Psalm 37

Evangelical Heritage Version

¹ Do not fret because of evildoers.
Do not be envious of those who do wrong,
² for like grass they will wither quickly.
Like green plants they will wilt.

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good.
Dwell in the land and feed on faithfulness.^[a]
4 Take pleasure in the Lord,
and he will grant your heart’s desires.
⁵ Commit your way to the Lord.
Trust in him, and he will act.
⁶ He will make your righteousness shine like light,
your justice like noon.
⁷ Be silent before the Lord. Wait patiently for him.
Do not fret when an evil man succeeds in his ways,
when he carries out his wicked schemes.

⁸ Let go of anger and abandon rage.
Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
⁹ For evildoers will be cut off,
but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the earth.
¹⁰ After a little while the wicked will be no more.
When you search for them at their place, they are not there.
¹¹ But the meek^[b] will inherit the earth.
They will enjoy plenty of peace.
¹² The wicked person plots against the righteous.
He gnashes his teeth at him,
¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
because he sees that his day is coming.
¹⁴ The wicked draw their sword,
and they bend their bow
    to make the poor and needy fall,
    to slaughter those whose ways are upright.
¹⁵ Their swords will pierce their hearts,
and their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better the little that one righteous person has
    than the wealth of many wicked people,
¹⁷ because the arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the Lord upholds the righteous.
¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the blameless.
Their inheritance will last forever.
¹⁹ They will not be ashamed in time of disaster.
In days of famine they will be full.
²⁰ Surely the wicked will perish.
The enemies of the Lord will be
    like beautiful flowers in the pastures.
But they will vanish. Like smoke they will vanish.

²¹ The wicked borrow and do not repay,
but the righteous are gracious and give.
²² So those God blesses will inherit the earth,
but those he curses will be cut off.
²³ By the Lord the steps of a person are made secure.
Then he will delight in his way.
²⁴ Though he falls, he will not stay down,
because the Lord holds him by his hand.
²⁵ I was a young man. Now I am old.
But I have never seen a righteous person forsaken
or his children begging for bread.
²⁶ Every day he is gracious and lends.
His children will be blessed.
²⁷ Turn back from evil and do good.
Then you will remain forever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves justice.
He will not forsake his favored ones.^[c]
They will be protected forever,
but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
²⁹ The righteous will inherit the earth.
They will dwell on it forever.
³⁰ The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom.
His tongue speaks what is just.
³¹ The law of his God is in his heart.
His steps do not slip.

³² The wicked spy on the righteous one and seek to kill him.
³³ The Lord will not leave him in their hand.
He will not let him be condemned when he is put on trial.
³⁴ Wait for the Lord and keep to his way.
He will raise you up to take possession of the earth.
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.
³⁵ I saw a wicked, ruthless man.
He was rooted like a green plant in its native soil,
³⁶ but he passed away. Just like that, he was gone!
I searched for him, but he could not be found.
³⁷ Take note of the blameless. Look at the upright.
Yes, there is a future for the man of peace.
³⁸ But rebels will be completely destroyed.
The future of the wicked will be cut off.
³⁹ The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord.
He is their stronghold in times of stress.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and delivers them.
He delivers them from the wicked.
He saves them, because they have taken refuge in him.