³ Even from birth the wicked go astray;
    from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
⁴ Their venom is like the venom of a snake,^(D)
    like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
⁵ that will not heed^(E) the tune of the charmer,^(F)
    however skillful the enchanter may be.

⁶ Break the teeth in their mouths, O God;^(G)
    Lord, tear out the fangs of those lions!^(H)
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away;^(I)
    when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.^(J)
8 May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along,^(K)
    like a stillborn child^(L) that never sees the sun.

⁹ Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns^(M)—
    whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.^[c](N)
10 The righteous will be glad^(O) when they are avenged,^(P)
    when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.^(Q)
11 Then people will say,
    “Surely the righteous still are rewarded;^(R)
    surely there is a God who judges the earth.”^(S)

²³ “How can you say, ‘I am not defiled;^(A)
    I have not run after the Baals’?^(B)
See how you behaved in the valley;^(C)
    consider what you have done.
You are a swift she-camel
    running^(D) here and there,
²⁴ a wild donkey^(E) accustomed to the desert,^(F)
    sniffing the wind in her craving—
    in her heat who can restrain her?
Any males that pursue her need not tire themselves;
    at mating time they will find her.
²⁵ Do not run until your feet are bare
    and your throat is dry.
But you said, ‘It’s no use!^(G)
    I love foreign gods,^(H)
    and I must go after them.’^(I)

²⁶ “As a thief is disgraced^(J) when he is caught,
    so the people of Israel are disgraced—
they, their kings and their officials,
    their priests^(K) and their prophets.^(L)
27 They say to wood,^(M) ‘You are my father,’
    and to stone,^(N) ‘You gave me birth.’
They have turned their backs^(O) to me
    and not their faces;^(P)
yet when they are in trouble,^(Q) they say,
    ‘Come and save^(R) us!’
²⁸ Where then are the gods^(S) you made for yourselves?
    Let them come if they can save you
    when you are in trouble!^(T)
For you, Judah, have as many gods
    as you have towns.^(U)

²⁹ “Why do you bring charges against me?
    You have all^(V) rebelled against me,”
declares the Lord.
³⁰ “In vain I punished your people;
    they did not respond to correction.^(W)
Your sword has devoured your prophets^(X)
    like a ravenous lion.

“Have I been a desert to Israel
    or a land of great darkness?^(Y)
Why do my people say, ‘We are free to roam;
    we will come to you no more’?^(Z)
32 Does a young woman forget her jewelry,
    a bride her wedding ornaments?
Yet my people have forgotten^(AA) me,
    days without number.
³³ How skilled you are at pursuing^(AB) love!
    Even the worst of women can learn from your ways.
³⁴ On your clothes is found
    the lifeblood^(AC) of the innocent poor,
    though you did not catch them breaking in.^(AD)
Yet in spite of all this
³⁵     you say, ‘I am innocent;^(AE)
    he is not angry with me.’
But I will pass judgment^(AF) on you
    because you say, ‘I have not sinned.’^(AG)
36 Why do you go about so much,
    changing^(AH) your ways?
You will be disappointed by Egypt^(AI)
    as you were by Assyria.
³⁷ You will also leave that place
    with your hands on your head,^(AJ)
for the Lord has rejected those you trust;
    you will not be helped^(AK) by them.