¹Fret not because of evildoers,

nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

²For they will soon fade like the grass,[#Ps 90:5–6; 92:7]

and wither like the green herb.

³Trust in the Lord , and do good;

dwell in the land, and shepherd faithfulness.

⁴Delight yourself in the Lord ,[#Job 22:26; Isa 58:14]

and He will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵Commit your way to the Lord ;[#Ps 55:22; Pr 16:3]

trust also in Him, and He will bring it to pass.

⁶He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,

and your justice as the noonday.

⁷Rest in the Lord , and wait patiently for Him;[#Ps 40:1]

fret not because of those who prosper in their way,

because of those who bring wicked schemes to pass.

⁸Let go of anger and forsake wrath;[#Eph 4:26, 31]

fret not—it leads only to evil.

⁹For evildoers shall be cut off,

but those who wait on the Lord shall inherit the earth.

¹⁰Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;[#Job 7:10; 24:24]

though you look diligently for his place, he will not be there.

¹¹But the meek shall inherit the land,[#Mt 5:5]

and shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

¹²The wicked plots against the righteous,

and gnashes his teeth at him.

¹³The Lord laughs at him,[#Ps 2:4]

for He sees that his day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword

and have bent their bows,

to cast down the poor and needy,

and to slay those who walk uprightly.

¹⁵Their sword shall enter their own heart,

and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶Better is a little that the righteous man has

than the abundance of many wicked.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,[#Job 38:15; Ps 10:15]

but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸The Lord knows the days of the blameless,[#Ps 1:6]

and their heritage will abide forever.

¹⁹They shall not be ashamed in evil times,

and in the days of famine they shall have abundance.

²⁰But the wicked shall perish,

and the enemies of the Lord , like the glory of the meadows,

shall vanish; like smoke they shall vanish away.

²¹The wicked borrows and does not repay,

but the righteous is generous and gives.

²²For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth,

but those cursed by Him shall be cut off.

²³The steps of a man are made firm by the Lord[#1Sa 2:9; Ps 40:2]

when He delights in his way.

²⁴Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down,[#Pr 24:16]

for the Lord upholds him with His hand.

²⁵I have been young, and now am old;

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken,

nor his descendants begging bread.

²⁶The righteous is ever generous and lends,[#Ps 37:21; 112:5]

and his descendants become a blessing.

²⁷Depart from evil, and do good;[#Ps 34:14]

so shall you abide forever.

²⁸For the Lord loves justice,

and does not forsake His saints;

they are preserved forever,

but the descendants of the wicked shall be cut off.

²⁹The righteous shall inherit the land,

and live in it forever.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks justice.

³¹The law of his God is in his heart;[#Dt 6:6]

none of his steps shall slip.

³²The wicked watches the righteous,

and seeks to kill him.

³³The Lord will not abandon him to his power,

or let him be condemned when he is judged.

³⁴Wait on the Lord ,[#Ps 27:14]

and keep His way,

and He will exalt you to inherit the land;

when the wicked are cut off, you will look on.

³⁵I have seen the wicked in great power,

and spreading himself like a luxuriant tree.

³⁶Yet he passed by, and behold, he was no more;

though I sought him, he could not be found.

³⁷Mark the blameless man, and behold the upright,

for there is a future for the man of peace.

³⁸But the transgressors shall be destroyed together;

the future of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord ;[#Ps 3:8]

He is their refuge in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰The Lord shall help them and deliver them;[#1Ch 5:20; Isa 31:5]

He shall deliver them from the wicked,

and save them, because they take refuge in Him.