We all growl like bears, we coo mournfully like doves; we wait for deliverance, ¹  but there is none, for salvation, but it is far from us.

Why ²  do the nations rebel? ³  Why ⁴  are the countries ⁵  devising ⁶  plots that will fail? ⁷ 

Then I will tell others about your justice, ¹  and praise you all day long. ² 

I will think about all you have done; I will reflect upon your deeds!”

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

The godly speak wise words and promote justice. ¹ 

whenever ¹  I remember you on my bed, and think about you during the nighttime hours.

For my mouth ¹  speaks truth, ²  and my lips ³  hate wickedness. ⁴ 

The heart of the righteous considers ¹  how ²  to answer, ³  but the mouth of the wicked pours out evil things. ⁴ 

for their hearts contemplate violence, and their lips speak harm. ¹ 

Instead ¹  he finds pleasure in obeying the Lord’s commands; ²  he meditates on ³  his commands ⁴  day and night.

Those who seek my life try to entrap me; ¹  those who want to harm me speak destructive words; all day long they say deceitful things.

All day long my tongue will also tell about your justice, for those who want to harm me ¹  will be embarrassed and ashamed. ² 

hands, but cannot touch, feet, but cannot walk. They cannot even clear their throats. ¹ 

I recall the old days; ¹  I meditate on all you have done; I reflect on your accomplishments. ² 

So Moab wails over its demise ¹  – they all wail! Completely devastated, they moan about what has happened to the raisin cakes of Kir Hareseth. ² 

Your mind will recall the terror you experienced, ¹  and you will ask yourselves, ²  “Where is the scribe? Where is the one who weighs the money? Where is the one who counts the towers?” ³ 

For your hands are stained with blood and your fingers with sin; your lips speak lies, your tongue utters malicious words.

Like a swallow or a thrush I chirp, I coo ¹  like a dove; my eyes grow tired from looking up to the sky. ²  O sovereign master, ³  I am oppressed; help me! ⁴ 

We have rebelled and tried to deceive the Lord; we turned back from following our God. We stir up ¹  oppression and rebellion; we tell lies we concocted in our minds. ²