Psalm 56

Miserere mei, Deus
1
Have mercy on me, O God,
for my enemies are hounding me; *
all day long they assault and oppress me.
2
They hound me all the day long; *
truly there are many who fight against me, O Most High.
3
Whenever I am afraid, *
I will put my trust in you.
4
In God, whose word I praise,
in God I trust and will not be afraid, *
for what can flesh do to me?
5
All day long they damage my cause; *
their only thought is to do me evil.
6
They band together; they lie in wait; *
they spy upon my footsteps;
because they seek my life.
7
Shall they escape despite their wickedness? *
O God, in your anger, cast down the peoples.
8
You have noted my lamentation;
put my tears into your bottle; *
are they not recorded in your book?
9
Whenever I call upon you, my enemies will be put to flight; *
this I know, for God is on my side.
10
In God the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust and will not be afraid, *
for what can mortals do to me?
11
I am bound by the vow I made to you, O God; *
I will present to you thank-offerings;
12
For you have rescued my soul from death and my feet from stumbling, *
that I may walk before God in the light of the living.

Psalm 57

Miserere mei, Deus
1
Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful,
for I have taken refuge in you; *
in the shadow of your wings will I take refuge
until this time of trouble has gone by.
2
I will call upon the Most High God, *
the God who maintains my cause.
3
He will send from heaven and save me;
he will confound those who trample upon me; *
God will send forth his love and his faithfulness.
4
I lie in the midst of lions that devour the people; *
their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharp sword.
5
They have laid a net for my feet,
and I am bowed low; *
they have dug a pit before me,
but have fallen into it themselves.
6
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your glory over all the earth.
7
My heart is firmly fixed, O God, my heart is fixed; *
I will sing and make melody.
8
Wake up, my spirit;
awake, lute and harp; *
I myself will waken the dawn.
9
I will confess you among the peoples, O Lord; *
I will sing praise to you among the nations.
10
For your loving-kindness is greater than the heavens, *
and your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
11
Exalt yourself above the heavens, O God, *
and your glory over all the earth.

Psalm 58

Si vere utique
1
Do you indeed decree righteousness, you rulers? *
do you judge the peoples with equity?
2
No; you devise evil in your hearts, *
and your hands deal out violence in the land.
3
The wicked are perverse from the womb; *
liars go astray from their birth.
4
They are as venomous as a serpent, *
they are like the deaf adder which stops its ears,
5
Which does not heed the voice of the charmer, *
no matter how skillful his charming.
6
O God, break their teeth in their mouths; *
pull the fangs of the young lions, O Lord.
7
Let them vanish like water that runs off; *
let them wither like trodden grass.
8
Let them be like the snail that melts away, *
like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.
9
Before they bear fruit, let them be cut down like a brier; *
like thorns and thistles let them be swept away.
10
The righteous will be glad when they see the vengeance; *
they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11
And they will say,
“Surely, there is a reward for the righteous; *
surely, there is a God who rules in the earth.”