Psalms 37

1 Do not be provoked by evildoers or envy those who practice lawlessness.

2 They will quickly dry up like grass and quickly fall away like green plants.

3 Trust in the Lord and show kindness; settle in the land, and you will be shepherded by its wealth.

4 Delight in the Lord, and he will give you the requests of your heart.

5 Lay your way before the Lord and trust in him, and he will act.

6 He will bring out your righteousness like light and your judgment like the noonday.

7 Submit to the Lord and plead with him. Do not be provoked by someone who prospers in his way, by a person who practices lawbreaking.

8 Stop being angry and abandon wrath. Do not be provoked into doing evil.

9 Evildoers will be utterly destroyed, but those who wait for the Lord will inherit the land.

10 In just a little while the sinner will cease to exist; you will search for his place but never find it.

11 But the gentle will inherit the land and delight in abundant peace.

12 The sinner will watch the righteous and gnash his teeth at him.

13 But the Lord will laugh at him, because he foresees that his day is coming.

14 Sinners drew their swords and bent their bows to cast down the poor and needy and slaughter those whose hearts are upright.

15 May their swords enter their own hearts, and may their bows be broken.

16 The little that belongs to the righteous is better than the abundant wealth of sinners.

17 The arms of sinners will be broken, but the Lord supports the righteous.

18 The Lord knows the ways of the blameless, and their inheritance will remain forever.

19 They will not be put to shame in an evil time, and in days of famine they will be filled.

20 Sinners will perish. The Lord’s enemies vanished like smoke at the very moment they were honored and exalted.

21 The sinner borrows and will not repay, but the righteous shows compassion and gives.

22 Those who bless him will inherit the land, but those who curse him will be utterly destroyed.

23 A person’s steps are directed by the Lord, and the Lord will delight in his way.

24 When he falls, he will not be ruined, because the Lord supports his hand.

25 I was young, and now I have grown old, yet I have never seen the righteous abandoned or his offspring looking for bread.

26 He shows mercy and lends all day, and his offspring will become a blessing.

27 Turn away from evil and do good, and settle down forever and ever.

28 The Lord loves judgment and will not abandon those who are holy to him; they will be guarded forever. The lawless will be driven out, and the offspring of the ungodly will be utterly destroyed.

29 The righteous will inherit the land and settle in it forever and ever.

30 The righteous person’s mouth will meditate on wisdom, and his tongue will speak judgment.

31 His God’s law is in his heart, and his steps will not stumble.

32 The sinner watches the righteous and seeks to kill him.

33 But the Lord will never leave the righteous in the sinner’s hands or condemn him when the sinner brings him to judgment.

34 Wait for the Lord and guard his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; you will see sinners utterly destroyed.

35 I saw an ungodly person highly exalted and rising like the cedars of Lebanon.

36 Then I passed by, and he was gone. I searched for him, but his place could not be found.

37 Guard innocence and look upon uprightness, because something remains for a peaceful person.

38 But lawbreakers will be utterly destroyed together, and what remains of the ungodly will be utterly destroyed.

39 The rescue of the righteous comes from the Lord, and he is their defender in a time of distress.

40 The Lord will help and rescue them; he will pull them from sinners and save them, because they trusted in him.