The Message Bible MSG
English Standard Version ESV
1 Dignify those who are down on their luck; you'll feel good - that's what God does.
1
Blessed is the one who considers the poor! In the day of trouble the LORD delivers him;
2 God looks after us all, makes us robust with life - Lucky to be in the land, we're free from enemy worries.
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the LORD protects him and keeps him alive; he is called blessed in the land; you do not give him up to the will of his enemies.
3 Whenever we're sick and in bed, God becomes our nurse, nurses us back to health.
3
The LORD sustains him on his sickbed; in his illness you restore him to full health.
4 I said, "God, be gracious! Put me together again - my sins have torn me to pieces."
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As for me, I said, "O LORD, be gracious to me; heal me, for I have sinned against you!"
5 My enemies are wishing the worst for me; they make bets on what day I will die.
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My enemies say of me in malice, "When will he die, and his name perish?"
6 If someone comes to see me, he mouths empty platitudes, All the while gathering gossip about me to entertain the street-corner crowd.
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And when one comes to see me, he utters empty words, while his heart gathers iniquity; when he goes out, he tells it abroad.
7 These "friends" who hate me whisper slanders all over town. They form committees to plan misery for me.
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All who hate me whisper together about me; they imagine the worst for me.
8 The rumor goes out, "He's got some dirty, deadly disease. The doctors have given up on him."
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They say, "A deadly thing is poured out on him; he will not rise again from where he lies."
9 Even my best friend, the one I always told everything - he ate meals at my house all the time! - has bitten my hand.
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Even my close friend in whom I trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.
10 God, give grace, get me up on my feet. I'll show them a thing or two.
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But you, O LORD, be gracious to me, and raise me up, that I may repay them!
11 Meanwhile, I'm sure you're on my side - no victory shouts yet from the enemy camp!
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By this I know that you delight in me: my enemy will not shout in triumph over me.
12 You know me inside and out, you hold me together, you never fail to stand me tall in your presence so I can look you in the eye.
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But you have upheld me because of my integrity, and set me in your presence forever.
13 Blessed is God, Israel's God, always, always, always. Yes. Yes. Yes.
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Blessed be the LORD, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting! Amen and Amen.
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.
The English Standard Version is published with the permission of Good News Publishers.