⁴ My heart is in anguish^(G) within me;
    the terrors^(H) of death have fallen on me.
⁵ Fear and trembling^(I) have beset me;
    horror^(J) has overwhelmed me.
⁶ I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest.
⁷ I would flee far away
    and stay in the desert;^[c](K)
8 I would hurry to my place of shelter,^(L)
    far from the tempest and storm.^(M)”

⁹ Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,^(N)
    for I see violence and strife^(O) in the city.^(P)
10 Day and night they prowl^(Q) about on its walls;
    malice and abuse are within it.
¹¹ Destructive forces^(R) are at work in the city;
    threats and lies^(S) never leave its streets.

¹² If an enemy were insulting me,
    I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
    I could hide.
¹³ But it is you, a man like myself,
    my companion, my close friend,^(T)
14 with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship^(U)
    at the house of God,^(V)
as we walked about
    among the worshipers.

¹⁵ Let death take my enemies by surprise;^(W)
    let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,^(X)
    for evil finds lodging among them.

² “How long will you say such things?^(B)
    Your words are a blustering wind.^(C)
3 Does God pervert justice?^(D)
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?^(E)
4 When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.^(F)
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead^(G) with the Almighty,^(H)
6 if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf^(I)
    and restore you to your prosperous state.^(J)
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
    so prosperous^(K) will your future be.^(L)

⁸ “Ask the former generation^(M)
    and find out what their ancestors learned,
⁹ for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,^(N)
    and our days on earth are but a shadow.^(O)
10 Will they not instruct^(P) you and tell you?
    Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?^(Q)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?^(R)
    Can reeds^(S) thrive without water?
¹² While still growing and uncut,
    they wither more quickly than grass.^(T)
13 Such is the destiny^(U) of all who forget God;^(V)
    so perishes the hope of the godless.^(W)
14 What they trust in is fragile^[a];
    what they rely on is a spider’s web.^(X)
15 They lean on the web,^(Y) but it gives way;
    they cling to it, but it does not hold.^(Z)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
    spreading its shoots^(AA) over the garden;^(AB)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
    and looks for a place among the stones.
¹⁸ But when it is torn from its spot,
    that place disowns^(AC) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’^(AD)
19 Surely its life withers^(AE) away,
    and^[b] from the soil other plants grow.^(AF)

²⁰ “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless^(AG)
    or strengthen the hands of evildoers.^(AH)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter^(AI)
    and your lips with shouts of joy.^(AJ)
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,^(AK)
    and the tents^(AL) of the wicked will be no more.”^(AM)