8They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
         They speak from on high.

9They have set their mouth against the heavens,
         And their tongue parades through the earth.

10Therefore his people return to this place,
         And waters of abundance are drunk by them.

11They say, “How does God know?
         And is there knowledge with the Most High?”

12Behold, these are the wicked;
         And always at ease, they have increased in wealth.

13Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure
         And washed my hands in innocence;

14For I have been stricken all day long
         And chastened every morning.

15If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
         Behold, I would have betrayed the generation of Your children.

16When I pondered to understand this,
         It was troublesome in my sight

17Until I came into the sanctuary of God;
         Then I perceived their end.

18Surely You set them in slippery places;
         You cast them down to destruction.

19How they are destroyed in a moment!
         They are utterly swept away by sudden terrors!

20Like a dream when one awakes,
         O Lord, when aroused, You will despise their form.

21When my heart was embittered
         And I was pierced within,

22Then I was senseless and ignorant;
         I was like a beast before You.

23Nevertheless I am continually with You;
         You have taken hold of my right hand.

24With Your counsel You will guide me,
         And afterward receive me to glory.

25Whom have I in heaven but You?
         And besides You, I desire nothing on earth.

26My flesh and my heart may fail,
         But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27For, behold, those who are far from You will perish;
         You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.

28But as for me, the nearness of God is my good;
         I have made the Lord GOD my refuge,
         That I may tell of all Your works.

NASB ©1995