Psalm 37:1–39:13

¹Do not be preoccupied with evildoers. 

Do not envy those who do wicked things. 

²They will quickly dry up like grass 

and wither away like green plants. 

³Trust the Lord, and do good things. 

Live in the land, and practice being faithful. 

⁴Be happy with the Lord, 

and he will give you the desires of your heart. 

⁵Entrust your ways to the Lord. 

Trust him, and he will act ⸤on your behalf⸥. 

⁶He will make your righteousness shine like a light, 

your just cause like the noonday sun. 

⁷Surrender yourself to the Lord, and wait patiently for him. 

Do not be preoccupied with ⸤an evildoer⸥ who succeeds in his way 

when he carries out his schemes. 

⁸Let go of anger, and leave rage behind. 

Do not be preoccupied. 

It only leads to evil. 

⁹Evildoers will be cut off ⸤from their inheritance⸥, 

but those who wait with hope for the Lord will inherit the land. 

¹⁰In a little while a wicked person will vanish. 

Then you can carefully examine where he was, 

but there will be no trace of him. 

¹¹Oppressed people will inherit the land 

and will enjoy unlimited peace. 

¹²The wicked person plots against a righteous one 

and grits his teeth at him. 

¹³The Lord laughs at him 

because he has seen that his time is coming. 

¹⁴Wicked people pull out their swords and bend their bows 

to kill oppressed and needy people, 

to slaughter those who are decent. 

¹⁵⸤But⸥ their own swords will pierce their hearts, 

and their bows will be broken. 

¹⁶The little that the righteous person has is better 

than the wealth of many wicked people. 

¹⁷The arms of wicked people will be broken, 

but the Lord continues to support righteous people. 

¹⁸The Lord knows the daily ⸤struggles⸥ of innocent people. 

Their inheritance will last forever. 

¹⁹They will not be put to shame in trying times. 

Even in times of famine they will be satisfied. 

²⁰But wicked people will disappear. 

The Lord’s enemies will vanish like the best part of a meadow. 

They will vanish like smoke. 

²¹A wicked person borrows, but he does not repay. 

A righteous person is generous and giving. 

²²Those who are blessed by him will inherit the land. 

Those who are cursed by him will be cut off. 

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

and the Lord delights in his way. 

²⁴When he falls, he will not be thrown down headfirst 

because the Lord holds on to his hand. 

²⁵I have been young, and now I am old, 

but I have never seen a righteous person abandoned 

or his descendants begging for food. 

²⁶He is always generous and lends freely. 

His descendants are a blessing. 

²⁷Avoid evil, do good, and live forever. 

²⁸The Lord loves justice, 

and he will not abandon his godly ones. 

They will be kept safe forever, 

but the descendants of wicked people will be cut off. 

²⁹Righteous people will inherit the land 

and live there permanently. 

³⁰The mouth of the righteous person reflects on wisdom. 

His tongue speaks what is fair. 

³¹The teachings of his God are in his heart. 

His feet do not slip. 

³²The wicked person watches the righteous person 

and seeks to kill him. 

³³But the Lord will not abandon him to the wicked person’s power 

or condemn him when he is brought to trial. 

³⁴Wait with hope for the Lord, and follow his path, 

and he will honor you by giving you the land. 

When wicked people are cut off, you will see it. 

³⁵I have seen a wicked person ⸤acting like⸥ a tyrant, 

spreading himself out like a large cedar tree. 

³⁶But he moved on, and now there is no trace of him. 

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

³⁷Notice the innocent person, 

and look at the decent person, 

because the peacemaker has a future. 

³⁸But rebels will be completely destroyed. 

The future of wicked people will be cut off. 

³⁹The victory for righteous people comes from the Lord. 

He is their fortress in times of trouble. 

⁴⁰The Lord helps them and rescues them. 

He rescues them from wicked people. 

He saves them because they have taken refuge in him. 

Psalm 38

A psalm by David; to be kept in mind. 

¹O Lord, do not angrily punish me 

or discipline me in your wrath. 

²Your arrows have struck me. 

Your hand has struck me hard. 

³No healthy spot is left on my body 

because of your rage. 

There is no peace in my bones 

because of my sin. 

⁴My guilt has overwhelmed me. 

Like a heavy load, it is more than I can bear. 

⁵My wounds smell rotten. 

They fester because of my stupidity. 

⁶I am bent over and bowed down very low. 

All day I walk around in mourning. 

⁷My insides are filled with burning pain, 

and no healthy spot is left on my body. 

⁸I am numb and completely devastated. 

I roar because my heart’s in turmoil. 

⁹You know all my desires, O Lord, 

and my groaning has not been hidden from you. 

¹⁰My heart is pounding. 

I have lost my strength. 

Even the light of my eyes has left me. 

¹¹My loved ones and my friends keep their distance 

and my relatives stand far away because of my sickness. 

¹²Those who seek my life lay traps for me. 

Those who are out to harm me talk about ruining me. 

All day long they think of ways to deceive me. 

¹³But I am like a person who cannot hear 

and like a person who cannot speak. 

¹⁴I am like one who cannot hear 

and who can offer no arguments. 

¹⁵But I wait with hope for you, O Lord. 

You will answer, O Lord, my God. 

¹⁶I said, “Do not let them gloat over me. 

When my foot slips, 

do not let them promote themselves at my expense.” 

¹⁷I am ready to fall. 

I am continually aware of my pain. 

¹⁸I confess my guilt. 

My sin troubles me. 

¹⁹My mortal enemies are growing stronger. 

Many hate me for no reason. 

²⁰They pay me back with evil instead of good, 

and they accuse me because I try to do what is good. 

²¹Do not abandon me, O Lord. 

O my God, do not be so distant from me. 

²²Come quickly to help me, O Lord, my savior. 

Psalm 39

For the choir director; for Jeduthun; a psalm by David. 

¹I said, 

“I will watch my ways so that I do not sin with my tongue. 

I will bridle my mouth while wicked people are in my presence.” 

²I remained totally speechless. 

I kept silent, although it did me no good. 

While I was deep in thought, my pain grew worse. 

³My heart burned like a fire flaring up within me. 

Then I spoke with my tongue: 

⁴“Teach me, O Lord, about the end of my life. 

Teach me about the number of days I have left 

so that I may know how temporary my life is. 

⁵Indeed, you have made the length of my days ⸤only⸥ a few inches. 

My life span is nothing compared to yours. 

Certainly, everyone alive is like a whisper in the wind. 

Selah 

⁶Each person who walks around is like a shadow. 

They are busy for no reason. 

They accumulate riches without knowing who will get them.” 

⁷And now, Lord, what am I waiting for? 

My hope is in you! 

⁸Rescue me from all my rebellious acts. 

Do not disgrace me in front of godless fools. 

⁹I remained speechless. 

I did not open my mouth 

because you are the one who has done this. 

¹⁰Remove the sickness you laid upon me. 

My life is over because you struck me with your hand. 

¹¹With stern warnings you discipline people for their crimes. 

Like a moth you eat away at what is dear to them. 

Certainly, everyone is like a whisper in the wind. 

Selah 

¹²Listen to my prayer, O Lord. 

Open your ear to my cry for help. 

Do not be deaf to my tears, 

for I am a foreign resident with you, 

a stranger like all my ancestors. 

¹³Look away from me so that I may smile again 

before I go away and am no more.