New International Version NIV
The Message Bible MSG
1 Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong;
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Don't bother your head with braggarts or wish you could succeed like the wicked.
2 for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away.
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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 Take delight 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 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 righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday 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 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
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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 turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.
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Bridle your anger, trash your wrath, cool your pipes - it only makes things worse.
9 For those who are evil will be destroyed, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
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Before long the crooks will be bankrupt; God-investors will soon own the store.
10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more; though you look for them, they will not be found.
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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 will inherit the land and enjoy peace and prosperity.
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Down-to-earth people will move in and take over, relishing a huge bonanza.
12 The wicked plot against the righteous and gnash their teeth at them;
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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 knows their 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 the bow to bring down the poor and needy, to slay those whose ways are 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 But their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.
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A banana peel lands them flat on their faces - slapstick figures in a moral circus.
16 Better the little that the righteous have than the wealth of many wicked;
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Less is more and more is less. One righteous will outclass fifty wicked,
17 for the power of the wicked will 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 blameless spend their days under the LORD’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever.
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God keeps track of the decent folk; what they do won't soon be forgotten.
19 In times of disaster they will not wither; in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.
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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: Though the LORD’s enemies are like the flowers of the field, they will be consumed, they will go up in 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 do not repay, but the righteous give generously;
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Wicked borrows and never returns; Righteous gives and gives.
22 those the LORD blesses will inherit the land, but those he curses will be destroyed.
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Generous gets it all in the end; Stingy is cut off at the pass.
23 The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him;
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Stalwart walks in step with God; his path blazed by God, he's happy.
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him 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 was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging 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 They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.
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Every day he's out giving and lending, his children making him proud.
27 Turn from evil and do good; then you will dwell in the land forever.
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Turn your back on evil, work for the good and don't quit.
28 For the LORD loves the just and will not forsake his faithful ones. Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed ; the offspring of the wicked will perish.
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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 will inherit the land and dwell in it forever.
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The good get planted on good land and put down healthy roots.
30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom, and their tongues speak what is just.
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Righteous chews on wisdom like a dog on a bone, rolls virtue around on his tongue.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts; their feet 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 lie in wait for the righteous, intent on putting them to death;
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Wicked sets a watch for Righteous, he's out for the kill.
33 but the LORD will not leave them in the power of the wicked or let them be condemned when brought to trial.
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God, alert, is also on watch - Wicked won't hurt a hair of his head.
34 Hope in the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are destroyed, you will 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 a wicked and ruthless man flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,
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I saw Wicked bloated like a toad, croaking pretentious nonsense.
36 but he soon passed away and was no more; though I looked for 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 Consider the blameless, observe the upright; a future awaits those who seek 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 all sinners will be destroyed; there will be no future for the wicked.
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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 comes from the LORD; he is their stronghold in 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.
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.
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.