| English Standard Version | New International Version |
| 1Do you indeed decree what is right, you gods? Do you judge the children of man uprightly? | 1For the director of music. To the tune of "Do Not Destroy." Of David. A miktam. Do you rulers indeed speak justly? Do you judge people with equity? |
| 2No, in your hearts you devise wrongs; your hands deal out violence on earth. | 2No, in your heart you devise injustice, and your hands mete out violence on the earth. |
| 3The wicked are estranged from the womb; they go astray from birth, speaking lies. | 3Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies. |
| 4They have venom like the venom of a serpent, like the deaf adder that stops its ear, | 4Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears, |
| 5so that it does not hear the voice of charmers or of the cunning enchanter. | 5that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be. |
| 6O God, break the teeth in their mouths; tear out the fangs of the young lions, O LORD! | 6Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions! |
| 7Let them vanish like water that runs away; when he aims his arrows, let them be blunted. | 7Let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short. |
| 8Let them be like the snail that dissolves into slime, like the stillborn child who never sees the sun. | 8May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along, like a stillborn child that never sees the sun. |
| 9Sooner than your pots can feel the heat of thorns, whether green or ablaze, may he sweep them away! | 9Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns-- whether they be green or dry--the wicked will be swept away. |
| 10The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance; he will bathe his feet in the blood of the wicked. | 10The righteous will be glad when they are avenged, when they dip their feet in the blood of the wicked. |
| 11Mankind will say, “Surely there is a reward for the righteous; surely there is a God who judges on earth.” | 11Then people will say, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth." |
| ESV Text Edition: 2016. The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®) copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV® text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved. | New International Version (NIV) Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. |
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