1 You rulers of this earthshould love justice;you should do what is rightand keep the Lord in mind.
2 The Lord will answer your prayers,if you trust and don't doubt.
3 Our deceitful thoughtsseparate us from God,and by putting God to the test,we make fools of ourselves,
4 because Wisdom won't livewith deceitful slaves of sin.
5 A pure mind and self-controlwon't let you be deceitful;you will reject foolish thoughtsand hate injustice.
6 Although Wisdom is friendly,she will still hold you guiltyif you speak evil of God.Even words spoken in secretand our most private thoughtsare known to God,
7 because the Spirit of the Lordis everywhere in this world.His Spirit holds it all togetherand hears every word.
8 And so liars will be judgedand then punished—
9 their evil plans and deedswill be discovered,then reported to the Lord,and they will be sentenced.
10 Nothing can escape being heard,not even a faint grumble.
11 So stop all useless complainingand fault-finding.Even a faint whispercan cause a problem,and lies are deadly.
12 Don't invite deathand destructionby living like a fool.
13 God did not create us for death,and when we die,it doesn't make him glad.
14 God created all creatureswith life that continues.All living beingsshould keep on livinguntouched by deadly poison,because the Kingdom of Deathdoesn't rule this world,
15 and justice lives forever.
16 The words and deedsof evil peopleare an invitation to death.They think of deathas friendly and desirable—they are partners with death,just as they deserve.