The Psalter is divided into twenty sections called kathismata, read in order through the week at Vespers and Matins. Kathisma 8 contains Psalms 55–63 (Septuagint numbering).
Psalm 55 (56)
For the end, concerning the people that were removed from the sanctuary, by David for a memorial, when the Philistines caught him in Geth.
2Have mercy upon me, O God; for man has trodden me down; all the day long he warring has afflicted me.
3Mine enemies have trodden me down all the day from the dawning of the day; for there are many warring against me.
4They shall be afraid, but I will trust in thee.
5In God I will praise my words; all the day have I hoped in God; I will not fear what flesh shall do to me.
6All the day long they have abominated my words; all their devices are against me for evil.
7They will dwell near and hide themselves; they will watch my steps, accordingly as I have waited patiently in my soul.
8Thou wilt on no account save them; thou wilt bring down the people in wrath.
9O God, I have declared my life to thee; thou hast set my tears before thee, even according to thy promise.
10Mine enemies shall be turned back, in the day wherein I shall call upon thee; behold, I know that thou art my God.
11In God will I praise his word; in the Lord will I praise his saying.
12I have hoped in God; I will not be afraid of what man shall do to me.
13The vows of thy praise, O God, which I will pay, are upon me.
14For thou hast delivered my soul from death, and my feet from sliding, that I should be well-pleasing before God in the land of the living.
Psalm 56 (57)
For the end. Destroy not: by David, for a memorial, when he fled from the presence of Saul to the cave.
2Have mercy, upon me, O God, have mercy upon me: for my soul has trusted in thee: and in the shadow of thy wings will I hope, until the iniquity have passed away.
3I will cry to God most high; the God who has benefited me. Pause.
4He sent from heaven and saved me; he gave to reproach them that trampled on me: God has sent forth his mercy and his truth;
5and he has delivered my soul from the midst of lions’ whelps: I lay down to sleep, though troubled. As for the sons of men, their teeth are arms and missile weapons, and their tongue a sharp sword.
6Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and thy glory above all the earth.
7They have prepared snares for my feet, and have bowed down my soul: they have dug a pit before my face, and fallen into it themselves. Pause.
8My heart, O God, is ready, my heart is ready: I will sing, yea will sing psalms.
9Awake, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I will awake early.
10O Lord, I will give thanks to thee among the nations: I will sing to thee among the Gentiles.
11For thy mercy has been magnified even to the heavens, and thy truth to the clouds.
12Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens; and thy glory above all the earth.
Psalm 57 (58)
For the end. Destroy not: by David, for a memorial.
2If ye do indeed speak righteousness, then do ye judge rightly, ye sons of men.
3For ye work iniquities in your hearts in the earth: your hands plot unrighteousness.
4Sinners have gone astray from the womb: they go astray from the belly: they speak lies.
5Their venom is like that of a serpent; as that of a deaf asp, and that stops her ears;
6which will not hear the voice of charmers, nor heed the charm prepared skilfully by the wise.
7God has crushed their teeth in their mouth: God has broken the cheek-teeth of the lions.
8They shall utterly pass away like water running through: he shall bend his bow till they shall fail.
9They shall be destroyed as melted wax: the fire has fallen and they have not seen the sun.
10Before your thorns feel the white thorn, he shall swallow you up as living, as in his wrath.
11The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance of the ungodly: he shall wash his hands in the blood of the sinner.
12And a man shall say, Verily then there is a reward for the righteous: verily there is a God that judges them in the earth.
Psalm 58 (59)
For the end. Destroy not: by David for a memorial, when Saul sent, and watched his house to kill him.
2Deliver me from mine enemies, O God; and ransom me from those that rise up against me.
3Deliver me from the workers of iniquity, and save me from bloody men.
4For, behold, they have hunted after my soul; violent men have set upon me: neither is it my iniquity, nor my sin, O Lord.
5Without iniquity I ran and directed my course aright: awake to help me, and behold.
6And thou, Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel, draw nigh to visit all the heathen; pity not any that work iniquity. Pause.
7They shall return at evening, and hunger like a dog, and go round about the city.
8Behold, they shall utter a voice with their mouth, and a sword is in their lips; for who, say they, has heard?
9But thou, Lord, wilt laugh them to scorn; thou wilt utterly set at nought all the heathen.
10I will keep my strength, looking to thee; for thou, O God, art my helper.
11As for my God, his mercy shall go before me: my God will shew me vengeance on mine enemies.
12Slay them not, lest they forget thy law; scatter them by thy power; and bring them down, O Lord, my defender.
13For the sin of their mouth, and the word of their lips, let them be even taken in their pride.
14And for their cursing and falsehood shall utter destruction be denounced: they shall fall by the wrath of utter destruction, and shall not be; so shall they know that the God of Jacob is Lord of the ends of the earth. Pause.
15They shall return at evening, and be hungry as a dog, and go round about the city.
16They shall be scattered hither and thither for meat; and if they be not satisfied, they shall even murmur.
17But I will sing to thy strength, and in the morning will I exult in thy mercy; for thou hast been my supporter, and my refuge in the day of mine affliction.
