Psalms 37

The Protection of the Righteous and the Destruction of the Wicked

¹Do not fret because of evildoers;

do not be envious of doers of wickedness.

²For like the grass they will dry up quickly,

and like green vegetation they will wither.

³Trust Yahweh and do good.

Abide in the land and feed on faithfulness.

⁴Take pleasure in Yahweh as well,

and he will give to you the requests of your heart.

⁵Commit to Yahweh your way;[#Literally “Roll upon”]

Trust also on him and he will act.

⁶Then he will bring forth your righteousness like the light,

and your justice like the noonday.

⁷Be quiet before Yahweh and wait for him.

Do not fret about one who succeeds in his way,

about a man making plots.

⁸Refrain from anger and forsake wrath.

Do not fret; it only brings evil.

⁹For evildoers will be cut off,

but those who wait for Yahweh—

they will possess the land.

¹⁰And yet a little while and the wicked will not be,[#Or “But”]

and you will look carefully upon his place, but he will not be.

¹¹But the afflicted will possess the land,

and they will take pleasure in an abundance of peace.

¹²The wicked plans evil against the righteous,

and gnashes at him with his teeth.

¹³The Lord laughs at him,

for he sees that his day is coming.

¹⁴The wicked have drawn the sword and have bent their bow

to throw down the poor and the needy,

to kill those upright in their way.

¹⁵Their sword will enter into their own heart,

and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶The little belonging to the righteous is better

than the wealth of many wicked.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,

but Yahweh supports the righteous.

¹⁸Yahweh knows the days of the blameless,

and their inheritance will be forever.

¹⁹They will not be put to shame in distressing times,[#Hebrew “time”]

and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.

²⁰But the wicked will perish,

and the enemies of Yahweh will be like the splendor of the pastures.

They vanish; in smoke they vanish.

²¹The wicked borrows and does not repay,

but the righteous is gracious and gives.

²²For those blessed by him shall possess the land,

but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

²³The steps of a man are established by Yahweh,

and he takes pleasure in his way.

²⁴Though he fall, he will not be cast headlong,

for Yahweh supports him with his hand.

²⁵I was a youth, but I am now old;

yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken

or his children begging for bread.

²⁶All the day he is gracious and lends,

and his children are a blessing.

²⁷Turn aside from evil and do good

and so abide forever.

²⁸For Yahweh loves justice

and will not forsake his faithful ones.

They are protected forever.

But the children of the wicked will be cut off.

²⁹The righteous will possess the land

and abide in it forever.

³⁰The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,

and his tongue speaks justice.

³¹The law of his God is in his heart.

His steps will not slip.

³²The wicked watches for the righteous

and seeks to kill him.

³³Yahweh will not abandon him into his hand,

and he will not let him be condemned when he is judged.

³⁴Wait for Yahweh and keep his way,

and he will exalt you to possess the land.

When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

³⁵I have seen the wicked acting violently

and spreading himself out

like a luxuriant native tree.

³⁶Then he passed on and behold, he was not.[#Dead Sea Scrolls and the versions read “I passed by”]

And I sought him, but he could not be found.

³⁷Observe the blameless and look at the upright,

for there is a future for a man of peace.

³⁸But transgressors shall be destroyed altogether.

The future of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹And the salvation of the righteous is from Yahweh,[#Some manuscripts omit “and,” preserving the acrostic]

their refuge in the time of trouble.

⁴⁰And Yahweh helps them and he rescues them.

He rescues them from the wicked and saves them,

because they take refuge in him.