Psalm 37:1–39:13

^1uFret not yourself because of evildoers;

be not ^venvious of wrongdoers!

²For they will soon ^wfade like ^xthe grass

and wither ^ylike the green herb.

^3zTrust in the Lord, and do good;

^adwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.²

^4bDelight yourself in the Lord,

and he will ^cgive you the desires of your heart.

^5dCommit your way to the Lord;

^ztrust in him, and he will act.

^6eHe will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as ^fthe noonday.

^7gBe still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

^hfret not yourself over the one who ⁱprospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

^8jRefrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

^hFret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

^9kFor the evildoers shall be cut off,

but those who wait for the Lord shall ^linherit the land.

¹⁰In ^mjust a little while, the wicked will be no more;

though you look carefully at ⁿhis place, he will not be there.

¹¹But ^othe meek shall inherit the land

and delight themselves in ^pabundant peace.

¹²The wicked ^qplots against the righteous

and ^rgnashes his teeth at him,

¹³but the Lord ^slaughs at the wicked,

for he sees that his ^tday is coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword and ^ubend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose ^vway is upright;

¹⁵their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their ^wbows shall be broken.

^16xBetter is the little that the righteous has

than the abundance of many wicked.

¹⁷For ^ythe arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but the Lord ^zupholds the righteous.

¹⁸The Lord ^aknows the days of the blameless,

and their ^bheritage will remain forever;

¹⁹they are not put to shame in evil times;

in ^cthe days of famine they have abundance.

²⁰But the wicked will perish;

the enemies of the Lord are like ^dthe glory of the pastures;

they vanish—like ^esmoke they vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrows but does not pay back,

but the righteous ^fis generous and gives;

²²for those blessed by the Lord³ shall ^ginherit the land,

but those cursed by him ^hshall be cut off.

²³The ⁱsteps of a man are ^jestablished by the Lord,

when he delights in his way;

^24kthough he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,

for the Lord ^lupholds his hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or his children ^mbegging for bread.

²⁶He is ever ⁿlending generously,

and his children become a blessing.

^27oTurn away from evil and do good;

so shall you ^pdwell forever.

²⁸For the Lord ^qloves justice;

he will not forsake his ^rsaints.

They are preserved forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be ^scut off.

²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land

and ^pdwell upon it forever.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks justice.

^31tThe law of his God is in his heart;

his ^usteps do not slip.

³²The wicked ^vwatches for the righteous

and seeks to put him to death.

³³The Lord will not ^wabandon him to his power

or let him ^xbe condemned when he is brought to trial.

^34yWait for the Lord and keep his way,

and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

you will look on ^zwhen the wicked are cut off.

^35aI have seen a wicked, ruthless man,

spreading himself like ^ba green laurel tree.⁴

³⁶But he passed away,⁵ and behold, ^che was no more;

though I sought him, he could not be found.

³⁷Mark the blameless and behold the upright,

for there is a future for the man of ^dpeace.

³⁸But ^etransgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

the future of the wicked ^fshall be cut off.

^39gThe salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in ^hthe time of trouble.

⁴⁰The Lord helps them and ⁱdelivers them;

^jhe delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they ^ktake refuge in him.

Do Not Forsake Me, O Lord

38A Psalm of David, ^lfor the memorial offering.

¹O Lord, ^mrebuke me not in your anger,

nor discipline me in your wrath!

²For your ⁿarrows have sunk into me,

and your hand ^ohas come down on me.

³There is ^pno soundness in my flesh

because of your indignation;

there is no health in my ^qbones

because of my sin.

⁴For my ^riniquities have gone over my head;

like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds stink and fester

because of my foolishness,

⁶I am ^sutterly bowed down and ^tprostrate;

all the day I ^ugo about mourning.

⁷For my sides are filled with burning,

and there is ^pno soundness in my flesh.

⁸I am feeble and crushed;

I ^vgroan because of the tumult of my heart.

⁹O Lord, all my longing is before you;

my ^wsighing is not hidden from you.

¹⁰My heart throbs; my strength fails me,

and ^xthe light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.

¹¹My ^yfriends and companions ^zstand aloof from my ^aplague,

and my nearest kin ^bstand far off.

¹²Those who seek my life ^clay their snares;

those who seek my hurt ^dspeak of ruin

and meditate ^etreachery all day long.

¹³But I am like a deaf man; I do not hear,

like ^fa mute man who does not open his mouth.

¹⁴I have become like a man who does not hear,

and in whose mouth are no ^grebukes.

¹⁵But for ^hyou, O Lord, do I wait;

it is you, O Lord my God, who will answer.

¹⁶For I said, “Only ⁱlet them not rejoice over me,

who ^jboast against me when my ^kfoot slips!”

¹⁷For I am ^lready to fall,

and my pain is ever before me.

¹⁸I ^mconfess my iniquity;

I am ⁿsorry for my sin.

¹⁹But my foes are vigorous, they are mighty,

and many are those who hate me ^owrongfully.

²⁰Those who ^prender me evil for good

^qaccuse me because I ^rfollow after good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O Lord!

O my God, be not ^sfar from me!

^22tMake haste to help me,

O Lord, my ^usalvation!

What Is the Measure of My Days?

39To the choirmaster: to ^vJeduthun. A Psalm of David.

¹I said, “I will ^wguard my ways,

that I ^xmay not sin with my tongue;

I will ^yguard my mouth with a muzzle,

so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

²I was ^zmute and silent;

I held my peace to no avail,

and my distress grew worse.

³My ^aheart became hot within me.

As I mused, the fire burned;

then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“O Lord, ^bmake me know my end

and what is the measure of my days;

let me know how fleeting I am!

⁵Behold, you have made my days a few handbreadths,

and ^cmy lifetime is as nothing before you.

Surely ^dall mankind stands as a mere breath! Selah

⁶Surely a man ^egoes about as a shadow!

Surely for nothing¹ they are in turmoil;

man ^fheaps up wealth and does not know who will gather!

⁷“And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?

^gMy hope is in you.

⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions.

^hDo not make me the scorn of the fool!

⁹ⁱI am mute; I do not open my mouth,

^jfor it is you who have done it.

^10kRemove your stroke from me;

I am spent by the hostility of your hand.

¹¹When you discipline a man

with ^lrebukes for sin,

you ^mconsume like a ⁿmoth what is dear to him;

^osurely all mankind is a mere breath! Selah

^12p“Hear my prayer, O Lord,

and give ear to my cry;

hold not your peace at my tears!

For I am ^qa sojourner with you,

^qa guest, like all my fathers.

^13rLook away from me, that I may smile again,

^sbefore I depart and ^tam no more!”