Psalm 110-112

Easy-to-Read Version

A praise song of David.

110 The Lord said to my lord,^[a]
“Sit at my right side, while I put your enemies under your control.”

²The Lord will cause your kingdom to grow, beginning at Zion,
    until you rule the lands of your enemies!
³Your people will gladly join you
    when you gather your army together.
You will wear your special clothes
    and meet together early in the morning.
Your young men will be all around you
    like dew on the ground.^[b]

⁴The Lord has made a promise with an oath
and will not change his mind:
“You are a priest forever—
the kind of priest Melchizedek was.”

⁵My Lord is at your right side.
    He will defeat the other kings when he becomes angry.
⁶He will judge the nations.
    The ground will be covered with dead bodies.
    He will punish the leaders of powerful nations all around the world.

⁷The king will drink from a stream on the way.
Then he will lift his head and become strong!^[c]

111 ^[d] Praise the Lord!
I thank the Lord with all my heart
    in the assembly of his good people.
²The Lord does wonderful things,
    more than anyone could ask for.^[e]
³The things he does are great and glorious!
    There is no end to his goodness.
⁴He does amazing things so that we will remember
    that the Lord is kind and merciful.
⁵He gives food to his followers.
    He remembers his agreement forever.
⁶He has shown his people how powerful he is
    by giving them the land of other nations.
⁷Everything he does is good and fair.
    All his commands can be trusted.
⁸His commands will continue forever.
    They must be done with truth and honesty.
⁹He rescued his people and made his agreement with them forever.
    His name is awesome and holy.
¹⁰Wisdom begins with fear and respect for the Lord.
    Those who obey him are very wise.
    Praises will be sung to him forever.

112 ^[f] Praise the Lord!
Great blessings belong to those who fear and respect the Lord,
    who are happy to do what he commands.
²Their descendants will be given power on earth.
    Those who do right will be greatly blessed.
³Their family will be very rich,
    and their goodness will continue forever.
⁴A light shines in the dark for those who are good,
    for those who are merciful, kind, and fair.
⁵It is good for people to be kind and generous
    and to be fair in business.
⁶Such good people will never fall.
    They will always be remembered.
⁷They will not be afraid of bad news.
    They are confident because they trust in the Lord.
⁸They remain confident and without fear,
    so they defeat their enemies.
⁹They freely give to the poor.
    Their goodness will continue forever.
    They will be honored with victory.
¹⁰The wicked become angry when they see this.
    They grind their teeth in anger, but then they disappear.
    They will never get what they want most.

Footnotes

Psalm 110:1 my lord That is, the king.
Psalm 110:3 The Hebrew text here is hard to understand. Literally, “Your people will be freewill offerings on your day of power. In holy splendor from the womb of dawn your dew of youth will be yours.”
Psalm 110:7 lift his head and become strong Literally, “lift his head.” Here, the poet probably means two things: “he will raise his head after drinking the water,” and “he will become strong or important.”
Psalm 111:1 Psalm 111 In Hebrew, each line of this psalm begins with the next letter in the alphabet.
Psalm 111:2 more … for Literally, “requested for all their desires.”
Psalm 112:1 Psalm 112 In Hebrew, each line of this psalm begins with the next letter in the alphabet.