Psalm 144
Translated from the Hebrew of the Westminster Leningrad Codex. Tap a verse to see why it reads as it does. Tap a small letter to read its footnote.
A prayer for the king’s victory
1Of David. Blessed be the LORD, my rock, the one who teaches my hands to fight and my fingers to make war. 2He is my loyal love and my stronghold, my tower on the heights and the one who sets me free, my shield, the one I shelter in, who brings my people under my rule.a 3LORD, what are human beings, that you take notice of them, mere mortals, that you give them a thought? 4Human beings are like a breath; their days are a shadow sliding by. 5LORD, bow your heavens low and come down; touch the mountains and make them pour out smoke. 6Make the lightning flash and scatter the enemy; let your arrows fly and throw them into confusion. 7Reach out your hands from on high; free me and pull me out of deep waters, out of the grip of foreigners, 8who speak nothing but lies with their mouths, and whose right hand is raised to swear what is false. 9God, I will sing you a new song; I will play music for you on the ten-stringed harp, 10the one who gives victory to kings, who snatches his servant David away from the cruel sword. 11Free me and pull me out of the grip of foreigners, who speak nothing but lies with their mouths, and whose right hand is raised to swear what is false. 12Then may our sons be like saplings grown tall while they are still young, and our daughters like corner columns carved for a royal house, 13our storehouses full, supplying every kind of food, our flocks multiplying into the thousands, tens of thousands across our pastures, 14our cattle heavy with young. May there be no breach in our walls, no going out into exile, no cry of distress in our streets.b 15How blessed the people who live like this! How blessed the people who have the LORD as their God!