⁵ Thus says the Lord:
Cursed are those who trust in mere mortals
    and make mere flesh their strength,
    whose hearts turn away from the Lord.
⁶ They shall be like a shrub in the desert,
    and shall not see when relief comes.
They shall live in the parched places of the wilderness,
    in an uninhabited salt land.

⁷ Blessed are those who trust in the Lord,
    whose trust is the Lord.
⁸ They shall be like a tree planted by water,
    sending out its roots by the stream.
It shall not fear when heat comes,
    and its leaves shall stay green;
in the year of drought it is not anxious,
    and it does not cease to bear fruit.

⁹ The heart is devious above all else;
    it is perverse—
    who can understand it?
¹⁰ I the Lord test the mind
    and search the heart,
to give to all according to their ways,
    according to the fruit of their doings.

¹¹ Like the partridge hatching what it did not lay,
    so are all who amass wealth unjustly;
in mid-life it will leave them,
    and at their end they will prove to be fools.

¹² O glorious throne, exalted from the beginning,
    shrine of our sanctuary!
¹³ O hope of Israel! O Lord!
    All who forsake you shall be put to shame;
those who turn away from you^[a] shall be recorded in the underworld,^[b]
    for they have forsaken the fountain of living water, the Lord.

³ If you try my heart, if you visit me by night,
    if you test me, you will find no wickedness in me;
    my mouth does not transgress.
⁴ As for what others do, by the word of your lips
    I have avoided the ways of the violent.
⁵ My steps have held fast to your paths;
    my feet have not slipped.

⁶ I call upon you, for you will answer me, O God;
    incline your ear to me, hear my words.
⁷ Wondrously show your steadfast love,
    O saviour of those who seek refuge
    from their adversaries at your right hand.

⁸ Guard me as the apple of the eye;
    hide me in the shadow of your wings,
⁹ from the wicked who despoil me,
    my deadly enemies who surround me.
¹⁰ They close their hearts to pity;
    with their mouths they speak arrogantly.
¹¹ They track me down;^[a] now they surround me;
    they set their eyes to cast me to the ground.
¹² They are like a lion eager to tear,
    like a young lion lurking in ambush.

¹³ Rise up, O Lord, confront them, overthrow them!
    By your sword deliver my life from the wicked,
¹⁴ from mortals—by your hand, O Lord—
    from mortals whose portion in life is in this world.
May their bellies be filled with what you have stored up for them;
    may their children have more than enough;
    may they leave something over to their little ones.

¹⁵ As for me, I shall behold your face in righteousness;
    when I awake I shall be satisfied, beholding your likeness.