| 1 | The righteous perishes, and no man lays it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil. |
| 2 | He enters into peace; they rest in their beds, each one who walks in his uprightness. |
| 3 | "But draw near here, you sons of the sorceress, the seed of the adulterer and the prostitute. |
| 4 | Against whom do you sport yourselves? Against whom do you make a wide mouth, and stick out your tongue? Aren't you children of disobedience, a seed of falsehood, |
| 5 | you who inflame yourselves among the oaks, under every green tree; who kill the children in the valleys, under the clefts of the rocks? |
| 6 | Among the smooth stones of the valley is your portion; they, they are your lot; you have even poured a drink offering to them. You have offered an offering. Shall I be appeased for these things? |
| 7 | On a high and lofty mountain you have set your bed; there also you went up to offer sacrifice. |
| 8 | Behind the doors and the posts you have set up your memorial: for you have uncovered to someone besides me, and have gone up; you have enlarged your bed, and made you a covenant with them: you loved their bed where you saw it. |
| 9 | You went to the king with oil, and increased your perfumes, and sent your ambassadors far off, and debased yourself even to Sheol . |
| 10 | You were wearied with the length of your way; yet you didn't say, 'It is in vain.' You found a reviving of your strength; therefore you weren't faint. |
| 11 | "Of whom have you been afraid and in fear, that you lie, and have not remembered me, nor laid it to your heart? Haven't I held my peace even of long time, and you don't fear me? |
| 12 | I will declare your righteousness; and as for your works, they shall not profit you. |
| 13 | When you cry, let those who you have gathered deliver you; but the wind shall take them, a breath shall carry them all away: but he who takes refuge in me shall possess the land, and shall inherit my holy mountain." |
| 14 | He will say, "Cast up, cast up, prepare the way, take up the stumbling-block out of the way of my people." |
| 15 | For thus says the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also who is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite. |
| 16 | For I will not contend forever, neither will I be always angry; for the spirit would faint before me, and the souls who I have made. |
| 17 | For the iniquity of his covetousness was I angry, and struck him; I hid myself and was angry; and he went on backsliding in the way of his heart. |
| 18 | I have seen his ways, and will heal him: I will lead him also, and restore comforts to him and to his mourners. |
| 19 | I create the fruit of the lips: Peace, peace, to him who is far off and to him who is near," says Yahweh; "and I will heal them." |
| 20 | But the wicked are like the troubled sea; for it can't rest, and its waters cast up mire and dirt. |
| 21 | "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked." |
