Psalm 37

¹Do not fret yourself because of evildoers; *do not be jealous of those who do wrong.

²For they shall soon wither like the grass, *and like the green grass fade away.

³Put your trust in the Lord and do good; *dwell in the land and feed on its riches.

⁴Take delight in the Lord, *and he shall give you your heart’s desire.

⁵Commit your way to the Lord and put your trust in him, *and he will bring it to pass.

⁶He will make your righteousness as clear as the light *and your just dealing as the noonday.

⁷Be still before the Lord *and wait patiently for him.

⁸Do not fret yourself over the one who prospers, *the one who succeeds in evil schemes.

⁹Refrain from anger, leave rage alone; *do not fret yourself; it leads only to evil.

¹⁰For evildoers shall be cut off, *but those who wait upon the Lord shall possess the land.

¹¹In a little while the wicked shall be no more; *you shall search out their place, but they will not be there.

¹²But the lowly shall possess the land; *they will delight in abundance of peace.

¹³The wicked plot against the righteous *and gnash at them with their teeth.

¹⁴The Lord laughs at the wicked, *because he sees that their day will come.

¹⁵The wicked draw their sword and bend their bow to strike down the poor and needy, *to slaughter those who are upright in their ways.

¹⁶Their sword shall go through their own heart, *and their bow shall be broken.

¹⁷The little that the righteous has *is better than great riches of the wicked.

¹⁸For the power of the wicked shall be broken, *but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁹The Lord cares for the lives of the godly, *and their inheritance shall last for ever.

²⁰They shall not be ashamed in bad times, *and in days of famine they shall have enough.

²¹As for the wicked, they shall perish, *and the enemies of the Lord, like the glory of the meadows, shall vanish; they shall vanish like smoke.

²²The wicked borrow and do not repay, *but the righteous are generous in giving.

²³Those who are blessed by God shall possess the land, *but those who are cursed by him shall be destroyed.

²⁴Our steps are directed by the Lord; *he strengthens those in whose way he delights.

²⁵If they stumble, they shall not fall headlong, *for the Lord holds them by the hand.

²⁶I have been young and now I am old, *but never have I seen the righteous forsaken, or their children begging bread.

²⁷The righteous are always generous in their lending, *and their children shall be a blessing.

²⁸Turn from evil, and do good, *and dwell in the land for ever.

²⁹For the Lord loves justice; *he does not forsake his faithful ones.

³⁰They shall be kept safe for ever, *but the offspring of the wicked shall be destroyed.

³¹The righteous shall possess the land *and dwell in it for ever.

³²The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom, *and their tongue speaks what is right.

³³The law of their God is in their heart, *and their footsteps shall not falter.

³⁴The wicked spy on the righteous *and seek occasion to kill them.

³⁵The Lord will not abandon them to their hand, *nor let them be found guilty when brought to trial.

³⁶Wait upon the Lord and keep his way; *he will raise you up to possess the land, and when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

³⁷I have seen the wicked in their arrogance, *flourishing like a tree in full leaf.

³⁸I went by, and behold, they were not there; *I searched for them, but they could not be found.

³⁹Mark those who are honest; observe the upright; *for there is a future for the peaceable.

⁴⁰Transgressors shall be destroyed, one and all; *the future of the wicked is cut off.

⁴¹But the deliverance of the righteous comes from the Lord; *he is their stronghold in time of trouble.

⁴²The Lord will help them and rescue them; *he will rescue them from the wicked and deliver them, because they seek refuge in him.