Psalms - 37(36) - Happiness for the just, ruin for the wicked

“Do not get worried when you think of the wicked.” Neither power nor riches give access to the inheritance that God promised to his children.

^{① 1}Do not be annoyed with evil people nor be envious of wrongdoers.

²For they will fade as any green herb and soon be gone like withered grass.

³Trust in the Lord and do good, dwell in the land and live on it.

⁴Make the Lord your delight, and he will grant your heart’s desire.

⁵Commit your way to the Lord; put your trust in him and let him act.

⁶Then will your revenge come, beautiful as the dawn, and the justification of your cause, bright as the noonday sun.

⁷Keep calm before the Lord, wait for him in patience; do not fret if others succeed when they carry out evil schemes.

⁸Refrain from anger, turn away from wrath; fret not, for it only leads to evil.

⁹Remember this: the wicked will perish, but those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land.

¹⁰Wait a moment: the wicked are no more. Though you look for them, they cannot be found;

¹¹but the humble will inherit the land and enjoy peace in abundance.

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

¹⁴The wicked draw their swords and bend their bows; they aim at the poor and the afflicted, they get ready to slay the righteous.

¹⁵But their bows will be shattered; the sword thrust into their own heart.

¹⁶The little that the righteous possess is better than the abundance of the wicked.

¹⁷For the arms of the wicked will be broken, and the righteous will be upheld by the Lord.

¹⁸The Lord watches over the lives of the upright; forever will their inheritance abide.

¹⁹They are not crushed in times of calamity; when famine strikes, they still are satisfied.

²⁰But the wicked will perish; the enemies of the Lord will vanish like smoke, disappear like the wild flowers.

²¹The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous have mercy and share.

²²They will inherit the land – those whom the Lord blesses; but those whom the Lord curses he will cut off.

²³The Lord is the one who makes people stand, he gives firmness to those he likes. ²⁴They may stumble, but they will not fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.

²⁵From my youth to old age, I have yet to see the righteous forsaken or their children begging for alms.

²⁶He lends and gives, and his children are blessed. The whole day he succeeds.

²⁷Do good and shun evil, so that you will live secure forever.

²⁸For the Lord loves justice and right, and never forsakes his faithful ones. The wicked instead will perish and their breed will be cut off.

²⁹The righteous will possess the land; they will make it their home forever.

³⁰The mouth of the virtuous utters wisdom and his tongue speaks of what is right.

³¹His steps have never faltered, for the law of God is in his heart.

³²The wicked spies on the just man and lies in wait to slay him.

³³But the Lord does not hand him over, or let him be condemned when he is tried.

³⁴Hope in the Lord and follow his way, for he will exalt you and give you the land. You will see how the wicked perish.

³⁵I have seen an oppressor mighty, towering like a cedar of Lebanon.

³⁶But when I passed by again, he was no longer there. I looked for him but could not find him.

³⁷Mark the blameless, watch the up right, and you will see that there is a future for the person of peace.

³⁸But all sinners will be destroyed; the future of the wicked will be shattered.

³⁹The Lord is the salvation of the righteous; in time of distress, he is their refuge.

⁴⁰The Lord helps them, and rescues them from the oppressor; he saves them for they sought shelter in him.