Psalm 37:title–39:13

A Psalm of David.

¹Fret not yourself because of the wicked,

be not envious of wrongdoers!

²For they will soon fade like the grass,

and wither like the green herb.

³Trust in the Lord, and do good;

so you will dwell in the land, and enjoy security.

⁴Take delight in the Lord,

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵Commit your way to the Lord;

trust in him, and he will act.

⁶He will bring forth your vindication as the light,

and your right as the noonday.

⁷Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;

fret not yourself over him who prospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

⁸Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

⁹For the wicked shall be cut off;

but those who wait for the Lord shall possess the land.

¹⁰Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;

though you look well at his place, he will not be there.

¹¹But the meek shall possess the land,

and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

¹²The wicked plots against the righteous,

and gnashes his teeth at him;

¹³but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he sees that his day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows,

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those who walk uprightly;

¹⁵their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶Better is a little that the righteous has

than the abundance 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 blameless,

and their heritage will abide for ever;

¹⁹they are not put to shame in evil times,

in the days of famine they have abundance.

²⁰But the wicked perish;

the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures,

they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrows, and cannot pay back,

but the righteous is generous and gives;

²²for those blessed by the Lord shall possess the land,

but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

²³The steps of a man are from the Lord,

and he establishes him in whose way he delights;

²⁴though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,

for the Lord is the stay of his hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old;

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or his children begging bread.

²⁶He is ever giving liberally and lending,

and his children become a blessing.

²⁷Depart from evil, and do good;

so shall you abide for ever.

²⁸For the Lord loves justice;

he will not forsake his saints.

The righteous shall be preserved for ever,

but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

²⁹The righteous shall possess the land,

and dwell upon it for ever.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks justice.

³¹The law of his God is in his heart;

his steps do not slip.

³²The wicked watches the righteous,

and seeks to slay him.

³³The Lord will not abandon him to his power,

or let him be condemned when he is brought to trial.

³⁴Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,

and he will exalt you to possess the land;

you will look on the destruction of the wicked.

³⁵I have seen a wicked man overbearing,

and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.^v

³⁶Again I^w passed by, and, lo, he was no more;

though I sought him, he could not be found.

³⁷Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright,

for there is posterity for the man of peace.

³⁸But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

he is their refuge in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰The Lord helps them and delivers them;

he delivers them from the wicked, and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.

PSALM 38

A Psalm of David, for the memorial offering.

¹O Lord, rebuke me not in thy anger,

nor chasten me in thy wrath!

²For thy arrows have sunk into me,

and thy hand has come down on me.

³There is no soundness in my flesh

because of thy indignation;

there is no health in my bones

because of my sin.

⁴For my iniquities have gone over my head;

they weigh like a burden too heavy for me.

⁵My wounds grow foul and fester

because of my foolishness,

⁶I am utterly bowed down and prostrate;

all the day I go about mourning.

⁷For my loins are filled with burning,

and there is no soundness in my flesh.

⁸I am utterly spent and crushed;

I groan because of the tumult of my heart.

⁹Lord, all my longing is known to thee,

my sighing is not hidden from thee.

¹⁰My heart throbs, my strength fails me;

and the light of my eyes—it also has gone from me.

¹¹My friends and companions stand aloof from my plague,

and my kinsmen stand afar off.

¹²Those who seek my life lay their snares,

those who seek my hurt speak of ruin,

and meditate treachery all the day long.

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

like a dumb man who does not open his mouth.

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

and in whose mouth are no rebukes.

¹⁵But for thee, O Lord, do I wait;

it is thou, O Lord my God, who wilt answer.

¹⁶For I pray, “Only let them not rejoice over me,

who boast against me when my foot slips!”

¹⁷For I am ready to fall,

and my pain is ever with me.

¹⁸I confess my iniquity,

I am sorry for my sin.

¹⁹Those who are my foes without cause^x are mighty,

and many are those who hate me wrongfully.

²⁰Those who render me evil for good

are my adversaries because I follow after good.

²¹Do not forsake me, O Lord!

O my God, be not far from me!

²²Make haste to help me,

O Lord, my salvation!

PSALM 39

To the choirmaster: to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

¹I said, “I will guard my ways,

that I may not sin with my tongue;

I will bridle^y my mouth,

so long as the wicked are in my presence.”

²I was dumb and silent,

I held my peace to no avail;

my distress grew worse,

³my heart became hot within me.

As I mused, the fire burned;

then I spoke with my tongue:

⁴“Lord, let me know my end,

and what is the measure of my days;

let me know how fleeting my life is!

⁵Behold, thou hast made my days a few handbreadths,

and my lifetime is as nothing in thy sight.

Surely every man stands as a mere breath! Selah

⁶Surely man goes about as a shadow!

Surely for nought are they in turmoil;

man heaps up, and knows not who will gather!

⁷“And now, Lord, for what do I wait?

My hope is in thee.

⁸Deliver me from all my transgressions.

Make me not the scorn of the fool!

⁹I am dumb, I do not open my mouth;

for it is thou who hast done it.

¹⁰Remove thy stroke from me;

I am spent by the blows^z of thy hand.

¹¹When thou dost chasten man

with rebukes for sin,

thou dost consume like a moth what is dear to him;

surely every man is a mere breath! Selah

¹²“Hear my prayer, O Lord,

and give ear to my cry;

hold not thy peace at my tears!

For I am thy passing guest,

a sojourner, like all my fathers.

¹³Look away from me, that I may know gladness,

before I depart and be no more!”