Contemporary English Version Trust the Lord 1 You rulers of this earth should love justice; you should do what is right and keep the Lord in mind. 2The Lord will answer your prayers, if you trust and don't doubt. 3Our deceitful thoughts separate us from God, and by putting God to the test, we make fools of ourselves, 4because Wisdom won't live with deceitful slaves of sin. 5A pure mind and self-control won't let you be deceitful; you will reject foolish thoughts and hate injustice. Our Words and Thoughts Are Known to God 6Although Wisdom is friendly, she will still hold you guilty if you speak evil of God. Even words spoken in secret and our most private thoughts are known to God, 7because the Spirit of the Lord is everywhere in this world. His Spirit holds it all together and hears every word. 8And so liars will be judged and then punished-- 9their evil plans and deeds will be discovered, then reported to the Lord, and they will be sentenced. 10Nothing can escape being heard, not even a faint grumble. 11So stop all useless complaining and fault-finding. Even a faint whisper can cause a problem, and lies are deadly. God Created Us To Live 12Don't invite death and destruction by living like a fool. 13 God did not create us for death, and when we die, it doesn't make him glad. 14God created all creatures with life that continues. All living beings should keep on living untouched by deadly poison, because the Kingdom of Death doesn't rule this world, 15and justice lives forever. Evil Thoughts of Evil People 16 The words and deeds of evil people are an invitation to death. They think of death as friendly and desirable-- they are partners with death, just as they deserve. Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®) © 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved. Bible text from the Contemporary English Version 2nd Edition (CEV®) is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by American Bible Society, 101 North Independence Mall East, Floor 8, Philadelphia, PA 19106-2155 (www.americanbible.org). Learn more at www.cev.bible. Discover .BIBLE resources for your ministry at www.get.bible/cev. |