New International Version NIV
New Century Version NCV
1 Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge people with equity?
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Do you rulers really say what is right? Do you judge people fairly?
2 No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth.
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No, in your heart you plan evil; you think up violent crimes in the land.
3 Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies.
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From birth, evil people turn away from God; they wander off and tell lies as soon as they are born.
4 Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears,
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They are like poisonous snakes, like deaf cobras that stop up their ears
5 that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be.
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so they cannot hear the music of the snake charmer no matter how well he plays.
6 Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions!
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God, break the teeth in their mouths! Tear out the fangs of those lions, Lord!
7 Let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short.
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Let them disappear like water that flows away. Let them be cut short like a broken arrow.
8 May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along, like a stillborn child that never sees the sun.
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Let them be like snails that melt as they move. Let them be like a child born dead who never saw the sun.
9 Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns— whether they be green or dry—the wicked will be swept away.
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His anger will blow them away alive faster than burning thorns can heat a pot.
10 The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked.
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Good people will be glad when they see him get even. They will wash their feet in the blood of the wicked.
11 Then people will say, “Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth.”
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Then people will say, "There really are rewards for doing what is right. There really is a God who judges the world."