²³ The godly can look forward to a reward,
    while the wicked can expect only judgment.

⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you your heart’s desires.

¹⁶ Lord, I have not abandoned my job
    as a shepherd for your people.
I have not urged you to send disaster.
    You have heard everything I’ve said.

⁹ In the night I search for you;
    in the morning^[a] I earnestly seek you.
For only when you come to judge the earth
    will people learn what is right.

²⁸ The hopes of the godly result in happiness,
    but the expectations of the wicked come to nothing.

¹⁷ Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless.
    Surely you will hear their cries and comfort them.

⁷ When the wicked die, their hopes die with them,
    for they rely on their own feeble strength.