Psalm 37
37
He Will Not Forsake His Saints
# 37:1 This psalm is an acrostic poem, each stanza beginning with the successive letters of the Hebrew alphabet Of David.
1 # ver. 7, 8; Prov. 24:19 Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
be not #Ps. 73:3; Prov. 3:31; 23:17; 24:1, 19envious of wrongdoers!
2For they will soon #Job 14:2; See Job 27:13-23 fade like #Ps. 90:5, 6 the grass
and wither #Ps. 129:6like the green herb.
3 #
Ps. 62:8; 115:9-11; Prov. 3:5; Isa. 26:4 Trust in the Lord, and do good;
#
Lev. 26:5; Prov. 2:21 dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.#37:3 Or and feed on faithfulness, or and find safe pasture
4 #
Job 22:26; Isa. 58:14; [Phil. 3:1; 4:4] Delight yourself in the Lord,
and he will #Matt. 6:33give you the desires of your heart.
5 #
Ps. 22:8; 55:22; Prov. 16:3; 1 Pet. 5:7 Commit your way to the Lord;
# [See ver. 3 above] trust in him, and he will act.
6 #
Isa. 58:8, 10; Mic. 7:9 He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as #Job 11:17the noonday.
7 # [Ps. 62:1; Isa. 30:15; Lam. 3:26] Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
# ver. 1 fret not yourself over the one who #Jer. 12:1prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
8 # [Eph. 4:26] Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
# [See ver. 7 above] Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
9 # ver. 2, 22 For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the Lord shall #Ps. 25:13; Prov. 2:21; Isa. 57:13; 60:21inherit the land.
10In #Job 24:24 just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
though you look carefully at #Job 7:10his place, he will not be there.
11But #Cited Matt. 5:5 the meek shall inherit the land
and delight themselves in #Ps. 119:165; [Isa. 32:17]abundant peace.
12The wicked #Ps. 31:13 plots against the righteous
and #See Ps. 35:16gnashes his teeth at him,
13but the Lord #See Ps. 2:4 laughs at the wicked,
for he sees that his #See Job 18:20day is coming.
14The wicked draw the sword and #Ps. 7:12 bend their bows
to bring down the poor and needy,
to slay those whose #See Ps. 7:10way is upright;
15their sword shall enter their own heart,
and their #See 1 Sam. 2:4bows shall be broken.
16 #
Prov. 15:16; 16:8; [1 Tim. 6:6] Better is the little that the righteous has
than the abundance of many wicked.
17For #Ps. 10:15; Job 38:15; Ezek. 30:21, 22 the arms of the wicked shall be broken,
but the Lord #ver. 24upholds the righteous.
18The Lord #See Ps. 1:6 knows the days of the blameless,
and their #ver. 9heritage will remain forever;
19they are not put to shame in evil times;
in #Ps. 33:19; Job 5:20the days of famine they have abundance.
20But the wicked will perish;
the enemies of the Lord are like #[Matt. 6:30; James 1:11] the glory of the pastures;
they vanish—like #Ps. 68:2; 102:3; Hos. 13:3smoke they vanish away.
21The wicked borrows but does not pay back,
but the righteous #ver. 26is generous and gives;
22for those blessed by the Lord#37:22 Hebrew by him shall #See ver. 9 inherit the land,
but those cursed by him #ver. 2shall be cut off.
23The #Ps. 25:12; 1 Sam. 2:9 steps of a man are #Ps. 40:2; 119:5established by the Lord,
when he delights in his way;
24 #
Prov. 24:16; Mic. 7:8; 2 Cor. 4:9 though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong,
for the Lord #ver. 17upholds his hand.
25I have been young, and now am old,
yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken
or his children #[Ps. 109:10; Job 15:23]begging for bread.
26He is ever #Ps. 112:5, 9; Deut. 15:8, 10; Matt. 5:42; Luke 6:35lending generously,
and his children become a blessing.
27 # See Ps. 34:14 Turn away from evil and do good;
so shall you #[Ps. 102:28]dwell forever.
28For the Lord #See Ps. 11:7 loves justice;
he will not forsake his #See Ps. 16:10 saints.
They are preserved forever,
but the children of the wicked shall be #ver. 2, 9; Ps. 21:10; Prov. 2:22; Isa. 14:20cut off.
29The righteous shall inherit the land
and #[See ver. 27 above]dwell upon it forever.
30The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
and his tongue speaks justice.
31 #
Ps. 40:8; 119:11; Deut. 6:6; Isa. 51:7; Jer. 31:33; [Rom. 7:22] The law of his God is in his heart;
his #[Ps. 73:2]steps do not slip.
32The wicked #Ps. 10:8watches for the righteous
and seeks to put him to death.
33The Lord will not #[2 Pet. 2:9] abandon him to his power
or let him #Ps. 109:31be condemned when he is brought to trial.
