The Living Bible (179 page)
Authors: Inc. Tyndale House Publishers
Tags: #BIBLES / Other Translations / Text
Sin lurks deep in the hearts of the wicked, forever urging them on to evil deeds. They have no fear of God to hold them back.
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Instead, in their conceit, they think they can hide their evil deeds and not get caught.
3
Everything they say is crooked and deceitful; they are no longer wise and good.
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They lie awake at night to hatch their evil plots instead of planning how to keep away from wrong.
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Your steadfast love, O Lord, is as great as all the heavens. Your faithfulness reaches beyond the clouds.
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Your justice is as solid as God’s mountains. Your decisions are as full of wisdom as the oceans are with water. You are concerned
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for men and animals alike.
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How precious is your constant love, O God! All humanity takes refuge in the shadow of your wings.
8
You feed them with blessings from your own table and let them drink from your rivers of delight.
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For you are the Fountain of life; our light is from your light.
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Pour out your unfailing love on those who know you! Never stop giving your blessings
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to those who long to do your will.
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Don’t let these proud men trample me. Don’t let their wicked hands push me around.
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Look! They have fallen. They are thrown down and will not rise again.
Never envy the wicked!
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Soon they fade away like grass and disappear.
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Trust in the Lord instead. Be kind and good to others; then you will live safely here in the land and prosper, feeding in safety.
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Be delighted with the Lord. Then he will give you all your heart’s desires.
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Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him to help you do it, and he will.
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Your innocence will be clear to everyone. He will vindicate you with the blazing light of justice shining down as from the noonday sun.
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Rest in the Lord; wait patiently for him to act. Don’t be envious of evil men who prosper.
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Stop your anger! Turn off your wrath. Don’t fret and worry—it only leads to harm.
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For the wicked shall be destroyed, but those who trust the Lord shall be given every blessing.
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Only a little while and the wicked shall disappear. You will look for them in vain.
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But all who humble themselves before the Lord shall be given every blessing and shall have wonderful peace.
12-13
The Lord is laughing at those who plot against the godly, for he knows their judgment day is coming.
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Evil men take aim to slay the poor; they are ready to butcher those who do right.
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But their swords will be plunged into their own hearts, and all their weapons will be broken.
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It is better to have little and be godly than to own an evil man’s wealth;
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for the strength of evil men shall be broken, but the Lord takes care of those he has forgiven.
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Day by day the Lord observes the good deeds done by godly men,
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and gives them eternal rewards.
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He cares for them when times are hard; even in famine, they will have enough.
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But evil men shall perish. These enemies of God will wither like grass and disappear like smoke.
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Evil men borrow and “cannot pay it back”! But the good man returns what he owes with some extra besides.
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Those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by him shall die.
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The steps of good men are directed by the Lord. He delights in each step they take.
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If they fall, it isn’t fatal, for the Lord holds them with his hand.
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I have been young and now I am old. And in all my years I have never seen the Lord forsake a man who loves him; nor have I seen the children of the godly go hungry.
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Instead, the godly are able to be generous with their gifts and loans to others, and their children are a blessing.
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So if you want an eternal home, leave your evil, low-down ways and live good lives.
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For the Lord loves justice and fairness; he will never abandon his people. They will be kept safe forever; but all who love wickedness shall perish.
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The godly shall be firmly planted in the land and live there forever.
30-31
The godly man is a good counselor because he is just and fair and knows right from wrong.
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Evil men spy on the godly, waiting for an excuse to accuse them and then demanding their death.
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But the Lord will not let these evil men succeed, nor let the godly be condemned when they are brought before the judge.
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Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honor you with every blessing,
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and you will see the wicked destroyed.
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I myself have seen it happen: a proud and evil man, towering like a cedar of Lebanon, but when I looked again, he was gone! I searched but could not find him!
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But the good man—what a different story! For the good man—the blameless, the upright, the man of peace—he has a wonderful future ahead of him. For him there is a happy ending.
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But evil men shall be destroyed, and their posterity shall be cut off.
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The Lord saves the godly! He is their salvation and their refuge when trouble comes.
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Because they trust in him, he helps them and delivers them from the plots of evil men.
O Lord, don’t punish me while you are angry!
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Your arrows have struck deep; your blows are crushing me.
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Because of your anger, my body is sick, my health is broken beneath my sins. They are like a flood, higher than my head; they are a burden too heavy to bear.
5-6
My wounds are festering and full of pus. Because of my sins, I am bent and racked with pain. My days are filled with anguish.
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My loins burn with inflammation,
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and my whole body is diseased.
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I am exhausted and crushed; I groan in despair.
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9
Lord, you know how I long for my health once more. You hear my every sigh.
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My heart beats wildly, my strength fails, and I am going blind.
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My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. Even my own family stands at a distance.
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Meanwhile my enemies are trying to kill me. They plot my ruin and spend all their waking hours planning treachery.
13-14
But I am deaf to all their threats; I am silent before them as a man who cannot speak. I have nothing to say.
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For I am waiting for you, O Lord my God. Come and protect me.
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Put an end to their arrogance, these who gloat when I am cast down!
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How constantly I find myself upon the verge of sin;
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this source of sorrow always stares me in the face.
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I confess my sins; I am sorry for what I have done.
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But my enemies persecute with vigor and continue to hate me—though I have done nothing against them to deserve it.
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They repay me evil for good and hate me for standing for the right.
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Don’t leave me, Lord; don’t go away!
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Come quickly! Help me, O my Savior.
I said to myself, I’m going to quit complaining! I’ll keep quiet, especially when the ungodly are around me.
2-3
But as I stood there silently the turmoil within me grew to the bursting point. The more I mused, the hotter the fires inside. Then at last I spoke and pled with God:
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Lord, help me to realize how brief my time on earth will be. Help me to know that I am here for but a moment more.
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My life is no longer than my hand! My whole lifetime is but a moment to you. Proud man! Frail as breath! A shadow! And all his busy rushing ends in nothing. He heaps up riches for someone else to spend.
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And so, Lord, my only hope is in you.
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Save me from being overpowered by my sins, for even fools will mock me then.
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Lord, I am speechless before you. I will not open my mouth to speak one word of complaint, for my punishment is from you.
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10
Lord, don’t hit me anymore—I am exhausted beneath your hand.
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When you punish a man for his sins, he is destroyed, for he is as fragile as a moth-infested cloth; yes, man is frail as breath.
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Hear my prayer, O Lord; listen to my cry! Don’t sit back, unmindful of my tears. For I am your guest. I am a traveler passing through the earth, as all my fathers were.
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Spare me, Lord! Let me recover and be filled with happiness again before my death.