1  Transgression speaks to the wicked

deep in his heart;¹

^ythere is no fear of God

before his eyes.

2  ^zFor he flatters himself in his own eyes

that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated.

3  The words of his mouth are ^atrouble and deceit;

^bhe has ceased to act wisely and do good.

4  He ^cplots ^dtrouble while on his bed;

he sets himself in ^ea way that is not good;

^fhe does not reject evil.

5  Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens,

your faithfulness to the clouds.

6  ^gYour righteousness is like the mountains of God;

^hyour judgments are like the great deep;

man and beast you ⁱsave, O Lord.

7  ^jHow precious is your steadfast love, O God!

The children of mankind take refuge ^kin the shadow of your wings.

8  They feast on ^lthe abundance of your house,

and you give them drink from ^mthe river of ⁿyour delights.

9  For with you is ^othe fountain of life;

^pin your light do we see light.

10  Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who ^qknow you,

and your righteousness to ^rthe upright of heart!

11  Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me,

nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.

12  There ^sthe evildoers lie fallen;

they are thrust down, ^tunable to rise.

2  “As God lives, who has ^staken away my right,

and the Almighty, who has ^tmade my soul bitter,

3  as long as my breath is in me,

and ^uthe spirit of God is in my nostrils,

4  my lips will not speak ^vfalsehood,

and my tongue will not utter ^vdeceit.

5  Far be it from me to say that you are right;

till I die I will not put away my ^wintegrity from me.

6  I ^xhold fast my righteousness and will not let it go;

my heart does not ^yreproach me for any of my days.

7  “Let my enemy be as the wicked,

and let him who rises up against me be as the unrighteous.

8  ^zFor what is the hope of the godless ^awhen God cuts him off,

when God takes away his life?

9  ^bWill God hear his cry

when distress comes upon him?

10  Will he ^ctake delight in the Almighty?

Will he call upon God at all times?

11  I will teach you concerning the hand of God;

^dwhat is with the Almighty I will not conceal.

12  Behold, all of you have seen it yourselves;

why then have you become altogether vain?

13  ^e“This is the portion of a wicked man with God,

and the heritage that ^foppressors receive from the Almighty:

14  If his ^gchildren are multiplied, it is for ^hthe sword,

and his descendants have not enough bread.

15  Those who survive him the pestilence buries,

and his ⁱwidows do not weep.

16  Though he ^jheap up silver like dust,

and pile up clothing like clay,

17  he may pile it up, but the righteous will wear it,

and ^kthe innocent will divide the silver.

18  He builds his ^lhouse like a moth’s,

like ^ma booth that ⁿa watchman makes.

19  He goes to bed rich, but will ^odo so no more;

he opens his eyes, and ^phis wealth is gone.

20  ^qTerrors overtake him like ^ra flood;

in the night a whirlwind ^scarries him off.

21  ^tThe east wind lifts him up and he is gone;

it ^usweeps him out of his place.

22  It¹ hurls at him ^vwithout pity;

he flees from its² power in headlong flight.

23  It ^wclaps its hands at him

and ^xhisses at him from its place.