9Yet You are He who brought me forth from the womb;
         You made me trust when upon my mother’s breasts.

10Upon You I was cast from birth;
         You have been my God from my mother’s womb.

11Be not far from me, for trouble is near;
         For there is none to help.

12Many bulls have surrounded me;
         Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.

13They open wide their mouth at me,
         As a ravening and a roaring lion.

14I am poured out like water,
         And all my bones are out of joint;
         My heart is like wax;
         It is melted within me.

15My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
         And my tongue cleaves to my jaws;
         And You lay me in the dust of death.

16For dogs have surrounded me;
         A band of evildoers has encompassed me;
         They pierced my hands and my feet.

17I can count all my bones.
         They look, they stare at me;

18They divide my garments among them,
         And for my clothing they cast lots.

19But You, O LORD, be not far off;
         O You my help, hasten to my assistance.

20Deliver my soul from the sword,
         My only life from the power of the dog.

21Save me from the lion’s mouth;
         From the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.

22I will tell of Your name to my brethren;
         In the midst of the assembly I will praise You.

23You who fear the LORD, praise Him;
         All you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
         And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.

24For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
         Nor has He hidden His face from him;
         But when he cried to Him for help, He heard.

25From You comes my praise in the great assembly;
         I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.

26The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
         Those who seek Him will praise the LORD.
         Let your heart live forever!

27All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD,
         And all the families of the nations will worship before You.

28For the kingdom is the LORD’S
         And He rules over the nations.

29All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship,
         All those who go down to the dust will bow before Him,
         Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.

30Posterity will serve Him;
         It will be told of the Lord to the coming generation.

31They will come and will declare His righteousness
         To a people who will be born, that He has performed it.

NASB ©1995