Psalm 37–39

PSALM 37

Delight Yourself in Yahweh

Of David.

Aleph

^1aDo not fret because of evildoers,

Be not ^benvious toward doers of unrighteousness.

²For they will ^awither quickly like the grass

And ^bfade like the green herb.

Beth

^3aTrust in Yahweh and do good;

^bDwell in the land and ^1ccultivate faithfulness.

^4aDelight yourself in Yahweh;

And He will ^bgive you the desires of your heart.

Gimel

^5aCommit your way to Yahweh,

Trust in Him, and He will do it.

⁶He will bring forth ^ayour righteousness as the light

And your judgment ^bas the noonday.

Daleth

⁷Be still in Yahweh and ^await ¹patiently for Him;

^bDo not fret because of him who ^cprospers in his way,

Because of the man who carries out schemes of wickedness.

He

⁸Cease from anger and ^aforsake wrath;

Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

⁹For ^aevildoers will be cut off,

But those who hope for Yahweh, they will ^binherit the land.

Vav

¹⁰Yet ^aa little while and the wicked man will be no more;

You will look carefully at ^bhis place, and he will not be there.

¹¹But ^athe lowly will inherit the land

And will delight themselves in ^babundant peace.

Zayin

¹²The wicked ^aschemes against the righteous

And ^bgnashes at him with his teeth.

¹³The Lord ^alaughs at him,

For He sees that ^bhis day is coming.

Heth

¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword and ^abent their bow

To cast down the ^bafflicted and the needy,

To ^cslay those who are upright in conduct.

¹⁵Their sword will enter their own heart,

And their ^abows will be broken.

Teth

^16aBetter is the little of the righteous

Than the abundance of many wicked.

¹⁷For the ^aarms of the wicked will be broken,

But Yahweh ^bsustains the righteous.

Yodh

¹⁸Yahweh ^aknows the days of the ¹blameless,

And their ^binheritance will be forever.

¹⁹They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,

And ^ain the days of famine they will be satisfied.

Kaph

²⁰But the ^awicked will perish;

And the enemies of Yahweh will be like the ¹glory of the pastures,

They vanish—^bin smoke they vanish away.

Lamedh

²¹The wicked borrows and does not pay back,

But the righteous ^ais gracious and gives.

²²For ^athose blessed by Him will ^binherit the land,

But those ^ccursed by Him will be cut off.

Mem

^23aThe footsteps of a man are established by Yahweh,

And He ^bdelights in his way.

²⁴When ^ahe falls, he will not be hurled headlong,

Because ^bYahweh is the One ¹who sustains his hand.

Nun

²⁵I was young and now I am old,

Yet ^aI have not seen the righteous forsaken

Or ^bhis seed begging bread.

²⁶All day long ^ahe is gracious and lends,

And ^bhis seed is a blessing.

Samekh

^27aDepart from evil and do good,

So you will dwell ^bforever.

Ayin

²⁸For Yahweh ^aloves ¹justice

And ^bwill not forsake His holy ones;

They are ^ckept forever,

But the ^dseed of the wicked will be cut off.

²⁹The righteous will ^ainherit the land

And ^bdwell in it forever.

Pe

³⁰The mouth of the righteous ^autters wisdom,

And his tongue ^bspeaks justice.

³¹The ^alaw of his God is in his heart;

His ^bsteps do not slip.

Tsadhe

³²The ^awicked spies upon the righteous

And ^bseeks to put him to death.

³³Yahweh will ^anot forsake him in his hand;

^bHe will not condemn him when he is judged.

Qoph

^34aHope for Yahweh and keep His way,

And He will exalt you to inherit the land;

When the ^bwicked are cut off, you will see it.

Resh

³⁵I have ^aseen a wicked, ruthless man

Spreading himself like a ^bluxuriant ¹tree in its native soil.

³⁶Then ¹he passed away, and behold, he ^awas no more;

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

Shin

³⁷Observe the ^1ablameless man, and behold the ^bupright;

For the man of peace will have ²a ^cposterity.

³⁸But transgressors will be altogether ^adestroyed;

The ¹posterity of the wicked will be ^bcut off.

