Hebrew Names Version HNV
The Message Bible MSG
1 <<By David.>> Don't fret because of evil-doers, Neither be envious against those who work unrighteousness.
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Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
2 For they shall soon be cut down 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 enjoy safe pasture.
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Get insurance with God and do a good deed, settle down and stick to your last.
4 Also 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 also in him, and he will do this:
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Open up before God, keep nothing back; he'll do whatever needs to be done:
6 He will make your righteousness go forth as the light, And your justice as the noon day sun.
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He'll validate your life in the clear light of day and stamp you with approval at high noon.
7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him. Don't fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who makes wicked plots happen.
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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 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath. Don't fret, it leads only to evildoing.
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Bridle your anger, trash your wrath, cool your pipes - it only makes things worse.
9 For 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 For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more. Yes, though you look for his place, he isn't 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 humble shall inherit the land, And shall delight themselves in the abundance of shalom.
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Down-to-earth people will move in and take over, relishing a huge bonanza.
12 The wicked plots against the just, And gnashes at him with his teeth.
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Bad guys have it in for the good guys, obsessed with doing them in.
13 The Lord will laugh at him, 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 have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, To cast down the poor and needy, To kill those who are upright in the way.
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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 into their own heart. 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 a 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 perfect. Their inheritance shall be forever.
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God keeps track of the decent folk; what they do won't soon be forgotten.
19 They shall not be put to shame in the time of evil. In the days of famine they shall be satisfied.
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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 shall perish. The enemies of the LORD shall be like the beauty of the fields. They will vanish -- Vanish like smoke.
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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 borrow, and don't pay back, But the righteous give generously.
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Wicked borrows and never returns; Righteous gives and gives.
22 For such as are blessed by him shall inherit the land. Those who are 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 A man's goings are established by the LORD. 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 stumble, he shall not fall, For the LORD holds him up with 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, Nor 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 All day long he deals graciously, and lends. His seed is blessed.
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Every day he's out giving and lending, his children making him proud.
27 Depart from evil, and do good; Live securely forever.
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Turn your back on evil, work for the good and don't quit.
28 For the LORD loves justice, And doesn't forsake his holy ones. 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 live in it forever.
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The good get planted on good land and put down healthy roots.
30 The mouth of the righteous talks of wisdom. 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. None of his steps shall slide.
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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 the righteous, And seeks to kill him.
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Wicked sets a watch for Righteous, he's out for the kill.
33 The LORD will not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him when he is judged.
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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. When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
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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 the wicked in great power, Spreading himself like a green tree in its native soil.
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I saw Wicked bloated like a toad, croaking pretentious nonsense.
36 But he passed away, and, behold, he was not. Yes, I sought him, but 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 perfect man, and see the upright, For there is a future for the man of shalom.
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Keep your eye on the healthy soul, scrutinize the straight life; There's a future in strenuous wholeness.
38 As for transgressors, they shall be destroyed together. 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 But 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 rescues them. He rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, Because they have taken refuge in him.
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God-strengthened, we're delivered from evil - when we run to him, he saves us.
The Hebrew Names Version is in the public domain.
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.