Psalm 37:1–20

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