< Psalms 37 >
1 BY DAVID. [ALEPH-BET] Do not fret because of evildoers, Do not be envious against doers of iniquity,
A psalm of David. Do not be irritated because of evildoers; do not be envious of those who act unrighteously.
2 For they are cut off speedily as grass, And fade as the greenness of the tender grass.
For they will soon dry up as the grass and wither as the green plants.
3 Trust in YHWH, and do good, Dwell [in] the land, and enjoy faithfulness,
Trust in Yahweh and do what is good; settle in the land and graze in faithfulness.
4 And delight yourself on YHWH, And He gives to you the petitions of your heart.
Then delight yourself in Yahweh, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Roll your way on YHWH, And trust on Him, and He works,
Give your ways to Yahweh; trust in him, and he will act on your behalf.
6 And has brought out your righteousness as light, And your judgment as noon-day.
He will display your justice like the daylight and your innocence like the day at noon.
7 Be silent for YHWH, and stay yourself for Him, Do not fret because of him Who is making his way prosperous, Because of a man doing wicked schemes.
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 Desist from anger, and forsake fury, Do not fret yourself to only do evil.
Do not be angry and frustrated. Do not worry. This only makes trouble.
9 For evildoers are cut off, As for those waiting on YHWH, they possess 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 wicked is not, And you have considered his place, and it is not.
In a little while the evil man will disappear; you will look at his place, but he will be gone.
11 And the humble possess the land, And they have delighted themselves In the abundance of peace.
But the meek will inherit the land and will delight in great prosperity.
12 The wicked is devising against the righteous, And gnashing his teeth against him.
The wicked man plots against the righteous and he grinds his teeth in rage against him.
13 The Lord laughs at him, For He has seen that his day comes.
The Lord laughs at him, for he sees that his day is coming.
14 The wicked have opened a sword, And they have bent their bow, To cause the poor and needy to fall, To slaughter the upright of the way.
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 Their sword enters into their own heart, And their bows are shattered.
Their swords will pierce their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.
16 Better [is] the little of the righteous, Than the store 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 are shattered, And YHWH is sustaining the righteous.
For the arms of the wicked people will be broken, but Yahweh supports the righteous people.
18 YHWH knows the days of the perfect, And their inheritance is for all time.
Yahweh watches over the blameless day by day, and their heritage will be forever.
19 They are not ashamed in a time of evil, And they are satisfied in days of famine.
They will not be ashamed when times are bad. When famine comes, they will have enough to eat.
20 But the wicked perish, and the enemies of YHWH, Have been consumed as the preciousness of lambs, They have been consumed in 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 wicked is borrowing and does not repay, And the righteous is gracious and giving.
The wicked person borrows but does not repay, but the righteous person is generous and gives.
22 For His blessed ones possess the land, And His reviled ones are cut off.
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] from YHWH, They have been prepared, And He desires 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 is not cast down, For YHWH is sustaining his hand.
Though he stumbles, he will not fall down, for Yahweh is holding him with his hand.
25 I have been young, I have also become old, And I have not seen the righteous forsaken, And 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 All the day he is gracious and lending, And his seed [is] for a blessing.
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 all time.
Turn away from evil and do what is right; then you will be safe forever.
28 For YHWH is loving judgment, And He does not forsake His saintly ones, They have been kept for all time, And the seed of the wicked is 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 possess the land, And they dwell on it forever.
The righteous will inherit the land and live there forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, And his tongue speaks judgment.
The mouth of the righteous person speaks wisdom and increases justice.
31 The law of his God [is] his heart, His steps do not slide.
The law of his God is in his heart; his feet will not slip.
32 The wicked is watching for the righteous, And is seeking to put him to death.
The wicked person watches the righteous person and seeks to kill him.
33 YHWH does not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him in his being judged.
Yahweh will not abandon him into the evil person's hand or condemn him when he is judged.
34 Look to YHWH, and keep His way, And He exalts you to possess the land, In the wicked being cut off—you see!
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, And spreading as a green native plant,
I have seen the wicked and terrifying person spread out like a green tree in its native soil.
36 And he passes away, and behold, he is not, And I seek him, and he is not 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, and see the upright, For the latter end of each [is] peace.
Observe the man of integrity, and mark the upright; there is a good future for a man of peace.
38 And transgressors were destroyed together, The latter end of the wicked was 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 YHWH, Their strong place in a time of adversity.
Salvation of the righteous comes from Yahweh; he protects them in the times of trouble.
40 And YHWH helps them and delivers them, He delivers them from the wicked, And saves them, Because they trusted in Him!
Yahweh helps them and rescues them. He rescues them from evil men and saves them because they have taken refuge in him.