1 I cried unto the Lord when I was in distress,

Unto God when sinners assailed.

2 Suddenly the alarm of war was heard before me;

I said, He will hearken to me, for I am full of righteousness.

3 I thought in my heart that I was full of righteousness,

Because I was well off and had become rich in children.

4 Their wealth spread to the whole earth,

And their glory unto the end of the earth.

5 They were exalted unto the stars;

They said they would never fall.

6 But they became insolent in their prosperity,

And they were without understanding,

7 Their sins were in secret,

And even I had no knowledge of them.

8 Their transgressions went beyond those of the heathen before them;

They utterly polluted the holy things of the Lord.