Give Ear to My Words

¹For the choirmaster, to be accompanied by flutes. A Psalm of David.

Give ear to my words, O LORD;

consider my groaning.

²Attend to the sound of my cry,

my King and my God,

for to You I pray.

³In the morning, O LORD, You hear my voice;

at daybreak I lay my plea before You

and wait in expectation.

⁴For You are not a God who delights in wickedness;

no evil can dwell with You.

⁵The boastful cannot stand in Your presence;

You hate all workers of iniquity.

⁶You destroy those who tell lies;

the LORD abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.

⁷But I will enter Your house

by the abundance of Your loving devotion;^a

in reverence I will bow down

toward Your holy temple.

⁸Lead me, O LORD, in Your righteousness

because of my enemies;

make straight Your way before me.

⁹For not a word they speak can be trusted;

destruction lies within them.

Their throats are open graves;

their tongues practice deceit.^b

¹⁰Declare them guilty, O God;

let them fall by their own devices.

Drive them out for their many transgressions,

for they have rebelled against You.

¹¹But 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.

¹²For surely You, O LORD, bless the righteous;

You surround them with the shield of Your favor.