Psalm 37:1–20

Don’t be upset because of evil people.

Don’t be jealous of those who do wrong,

²because like the grass, they will soon dry up.

Like green plants, they will soon die away.

³Trust the Lord and do good.

Live in the land and feed on truth.

⁴Enjoy serving the Lord,

and he will give you what you want.

⁵Depend on the Lord;

trust him, and he will take care of you.

⁶Then your goodness will shine like the sun,

and your fairness like the noonday sun.

⁷Wait and trust the Lord.

Don’t be upset when others get rich

or when someone else’s plans succeed.

⁸Don’t get angry.

Don’t be upset; it only leads to trouble.

⁹Evil people will be sent away,

but those who trust the Lord will inherit the land.

¹⁰In a little while the wicked will be no more.

You may look for them, but they will be gone.

¹¹People who are not proud will inherit the land

and will enjoy complete peace.

¹²The wicked make evil plans against good people.

They grind their teeth at them in anger.

¹³But the Lord laughs at the wicked,

because he sees that their day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw their swords

and bend their bows

to kill the poor and helpless,

to kill those who are honest.

¹⁵But their swords will stab their own hearts,

and their bows will break.

¹⁶It is better to have little and be right

than to have much and be wrong.

¹⁷The power of the wicked will be broken,

but the Lord supports those who do right.

¹⁸The Lord watches over the lives of the innocent,

and their reward will last forever.

¹⁹They will not be ashamed when trouble comes.

They will be full in times of hunger.

²⁰But the wicked will die.

The Lord’s enemies will be like the flowers of the fields;

they will disappear like smoke.