Psalm 5:1–12 (NIV84)

¹ Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my sighing. ² Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. ³ In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. ⁴ You are not a God who takes pleasure in evil; with you the wicked cannot dwell. ⁵ The arrogant cannot stand in your presence; you hate all who do wrong. ⁶ You destroy those who tell lies; bloodthirsty and deceitful men the Lord abhors. ⁷ But I, by your great mercy, will come into your house; in reverence will I bow down toward your holy temple. ⁸ Lead me, O Lord, in your righteousness because of my enemies— make straight your way before me. ⁹ Not a word from their mouth can be trusted; their heart is filled with destruction. Their throat is an open grave; with their tongue they speak deceit. ¹⁰ Declare them guilty, O God! Let their intrigues be their downfall. Banish them for their many sins, for they have rebelled against you. ¹¹ But let all who take refuge in you be glad; let them ever sing for joy. Spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may rejoice in you. ¹² For surely, O Lord, you bless the righteous; you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

Psalm 10:1–18 (NIV84)

¹ Why, O Lord, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? ² In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. ³ He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the Lord. ⁴ In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. ⁵His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies. ⁶ He says to himself, “Nothing will shake me; I’ll always be happy and never have trouble.” ⁷ His mouth is full of curses and lies and threats; trouble and evil are under his tongue. ⁸ He lies in wait near the villages; from ambush he murders the innocent, watching in secret for his victims. ⁹ He lies in wait like a lion in cover; he lies in wait to catch the helpless; he catches the helpless and drags them off in his net. ¹⁰ His victims are crushed, they collapse; they fall under his strength. ¹¹ He says to himself, “God has forgotten; he covers his face and never sees.” ¹² Arise, Lord! Lift up your hand, O God. Do not forget the helpless. ¹³ Why does the wicked man revile God? Why does he say to himself, “He won’t call me to account”? ¹⁴ But you, O God, do see trouble and grief; you consider it to take it in hand. The victim commits himself to you; you are the helper of the fatherless. ¹⁵ Break the arm of the wicked and evil man; call him to account for his wickedness that would not be found out. ¹⁶ The Lord is King for ever and ever; the nations will perish from his land. ¹⁷ You hear, O Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry, ¹⁸ defending the fatherless and the oppressed, in order that man, who is of the earth, may terrify no more.

Psalm 14:1–7 (NIV84)

¹ The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good. ²The Lord looks down from heaven on the sons of men to see if there are any who understand, any who seek God. ³ All have turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one. ⁴ Will evildoers never learn— those who devour my people as men eat bread and who do not call on the Lord? ⁵ There they are, overwhelmed with dread, for God is present in the company of the righteous. ⁶ You evildoers frustrate the plans of the poor, but the Lord is their refuge. ⁷ Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion! When the Lord restores the fortunes of his people, let Jacob rejoice and Israel be glad!

Psalm 36:1–12 (NIV84)

¹ An oracle is within my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before his eyes. ² For in his own eyes he flatters himself too much to detect or hate his sin. ³ The words of his mouth are wicked and deceitful; he has ceased to be wise and to do good. ⁴ Even on his bed he plots evil; he commits himself to a sinful course and does not reject what is wrong. ⁵ Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. ⁶ Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O Lord, you preserve both man and beast. ⁷ How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. ⁸ They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. ⁹ For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light. ¹⁰ Continue your love to those who know you, your righteousness to the upright in heart. ¹¹ May the foot of the proud not come against me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away. ¹² See how the evildoers lie fallen— thrown down, not able to rise!

Romans 3:9–20 (NIV84)

⁹ What shall we conclude then? Are we any better? Not at all! We have already made the charge that Jews and Gentiles alike are all under sin. ¹⁰ As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one; ¹¹ there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. ¹² All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.” ¹³ “Their throats are open graves; their tongues practice deceit.” “The poison of vipers is on their lips.” ¹⁴“Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” ¹⁵ “Their feet are swift to shed blood; ¹⁶ ruin and misery mark their ways, ¹⁷ and the way of peace they do not know.” ¹⁸ “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” ¹⁹ Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. ²⁰ Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.