English Standard Version ESV
New Revised Standard NRS
1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
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Truly God is good to the upright, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for 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 For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
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For I was envious of the arrogant; I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.
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For they have no pain; their bodies are sound and sleek.
5 They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
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They are not in trouble as others are; they are not plagued like other people.
6 Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.
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Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them like a garment.
7 Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
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Their eyes swell out with fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.
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They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.
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They set their mouths against heaven, and their tongues range over the earth.
10 Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them.
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Therefore the people turn and praise them, and find no fault in them.
11 And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High? ”
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And they say, "How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High?"
12 Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
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Such are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
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All in vain I have kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
14 For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.
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For all day long I have been plagued, and am punished every morning.
15 If I had said, “I will speak thus, ”I would have betrayed the generation of 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 thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
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But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.
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until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I perceived their end.
18 Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
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Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
19 How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
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How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
20 Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
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They are like a dream when one awakes; on awaking you despise their phantoms.
21 When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,
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When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.
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I was stupid and ignorant; I was like a brute beast toward you.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
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Nevertheless I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
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You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me with honor.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides 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 flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion 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 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is 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 for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all 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.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025
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.