¹ [Psalm Of Asaph] The God of gods, Yahweh, is speaking, from east to west he summons the earth.

² From Zion, perfection of beauty, he shines forth;

³ he is coming, our God, and will not be silent. Devouring fire ahead of him, raging tempest around him,

⁴ he summons the heavens from on high, and the earth to judge his people.

⁵ 'Gather to me my faithful, who sealed my covenant by sacrifice.'

⁶ The heavens proclaim his saving justice, 'God himself is judge.'Pause

⁷ 'Listen, my people, I am speaking, Israel, I am giving evidence against you, I, God, your God.

⁸ 'It is not with your sacrifices that I find fault, those burnt offerings constantly before me;

⁹ I will not accept any bull from your homes, nor a single goat from your folds.

¹⁰ 'For all forest creatures are mine already, the animals on the mountains in their thousands.

¹¹ I know every bird in the air, whatever moves in the fields is mine.

¹² 'If I am hungry I shall not tell you, since the world and all it holds is mine.

¹³ Am I to eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴ 'Let thanksgiving be your sacrifice to God, fulfil the vows you make to the Most High;

¹⁵ then if you call to me in time of trouble I will rescue you and you will honour me.'

¹⁶ But to the wicked, God says: 'What right have you to recite my statutes, to take my covenant on your lips,

¹⁷ when you detest my teaching, and thrust my words behind you?

¹⁸ 'You make friends with a thief as soon as you see one, you feel at home with adulterers,

¹⁹ your conversation is devoted to wickedness, and your tongue to inventing lies.

²⁰ 'You sit there, slandering your own brother, you malign your own mother's son.

²¹ You do this, and am I to say nothing? Do you think that I am really like you? I charge you, indict you to your face.

²² 'Think it out, you who forget God, or I will tear you apart without hope of a rescuer.

²³ Honour to me is a sacrifice of thanksgiving; to the upright I will show God's salvation.'