The wicked are not like this;
instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.

You have put more joy in my heart
than they have when their grain and new wine abound.

For there is nothing reliable in what they say;
destruction is within them;
their throat is an open grave;
they flatter with their tongues.

Punish them, God;
let them fall by their own schemes.
Drive them out because of their many crimes,
for they rebel against You.

My eyes are swollen from grief;
they grow old because of all my enemies.

All my enemies will be ashamed and shake with terror;
they will turn back and suddenly be disgraced.

or they will tear me like a lion,
ripping me apart with no one to rescue me.

When my enemies retreat,
they stumble and perish before You.

The nations have fallen into the pit they made;
their foot is caught in the net they have concealed.

Put terror in them, Lord;
let the nations know they are only men.Selah

In arrogance the wicked relentlessly pursue the afflicted;
let them be caught in the schemes they have devised.

For look, the wicked string the bow;
they put the arrow on the bowstring
to shoot from the shadows at the upright in heart.

They lie to one another;
they speak with flattering lips and deceptive hearts.

They say, “Through our tongues we have power;
our lips are our own—who can be our master?”

For the choir director. Davidic.The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.”
They are corrupt; they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.

Will evildoers never understand?
They consume My people as they consume bread;
they do not call on the Lord.

Then they will be filled with terror,
for God is with those who are righteous.

As for the holy people who are in the land,
they are the noble ones.
All my delight is in them.

They have become hardened;
their mouths speak arrogantly.

They advance against me; now they surround me.
They are determined
to throw me to the ground.

They are like a lion eager to tear,
like a young lion lurking in ambush.

With Your hand, Lord, save me from men,
from men of the world
whose portion is in this life:
You fill their bellies with what You have in store;
their sons are satisfied,
and they leave their surplus to their children.

Then the earth shook and quaked;
the foundations of the mountains trembled;
they shook because He burned with anger.

He rescued me from my powerful enemy
and from those who hated me,
for they were too strong for me.

They confronted me in the day of my distress,
but the Lord was my support.

I pursue my enemies and overtake them;
I do not turn back until they are wiped out.

I crush them, and they cannot get up;
they fall beneath my feet.

They cry for help, but there is no one to save them—
they cry to the Lord, but He does not answer them.

Foreigners submit to me grudgingly;
as soon as they hear, they obey me.

Day after day they pour out speech;
night after night they communicate knowledge.

They are more desirable than gold—
than an abundance of pure gold;
and sweeter than honey,
which comes from the honeycomb.

They collapse and fall,
but we rise and stand firm.

Though they intend to harm you
and devise a wicked plan, they will not prevail.

Our fathers trusted in You;
they trusted, and You rescued them.

They cried to You and were set free;
they trusted in You and were not disgraced.

Everyone who sees me mocks me;
they sneer and shake their heads:

They open their mouths against me—
lions, mauling and roaring.

For dogs have surrounded me;
a gang of evildoers has closed in on me;
they pierced my hands and my feet.

They divided my garments among themselves,
and they cast lots for my clothing.

They will come and tell a people yet to be born
about His righteousness—
what He has done.

Even when I go through the darkest valley,
I fear no danger,
for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff—they comfort me.

Remember, Lord, Your compassion
and Your faithful love,
for they have existed from antiquity.

Consider my enemies; they are numerous,
and they hate me violently.

Repay them according to what they have done—
according to the evil of their deeds.
Repay them according to the work of their hands;
give them back what they deserve.

Because they do not consider
what the Lord has done
or the work of His hands,
He will tear them down and not rebuild them.

I have heard the gossip of many;
terror is on every side.
When they conspired against me,
they plotted to take my life.

Let lying lips be quieted;
they speak arrogantly against the righteous
with pride and contempt.

Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to You
at a time that You may be found.
When great floodwaters come,
they will not reach him.

They hid their net for me without cause;
they dug a pit for me without cause.

Malicious witnesses come forward;
they question me about things I do not know.

They repay me evil for good,
making me desolate.

Yet when they were sick,
my clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting,
and my prayer was genuine.

But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee;
they gathered against me.
Assailants I did not know
tore at me and did not stop.

With godless mockery
they gnashed their teeth at me.

