| 1 | Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart. |
| 2 | But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped. |
| 3 | For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked. |
| 4 | For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek. |
| 5 | They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people. |
| 6 | Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment. |
| 7 | Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies. |
| 8 | They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression. |
| 9 | They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth. |
| 10 | Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them. |
| 11 | And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?” |
| 12 | Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches. |
| 13 | All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence. |
| 14 | For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning. |
| 15 | If I had said, “I will talk on in this way,” I would have been untrue to the circle of your children. |
| 16 | But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task, |
| 17 | until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end. |
| 18 | Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin. |
| 19 | How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors! |
| 20 | They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms. |
| 21 | When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart, |
| 22 | I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you. |
| 23 | Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. |
| 24 | You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor. |
| 25 | Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you. |
| 26 | My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. |
| 27 | Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to those who are false to you. |
| 28 | But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, to tell of all your works. |