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Psalm chapter 17

English Standard Version

1 Hear a just cause, O Lord; attend to my cry! Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit! 2From your presence let my vindication come! Let your eyes behold the right! 3You have tried my heart, you have visited me by night, you have tested me, and you will find nothing; I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. 4With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent. 5My steps have held fast to your paths; my feet have not slipped. 6I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God; incline your ear to me; hear my words. 7 Wondrously show your steadfast love, O Savior of those who seek refuge from their adversaries at your right hand. 8Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings, 9from the wicked who do me violence, my deadly enemies who surround me. 10 They close their hearts to pity; with their mouths they speak arrogantly. 11They have now surrounded our steps; they set their eyes to cast us to the ground. 12He is like a lion eager to tear, as a young lion lurking in ambush. 13Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, 14from men by your hand, O Lord, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants. 15As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness; when I awake, I shall be satisfied with your likeness.
New International Version

1A prayer of David. Hear me, Lord, my plea is just; listen to my cry. Hear my prayer— it does not rise from deceitful lips.
2Let my vindication come from you; may your eyes see what is right. 3Though you probe my heart, though you examine me at night and test me, you will find that I have planned no evil; my mouth has not transgressed. 4Though people tried to bribe me, I have kept myself from the ways of the violent through what your lips have commanded.
5My steps have held to your paths; my feet have not stumbled. 6I call on you, my God, for you will answer me; turn your ear to me and hear my prayer. 7Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes. 8Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings
9from the wicked who are out to destroy me, from my mortal enemies who surround me. 10They close up their callous hearts, and their mouths speak with arrogance. 11They have tracked me down, they now surround me, with eyes alert, to throw me to the ground.
12They are like a lion hungry for prey, like a fierce lion crouching in cover. 13Rise up, Lord, confront them, bring them down; with your sword rescue me from the wicked.
14By your hand save me from such people, Lord, from those of this world whose reward is in this life. May what you have stored up for the wicked fill their bellies; may their children gorge themselves on it, and may there be leftovers for their little ones. 15As for me, I will be vindicated and will see your face; when I awake, I will be satisfied with seeing your likeness.
New American Standard Bible

1Hear a just cause, Lord, give Your attention to my cry; Listen to my prayer, which is not from deceitful lips. 2Let my judgment come forth from Your presence; Let Your eyes look with integrity. 3You have put my heart to the test; You have visited me by night; You have sifted me and You find nothing; My intent is that my mouth will not offend. 4As for the works of mankind, by the word of Your lips I have kept from the ways of the violent. 5My steps have held to Your paths. My feet have not slipped. 6I have called upon You, for You will answer me, God; Incline Your ear to me, hear my speech. 7Show Your wonderful faithfulness, Savior of those who take refuge at Your right hand From those who rise up against them. 8Keep me as the apple of the eye; Hide me in the shadow of Your wings 9From the wicked who deal violently with me, My deadly enemies who surround me. 10They have closed their unfeeling hearts, With their mouths they speak proudly. 11They have now surrounded us in our steps; They set their eyes to cast us down to the ground. 12He is like a lion that is eager to tear, And as a young lion lurking in secret places. 13Arise, Lord, confront him, make him bow down; Save my soul from the wicked with Your sword, 14From people by Your hand, Lord, From people of the world, whose portion is in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your treasure; They are satisfied with children, And leave their abundance to their babies. 15As for me, I shall behold Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied with Your likeness when I awake.
Christian Standard Bible

1A prayer of David. Lord, hear a just cause; pay attention to my cry; listen to my prayer— from lips free of deceit. 2Let my vindication come from you, for you see what is right. 3You have tested my heart; you have examined me at night. You have tried me and found nothing evil; I have determined that my mouth will not sin. 4Concerning what people do: by the words from your lips I have avoided the ways of the violent.
5My steps are on your paths; my feet have not slipped. 6I call on you, God, because you will answer me; listen closely to me; hear what I say. 7Display the wonders of your faithful love, Savior of all who seek refuge from those who rebel against your right hand. 8Protect me as the pupil of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings
9from the wicked who treat me violently, my deadly enemies who surround me. 10They are uncaring; their mouths speak arrogantly. 11They advance against me; now they surround me. They are determined to throw me to the ground.
12They are like a lion eager to tear, like a young lion lurking in ambush. 13Rise up, Lord! Confront him; bring him down. With your sword, save me from the wicked.
14With your hand, Lord, save me from men, from men of the world whose portion is in this life: You fill their bellies with what you have in store; their sons are satisfied, and they leave their surplus to their children. 15But I will see your face in righteousness; when I awake, I will be satisfied with your presence.
New Living Translation

