³³ The curse of God is on the wicked, but his blessing is on the upright. ³⁴ The Lord mocks at mockers, but helps the humble. ³⁵ The wise are promoted to honor, but fools are promoted to shame!

³ The Lord will not let a good man starve to death, nor will he let the wicked man’s riches continue forever.

²² The Lord’s blessing is our greatest wealth. All our work adds nothing to it!^[a]

²⁴ The wicked man’s fears will all come true and so will the good man’s hopes.

²⁵ Disaster strikes like a cyclone and the wicked are whirled away. But the good man has a strong anchor.

²⁸ The hope of good men is eternal happiness; the hopes of evil men are all in vain.

²⁹ God protects the upright but destroys the wicked.

³⁰ The good shall never lose God’s blessings, but the wicked shall lose everything.

³ A good man is guided by his honesty; the evil man is destroyed by his dishonesty.

⁵ Good people are directed by their honesty; the wicked shall fall beneath their load of sins.

⁶ The good man’s goodness delivers him; the evil man’s treachery is his undoing.

⁷ When an evil man dies, his hopes all perish, for they are based upon this earthly life.

⁸ God rescues good men from danger while letting the wicked fall into it.

¹⁹ The good man finds life; the evil man, death.

²⁰ The Lord hates the stubborn but delights in those who are good.

²¹ You can be very sure the evil man will not go unpunished forever. And you can also be very sure God will rescue the children of the godly.

²³ The good man can look forward to happiness, while the wicked can expect only wrath.

²⁷ If you search for good, you will find God’s favor; if you search for evil, you will find his curse.