Psalm 37:1–20

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