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37 To David. [The psalm of David.] Do not thou follow wicked men; neither love thou men doing wickedness. (The song of David. Do not thou follow the wicked; nor love thou those who do wickedly.)

For they shall wax dry swiftly as hay; and they shall fall down soon as the worts of herbs. (For they shall quickly grow dry like the hay, or the grass; and soon they shall fall down like the best herbs, or the plants.)

Hope thou in the Lord, and do thou goodness (Trust thou in the Lord, and do good); and inhabit thou the land, and thou shalt be fed with his riches.

Delight thou in the Lord; and he shall give to thee the askings of thine heart.

Show thy way to the Lord; and hope in him, and he shall do. (Give all thy ways to the Lord, and trust in him; and he shall make it happen.)

And he shall lead out thy rightfulness as light, and thy doom as midday; (And he shall lead forth thy righteousness like the light, and thy judgement like the midday sun;)

be thou subject to the Lord, and pray thou him. Do not thou follow him, that hath prosperity in his way; (nor) a man doing unrightfulness. (be thou subject to the Lord, and wait thou for him. Do not thou follow a man, simply because he hath prospered along his way; nor a man doing unrighteousness, or wickedness.)

Cease thou of ire, and forsake strong vengeance; do not thou follow, that thou do wickedly. (Cease thou from anger, and abandon taking vengeance; do not thou follow after these things, so that thou do wickedly.)

For they, that do wickedly, shall be destroyed; but they that suffer the Lord, shall inherit the land. (For they, who do wickedly, shall be destroyed; but they who hope in the Lord, shall inherit the earth.)

10 And yet a little, and a sinner shall not be (For after but just a little time, that sinner shall not be); and thou shalt seek his place, and thou shalt not find it.

11 But mild men shall inherit the land (And the humble, or the meek, shall inherit the earth); and shall delight in the multitude of peace.

12 A sinner shall ambush the rightful man; and he shall gnash with his teeth on him. (A sinner shall attack a righteous man; and he shall gnash on him with his teeth.)

13 But the Lord shall scorn the sinner; for he beholdeth that his day cometh.

14 Sinners have drawn out sword; they bent their bow. To deceive a poor man and needy; to strangle rightful men of heart. (The sinners have drawn out their swords; they have bent their bows. Yea, to destroy the poor and the needy; and to kill those with an upright heart.)

15 Their sword enter into the heart of themselves; and their bow be broken. (But their swords shall enter into their own hearts; and their bows shall be broken.)

16 Better is a little thing to a just man; than many riches of sinners. (Better is the little that the righteous have; than the many riches of the sinners.)

17 For the arms of sinners shall be all-broken; but the Lord confirmeth just men. (For the strength of the sinners shall be all-broken; but the Lord upholdeth the righteous.)

18 The Lord knoweth the days of [the] unwemmed; and their heritage shall be (into) without end. (The Lord knoweth all about those without blemish, or without fault; and their inheritance shall last forever.)

19 They shall not be shamed in the evil time, and they shall be [ful]filled in the days of hunger;

20 for sinners shall perish. Forsooth anon as the enemies of the Lord be honoured, and enhanced; they failing shall fail as smoke. (but the sinners shall perish. And after the Lord’s enemies be honoured, and exalted; they shall disappear, just like smoke.)

21 A sinner shall borrow, and shall not pay (back); but a just man hath mercy, and shall give (but the righteous have love, and shall give to others).

22 For they that bless the Lord shall inherit the land; but they that curse him shall perish. (For those who be blessed by the Lord, shall inherit the earth; but they who be cursed by him, shall perish.)

23 The going(s) of a man shall be (ad)dressed with the Lord; and he shall delight in his way. (The goings of a man be directed by the Lord; and he guardeth him on his way.)

24 When he falleth, he shall not be hurtled down/he shall not be hurled down; for the Lord undersetteth his hand.

25 I was younger, and soothly I waxed eld; and I saw not a just man forsaken, neither his seed seeking bread. (I was young, and then I grew old; and I never saw a righteous person abandoned, nor his children seeking bread.)

26 All day he hath mercy, and lendeth; and his seed shall be in blessing. (All day long he hath love, and lendeth to others; and his children, or his descendants, shall be blessed.)

27 Bow thou away from evil, and do good; and dwell thou into the world of world. (Turn thou away from evil, and do good; and thou shalt live forever.)

28 For the Lord loveth doom, and shall not forsake his saints; they shall be kept [into] without end. Unjust men shall be punished; and the seed of wicked men shall perish. (For the Lord loveth justice, and shall not forsake his saints; they shall be kept safe forever. The unjust, or the unrighteous, shall be punished; and the descendants of the wicked shall perish.)

29 But just men shall inherit the land; and shall inhabit thereon into the world of world. (But the righteous shall inherit the land; and shall inhabit it forever.)

30 The mouth of a just man shall bethink wisdom; and his tongue shall speak doom. (The righteous person speaketh wisdom; yea, his tongue shall speak of justice, or fairness.)

31 The law of his God is in his heart; and his steps shall not be deceived. (The Law of God is in his heart; and his steps shall not slip/and his feet shall not stumble.)

32 A sinner beholdeth a just man; and seeketh to slay him.

33 But the Lord shall not forsake him in his hands; neither he shall condemn him, when it shall be deemed against him.

34 Abide thou the Lord, and keep thou his way, and he shall enhance thee, that by heritage thou take the land; when sinners shall perish, thou shalt see. (Wait thou for the Lord, and keep thou to his way, and he shall raise thee up, or shall exalt thee, so that thou take the land by inheritance; and when the sinners shall perish, thou shalt see it.)

