Why read Psalm 9?
Read Psalm 9 to give thanks and pray for people who are suffering injustice. Praise for God's works is joined to concern for the poor and those unable to defend themselves.
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.
In Kathisma 2 of the Psalter, Psalm 9 awaits its reader with 38 verses of prayer arising from a real experience. It begins with “I will praise You, Lord, with all my heart,...” — and from there onward, everything is a dialogue between the person and God.
Text of Psalm 9
1. I will praise You, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.
2. I will rejoice and be glad in You; I will sing Your name, Most High.
3. When my enemies turn back, they will weaken and perish before Your face!
4. For You have carried out my judgment and my justice; You sat upon the throne, You who judge justly.
5. You rebuked the nations and the lawless perished; You blotted out their name forever and ever.
6. The enemy was left with no swords at all, and You destroyed his cities; their remembrance perished amid a great noise.
7. But the Lord remains forever; He has prepared His throne for judgment
8. And He will judge the world; with justice He will judge the peoples.
9. And the Lord was a refuge for the poor, a help at the fitting time in afflictions.
10. Let those who know Your name hope in You, for You have not forsaken those who seek You, Lord!
11. Sing to the Lord, who dwells in Zion; proclaim His deeds among the nations.
12. For He who avenges their blood remembered them. He did not forget the cry of the poor.
13. Have mercy on me, Lord! See my humiliation at the hands of my enemies, You who lift me from the gates of death,
14. That I may proclaim all Your praises at the gates of the daughter of Zion; I will rejoice in Your salvation!
15. The nations fell into the pit they made; in this snare, which they hid, their foot was caught.
16. The Lord is known when He carries out judgment! The sinner was caught in the works of his own hands.
17. Let sinners return to hell, all the nations that forget God.
18. For the poor will not be forgotten forever, and the patience of the poor will never perish.
19. Arise, Lord, let man not grow strong; let the nations be judged before You!
20. Set a lawgiver over them, Lord, that the nations may know they are human.
21. Why, Lord, do You stand far away? Why do You turn a blind eye in a time of affliction?
22. When the unbeliever grows proud, the poor man burns; they are caught in the plans they devise.
23. For the sinner boasts of the desires of his soul, and the one who acts unjustly blesses himself.
24. The sinner provoked the Lord in the fullness of his anger; he will not seek Him; God is not before him.
25. His ways are defiled at all times; Your judgments are cast away from his sight; he will rule over all his enemies.
26. For he said in his heart: I will not be shaken from generation to generation; no evil will befall me.
27. His mouth is full of curses, bitterness and deceit; beneath his tongue are toil and pain.
28. He lies in wait secretly with the rich to kill the innocent; his eyes look toward the poor.
29. He lurks in hiding like a lion in its lair; he lurks to seize the poor, he watches the poor to draw him to himself.
30. In his chain he will humble him; he will bend down and fall upon him when he rules over the poor.
31. For he said in his heart: “God has forgotten! He has turned His face away, never to see again!”
32. Arise, Lord my God; let Your hand be lifted up; do not forget Your poor forever!
33. Why has the unbeliever angered God? Because he said in his heart: The Lord will not investigate!
34. You see, for You look upon afflictions and pain to take them into Your hands; for the poor trusts in You, and You have been a helper to the orphan.
35. Break the arm of the sinful and evil man; his sin will be sought and will not be found.
36. The Lord will reign forever and ever! Perish, nations, from His land.
37. The Lord has heard the desire of the poor; Your ear has attended to the zeal of their hearts.
38. Judge the poor and the humble, that man may no longer be proud upon the earth.
When Psalm 9 is read
- It belongs to Kathisma 2; it is recited in private prayer, especially for peace and understanding.
- At the end of each psalm, the tradition adds: "Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, both now and ever and unto the ages of ages. Amen."
Neighboring psalms
The numbering follows the Orthodox Psalter (Septuagint). The same psalm may have a different number in other Bible editions.
