Psalm 63
The full text of Psalm 63 in the Trinity Bible Version — clear modern English, translated from the original Hebrew. Free to read.
A psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah.
1 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
2 So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
3 Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
4 So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
5 My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
6 when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
7 for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
8 My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
9 But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
10 they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
11 But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
Translation notes (2)
- Psalm 63:7a Hebrew betsel kenapheykha, 'in the shadow of your wings', a refuge image that recurs in Psalms 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; and 91:4. Some interpreters hear an allusion to the outstretched wings of the cherubim over the ark in the sanctuary (compare Psalm 61:4), while others take it as the broader picture of a bird sheltering its young, as in Ruth 2:12.
- Psalm 63:10a Hebrew shu'alim (שֻׁעָלִים) can denote either foxes or jackals; jackals, as scavengers of carrion, fit the image here. To become their portion is to lie unburied on the field, a fate the ancient Near East counted among the deepest disgraces, denying the dead both honor and rest.
About this translation
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