1  O Lord, God of ^pvengeance,

O God of vengeance, ^qshine forth!

2  ^rRise up, O ^sjudge of the earth;

repay to the ^tproud what they deserve!

3  O Lord, ^uhow long shall the wicked,

how long shall ^vthe wicked exult?

4  They pour out their ^warrogant words;

all ^xthe evildoers boast.

5  They ^ycrush your people, O Lord,

and afflict your heritage.

6  They kill ^zthe widow and the sojourner,

and murder ^zthe fatherless;

7  ^aand they say, “The Lord does not see;

the God of Jacob does not perceive.”

8  ^bUnderstand, O dullest of the people!

Fools, when will you be wise?

9  ^cHe who planted the ear, does he not hear?

He who formed the eye, does he not see?

10  He who ^ddisciplines the nations, does he not rebuke?

He who ^eteaches man knowledge—

11  ^fthe Lord—knows the thoughts of man,

that they are ^gbut a breath.¹

12  ^hBlessed is the man whom you ⁱdiscipline, O Lord,

and whom you teach out of your law,

13  to give him ^jrest from ^kdays of trouble,

until ^la pit is dug for the wicked.

14  ^mFor the Lord will not forsake his ⁿpeople;

he will not abandon his ⁿheritage;

15  for ^ojustice will return to the righteous,

and all the upright in heart will ^pfollow it.

16  ^qWho rises up for me against the wicked?

Who stands up for me against evildoers?

17  ^rIf the Lord had not been my help,

my soul would soon have lived in the land of ^ssilence.

18  When I thought, ^t“My foot slips,”

your steadfast love, O Lord, ^uheld me up.

19  When the cares of my heart are many,

your consolations cheer my soul.

20  Can ^wwicked rulers be allied with you,

those who frame² injustice by ^xstatute?

21  They ^yband together against the life of the righteous

and condemn ^zthe innocent to death.³

22  But the Lord has become my ^astronghold,

and my God ^bthe rock of my ^crefuge.

23  He will bring back on them ^dtheir iniquity

and ^ewipe them out for their wickedness;

the Lord our God will wipe them out.

1  A wise son hears his father’s instruction,

but ^qa scoffer does not listen to rebuke.

2  From the fruit of his mouth a man ^reats what is good,

but the desire of the treacherous ^sis for violence.

3  ^tWhoever guards his mouth preserves his life;

^uhe who opens wide his lips ^vcomes to ruin.

4  ^wThe soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing,

while the soul of the diligent ^xis richly supplied.

5  The righteous hates falsehood,

but the wicked brings shame¹ and disgrace.

6  ^yRighteousness guards him whose ^zway is blameless,

but sin overthrows the wicked.

7  ^aOne pretends to be rich,² yet has nothing;

^banother pretends to be poor,³ yet has great wealth.

8  The ransom of a man’s life is his wealth,

but a poor man ^chears no threat.

9  ^dThe light of the righteous rejoices,

but ^ethe lamp of the wicked will be put out.

10  ^fBy insolence comes nothing but strife,

but with those who take advice is wisdom.

11  ^gWealth gained hastily⁴ will dwindle,

but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.

12  Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

^hbut a desire fulfilled is ⁱa tree of life.

13  Whoever ^jdespises ^kthe word⁵ brings destruction on himself,

but he who reveres the commandment⁶ will be ^lrewarded.

14  The teaching of the wise is ^ma fountain of life,

that one may ⁿturn away from the snares of death.

15  ^oGood sense wins ^pfavor,

but the way of the treacherous is their ruin.⁷

16  ^qEvery prudent man acts with knowledge,

^rbut a fool flaunts his folly.

17  A wicked messenger falls into trouble,

but ^sa faithful envoy brings healing.

18  Poverty and disgrace come to him who ^tignores instruction,

^ubut whoever ^vheeds reproof is honored.

19  ^wA desire fulfilled is sweet to the soul,

but to turn away from evil is an abomination to fools.

20  Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise,

but the companion of fools will suffer harm.

21  ^xDisaster⁸ pursues sinners,

^ybut the righteous are rewarded with good.

22  ^zA good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children,

but ^athe sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.

23  The fallow ground of the poor would yield much food,

but it is swept away through ^binjustice.

24  ^cWhoever spares the rod hates his son,

but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him.⁹

25  ^dThe righteous has enough to satisfy his appetite,

but the belly of the wicked suffers want.