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.
14-15. Bullies brandish their swords,pull back on their bows with a flourish.They’re out to beat up on the harmless,or mug that nice man out walking his dog.A banana peel lands them flat on their faces—slapstick figures in a moral circus.
16-17. Less is more and more is less.One righteous will outclass fifty wicked,For the wicked are moral weaklingsbut the righteous are God-strong.
18-19. God keeps track of the decent folk;what they do won’t soon be forgotten.In hard times, they’ll hold their heads high;when the shelves are bare, they’ll be full.