^3 (F)Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    ^(G)dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.^[b]
4 (H)Delight yourself in the Lord,
    and he will ^(I)give you the desires of your heart.

^5 (J)Commit your way to the Lord;
    ^(K)trust in him, and he will act.
^6 (L)He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
    and your justice as ^(M)the noonday.

^7 (N)Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
    ^(O)fret not yourself over the one who ^(P)prospers in his way,
    over the man who carries out evil devices!

^8 (Q)Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
    ^(R)Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
^9 (S)For the evildoers shall be cut off,
    but those who wait for the Lord shall ^(T)inherit the land.

¹⁰ In ^(U)just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
    though you look carefully at ^(V)his place, he will not be there.
¹¹ But ^(W)the meek shall inherit the land
    and delight themselves in ^(X)abundant peace.

¹² The wicked ^(Y)plots against the righteous
    and ^(Z)gnashes his teeth at him,
¹³ but the Lord ^(AA)laughs at the wicked,
    for he sees that his ^(AB)day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword and ^(AC)bend their bows
    to bring down the poor and needy,
    to slay those whose ^(AD)way is upright;
¹⁵ their sword shall enter their own heart,
    and their ^(AE)bows shall be broken.

^16 (AF)Better is the little that the righteous has
    than the abundance of many wicked.
¹⁷ For ^(AG)the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
    but the Lord ^(AH)upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The Lord ^(AI)knows the days of the blameless,
    and their ^(AJ)heritage will remain forever;
¹⁹ they are not put to shame in evil times;
    in ^(AK)the days of famine they have abundance.

²⁰ But the wicked will perish;
    the enemies of the Lord are like ^(AL)the glory of the pastures;
    they vanish—like ^(AM)smoke they vanish away.

²¹ The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
    but the righteous ^(AN)is generous and gives;
²² for those blessed by the Lord^[c] shall ^(AO)inherit the land,
    but those cursed by him ^(AP)shall be cut off.

²³ The ^(AQ)steps of a man are ^(AR)established by the Lord,
    when he delights in his way;
^24 (AS)though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
    for the Lord ^(AT)upholds his hand.

²⁵ I have been young, and now am old,
    yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
    or his children ^(AU)begging for bread.
²⁶ He is ever ^(AV)lending generously,
    and his children become a blessing.

^27 (AW)Turn away from evil and do good;
    so shall you ^(AX)dwell forever.
²⁸ For the Lord ^(AY)loves justice;
    he will not forsake his ^(AZ)saints.
They are preserved forever,
    but the children of the wicked shall be ^(BA)cut off.
²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land
    and ^(BB)dwell upon it forever.

³⁰ The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
    and his tongue speaks justice.
^31 (BC)The law of his God is in his heart;
    his ^(BD)steps do not slip.

³² The wicked ^(BE)watches for the righteous
    and seeks to put him to death.
³³ The Lord will not ^(BF)abandon him to his power
    or let him ^(BG)be condemned when he is brought to trial.

^34 (BH)Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
    and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
    you will look on ^(BI)when the wicked are cut off.

^35 (BJ)I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
    spreading himself like ^(BK)a green laurel tree.^[d]
36 But he passed away,^[e] and behold, ^(BL)he was no more;
    though I sought him, he could not be found.

³⁷ Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
    for there is a future for the man of ^(BM)peace.
³⁸ But ^(BN)transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
    the future of the wicked ^(BO)shall be cut off.

^39 (BP)The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in ^(BQ)the time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and ^(BR)delivers them;
    ^(BS)he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
    because they ^(BT)take refuge in him.

⁴ For they have no pangs until death;
    their bodies are fat and sleek.
⁵ They are not in trouble as others are;
    they are not ^(G)stricken like the rest of mankind.
⁶ Therefore pride is ^(H)their necklace;
    violence covers them as ^(I)a garment.
⁷ Their ^(J)eyes swell out through fatness;
    their hearts overflow with follies.
⁸ They scoff and ^(K)speak with malice;
    loftily they threaten oppression.
⁹ They set their mouths against the heavens,
    and their tongue struts through the earth.
¹⁰ Therefore his people turn back to them,
    and find ^(L)no fault in them.^[a]
11 And they say, ^(M)“How can God know?
    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”
¹² Behold, these are the wicked;
    always at ease, they ^(N)increase in riches.
¹³ All in vain have I ^(O)kept my heart clean
    and ^(P)washed my hands in innocence.
¹⁴ For all the day long I have been ^(Q)stricken
    and ^(R)rebuked ^(S)every morning.
¹⁵ If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
    I would have betrayed ^(T)the generation of your children.

¹⁶ But when I thought how to understand this,
    it seemed to me ^(U)a wearisome task,
¹⁷ until I went into ^(V)the sanctuary of God;
    then I discerned their ^(W)end.

¹⁸ Truly you set them in ^(X)slippery places;
    you make them fall to ruin.
¹⁹ How they are destroyed ^(Y)in a moment,
    swept away utterly by ^(Z)terrors!
²⁰ Like ^(AA)a dream when one awakes,
    O Lord, when ^(AB)you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
²¹ When my soul was embittered,
    when I was pricked in heart,
²² I was ^(AC)brutish and ignorant;
    I was like ^(AD)a beast toward you.

²³ Nevertheless, I am continually with you;
    you ^(AE)hold my right hand.
²⁴ You ^(AF)guide me with your counsel,
    and afterward you will ^(AG)receive me to glory.
^25 (AH)Whom have I in heaven but you?
    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
^26 (AI)My flesh and my heart may fail,
    but God is ^(AJ)the strength^[b] of my heart and my ^(AK)portion ^(AL)forever.

²⁷ For behold, those who are ^(AM)far from you shall perish;
    you put an end to everyone who is ^(AN)unfaithful to you.
²⁸ But for me it is good to ^(AO)be near God;
    I have made the Lord God my ^(AP)refuge,
    that I may ^(AQ)tell of all your works.