1  ^mGod ⁿhas taken his place in the divine council;

in the midst of ^pthe gods he ^qholds judgment:

2  “How long will you judge unjustly

and ^rshow partiality to ^sthe wicked? Selah

3  ^tGive justice to ^uthe weak and the fatherless;

^vmaintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.

4  ^wRescue the weak and the needy;

^xdeliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

5  ^yThey have neither knowledge nor understanding,

^zthey walk about in darkness;

^aall the foundations of the earth are ^bshaken.

6  ^cI said, “You are gods,

sons of the Most High, all of you;

7  nevertheless, like men ^dyou shall die,

and fall like any prince.”¹

8  ^eArise, O God, judge the earth;

for you shall ^finherit all the nations!

1  I will sing of ^csteadfast love and justice;

to you, O Lord, I will make music.

2  I will ^dponder the way ^ethat is blameless.

Oh when will you ^fcome to me?

I will ^gwalk with ^hintegrity of heart

within my house;

3  I will not set before my eyes

anything ⁱthat is worthless.

I hate the work of those who ^jfall away;

it shall not cling to me.

4  ^kA perverse heart shall be far from me;

I will ^lknow nothing of evil.

5  Whoever slanders his neighbor ^msecretly

I will ⁿdestroy.

Whoever has a ^ohaughty look and an ^parrogant heart

I will not endure.

6  I will look with favor on the faithful in the land,

that they may dwell with me;

he who walks in ^qthe way that is blameless

shall minister to me.

7  No one who ^rpractices deceit

shall dwell in my house;

no one who utters lies

shall ^scontinue before my eyes.

8  ^tMorning by morning I will destroy

all the wicked in the land,

^ucutting off all ^vthe evildoers

from ^wthe city of the Lord.

1  Do not boast about tomorrow,

^yfor you do not know what a day may bring.

2  Let ^zanother praise you, and not your own mouth;

a stranger, and not your own lips.

3  A stone is heavy, and sand is weighty,

but ^aa fool’s provocation is heavier than both.

4  Wrath is cruel, anger is overwhelming,

but who can stand before ^bjealousy?

5  ^cBetter is open rebuke

than hidden love.

6  Faithful are ^dthe wounds of a friend;

profuse are the kisses of an enemy.

7  One who is full loathes ^ehoney,

but to one who is hungry everything bitter is sweet.

8  Like ^fa bird that strays from its nest

is a man who strays from his home.

9  ^gOil and perfume make the heart glad,

and the sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel.¹

10  Do not forsake your friend and ^hyour father’s friend,

and do not go to your brother’s house in the day of your calamity.

ⁱBetter is a neighbor who is near

than a brother who is far away.

11  ^jBe wise, ^kmy son, and ^lmake my heart glad,

that I may ^manswer him who reproaches me.

12  ⁿThe prudent sees danger and hides himself,

but ^othe simple go on and suffer for it.

^g“All flesh is like grass

and all its glory like the flower of grass.

The grass withers,

and the flower falls,

25  ^hbut the word of the Lord remains forever.”