Psalms 37

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

7 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

14 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.

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].

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

20 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I have been young, and I am also grown old: yet have I never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed seeking for bread.

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

He is all the time beneficent, and lendeth: and his seed will be for a blessing.

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

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

28 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.

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.

29 The righteous will inherit the land and live there forever.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The Lord will not leave him in his hand, and will not condemn him when he is judged.

34 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.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.