Psalms 37

1 “Of David.” Do not fret thyself because of the evil-doers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity.

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

2 For like the grass they shall soon be mowed down, and like the green herb shall they wither.

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

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed [thyself] with truthfulness.

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

4 And delight thyself in the Lord, and he will give thee the wishes of thy heart.

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

5 Commit thy way unto the Lord, and trust in him: and he will accomplish it.

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

6 And he will bring forth as the light thy righteousness, and the justice of thy [cause] as the noonday.

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

7 Be silent before the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who practices wicked devices.

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 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself in any wise to do evil.

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

9 For evil-doers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, these—shall truly inherit the land.

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

10 For yet but for a little while, and the wicked shall be no more: yea, thou wilt look carefully at his place, and he shall not be there.

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 land, and shall delight themselves because of the abundance of peace.

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

12 The wicked purposeth evil against the just, and gnasheth against him with his teeth.

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

13 The Lord will laugh at him; for he seeth that his day is coming.

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

14 The wicked have drawn out the sword, and have bent their bow, to cause the poor and needy to fall, and to slaughter such as are of an upright course [of life].

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 [But] their sword shall enter into their own heart, and their bows shall be broken.

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

16 Better is the little that the righteous hath, than the great riches of many wicked.

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

17 For the arms of the wicked shall be broken: but the upholder of the righteous is the Lord.

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

18 The Lord regardeth the days of the upright: and their inheritance shall endure for ever.

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

19 They shall not be made ashamed in the time of unhappiness; and in the days of famine shall they be satisfied.

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

20 But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the beauty of the meadow: they pass away; in smoke they pass away.

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 wicked borroweth, and repayeth not; but the righteous is beneficent, and giveth.

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

22 For those blessed of him shall inherit the land; and those cursed of him shall be cut off.

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

23 By the Lord are the steps of the righteous man established; and he findeth pleasure in his course [of life].

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

24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the Lord upholdeth his hand.

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

25 I have been young, and I am also grown old: yet have I never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking for 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 all the time beneficent, and lendeth: and his seed will be for a blessing.

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

27 Depart from evil, and do good; and dwell for evermore.

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

28 For the Lord loveth justice, and never forsaketh his pious servants: they are for ever preserved; but the seed of the wicked will be cut off.

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

The righteous will inherit the land and live there forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous uttereth wisdom, and his tongue speaketh what is just.

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

31 The law of his God is in his heart: none of his steps shall slip.

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

32 The wicked looketh out for the righteous, and seeketh to slay him.

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

33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, and will not 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 will exalt thee to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, shalt thou look on.

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 have seen the wicked terrible in power, and striking root like a green tree in its native soil.

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

36 Yet he passed away, and, lo, he was no more: and I sought him, but he could not be found.

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

37 Observe the perfect man, and behold the upright; for there is a [happy] future for the man of peace.

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

38 But the transgressors are destroyed together: the future of the wicked is cut off.

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

39 And the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord: he is their strong-hold in the time of distress.

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

40 And the Lord helpeth them, and delivereth them; he will deliver them from the wicked, and save them; because they have put their trust in him.

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