You shall pursue justice, and only justice [that which is uncompromisingly righteous], so that you may live and take possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving you.

The Lord will return his bloody deeds upon his own head, because he struck down two men more righteous and honorable than he and killed them with the sword, without my father David knowing: Abner the son of Ner, commander of the army of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, commander of the army of Judah.

then hear from heaven and act and judge Your servants, condemning the wicked by bringing his guilt on his own head, and justifying the righteous by rewarding him in accordance with his righteousness.

then hear from heaven and act and judge Your servants, punishing the wicked by bringing his conduct on his own head, and providing justice to the righteous by giving to him in accordance with his righteousness (innocence).

“For Job has said, ‘I am righteous [and innocent],But God has taken away my right;

For You, O Lord, bless the righteous man [the one who is in right standing with You];You surround him with favor as with a shield.

Oh, let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end, but establish the righteous [those in right standing with You];For the righteous God tries the hearts and minds.

There they tremble with great fear,For God is with the [consistently] righteous generation.

Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous [who actively seek right standing with Him];Shout for joy, all you upright in heart.

Rejoice in the Lord, you righteous ones;Praise is becoming and appropriate for those who are upright [in heart—those with moral integrity and godly character].

The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous [those with moral courage and spiritual integrity]And His ears are open to their cry.

The wicked plots against the righteousAnd gnashes at him with his teeth.

Better is the little of the righteous [who seek the will of God]Than the abundance (riches) of many wicked (godless).

The wicked borrows and does not pay back,But the righteous is gracious and kind and gives.

I have been young and now I am old,Yet I have not seen the righteous (those in right standing with God) abandonedOr his descendants pleading for bread.

The mouth of the righteous proclaims wisdom,And his tongue speaks justice and truth.

The wicked lies in wait for the righteousAnd seeks to kill him.

The righteous will see it and fear,And will [scoffingly] laugh, saying,

Men will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous;Surely there is a God who judges on the earth.”

The righteous will rejoice in the Lord and take refuge in Him;All the upright in heart will glory and offer praise.

But let the righteous be glad; let them be in good spirits before God,Yes, let them rejoice with delight.

May they be blotted out of the book of life [and their lives come to an end]And may they not be recorded with the righteous (those in right standing with God).

In his days may the righteous flourish,And peace abound until the moon is no more.

All the horns of the wicked He will cut off,But the horns of the righteous will be lifted up.

The righteous will flourish like the date palm [long-lived, upright and useful];They will grow like a cedar in Lebanon [majestic and stable].

For judgment will again be righteous,And all the upright in heart will follow it.

Light is sown [like seed] for the righteous and illuminates their path,And [irrepressible] joy [is spread] for the upright in heart [who delight in His favor and protection].

He will never be shaken;The righteous will be remembered forever.

The sound of joyful shouting and salvation is in the tents of the righteous:The right hand of the Lord does valiantly.

This is the gate of the Lord;The righteous will enter through it.

For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land of the righteous,So that the righteous will not reach out their hands to do wrong.

The Lord is righteous;He has cut in two the [thick] cords of the wicked [which enslaved the people of Israel].

Surely the righteous will give thanks to Your name;The upright will dwell in Your presence.

The Lord opens the eyes of the blind;The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;The Lord loves the righteous [the upright in heart].

For the devious are repulsive to the Lord;But His private counsel is with the upright [those with spiritual integrity and moral courage].

But the path of the just (righteous) is like the light of dawn,That shines brighter and brighter until [it reaches its full strength and glory in] the perfect day.

The Lord will not allow the righteous to hunger [God will meet all his needs],But He will reject and cast away the craving of the wicked.

Blessings are on the head of the righteous [the upright, those in right standing with God],But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence.

The memory of the righteous [person] is a [source of] blessing,But the name of the wicked will [be forgotten and] rot [like a corpse].

The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life and his words of wisdom are a source of blessing,But the mouth of the wicked conceals violence and evil.

The lips of the righteous feed and guide many,But fools [who reject God and His wisdom] die for lack of understanding.

What the wicked fears will come upon him,But the desire of the righteous [for the blessings of God] will be granted.

When the whirlwind passes, the wicked is no more,But the righteous has an everlasting foundation.

The hope of the righteous [those of honorable character and integrity] is joy,But the expectation of the wicked [those who oppose God and ignore His wisdom] comes to nothing.

The lips of the righteous know (speak) what is acceptable,But the mouth of the wicked knows (speaks) what is perverted (twisted).

The righteous is rescued from trouble,And the wicked takes his place.

When it goes well for the righteous, the city rejoices,And when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy.

Assuredly, the evil man will not go unpunished,But the descendants of the righteous will be freed.

He who leans on and trusts in and is confident in his riches will fall,But the righteous [who trust in God’s provision] will flourish like a green leaf.

The fruit of the [consistently] righteous is a tree of life,And he who is wise captures and wins souls [for God—he gathers them for eternity].

If the righteous will be rewarded on the earth [with godly blessings],How much more [will] the wicked and the sinner [be repaid with punishment]!

A man will not be established by wickedness,But the root of the [consistently] righteous will not be moved.

The wicked are overthrown [by their evil] and are no more,But the house of the [consistently] righteous will stand [securely].

