³ Lord my God, if I have done this
    and there is guilt on my hands^(G)—
⁴ if I have repaid my ally with evil
    or without cause^(H) have robbed my foe—
⁵ then let my enemy pursue and overtake^(I) me;
    let him trample my life to the ground^(J)
    and make me sleep in the dust.^[c](K)

⁶ Arise,^(L) Lord, in your anger;
    rise up against the rage of my enemies.^(M)
    Awake,^(N) my God; decree justice.
⁷ Let the assembled peoples gather around you,
    while you sit enthroned over them on high.^(O)
8     Let the Lord judge^(P) the peoples.
Vindicate me, Lord, according to my righteousness,^(Q)
    according to my integrity,^(R) O Most High.^(S)
9 Bring to an end the violence of the wicked
    and make the righteous secure—^(T)
you, the righteous God^(U)
    who probes minds and hearts.^(V)

¹⁰ My shield^[d](W) is God Most High,
    who saves the upright in heart.^(X)
11 God is a righteous judge,^(Y)
    a God who displays his wrath^(Z) every day.
¹² If he does not relent,^(AA)
    he^[e] will sharpen his sword;^(AB)
    he will bend and string his bow.^(AC)
13 He has prepared his deadly weapons;
    he makes ready his flaming arrows.^(AD)

¹⁴ Whoever is pregnant with evil
    conceives trouble and gives birth^(AE) to disillusionment.
¹⁵ Whoever digs a hole and scoops it out
    falls into the pit^(AF) they have made.^(AG)
16 The trouble they cause recoils on them;
    their violence comes down on their own heads.

¹⁷ I will give thanks to the Lord because of his righteousness;^(AH)
    I will sing the praises^(AI) of the name of the Lord Most High.^(AJ)

7 “Do not mortals have hard service^(A) on earth?^(B)
    Are not their days like those of hired laborers?^(C)
2 Like a slave longing for the evening shadows,^(D)
    or a hired laborer waiting to be paid,^(E)
3 so I have been allotted months of futility,
    and nights of misery have been assigned to me.^(F)
4 When I lie down I think, ‘How long before I get up?’^(G)
    The night drags on, and I toss and turn until dawn.^(H)
5 My body is clothed with worms^(I) and scabs,
    my skin is broken and festering.^(J)

⁶ “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle,^(K)
    and they come to an end without hope.^(L)
7 Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath;^(M)
    my eyes will never see happiness again.^(N)
8 The eye that now sees me will see me no longer;
    you will look for me, but I will be no more.^(O)
9 As a cloud vanishes^(P) and is gone,
    so one who goes down to the grave^(Q) does not return.^(R)
10 He will never come to his house again;
    his place^(S) will know him no more.^(T)

¹¹ “Therefore I will not keep silent;^(U)
    I will speak out in the anguish^(V) of my spirit,
    I will complain^(W) in the bitterness of my soul.^(X)
12 Am I the sea,^(Y) or the monster of the deep,^(Z)
    that you put me under guard?^(AA)
13 When I think my bed will comfort me
    and my couch will ease my complaint,^(AB)
14 even then you frighten me with dreams
    and terrify^(AC) me with visions,^(AD)
15 so that I prefer strangling and death,^(AE)
    rather than this body of mine.^(AF)
16 I despise my life;^(AG) I would not live forever.^(AH)
    Let me alone;^(AI) my days have no meaning.^(AJ)

¹⁷ “What is mankind that you make so much of them,
    that you give them so much attention,^(AK)
18 that you examine them every morning^(AL)
    and test them^(AM) every moment?^(AN)
19 Will you never look away from me,^(AO)
    or let me alone even for an instant?^(AP)
20 If I have sinned, what have I done to you,^(AQ)
    you who see everything we do?
Why have you made me your target?^(AR)
    Have I become a burden to you?^[a](AS)
21 Why do you not pardon my offenses
    and forgive my sins?^(AT)
For I will soon lie down in the dust;^(AU)
    you will search for me, but I will be no more.”^(AV)

² “How long will you say such things?^(AX)
    Your words are a blustering wind.^(AY)
3 Does God pervert justice?^(AZ)
    Does the Almighty pervert what is right?^(BA)
4 When your children sinned against him,
    he gave them over to the penalty of their sin.^(BB)
5 But if you will seek God earnestly
    and plead^(BC) with the Almighty,^(BD)
6 if you are pure and upright,
    even now he will rouse himself on your behalf^(BE)
    and restore you to your prosperous state.^(BF)
7 Your beginnings will seem humble,
    so prosperous^(BG) will your future be.^(BH)

⁸ “Ask the former generation^(BI)
    and find out what their ancestors learned,
⁹ for we were born only yesterday and know nothing,^(BJ)
    and our days on earth are but a shadow.^(BK)
10 Will they not instruct^(BL) you and tell you?
    Will they not bring forth words from their understanding?^(BM)
11 Can papyrus grow tall where there is no marsh?^(BN)
    Can reeds^(BO) thrive without water?
¹² While still growing and uncut,
    they wither more quickly than grass.^(BP)
13 Such is the destiny^(BQ) of all who forget God;^(BR)
    so perishes the hope of the godless.^(BS)
14 What they trust in is fragile^[b];
    what they rely on is a spider’s web.^(BT)
15 They lean on the web,^(BU) but it gives way;
    they cling to it, but it does not hold.^(BV)
16 They are like a well-watered plant in the sunshine,
    spreading its shoots^(BW) over the garden;^(BX)
17 it entwines its roots around a pile of rocks
    and looks for a place among the stones.
¹⁸ But when it is torn from its spot,
    that place disowns^(BY) it and says, ‘I never saw you.’^(BZ)
19 Surely its life withers^(CA) away,
    and^[c] from the soil other plants grow.^(CB)

²⁰ “Surely God does not reject one who is blameless^(CC)
    or strengthen the hands of evildoers.^(CD)
21 He will yet fill your mouth with laughter^(CE)
    and your lips with shouts of joy.^(CF)
22 Your enemies will be clothed in shame,^(CG)
    and the tents^(CH) of the wicked will be no more.”^(CI)