Psalm 37

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.

³⁶Again I 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.