Common English Bible CEB
New Revised Standard NRS
1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are have a pure heart.
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Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But me? My feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped
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But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled; my steps had nearly slipped.
3 because I envied the arrogant; I observed how the wicked are well off:
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For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They suffer no pain; their bodies are fit and strong.
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For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek.
5 They are never in trouble; they aren't weighed down like other people.
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They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people.
6 That's why they wear arrogance like a necklace, why violence covers them like clothes.
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Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes bulge out from eating so well; their hearts overflow with delusions.
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Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and talk so cruel; from their privileged positions they plan oppression.
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They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.
9 Their mouths dare to speak against heaven! Their tongues roam the earth!
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They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth.
10 That's why people keep going back to them, keep approving what they say.
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Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them.
11 And what they say is this: "How could God possibly know! Does the Most High know anything at all!"
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And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?"
12 Look at these wicked ones, always relaxed, piling up the wealth!
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Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 Meanwhile, I've kept my heart pure for no good reason; I've washed my hands to stay innocent for nothing.
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All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
14 I'm weighed down all day long. I'm punished every morning.
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For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning.
15 If I said, "I will talk about all this," I would have been unfaithful to your children.
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If I had said, "I will talk on in this way," I would have been untrue to the circle of your children.
16 But when I tried to understand these things, it just seemed like hard work
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But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I entered God's sanctuary and understood what would happen to the wicked.
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until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.
18 You will definitely put them on a slippery path; you will make them fall into ruin!
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Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
19 How quickly they are devastated, utterly destroyed by terrors!
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How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
20 As quickly as a dream departs from someone waking up, my Lord, when you are stirred up, you make them disappear.
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They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21 When my heart was bitter, when I was all cut up inside,
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When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was stupid and ignorant. I acted like nothing but an animal toward you.
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I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you.
23 But I was still always with you! You held my strong hand!
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Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You have guided me with your advice; later you will receive me with glory.
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You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor.
25 Do I have anyone else in heaven? There's nothing on earth I desire except you.
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Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire other than you.
26 My body and my heart fail, but God is my heart's rock and my share forever.
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My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 Look! Those far from you die; you annihilate all those who are unfaithful to you.
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Indeed, those who are far from you will perish; you put an end to those who are false to you.
28 But me? It's good for me to be near God. I have taken my refuge in you, my LORD God, so I can talk all about your works!
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But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, to tell of all your works.
Copyright © 2011 Common English Bible
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.