³ O Lord my God, if I have done this,
If there is ^(D)injustice in my hands,
⁴ If I have ^(E)done evil to ^[d]my friend,
Or have ^(F)plundered ^[e]my enemy for no reason,
⁵ Let the enemy pursue ^[f]my soul and overtake ^[g]it;
And let him trample my life to the ground
And lay my glory in the dust. Selah

^6 (G)Arise, Lord, in Your anger;
^(H)Raise Yourself against ^(I)the rage of my enemies,
And ^(J)stir Yourself ^[h]for me; You have ordered judgment.
⁷ Let the assembly of the ^(K)peoples encompass You,
And return on high over it.
⁸ The Lord ^(L)judges the peoples;
^[i](M)Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness and my integrity that is in me.
⁹ Please let ^(N)the evil of the wicked come to an end, but ^(O)establish the righteous;
For the righteous God ^(P)puts hearts and ^[j]minds to the test.
¹⁰ My ^(Q)shield is ^[k]with God,
Who ^(R)saves the upright in heart.
¹¹ God is a ^(S)righteous judge,
And a God who ^(T)shows indignation every day.

¹² If one ^(U)does not repent, He will ^(V)sharpen His sword;
He has ^(W)bent His bow and taken aim.
¹³ He has also prepared deadly weapons for Himself;
He makes His ^(X)arrows fiery shafts.
¹⁴ Behold, an evil person is pregnant with injustice,
And he ^(Y)conceives harm and gives birth to lies.
¹⁵ He has dug a pit and hollowed it out,
And has ^(Z)fallen into the hole which he made.
¹⁶ His ^(AA)harm will return on his own head,
And his ^(AB)violence will descend on the top of his own head.

¹⁷ I will give thanks to the Lord ^(AC)according to His righteousness
And will ^(AD)sing praise to the name of the Lord Most High.

^7 [b]Rest in the Lord and ^(M)wait ^[c]patiently for Him;
^(N)Do not get upset because of one who is ^(O)successful in his way,
Because of the person who carries out wicked schemes.
⁸ Cease from anger and ^(P)abandon wrath;
Do not get upset; it leads only to evildoing.
⁹ For ^(Q)evildoers will be eliminated,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will ^(R)inherit the land.
¹⁰ Yet ^(S)a little while and the wicked person will be no more;
And you will look carefully for ^(T)his place and he will not be there.
¹¹ But ^(U)the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in ^(V)abundant prosperity.

¹² The wicked ^(W)plots against the righteous,
And ^(X)gnashes at him with his teeth.
¹³ The Lord ^(Y)laughs at him,
For He sees that ^(Z)his day is coming.
¹⁴ The wicked have drawn the sword and ^(AA)bent their bow
To take down the ^(AB)afflicted and the needy,
To ^(AC)kill off those who are upright in conduct.
¹⁵ Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their ^(AD)bows will be broken.

^16 (AE)Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
¹⁷ For the ^(AF)arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord ^(AG)sustains the righteous.
¹⁸ The Lord ^(AH)knows the days of the ^[d]blameless,
And their ^(AI)inheritance will be forever.
¹⁹ They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And ^(AJ)in the days of famine they will have plenty.
²⁰ But the ^(AK)wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the ^[e]glory of the pastures,
They vanish—^(AL)like smoke they vanish away.
²¹ The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous ^(AM)is gracious and gives.
²² For ^(AN)those blessed by Him will ^(AO)inherit the land,
But those ^(AP)cursed by Him will be eliminated.

^23 (AQ)The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He ^(AR)delights in his way.
²⁴ When ^(AS)he falls, he will not be hurled down,
Because ^(AT)the Lord is the One ^[f]who holds his hand.
²⁵ I have been young and now I am old,
Yet ^(AU)I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or ^(AV)his ^[g]descendants begging for bread.
²⁶ All day long ^(AW)he is gracious and lends,
And ^(AX)his ^[h]descendants are a blessing.

^27 (AY)Turn from evil and do good,
So that you will dwell ^(AZ)forever.
²⁸ For the Lord ^(BA)loves ^[i]justice
And ^(BB)does not abandon His godly ones;
They are ^(BC)protected forever,
But the ^[j](BD)descendants of the wicked will be eliminated.
²⁹ The righteous will ^(BE)inherit the land
And ^(BF)dwell in it forever.
³⁰ The mouth of the righteous ^(BG)utters wisdom,
And his tongue ^(BH)speaks justice.
³¹ The ^(BI)Law of his God is in his heart;
His ^(BJ)steps do not slip.
³² The ^(BK)wicked spies upon the righteous
And ^(BL)seeks to kill him.
³³ The Lord will ^(BM)not leave him in his hand
Or ^(BN)let him be condemned when he is judged.
^34 (BO)Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the ^(BP)wicked are eliminated, you will see it.

