The Psalter is divided into twenty sections called kathismata, read in order through the week at Vespers and Matins. Kathisma 5 contains Psalms 32–36 (Septuagint numbering).
Psalm 32 (33)
A Psalm of David.
1Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; praise becomes the upright.
2Praise the Lord on the harp; play to him on a psaltery of ten strings.
3Sing to him a new song; play skilfully with a loud noise.
4For the word of the Lord is right; and all his works are faithful.
5He loves mercy and judgment; the earth is full of the mercy of the Lord.
6By the word of the Lord the heavens were established; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth.
7Who gathers the waters of the sea as in a bottle; who lays up the deeps in treasuries.
8Let all the earth fear the Lord; and let all that dwell in the world be moved because of him.
9For he spoke, and they were made; he commanded, and they were created.
10The Lord frustrates the counsels of the nations; he brings to nought also the reasonings of the peoples, and brings to nought the counsels of princes.
11But the counsel of the Lord endures for ever, the thoughts of his heart from generation to generation.
12Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord; the people whom he has chosen for his own inheritance.
13The Lord looks out of heaven; he beholds all the sons of men.
14He looks from his prepared habitation on all the dwellers on the earth;
15who fashioned their hearts alone; who understands all their works.
16A king is not saved by reason of a great host; and a giant shall not be delivered by the greatness of his strength.
17A horse is vain for safety; neither shall he be delivered by the greatness of his power.
18Behold, the eyes of the Lord are on them that fear him, those that hope in his mercy;
19to deliver their souls from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
20Our soul waits on the Lord; for he is our helper and defender.
21For our heart shall rejoice in him, and we have hoped in his holy name.
22Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we have hoped in thee.
Psalm 33 (34)
A Psalm of David, when he changed his countenance before Abimelech; and he let him go, and he departed.
2I will bless the Lord at all times: his praise shall be continually in my mouth.
3My soul shall boast herself in the Lord: let the meek hear, and rejoice.
4Magnify ye the Lord with me, and let us exalt his name together.
5I sought the Lord diligently, and he hearkened to me, and delivered me from all my sojournings.
6Draw near to him, and be enlightened: and your faces shall not by any means be ashamed.
7This poor man cried, and the Lord hearkened to him, and delivered him out of all his afflictions.
8The angel of the Lord will encamp round about them that fear him, and will deliver them.
9Taste and see that the Lord is good: blessed is the man who hopes in him.
10Fear the Lord, all ye his saints: for there is no want to them that fear him.
11The rich have become poor and hungry: but they that seek the Lord diligently shall not want any good thing. Pause.
12Come, ye children, hear me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord.
13What man is there that desires life, loving to see good days?
14Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile.
15Turn away from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it.
16The eyes of the Lord are over the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer:
17but the face of the Lord is against them that do evil, to destroy their memorial from the earth. The righteous cried, and the Lord hearkened to them,
18and delivered them out of all their afflictions.
19The Lord is near to them that are of a contrite heart; and will save the lowly in spirit.
20Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but out of them all the Lord will deliver them.
21He keeps all their bones: not one of them shall be broken.
22The death of sinners is evil: and they that hate righteousness will go wrong.
23The Lord will redeem the souls of his servants: and none of those that hope in him shall go wrong.
Psalm 34 (35)
A Psalm of David.
1Judge thou, O Lord, them that injure me, fight against them that fight against me.
2Take hold of shield and buckler, and arise for my help.
3Bring forth a sword, and stop the way against them that persecute me: say to my soul, I am thy salvation.
4Let them that seek my soul be ashamed and confounded: let them that devise evils against me be turned back and put to shame.
5Let them be as dust before the wind, and an angel of the Lord afflicting them.
6Let their way be dark and slippery, and an angel of the Lord persecuting them.
7For without cause they have hid for me their destructive snare: without a cause they have reproached my soul.
8Let a snare which they know not come upon them: and the gin which they hid take them; and let them fall into the very same snare.
9But my soul shall exult in the Lord: it shall delight in his salvation.
10All my bones shall say, O Lord, who is like to thee? delivering the poor out of the hand of them that are stronger than he, yea, the poor and needy one from them that spoil him.
11Unjust witnesses arose, and asked me of things I knew not.
12They rewarded me evil for good, and bereavement to my soul.
13But I, when they troubled me, put on sackcloth, and humbled my soul with fasting: and my prayer shall return to my own bosom.
14I behaved agreeably towards them as if it had been our neighbour or brother: I humbled myself as one mourning and sad of countenance.
15Yet they rejoiced against me, and plagues were plentifully brought against me, and I knew it not: they were scattered, but repented not.
16They tempted me, they sneered at me most contemptuously, they gnashed their teeth upon me.
17O Lord, when wilt thou look upon me? Deliver my soul from their mischief, mine only-begotten one from the lions.
18I will give thanks to thee even in a great congregation: in an abundant people I will praise thee.
19Let not them that are mine enemies without a cause rejoice against me; who hate me for nothing, and wink with their eyes.
