⁸ 
Consider thoughtfully, you senseless (stupid ones) among the people;
And you [dull-minded] fools, when will you become wise and understand?
⁹ 
He who made the ear, does He not hear?
He who formed the eye, does He not see?
¹⁰ 
He who instructs the nations,
Does He not rebuke and punish,
He who teaches man knowledge?
¹¹ 
The Lord knows the thoughts of man,
That they are a mere breath (vain, empty, futile).^(B)

¹² 
Blessed [with wisdom and prosperity] is the man whom You discipline and instruct, O Lord,
And whom You teach from Your law,
¹³ 
That You may grant him [power to calm himself and find] peace in the days of adversity,
Until the pit is dug for the wicked and ungodly.
¹⁴ 
For the Lord will not abandon His people,
Nor will He abandon His inheritance.
¹⁵ 
For judgment will again be righteous,
And all the upright in heart will follow it.
¹⁶ 
Who will stand up for me against the evildoers?
Who will take a stand for me against those who do wickedness?

¹⁷ 
If the Lord had not been my help,
I would soon have dwelt in [the land of] silence.
¹⁸ 
If I say, “My foot has slipped,”
Your compassion and lovingkindness, O Lord, will hold me up.
¹⁹ 
When my anxious thoughts multiply within me,
Your comforts delight me.
²⁰ 
Can a throne of destruction be allied with You,
One which frames and devises mischief by decree [under the sacred name of law]?
²¹ 
They band themselves together against the life of the righteous
And condemn the innocent to death.
²² 
But the Lord has become my high tower and defense,
And my God the rock of my refuge.
²³ 
He has turned back their own wickedness upon them
And will destroy them by means of their own evil;
The Lord our God will wipe them out.