Psalm 16
You Will Not Abandon Me to the Grave
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A miktam[a] by David.
You Are My Lord
1 Guard me, O God, for I take refuge in you.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord.
I have no good apart from you.”[b]
3 The holy ones who are in the land are glorious.
All my delight is in them.
4 Those who chase after another god will increase their sorrows.
I will not pour out their drink offerings of blood.
I will not take up their names on my lips.
You Will Not Abandon Me to the Grave
5 Lord, you are the cup that has been given to me.
You have secured an allotment for me.
6 The property lines chosen for me fall in pleasant places.
Yes, a delightful inheritance is mine.
7 I will bless the Lord, who guides me.
Even at night my heart[c] instructs me.
8 I have set the Lord always before me.
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad,
and my whole being[d] rejoices.
Even my flesh will dwell securely
10 because you will not abandon my life to the grave.
You will not let your favored one[e] see decay.
11 You have made known to me the path of life,
fullness of joy in your presence,
pleasures at your right hand forever.
Footnotes
- Psalm 16:1 The meaning of miktam is uncertain. It may mean a golden psalm or a choice piece or a psalm inscribed on a tablet.
- Psalm 16:2 The Hebrew of verses 2–4 is difficult and may be understood in more than one way.
- Psalm 16:7 Literally kidneys. In Hebrew the word kidneys has some of the same connotations that heart does in English.
- Psalm 16:9 Literally my glory. A few manuscripts read liver, which in Hebrew idiom parallels heart as a center of emotion.
- Psalm 16:10 The Hebrew word hasid refers to a person who receives favor or distributes mercy. Here it refers to Christ, but it is not capitalized because it does not become one of his messianic titles.