Psalm 37

Of David.

¹Do not fret because of those who are evil

or be envious of those who do wrong;

²for like the grass they will soon wither,

like green plants they will soon die away.

³Trust in the Lord and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

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 do this:

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

your vindication like the noonday sun.

⁷Be still before the Lord

and wait patiently for him;

do not fret when people succeed in their ways,

when they carry out their wicked schemes.

⁸Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;

do not fret—it leads only to evil.

⁹For those who are evil will be destroyed,

but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

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

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

¹¹But the meek will inherit the land

and enjoy peace and prosperity.

¹²The wicked plot against the righteous

and gnash their teeth at them;

¹³but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he knows their day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword

and bend the bow

to bring down the poor and needy,

to slay those whose ways are upright.

¹⁵But their swords will pierce their own hearts,

and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶Better the little that the righteous have

than the wealth of many wicked;

¹⁷for the power of the wicked will be broken,

but the Lord upholds the righteous.

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

and their inheritance will endure forever.

¹⁹In times of disaster they will not wither;

in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

²⁰But the wicked will perish:

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

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

²¹The wicked borrow and do not repay,

but the righteous give generously;

²²those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,

but those he curses will be destroyed.

²³The Lord makes firm the steps

of the one who delights in him;

²⁴though he may stumble, he will not fall,

for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

²⁵I was young and now I am old,

yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken

or their children begging bread.

²⁶They are always generous and lend freely;

their children will be a blessing.

²⁷Turn from evil and do good;

then you will dwell in the land forever.

²⁸For the Lord loves the just

and will not forsake his faithful ones.

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed;

the offspring of the wicked will perish.

²⁹The righteous will inherit the land

and dwell in it forever.

³⁰The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,

and their tongues speak what is just.

³¹The law of their God is in their hearts;

their feet do not slip.

³²The wicked lie in wait for the righteous,

intent on putting them to death;

³³but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked

or let them be condemned when brought to trial.

³⁴Hope in the Lord

and keep his way.

He will exalt you to inherit the land;

when the wicked are destroyed, you will see it.

³⁵I have seen a wicked and ruthless man

flourishing like a luxuriant native tree,

³⁶but he soon passed away and was no more;

though I looked for him, he could not be found.

³⁷Consider the blameless, observe the upright;

a future awaits those who seek peace.

³⁸But all sinners will be destroyed;

there will be no future for the wicked.

³⁹The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord;

he is their stronghold in 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.