Tav

³⁹But the ^asalvation of the righteous is from Yahweh;

He is their strength ^bin time of distress.

^40aYahweh helps them and protects them;

He ^bprotects them from the wicked and saves them,

Because they ^ctake refuge in Him.

PSALM 38

Do Not Forsake Me, O Yahweh

A Psalm of David. To bring to remembrance.

¹O Yahweh, ^areprove me not in Your wrath,

And discipline me not in Your burning anger.

²For Your ^aarrows have pressed deep into me,

And ^bYour hand has pressed down upon me.

³There is ^ano soundness in my flesh ^bbecause of Your indignation;

There is no health ^cin my bones because of my sin.

⁴For my ^ainiquities go over my head;

As a heavy burden they weigh too much for me.

⁵My ¹wounds stink and rot

Because of ^amy ²folly.

⁶I am bent over and ^agreatly bowed down;

I ^bgo mourning all day long.

⁷For my loins are filled with ^aburning,

And there is ^bno soundness in my flesh.

⁸I am ^afaint and ¹badly crushed;

I ^2bgroan because of the ³agitation of my heart.

⁹Lord, all ^amy desire is ¹before You;

And my ^bsighing is not hidden from You.

¹⁰My heart throbs, ^amy strength forsakes me;

And the ^blight of my eyes, even ¹that ²has gone from me.

¹¹My ^1aloved ones and my friends stand aloof from my plague;

And my kinsmen ^bstand afar off.

¹²Those who ^asearch for my life ^blay snares for me;

And those who ^cseek ¹to do me evil have ²threatened destruction,

And they ^dmeditate on deception all day long.

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

And I am like a ^amute man who does not open his mouth.

¹⁴And I am like a man who does not hear,

And in whose mouth are no reproofs.

¹⁵For ^aI ¹wait on You, O Yahweh;

You ^bwill answer, O Lord my God.

¹⁶For I said, “Save, lest they be glad over me,

Who, when my foot stumbles, ^amagnify themselves against me.”

¹⁷For I am ^aready to fall,

And ^bmy ¹sorrow is continually before me.

¹⁸For I ^1aconfess my iniquity;

I am full of ^banxiety because of my sin.

¹⁹But my ^aenemies are vigorous and ¹strong,

And those who wrongfully ^bhate me abound.

²⁰And those who ^arepay evil for good,

They ^baccuse me, for I pursue what is good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O Yahweh;

O my God, ^ado not be far from me!

²²Make ^ahaste to help me,

O Lord, ^bmy salvation!

PSALM 39

Yahweh, Make Me Know My End

For the choir director. For ^†Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

¹I said, “I will ^akeep watch over my ways

That I ^bmay not sin with my tongue;

I will keep watch over ^cmy mouth as with a muzzle

While the wicked are in my presence.”

²I was ^amute with silence,

I even kept silent from speaking good,

And my anguish grew worse.

³My ^aheart was hot within me,

While I meditated the fire was burning;

Then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Yahweh, cause me to know ^amy end

And what is the extent of my days;

Let me know how ^btransient I am.

⁵“Behold, You have made ^amy days as ¹handbreadths,

And my ^blifetime as nothing before You;

Surely every man, even standing firm, is ²altogether ^cvanity. ³Selah.

⁶“Surely every man ^awalks about as ¹a shadow;

Surely they make an ^buproar in vain;

He ^cpiles up riches and does not know who will gather them.

⁷“And now, Lord, what do I hope in?

My ^aexpectation is in You.

⁸“^aDeliver me from all my transgressions;

Make me not the ^breproach of the wicked fool.

⁹“I have become ^amute, I do not open my mouth,

Because it is ^bYou who have done it.

¹⁰“^aRemove Your plague from me;

Because of ^bthe opposition of Your hand I am wasting away.

¹¹“With ^areproofs You chasten a man for iniquity;

You ^bconsume as a moth what is precious to him;

Surely ^cevery man is vanity. Selah.

¹²“^aHear my prayer, O Yahweh, and give ear to my cry for help;

Do not be silent ^bat my tears;

For I am ^ca sojourner with You,

A ^dforeign resident like all my fathers.

¹³“^aTurn Your gaze away from me, that I may ¹smile again

Before I go and am no more.”