Psalm 37–39

Psalm 37

A Psalm of David.

¹Do ^anot fret because of evildoers,

Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

²For they shall soon be cut down ^blike the grass,

And wither as the green herb.

³Trust in the Lord, and do good;

Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.

^4cDelight yourself also in the Lord,

And He shall give you the desires of your ^dheart.

^5eCommit ¹your way to the Lord,

Trust also in Him,

And He shall bring it to pass.

^6fHe shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,

And your justice as the noonday.

⁷Rest in the Lord, ^gand wait patiently for Him;

Do not fret because of him who ^hprospers in his way,

Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

⁸ⁱCease from anger, and forsake wrath;

^jDo not fret—it only causes harm.

⁹For evildoers shall be ²cut off;

But those who wait on the Lord,

They shall ^kinherit the earth.

¹⁰For ^lyet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;

Indeed, ^myou will look carefully for his place,

But it shall be no more.

¹¹ⁿBut the meek shall inherit the earth,

And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹²The wicked plots against the just,

^oAnd gnashes at him with his teeth.

^13pThe Lord laughs at him,

For He sees that ^qhis day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword

And have bent their bow,

To cast down the poor and needy,

To slay those who are of upright conduct.

¹⁵Their sword shall enter their own heart,

And their bows shall be broken.

^16rA little that a righteous man has

Is better than the riches of many wicked.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

But the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸The Lord knows the days of the upright,

And their inheritance shall be forever.

¹⁹They shall not be ashamed in the evil time,

And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied.

²⁰But the wicked shall perish;

And the enemies of the Lord,

Like the splendor of the meadows, shall vanish.

Into smoke they shall vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrows and does not repay,

But ^sthe righteous shows mercy and gives.

^22tFor those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,

But those cursed by Him shall be ³cut off.

^23uThe steps of a good man are ⁴ordered by the Lord,

And He delights in his way.

^24vThough he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down;

For the Lord upholds him with His hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old;

Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,

Nor his descendants begging bread.

^26wHe is ⁵ever merciful, and lends;

And his descendants are blessed.

²⁷Depart from evil, and do good;

And dwell forevermore.

²⁸For the Lord loves justice,

And does not forsake His saints;

They are preserved forever,

But the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.

^29xThe righteous shall inherit the land,

And dwell in it forever.

^30yThe mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom,

And his tongue talks of justice.

³¹The law of his God is in his heart;

None of his steps shall ⁶slide.

³²The wicked ^zwatches the righteous,

And seeks to slay him.

³³The Lord ^awill not leave him in his hand,

Nor condemn him when he is judged.

^34bWait on the Lord,

And keep His way,

And He shall exalt you to inherit the land;

When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.

³⁵I have seen the wicked in great power,

And spreading himself like a native green tree.

³⁶Yet ⁷he passed away, and behold, he was no more;

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

³⁷Mark the blameless man, and observe the upright;

For the future of that man is peace.

^38cBut the transgressors shall be destroyed together;

The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

He is their strength ^din the time of trouble.

⁴⁰And ^ethe Lord shall help them and deliver them;

He shall deliver them from the wicked,

And save them,

^fBecause they trust in Him.

Psalm 38

A Psalm of David. To Bring to Remembrance.

¹O Lord, do not ^brebuke me in Your wrath,

Nor chasten me in Your hot displeasure!

²For Your arrows pierce me deeply,

And Your hand presses me down.

³There is no soundness in my flesh

Because of Your anger,

Nor any health in my bones

Because of my sin.

⁴For my iniquities have gone over my head;

Like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds are foul and festering

Because of my foolishness.

⁶I am ¹troubled, I am bowed down greatly;

I go mourning all the day long.

⁷For my loins are full of inflammation,

And there is no soundness in my flesh.

⁸I am feeble and severely broken;

I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.

⁹Lord, all my desire is before You;

And my sighing is not hidden from You.

¹⁰My heart pants, my strength fails me;

As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me.

¹¹My loved ones and my friends ^cstand aloof from my plague,

And my relatives stand afar off.

¹²Those also who seek my life lay snares for me;

Those who seek my hurt speak of destruction,

And plan deception all the day long.

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

And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth.

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

And in whose mouth is no response.

¹⁵For ²in You, O Lord, ^dI hope;

You will ³hear, O Lord my God.

¹⁶For I said, “Hear me, lest they rejoice over me,

Lest, when my foot slips, they exalt themselves against me.”

^17eFor I am ready to fall,

And my sorrow is continually before me.

¹⁸For I will ^fdeclare my iniquity;

I will be ^gin ⁴anguish over my sin.

¹⁹But my enemies are vigorous, and they are strong;

And those who hate me wrongfully have multiplied.

²⁰Those also ^hwho render evil for good,

They are my adversaries, because I follow what is good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O Lord;

O my God, ⁱbe not far from me!

²²Make haste to help me,

O Lord, my salvation!

Psalm 39

To the Chief Musician. To Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

¹I said, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my ^atongue;

I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,

While the wicked are before me.”

^2bI was mute with silence,

I held my peace even from good;

And my sorrow was stirred up.

³My heart was hot within me;

While I was ¹musing, the fire burned.

Then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Lord, ^cmake me to know my end,

And what is the measure of my days,

That I may know how frail I am.

⁵Indeed, You have made my days as handbreadths,

And my age is as nothing before You;

Certainly every man at his best state is but ^dvapor.

Selah

⁶Surely every man walks about like a shadow;

Surely they ²busy themselves in vain;

He heaps up riches,

And does not know who will gather them.

⁷“And now, Lord, what do I wait for?

My ^ehope is in You.

⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions;

Do not make me ^fthe reproach of the foolish.

^9gI was mute, I did not open my mouth,

Because it was ^hYou who did it.

¹⁰ⁱRemove Your plague from me;

I am consumed by the blow of Your hand.

¹¹When with rebukes You correct man for iniquity,

You make his beauty ^jmelt away like a moth;

Surely every man is vapor.

Selah

¹²“Hear my prayer, O Lord,

And give ear to my cry;

Do not be silent at my tears;

For I am a stranger with You,

A sojourner, ^kas all my fathers were.

^13lRemove Your gaze from me, that I may regain strength,

Before I go away and ^mam no more.”