New Living Translation NLT
English Standard Version ESV
1 Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure.
1
Truly God is good to Israel, to those who are pure in heart.
2 But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone.
2
But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled, my steps had nearly slipped.
3 For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness.
3
For I was envious of the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
4 They seem to live such painless lives; their bodies are so healthy and strong.
4
For they have no pangs until death; their bodies are fat and sleek.
5 They don’t have troubles like other people; they’re not plagued with problems like everyone else.
5
They are not in trouble as others are; they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.
6 They wear pride like a jeweled necklace and clothe themselves with cruelty.
6
Therefore pride is their necklace; violence covers them as a garment.
7 These fat cats have everything their hearts could ever wish for!
7
Their eyes swell out through fatness; their hearts overflow with follies.
8 They scoff and speak only evil; in their pride they seek to crush others.
8
They scoff and speak with malice; loftily they threaten oppression.
9 They boast against the very heavens, and their words strut throughout the earth.
9
They set their mouths against the heavens, and their tongue struts through the earth.
10 And so the people are dismayed and confused, drinking in all their words.
10
Therefore his people turn back to them, and find no fault in them.
11 “What does God know?” they ask. “Does the Most High even know what’s happening?”
11
And they say, “How can God know? Is there knowledge in the Most High? ”
12 Look at these wicked people— enjoying a life of ease while their riches multiply.
12
Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease, they increase in riches.
13 Did I keep my heart pure for nothing? Did I keep myself innocent for no reason?
13
All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence.
14 I get nothing but trouble all day long; every morning brings me pain.
14
For all the day long I have been stricken and rebuked every morning.
15 If I had really spoken this way to others, I would have been a traitor to your people.
15
If I had said, “I will speak thus, ”I would have betrayed the generation of your children.
16 So I tried to understand why the wicked prosper. But what a difficult task it is!
16
But when I thought how to understand this, it seemed to me a wearisome task,
17 Then I went into your sanctuary, O God, and I finally understood the destiny of the wicked.
17
until I went into the sanctuary of God; then I discerned their end.
18 Truly, you put them on a slippery path and send them sliding over the cliff to destruction.
18
Truly you set them in slippery places; you make them fall to ruin.
19 In an instant they are destroyed, completely swept away by terrors.
19
How they are destroyed in a moment, swept away utterly by terrors!
20 When you arise, O Lord, you will laugh at their silly ideas as a person laughs at dreams in the morning.
20
Like a dream when one awakes, O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.
21 Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside.
21
When my soul was embittered, when I was pricked in heart,
22 I was so foolish and ignorant— I must have seemed like a senseless animal to you.
22
I was brutish and ignorant; I was like a beast toward you.
23 Yet I still belong to you; you hold my right hand.
23
Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand.
24 You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny.
24
You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory.
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? I desire you more than anything on earth.
25
Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.
26 My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.
26
My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
27 Those who desert him will perish, for you destroy those who abandon you.
27
For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.
28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God! I have made the Sovereign LORD my shelter, and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.
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.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by
Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®) © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. All rights reserved. ESV Text Edition: 2025