35 I saw the wicked man enhanced above; and raised up as the cedars of Lebanon. (Once I saw a wicked man exalted; yea, raised up as high as the cedars in Lebanon.)

36 And I passed (And then I passed by later), and lo! he was not (there); I sought him, and his place was not found.

37 Keep thou innocence, and see equity; for those be relics to a peaceable man. (Mark thou the innocent, and look upon the righteous; for they be the progeny of peaceful people.)

38 Forsooth unjust men shall perish; the remnants/the relics of wicked men shall perish (al)together. (But the unjust, or the unrighteous, shall perish; yea, the progeny of the wicked shall altogether perish.)

39 But the health of just men is of the Lord; and he is their defender in the time of tribulation. (But the salvation, or the deliverance, of the righteous is from the Lord; and he is their defender in their time of trouble.)

40 And the Lord shall help them, and shall make them free, and he shall deliver them from sinners; and he shall save them, for they hoped in him (and he shall save them, for they trusted in him).

Psalm 37[a]

Of David.

Do not fret because of those who are evil
    or be envious(A) of those who do wrong;(B)
for like the grass they will soon wither,(C)
    like green plants they will soon die away.(D)

Trust in the Lord and do good;
    dwell in the land(E) and enjoy safe pasture.(F)
Take delight(G) in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.(H)

Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him(I) and he will do this:
He will make your righteous reward(J) shine like the dawn,(K)
    your vindication like the noonday sun.

Be still(L) before the Lord
    and wait patiently(M) for him;
do not fret(N) when people succeed in their ways,(O)
    when they carry out their wicked schemes.(P)

Refrain from anger(Q) and turn from wrath;
    do not fret(R)—it leads only to evil.
For those who are evil will be destroyed,(S)
    but those who hope(T) in the Lord will inherit the land.(U)

10 A little while, and the wicked will be no more;(V)
    though you look for them, they will not be found.
11 But the meek will inherit the land(W)
    and enjoy peace and prosperity.(X)

12 The wicked plot(Y) against the righteous
    and gnash their teeth(Z) at them;
13 but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
    for he knows their day is coming.(AA)

14 The wicked draw the sword(AB)
    and bend the bow(AC)
to bring down the poor and needy,(AD)
    to slay those whose ways are upright.
15 But their swords will pierce their own hearts,(AE)
    and their bows will be broken.(AF)

16 Better the little that the righteous have
    than the wealth(AG) of many wicked;
17 for the power of the wicked will be broken,(AH)
    but the Lord upholds(AI) the righteous.

18 The blameless spend their days under the Lord’s care,(AJ)
    and their inheritance will endure forever.(AK)
19 In times of disaster they will not wither;
    in days of famine they will enjoy plenty.

20 But the wicked will perish:(AL)
    Though the Lord’s enemies are like the flowers of the field,
    they will be consumed, they will go up in smoke.(AM)

21 The wicked borrow and do not repay,
    but the righteous give generously;(AN)
22 those the Lord blesses will inherit the land,
    but those he curses(AO) will be destroyed.(AP)

23 The Lord makes firm the steps(AQ)
    of the one who delights(AR) in him;
24 though he may stumble, he will not fall,(AS)
    for the Lord upholds(AT) him with his hand.

25 I was young and now I am old,
    yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken(AU)
    or their children begging(AV) bread.
26 They are always generous and lend freely;(AW)
    their children will be a blessing.[b](AX)

27 Turn from evil and do good;(AY)
    then you will dwell in the land forever.(AZ)
28 For the Lord loves the just
    and will not forsake his faithful ones.(BA)

Wrongdoers will be completely destroyed[c];
    the offspring of the wicked will perish.(BB)
29 The righteous will inherit the land(BC)
    and dwell in it forever.(BD)

30 The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,(BE)
    and their tongues speak what is just.
31 The law of their God is in their hearts;(BF)
    their feet do not slip.(BG)

32 The wicked lie in wait(BH) for the righteous,(BI)
    intent on putting them to death;
33 but the Lord will not leave them in the power of the wicked
    or let them be condemned(BJ) when brought to trial.(BK)

34 Hope in the Lord(BL)
    and keep his way.(BM)
He will exalt you to inherit the land;
    when the wicked are destroyed,(BN) you will see(BO) it.

35 I have seen a wicked and ruthless man
    flourishing(BP) like a luxuriant native tree,
36 but he soon passed away and was no more;
    though I looked for him, he could not be found.(BQ)

37 Consider the blameless,(BR) observe the upright;(BS)
    a future awaits those who seek peace.[d](BT)
38 But all sinners(BU) will be destroyed;(BV)
    there will be no future[e] for the wicked.(BW)

39 The salvation(BX) of the righteous comes from the Lord;
    he is their stronghold in time of trouble.(BY)
40 The Lord helps(BZ) them and delivers(CA) them;
    he delivers them from the wicked and saves(CB) them,
    because they take refuge(CC) in him.

Footnotes

  1. Psalm 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, the stanzas of which begin with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet.
  2. Psalm 37:26 Or freely; / the names of their children will be used in blessings (see Gen. 48:20); or freely; / others will see that their children are blessed
  3. Psalm 37:28 See Septuagint; Hebrew They will be protected forever
  4. Psalm 37:37 Or upright; / those who seek peace will have posterity
  5. Psalm 37:38 Or posterity