New Revised Standard NRS
The Bible in Basic English BBE
1 Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge people fairly?
1
<To the chief music-maker; put to Al-tashheth. Michtam. Of David.> Is there righteousness in your mouths, O you gods? are you upright judges, O you sons of men?
2 No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth.
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The purposes of your hearts are evil; your hands are full of cruel doings on the earth.
3 The wicked go astray from the womb; they err from their birth, speaking lies.
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The evil-doers are strange from the first; from the hour of their birth they go out of the true way, saying false words.
4 They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear,
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Their poison is like the poison of a snake; they are like the adder, whose ears are shut;
5 so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter.
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Who will not be moved by the voice of the wonder-worker, however great are his powers.
6 O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O Lord!
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O God, let their teeth be broken in their mouths; let the great teeth of the young lions be pulled out, O Lord.
7 Let them vanish like water that runs away; like grass let them be trodden down and wither.
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Let them be turned to liquid like the ever-flowing waters; let them be cut off like the grass by the way.
8 Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime; like the untimely birth that never sees the sun.
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Let them be like an after-birth which is turned to water and comes to an end; like the fruit of a woman who gives birth before her time, let them not see the sun.
9 Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away!
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Before they are conscious of it, let them be cut down like thorns; let a strong wind take them away like waste growth.
10 The righteous will rejoice when they see vengeance done; they will bathe their feet in the blood of the wicked.
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The upright man will be glad when he sees their punishment; his feet will be washed in the blood of the evil-doer.
11 People will say, "Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth."
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So that men will say, Truly there is a reward for righteousness; truly there is a God who is judge on the earth.
New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The Bible in Basic English is in the public domain.