For they do not speak in friendly ways,
but contrive deceitful schemes
against those who live peacefully in the land.

They open their mouths wide against me and say,
“Aha, aha! We saw it!”

They are filled from the abundance of Your house;
You let them drink from Your refreshing stream,

There the evildoers fall;
they have been thrown down and cannot rise.

For they wither quickly like grass
and wilt like tender green plants.

They will not be disgraced in times of adversity;
they will be satisfied in days of hunger.

But the wicked will perish;
the Lord’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures,
will fade away—
they will fade away like smoke.

For the Lord loves justice
and will not abandon His faithful ones.
They are kept safe forever,
but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.

The Lord helps and delivers them;
He will deliver them from the wicked and will save them
because they take refuge in Him.

For my sins have flooded over my head;
they are a burden too heavy for me to bear.

Those who seek my life set traps,
and those who want to harm me threaten to destroy me;
they plot treachery all day long.

“Certainly, man walks about like a mere shadow.
Indeed, they frantically rush around in vain,
gathering possessions
without knowing who will get them.

Lord my God, You have done many things—
Your wonderful works and Your plans for us;
none can compare with You.
If I were to report and speak of them,
they are more than can be told.

For troubles without number have surrounded me;
my sins have overtaken me; I am unable to see.
They are more than the hairs of my head,
and my courage leaves me.

All who hate me whisper together about me;
they plan to harm me.

My adversaries taunt me,
as if crushing my bones,
while all day long they say to me,
“Where is your God?”

For they did not take the land by their sword—
their arm did not bring them victory—
but by Your right hand, Your arm,
and the light of Your face,
for You were pleased with them.

They are led in with gladness and rejoicing;
they enter the king’s palace.

Look! The kings assembled;
they advanced together.

They looked and froze with fear;
they fled in terror.

They trust in their wealth
and boast of their abundant riches.

For one can see that wise men die;
foolish and stupid men also pass away.
Then they leave their wealth to others.

Their graves are their eternal homes,
their homes from generation to generation,
though they have named estates after themselves.

Like sheep they are headed for Sheol;
Death will shepherd them.
The upright will rule over them in the morning,
and their form will waste away in Sheol,
far from their lofty abode.

he will go to the generation of his fathers;
they will never see the light.

For the choir director: on Mahalath. A Davidic Maskil.The fool says in his heart, “God does not exist.”
They are corrupt, and they do vile deeds.
There is no one who does good.

All have turned away;
all alike have become corrupt.
There is no one who does good,
not even one.

Will evildoers never understand?
They consume My people as they consume bread;
they do not call on God.

Then they will be filled with terror—
terror like no other—
because God will scatter
the bones of those who besiege you.
You will put them to shame,
for God has rejected them.

For strangers rise up against me,
and violent men seek my life.
They have no regard for God.Selah

because of the enemy’s voice,
because of the pressure of the wicked.
For they bring down disaster on me
and harass me in anger.

day and night they make the rounds on its walls.
Crime and trouble are within it;

God, the One enthroned from long ago,
will hear and will humiliate themSelah
because they do not change
and do not fear God.

His buttery words are smooth,
but war is in his heart.
His words are softer than oil,
but they are drawn swords.

They twist my words all day long;
all their thoughts against me are evil.

They stir up strife, they lurk;
they watch my steps
while they wait to take my life.

Will they escape in spite of such sin?
God, bring down the nations in wrath.

You Yourself have recorded my wanderings.
Put my tears in Your bottle.
Are they not in Your records?

They prepared a net for my steps;
I was despondent.
They dug a pit ahead of me,
but they fell into it!Selah

They have venom like the venom of a snake,
like the deaf cobra that stops up its ears,

They will vanish like water that flows by;
they will aim their useless arrows.

Like a slug that moves along in slime,
like a woman’s miscarried child,
they will not see the sun.

Lord, look! They set an ambush for me.
Powerful men attack me,
but not because of any sin or rebellion of mine.

For no fault of mine,
they run and take up a position.
Awake to help me, and take notice.

They return at evening, snarling like dogs
and prowling around the city.

Look, they spew from their mouths—
sharp words from their lips.
“For who,” they say, “will hear?”