⁴ They pour out arrogant words;
all the evildoers boast.^(D)
5 Lord, they crush Your people;
they afflict Your heritage.^(E)
6 They kill the widow and the foreigner
and murder the fatherless.^(F)
7 They say, “The Lord doesn’t see it.
The God of Jacob doesn’t pay attention.”^(G)

⁸ Pay attention, you stupid people!
Fools, when will you be wise?^(H)
9 Can the One who shaped the ear not hear,
the One who formed the eye not see?^(I)
10 The One who instructs nations,
the One who teaches man knowledge—
does He not discipline?^(J)
11 The Lord knows man’s thoughts;
they are meaningless.^(K)

¹² Lord, happy is the man You discipline
and teach from Your law^(L)
13 to give him relief from troubled times
until a pit is dug for the wicked.^(M)
14 The Lord will not forsake His people
or abandon His heritage,^(N)
15 for justice will again be righteous,
and all the upright in heart will follow^[a] it.^(O)

¹⁶ Who stands up for me against the wicked?
Who takes a stand for me against evildoers?^(P)
17 If the Lord had not been my helper,
I would soon rest in the silence of death.^(Q)
18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”
Your faithful love will support me, Lord.^(R)
19 When I am filled with cares,
Your comfort brings me joy.^(S)

²⁰ Can a corrupt throne—
one that creates trouble by law—
become Your ally?^(T)
21 They band together against the life of the righteous
and condemn the innocent to death.^(U)
22 But the Lord is my refuge;
my God is the rock of my protection.^(V)
23 He will pay them back for their sins
and destroy them for their evil.
The Lord our God will destroy them.^(W)

They are just the poor;
they have played the fool.
For they don’t understand the way of the Lord,^(K)
the justice of their God.^(L)
5 I will go to the powerful
and speak to them.
Surely they know the way of the Lord,
the justice of their God.^(M)
However, these also had broken the yoke
and torn off the chains.^(N)
6 Therefore, a lion from the forest will strike them down.^(O)
A wolf from an arid plain will ravage them.
A leopard^(P) keeps watch over their cities.
Anyone who leaves them will be torn to pieces
because their rebellious acts are many,^(Q)
their unfaithful deeds numerous.^(R)

⁷ Why should I forgive you?
Your children have abandoned Me
and sworn by those who are not gods.^(S)
I satisfied their needs, yet they committed adultery;^(T)
they gashed themselves^(U) at the^[a] prostitute’s house.
⁸ They are well-fed,^[b] eager^[c] stallions,^(V)
each neighing^(W) after someone else’s wife.^(X)
9 Should I not punish them for these things?^(Y)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
Should I not avenge Myself^(Z)
on such a nation as this?

¹⁰ Go up among her vineyard terraces and destroy them,^(AA)
but do not finish them off.^(AB)
Prune away her shoots,
for they do not belong to the Lord.^(AC)
11 They, the house of Israel and the house of Judah,
have dealt very treacherously with Me.^(AD)
This is the Lord’s declaration.
¹² They have contradicted the Lord
and insisted, “It won’t happen.^[d](AE)
Harm won’t come to us;
we won’t see sword or famine.”
¹³ The prophets become only wind,
for the Lord’s word is not in them.
This will in fact happen to them.

Because you have spoken this word,
I am going to make My words
become fire in your mouth.^(AF)
These people are the wood,
and the fire will consume them.^(AG)
15 I am about to bring a nation
from far away against you,^(AH)
house of Israel.
This is the Lord’s declaration.
It is an established nation,
an ancient nation,
a nation whose language you do not know
and whose speech you do not understand.^(AI)
16 Their quiver is like an open grave;^(AJ)
they are all mighty warriors.
¹⁷ They will consume your harvest and your food.^(AK)
They will consume your sons and your daughters.
They will consume your flocks and your herds.
They will consume your vines and your fig trees.
They will destroy with the sword
your fortified cities^(AL) in which you trust.

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)