Psalms 37 The prosperity of sinners ends, and only the righteous will be happy

 Psalms 37

The prosperity of sinners ends, and only the righteous will be happy

1 Do not fret because of evildoers, nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.

2 For they will soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the herb.

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; you will dwell in the land, and truly be fed.

4 Delight yourself also 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 bring it to pass.

6 And he will make your righteousness shine like the light, and your justice like the noonday.

7 Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him. Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wickedness to pass.

8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret to do evil. 

9 For evildoers will be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord will inherit the earth.

10 For yet a little while, and the wicked will be no more; you will look on his place, and he will not be there.

11 But the meek will inherit the earth, and will delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

12 The wicked plots against the righteous, and gnashes his teeth at him.

13 The Lord will laugh at him, for he sees that his day is coming.

14 The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow to cast down the poor and needy, and to slay those whose way is upright.

15 But their sword will enter into their own heart, and their bows will be broken.

16 A little that a righteous man has is better than the riches of many wicked.

17 For the arms of the wicked will be broken, but the Lord upholds the righteous.

 18 The Lord knows the days of the upright, and their inheritance will last forever.

19 They will not be put to shame in the evil day, and in the days of famine they will be satisfied.

20 But the wicked will perish, and the enemies of the Lord will be like the fat of lambs; they will vanish and go up in smoke.

21 The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives.

22 For those he blesses will inherit the land, and those he curses will be cut off.

23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delights in his way.

24 Though he falls, he will not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.

25 I have been young, and now I am old; yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. 

26 He is ever merciful and lends, and his descendants are blessed.

27 Depart from evil and do good, and you will dwell forever.

28 For the Lord loves justice and will not forsake his saints; they are preserved forever, but the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.

29 The righteous will inherit the land and dwell therein forever.

30 The mouth of the righteous speaks wisdom; his tongue speaks righteousness.

31 The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps will slip.

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

33 The Lord will not leave him in his hand, nor condemn him when he is judged.

34 Wait for the Lord and keep his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will see it when the wicked are uprooted.

35 I have seen the wicked with great power, spreading like a green tree in its native land.

36 But he has passed away and is no more; I sought him, but he could not be found.

37 Mark the blameless man, and consider what is upright, for the end of that man will be peace.

38 As for the transgressors, they will be destroyed together, and the remnant of the wicked will all perish.

39 But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their strength in the time of trouble.

40 And the Lord will help them and deliver them; he will deliver them from the wicked and save them, because they trust in him.