12 Lord, how happy is anyone you discipline

and teach from your lawh

13 to give him relief from troubled times

until a pit is dug for the wicked.i

14 The Lord will not leave his people

or abandon his heritage,j

15 for the administration of justice will again be righteous,

and all the upright in heart will followA it.k

16 Who stands up for me against the wicked?

Who takes a stand for me against evildoers?l

17 If the Lord had not been my helper,

I would soon rest in the silence of death.m

18 If I say, “My foot is slipping,”

your faithful love will support me, Lord.n

19 When I am filled with cares,

your comfort brings me joy.o

20 Can a corrupt throne be your ally,

a throne that makes evil laws?p

21 They band together against the life of the righteous

and condemn the innocent to death.q

22 But the Lord is my refuge;

my God is the rock of my protection.r

23 He will pay them back for their sins

and destroy them for their evil.

The Lord our God will destroy them.s