1 Why sittest thou, O wicked man, in the congregation of the righteous: and thy heart is far removed from GOD; and by thy wickedness thou provokest to anger the GOD of Israel,

2 exceedingly by thy words, and exceedingly by thy outward signs, more than all men? He who is severe in his words in his condemnation of sinners in judgment,

3 and his hand is the first to be on him, as though he acted in zeal: and he is guilty himself of all kinds of sinful crimes:

4 his eyes are upon every woman immodestly: and his tongue lies when he answers with oaths.

5 In the night and in the darkness, as if he were not seen; by his eyes he talketh with every woman in the cunning of wickedness:

6 and he is quick to go into every house with joy, as if he had no wickedness.

7 GOD shall remove those who judge with respect of persons: but He lives with the upright, in the corruption of his body and in the poverty of his life.

8 GOD will disclose the deeds of those who are men-pleasers: in scorn and derision are his works:

9 and let the saints justify the judgment of their GOD, when the wicked shall be removed from before the righteous:

10 the accepter of persons who talks law with guile,

11 and his eyes are on a house, quietly like a serpent, to dispel the wisdom of each one by words of villainy:

12 his words are with an evil intent, with a view to the working of the lust of the wicked:

13 and he does not remove until he has scattered in bereavement, and has desolated the house because of his sinful lust.

14 And he supposes in his words that there is none that sees and judges:

15 and he is filled with this sinfulness; and his eyes are on another house to devastate it with words of prodigality: and his soul is, like Sheol, never satisfied,

16 for all these things, let his portion, O Lord, be before Thee in dishonour; let his going out be with groans and his coming in with curses:

17 in pains, and in poverty and in destitution, O Lord, let his life be: let his sleep be in anguish and his waking in vexation:

18 let sleep be removed from his eyelids by night: let him fall from every work of his hands in dishonour;

19 and let him enter his house empty-handed: and let his house be destitute of everything that can satisfy his soul:

20 and from his offspring let not one draw near unto him:

21 let the flesh of the hypocrites be scattered by wild beasts; and the bones of the wicked be before the sun in dishonour:

22 let the ravens pick out the eyes of those who are men-pleasers:

23 because they have laid waste many houses of men in dishonour: and have scattered them in lust:

24 and they remembered not GOD; nor feared GOD in all these things;

25 and they provoked GOD, and He was angered to destroy them from the earth; because with crafty intent they had played the hypocrite with innocent souls.

26 Blessed are they that fear the Lord in their innocency:

27 and the Lord will save them from all the cunning and wicked men; and He will redeem us from every stumbling-block of the wicked.

28 May GOD destroy all them that work fraud with pride: for a strong judge is the Lord our GOD in righteousness;

29 let Thy mercy, O Lord, be upon all them that love Thee.