1  Hear a just cause, O Lord; ^gattend to my cry!

Give ear to my prayer from lips free of deceit!

2  From your presence ^hlet my vindication come!

Let your eyes behold the right!

3  You have ⁱtried my heart, you have ^jvisited me by ^knight,

you have ^ltested me, and you will find nothing;

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress.

4  With regard to the works of man, by the word of your lips

I have avoided the ways of the violent.

5  My steps have ^mheld fast to your paths;

my feet have not slipped.

6  I ⁿcall upon you, for you will answer me, O God;

^oincline your ear to me; hear my words.

7  ^pWondrously show¹ your steadfast love,

O Savior of those who seek refuge

from ^qtheir adversaries at your right hand.

8  Keep me as ^rthe apple of your eye;

hide me in ^sthe shadow of your wings,

9  from the wicked who do me violence,

my deadly enemies who ^tsurround me.

10  ^uThey close their hearts to pity;

with their mouths they ^vspeak arrogantly.

11  They have now surrounded our ^wsteps;

they set their eyes to ^xcast us to the ground.

12  He is like a lion eager to tear,

as a young lion ^ylurking in ambush.

13  Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him!

Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword,

14  from men by your hand, O Lord,

from ^zmen of the world whose ^aportion is in this life.²

You fill their womb with treasure;³

they are satisfied with ^bchildren,

and they leave their abundance to their infants.

15  As for me, I shall ^cbehold your face in righteousness;

when I ^dawake, I shall be ^esatisfied with your likeness.

1  ^gHear this, all peoples!

Give ear, all inhabitants of the world,

2  ^hboth low and high,

rich and poor together!

3  My mouth shall speak ⁱwisdom;

the meditation of my heart shall be understanding.

4  I will incline my ear to ^ja proverb;

I will solve my ^kriddle to the music of the lyre.

5  ^lWhy should I fear in ^mtimes of trouble,

when the iniquity of those who cheat me surrounds me,

6  those who ⁿtrust in their wealth

and boast of the abundance of their riches?

7  Truly no man ^ocan ransom another,

or ^pgive to God ^qthe price of his life,

8  for ^rthe ransom of their life is costly

and can never suffice,

9  that he should live on forever

and ^snever see the pit.

10  For he sees ^tthat even the wise die;

^uthe fool and the stupid alike must perish

and ^vleave their wealth to others.

11  Their ^wgraves are their homes forever,¹

their dwelling places ^xto all generations,

though they ^ycalled lands by their own names.

12  Man in his pomp ^zwill not remain;

^ahe is like the beasts that perish.

13  This is the path of those who have ^bfoolish confidence;

yet after them people approve of their boasts.² Selah

14  Like sheep they are appointed for Sheol;

death shall be their shepherd,

and the upright ^cshall rule over them in the morning.

^dTheir form shall be consumed ^ein Sheol, with no place to dwell.

15  But God will ^fransom my soul from the power of Sheol,

for he will ^greceive me. Selah

16  Be not afraid when a man becomes rich,

when the glory of his house increases.

17  ^hFor when he dies he will ⁱcarry nothing away;

his glory will not go down after him.

18  For though, while he lives, he counts himself ^jblessed—

and though you get praise when you do well for yourself—

19  his soul will ^kgo to the generation of his fathers,

who will never again ^lsee light.

20  ^mMan in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.