15-16 They’re trapped, those godless countries,
    in the very snares they set,
Their feet all tangled
    in the net they spread.
They have no excuse;
    the way God works is well-known.
The shrewd machinery made by the wicked
    has maimed their own hands.

17-20 The wicked bought a one-way
    ticket to hell.
No longer will the poor be nameless—
    no more humiliation for the humble.
Up, God! Aren’t you fed up with their empty strutting?
    Expose these grand pretensions!
Shake them up, God!
    Show them how silly they look.

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16 The Lord is known by his acts of justice;
    the wicked are ensnared by the work of their hands.[a](A)
17 The wicked go down to the realm of the dead,(B)
    all the nations that forget God.(C)
18 But God will never forget the needy;
    the hope(D) of the afflicted(E) will never perish.

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Footnotes

  1. Psalm 9:16 The Hebrew has Higgaion and Selah (words of uncertain meaning) here; Selah occurs also at the end of verse 20.