with their empty strutting?
Expose these grand pretensions!
Shake them up, God!
Show them how silly they look.
Psalm 9
New International Version
Psalm 9
New International Version
Psalm 9[a][b]
For the director of music. To the tune of “The Death of the Son.” A psalm of David.
1 I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart;(A)
I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.(B)
2 I will be glad and rejoice(C) in you;
I will sing the praises(D) of your name,(E) O Most High.
3 My enemies turn back;
they stumble and perish before you.
4 For you have upheld my right(F) and my cause,(G)
sitting enthroned(H) as the righteous judge.(I)
5 You have rebuked the nations(J) and destroyed the wicked;
you have blotted out their name(K) for ever and ever.
6 Endless ruin has overtaken my enemies,
you have uprooted their cities;(L)
even the memory of them(M) has perished.
7 The Lord reigns forever;(N)
he has established his throne(O) for judgment.
8 He rules the world in righteousness(P)
and judges the peoples with equity.(Q)
9 The Lord is a refuge(R) for the oppressed,(S)
a stronghold in times of trouble.(T)
10 Those who know your name(U) trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken(V) those who seek you.(W)
11 Sing the praises(X) of the Lord, enthroned in Zion;(Y)
proclaim among the nations(Z) what he has done.(AA)
12 For he who avenges blood(AB) remembers;
he does not ignore the cries of the afflicted.(AC)
13 Lord, see how my enemies(AD) persecute me!
Have mercy(AE) and lift me up from the gates of death,(AF)
14 that I may declare your praises(AG)
in the gates of Daughter Zion,(AH)
and there rejoice in your salvation.(AI)
15 The nations have fallen into the pit they have dug;(AJ)
their feet are caught in the net they have hidden.(AK)
16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.[c](AL)
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,(AM)
all the nations that forget God.(AN)
18 But God will never forget the needy;
the hope(AO) of the afflicted(AP) will never perish.
Footnotes
- Psalm 9:1 Psalms 9 and 10 may originally have been a single acrostic poem in which alternating lines began with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet. In the Septuagint they constitute one psalm.
- Psalm 9:1 In Hebrew texts 9:1-20 is numbered 9:2-21.
- Psalm 9:16 The Hebrew has Higgaion and Selah (words of uncertain meaning) here; Selah occurs also at the end of verse 20.
Psalm 9
King James Version
Psalm 9
King James Version
9 I will praise thee, O Lord, with my whole heart; I will shew forth all thy marvellous works.
2 I will be glad and rejoice in thee: I will sing praise to thy name, O thou most High.
3 When mine enemies are turned back, they shall fall and perish at thy presence.
4 For thou hast maintained my right and my cause; thou satest in the throne judging right.
5 Thou hast rebuked the heathen, thou hast destroyed the wicked, thou hast put out their name for ever and ever.
6 O thou enemy, destructions are come to a perpetual end: and thou hast destroyed cities; their memorial is perished with them.
7 But the Lord shall endure for ever: he hath prepared his throne for judgment.
8 And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness.
9 The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.
10 And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee.
11 Sing praises to the Lord, which dwelleth in Zion: declare among the people his doings.
12 When he maketh inquisition for blood, he remembereth them: he forgetteth not the cry of the humble.
13 Have mercy upon me, O Lord; consider my trouble which I suffer of them that hate me, thou that liftest me up from the gates of death:
14 That I may shew forth all thy praise in the gates of the daughter of Zion: I will rejoice in thy salvation.
15 The heathen are sunk down in the pit that they made: in the net which they hid is their own foot taken.
16 The Lord is known by the judgment which he executeth: the wicked is snared in the work of his own hands. Higgaion. Selah.
17 The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.
18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten: the expectation of the poor shall not perish for ever.
19 Arise, O Lord; let not man prevail: let the heathen be judged in thy sight.
20 Put them in fear, O Lord: that the nations may know themselves to be but men. Selah.
The Message (MSG)
Copyright © 1993, 2002, 2018 by Eugene H. Peterson
New International Version (NIV) 
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan.