Psalm 37–39

Psalm 37

INSTRUCTION IN WISDOM

Of David.

¹Do not be agitated by evildoers;

do not envy those who do wrong.^v

²For they wither quickly like grass

and wilt like tender green plants.^w

³Trust in the Lord and do what is good;^x

dwell in the land and live securely.^Ay

⁴Take delight in the Lord,

and he will give you your heart’s desires.^z

⁵Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act,^aa

⁶making your righteousness shine like the dawn,

your justice like the noonday.^ab

⁷Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for him;^ac

do not be agitated by one who prospers in his way,

by the person who carries out evil plans.^ad

⁸Refrain from anger and give up your rage;

do not be agitated—it can only bring harm.^ae

⁹For evildoers will be destroyed,

but those who put their hope in the Lord

will inherit the land.^af

¹⁰A little while, and the wicked person will be no more;

though you look for him, he will not be there.^a

¹¹But the humble will inherit the land^b

and will enjoy abundant prosperity.^c

¹²The wicked person schemes against the righteous

and gnashes his teeth at him.^d

¹³The Lord laughs at him^e

because he sees that his day is coming.^f

¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the^B bow

to bring down the poor and needy

and to slaughter those whose way is upright.^g

¹⁵Their swords will enter their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.^h

¹⁶The little that the righteous person has is better

than the abundance of many wicked people.ⁱ

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked will be broken,^j

but the Lord supports the righteous.^k

¹⁸The Lord watches over the blameless all their days,

and their inheritance will last forever.^l

¹⁹They will not be disgraced in times of adversity;

they will be satisfied in days of hunger.^m

²⁰But the wicked will perish;

the Lord’s enemies, like the glory of the pastures,

will fade away—

they will fade away like smoke.ⁿ

²¹The wicked person borrows and does not repay,

but the righteous one is gracious and giving.^o

²²Those who are blessed by the Lord will inherit the land,

but those cursed by him will be destroyed.^p

²³A person’s steps are established by the Lord,

and he takes pleasure in his way.^q

²⁴Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,

because the Lord supports him with his hand.^r

²⁵I have been young and now I am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned

or his children begging for bread.^s

²⁶He is always generous, always lending,

and his children are a blessing.^t

²⁷Turn away from evil, do what is good,

and settle permanently.^u

²⁸For the Lord loves justice

and will not abandon his faithful ones.^v

They are kept safe forever,

but the children of the wicked will be destroyed.^w

²⁹The righteous will inherit the land

and dwell in it permanently.^x

³⁰The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom;

his tongue speaks what is just.^y

³¹The instruction of his God is in his heart;

his steps do not falter.^z

³²The wicked one lies in wait for the righteous

and intends to kill him;^aa

³³the Lord will not leave him

in the power of the wicked one

or allow him to be condemned when he is judged.^ab

³⁴Wait for the Lord and keep his way,

and he will exalt you to inherit the land.

You will watch when the wicked are destroyed.^ac

³⁵I have seen a wicked, violent person

well-rooted,^A like a flourishing native tree.^ad

³⁶Then I^B passed by and noticed he was gone;

I searched for him, but he could not be found.^a

³⁷Watch the blameless and observe the upright,

for the person of peace will have a future.^b

³⁸But transgressors will all be eliminated;

the future of the wicked will be destroyed.^c

³⁹The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord,

their refuge in a time of distress.^d

⁴⁰The Lord helps and delivers them;

he will deliver them from the wicked and will save them

because they take refuge in him.^e

Psalm 38

PRAYER OF A SUFFERING SINNER

A psalm of David to bring remembrance.^f

¹Lord, do not punish me in your anger

or discipline me in your wrath.^g

²For your arrows have sunk into me,

and your hand has pressed down on me.^h

³There is no soundness in my body

because of your indignation;

there is no health^C in my bones

because of my sin.ⁱ

⁴For my iniquities have flooded over my head;

they are a burden too heavy for me to bear.^j

⁵My wounds are foul and festering

because of my foolishness.^k

⁶I am bent over and brought very low;

all day long I go around in mourning.^l

⁷For my insides are full of burning pain,

and there is no soundness in my body.^m

⁸I am faint and severely crushed;

I groan because of the anguish of my heart.ⁿ

⁹Lord, my every desire is in front of you;

my sighing is not hidden from you.^o

¹⁰My heart races, my strength leaves me,

and even the light of my eyes has faded.^Ep

¹¹My loved ones and friends stand back from my affliction,

and my relatives stand at a distance.^q

¹²Those who intend to kill me set traps,

and those who want to harm me threaten to destroy me;

they plot treachery all day long.^r

¹³I am like a deaf person; I do not hear.

I am like a speechless person

who does not open his mouth.^s

¹⁴I am like a man who does not hear

and has no arguments in his mouth.^t

¹⁵For I put my hope in you, Lord;

you will answer me, my Lord, my God.^u

¹⁶For I said, “Don’t let them rejoice over me—

those who are arrogant toward me when I stumble.”^v

¹⁷For I am about to fall,

and my pain is constantly with me.^w

¹⁸So I confess my iniquity;

I am anxious because of my sin.^x

¹⁹But my enemies are vigorous and powerful;^A

many hate me for no reason.^y

²⁰Those who repay evil for good

attack me for pursuing good.^z

²¹Lord, do not abandon me;

my God, do not be far from me.^aa

²²Hurry to help me,

my Lord, my salvation.^ab

Psalm 39

THE FLEETING NATURE OF LIFE

For the choir director, for Jeduthun. A psalm of David.

¹I said, “I will guard my ways

so that I may not sin with my tongue;

I will guard my mouth with a muzzle

as long as the wicked are in my presence.”^ac

²I was speechless and quiet;

I kept silent, even from speaking good,

and my pain intensified.^a

³My heart grew hot within me;

as I mused, a fire burned.^b

I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Lord, make me aware of my end

and the number of my days

so that I will know how short-lived I am.^c

⁵In fact, you have made my days just inches long,

and my life span is as nothing to you.

Yes, every human being stands as only a vapor.^d

Selah

⁶Yes, a person goes about like a mere shadow.

Indeed, they rush around in vain,

gathering possessions

without knowing who will get them.^e

⁷“Now, Lord, what do I wait for?

My hope is in you.^f

⁸Rescue me from all my transgressions;

do not make me the taunt of fools.^g

⁹I am speechless; I do not open my mouth

because of what you have done.^h

¹⁰Remove your torment from me.

Because of the force of your hand I am finished.ⁱ

¹¹You discipline a person with punishment for iniquity,

consuming like a moth what is precious to him;^j

yes, every human being is only a vapor.^k

Selah

¹²“Hear my prayer, Lord,

and listen to my cry for help;

do not be silent at my tears.^l

For I am here with you as an alien,

a temporary resident like all my ancestors.^m

¹³Turn your angry gaze from me

so that I may be cheered up

before I die and am gone.”ⁿ