1-2 Don’t bother your head with braggartsor wish you could succeed like the wicked.In no time they’ll shrivel like grass clippingsand wilt like cut flowers in the sun.
3-4 Get insurance with God and do a good deed,settle down and stick to your last.Keep company with God,get in on the best.
5-6 Open up before God, keep nothing back;he’ll do whatever needs to be done:He’ll validate your life in the clear light of dayand stamp you with approval at high noon.
7 Quiet down before God,be prayerful before him.Don’t bother with those who climb the ladder,who elbow their way to the top.
8-9 Bridle your anger, trash your wrath,cool your pipes—it only makes things worse.Before long the crooks will be bankrupt;God-investors will soon own the store.
10-11 Before you know it, the wicked will have had it;you’ll stare at his once famous place and—nothing!Down-to-earth people will move in and take over,relishing a huge bonanza.
12-13 Bad guys have it in for the good guys,obsessed with doing them in.But God isn’t losing any sleep; to himthey’re a joke with no punch line.