English Standard Version ESV
The Message Bible MSG
1 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers!
1
Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
2 For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb.
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In no time they'll shrivel like grass clippings and wilt like cut flowers in the sun.
3 Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
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Get insurance with God and do a good deed, settle down and stick to your last.
4 Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
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Keep company with God, get in on the best.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.
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Open up before God, keep nothing back; he'll do whatever needs to be done:
6 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday.
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He'll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon.
7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
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Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him. Don't bother with those who climb the ladder, who elbow their way to the top.
8 Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
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Bridle your anger, trash your wrath, cool your pipes - it only makes things worse.
9 For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
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Before long the crooks will be bankrupt; God-investors will soon own the store.
10 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
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Before you know it, the wicked will have had it; you'll stare at his once famous place and - nothing!
11 But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
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Down-to-earth people will move in and take over, relishing a huge bonanza.
12 The wicked plots against the righteous and gnashes his teeth at him,
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Bad guys have it in for the good guys, obsessed with doing them in.
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked, for he sees that his day is coming.
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But God isn't losing any sleep; to him they're a joke with no punch line.
14 The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose way is upright;
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Bullies brandish their swords, pull back on their bows with a flourish. They're out to beat up on the harmless, or mug that nice man out walking his dog.
15 their sword shall enter their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.
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A banana peel lands them flat on their faces - slapstick figures in a moral circus.
16 Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked.
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Less is more and more is less. One righteous will outclass fifty wicked,
17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, but the LORD upholds the righteous.
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For the wicked are moral weaklings but the righteous are God-strong.
18 The LORD knows the days of the blameless, and their heritage will remain forever;
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God keeps track of the decent folk; what they do won't soon be forgotten.
19 they are not put to shame in evil times; in the days of famine they have abundance.
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In hard times, they'll hold their heads high; when the shelves are bare, they'll be full.
20 But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the LORD are like the glory of the pastures; they vanish--like smoke they vanish away.
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God-despisers have had it; God's enemies are finished - Stripped bare like vineyards at harvest time, vanished like smoke in thin air.
21 The wicked borrows but does not pay back, but the righteous is generous and gives;
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Wicked borrows and never returns; Righteous gives and gives.
22 for those blessed by the LORD shall inherit the land, but those cursed by him shall be cut off.
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Generous gets it all in the end; Stingy is cut off at the pass.
23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, when he delights in his way;
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Stalwart walks in step with God; his path blazed by God, he's happy.
24 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong, for the LORD upholds his hand.
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If he stumbles, he's not down for long; God has a grip on his hand.
25 I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.
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I once was young, now I'm a graybeard - not once have I seen an abandoned believer, or his kids out roaming the streets.
26 He is ever lending generously, and his children become a blessing.
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Every day he's out giving and lending, his children making him proud.
27 Turn away from evil and do good; so shall you dwell forever.
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Turn your back on evil, work for the good and don't quit.
28 For the LORD loves justice; he will not forsake his saints. They are preserved forever, but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
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God loves this kind of thing, never turns away from his friends. Live this way and you've got it made, but bad eggs will be tossed out.
29 The righteous shall inherit the land and dwell upon it forever.
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The good get planted on good land and put down healthy roots.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, and his tongue speaks justice.
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Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone, rolls virtue around on his tongue.
31 The law of his God is in his heart; his steps do not slip.
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His heart pumps God's Word like blood through his veins; his feet are as sure as a cat's.
32 The wicked watches for the righteous and seeks to put him to death.
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Wicked sets a watch for Righteous, he's out for the kill.
33 The LORD will not abandon him to his power or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.
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God, alert, is also on watch - Wicked won't hurt a hair of his head.
34 Wait for the LORD and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on when the wicked are cut off.
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Wait passionately for God, don't leave the path. He'll give you your place in the sun while you watch the wicked lose it.
35 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man, spreading himself like a green laurel tree.
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I saw Wicked bloated like a toad, croaking pretentious nonsense.
36 But he passed away, and behold, he was no more; though I sought him, he could not be found.
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The next time I looked there was nothing - a punctured bladder, vapid and limp.
37 Mark the blameless and behold the upright, for there is a future for the man of peace.
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Keep your eye on the healthy soul, scrutinize the straight life; There's a future in strenuous wholeness.
38 But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the future of the wicked shall be cut off.
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But the willful will soon be discarded; insolent souls are on a dead-end street.
39 The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.
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The spacious, free life is from God, it's also protected and safe.
40 The LORD helps them and delivers them; he delivers them from the wicked and saves them, because they take refuge in him.
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God-strengthened, we're delivered from evil - when we run to him, he saves us.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.
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.