A psalm of David.

¹ Lord, do not rebuke me in your anger

or discipline me in your wrath.

²Have mercy on me, Lord, for I am faint;

heal me, Lord, for my bones are in agony.

³My soul is in deep anguish.

How long, Lord, how long?

⁴Turn, Lord, and deliver me;

save me because of your unfailing love.

⁵Among the dead no-one proclaims your name.

Who praises you from his grave?

⁶I am worn out from my groaning.

All night long I flood my bed with weeping

and drench my couch with tears.

⁷My eyes grow weak with sorrow;

they fail because of all my foes.

⁸Away from me, all you who do evil,

for the Lord has heard my weeping.

⁹The Lord has heard my cry for mercy;

the Lord accepts my prayer.

¹⁰All my enemies will be overwhelmed with shame and anguish;

they will turn back and suddenly be put to shame.

¹Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge,

but whoever hates correction is stupid.

²Good people obtain favour from the Lord,

but he condemns those who devise wicked schemes.

³No-one can be established through wickedness,

but the righteous cannot be uprooted.

⁴A wife of noble character is her husband’s crown,

but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.

⁵The plans of the righteous are just,

but the advice of the wicked is deceitful.

⁶The words of the wicked lie in wait for blood,

but the speech of the upright rescues them.

⁷The wicked are overthrown and are no more,

but the house of the righteous stands firm.

⁸A person is praised according to their prudence,

and one with a warped mind is despised.

⁹Better to be a nobody and yet have a servant

than pretend to be somebody and have no food.

¹⁰The righteous care for the needs of their animals,

but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.

¹¹Those who work their land will have abundant food,

but those who chase fantasies have no sense.

¹²The wicked desire the stronghold of evildoers,

but the root of the righteous endures.

¹³Evildoers are trapped by their sinful talk,

and so the innocent escape trouble.

¹⁴From the fruit of their lips people are filled with good things,

and the work of their hands brings them reward.

¹⁵The way of fools seems right to them,

but the wise listen to advice.

¹⁶Fools show their annoyance at once,

but the prudent overlook an insult.

¹⁷An honest witness tells the truth,

but a false witness tells lies.

¹⁸The words of the reckless pierce like swords,

but the tongue of the wise brings healing.

¹⁹Truthful lips endure for ever,

but a lying tongue lasts only a moment.

²⁰Deceit is in the hearts of those who plot evil,

but those who promote peace have joy.

²¹No harm overtakes the righteous,

but the wicked have their fill of trouble.

²²The Lord detests lying lips,

but he delights in people who are trustworthy.

²³The prudent keep their knowledge to themselves,

but a fool’s heart blurts out folly.

²⁴Diligent hands will rule,

but laziness ends in forced labour.

²⁵Anxiety weighs down the heart,

but a kind word cheers it up.

²⁶The righteous choose their friends carefully,

but the way of the wicked leads them astray.

²⁷The lazy do not roast any game,

but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.

²⁸In the way of righteousness there is life;

along that path is immortality.