Relent, ¹  let there be no falsehood; ²  reconsider, ³  for my righteousness is intact! ⁴ 

“May my enemy be like the wicked, ¹  my adversary ²  like the unrighteous. ³ 

My God, rescue me from the power ¹  of the wicked, from the hand of the cruel oppressor!

Such ¹  are the ways ²  of all who gain profit unjustly; ³  it ⁴  takes away the life ⁵  of those who obtain it! ⁶ 

When a wicked person dies, his expectation perishes, ¹  and the hope of his strength ²  perishes. ³ 

You ¹  build Zion through bloody crimes, ²  Jerusalem ³  through unjust violence.

so that you may be like ¹  your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

The Pharisee stood and prayed about himself like this: ¹  ‘God, I thank ²  you that I am not like other people: ³  extortionists, ⁴  unrighteous people, ⁵  adulterers – or even like this tax collector. ⁶ 

But if our unrighteousness demonstrates ¹  the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is he? ²  (I am speaking in human terms.) ³ 

I was angry because of their sinful greed; I attacked them and angrily rejected them, ¹  yet they remained disobedient and stubborn. ² 

“That is because, from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all of them practice deceit.

The one who builds his house by unjust gain is as good as dead. ¹  He does this so he can build his nest way up high and escape the clutches of disaster. ² 

The ¹  master commended the dishonest ²  manager because he acted shrewdly. ³  For the people ⁴  of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their contemporaries ⁵  than the people ⁶  of light.

¹ So I will give their wives to other men and their fields to new owners. For from the least important to the most important of them, all of them are greedy for dishonest gain. Prophets and priests alike, all practice deceit.

Will you speak wickedly ¹  on God’s behalf? ²  Will you speak deceitfully for him?

my ¹  lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will whisper ²  no deceit.

Give me a desire for your rules, ¹  rather than for wealth gained unjustly. ² 

An inheritance gained easily ¹  in the beginning will not be blessed ²  in the end. ³ 

The one who builds a city by bloodshed is as good as dead ¹  – he who starts ²  a town by unjust deeds.

What shall we say then? Is there injustice with God? Absolutely not!