No resident of Zion ¹  will say, “I am ill”; the people who live there will have their sin forgiven.

As to my case, I am in your power. ¹  Do to me what you deem fair and proper.

He has obstructed my paths ¹  and torn me to pieces; ²  he has made me desolate.

I will knock your bow out of your left hand and make your arrows fall from your right hand.

They ¹  devour widows’ property, ²  and as a show make long prayers. These men will receive a more severe punishment.”

Your sons and daughters will be given to another people while you look on in vain all day, and you will be powerless to do anything about it. ¹ 

Their residents are powerless; ¹  they are terrified and ashamed. They are as short-lived as plants in the field or green vegetation. ²  They are as short-lived as grass on the rooftops ³  when it is scorched by the east wind. ⁴ 

Why should you be like someone who is helpless, ¹  like a champion ²  who cannot save anyone? You are indeed with us, ³  and we belong to you. ⁴  Do not abandon us!”

They trample ¹  on the dirt-covered heads of the poor; ²  they push the destitute away. ³  A man and his father go to the same girl; ⁴  in this way they show disrespect ⁵  for my moral purity. ⁶ 

opened it, ¹  and saw the child ²  – a boy, ³  crying! ⁴  – and she felt compassion ⁵  for him and said, “This is one of the Hebrews’ children.”

He said to her, “If they tie me tightly with brand new ropes that have never been used, ¹  I will become weak and be just like any other man.”

In the morning, when Nabal was sober, ¹  his wife told him about these matters. He had a stroke and was paralyzed. ² 

They defeated all the cities surrounding Gerar, for the Lord caused them to panic. ¹  The men of Judah ²  looted all the cities, for they contained a huge amount of goods. ³ 

Lord, you have heard ¹  the request ²  of the oppressed; you make them feel secure because you listen to their prayer. ³ 

“Because of the violence done to the oppressed, ¹  because of the painful cries ²  of the needy, I will spring into action,” ³  says the Lord. “I will provide the safety they so desperately desire.” ⁴ 

With all my strength I will say, ¹  “O Lord, who can compare to you? You rescue ²  the oppressed from those who try to overpower them; ³  the oppressed and needy from those who try to rob them.” ⁴ 

For the music director; a psalm of David. How blessed ²  is the one who treats the poor properly! ³  When trouble comes, ⁴  the Lord delivers him. ⁵ 

Their insults are painful ¹  and make me lose heart; ²  I look ³  for sympathy, but receive none, ⁴  for comforters, but find none.

Daughter Zion ¹  is left isolated, like a hut in a vineyard, or a shelter in a cucumber field; she is a besieged city. ² 

The Lord comes to pronounce judgment on the leaders of his people and their officials. He says, ¹  “It is you ²  who have ruined ³  the vineyard! ⁴  You have stashed in your houses what you have stolen from the poor. ⁵