Psalm 16

The Presence of the LORD

(Acts 2:14–36)

A Miktam 1 of David.

¹ Preserve me, O God, for in You I take refuge.

² I said to the LORD, “You are my Lord; apart from You I have no good thing.”

³ As for the saints in the land, they are the excellence in whom all my delight resides.

Sorrows will multiply to those who chase other gods. I will not pour out their libations of blood, or speak their names with my lips.

The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; You have made my lot secure.

The lines of my boundary have fallen in pleasant places; surely my inheritance is delightful.

I will bless the LORD who counsels me; even at night my conscience instructs me.2

I have set 3 the LORD always before me. Because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will dwell securely.4

¹⁰ For You will not abandon my soul to Sheol, nor will You let Your Holy One see decay.5

¹¹ You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence,6 with eternal pleasures at Your right hand.


  1. 16:0 Miktam is probably a musical or liturgical term; used for Psalms 16 and Psalms 56–60. ↩︎

  2. 16:7 Or my heart instructs me; Hebrew my kidneys instruct me ↩︎

  3. 16:8 LXX I foresaw ↩︎

  4. 16:9 LXX will dwell in hope ↩︎

  5. 16:10 Cited in Acts 13:35 ↩︎

  6. 16:11 Cited in Acts 2:25–28 ↩︎