<p class="poetry">The hope<n id="1" /> of the righteous is joy,p> <p class="poetry">but the expectation of the wicked will remain unfulfilled.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">The righteous person is delivered<n id="1" /> out of trouble,p> <p class="poetry">and the wicked turns up in his stead.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">The plans<n id="1" /> of the righteous are just;p> <p class="poetry">the counsels of the wicked are deceitful.<n id="2" />p>

<p class="poetry">The wicked are overthrown<n id="1" /> and perish,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">but the righteous household<n id="3" /> will stand.p>

<p class="poetry">The righteous person is cautious in his friendship,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">but the way of the wicked leads them astray.p>

<p class="poetry">The light<n id="1" /> of the righteous shines brightly,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">but the lamp<n id="3" /> of the wicked goes out.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">The wicked will be thrown down in his trouble,<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">but the righteous have refuge<n id="2" /> even in the threat of death.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">The <sc>Lordsc> is far<n id="1" /> from the wicked,p> <p class="poetry">but he hears<n id="2" /> the prayer of the righteous.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">The first to state his case<n id="1" /> seems<n id="2" /> right,p> <p class="poetry">until his opponent<n id="3" /> begins to<n id="4" /> cross-examine him.<n id="5" />p>

<p class="poetry">The righteous person<n id="1" /> behaves in integrity;<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">blessed are his children after him.<n id="3" />p>

<p class="poetry">The wicked become<n id="1" /> a ransom<n id="2" /> for the righteous,p> <p class="poetry">and the faithless<n id="3" /> are taken<n id="4" /> in the place of the upright.p>

What if there are fifty godly people in the city? Will you really wipe it out and not spare<n id="1" /> the place for the sake of the fifty godly people who are in it?

<p class="poetry">Indeed,<n id="1" /> the scepter of a wicked king<n id="2" /> will not settle<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">upon the allotted land of the godly.p> <p class="poetry">Otherwise the godly mightp> <p class="poetry">do what is wrong.<n id="4" />p>

<p class="poetry">The godly<n id="1" /> perish,p> <p class="poetry">but no one cares.<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">Honest people disappear,<n id="3" />p> <p class="poetry">when no one<n id="4" /> minds<n id="5" />p> <p class="poetry">that the godly<n id="6" /> disappear<n id="7" /> because of<n id="8" /> evil.<n id="9" />p>

However, if you warn the righteous person not to sin, and he<n id="1" /> does not sin, he will certainly live because he was warned, and you will have saved your own life.&#8221;p>

Abraham approached and said, &#8220;Will you sweep away the godly along with the wicked?

The leaders of Israel and the king humbled themselves and said, &#8220;The <sc>Lordsc> is just.&#8221;<n id="1" />

<p class="poetry">But the righteous man holds to his way,p> <p class="poetry">and the one with clean hands grows stronger.<n id="1" />p>

<p class="poetry">Do you really think<n id="1" />p> <p class="poetry">that one who hates justice can govern?<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">And will you declare guiltyp> <p class="poetry">the supremely righteous<n id="3" /> One,p>

<p class="poetry">Certainly<n id="1" /> the <sc>Lordsc> guards the way of the godly,<n id="2" />p> <p class="poetry">but the way of the wicked ends in destruction.<n id="3" />p>