Psalms 37

1 [A Psalm] of David. Fret not yourself because of evil-doers, neither be envious of them that do iniquity.

A psalm of David. Do not be irritated because of evildoers; do not be envious of those who act unrighteously.

2 For they shall soon be withered as the grass, and shall soon fall away as the green herbs.

For they will soon dry up as the grass and wither as the green plants.

3 Hope in the Lord, and do good; and dwell on the land, and you shall be fed with the wealth of it.

Trust in Yahweh and do what is good; settle in the land and graze in faithfulness.

4 Delight [yourself] in the Lord; and he shall grant you the requests of your heart.

Then delight yourself in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Disclose your way to the Lord, and hope in him; and he shall bring [it] to pass.

Give your ways to Yahweh; trust in him, and he will act on your behalf.

6 And he shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your judgment as the noon-day.

He will display your justice like the daylight and your innocence like the day at noon.

7 Submit yourself to the Lord, and supplicate him: fret not yourself because of him that prospers in his way, at the man that does unlawful deeds.

Be still before Yahweh and wait patiently for him. Do not be angry if someone succeeds in what he does, or when he makes evil plots.

8 ease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not yourself so as to do evil.

Do not be angry and frustrated. Do not worry. This only makes trouble.

9 For evil-doers shall be destroyed: but they that wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the land.

Evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for Yahweh will inherit the land.

10 And yet a little while, and the sinner shall not be, and you shall seek for his place, and shall not find [it].

In a little while the evil man will disappear; you will look at his place, but he will be gone.

11 But the meek shall inherit the earth; and shall delight [themselves] in the abundance of peace.

But the meek will inherit the land and will delight in great prosperity.

12 The sinner will watch for the righteous, and gnash his teeth upon him.

The wicked man plots against the righteous and he grinds his teeth in rage against him.

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

The Lord laughs at him, for he sees that his day is coming.

14 Sinners have drawn their swords, they have bent their bow, to cast down the poor and needy one, [and] to kill the upright in heart.

The wicked have drawn out their swords and have bent their bows to cast down the oppressed and needy, to kill those who are upright.

15 Let their sword enter into their [own] heart, and their bows be broken.

Their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.

16 A little is better to the righteous than abundant wealth of sinners.

Better is the little that the righteous has than the abundance of many wicked people.

17 For the arms of sinners shall be broken; but the Lord supports the righteous.

For the arms of the wicked people will be broken, but Yahweh supports the righteous people.

18 The Lord knows the ways of the perfect; and their inheritance shall be for ever.

Yahweh watches over the blameless day by day, and their heritage will be forever.

19 They shall not be ashamed in an evil time; and in days of famine they shall be satisfied.

They will not be ashamed when times are bad. When famine comes, they will have enough to eat.

20 For the sinners shall perish; and the enemies of the Lord at the moment of their being honored and exalted have utterly vanished like smoke.

But evil men will perish. Yahweh's enemies will be like the glory of the pastures; they will be consumed and disappear in the smoke.

21 The sinner borrows, and will not pay again: but the righteous has compassion, and gives.

The wicked person borrows but does not repay, but the righteous person is generous and gives.

22 For they that bless him shall inherit the earth; and they that curse him shall be utterly destroyed.

Those who are blessed by God will inherit the land; those who are cursed by him will be cut off.

23 The steps of a man are rightly ordered by the Lord: and he will take pleasure in his way.

It is by Yahweh that a man's steps are established, the man whose way is commendable in God's sight.

24 When he falls, he shall not be ruined: for the Lord supports his hand.

Though he stumbles, he will not fall down, for Yahweh is holding him with his hand.

25 I was [once] young, indeed I am now old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking bread.

I was young and now am old; I have never seen the righteous person abandoned or his children begging for bread.

26 He is merciful, and lends continually; and his seed shall be blessed.

All the day long he is gracious and lends, and his children become a blessing.

27 Turn aside from evil, and do good; and dwell for ever.

Turn away from evil and do what is right; then you will be safe forever.

28 For the Lord loves judgment, and will not forsake his saints; they shall be preserved for ever: the blameless shall be avenged, but the seed of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed.

For Yahweh loves justice and does not abandon his faithful followers. They are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

29 But the righteous shall inherit the earth, and dwell upon it for ever.

The righteous will inherit the land and live there forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous will meditate wisdom, and his tongue will speak of judgment.

The mouth of the righteous person speaks wisdom and increases justice.

31 The law of his God is in his heart; and his steps shall not slide.

The law of his God is in his heart; his feet will not slip.

32 The sinner watches the righteous, and seeks to kill him.

The wicked person watches the righteous person and seeks to kill him.

33 But the Lord will not leave him in his hands, nor by any means condemn him when he is judged.

Yahweh will not abandon him into the evil person's hand or condemn him when he is judged.

34 Wait on the Lord, and keep his way, and he shall exalt you to inherit the land: when the wicked are destroyed, you shall see [it].

Wait for Yahweh and keep his way, and he will raise you up to possess the land. You will see when the wicked are cut off.

35 I saw the ungodly very highly exalting himself, and lifting himself up like the cedars of Libanus.

I have seen the wicked and terrifying person spread out like a green tree in its native soil.

36 Yet I passed by, and behold! he was not: and I sought him, but his place was not found.

But when I passed by again, he was not there. I looked for him, but he could not be found.

37 Maintain innocence, and behold uprightness: for there is a remnant to the peaceful man.

Observe the man of integrity, and mark the upright; there is a good future for a man of peace.

38 But the transgressors shall be utterly destroyed together: the remnants of the ungodly shall be utterly destroyed.

Sinners will be totally destroyed; the future for the wicked man is cut off.

39 But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord; and he is their defender in the time of affliction.

Salvation of the righteous comes from Yahweh; he protects them in the times of trouble.

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

Yahweh helps them and rescues them. He rescues them from evil men and saves them because they have taken refuge in him.