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Folly and Wickedness of Men.

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David.

14 The [spiritually ignorant] fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they have committed repulsive and unspeakable deeds;
There is no one who does good.(A)

The Lord has looked down from heaven upon the children of men
To see if there are any who understand (act wisely),
Who [truly] seek after God, [longing for His wisdom and guidance].

They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt;
There is no one who does good, not even one.(B)


Have all the workers of wickedness and injustice no knowledge,
Who eat up my people as they eat bread,
And do not call upon the Lord?

There they tremble with great fear,
For God is with the [consistently] righteous generation.

You [evildoers] shamefully plan against the poor,
But the Lord is his safe refuge.


Oh, that the salvation of Israel would come out of Zion!
When the Lord restores His captive people,
Then Jacob will rejoice, Israel will be glad.(C)


For I am conscious of my transgressions and I acknowledge them;
My sin is always before me.

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Prayer for Protection from the Wicked.

To the Chief Musician; on wind instruments. A Psalm of David.

Listen to my words, O Lord,
Consider my groaning and sighing.

Heed the sound of my cry for help, my King and my God,
For to You I pray.

In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice;
In the morning I will prepare [a prayer and a sacrifice] for You and watch and wait [for You to speak to my heart].


For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness;
No evil [person] dwells with You.

The boastful and the arrogant will not stand in Your sight;
You hate all who do evil.

You destroy those who tell lies;
The Lord detests and rejects the bloodthirsty and deceitful man.

But as for me, I will enter Your house through the abundance of Your steadfast love and tender mercy;
At Your holy temple I will bow [obediently] in reverence for You.


O Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my enemies;
Make Your way straight (direct, right) before me.

For there is nothing trustworthy or reliable or truthful in what they say;
Their heart is destruction [just a treacherous chasm, a yawning gulf of lies].
Their throat is an open grave;
They [glibly] flatter with their [silken] tongue.(A)
10 
Hold them guilty, O God;
Let them fall by their own designs and councils!
Cast them out because of the abundance of their transgressions,
For they are mutinous and have rebelled against You.

11 
But let all who take refuge and put their trust in You rejoice,
Let them ever sing for joy;
Because You cover and shelter them,
Let those who love Your name be joyful and exult in You.
12 
For You, O Lord, bless the righteous man [the one who is in right standing with You];
You surround him with favor as with a shield.

10 As it is written and forever remains written,

There is none righteous [none that meets God’s standard], not even one.(A)
11 
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God.(B)
12 
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good, no, not one.”(C)
13 
Their throat is an open grave;
They [habitually] deceive with their tongues.”
The venom of asps is beneath their lips.”(D)
14 
Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness.”(E)
15 
Their feet are swift to shed blood,
16 
Destruction and misery are in their paths,
17 
And they have not known the path of peace.”(F)
18 
There is no fear of God [and His awesome power] before their eyes.”(G)

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23 since all have sinned and continually fall short of the glory of God,

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