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New International Version (NIV) |
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1 God, are you avoiding me? Where are you when I need you?
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1 Why, O LORD, do you stand far off ? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble?
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2 Full of hot air, the wicked are hot on the trail of the poor. Trip them up, tangle them up in their fine-tuned plots.
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2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises.
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3 The wicked are windbags, the swindlers have foul breath.
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3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD.
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4 The wicked snub God, their noses stuck high in the air. Their graffiti are scrawled on the walls: "Catch us if you can!" "God is dead."
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4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God.
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5 They care nothing for what you think; if you get in their way, they blow you off.
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5 His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies.
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6 They live (they think) a charmed life: "We can't go wrong. This is our lucky year!"
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6 He says to himself, "Nothing will shake me; I'll always be happy and never have trouble."
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7 They carry a mouthful of hexes, their tongues spit venom like adders.
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7 His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue.
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8 They hide behind ordinary people, then pounce on their victims.
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8 He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims.
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9 They mark the luckless, then wait like a hunter in a blind; When the poor wretch wanders too close, they stab him in the back.
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9 He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net.
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10 The hapless fool is kicked to the ground, the unlucky victim is brutally axed.
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10 His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength.
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11 He thinks God has dumped him, he's sure that God is indifferent to his plight.
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11 He says to himself, "God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees."
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12 Time to get up, God - get moving. The luckless think they're Godforsaken.
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12 Arise, LORD! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless.
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13 They wonder why the wicked scorn God and get away with it, Why the wicked are so cocksure they'll never come up for audit.
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13 Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, "He won't call me to account"?
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14 But you know all about it - the contempt, the abuse. I dare to believe that the luckless will get lucky someday in you. You won't let them down: orphans won't be orphans forever.
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14 But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless.
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15 Break the wicked right arms, break all the evil left arms. Search and destroy every sign of crime.
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15 Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out.
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16 God's grace and order wins; godlessness loses.
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16 The LORD is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land.
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17 The victim's faint pulse picks up; the hearts of the hopeless pump red blood as you put your ear to their lips.
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17 You hear, O LORD, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry,
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18 Orphans get parents, the homeless get homes. The reign of terror is over, the rule of the gang lords is ended.
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18 defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.
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| Published by permission. Originally published by NavPress in English as THE MESSAGE: The Bible in Contemporary Language copyright 2002 by Eugene Peterson. All rights reserved. (The Message Bible Online) |
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide. (New International Version Bible Online) |
