Psalm 37:title–20

The Destiny of the Wicked and of the Good^j

37 Don’t be worried on account of the wicked;

don’t be jealous of those who do wrong.

²They will soon disappear like grass that dries up;

they will die like plants that wither.

³Trust in the Lord and do good;

live in the land and be safe.

⁴Seek your happiness in the Lord,

and he will give you your heart’s desire.

⁵Give yourself to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will help you;

⁶he will make your righteousness shine like the noonday sun.

⁷Be patient and wait for the Lord to act;

don’t be worried about those who prosper

or those who succeed in their evil plans.

⁸Don’t give in to worry or anger;

it only leads to trouble.

⁹Those who trust in the Lord will possess the land,

but the wicked will be driven out.

¹⁰Soon the wicked will disappear;

you may look for them, but you won’t find them;

^11*the humble will possess the land

and enjoy prosperity and peace.

¹²The wicked plot against good people

and glare at them with hate.

¹³But the Lord laughs at wicked people,

because he knows they will soon be destroyed.

¹⁴The wicked draw their swords and bend their bows

to kill the poor and needy,

to slaughter those who do what is right;

¹⁵but they will be killed by their own swords,

and their bows will be smashed.

¹⁶The little that a good person owns

is worth more than the wealth of all the wicked,

¹⁷because the Lord will take away the strength of the wicked,

but protect those who are good.

¹⁸The Lord takes care of those who obey him,

and the land will be theirs for ever.

¹⁹They will not suffer when times are bad;

they will have enough in time of famine.

²⁰But the wicked will die;

the enemies of the Lord will vanish like wild flowers;

they will disappear like smoke.