• The End of the Wicked Contrasted with That of the Righteous.

  • 1 God certainly is good to Israel, To those who are pure in heart!
  • 2 But as for me, my feet came close to stumbling, My steps had almost slipped.
  • 3 For I was envious of the arrogant As I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
  • 4 For there are no pains in their death, And their belly is fat.
  • 5 They are not in trouble like other people, Nor are they tormented together with the rest of mankind.
  • 6 Therefore arrogance is their necklace; The garment of violence covers them.
  • 7 Their eye bulges from fatness; The imaginations of their heart overflow.
  • 8 They mock and wickedly speak of oppression; They speak from on high.
  • 9 They have set their mouth against the heavens, And their tongue parades through the earth.
  • 10 Therefore his people return here, And abundant waters are drunk by them.
  • 11 They say, “How does God know? And is there knowledge with the Most High?”
  • 12 Behold, these are the wicked; And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.
  • 13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure And washed my hands in innocence;
  • 14 For I have been stricken all day long, And punished every morning.
  • 15 If I had said, “I will speak this way,” Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.
  • 16 When I thought of understanding this, It was troublesome in my sight
  • 17 Until I entered the sanctuary of God; Then I perceived their end.
  • 18 You indeed put them on slippery ground; You dropped them into ruin.
  • 19 How they are destroyed in a moment! They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!
  • 20 Like a dream when one awakes, Lord, when stirred, You will despise their image.
  • 21 When my heart was embittered And I was pierced within,
  • 22 Then I was stupid and ignorant; I was like an animal before You.
  • 23 Nevertheless I am continually with You; You have taken hold of my right hand.
  • 24 You will guide me with Your plan, And afterward receive me to glory.
  • 25 Whom do I have in heaven but You? And with You, I desire nothing on earth.
  • 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
  • 27 For, behold, those who are far from You will perish; You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
  • 28 But as for me, the nearness of God is good for me; I have made the Lord God my refuge, So that I may tell of all Your works.