> [[psalm-08|← Previous]] | [[psalm-00|TOC]] | [[psalm-10|Next →]] --- # Psalm 9 ## Thanksgiving for Victory and Prayer for Justice 1 For the leader; according to *Muth Labben*. A psalm of David. ^psalm-09-1 ### I 2 I will praise you, LORD, with all my heart; ^psalm-09-2 I will declare all your wondrous deeds. 3 I will delight and rejoice in you; ^psalm-09-3 I will sing hymns to your name, Most High. 4 When my enemies turn back, ^psalm-09-4 they stumble and perish before you. ### II 5 For you upheld my right and my cause, ^psalm-09-5 seated on your throne, judging justly. 6 You rebuked the nations, you destroyed the wicked; ^psalm-09-6 their name you blotted out for all time. 7 The enemies have been ruined forever; ^psalm-09-7 you destroyed their cities; their memory has perished. ### III 8 The LORD rules forever, ^psalm-09-8 has set up his throne for judgment. 9 It is he who judges the world with justice, ^psalm-09-9 who judges the peoples with fairness. 10 The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed, ^psalm-09-10 a stronghold in times of trouble. 11 Those who know your name trust in you; ^psalm-09-11 you never forsake those who seek you, LORD. ### IV 12 Sing hymns to the LORD enthroned on Zion; ^psalm-09-12 proclaim his deeds among the nations! 13 For the avenger of bloodshed remembers, ^psalm-09-13 does not forget the cry of the afflicted. ### V 14 Be gracious to me, LORD; ^psalm-09-14 see how my foes afflict me! You alone can raise me from the gates of death. 15 Then I will declare all your praises, ^psalm-09-15 sing joyously of your salvation in the gates of daughter Zion. ### VI 16 The nations fall into the pit they dig; ^psalm-09-16 in the snare they hide, their own foot is caught. 17 The LORD is revealed in making judgments: ^psalm-09-17 by the deeds they do the wicked are trapped. *Higgaion. Selah* ### VII 18 To Sheol the wicked will depart, ^psalm-09-18 all the nations that forget God. 19 For the needy will never be forgotten, ^psalm-09-19 nor will the hope of the afflicted ever fade. 20 Arise, LORD, let no mortal prevail; ^psalm-09-20 let the nations be judged in your presence. 21 Strike them with terror, LORD; ^psalm-09-21 show the nations they are only human. *Selah* \* (Psalms 9] – [10) [Ps 9] and [Ps 10] in the Hebrew text have been transmitted as separate poems but they actually form a single acrostic poem and are so transmitted in the Greek and Latin tradition. Each verse of the two Psalms begins with a successive letter of the Hebrew alphabet (though several letters have no corresponding stanza). The Psalm states loosely connected themes: the rescue of the helpless poor from their enemies, God’s worldwide judgment and rule over the nations, the psalmist’s own concern for rescue (([[psalm-09|Ps 9]]:14] – [15]). \* (9:1) Muth Labben: probably the melodic accompaniment of the Psalm, now lost. \* (9:15) Daughter Zion: an ancient Near Eastern city could sometimes be personified as a woman or a queen, the spouse of the god of the city. \* (9:17) The LORD is revealed in making judgments: God has so made the universe that the wicked are punished by the very actions they perform. Selah: see note on ([[psalm-03|Ps 3]]:3]. a. (9:6) [Jb 18:17]. b. (9:9) [Ps 96:10]; [98:9]. c. (9:10) [Ps 37:39]; [Is 25:4]. d. (9:13) [Jb 16:18]. e. (9:14) [Wis 16:13]. f. (9:17) [Ps 35:8]; [Sir 27:26]. g. (9:19) [Prv 23:18]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[psalm-08|← Previous]] | [[psalm-00|TOC]] | [[psalm-10|Next →]]