Psalm 37–39

Psalm 37

Instruction in Wisdom

Davidic.

¹Do ^anot be agitated by evildoers;

do not envy those who do wrong. ^b

²For they wither quickly like grass

and wilt like tender green plants. ^c

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

dwell in the land and live securely. ^ef

⁴Take delight in the Lord,

and He will give you your heart’s desires. ^g

⁵Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in Him, and He will act, ^h

⁶making your righteousness shine like the dawn,

your justice like the noonday. ⁱ

⁷Be silent before the Lord and wait expectantly for Him; ^j

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

by the man who carries out evil plans. ^k

⁸Refrain from anger and give up your rage;

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

⁹For evildoers will be destroyed,

but those who put their hope in the Lord

will inherit the land. ^mn

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

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

¹¹But the humble will inherit the land ^pq

and will enjoy abundant prosperity. ^r

¹²The wicked person schemes against the righteous

and gnashes his teeth at him. ^s

¹³The Lord laughs at him ^t

because He sees that his day is coming. ^u

¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword and strung the ^vbow

to bring down the afflicted and needy

and to slaughter those whose way is upright. ^w

¹⁵Their swords will enter their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken. ^x

¹⁶The little that the righteous man has is better

than the abundance of many wicked people. ^y

¹⁷For the arms ^zof the wicked will be broken, ^a

but the Lord supports the righteous. ^b

¹⁸The Lord watches over the blameless all their days,

and their inheritance will last forever. ^c

¹⁹They will not be disgraced in times of adversity;

they will be satisfied in days of hunger. ^d

²⁰But the wicked will perish;

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

will fade away—

they will fade away like smoke. ^e

²¹The wicked man borrows and does not repay,

but the righteous one is gracious and giving. ^f

²²Those who are blessed by Him will inherit the land, ^g

but those cursed by Him will be destroyed. ^h

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

and He takes pleasure in his way. ⁱ

²⁴Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,

because the Lord holds his hand. ^jk

²⁵I have been young and now I am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous abandoned

or his children begging for bread. ^l

²⁶He is always generous, always lending,

and his children are a blessing. ^m

²⁷Turn away from evil and do what is good,

and dwell there ⁿforever. ^o

²⁸For the Lord loves justice

and will not abandon His faithful ones. ^p

They are kept safe forever,

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

²⁹The righteous will inherit the land ^r

and dwell in it permanently. ^s

³⁰The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom;

his tongue speaks what is just. ^t

³¹The instruction of his God is in his heart;

his steps do not falter. ^u

³²The wicked one lies in wait for the righteous

and seeks to kill him; ^v

³³the Lord will not leave him

in the power of the wicked one

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

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. ^x

³⁵I have seen a wicked, violent man

well-rooted ^ylike a flourishing native tree. ^z

³⁶Then I passed by and ^anoticed he was gone;

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

³⁷Watch the blameless and observe the upright,

for the man of peace will have a future. ^cd

³⁸But transgressors will all be eliminated;

the future ^eof the wicked will be destroyed. ^f

³⁹The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord,

their refuge in a time of distress. ^g

⁴⁰The Lord helps and delivers them;

He will deliver them from the wicked and will save them

because they take refuge in Him. ^h

Psalm 38

Prayer of a Suffering Sinner

A Davidic psalm for remembrance. ⁱ

¹Lord, do not punish me in Your anger

or discipline me in Your wrath. ^j

²For Your arrows have sunk into me,

and Your hand has pressed down on me. ^k

³There is no health in my body

because of Your indignation;

there is no strength ^lin my bones

because of my sin. ^m

⁴For my sins have flooded over my head;

they are a burden too heavy for me to bear. ⁿ

⁵My wounds are foul and festering

because of my foolishness. ^o

⁶I am bent over and brought low;

all day long I go around in mourning. ^p

⁷For my loins are full of burning pain,

and there is no health in my body. ^q

⁸I am faint and severely crushed;

I groan because of the anguish of my heart. ^r

⁹Lord, my every desire is known to ^sYou;

my sighing is not hidden from You. ^t

¹⁰My heart races, my strength leaves me,

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

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

and my relatives stand at a distance. ^w

¹²Those who seek my life set traps,

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

they plot treachery all day long. ^x

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

I am like a speechless person

who does not open his mouth. ^y

¹⁴I am like a man who does not hear

and has no arguments in his mouth. ^z

¹⁵I put my hope in You, Lord;

You will answer, Lord my God. ^a

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

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

¹⁷For I am about to fall,

and my pain is constantly with me. ^c

¹⁸So I confess my guilt;

I am anxious because of my sin. ^d

¹⁹But my enemies are vigorous and powerful; ^e

many hate me for no reason. ^f

²⁰Those who repay evil for good

attack me for pursuing good. ^g

²¹Lord, do not abandon me;

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

²²Hurry to help me,

Lord, my Savior. ⁱ

Psalm 39

The Fleeting Nature of Life

For the choir director, for Jeduthun. A Davidic psalm.

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.” ^j

²I was speechless and quiet;

I kept silent, even from speaking good,

and my pain intensified. ^k

³My heart grew hot within me;

as I mused, a fire burned. ^l

I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Lord, reveal to me the end of my life

and the number of my days.

Let me know how short-lived I am. ^m

⁵You, indeed, have made my days short in length,

and my life span as nothing in Your sight.

Yes, every mortal man is only a vapor. ⁿSelah

⁶“Certainly, man walks about like a mere shadow.

Indeed, they frantically rush around in vain,

gathering possessions

without knowing who will get them. ^o

⁷Now, Lord, what do I wait for?

My hope is in You. ^p

⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions;

do not make me the taunt of fools. ^q

⁹I am speechless; I do not open my mouth

because of what You have done. ^r

¹⁰Remove Your torment from me;

I fade away because of the force of Your hand. ^s

¹¹You discipline a man with punishment for sin,

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

every man is only a vapor. ^uSelah

¹²“Hear my prayer, Lord,

and listen to my cry for help;

do not be silent at my tears. ^v

For I am a foreigner residing with You,

a temporary resident like all my fathers. ^w

¹³Turn Your angry gaze from me

so that I may be cheered up

before I die and am gone.” ^x