18Thou art my helper; to thee, my God, will I sing; thou art my supporter, O my God, and my mercy.
Psalm 59 (60)
For the end, for them that shall yet be changed; for an inscription by David for instruction, when he had burned Mesopotamia of Syria, and Syria Sobal, and Joab had returned and smitten in the valley of salt twelve thousand.
3O God, thou hast rejected and destroyed us; thou hast been angry, yet hast pitied us.
4Thou hast shaken the earth, and troubled it; heal its breaches, for it has been shaken.
5Thou hast shewn thy people hard things: thou hast made us drink the wine of astonishment.
6Thou hast given a token to them that fear thee, that they might flee from the bow. Pause.
7That thy beloved ones may be delivered; save with thy right hand, and hear me.
8God has spoken in his holiness; I will rejoice, and divide Sicima, and measure out the valley of tents.
9Galaad is mine, and Manasse is mine; and Ephraim is the strength of my head;
10Judas is my king; Moab is the caldron of my hope; over Idumea will I stretch out my shoe; the Philistines have been subjected to me.
11Who will lead me into the fortified city? who will guide me as far as Idumea?
12Wilt not thou, O God, who hast cast us off? and wilt not thou, O God, go forth with our forces?
13Give us help from trouble: for vain is the deliverance of man.
14In God will we do valiantly; and he shall bring to nought them that harass us.
Psalm 60 (61)
For the end, among the Hymns of David.
2O God, hearken to my petition; attend to my prayer.
3From the ends of the earth have I cried to thee, when my heart was in trouble: thou liftedst me up on a rock, thou didst guide me:
4because thou wert my hope, a tower of strength from the face of the enemy.
5I will dwell in thy tabernacle for ever; I will shelter myself under the shadow of thy wings. Pause.
6For thou, O God, hast heard my prayers; thou hast given an inheritance to them that fear thy name.
7Thou shalt add days to the days of the king; thou shalt lengthen his years to all generations.
8He shall endure for ever before God: which of them will seek out his mercy and truth?
9So will I sing to thy name for ever and ever, that I may daily perform my vows.
Psalm 61 (62)
For the end, a Psalm of David for Idithun.
2Shall not my soul be subjected to God? for of him is my salvation.
3For he is my God and my Saviour; my helper, I shall not be moved very much.
4How long will ye assault a man? ye are all slaughtering as with a bowed wall and a broken hedge.
5They only took counsel to set at nought mine honour: I ran in thirst: with their mouth they blessed, but with their heart they cursed. Pause.
6Nevertheless do thou, my soul, be subjected to God; for of him is my patient hope.
7For he is my God and my Saviour; my helper, I shall not be moved.
8In God is my salvation and my glory: he is the God of my help, and my hope is in God.
9Hope in him, all ye congregation of the people; pour out your hearts before him, for God is our helper. Pause.
10But the sons of men are vain; the sons of men are false, so as to be deceitful in the balances; they are all alike formed out of vanity.
11Trust not in unrighteousness, and lust not after robberies: if wealth should flow in, set not your heart upon it.
12God has spoken once, and I have heard these two things, that power is of God;
13and mercy is thine, O Lord; for thou wilt recompense every one according to his works.
Psalm 62 (63)
A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Idumea.
2O God, my God, I cry to thee early; my soul has thirsted for thee: how often has my flesh longed after thee, in a barren and trackless and dry land!
3Thus have I appeared before thee in the sanctuary, that I might see thy power and thy glory.
4For thy mercy is better than life: my lips shall praise thee.
5Thus will I bless thee during my life: I will lift up my hands in thy name.
6Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness; and my joyful lips shall praise thy name.
7Forasmuch as I have remembered thee on my bed: in the early seasons I have meditated on thee.
8For thou hast been my helper, and in the shelter of thy wings will I rejoice.
9My soul has kept very close behind thee: thy right hand has upheld me.
10But they vainly sought after my soul; they shall go into the lowest parts of the earth.
11They shall be delivered up to the power of the sword; they shall be portions for foxes.
12But the king shall rejoice in God; every one that swears by him shall be praised; for the mouth of them that speak unjust things has been stopped.
Psalm 63 (64)
For the end, a Psalm of David.
2Hear my prayer, O God, when I make my petition to thee; deliver my soul from fear of the enemy.
3Thou hast sheltered me from the conspiracy of them that do wickedly; from the multitude of them that work iniquity;
4who have sharpened their tongues as a sword; they have bent their bow maliciously;
5to shoot in secret at the blameless; they will shoot him suddenly, and will not fear.
6They have set up for themselves an evil matter, they have given counsel to hide snares; they have said, Who shall see them?
7They have searched out iniquity; they have wearied themselves with searching diligently, a man shall approach and the heart is deep,
8and God shall be exalted, their wounds were caused by the weapon of the foolish children,
9and their tongues have set him at nought, all that saw them were troubled;
10and every man was alarmed, and they related the works of God, and understood his deeds.
11The righteous shall rejoice in the Lord, and hope on him, and all the upright in heart shall be praised.
Text: The Septuagint Psalter, translated by Sir Lancelot C. L. Brenton (1851). Public domain.