How good God is to the upright,

to those who are pure of heart!

2But, as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;

my steps had nearly slipped,

3Because I was envious of the arrogant

when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.a

4For they suffer no pain;

their bodies are healthy and sleek.

5They are free of the burdens of life;

they are not afflicted like others.

6Thus pride adorns them as a necklace;

violence clothes them as a robe.

7Out of such blindness comes sin;

evil thoughts flood their hearts.b

8They scoff and spout their malice;

from on high they utter threats.c

9*They set their mouths against the heavens,

their tongues roam the earth.

10*So my people turn to them

and drink deeply of their words.

11They say, “Does God really know?”

“Does the Most High have any knowledge?”d

12Such, then, are the wicked,

always carefree, increasing their wealth.

13Is it in vain that I have kept my heart pure,

washed my hands in innocence?e

14For I am afflicted day after day,

chastised every morning.

15Had I thought, “I will speak as they do,”

I would have betrayed this generation of your children.

16Though I tried to understand all this,

it was too difficult for me,

17Till I entered the sanctuary of God

and came to understand their end.*

18You set them, indeed, on a slippery road;

you hurl them down to ruin.

19How suddenly they are devastated;

utterly undone by disaster!

20They are like a dream after waking, Lord,

dismissed like shadows when you arise.f

21Since my heart was embittered

and my soul deeply wounded,

22I was stupid and could not understand;

I was like a brute beast in your presence.

23Yet I am always with you;

you take hold of my right hand.g

24With your counsel you guide me,

and at the end receive me with honor.*

25Whom else have I in the heavens?

None beside you delights me on earth.

26Though my flesh and my heart fail,

God is the rock of my heart, my portion forever.

27But those who are far from you perish;

you destroy those unfaithful to you.

28As for me, to be near God is my good,

to make the Lord God my refuge.

I shall declare all your works

in the gates of daughter Zion.*