Psalm 37

^aA psalm of David.

¹Don’t worry about the wicked

or envy those who do wrong.

²For like grass, they soon fade away.

Like spring flowers, they soon wither.

³Trust in the Lord and do good.

Then you will live safely in the land and prosper.

⁴Take delight in the Lord,

and he will give you your heart’s desires.

⁵Commit everything you do to the Lord.

Trust him, and he will help you.

⁶He will make your innocence radiate like the dawn,

and the justice of your cause will shine like the noonday sun.

⁷Be still in the presence of the Lord,

and wait patiently for him to act.

Don’t worry about evil people who prosper

or fret about their wicked schemes.

⁸Stop being angry!

Turn from your rage!

Do not lose your temper—

it only leads to harm.

⁹For the wicked will be destroyed,

but those who trust in the Lord will possess the land.

¹⁰Soon the wicked will disappear.

Though you look for them, they will be gone.

¹¹The lowly will possess the land

and will live in peace and prosperity.

¹²The wicked plot against the godly;

they snarl at them in defiance.

¹³But the Lord just laughs,

for he sees their day of judgment coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw their swords

and string their bows

to kill the poor and the oppressed,

to slaughter those who do right.

¹⁵But their swords will stab their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶It is better to be godly and have little

than to be evil and rich.

¹⁷For the strength of the wicked will be shattered,

but the Lord takes care of the godly.

¹⁸Day by day the Lord takes care of the innocent,

and they will receive an inheritance that lasts forever.

¹⁹They will not be disgraced in hard times;

even in famine they will have more than enough.

²⁰But the wicked will die.

The Lord’s enemies are like flowers in a field—

they will disappear like smoke.

²¹The wicked borrow and never repay,

but the godly are generous givers.

²²Those the Lord blesses will possess the land,

but those he curses will die.

²³The Lord directs the steps of the godly.

He delights in every detail of their lives.

²⁴Though they stumble, they will never fall,

for the Lord holds them by the hand.

²⁵Once I was young, and now I am old.

Yet I have never seen the godly abandoned

or their children begging for bread.

²⁶The godly always give generous loans to others,

and their children are a blessing.

²⁷Turn from evil and do good,

and you will live in the land forever.

²⁸For the Lord loves justice,

and he will never abandon the godly.

He will keep them safe forever,

but the children of the wicked will die.

²⁹The godly will possess the land

and will live there forever.

³⁰The godly offer good counsel;

they teach right from wrong.

³¹They have made God’s law their own,

so they will never slip from his path.

³²The wicked wait in ambush for the godly,

looking for an excuse to kill them.

³³But the Lord will not let the wicked succeed

or let the godly be condemned when they are put on trial.

³⁴Put your hope in the Lord.

Travel steadily along his path.

He will honor you by giving you the land.

You will see the wicked destroyed.

³⁵I have seen wicked and ruthless people

flourishing like a tree in its native soil.

³⁶But when I looked again, they were gone!

Though I searched for them, I could not find them!

³⁷Look at those who are honest and good,

for a wonderful future awaits those who love peace.

³⁸But the rebellious will be destroyed;

they have no future.

³⁹The Lord rescues the godly;

he is their fortress in times of trouble.

⁴⁰The Lord helps them,

rescuing them from the wicked.

He saves them,

and they find shelter in him.