³⁵ I have ^(BQ)seen a wicked, violent person
Spreading himself like a ^(BR)luxuriant ^[k]tree in its native soil.
³⁶ Then he passed away, and behold, he ^(BS)was no more;
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
³⁷ Observe the ^[l](BT)blameless person, and look at the ^(BU)upright;
For the person of peace will have ^(BV)a future.
³⁸ But wrongdoers will altogether be ^(BW)destroyed;
The future of the wicked will be ^(BX)eliminated.
³⁹ But the ^(BY)salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength ^(BZ)in time of trouble.
^40 (CA)The Lord helps them and rescues them;
He ^(CB)rescues them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they ^(CC)take refuge in Him.

⁷ May all those be ashamed who serve ^(N)carved images,
Who boast in ^(O)idols;
^[c](P)Worship Him, all you ^[d]gods.
⁸ Zion ^[e]heard this and ^(Q)was joyful,
And the daughters of Judah have rejoiced
Because of Your judgments, Lord.
⁹ For You are the Lord ^(R)Most High over all the earth;
You are exalted far ^(S)above all ^[f]gods.

^10 (T)Hate evil, you who love the Lord,
Who ^(U)watches over the souls of His godly ones;
He ^(V)saves them from the hand of the wicked.
^11 (W)Light is sown like seed for the righteous,
And ^(X)gladness for the upright in heart.
¹² Be ^(Y)joyful in the Lord, you righteous ones,
And ^(Z)praise ^[g]the mention of His holy name.

³ Behold, ^(F)children are a ^[b]gift of the Lord,
The ^(G)fruit of the womb is a reward.
⁴ Like arrows in the hand of a ^(H)warrior,
So are the children of one’s youth.
^5 (I)Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them;
^(J)They will not be ashamed
When they ^(K)speak with their enemies ^(L)in the gate.

⁶ For ^(F)at the window of my house
I looked out ^(G)through my lattice,
⁷ And I saw among the ^(H)naive,
And discerned among the ^[d]youths
A young man ^(I)lacking ^[e]sense,
⁸ Passing through the street near ^(J)her corner;
And he walks along the way to ^(K)her house,
⁹ In the ^(L)twilight, in the ^[f]evening,
In the ^[g]middle of the night and the darkness.
¹⁰ And behold, a woman comes to meet him,
^(M)Dressed as a prostitute and cunning of heart.
¹¹ She is ^(N)boisterous and rebellious,
Her ^(O)feet do not remain at home;
¹² She is now in the streets, now ^(P)in the public squares,
And ^(Q)lurks by every corner.
¹³ So she seizes him and kisses him,
^[h]And with a ^(R)brazen face she says to him:
¹⁴ “^[i]I was due to offer ^(S)peace offerings;
Today I have ^(T)paid my vows.
¹⁵ Therefore I have come out to meet you,
To seek your presence diligently, and I have found you.
¹⁶ I have spread my couch with ^(U)coverings,
With colored ^(V)linens of Egypt.
¹⁷ I have sprinkled my bed
With ^(W)myrrh, aloes, and ^(X)cinnamon.
¹⁸ Come, let’s drink our fill of love until morning;
Let’s delight ourselves with caresses.
¹⁹ For ^[j]my husband is not at home;
He has gone on a long journey.
²⁰ He has taken a ^(Y)bag of money ^[k]with him.
At the full moon he will come home.”
²¹ With her many persuasions she entices him;
With her ^[l](Z)flattering lips she seduces him.
²² Suddenly he follows her
As an ox goes to the slaughter,
Or as ^[m]one walks in ankle bracelets to the discipline of a fool,
²³ Until an arrow pierces through his liver;
As a ^(AA)bird hurries to the snare,
So he does not know that it will cost him his life.

²⁴ Now therefore, my sons, ^(AB)listen to me,
And pay attention to the words of my mouth.
²⁵ Do not let your heart ^(AC)turn aside to her ways,
Do not stray into her paths.
²⁶ For many are the ^[n]victims she has brought to ruin,
And ^(AD)numerous are all those slaughtered by her.
²⁷ Her ^(AE)house is the way to Sheol,
Descending to the chambers of death.