The Complete Jewish Bible CJB
New International Version NIV
1 For the leader. Set to "Do Not Destroy." By David, a mikhtam: [Rulers,] does your silence really speak justice? Are you judging people fairly?
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Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge people with equity?
2 [No!] In your hearts you devise wrongs, your hands dispense violence in the land.
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No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth.
3 From the womb, the wicked are estranged, liars on the wrong path since birth.
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Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
4 Their venom is like snake's venom; they are like a serpent that stops its ears,
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Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
5 so as not to hear the voice of the charmer, no matter how well he plays.
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that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be.
6 God, break their teeth in their mouth! Shatter the fangs of these lions, ADONAI!
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Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions!
7 May they vanish like water that drains away. May their arrows be blunted when they aim their bows.
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Let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.
8 May they be like a slug that melts as it moves, like a stillborn baby that never sees the sun.
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May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along, like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.
9 Before your cook-pots feel the heat of the burning thorns, may he blow them away, green and blazing alike.
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Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns— whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.
10 The righteous will rejoice to see vengeance done, they will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked;
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The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 and people will say, "Yes, the righteous are rewarded; there is, after all, a God who judges the earth."
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Then people will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.”
Complete Jewish Bible Copyright 1998 by David H. Stern. Published by Jewish New Testament Publications, Inc. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica. All rights reserved worldwide.