20For to me they spoke peaceably, but imagined deceits in their anger.
21And they opened wide their mouth upon me; they said, Aha, aha, our eyes have seen it.
22Thou hast seen it, O Lord: keep not silence: O Lord, withdraw not thyself from me.
23Awake, O Lord, and attend to my judgment, even to my cause, my God and my Lord.
24Judge me, O Lord, according to thy righteousness, O Lord my God; and let them not rejoice against me.
25Let them not say in their hearts, Aha, aha, it is pleasing to our soul: neither let them say, We have devoured him.
26Let them be confounded and ashamed together that rejoice at my afflictions: let them be clothed with shame and confusion that speak great swelling words against me.
27Let them that rejoice in my righteousness exult and be glad: and let them say continually, The Lord be magnified, who desire the peace of his servant.
28And my tongue shall meditate on thy righteousness, and on thy praise all the day.
Psalm 35 (36)
For the end, by David the servant of the Lord.
2The transgressor, that he may sin, says within himself, that there is no fear of God before his eyes.
3For he has dealt craftily before him, to discover his iniquity and hate it.
4The words of his mouth are transgression and deceit: he is not inclined to understand how to do good.
5He devises iniquity on his bed; he gives himself to every evil way; and does not abhor evil.
6O Lord, thy mercy is in the heaven; and thy truth reaches to the clouds.
7Thy righteousness is as the mountains of God, thy judgments are as a great deep: O Lord, thou wilt preserve men and beasts.
8How hast thou multiplied thy mercy, O God! so the children of men shall trust in the shelter of thy wings.
9They shall be fully satisfied with the fatness of thine house; and thou shalt cause them to drink of the full stream of thy delights.
10For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light we shall see light.
11Extend thy mercy to them that know thee; and thy righteousness to the upright in heart.
12Let not the foot of pride come against me, and let not the hand of sinners move me.
13There have all the workers of iniquity fallen: they are cast out, and shall not be able to stand.
Psalm 36 (37)
A Psalm of David.
1Fret not thyself because of evil-doers, neither be envious of them that do iniquity.
2For they shall soon be withered as the grass, and shall soon fall away as the green herbs.
3Hope in the Lord, and do good; and dwell on the land, and thou shalt be fed with the wealth of it.
4Delight thyself in the Lord; and he shall grant thee the requests of thine heart.
5Disclose thy way to the Lord, and hope in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
6And he shall bring forth thy righteousness as the light, and thy judgment as the noon-day.
7Submit thyself to the Lord, and supplicate him: fret not thyself because of him that prospers in his way, at the man that does unlawful deeds.
8Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself so as to do evil.
9For evil-doers shall be destroyed: but they that wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the land.
10And yet a little while, and the sinner shall not be, and thou shalt seek for his place, and shalt not find it.
11But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.
12The sinner will watch for the righteous, and gnash his teeth upon him.
13But the Lord shall laugh at him: for he foresees that his day will come.
14Sinners have drawn their swords, they have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy one, and to slay the upright in heart.
15Let their sword enter into their own heart, and their bows be broken.
16A little is better to the righteous than abundant wealth of sinners.
17For the arms of sinners shall be broken; but the Lord supports the righteous.
18The Lord knows the ways of the perfect; and their inheritance shall be for ever.
19They shall not be ashamed in an evil time; and in days of famine they shall be satisfied.
20For the sinners shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord at the moment of their being honoured and exalted have utterly vanished like smoke.
21The sinner borrows, and will not pay again: but the righteous has compassion, and gives.
22For they that bless him shall inherit the earth; and they that curse him shall be utterly destroyed.
23The steps of a man are rightly ordered by the Lord: and he will take pleasure in his way.
24When he falls, he shall not be ruined: for the Lord supports his hand.
25I was once young, indeed I am now old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread.
26He is merciful, and lends continually; and his seed shall be blessed.
27Turn aside from evil, and do good; and dwell for ever.
28For the Lord loves judgment, and will not forsake his saints; they shall be preserved for ever: the blameless shall be avenged, but the seed of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed.
29But the righteous shall inherit the earth, and dwell upon it for ever.
30The mouth of the righteous will meditate wisdom, and his tongue will speak of judgment.
31The law of his God is in his heart; and his steps shall not slide.
32The sinner watches the righteous, and seeks to slay him.
33But the Lord will not leave him in his hands, nor by any means condemn him when he is judged.
34Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are destroyed, thou shalt see it.
35I saw the ungodly very highly exalting himself, and lifting himself up like the cedars of Libanus.
36Yet I passed by, and lo! he was not: and I sought him, but his place was not found.
37Maintain innocence, and behold uprightness: for there is a remnant to the peaceable man.
38But the transgressors shall be utterly destroyed together: the remnants of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed.
39But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; and he is their defender in the time of affliction.
40And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: and he shall rescue them from sinners, and save them, because they have hoped in him.
Text: The Septuagint Psalter, translated by Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton (1851). Public domain.