34 # ver. 9; See Ps. 27:14 Wait for the Lord and keep his way,
and he will exalt you to inherit the land;
you will look on #Ps. 52:5, 6; 91:8when the wicked are cut off.
35 # See Job 5:3 I have seen a wicked, ruthless man,
spreading himself like #[Ps. 52:8]a green laurel tree.#37:35 The identity of this tree is uncertain
36But he passed away,#37:36 Or But one passed by and behold, #ver. 10; Job 20:5he was no more;
though I sought him, he could not be found.
37Mark the blameless and behold the upright,
for there is a future for the man of #ver. 11; Ps. 119:165; Isa. 57:2peace.
38But #[Ps. 52:5; 104:35; Prov. 2:22] transgressors shall be altogether destroyed;
the future of the wicked #Ps. 73:17; Job 18:17shall be cut off.
39 # See Ps. 3:8 The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
he is their stronghold in #Ps. 9:9the time of trouble.
40The Lord helps them and #[Isa. 31:5; Acts 12:11] delivers them;
# [1 Chr. 5:20; Dan. 3:17, 28; 6:23] he delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
because they #See Ps. 11:1take refuge in him.
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Psalms 37
37
Psalm 37#37.0 Ps 37 is an alphabetic acrostic poem; see the note at Pss 9–10.
Of David.
1Don’t get upset over evildoers;
don’t be jealous of those who do wrong,
2because they will fade fast, like grass;
they will wither like green vegetables.
3Trust the LORD and do good;
live in the land, and farm faithfulness.
4Enjoy the LORD,
and he will give what your heart asks.
5Commit your way to the LORD!
Trust him! He will act
6and will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
your justice like high noon.
7Be still before the LORD,
and wait#37.7 Correction with LXX, Vulg for him.
Don’t get upset when someone gets ahead—
someone who invents evil schemes.
8Let go of anger and leave rage behind!
Don’t get upset—it will only lead to evil.
9Because evildoers will be eliminated,
but those who hope in the LORD—
they will possess the land.
10In just a little while the wicked won’t exist!
If you go looking around their place,
they won’t be there.
11But the weak will inherit the land;
they will enjoy a surplus of peace.
12The wicked plot against the righteous,
grinding their teeth at them.
13But my Lord just laughs at them
because he knows that their day is coming.
14The wicked draw their swords and bend their bows
to bring down the weak and the needy,
to slaughter those whose way is right.
15But the sword of the wicked will enter their own hearts!
Their bows will be broken!
16Better is the little that the righteous have
than the overabundant wealth of the wicked.#37.16 LXX, Vulg, Syr; MT abundant wealth of many wicked
17The arms of the wicked will be broken,
but the LORD supports the righteous.
18The LORD is intimately acquainted
with the lives of the blameless;
their heritage will last forever.
19They won’t be ashamed in troubling times,
and in a period of famine they will eat their fill.
20But the wicked will die,
the LORD’s enemies will disappear—
disappear like the beauty of a meadow—in smoke.
21The wicked borrow and don’t pay it back, but the righteous are generous and giving.
22Those blessed by God will possess the land,
but those cursed by God will be cut off.
23A person’s steps are made secure by the LORD
when they delight in his way.
24Though they trip up, they won’t be thrown down,
because the LORD holds their hand.
25I was young and now I’m old,
but I have never seen the righteous left all alone,
have never seen their children begging for bread.
26They are always gracious and generous.
Their children are a blessing.
27Turn away from evil! Do good!
Then you will live in the land forever.
28The LORD loves justice.
He will never leave his faithful all alone.
They are guarded forever,
but the children of the wicked are eliminated.
29The righteous will possess the land;
they will live on it forever.
30The mouths of the righteous recite wisdom;
their tongues discuss justice.
31The Instruction of their God is in their hearts;
they don’t miss a step.
32The wicked, on the other hand, target the righteous,
seeking to kill them.
33But the LORD won’t leave the righteous
to the power of the wicked,
and won’t let the righteous
be found guilty when they are judged.
34Hope in the LORD and keep his way!
He will lift you up so you can possess the land.
When the wicked are eliminated,
you will see it for yourself!
35I myself have seen wicked powerful people,
exalting themselves like a stately cedar.#37.35 LXX
36But when I#37.36 LXX, Syr, Vulg came back, they were gone!
I looked all over for them,
but they couldn’t be found!
37Observe those who have integrity
and watch those whose heart is right
because the future belongs to persons of peace.
38But wrongdoers will be destroyed all together;
the future of the wicked will be cut short.
39The salvation of the righteous comes from the LORD;
he is their refuge in times of trouble.
40The LORD will help them and rescue them—
rescue them from the wicked—and he will save them
because they have taken refuge in him.
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