Psalms 37
1 By David. Do not fret because of evil doers, Be not envious against doers of iniquity,
A psalm of David. Don't be upset over wicked people, or be jealous of those who do wrong.
2 For as grass speedily they are cut off, And as the greenness of the tender grass do fade.
For like grass, they will quickly dry up; like plants, they will soon wither away.
3 Trust in Jehovah, and do good, Dwell [in] the land, and enjoy faithfulness,
Trust in the Lord, and do good. Live in the land and feed on faithfulness.
4 And delight thyself on Jehovah, And He giveth to thee the petitions of thy heart.
Find your happiness in the Lord, and he will give you what you want the most.
5 Roll on Jehovah thy way, And trust upon Him, and He worketh,
Entrust all that you do to the Lord. Place your confidence in him and he will help you.
6 And hath brought out as light thy righteousness, And thy judgment as noon-day.
He will make your vindication shine like a light, the rightness of your cause like the noonday sun.
7 Be silent for Jehovah, and stay thyself for Him, Do not fret because of him Who is making prosperous his way, Because of a man doing wicked devices.
Be still in God's presence; wait patiently for him. Don't be upset over people who prosper when they carry out their evil schemes.
8 Desist from anger, and forsake fury, Fret not thyself only to do evil.
Give up your anger! Let go your rage! Don't get mad—it only results in evil!
9 For evil doers are cut off, As to those waiting on Jehovah, they possess the land.
For the wicked will be destroyed, and those who trust in the Lord will take possession of the land.
10 And yet a little, and the wicked is not, And thou hast considered his place, and it is not.
In a little while the wicked will be no more—though you look for them you won't find them.
11 And the humble do possess the land, And they have delighted themselves In the abundance of peace.
The humble will own the land; they will live there happily, in peace and prosperity.
12 The wicked is devising against the righteous, And gnashing against him his teeth.
The wicked plot evil against those who do good, gnashing their teeth at them.
13 The Lord doth laugh at him, For He hath seen that his day cometh.
But the Lord laughs at them, for he sees their coming day of judgment.
14 A sword have the wicked opened, And they have trodden their bow, To cause to fall the poor and needy, To slaughter the upright of the way.
The wicked draw their swords, and bend their bows to destroy the poor and needy, to kill those who live right.
15 Their sword doth enter into their own heart, And their bows are shivered.
But the swords of the wicked will slice through their own hearts, and their bows will be broken.
16 Better [is] the little of the righteous, Than the store of many wicked.
It's better to do right and only have a little, than to be wicked and rich.
17 For the arms of the wicked are shivered, And Jehovah is sustaining the righteous.
For the power of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord supports those who do right.
18 Jehovah knoweth the days of the perfect, And their inheritance is — to the age.
The Lord knows what is happening to the innocent and grants them an eternal inheritance.
19 They are not ashamed in a time of evil, And in days of famine they are satisfied.
They will not be humiliated in bad times; even in days of famine they will have plenty to eat.
20 But the wicked perish, and the enemies of Jehovah, As the preciousness of lambs, Have been consumed, In smoke they have been consumed.
But the wicked will die. The enemies of the Lord are like the flowers of the field—they will vanish like smoke.
21 The wicked is borrowing and repayeth not, And the righteous is gracious and giving.
The wicked borrow, but don't repay; while those who do right give generously.
22 For His blessed ones do possess the land, And His reviled ones are cut off.
Those who are blessed by God will own the land, but those he curses will die.
23 From Jehovah [are] the steps of a man, They have been prepared, And his way he desireth.
The Lord shows the right path to those who follow him, and is happy with the way they live.
24 When he falleth, he is not cast down, For Jehovah is sustaining his hand.
Though they may trip up, they will not fall to the ground, for the Lord holds their hand.
25 Young I have been, I have also become old, And I have not seen the righteous forsaken, And his seed seeking bread.
Once I was young, and now I've grown old, yet I've never seen those who do right abandoned, nor their children having to beg for bread.
26 All the day he is gracious and lending, And his seed [is] for a blessing.
They are always kind, and generous with their loans; their children are a blessing.
27 Turn aside from evil, and do good, and dwell to the age.
Reject evil, do what is good, and you will live forever in the land.
28 For Jehovah is loving judgment, And He doth not forsake His saintly ones, To the age they have been kept, And the seed of the wicked is cut off.
For the Lord loves fairness and he will never abandon those who are trustworthy. He will protect them forever. But the children of the wicked will die.
29 The righteous possess the land, And they dwell for ever on it.
Those who do right will own the land and will live there forever.
30 The mouth of the righteous uttereth wisdom, And his tongue speaketh judgment.
People who do right give good advice, explaining what is fair.
31 The law of his God [is] his heart, His steps do not slide.
God's law lives in their minds, so they will not slip from his way.
32 The wicked is watching for the righteous, And is seeking to put him to death.
The wicked lie in wait for those who do good, intending to kill them.
33 Jehovah doth not leave him in his hand, Nor condemn him in his being judged.
But the Lord will not let them fall into the hands of the wicked, and he will not let those who do good be condemned when they are put on trial.
34 Look unto Jehovah, and keep His way, And He doth exalt thee to possess the land, In the wicked being cut off — thou seest!
Trust in the Lord, and stay on his path. He will lift you up and give you the land to own. You will see when the wicked are destroyed.
35 I have seen the wicked terrible, And spreading as a green native plant,
I have watched the wicked acting brutally, spreading like a large tree in its native land.
36 And he passeth away, and lo, he is not, And I seek him, and he is not found!
But when I passed that way the next time, they were gone. I searched for them but couldn't find them.
37 Observe the perfect, and see the upright, For the latter end of each [is] peace.
Observe the innocent, look at those who do right! Those who love peace have a future!
38 And transgressors were destroyed together, The latter end of the wicked was cut off.
But those who are rebellious will be altogether destroyed; the wicked have no future.
39 And the salvation of the righteous [is] from Jehovah, Their strong place in a time of adversity.
The Lord saves those who live right; he is their protection in times of trouble.
40 And Jehovah doth help them and deliver them, He delivereth them from the wicked, And saveth them, Because they trusted in Him!
The Lord helps them and rescues them from the wicked. He saves them because they go to him for protection.
