Psalm 37

New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition

³ Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    so you will live in the land, and enjoy security.
⁴ Take delight in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵ Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him, and he will act.
⁶ He will make your vindication shine like the light,
    and the justice of your cause like the noonday.

⁷ Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently for him;
    do not fret over those who prosper in their way,
    over those who carry out evil devices.

⁸ Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath.
    Do not fret—it leads only to evil.
⁹ For the wicked shall be cut off,
    but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

¹⁰ Yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more;
    though you look diligently for their place, they will not be there.
¹¹ But the meek shall inherit the land,
    and delight in abundant prosperity.

¹² The wicked plot against the righteous,
    and gnash their teeth at them;
¹³ but the Lord laughs at the wicked,
    for he sees that their day is coming.

¹⁴ The wicked draw the sword and bend their bows
    to bring down the poor and needy,
    to kill those who walk uprightly;
¹⁵ their sword shall enter their own heart,
    and their bows shall be broken.

¹⁶ Better is a little that the righteous person has
    than the abundance of many wicked.
¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
    but the Lord upholds the righteous.

¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the blameless,
    and their heritage will abide for ever;
¹⁹ they are not put to shame in evil times,
    in the days of famine they have abundance.

²⁰ But the wicked perish,
    and the enemies of the Lord are like the glory of the pastures;
    they vanish—like smoke they vanish away.

²¹ The wicked borrow, and do not pay back,
    but the righteous are generous and keep giving;
²² for those blessed by the Lord shall inherit the land,
    but those cursed by him shall be cut off.

²³ Our steps^[a] are made firm by the Lord,
    when he delights in our^[b] way;
²⁴ though we stumble,^[c] we^[d] shall not fall headlong,
    for the Lord holds us^[e] by the hand.

²⁵ I have been young, and now am old,
    yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
    or their children begging bread.
²⁶ They are ever giving liberally and lending,
    and their children become a blessing.

²⁷ Depart from evil, and do good;
    so you shall abide for ever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves justice;
    he will not forsake his faithful ones.

The righteous shall be kept safe for ever,
    but the children of the wicked shall be cut off.
²⁹ The righteous shall inherit the land,
    and live in it for ever.

³⁰ The mouths of the righteous utter wisdom,
    and their tongues speak justice.
³¹ The law of their God is in their hearts;
    their steps do not slip.

³² The wicked watch for the righteous,
    and seek to kill them.
³³ The Lord will not abandon them to their power,
    or let them be condemned when they are brought to trial.

³⁴ Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way,
    and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
    you will look on the destruction of the wicked.

³⁵ I have seen the wicked oppressing,
    and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.^[f]
36 Again I^[g] passed by, and they were no more;
    though I sought them, they could not be found.

³⁷ Mark the blameless, and behold the upright,
    for there is posterity for the peaceable.
³⁸ But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
    the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off.

³⁹ The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
    he is their refuge in the time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and rescues them;
    he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them,
    because they take refuge in him.