³ Wickedness never brings stability,
    but the godly have deep roots.

²⁵ When the storms of life come, the wicked are whirled away,
    but the godly have a lasting foundation.

¹² Thieves are jealous of each other’s loot,
    but the godly are well rooted and bear their own fruit.

¹ Those who trust in the Lord are as secure as Mount Zion;
    they will not be defeated but will endure forever.
² Just as the mountains surround Jerusalem,
    so the Lord surrounds his people, both now and forever.

¹⁶ “Evil people may have piles of money
    and may store away mounds of clothing.
¹⁷ But the righteous will wear that clothing,
    and the innocent will divide that money.
¹⁸ The wicked build houses as fragile as a spider’s web,^[a]
    as flimsy as a shelter made of branches.

⁵ Those who lend money without charging interest,
    and who cannot be bribed to lie about the innocent.
Such people will stand firm forever.

⁵ the triumph of the wicked has been short lived
    and the joy of the godless has been only temporary?
⁶ Though the pride of the godless reaches to the heavens
    and their heads touch the clouds,
⁷ yet they will vanish forever,
    thrown away like their own dung.
Those who knew them will ask,
    ‘Where are they?’
⁸ They will fade like a dream and not be found.
    They will vanish like a vision in the night.
⁹ Those who once saw them will see them no more.
    Their families will never see them again.