1O Lord, hear my plea for justice. Listen to my cry for help. Pay attention to my prayer, for it comes from honest lips. 2Declare me innocent, for you see those who do right.
3You have tested my thoughts and examined my heart in the night. You have scrutinized me and found nothing wrong. I am determined not to sin in what I say. 4I have followed your commands, which keep me from following cruel and evil people. 5My steps have stayed on your path; I have not wavered from following you.
6I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray. 7Show me your unfailing love in wonderful ways. By your mighty power you rescue those who seek refuge from their enemies. 8Guard me as you would guard your own eyes. Hide me in the shadow of your wings. 9Protect me from wicked people who attack me, from murderous enemies who surround me. 10They are without pity. Listen to their boasting! 11They track me down and surround me, watching for the chance to throw me to the ground. 12They are like hungry lions, eager to tear me apart — like young lions hiding in ambush.
13Arise, O Lord! Stand against them, and bring them to their knees! Rescue me from the wicked with your sword! 14By the power of your hand, O Lord, destroy those who look to this world for their reward. But satisfy the hunger of your treasured ones. May their children have plenty, leaving an inheritance for their descendants. 15Because I am righteous, I will see you. When I awake, I will see you face to face and be satisfied.
King James Version

1A Prayer of David. Hear the right, O Lord, attend unto my cry, give ear unto my prayer, that goeth not out of feigned lips.
2Let my sentence come forth from thy presence; let thine eyes behold the things that are equal.
3Thou hast proved mine heart; thou hast visited me in the night; thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing; I am purposed that my mouth shall not transgress.
4Concerning the works of men, by the word of thy lips I have kept me from the paths of the destroyer.
5Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not.
6I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech.
7Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee from those that rise up against them.
8Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings,
9From the wicked that oppress me, from my deadly enemies, who compass me about.
10They are inclosed in their own fat: with their mouth they speak proudly.
11They have now compassed us in our steps: they have set their eyes bowing down to the earth;
12Like as a lion that is greedy of his prey, and as it were a young lion lurking in secret places.
13Arise, O Lord, disappoint him, cast him down: deliver my soul from the wicked, which is thy sword:
14From men which are thy hand, O Lord, from men of the world, which have their portion in this life, and whose belly thou fillest with thy hid treasure: they are full of children, and leave the rest of their substance to their babes.
15As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness.
New King James Version

1{A Prayer of David.} Hear a just cause, O Lord, Attend to my cry; Give ear to my prayer which is not from deceitful lips. 2Let my vindication come from Your presence; Let Your eyes look on the things that are upright. 3You have tested my heart; You have visited me in the night; You have tried me and have found nothing; I have purposed that my mouth shall not transgress. 4Concerning the works of men, By the word of Your lips, I have kept away from the paths of the destroyer. 5 Uphold my steps in Your paths, That my footsteps may not slip. 6 I have called upon You, for You will hear me, O God; Incline Your ear to me, and hear my speech. 7Show Your marvelous lovingkindness by Your right hand, O You who save those who trust in You From those who rise up against them. 8Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings, 9From the wicked who oppress me, From my deadly enemies who surround me. 10They have closed up their fat hearts; With their mouths they speak proudly. 11They have now surrounded us in our steps; They have set their eyes, crouching down to the earth, 12As a lion is eager to tear his prey, And like a young lion lurking in secret places. 13Arise, O Lord, Confront him, cast him down; Deliver my life from the wicked with Your sword, 14With Your hand from men, O Lord, From men of the world who have their portion in this life, And whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure. They are satisfied with children, And leave the rest of their possession for their babes. 15As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness.

What does Psalm chapter 17 mean?

Psalm 17 shares several phrases and themes with Psalm 16. A key difference is this psalm's sense of urgency. David's prayer here seems more desperate than the pensive words of Psalm 16. This is one of the psalms specifically labeled as a "prayer," also including psalms 86, 90, 102, and 142. Likely, this was composed when David was being hunted and persecuted by the evil king Saul (1 Samuel 20:32–33).

David begins with an intense plea for deliverance. Much of this revolves around a profession of innocence. Knowing that God is not inclined to grant requests from evil people (Psalm 66:18–19), David points out that he is sincerely and consistently following God. This includes both David's outward actions and his inner thoughts (Psalm 17:1–5).

The next section focuses on the nature of God's protection. David expresses deep trust that God not only hears, but also that He will answer when David prays. David asks to be held with tender protection, using two phrases famous even outside of Scripture. What English translators often render as "the apple of your eye" is literally a reference to the pupil: the central spot of the eyeball. This is arguably the most closely protected part of our body, guarded from even the slightest touch. In a similar way, David appeals to the image of a mother bird using her wings to shield her children (Psalm 17:6–8).

Those whom David seeks to escape are depicted as arrogant and merciless, like predatory animals. In this segment, David shifts to asking for "our" deliverance, likely including his companions (1 Samuel 22:1–2). At the same time, his prayer shifts to mention a singular enemy, likely Saul. While David sees his "portion" as God (Psalm 16:5–6), he knows those who reject God have nothing to look forward to beyond this life. Their "portion" is only in this temporary world. David, on his part, expects to see God's face and be satisfied (Psalm 17:9–15).
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