Psalm 9

¹ I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart. I will tell of all your marvelous works.

² I will be glad and rejoice in you. I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

³ When my enemies turn back, they stumble and perish in your presence.

⁴ For you have maintained my just cause. You sit on the throne judging righteously.

⁵ You have rebuked the nations. You have destroyed the wicked. You have blotted out their name forever and ever.

⁶ The enemy is overtaken by endless ruin. The very memory of the cities which you have overthrown has perished.

⁷ But the LORD reigns forever. He has prepared his throne for judgment.

⁸ He will judge the world in righteousness. He will administer judgment to the peoples in uprightness.

⁹ The LORD will also be a high tower for the oppressed; a high tower in times of trouble.

¹⁰ Those who know your name will put their trust in you, for you, LORD, have not forsaken those who seek you.

¹¹ Sing praises to the LORD, who dwells in Zion, and declare among the people what he has done.

¹² For he who avenges blood remembers them. He doesn’t forget the cry of the afflicted.

¹³ Have mercy on me, LORD. See my affliction by those who hate me, and lift me up from the gates of death,

¹⁴ that I may show all of your praise. I will rejoice in your salvation in the gates of the daughter of Zion.

¹⁵ The nations have sunk down in the pit that they made. In the net which they hid, their own foot is taken.

¹⁶ The LORD has made himself known. He has executed judgment. The wicked is snared by the work of his own hands. Meditation. Selah.

¹⁷ The wicked shall be turned back to Sheol, even all the nations that forget God.

¹⁸ For the needy shall not always be forgotten, nor the hope of the poor perish forever.

¹⁹ Arise, LORD! Don’t let man prevail. Let the nations be judged in your sight.

²⁰ Put them in fear, LORD. Let the nations know that they are only men. Selah.

Around Psalm 9

Book context

PsalmsEditorial draft

Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers used in Israel’s worship, written by several people over a long period. Headings name David most often, along with Asaph, the sons of Korah and others. The collection falls into five books, each ending with a short blessing of the LORD (41:13, 72:19, 89:52, 106:48), and it closes with a call for everything that has breath to praise the LORD (150:6). The psalms hold praise, lament, thanksgiving, confession and trust, so readers find words for nearly every season of life.

Why we say this

HisFullGlory editorial · broad consensus · not yet reviewed by a theological reader

From the text itself

Sources

Notes summarise their sources in our own words. Where Christians or scholars disagree, the note says so. Notes are not original-language evidence and do not replace the text.

AI explanation

About Psalms as a whole · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this book is about

“How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?” A prayer can begin like that, and in the Psalms it does. Four times the poet asks how long, and then, in the same short song, comes the turn: “But I trust in your loving kindness.”

That honesty runs through the whole book. Psalms is a collection of 150 songs and prayers, and it holds praise, thanksgiving, lament, confession, songs for the king, and reflections on wisdom and on God's law. It is arranged in five books and moves, on the whole, from many laments at the start to pure praise at the end.

Joy, fear, anger, guilt and doubt are all spoken to God directly.

Background

The psalms were written and gathered over several centuries. Their headings link about half of them with David and others with Asaph, the sons of Korah, Solomon and Moses. They were sung in the worship of the temple and later in synagogues and churches.

How Christians read it

Jews and Christians have prayed the Psalms daily for well over two thousand years. The New Testament quotes them more than any other book and reads many as speaking of Christ, among them Psalms 2, 22 and 110. The psalms that call for judgment on enemies are hard to read. Many understand them as handing vengeance over to God instead of taking it oneself.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 19 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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