Psalm 37

^7 [b]Rest in the Lord and wait ^[c]patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who carries out wicked schemes.
⁸ Cease from anger and forsake wrath;
Do not fret; it leads only to evildoing.
⁹ For evildoers will be cut off,
But those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.
¹⁰ Yet a little while and the wicked man will be no more;
And you will look carefully for his place and he will not be there.
¹¹ But the humble will inherit the land
And will delight themselves in abundant prosperity.

¹² The wicked plots against the righteous
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
¹³ The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees his day is coming.
¹⁴ The wicked have drawn the sword and bent their bow
To cast down the afflicted and the needy,
To slay those who are upright in conduct.
¹⁵ Their sword will enter their own heart,
And their bows will be broken.

¹⁶ Better is the little of the righteous
Than the abundance of many wicked.
¹⁷ For the arms of the wicked will be broken,
But the Lord sustains the righteous.
¹⁸ The Lord knows the days of the ^[d]blameless,
And their inheritance will be forever.
¹⁹ They will not be ashamed in the time of evil,
And in the days of famine they will have abundance.
²⁰ But the wicked will perish;
And the enemies of the Lord will be like the ^[e]glory of the pastures,
They vanish—like smoke they vanish away.
²¹ The wicked borrows and does not pay back,
But the righteous is gracious and gives.
²² For those blessed by Him will inherit the land,
But those cursed by Him will be cut off.

²³ The steps of a man are established by the Lord,
And He delights in his way.
²⁴ When he falls, he will not be hurled headlong,
Because the Lord is the One ^[f]who holds his hand.
²⁵ I have been young and now I am old,
Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
Or his ^[g]descendants begging bread.
²⁶ All day long he is gracious and lends,
And his ^[h]descendants are a blessing.

²⁷ Depart from evil and do good,
^[i]So you will abide forever.
²⁸ For the Lord loves ^[j]justice
And does not forsake His godly ones;
They are preserved forever,
But the ^[k]descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
²⁹ The righteous will inherit the land
And dwell in it forever.
³⁰ The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
And his tongue speaks justice.
³¹ The law of his God is in his heart;
His steps do not slip.
³² The wicked spies upon the righteous
And seeks to kill him.
³³ The Lord will not leave him in his hand
Or let him be condemned when he is judged.
³⁴ Wait for the Lord and keep His way,
And He will exalt you to inherit the land;
When the wicked are cut off, you will see it.

³⁵ I have seen a wicked, violent man
Spreading himself like a luxuriant ^[l]tree in its native soil.
³⁶ Then ^[m]he passed away, and lo, he was no more;
I sought for him, but he could not be found.
³⁷ Mark the ^[n]blameless man, and behold the upright;
For the man of peace will have a ^[o]posterity.
³⁸ But transgressors will be altogether destroyed;
The ^[p]posterity of the wicked will be cut off.
³⁹ But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in time of trouble.
⁴⁰ The Lord helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.