Psalm 37

¹Do not fret because of the wicked;

do not be 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 live 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 make your vindication shine like the light,

and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

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

do not fret over those who prosper in their way,

over those who carry out evil devices.

⁸Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.

Do not fret—it leads only to evil.

⁹For the wicked shall be cut off,

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

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

though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.

¹¹But the meek shall inherit the land,

and delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

¹²The wicked plot against the righteous,

and gnash their teeth at them;

¹³but the Lord laughs at the wicked,

for he sees that their day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows

to bring down the poor and needy,

to kill those who walk uprightly;

¹⁵their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶Better is a little that the righteous person 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 forever;

¹⁹they are not put to shame in evil times,

in the days of famine they have abundance.

²⁰But the wicked perish,

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

they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,

but the righteous are generous and keep giving;

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

but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

²³Our steps are made firm by the Lord,

when he delights in our way;

²⁴though we stumble, we shall not fall headlong,

for the Lord holds us by the hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old,

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or their children begging bread.

²⁶They are ever giving liberally and lending,

and their children become a blessing.

²⁷Depart from evil, and do good;

so you shall abide forever.

²⁸For the Lord loves justice;

he will not forsake his faithful ones.

The righteous shall be kept safe forever,

but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.

²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land,

and live in it forever.

³⁰The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,

and their tongues speak justice.

³¹The law of their God is in their hearts;

their steps do not slip.

³²The wicked watch for the righteous,

and seek to kill them.

³³The Lord will not abandon them to their power,

or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.

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

and he will exalt you to inherit the land;

you will look on the destruction of the wicked.

³⁵I have seen the wicked oppressing,

and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.

³⁶Again I passed by, and they were no more;

though I sought them, they could not be found.

³⁷Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,

for there is posterity for the peaceable.

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 rescues them;

he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.