The Bible in Basic English BBE
New International Version NIV
1 <To the chief music-maker; put to Al-tashheth. Michtam. Of David.> Is there righteousness in your mouths, O you gods? are you upright judges, O you sons of men?
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Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge people with equity?
2 The purposes of your hearts are evil; your hands are full of cruel doings on the earth.
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No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth.
3 The evil-doers are strange from the first; from the hour of their birth they go out of the true way, saying false words.
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Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
4 Their poison is like the poison of a snake; they are like the adder, whose ears are shut;
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Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
5 Who will not be moved by the voice of the wonder-worker, however great are his powers.
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that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be.
6 O God, let their teeth be broken in their mouths; let the great teeth of the young lions be pulled out, O Lord.
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Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions!
7 Let them be turned to liquid like the ever-flowing waters; let them be cut off like the grass by the way.
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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 an after-birth which is turned to water and comes to an end; like the fruit of a woman who gives birth before her time, let them not see 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 they are conscious of it, let them be cut down like thorns; let a strong wind take them away like waste growth.
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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 upright man will be glad when he sees their punishment; his feet will be washed in the blood of the evil-doer.
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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 So that men will say, Truly there is a reward for righteousness; truly there is a God who is judge on 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.”
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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.