Psalms 37

1 A psalm for David himself. Be not emulous of evildoers; nor envy them that work iniquity.

“A psalm of David.” Be not thou angry on account of the wicked, Nor be envious of those who do iniquity.

2 For they shall shortly wither away as grass, and as the green herbs shall quickly fall.

For soon shall they be cut down like grass, And wither like the green herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good, and dwell in the land, and thou shalt be fed with its riches.

Trust in the LORD, and do good; Abide in the land, and delight in faithfulness.

4 Delight in the Lord, and he will give thee the requests of thy heart.

Place thy delight in the LORD. And he will give thee thy heart's desires.

5 Commit thy way to the Lord, and trust in him, and he will do it.

Commit thy way to the LORD; Trust in him, and he will give thee success!

6 And he will bring forth thy justice as the light, and thy judgment as the noonday.

He will cause thy justice to shine forth like the light, And thy righteousness like the noonday's brightness.

7 Be subject to the Lord and pray to him Envy not the man who prospereth in his way; the man who doth unjust things.

Hope thou patiently on the LORD, And in him place thy trust! Be not angry on account of the prosperous, —On account of him that deviseth deceit!

8 Cease from anger, and leave rage; have no emulation to do evil.

Cease from anger; give not way to wrath; Be not provoked, so as to do evil!

9 For the evildoers shall be cut off: but they that wait upon the Lord shall inherit the land.

For evil-doers shall be rooted out; But they who trust in the LORD, they shall inherit the land.

10 For yet a little while, and the wicked shall not be: and thou shalt seek his place, and shalt not find it.

Yet a little while, and the wicked shall be no more; Thou mayst look for his place, and he will not be found.

11 But the meek shall inherit the land, and shall delight in abundance of peace.

But the meek shall inherit the land, And delight themselves in the fulness of prosperity.

12 The sinner shall watch the just man: and shall gnash upon him with his teeth.

The wicked man plotteth against the just, And gnasheth at him with his teeth.

13 But the Lord shall laugh at him: for he foreseeth that his day shall come.

The Lord laugheth at him; For he seeth that his day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn out the sword: they have bent their bow. To cast down the poor and needy, to kill the upright of heart.

The wicked draw the sword, And bend their bow, To cast down the afflicted and the needy, And to slay the upright.

15 Let their sword enter into their own hearts, and let their bow be broken.

Their swords shall enter their own hearts, And their bows shall be broken in pieces.

16 Better is a little to the just, than the great riches of the wicked.

Better is the little of the righteous man Than the great abundance of the wicked;

17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken in pieces; but the Lord strengtheneth the just.

For the arms of the wicked shall be broken, But the LORD will uphold the righteous.

18 The Lord knoweth the days of undefiled; and their inheritance shall be for ever.

The LORD careth for the life of the upright, And their inheritance shall endure for ever.

19 They shall not be confounded in the evil time; and in the days of famine they shall be filled:

They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall have enough.

20 Because the wicked shall perish. And the enemies of the Lord, presently after they shall be honoured and exalted, shall come to nothing and vanish like smoke.

But the wicked shall perish; Yea, the enemies of the LORD shall be consumed, like the glory of the fields; They shall be consumed into smoke.

21 The sinner shall borrow, and not pay again; but the just sheweth mercy and shall give.

The wicked borroweth, and repayeth not; But the righteous is merciful and bountiful.

22 For such as bless him shall inherit the land: but such as curse him shall perish.

For they who are blessed by God shall inherit the land, And they who are cursed by him shall be rooted out.

23 With the Lord shall the steps of a man be directed, and he shall like well his way.

The steps of the good man are directed by the LORD; He delighteth himself in his way.

24 When he shall fall he shall not be bruised, for the Lord putteth his hand under him.

Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, For the LORD holdeth him by the hand.

25 I have been young, and now am old; and I have not seen the just forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread.

I have been young, and now am old; Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his offspring begging bread.

26 He sheweth mercy, and lendeth all the day long; and his seed shall be in blessing.

He is ever merciful and lendeth, And his offspring shall be blessed.

27 Decline from evil and do good, and dwell for ever and ever.

Depart from evil, and do good; So thou shalt dwell in the land for ever.

28 For the Lord loveth judgment, and will not forsake his saints: they shall be preserved for ever. The unjust shall be punished, and the seed of the wicked shall perish.

For the LORD loveth righteousness, And forsaketh not his servants; They are preserved for ever; But the posterity of the wicked shall be rooted out.

29 But the just shall inherit the land, and shall dwell therein for evermore.

The righteous shall inherit the land, And shall dwell therein for ever.

30 The mouth of the just shall meditate wisdom: and his tongue shall speak judgment.

The mouth of the righteous uttereth wisdom, And his tongue speaketh what is right.

31 The law of his God is in his heart, and his steps shall not be supplanted.

The law of his God is in his heart; His footsteps shall not slip.

32 The wicked watcheth the just man, and seeketh to put him to death,

The wicked watcheth the righteous, And seeketh to slay him;

33 But the Lord will not leave in his hands; nor condemn him when he shall be judged.

The Lord will not leave him in his hand, Nor suffer him to be condemned, when he is judged.

34 Expect the Lord and keep his way: and he will exalt thee to inherit the land: when the sinners shall perish thou shalt see.

Trust in the LORD, and keep his way, And he will exalt thee to the possession of the land, Whilst thou shalt see the destruction of the wicked!

35 I have seen the wicked highly exalted, and lifted up like the cedars of Libanus.

I have seen a wicked man in great power, And spreading himself like a green cedar;

36 And I passed by, and lo, he was not: and I sought him and his place was not found.

But he passed away, and, lo! he was no more; Yea, I sought him, but he was not found.

37 Keep innocence, and behold justice: for there are remnants for the peaceable man.

Mark the righteous man, and behold the upright, That posterity is to the man of peace!

38 But the unjust shall be destroyed together: the remnants of the wicked shall perish.

But transgressors will all be destroyed; The posterity of the wicked shall be rooted out.

39 But the salvation of the just is from the Lord, and he is their protector in the time of trouble.

The salvation of the just is from the LORD. He is their strength in the time of trouble.

40 And the Lord will help them and deliver them: and he will rescue them from the wicked, and save them, because they have hoped in him.

The LORD will help and deliver them; He will deliver them from their enemies, and save them, Because they trust in him.