Good News Translation GNT
World English Bible WEB
1 Do you rulers ever give a just decision? Do you judge everyone fairly?
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For the Chief Musician. To the tune of “Do Not Destroy.” A poem by David. Do you indeed speak righteousness, silent ones? Do you judge blamelessly, you sons of men?
2 No! You think only of the evil you can do, and commit crimes of violence in the land.
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No, in your heart you plot injustice. You measure out the violence of your hands on the earth.
3 Evildoers go wrong all their lives; they tell lies from the day they are born.
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The wicked go astray from the womb. They are wayward as soon as they are born, speaking lies.
4 They are full of poison like snakes; they stop up their ears like a deaf cobra,
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Their poison is like the poison of a snake, like a deaf cobra that stops its ear,
5 which does not hear the voice of the snake charmer, or the chant of the clever magician.
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which doesn’t listen to the voice of charmers, no matter how skillful the charmer may be.
6 Break the teeth of these fierce lions, O God.
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Break their teeth, God, in their mouth. Break out the great teeth of the young lions, LORD.
7 May they disappear like water draining away; may they be crushed like weeds on a path.
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Let them vanish like water that flows away. When they draw the bow, let their arrows be made blunt.
8 May they be like snails that dissolve into slime; may they be like a baby born dead that never sees the light.
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Let them be like a snail which melts and passes away, like the stillborn child, who has not seen the sun.
9 Before they know it, they are cut down like weeds; in his fierce anger God will blow them away while they are still living.
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Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns, he will sweep away the green and the burning alike.
10 The righteous will be glad when they see sinners punished; they will wade through the blood of the wicked.
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The righteous shall rejoice when he sees the vengeance. He shall wash his feet in the blood of the wicked,
11 People will say, "The righteous are indeed rewarded; there is indeed a God who judges the world."
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so that men shall say, “Most certainly there is a reward for the righteous. Most certainly there is a God who judges the earth.”
Scripture taken from the Good News Translation - Second Edition, Copyright 1992 by American Bible Society. Used by Permission.
The World English Bible is in the public domain.