1 A Psalm of David, when he changed his countenance before Abimelech; and he let him go, and he departed.
2 I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall be continually in my mouth. 3 My soul shall 1boast herself in the Lord: let the meek hear, and rejoice. 4 Magnify ye the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
5 I sought the Lord diligently, and he hearkened to me, and delivered me from all my 2sojournings. 6 Draw near to him, and be enlightened: and your faces shall not by any means be ashamed. 7 This poor man cried, and the Lord hearkened to him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions. 8 The angel of the Lord will encamp round about them that fear him, and will deliver them. 9 Taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man who hopes in him. 10 Fear the Lord, all ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him. 11 The rich have become poor and hungry: but they that seek the Lord diligently shall not want any good thing. Pause.
12 Come, ye children, hear me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord. 13 [1 Pet. 3. 10-13.] What man is there that desires life, loving to see good days? 14 Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. 15 Turn away from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
16 The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer: 17 but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to destroy their memorial from the earth. The righteous cried, and the Lord hearkened to them, 18 and delivered them out of all their afflictions. 19 The Lord is near to 3them that are of a contrite heart; and will save the lowly in spirit. 20 Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but out of them all the Lord will deliver them. 21 He keeps all their bones: not one of them shall be broken. 22 The death of sinners is evil: and they that hate righteousness will go wrong. 23 The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants: and none of those that hope in him shall go wrong.
About this text. This is Sir Lancelot Brenton’s 1851 translation of the Septuagint — the Greek Old Testament the Orthodox Church reads, rather than the Hebrew text behind most English Bibles. It is in the public domain. Words in italics are ones Brenton supplied that the Greek does not have; he marked them so that a reader could tell the difference, and they are kept that way here. The numbered notes are his own. Its English is Victorian, and does not match the modern English of the New Testament pages on this site.
On the numbering. The Psalms are numbered here as the Septuagint numbers them, which is how Orthodox service books cite them. From Psalm 10 onward that is one behind a Hebrew-numbered Bible: Psalm 50 here is the Psalm 51 of most English Bibles. The Septuagint also carries a hundred and fifty-first Psalm, which those Bibles do not.