New Century Version NCV
New International Version NIV
1 Do you rulers really say what is right? Do you judge people fairly?
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Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge people with equity?
2 No, in your heart you plan evil; you think up violent crimes 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 birth, evil people turn away from God; they wander off and tell lies as soon as they are born.
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Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
4 They are like poisonous snakes, like deaf cobras that stop up their 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 they cannot hear the music of the snake 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 the teeth in their mouths! Tear out the fangs of those lions, Lord!
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Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions!
7 Let them disappear like water that flows away. Let them be cut short like a broken arrow.
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Let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.
8 Let them be like snails that melt as they move. Let them be like a child born dead who never saw 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 His anger will blow them away alive faster than burning thorns can heat a pot.
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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 Good people will be glad when they see him get even. 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 Then people will say, "There really are rewards for doing what is right. There really is a God who judges the world."
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Then people will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.”
Scripture taken from the New Century Version. Copyright © 1987, 1988, 1991 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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.