He Will Not Forsake His Saints

37 1 Of David.

1  uFret not yourself because of evildoers;

be not venvious of wrongdoers!

2  For they will soon wfade like xthe grass

and wither ylike the green herb.

3  zTrust in the Lord, and do good;

adwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.2

4  bDelight yourself in the Lord,

and he will cgive you the desires of your heart.

5  dCommit your way to the Lord;

ztrust in him, and he will act.

6  eHe will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as fthe noonday.

7  gBe still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;

hfret not yourself over the one who iprospers in his way,

over the man who carries out evil devices!

8  jRefrain from anger, and forsake wrath!

hFret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

9  kFor the evildoers shall be cut off,

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

10  In mjust a little while, the wicked will be no more;

though you look carefully at nhis place, he will not be there.

11  But othe meek shall inherit the land

and delight themselves in pabundant peace.

12  The wicked qplots against the righteous

and rgnashes his teeth at him,

13  but the Lord slaughs at the wicked,

for he sees that his tday is coming.

14  The wicked draw the sword and ubend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose vway is upright;

15  their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their wbows shall be broken.

16  xBetter is the little that the righteous has

than the abundance of many wicked.

17  For ythe arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but the Lord zupholds the righteous.

18  The Lord aknows the days of the blameless,

and their bheritage will remain forever;

19  they are not put to shame in evil times;

in cthe days of famine they have abundance.

20  But the wicked will perish;

the enemies of the Lord are like dthe glory of the pastures;

they vanish—like esmoke they vanish away.

21  The wicked borrows but does not pay back,

but the righteous fis generous and gives;

22  for those blessed by the Lord3 shall ginherit the land,

but those cursed by him hshall be cut off.

23  The isteps of a man are jestablished by the Lord,

when he delights in his way;

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

for the Lord lupholds his hand.

25  I have been young, and now am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or his children mbegging for bread.

26  He is ever nlending generously,

and his children become a blessing.

27  oTurn away from evil and do good;

so shall you pdwell forever.

28  For the Lord qloves justice;

he will not forsake his rsaints.

They are preserved forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be scut off.

29  The righteous shall inherit the land

and pdwell upon it forever.

30  The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks justice.

31  tThe law of his God is in his heart;

his usteps do not slip.

32  The wicked vwatches for the righteous

and seeks to put him to death.

33  The Lord will not wabandon him to his power

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

34  yWait for the Lord and keep his way,

and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

you will look on zwhen the wicked are cut off.

35  aI have seen a wicked, ruthless man,

spreading himself like ba green laurel tree.4

36  But he passed away,5 and behold, che was no more;

though I sought him, he could not be found.

37  Mark the blameless and behold the upright,

for there is a future for the man of dpeace.

38  But etransgressors shall be altogether destroyed;

the future of the wicked fshall be cut off.

39  gThe salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in hthe time of trouble.

40  The Lord helps them and idelivers them;

jhe delivers them from the wicked and saves them,

because they ktake refuge in him.