Psalm 37:1–20

¹Do not fret because of those who are evil

or be envious^v of those who do wrong;^w

²for like the grass they will soon wither,^x

like green plants they will soon die away.^y

³Trust in the Lord and do good;

dwell in the land^z and enjoy safe pasture.^a

⁴Take delight^b in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.^c

⁵Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him^d and he will do this:

⁶He will make your righteous reward^e shine like the dawn,^f

your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷Be still^g before the Lord

and wait patiently^h for him;

do not fretⁱ when people succeed in their ways,^j

when they carry out their wicked schemes.^k

⁸Refrain from anger^l and turn from wrath;

do not fret^m—it leads only to evil.

⁹For those who are evil will be destroyed,ⁿ

but those who hope^o in the Lord will inherit the land.^p

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

though you look for them, they will not be found.

¹¹But the meek will inherit the land^r

and enjoy peace and prosperity.^s

¹²The wicked plot^t against the righteous

and gnash their teeth^u at them;

¹³but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he knows their day is coming.^v

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword^w

and bend the bow^x

to bring down the poor and needy,^y

to slay those whose ways are upright.

¹⁵But their swords will pierce their own hearts,^z

and their bows will be broken.^a

¹⁶Better the little that the righteous have

than the wealth^b of many wicked;

¹⁷for the power of the wicked will be broken,^c

but the Lord upholds^d the righteous.

¹⁸The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,^e

and their inheritance will endure forever.^f

¹⁹In times of disaster they will not wither;

in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰But the wicked will perish:^g

Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,

they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.^h