“Yes, I know what you are thinking, the schemes by which you would wrong me.

They rebel against you and act deceitfully; your enemies lie.

To impart shrewdness to the morally naive, and a discerning plan to the young person.

Discretion will protect you, understanding will guard you,

in order to safeguard discretion, and that your lips may guard knowledge.

The one who plans to do evil will be called a scheming person.

“I know that you can do all things; no purpose of yours can be thwarted;

The wicked arrogantly chase the oppressed; the oppressed are trapped by the schemes the wicked have dreamed up.

My child, do not let them escape from your sight; safeguard sound wisdom and discretion.

“I, wisdom, live with prudence, and I find knowledge and discretion.

A good person obtains favor from the Lord, but the Lord condemns a person with wicked schemes.

A person who has a quick temper does foolish things, and a person with crafty schemes is hated.

The wicked man is so arrogant he always thinks, “God won’t hold me accountable; he doesn’t care.”

Yes, they intend to do you harm; they dream up a scheme, but they do not succeed.

Wait patiently for the Lord! Wait confidently for him! Do not fret over the apparent success of a sinner, a man who carries out wicked schemes!

The Lord says to the people of Judah, “What right do you have to be in my temple, my beloved people? Many of you have done wicked things. Can your acts of treachery be so easily canceled by sacred offerings that you take joy in doing evil even while you make them?

The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has fully carried out his intended purposes. In days to come you people will come to understand this clearly.

The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he has fully carried out his intended purposes. In days to come you will come to understand this.

“Sharpen your arrows! Fill your quivers! The Lord will arouse a spirit of hostility in the kings of Media. For he intends to destroy Babylonia. For that is how the Lord will get his revenge – how he will get his revenge for the Babylonians’ destruction of his temple.