Psalm 144
A psalm of David.
1Give praise to the Lord, my Rock.
He trains my hands for war.
He trains my fingers for battle.
2He is my loving God and is like a fort to me.
He is my place of safety and the God who saves me.
He is like a shield that keeps me safe.
He brings nations under my control.
3Lord, what are human beings that you take care of them?
What are mere people that you think about them?
4Their lives don’t last any longer than a breath.
Their days are like a shadow that quickly disappears.
5Lord, open up your heavens and come down.
Touch the mountains, and they will pour out smoke.
6Send flashes of lightning and scatter my enemies.
Shoot your arrows and chase them away.
7My enemies are like a mighty flood.
Reach down from heaven and save me.
Save me from outsiders who attack me.
8They tell all kinds of lies with their mouths.
Even when they make a promise by raising their right hands, they don’t mean it.
9My God, I will sing a new song to you.
I will make music to you on a lyre that has ten strings.
10You are the God who helps kings win battles.
You save your servant David.
From death by the sword 11save me.
Set me free from outsiders who attack me.
They tell all kinds of lies with their mouths.
Even when they make a promise by raising their right hands, they don’t mean it.
12While our sons are young,
they will be like healthy plants.
Our daughters will be like pillars
that have been made to decorate a palace.
13Our storerooms will be filled
with every kind of food.
The sheep in our fields will increase by thousands.
They will increase by tens of thousands.
14Our oxen will pull heavy loads.
None of our city walls will be broken down.
No one will be carried off as a prisoner.
No cries of pain will be heard in our streets.
15Blessed is the nation about whom all these things are true.
Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord.
Psalm 144
Of David.
1Praise be to the Lord my Rock,
who trains my hands for war,
my fingers for battle.
2He is my loving God and my fortress,
my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield, in whom I take refuge,
who subdues peoples144:2 Many manuscripts of the Masoretic Text, Dead Sea Scrolls, Aquila, Jerome and Syriac; most manuscripts of the Masoretic Text subdues my people under me.
3Lord, what are human beings that you care for them,
mere mortals that you think of them?
4They are like a breath;
their days are like a fleeting shadow.
5Part your heavens, Lord, and come down;
touch the mountains, so that they smoke.
6Send forth lightning and scatter the enemy;
shoot your arrows and rout them.
7Reach down your hand from on high;
deliver me and rescue me
from the mighty waters,
from the hands of foreigners
8whose mouths are full of lies,
whose right hands are deceitful.
9I will sing a new song to you, my God;
on the ten-stringed lyre I will make music to you,
10to the One who gives victory to kings,
who delivers his servant David.
From the deadly sword 11deliver me;
rescue me from the hands of foreigners
whose mouths are full of lies,
whose right hands are deceitful.
12Then our sons in their youth
will be like well-nurtured plants,
and our daughters will be like pillars
carved to adorn a palace.
13Our barns will be filled
with every kind of provision.
Our sheep will increase by thousands,
by tens of thousands in our fields;
14our oxen will draw heavy loads.144:14 Or our chieftains will be firmly established
There will be no breaching of walls,
no going into captivity,
no cry of distress in our streets.
15Blessed is the people of whom this is true;
blessed is the people whose God is the Lord.
