Psalm 37

PSALM 37

Security of Those Who Trust in the Lord, and Insecurity of the Wicked.

A Psalm of David.

^1aDo not fret because of evildoers,

Be not ^benvious toward wrongdoers.

²For they will ^awither quickly like the grass

And ^bfade like the green herb.

^3aTrust in the Lord and do good;

^bDwell in the land and ^1ccultivate faithfulness.

^4aDelight yourself in the Lord;

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

^5aCommit your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

⁶He will bring forth ^ayour righteousness as the light

And your judgment ^bas the noonday.

⁷¹Rest in the Lord and ^await ²patiently for Him;

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

Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.

⁸Cease from anger and ^aforsake wrath;

Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.

⁹For ^aevildoers will be cut off,

But those who wait for the Lord, they will ^binherit the land.

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

And you will look carefully for ^bhis place and he will not be there.

¹¹But ^athe humble will inherit the land

And will delight themselves in ^babundant prosperity.

¹²The wicked ^aplots against the righteous

And ^bgnashes at him with his teeth.

¹³The Lord ^alaughs at him,

For He sees ^bhis day is coming.

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.

^16aBetter is the little of the righteous

Than the abundance of many wicked.

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

But the Lord ^bsustains the righteous.

¹⁸The Lord ^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 have abundance.

²⁰But the ^awicked will perish;

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

They vanish—^blike smoke they vanish away.

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.

^23aThe steps of a man are established by the Lord,

And He ^bdelights in his way.

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

Because ^bthe Lord is the One ¹who holds his hand.

²⁵I have been young and now I am old,

Yet ^aI have not seen the righteous forsaken

Or ^bhis ¹descendants begging bread.

²⁶All day long ^ahe is gracious and lends,

And ^bhis ¹descendants are a blessing.

^27aDepart from evil and do good,

¹So you will abide ^bforever.

²⁸For the Lord ^aloves ¹justice

And ^bdoes not forsake His godly ones;

They are ^cpreserved forever,

But the ^2ddescendants of the wicked will be cut off.

²⁹The righteous will ^ainherit the land

And ^bdwell in it forever.

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.

³²The ^awicked spies upon the righteous

And ^bseeks to kill him.

³³The Lord will ^anot leave him in his hand

Or ^blet him be condemned when he is judged.

^34aWait for the Lord and keep His way,

And He will exalt you to inherit the land;

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

³⁵I have ^aseen a wicked, violent man

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

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

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

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

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

³⁸But transgressors will be altogether ^adestroyed;

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

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

He is their strength ^bin time of trouble.

^40aThe Lord helps them and delivers them;

He ^bdelivers them from the wicked and saves them,

Because they ^ctake refuge in Him.