The wicked desire the plunder of evil men,But the root of the righteous yields richer fruit.

An evil man is [dangerously] ensnared by the transgression of his lips,But the righteous will escape from trouble.

The light of the righteous [within him—grows brighter and] rejoices,But the lamp of the wicked [is a temporary light and] goes out.

The [consistently] righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,But the stomach of the wicked is in need [of bread].

The evil will bow down before the good,And the wicked [will bow down] at the gates of the righteous.

Great and priceless treasure is in the house of the [consistently] righteous one [who seeks godly instruction and grows in wisdom],But trouble is in the income of the wicked one [who rejects the laws of God].

The heart of the righteous thinks carefully about how to answer [in a wise and appropriate and timely way],But the [babbling] mouth of the wicked pours out malevolent things.

The righteous one keeps an eye on the house of the wicked—How the wicked are cast down to ruin.

The wicked become a ransom for the righteous,And the treacherous in the place of the upright [for they fall into their own traps].

He craves all the day long [and does no work],But the righteous [willingly] gives and does not withhold [what he has].

The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,And he who sires a wise child will have joy in him.

Do not lie in wait, O wicked man, against the dwelling of the righteous;Do not destroy his resting place;

The wicked flee when no one pursues them,But the righteous are as bold as a lion.

When the righteous triumph, there is great glory and celebration;But when the wicked rise [to prominence], men hide themselves.

When the righteous are in authority and become great, the people rejoice;But when the wicked man rules, the people groan and sigh.

By his wicked plan an evil man is trapped,But the righteous man sings and rejoices [for his plan brings good things to him].

When the wicked are in authority, transgression increases,But the righteous will see the downfall of the wicked.

“Open the gates, that the righteous nation may enter,The one that remains faithful and trustworthy.

The way of the righteous [those in right-standing with God—living in moral and spiritual integrity] is smooth and level;O Upright One, make a level path for the just and righteous.

“Declare and present your defense of idols;Indeed, let them consult together.Who announced this [rise of Cyrus and his conquests] long before it happened?Who declared it long ago?Was it not I, the Lord?And there is no other God besides Me,A [consistently and uncompromisingly] just and righteous God and a Savior;There is none except Me.

As a result of the anguish of His soul,He shall see it and be satisfied;By His knowledge [of what He has accomplished] the Righteous One,My Servant, shall justify the many [making them righteous—upright before God, in right standing with Him],For He shall bear [the responsibility for] their sins.

The righteous man perishes [at the hand of evil], and no one takes it to heart;Faithful and devout men are taken away, while no one understandsThat the righteous person is taken away [to be spared] from disaster and evil.

“Then all your people will be [uncompromisingly and consistently] righteous;They will possess the land forever,The branch of My planting,The work of My hands,That I may be glorified.

“Roam back and forth through the streets of Jerusalem,And look now and take note.And look in her open squaresTo see if you can find a man [as Abraham sought in Sodom],One who is just, who [has integrity and moral courage and] seeks truth (faithfulness);Then I will pardon Jerusalem—[for the sake of one uncompromisingly righteous person].

You, O Lord are [uncompromisingly] righteous and consistently just when I plead my case with You;Yet let me discuss issues of justice with You:Why has the way of the wicked prospered?Why are those who deal in treachery (deceit) at ease and thriving?

“But if a man is righteous (keeps the law) and practices justice and righteousness,

And you, son of man, say to the sons of your people, ‘The righteousness of the righteous man will not save him in the day of his transgression; and as for the wickedness of the wicked, he will not stagger because of it in the day that he turns from his wickedness, whereas a righteous man will not be able to live because of his [previous acts of] righteousness on the day when he commits sin.’

When I say to the righteous that he will most certainly live, and he trusts in his [previous acts of] righteousness [to save him] and commits injustice, none of his righteous deeds will be remembered; but he will die for his injustice that he committed.

Therefore the Lord has kept the tragedy ready and has brought it on us, for the Lord our God is [uncompromisingly] righteous and openly just in all His works which He does—He keeps His word; and we have not obeyed His voice.

Whoever is [spiritually] wise, let him understand these things;Whoever is [spiritually] discerning and understanding, let him know them.For the ways of the Lord are right,And the righteous will walk in them,But transgressors will stumble and fall in them.

Thus says the Lord,“For three transgressions of Israel and for four (multiplied delinquencies)I will not reverse its punishment or revoke My word concerning it,Because they sell the righteous and innocent for silverAnd the needy for the price of a pair of sandals.

For I know your transgressions are many and your sins are great (shocking, innumerable),You who distress the righteous and take bribes,And turn away from the poor in the [court of the city] gate [depriving them of justice].

Therefore, the law is ineffective and ignoredAnd justice is never upheld,For the wicked surround the righteous;Therefore, justice becomes perverted.

“Look at the proud one,His soul is not right within him,But the righteous will live by his faith [in the true God].

The Lord is righteous within her;He will do no injustice.Every morning He brings His justice to light;He does not fail.But the unjust person knows no shame.

Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion!Shout aloud, O Daughter of Jerusalem!Behold, your King (Messianic King) is coming to you;He is righteous and endowed with salvation,Humble and unassuming [in submission to the will of the Father] and riding on a donkey,Upon a colt, the foal of a donkey.