Why read Psalm 31?
Read Psalm 31 when you want to acknowledge wrongdoing and seek forgiveness. It describes the burden of concealing sin and the relief of confession, repentance and trust in mercy.
You can read this psalm when its themes speak to your circumstances, or as part of your regular reading of the Psalter. This explanation draws on the text itself; the psalm is not reserved for one particular need.
“Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven and...” — this is how Psalm 31 begins, a work of 12 verses from the 5th Kathisma. The Psalter is read in the Orthodox Church at every service, and this psalm has its place in the order of prayer.
The text of Psalm 31
1. Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven and whose sins have been covered.
2. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not reckon sin, and in whose mouth there is no deceit.
3. For I kept silent, my bones grew old, when I cried out all day.
4. For day and night Your hand weighed heavily upon me, and I fell into suffering when Your thorn pierced me.
5. I acknowledged my sin and did not hide my lawlessness, which stood against me.
6. I said: “I shall confess my lawlessness to the Lord”; and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
7. For this every devout person will pray to You at the fitting time, and a flood of many waters will not come near him.
8. You are my escape from the affliction that surrounds me, my joy; deliver me from those who have surrounded me.
9. I shall make you wise and guide you on this way on which you will walk; I shall fix My eyes upon you.
10. Do not be like a horse and a mule that have no understanding; with bit and bridle I shall restrain their jaws so that they do not approach you.
11. Many are the blows of the sinner; but mercy will surround the one who hopes in the Lord.
12. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous, and glory, all you upright in heart.
When Psalm 31 is read
- It belongs to the 5th Kathisma and may be read daily alongside the prayer rule (see the morning and evening prayers).
- At the end of each psalm, tradition adds: «Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen.».
Adjacent psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
