⁷ “Listen, My people, and I will speak;
I will testify against you, Israel.
I am God, your God.^(I)
8 I do not rebuke you for your sacrifices
or for your burnt offerings,
which are continually before Me.^(J)
9 I will not accept a bull from your household
or male goats from your pens,^(K)
10 for every animal of the forest is Mine,
the cattle on a thousand hills.
¹¹ I know every bird of the mountains,^[d]
and the creatures of the field are Mine.^(L)
12 If I were hungry, I would not tell you,
for the world and everything in it is Mine.^(M)
13 Do I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats?^(N)
14 Sacrifice a thank offering to God,^(O)
and pay your vows to the Most High.^(P)
15 Call on Me in a day of trouble;
I will rescue you, and you will honor Me.”^(Q)

¹⁶ But God says to the wicked:
“What right do you have to recite My statutes
and to take My covenant on your lips?^(R)
17 You hate instruction
and turn your back on My words.^[e](S)
18 When you see a thief,
you make friends with him,
and you associate with adulterers.^(T)
19 You unleash your mouth for evil
and harness your tongue for deceit.^(U)
20 You sit, maligning your brother,
slandering your mother’s son.^(V)
21 You have done these things, and I kept silent;
you thought I was just like you.^(W)
But I will rebuke you
and lay out the case before you.^[f](X)

²² “Understand this, you who forget God,
or I will tear you apart,
and there will be no one to rescue you.^(Y)
23 Whoever sacrifices a thank offering honors Me,
and whoever orders his conduct,
I will show him the salvation of God.”^(Z)

⁴ They have an easy time until they die,^[a]
and their bodies are well fed.^[b](E)
5 They are not in trouble like others;
they are not afflicted like most people.^(F)
6 Therefore, pride is their necklace,
and violence covers them like a garment.^(G)
7 Their eyes bulge out from fatness;
the imaginations of their hearts run wild.^(H)
8 They mock, and they speak maliciously;
they arrogantly threaten oppression.^(I)
9 They set their mouths against heaven,
and their tongues strut across the earth.^(J)
10 Therefore His people turn to them^[c]
and drink in their overflowing words.^[d](K)
11 The wicked say, “How can God know?
Does the Most High know everything?”^(L)
12 Look at them—the wicked!
They are always at ease,
and they increase their wealth.^(M)

¹³ Did I purify my heart
and wash my hands in innocence for nothing?^(N)
14 For I am afflicted all day long
and punished every morning.^(O)
15 If I had decided to say these things aloud,
I would have betrayed Your people.^[e](P)
16 When I tried to understand all this,
it seemed hopeless^[f](Q)
17 until I entered God’s sanctuary.
Then I understood their destiny.^(R)
18 Indeed, You put them in slippery places;
You make them fall into ruin.^(S)
19 How suddenly they become a desolation!
They come to an end, swept away by terrors.^(T)
20 Like one waking from a dream,
Lord, when arising, You will despise their image.^(U)

²¹ When I became embittered
and my innermost being^[g] was wounded,^(V)
22 I was stupid and didn’t understand;
I was an unthinking animal toward You.^(W)
23 Yet I am always with You;
You hold my right hand.^(X)
24 You guide me with Your counsel,
and afterward You will take me up in glory.^[h](Y)
25 Who do I have in heaven but You?
And I desire nothing on earth but You.^(Z)
26 My flesh and my heart may fail,
but God is the strength^[i] of my heart,
my portion forever.^(AA)
27 Those far from You will certainly perish;
You destroy all who are unfaithful to You.^(AB)
28 But as for me, God’s presence is my good.
I have made the Lord God my refuge,
so I can tell about all You do.^(AC)

¹² God my King is from ancient times,
performing saving acts on the earth.^(AQ)
13 You divided the sea with Your strength;
You smashed the heads of the sea monsters in the waters;^(AR)
14 You crushed the heads of Leviathan;
You fed him to the creatures of the desert.^(AS)
15 You opened up springs and streams;^(AT)
You dried up ever-flowing rivers.^(AU)
16 The day is Yours, also the night;
You established the moon and the sun.^(AV)
17 You set all the boundaries of the earth;
You made summer and winter.^(AW)

¹⁸ Remember this: the enemy has mocked Yahweh,
and a foolish people has insulted Your name.^(AX)
19 Do not give the life of Your dove to beasts;^[o]
do not forget the lives of Your poor people forever.^(AY)
20 Consider the covenant,^(AZ)
for the dark places of the land are full of violence.^(BA)
21 Do not let the oppressed turn away in shame;
let the poor and needy praise Your name.^(BB)
22 Rise up, God, defend Your cause!^(BC)
Remember the insults
that fools bring against You all day long.^(BD)
23 Do not forget the clamor of Your adversaries,
the tumult of Your opponents that goes up constantly.^(BE)