17“I will tell you, listen to me;

And what I have seen I will also declare;

18What wise people have told,

And have not concealed from their fathers,

19To whom alone the land was given,

And no stranger passed among them.

20“The wicked person writhes in pain all his days,

And the [e]years reserved for the ruthless are numbered.

21“[f]Sounds of terror are in his ears;

While he is at peace the destroyer comes upon him.

22“He does not believe that he will return from darkness,

And he is destined for the sword.

23“He wanders about for food, saying, ‘Where is it?’

He knows that a day of darkness is [g]at hand.

24“Distress and anguish terrify him,

They overpower him like a king ready for the attack,

25Because he has reached out with his hand against God,

And is arrogant toward [h]the Almighty.

26“He rushes [i]headlong at Him

With his [j]massive shield.

27“For he has covered his face with his fat,

And [k]put fat on his waist.

28“He has lived in desolate cities,

In houses no one would inhabit,

Which are destined to become [l]ruins.

29“He will not become rich, nor will his wealth endure;

And his property will not stretch out on the earth.

30“He will not [m]escape from darkness;

The flame will dry up his shoot,

And he will go away by the breath of His mouth.

31“Let him not trust in emptiness, deceiving himself;

For his [n]reward will be emptiness.

32“It will be accomplished before his time,

And his palm branch will not be green.

33“He will drop off his unripe grape like the vine,

And will cast off his flower like the olive tree.

34“For the company of the godless is barren,

And fire consumes the tents of [o]the corrupt.

35“They conceive [p]harm and give birth to wrongdoing,

And their [q]mind prepares deception.”