| King James Bible | New International Version |
| 1To the chief Musician, Altaschith, Michtam of David. Do ye indeed speak righteousness, O congregation? do ye judge uprightly, O ye sons of men? | 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? |
| 2Yea, in heart ye work wickedness; ye weigh the violence of your hands in the 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 as soon as they be born, speaking lies. | 3Even from birth the wicked go astray; from the womb they are wayward, spreading lies. |
| 4Their poison is like the poison of a serpent: they are like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; | 4Their venom is like the venom of a snake, like that of a cobra that has stopped its ears, |
| 5Which will not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely. | 5that will not heed the tune of the charmer, however skillful the enchanter may be. |
| 6Break their teeth, O God, in their mouth: break out the great teeth of the young lions, O LORD. | 6Break the teeth in their mouths, O God; LORD, tear out the fangs of those lions! |
| 7Let them melt away as waters which run continually: when he bendeth his bow to shoot his arrows, let them be as cut in pieces. | 7Let them vanish like water that flows away; when they draw the bow, let their arrows fall short. |
| 8As a snail which melteth, let every one of them pass away: like the untimely birth of a woman, that they may not see the sun. | 8May they be like a slug that melts away as it moves along, like a stillborn child that never sees the sun. |
| 9Before your pots can feel the thorns, he shall take them away as with a whirlwind, both living, and in his wrath. | 9Before your pots can feel the heat of the thorns-- whether they be green or dry--the wicked will be swept away. |
| 10The righteous shall rejoice when he seeth the vengeance: he shall wash 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. |
| 11So that a man shall say, Verily there is a reward for the righteous: verily he is a God that judgeth in the earth. | 11Then people will say, "Surely the righteous still are rewarded; surely there is a God who judges the earth." |
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